Don Martin:Smelling up the place.

Don Martin has out done himself with his latest on the Dhalla nanny scandal. (My comments in bold and I have highlighted some of the more interesting parts.)

Being young, ethnic, female, ambitious and camera-friendly should be the dream ingredients of Canadian political star power.

But in federal politics, they make you a juicy target. (Based on what Don, your own opinion or is it that anyone in politics is a target. Juicy or otherwise.)

Ruby Dhalla is the Liberal MP at the epicentre of an incredibly nasty smear campaign as she moves to fight allegations by a pair of Philippine nannies who accuse her of making them work too hard doing menial tasks beyond their job description. (It only a smear if it isn't true. Neither you nor I know this at this time but don't let it stop you.)

This has triggered a mighty media firestorm, with some of her own MPs, quoted as anonymous sources, decrying her as “high maintenance” and gleefully piling on her in payback for being all-about-Ruby with little Liberal party dedication. (Maybe these Liberals are working for the conservatives too Don)

Now, the truth of the nannies' treatment will emerge over time as various investigations proceed. Dhalla herself has made a strange request to have the ethics commissioner launch a fact-finding probe and is contemplating legal action against the Toronto Star, which first revealed the allegations. ( Yes the truth will come out but you have already made up your mind as indicated with the title of your article. I guess this way your ass is covered if the smear turns out to be true.)

If the accusations are proven true, with direct links to MP Dhalla, she’s a goner. But there’s something unseemly about Liberals launching an internal whisper campaign and Conservatives going on the public attack against Dhalla before she’s had time to defend her name. And there’s precious little evidence to suggest this notorious workaholic has ever refused the call of Liberal duty by her leader or anyone else. (Unseemly? Are you new to politics? Also if some liberals are themselves whispering these claims is that not proof in itself that her Liberal credentials are not as great as you believe? Her being voted as the worst MP to work for might also be added to that precious little evidence pile too.)

Something doesn’t smell right in having two former nannies step forward a year after they left the Dhalla family’s employment to suddenly complain about conditions that don’t seem unusually onerous for immigrant workers. (After a year how is anything sudden? I take it you are either an expert on the conditions that immigrant workers face or you somehow don't think that getting paid $2/hr, having passports taken away, or working long hours doing a job they were not hired for is in any way harsh, oh excuse me, onerous. This is low even for an apologist like you Don and it is now 3 former employees FYI.)

Perhaps I’m being excessively suspicious, but a Conservative hit squad has taken aim at Dhalla for more than a year and her opponent in the last and next election, Parm Gill, has his website up and is a regular tagalong with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. (Nothing like going over the top with the hit squad comment but hey when attempting to deflect blame away from one party and put it on another anything goes.)

The Conservatives dearly want Dhalla to lose her seat in the next election -- and procuring this sort of scandal is perfect takedown material. Then again, I’m not sure the Conservatives would leak their mischief to The Star, hardly their most friendly media outlet. (Of course they want Dhalla to lose in the next election. You don't expect them to put up her lawn signs for her do you? Nice use of the word procuring in an attempt to tie the CPC with creating a scandal with NO evidence what so ever. Leak? Do you have any idea what so ever how this story came about in the first place?)

Still, the fact that Dhalla is but one member of a family home, is rarely at the residence and no longer a practicing chiropractor doesn’t seem to matter. To suggest the workers’ alleged mistreatment at being ordered to shovel snow and do cleaning duties at the clinics is all the Brampton MP’s doing is a hard swallow. ( Who said it was ALL her doing? How does the amount of time she spends at home, or that she no longer practices have any bearing on the allegations? The only swallowing going on here is from you Don.)

It doesn’t pass the test of name-ruining scandalous legitimacy, but such is the price for being a star political target.

To sum up: the conservatives fabricated the entire thing from thin air, are probably abusing their power as government by forcing 3 different workers, the head of the agency that placed them, and a domestic workers rights organization Intercede to follow some neocon script to discredit Dhalla, held on to this explosive information for a few weeks and convinced a room full of people including Ontario Liberal MPP's to do the same in the hope that the Toronto Star would pick up on it, all to smear a Liberal MP because she is female, pretty and ethnic.

Have I got that right Don?



I have heard anonymous rumours that the reason for your obvious hate of the PM and the conservatives goes back to Stephen Harper not writing a forward to your book about Belinda Stronach. I may be excessively suspicious, particularly when they involve anonymous rumours, but if these rumours were indeed true wouldn't that be considered petty for a professional journalist? Hey I am not sayin', I am just sayin'.

Update: ChuckerCanuck predicted the future. You have to read this. Please Chucker, please promise to use your power for good and not evil.


Update: Here is another example of Don's writing but this time it is a 'conservative' facing allegations. Some highlights:

But the allegations, investigations and accusations against newly-appointed aboriginal Senator Patrick Brazeau, 34, are piling up in such a frenzy that it's quickly put the unelected Senate under a negative light, and must surely embarrass Canada's other six native senatorial representatives. ( Allegations only, no evidence. Didn't you recently call this a "smear campaign"? So here Don would have us believe that Brazeau not only embarrassed himself but also the CPC, "six native senatorial representatives", and the entire Senate all based only on accusations. While Ruby didn't even embarrass her pretty little ethnic self.)

The man described in his bio as a loving father of three is darn close to qualifying to be a deadbeat dad with the mother of one offspring telling CTV that Brazeau hasn't seen or properly supported his 14-year-old son in eight years. (AA as Don: Something doesn’t smell right in having two former nannies this woman step forward a year 8 years later to suddenly complain about conditions that don’t seem unusually onerous for native women.) If Don would have wrote that he would have been out of a job, but say almost the same thing about female immigrant workers and all is fine.


Something smells here Don, and it is your biased writing.

More here on good old Don and journalistic integrity, or the lack of it.



H/T my favorite source(s) as of late - the "team" @ Blue Like You