use your Oka-noggin

The red tory exodus continues. Some members of the riding association of Okanagan Shuswap are in revolt, after shining star MP Colin Mayes' latest telling gaff. Mayes, Chair of the Parliamentary Aboriginal Affairs Committee, received a racist joke via email about a Native man at a Tim Hortons, to which he responded "Good joke". The character talks in 1950s Hollywood Injun broken English - "Want coffee." He is referred to both as "Chief" and later "Tonto".

Local media learned that Mayes was unavailable for a comment because he was en route to Ottawa. Unfortunately, said media outlet shortly ran into him on the street in Vernon. "I laugh because they're just grasping at straws," said Mayes. He said that if "good joke" was his response, "it wasn't intended as any sort of endorsement." Plus he had some family that weren't White or something.

We all know that this guy is the "jail reporters" guy. His wife also had this hilariously psychotic and ominous quote: "We know that we are being attacked by principalities and powers that are evil."

I see this sort of dopey racism fairly regularly. It's the stupidity that's shocking in this case.