I love Canada

Those are the words that Stephen Harper apparently couldn't say. During the start of electioneering last week Harper, when asked if he loved Canada, hemmed and hawed while trying to answer. Martin of course pounced on this fumble and stated very clearly that he loves Canada. Moreover Harper has since stated that he likes the idea of privatizing health care when his party said that they would avoid it. As Harper continues to misspeak himself he further reinforces the impression that he wants to turn Canada into the 51st state. While we all love our American neighbours, we don't all want to live in the kind of environment they live in.
Harper also said that he would give more support to the military including reviving the infamous Airborne Regiment. For those unfamiliar with it, the Airborne Regiment was a group of specialized Canadian commandos. They were sent on various missions including one to Somalia in the early to mid 90s. During that mission one Regiment member named Clayton Matchee took captive a 14 year old Somali boy named Shidane Aarone. Through the course of a night he tortured the Shidane to death while his screams were ignored throughout the Canadian camp. During the investigation that followed it was found that many in the Regiment heavily abused drugs or steroids and there was horrible negligence during the torturing death of Shidane Aarone on the part of those in the camp. The Airborne Regiment was disbanded and Clayton Matchee was set to be tried for murder. But Matchee, in a failed suicide attempt, suffered severe brain damage and was found not fit for trial.

The Guvernator has allowed Stanley "Tookie" Williams to die. Williams was on death row for multiple murders for some 2 decades. He was however said to be completely reformed and had since committed his life to helping troubled youth stay away from gangs and violence. He had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiple times and wrote children's books, all while in San Quentin's death row. Not only was Schwarzenneger under pressure from many activist groups to save the reformed man's life, but the Governor knew the man personally. Before going to prison as one of the founding members of the Crips California street gang, Williams and Schwarzenegger worked out in the same gym. Schwarzenegger however was more worried about maintaining his waivering Republican support, which he almost certainly would have lost had he given clemency to Williams. With an election coming next year, and his overall support already stagnant, the Guvernator terminated any hopes for Williams (in a last ditch effort to prevent self-terminating his political career...)