The Mind of Stephen Harper

Ever since his near-death experience, politically speaking, Mr. Harper has been somewhat more humble. No longer the ûber-fûhrer, he became very accommodating by tailoring his budget to suit the opposition, thus abandoning his prior convictions and saving his job. No more dirty tricks, no more character assassination, all was sweetness and light. Until yesterday.

The occasion was his tabling of anti-gang legislation following the rash of brazen shootings in Toronto and Vancouver that killed a number of people. His solution: harsher sentencing. This is nonsense. It has been demonstrated and proven time and time again that stiffer prison sentences do not serve as a deterrent. Criminals don't expect to be caught, so the sentence means nothing. Criminologists think the idea is foolish, and would focus on the root causes of crime such as poverty and hopelessness.

Speaking to the issue, Harper inferred there would be opposition, and here is where his true colours re-emerged. He expects the opposition to "parrot" critics of his measures who are "soft on crime". Oh my, oh my! Soft on crime, soft on terror, soft on communism - haven't we heard it all so many times? All these soft pussycats, what a horrible world it would be if we left it to them! And the obvious conclusion is that if the opposition "parrots" these poor souls, then they're unable to think for themselves. What a slithery ass is our Stevie.