Layton's massage is the lead story this morning. Quite something.
Something else: an open secret among Canada's political-journo-satirical classes is that Harper's marriage is over all but in name, and his wife is living in relationship with a female Mountie. But that's unmentionable. It touched the mainstream once, when Norman Spector blogged about it for the Globe and Mail. The Conservative paper promptly deleted it, saying it was a private matter. Spector preserves "Why Ms. Harper joined the PM’s Christmas interview" on his
private site.
I hesitate mentioning it now myself. I believe even family values hypocrites are entitled to their private hells. But I do, now, just because I'm this fucking mad.
From the Toronto Sun
hit piece:
The police had to decide what to do with the controversial councillor.
"To have arrested him and charged him would have served our egos a lot more. Layton was a thorn in the side of the police, siding with the anti-poverty movement in '96 or '97 ... Jack was anti-police," the ex-cop said.
"We looked at it and thought do we take advantage of this, or do we look at this like (he's) any other person, put it away and we hope this thing dies a slow death."
In the end, they came to the conclusion they shouldn't charge him.
"If we had barged in and he was engaged in a sex act and we had plainly saw it, then it would have been a different story."
So, rather than charge him, they filed it away under their anti-police enemies list.
Because of the delicacy of Harper's private life, I don't think the Layton story came from anyone close to him. I think it was Rob Ford's cop-hugging crew. Our drunk-driving, spouse-abusing mayor formally endorsed Harper last night, and I can see this story as his "gift" to the campaign. And probably about as welcome as Mussolini's breaking the news to Hitler that Italy had invaded Greece.
Mein Fuhrer, our troops are on the march! 
