OK, Americans like to joke about the passive nature of us Canadians, but there is basically a political coup happening in Parliament, which although legal is absolutely enraging a good chunk of the country and will probably do more damage than good in the long run.  Basically Stephen Harper won the election with about 37% of the popular vote and then got arrogant in the very first meeting of Parliament and assumed he could shove whatever crazy right-wing legislation he wanted past the House and not get called on it.  In this case, it was cutting funding for all parties to help in the financial crisis.  Now I voted Conservative quite happily but that one took some balls and I can see why the politicians got pissed off by it.  Voters, not so much, but the politicians yeah.  However, the response was so crushingly stupid that it actually has most of Western Canada ANGRY about something that doesn't involve an argument about whether Ford or GM is better.  Basically the losing parties are banding together to oust Harper and form a coalition government, supposedly in response to Harper's arrogance but it's now seeming as though they had it planned all along.  And it needs the backing of the Bloc Quebecois (a Quebec-only party whose entire mandate is separating Quebec from the rest of Canada) to get anything done.  And what's gonna get done?  Why, spending money that the West generates and already sends to Ontario, of course!  Because look how well George Bush's stimulus package worked for you guys. 

Anyway, the CBC's Rex Murphy has a great diatribe above summing up how childish and stupid the whole thing makes everyone in Ottawa look, and this thing is gonna get a whole lot uglier before it gets better, especially if the Liberals have the guts to go back to the polls again any time soon and see just what Canadians think of them now.