Listening to the prevarication of Harper and his Conservatives has left me wishing I had the money to buy a plane ticket to Ottawa so I could deliver the sharp, hard kick in the ass Stephen Harper so obviously needs.

Just a few days ago they were pointing fingers at the Federal Liberals for causing delays in changes to the criminal code. Today on the evening news the Conservatives were talking about the changes to have criminals serve longer sentences.

Posturing or prevarication by Harper and his Conservatives does not change the reality that the government has cut the budget of Correction Services Canada.

Mr. Harper and his Conservatives are apparently so out of touch with reality that they cannot grasp the fact that if your prisons are full and you want to lock more people up, you have to spend more, far more on Corrections Canada to build and staff prisons, not be cutting spending.

But then Mr. Harper and his Conservatives have repeatedly demonstrated the fact they are out of touch with the needs and reality of non-wealthy Canadians and the effects their actions have on Canada and Canadians.

Doubts? Take a look at the affront offered to working Canadians who have lost or will lose their jobs and be unable to find other employment in our down-turning economy. A 5 week extension? Why not just walk up and slap them in the face?

We already have people who have used up their 5 week extension and are staring homelessness and hunger in the face.

Any leader with even a tiny bit of understanding of the lives of Canadians would know that 5 weeks was a useless slap in the face and that bolder, broader changes to EI were

required to get through this downturn.

Harper and the Conservatives have billions to bail out corporations and the rich, but only crumbs and a lack of understanding for other Canadians.