As many of you know, in early December I went into a coma and was being treated for a number of related issues at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario. At four points, my heart stopped, and it was through 90 minutes of CPR and the use of a rare device called an ECMO machine that my life was saved. Despite what happened, and despite predictions from medical professionals, it appears that there are no lingering effects (expect for the loss of 30 pounds from the “Feeding Tube Diet.”) There was no brain damage. In other words, I’m still a conservative.

Contrary to what some people have tried to do, I have no intention of making this into a debate about healthcare. The fact remains, I’m alive, and I’m now home and ready to get back to Strictly Right.

I want to send a special thanks to Michael Coren, Ann Coulter, Mark Steyn and Wendy Sullivan — all of them were wonderful at keeping me in their prayers and sharing with the online community what was happening. Wendy’s persistant stalking of my family was able to keep the Twittersphere apprised of what was happening.

Wendy also did a special episode of Brass Balls Radio in my honor with Kathy Shaidle, Jimmie Bise and Mike Williams (with messages from Jon Siemko, Kimberly Haney and Dina Fraioli) that was very therapeutic for both my family and myself. Connie Fournier at Free Dominion kept a prayer chain going in my name.  I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart.

Most importantly, I need to share with all of Strictly Right’s readers how amazing my family is. While in Victoria Hospital’s Critical Care and Trauma Center, my parents, Jim and Trish Lawton, were virtually living at the hospital. My brother Adam and his extraordinary wife Lesley were at the hospital daily and were the filter for information through to the internet.

This whole experience — the cards, Tweets, Facebook messages and phone calls — has been humbling. To know that there were people all around the world keeping me in their thoughts and prayers and the fact that I barely made it proves to me that miracles do, in fact, exist.

Thank you for everything, and let me just say how happy I am to be back.

God bless,
Andrew

I’d sure say so! From Sun Media:

OTTAWA – Are Canadians getting fed up with government regulations, rules and taxes? The man behind an attempt to start a Tea Party movement in Canada hopes so.

This past weekend hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked to Washington for a rally about taking back their country. They came to hear speakers such as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, and although not explicitly a Tea Party event, the crowd drew many from the movement that calls for government to get government off the backs of hard working people.

Andrew Lawton wants to bring that spirit to Canada.

Lawton, a conservative-leaning activist from London, Ont., is one of the organizers behind an online attempt to start a Tea Party movement in Canada.

Starting with a Facebook group, Lawton says there are plans for rallies this fall in Ottawa and Quebec City. Other cities may be added.

There are differences between the two countries Lawton acknowledges but adds the basis of the movement is the same.

“The issues differ but the ideology stays the same. Advocating for smaller government, freedom and letting people live their own lives.”

“One person came up to me recently and said that freedom is an American value,” said Lawton. “That’s not true. It’s an attitude I want to change.”

[Continued here].

People on both sides of the political spectrum have expressed skepticism about the idea of a Tea Party Movement in Canada. Those on the Left think that it’s an avenue for fascist, racist, right-wingers to spout their hatred. Even some on the right are too worried about the “optics” of utilizing an American concept to advocate for Canadian values. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, conservatism and liberty are not American concepts; they are basic, fundamental truths that people in any country should embrace.

A prominent Canadian Conservative Party blogger and I had an exchange this afternoon where he was suggesting it be called something else. Why? People know and understand what the Tea Party movements stands for. As Kathy Shaidle said, “I envision the usual Canadian ‘conserv.’ bores/wonks bickering about terminolgy as excuse to avoid action.”

Stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming weeks!!

That didn’t matter though! The university attempted to get rid of him, the premier of the province of Ontario attempted to have him discredited. All this happening until other scientists finally had the balls to step up and say, “but he’s right.”

Now, it looks like a daring individual in government of Canada decided to challenge political correctness and use, well, facts.

Prosaically titled “Social and Economic Outcomes of Second Generation Youth,” the four-page memo showed little regard for the political correctness typical of government correspondence. “Chinese and South Asians are the most likely to have university degrees or higher, and to be employed in high-skilled occupations,” observed the summary, which was prepared by departmental bureaucrats and released recently through access to information. Second-generation youth of Caribbean and Latin American origin don’t fare so well, the memo went on; they tend to obtain lower levels of education than native-born Canadian kids and wind up in less skilled jobs.

Of course, remember that even when something is scientifically proven, it’s racist. Thank you.

H/T to Kathy

Interestingly, you wouldn’t think that a congressman with that much violence under his belt would be the kind who gets an ‘F’ rating from the National Rifle Association.

H/T to Kathy for this one.

UPDATE

Apparently, he’s sorry.

Normally when it comes to videos documenting people’s stupidity I will draft up a brief transcript of my favorite line. With this video, I would end up having to write out the whole thing, so watch for yourself!

Either way, I think she does fantastically on FOX News, and her last book was awesome, so I’m pleased to report the release of her next one!

Sarah Palin’s new book has a title, “America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag,” and a release date, Nov. 23, publisher HarperCollins announced Tuesday.

The Alaska ex-governor and former GOP vice presidential candidate, whose memoir “Going Rogue” has sold more than 2 million copies, has been working on a tribute to American values.

It will include “selections from classic and contemporary readings that have moved her,” according to HarperCollins, along with “the nation’s founding documents to great speeches, sermons, letters, literature and poetry, biography, and even some of her favorite songs and movies.”

The book is inspired not only by her “strong belief in the importance of family, faith, and patriotism,” but by some of the people she met last year while promoting “Going Rogue.” Palin skipped major cities such as Seattle and Los Angeles, traditional stops on most author tours, and instead focused on smaller communities more receptive to her conservative message.

H/T to Kathy.

A medical technician killed himself after being suspended from work after someone complained that he made a politically-incorrect joke about a black friend.

Roy Amor, 61, who was devastated at the prospect of losing his job making prosthetics, shot himself in the head outside his house.

He was facing a disciplinary investigation after suggesting to the black colleague that he ‘better hide’ when they noticed immigration officers outside their clinic.

It is understood that the man was a close friend of Mr Amor and was not offended. However, it was overheard by someone else who lodged a formal complaint.

This whole ‘PC’ trend has not only made humor a lot more challenging, but it has led to the destruction of peoples’ lives and livelihoods. In this case, that life can never be brought back.

I’ll be the first to admit that Mr. Amor likely had some psychological issues before this whole thing happened, but it would be stupid to ignore the fact that this man who everyone seemed to love (except an ignorant white liberal lacking a sense of humor) was pushed over the edge directly because of the fear that his colleagues may think he’s a racist, and the fear that his job may be in jeopardy because of a [pretty funny] joke to a friend.

My sincerest prayers go out to Mr. Amor and his family. I hope all of the censors on the left will ask themselves the question: which is worse, a harmless joke enjoyed by those involved, or the death of an innocent, kind family-man?

H/T to Five Feet of Fury.

Here’s the audio:

Kathy Shaidle quoted on Rush Limbaugh