Sleaze, slush funds and the Auditor-General's report: This is supposed to make a difference?

With the release of Sheila Fraser's report detailing a record of malfeasance and misdirection regarding G8/G20 spending, a whole raft of familiar patterns re-emerges.

Sleaze, slush funds, money earmarked for border infrastructure spent in Huntsville (which, one hates to point out, is nowhere near the border). No transparency. No accountability. Blaming public servants. A fig for the public trust.

The simple truth about coalitions shouldn't be this scary

All over the news by now, of course: Iggy says if Harper doesn't win a majority and can't command the confidence of the House of Commons, he'd consult with the other parties and attempt to form a government himself.

An election message from conssayyes and #Harperslegacyofshame

Well. The Dammit Janet folks are on a roll today.

Via the Tweeter, a must-see video from conssayyes. If you're indifferent about this election, if you're not sure how to vote, or if you're not even that motivated to vote at all, watch this.

@kady and @NickKouvalis: the new Downey vs. Boulerice

Dominant story of the day, naturally, was the Auditor-General and the Harper Government's^TM  G8 spending and lying to Parliament. This is going to turn the volume up – waaaay up – on the sleaze and lack-of-transparency memes.

This is getting juicier and smellier by the minute, and best of all, it's sticking to them. And it's got legs. They're not spinning their way out of this one, no matter how many Facebook profiles they red-flag.

Amidst all the yargle-bargle, though, I'd hate to see the Kady O'Malley / Nick Kouvalis scrap totally overshadowed. Not the least because it gives me another (transparent) excuse to recycle this.



Just in case you missed it, here's @kady's smackdown:

Punching above her weight, she is. As you were, Nick.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a government to defeat

(With a nod to Val Sears.)

Our task is clear, dear friends. Story in the National Newspaper suggests that the non-stop monkey chatter about coalitions is getting some traction, and crowding out discussion of everything else.

Ignatieff's yawning silence on ethics and transparency

A big "hell, yeah" to Steve V over at Far and Wide.

The Harper Government^TM has, for as long as I can remember, been leading with its chin on the question of open government and accountability.