Harper's Tories: the second-best government money can buy

Rude awakening: 7:00 AM. (Thanks, Angry Phone-Shouter.)*
Internet connectivity: Acceptable.
Days to departure: 28.

Don't know if you followed the news about Bev Oda, Canada's Minister of Culture, who racked up some serious eyebrow-raising expenditures at the Juno Awards in Halifax last month. Then she had the gonads to say she repaid $2,000 of it, as if a $3,500 limo bill -- in a city you can walk around (never mind ride in a cab) in less than 30 minutes -- is that much more acceptable.

But wait, it gets better.

Then some bright spark posted an inevitable parody (to the tune of Lola) on YouTube. (I won't link to it here because frankly it's disappointing and mildly amusing at best, and only for the first few seconds at that. Search for it yourself if you must.) BUT THEN the odious Oda goes and posts a defense-cum-tribute to herself from Peter McKay (because, y'know, that baloney merchant has so much more credibility than Oda). See, by posting on YouTube, she gets to show off how unbelievably cultured and hip she is to the high technology. Right kids?

But here's the best part: her henchmen disabled the comments function.

This, my friends, is typical of the Harper has-beens. (Don't even get me started on King David Emerson, who believes that anyone who was offended by his defiantly anti-democratic, self-interested and opportunistic defection -- meaning the majority of his constituency -- is not worth listening to.) Oda's posting of the self-serving claptrap, minus comments features (which is after all one of the democratizing features of YouTube) symbolically says: "We tell you what we want you to hear, and aren't the least bit interested in what you have to say." That's Harper & cronies for you -- the second-best government money can buy. (What more can you say about a government that names as its national Minister of Public Safety some bozo who reportedly believes that dinosaurs and man roamed the earth together at the dawn of creation 5,000 years ago?)

I'll defer to Michael Geist on the specifics of the far-too-cozy relationship Oda (rhymes with "odour") has with the major record labels. But, dear friends, she is not alone in this. As Geist also appropriately observes, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier "has no time to deal with [major and more pressing concerns like] spam, spyware, privacy, or net neutrality but commits to legislation on behalf of the organizers of a sporting event?" (i.e. trademarking the word 'winter' at the behest of the Vancouver Olymp-dicks). Oops, will that get me sued for trademark infringement?

Utterly abhorrent. But sadly, not unexpected.

The good news: a spring election looks nigh. Then we can VOTE THE BASTARDS BACK TO THE STONE AGE.

* In a remarkable turnaround, halls have been awe-inspiringly quiet over the last two days -- relatively speaking, of course. I still wait up a few extra hours until most of the rabble-rousing dies down but have managed get two consecutive nights' semblance of uninterrupted sleep. This may be due to the Sternly Worded Notice that was finally sent around (yay, another piece of paper to ignore!) or it may be coincidence. Probably the latter. Anyway, now that I'm finally able to sleep a bit it's jarring to wake up to the sound of Angry Phone-Shouter doing what she/it does best. Because I now realize her rapid-fire cackle sounds remarkably like the Alien in the eponymously titled film. With PMS.