I Know This Is Probably Getting A Tad Tiresome But

.... people showing such contempt for my intelligence really inflames me:

A senior PMO official told Fife that Duffy couldn’t afford to repay the $90,000 and did not want to borrow money from a bank, fearing that his wife would be stuck with the large debt if he died suddenly from a heart attack. Duffy has battled cardiac problems over the years.

Jennifer Ditchburn and Steve Rennie present an alternative view of The Puffster's finances here.

New 'Wisdom' From Pat Robertson

Who knows? With a little modification, Robertson's advice to the wife who has been cheated on might offer a new spin direction for the Harper regime, especially in its current troubles.

Political Lessons From Macbeth

In Act 5 Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth, when the overthrow of the ruthless, power-drunk politician/king is nigh, Angus speaks these words about him:

Now does he feel
His secret murders sticking on his hands.
Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach.
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love. Now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.

Despite the fact that English literature is dismissed by many of our current 'masters of the universe' as something of a frill, with nothing to offer the practical, results-driven mentality of our times, perhaps the likes of Stephen Harper, Senator Duff, Nigel Wright et al should have paid more attention to the classics during their formative years. They then might not be facing what I hope is soon a 'palace' revolt against corruption by their former enablers:

GLOBE EDITORIAL
A strange, $90,000 gift to the undeserving Senator Duffy

PENNY COLLENETTE
Mike Duffy scandal finds the Tories in a moral maze without a compass

ANDREW COYNE:
The only right thing left for Mike Duffy to do now is resign

MATT GURNEY:
How can the Tories keep Mike Duffy on now?

JENNIFER DITCHBURN
Duffy claimed Senate expenses while campaigning in 2011 election

STEVEN CHASE, KIM MACKRAEL AND BILL CURRY
Ethics watchdog to review Harper aide's $90,000 gift to Duffy

GLORIA GALLOWAY
RCMP probes payments to senators Duffy, Brazeau, Harb

Then there is this from the always-reliable Toronto Star:

LES WHITTINGTON
Questions and answers on the $90,000 payment to Mike Duffy

Pierre Poilievre Does It* Again

If you start at about the 5 minute mark, you will witness Harper's pet parrot Pierre, through endless repetition, parody a Member of Parliament actually answering a question and showing respect for Canadians' intelligence.

* Show an absolute absence of anything that could be even remotely interpreted as integrity.

Powerful Words From Cornell West

Although he is addressing an audience in NYC, Cornell West's words are equally applicable on this side of the border. They seem especially important given the Harper regime's many efforts to tear down Canadian values and the obligations we have to one another as both citizens and human beings.

If you want to see his full address, you can access it here.

H/t Jack Saturday

A Sad Truth Here

H/t Chris Andersen

Friends In High Places - UPDATED

It must be very comforting indeed to the increasingly odious Senator Duffy that his relationship with the Prime Minister is so 'special' that the latter is willing to exercise unethical, perhaps even illegal interference on his behalf during the Senate's investigation into his fraudulent expense claims.

For the rest of us, the stench of corruption has reached near-asphyxiation levels.

UPDATE: The stench just got worse.