"You can't ignore a seven-foot-tall turd"

Reader Sandy Smith points us to the, uh, muddy crossroads where politics and oversized mascots meet. Thankfully, it's taking place in Canada, the large land-mass rumored to be directly north of these United States. From an account in the unfortunately named (at least for this story) Times Colonist:

That's Christianne Wilhelmson's take on Mr. Floatie, who has become a fixture at Victoria-area events. The program co-ordinator with the Georgia Strait Alliance says the chocolate bar-shaped mascot is responsible for renewed debate about what Victoria should do with its sewage.

Most people were tired of hearing about the issue, which the alliance has been pushing for more than a decade, but Wilhelmson said Mr. Floatie's recent appearances have changed that….

Mr. Floatie is the mascot for People Opposed to Outfall Pollution, or POOP. Organizer James Skwarok, who also wears the mascot suit, said Mr. Floatie has been an invaluable tool.

"Without our mascot, I don't think we would have nearly as high a profile," he said.

Whole thing–including a pic of the mascot on parade–here.

And yes, Mr. Floatie is an homage to South Park's Mr. Hanky.