Monday, January 25, 2010

Tools, Fools and Making Rules

Whooee! Well, friends an' foes, I was just listenin' to The Current on CBC radio. Some dumbass apologist for Dictator Harper was spoutin' the same old crappola I been hearin' over an' over.

Prorogation has been done 104 times before so what's the problem now?

Prorogation is a tool in the parliamentary toolbox. I know a little bit about tools and toolboxes. Up until about 10 years ago, I spent 25 years as a self-employed tradesman. I pounded nails for a living most of my adult life.

Like prorogation, a hammer is a tool. It was the first tool I learned how to use and I've used a hammer a lot more than 104 times. I've never used a hammer to assault anyone, though. Harper has used the prorogation tool to assault accountability and crucify democracy.

Like any tool, prorogation can be used as it was intended or it can be abused. We don't need to outlaw hammers to stop people from hammering somebody's brains out. We have rules (laws) against assault and those laws apply to assaults with hammers, knives, staplers (!) and any other tool.

What we don't seem to have, though, is a law that prevents the abuse of prorogation. Jack Layton has proposed the implementation of some sort of rule that would prevent the misuse of prorogation. In his speech to the pro-democracy rally in Ottawa Saturday, Michael Ignatieff voiced support for parliamentary restrictions on the use of prorogation.

Let's get some rules to stop any PM from using prorogation to nail democracy to a cross.

JimBobby

3 comments:

Mark Richard Francis said...

That's a great analogy. I'm stealing it.

JimBobby said...

Please do steal it, Mark. BTW, great meeting you Saturday -- a great day, all around.

Rev.Paperboy said...

JimBobby, I've spent about 20 years in the newpapering business, and spent a lot of time covering politics, including in Haldimand-Norfolk. Believe me, I know plenty about tools...