It's been two-and-a-half weeks since an aboriginal mob overturned two landmark statues on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature and Winnipeg police haven't made a single arrest. This is suspicious since the vandalism happened right under the eyes of dozens of uniformed police, none of whom who lifted a finger to stop it. In fact, the next day, Police Chief Danny Smyth commended the police at the scene for doing nothing. Even after officers were spit on and had rocks thrown at them, the police failed to respond, effectively sending a message that they were ceding the streets to violent rabble. Smyth, reading emotionlessly from a written statement, reassured the public that the police "will be investigating this." Yay. He said they would start by watching footage from security cameras at the Legislature. He forgot to mention the cameras are a good 200 or 300 feet away from the site of the vandalism and assaults on individual officers. The blatant inaction by
The origin of the Usher of the Black Rod goes back to early fourteenth century England . Today, with no royal duties to perform, the Usher knocks on the doors of the House of Commons with the Black Rod at the start of Parliament to summon the members. The rod is a symbol for the authority of debate in the upper house. We of The Black Rod adopted the symbol to knock some sense and the right questions into the heads of Legislators, pundits, and other opinion makers.