The reporters in the Winnipeg media were so excited they almost peed their pants on Tuesday as the results trickled in from the Kirkfield Park by-election. This was IT. The NDP were going to take this safe Conservative riding and ignite the long-predicted sweep of city seats, foreshadowing the removal of the PC's from office in the general election next year. Poll after poll had the super-woke transexual NDP candidate in the lead. (He was a female---okay, a lesbian---before he became a man, starting his trek to masculinity, beard an all, in 2014.) With only the advance polls to be counted, the reporters were on the edges of their seats preparing their personal celebrations. But...then...the horror. Conservative candidate Kevin Klein was declared the winner! By 160 votes. Time for the pundits and reporters to pick themselves off the ground, wipe away their tears, and dust off Plan B, which is getting a big frayed from constant use. CBC's Barley Kives went ...
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.