So, Bliss, if that’s the case, why don’t you just write for a reality TV show?

Note: as provided by commentator Morning - Bliss isn't a journalist but a well respected historian who has been critical of Harper in the past. That said, he should know better...

I have here referred to him as a journalist, but this post is actually based on an opinion piece Bliss wrote.

Michael Bliss, published in the Globe and Mail (too bad Stevo didn’t look to partisan media hacks for this latest round of Senate appointments, eh, Mikey?) Tells us that we Canadians have very short attention spans, should just stay the hell out of politics, do buy work studying Olympic figure skating so we aren’t ridiculously giving a damn about our democracy, and well, none of it matters anyway because we’ll all forget about this whole prorogation thing anyway and sit around talking about real important shit like who place where in the Olympics.

Bliss could stand to do a bit of studying of his own on prorogation, it’s purpose, and what it takes to maintain a healthy democracy: 

It's hard to see why there is so much fuss about the Harper government's prorogation of Parliament. The House of Commons, which is not very well respected by either ordinary or informed Canadians when it is sitting, will now sit for three weeks less than it would have otherwise.

Standard fodder from the CON script of “what’s the big deal?”

Bliss deliberately avoids even going through the motions of fairly presenting his argument.  The big deal has been explained dozens of times in the media these past few weeks.  It has been written on protest signs, spoken of by politicians, analyzed and explained by political experts.

Proroguing Parliament to avoid being accountable to the electorate is a big deal, Michael.  Avoiding debate and accountability as you try to ram through changes to our systems without allowing debate by elected representatives (representing us, the electorate, the ones the government is supposed to work for) is a big deal.

That Harper’s lapdogs go around the country bragging about how much easier it is to get things done without opposition or the threat of a non-confidence vote is a very big deal, Michael.  Tow thirds of Canadians, as of the last election want to have their say through those they elected, want the government to have to get approval of the majority before making certain changes.  And according to recent polls, that number of Canadians is consistently and solidly on the rise.

Some useful government bills are going to have to be reintroduced.

Thank you for saying that, Michael.  Yes certain Bills will have to be re-introduced, at great expense.  Please remind us of that when Harper goes on and on about how those very Bills have been held back by an unelected, Liberal Senate, will you?  Just remind us of who really slowed their progess - not only slowed it, but stopped it dead.

The Afghan hearings, into events of several years ago, will be delayed for a few more weeks.

Yeah, what’s the big deal if a few more brown people are tortured, meanwhile, if a few more critical records are white washed, if a few more witnesses are threatened and harassed in a bid to silence them?

 And that's about it.

Not quite.  Jobs are still being lost, programs are not receiving funding - costing more jobs and killing some damn good programs - issues such as the problems at Chalk River and the listerisosis crisis are not being addressed...

One would think from the heated rhetoric of opposition politicians, the strange gaggle of academics who signed the long, sanctimonious letter against prorogation, and the fulminations of some editorialists and pundits, that our democracy is somehow imperilled by the government's resort, twice, to one of the most common of all parliamentary practices.

“Strange gaggle...”  Is that like the chattering classes, Michael?  Oh, wait.  Academics.  I get it.  If the chattering classes in question are also academics, does that make them a strange gaggle?

I love concise, clear writing by journalist.  Love it.

“Sanctimonious...”  Give me a sec as I wipe up the coffee I just spewed all over my keyboard.

OK.

The most common of all parliamentary practices.  A little over the top on that one, aren’t you Mikey, beside being acutely dishonest.  Listen up, ok?  I will only repeat what has been said DOZENS of times by experts, lately: Prorogation is not uncommon.  It is why and how Harper did it that is, and it is also why and how he did it that imperils democracy.  You contemptible hack.

(...) the opposition parties are trying to keep the pot boiling, largely by playing on public ignorance of the workings of government.

Well, actually, if you, a journalist, would actually, you know, read what other reporters - real ones - are reporting, it isn’t nearly so much the opposition who are drawing attention to this abuse of power by the Harper government, but the strange gaggle of academics, the chattering classes, the average Canadians who got their asses out on the National day of protest organized not by the opposition, but by other average Canadians.  The attention is being drawn by experts in political affairs who recognize the dangers of such a practice applied as it has been by Harper.

People obsessed with the ins and outs of how to prorogue Parliament would do better making book on Olympic figure skating.

Really?  Why is that, Michael?  Because if people who are interested in their own fate, in the future of their country, in shaping the democracy of their country (you know, people acting responsibly by being informed and actually doing their part as good citizens) look at the shiny object rather than at the fact they are being discounted, trivialized, ignored, insulted, trod upon, they will offer no resistence to a government that seeks to impose its narrow ideology upon them despite their will?

Is that why, Michael?

That one statement of yours is the most insulting to Canadians, the most appalling coming from a journalist whose role should be to make people think, to inform them, to have them become engaged in their own government.

The appointed Senate of Canada is obviously a standing, outrageous disgrace to democracy and ought not to be tolerated by a free people. It's surely to Stephen Harper's credit, both short and long term, that he keeps trying to change the Senate. One of his reasons for resorting to prorogation and falling back on making his own partisan appointments appears to be to try to stop the egregious abuse of their power by certain Liberal senators.

Of course, no CON partisan hack column is complete without mentioning the evils of a Liberal, appointed Senate.  Then of course to go on and justify the angelic, saintly, god-driven purpose of an appointed, Conservative Senate.

Sort of like the battle of the angels in heaven, right, Michael?  The bad ones are cast out by the good ones?  Well, hell, god had to appoint good angels to drive out the bad ones.  And if they stick around for all eternity afterward, doing angelly things, what the hell?  Might need them for other wet work later on, right?

And besides, the Liberals did it first, so it’s cool.

A few days after prorogation ends on March 3, Canadians will mostly have forgotten all the words written and spoken about it. They'll be rehashing the Olympics instead.

Uh-huh.  Right.  Isn’t it that very arrogant, ignorant, insulting argument that drove so many Canadians to protest prorogation?  That keeps them chattering away?  That’s causing them to stage flash rallies?  That’s causing Harper’s crash in the polls?

Seriously, if you think we Canadians, the very ones who read the news and allow you to have a venue for your nonsense are so shallow, so easily distracted, why don’t you write for a reality show?

Instead, the dancers just kept on, encouraged by their media and academic acolytes, not noticing that the music had stopped and the audience had gone home.

Correction, Michael.  As much as you would like it to, the music hasn’t stopped, and the audience is still paying attention.  I know, because we are making the music, and we are very, very much engaged in it.

I don’t know what Canada you have been living in these past few years.  Maybe that alternate universe Harper spoke of last week when he said Canada is better off now than it was four years ago.

But in this Canada, Canadians do see Harper’s latest abuse of prorogation as a big deal.  In this Canada, they know that the Olympics, which should be an inspiring event of many countries coming together peacefully to celebrate the excellence of their athletes is being used exactly for what you try to use it for - a distraction from the corrupt and undemocratic practices of a government which doesn’t give a damn about the will of the people and which views democracy as an inconvenience.

You write to us, Michael, try to convince us of your great  insight and wisdom.  But as you tell us we are stupid not to hear your words, you add that we are just generally stupid overall, and that we should just mind our own business - which of course does not involve being good, responsible citizens contributing to their own government - and go play with an expensive toy so that the ones accountable to us don’t have to be impeded by that very accountability.

You can keep your Canada, Michael.  I, and many, many other like me will continue fighting for ours.