The Bakeapple Republic

From Friday's editorial in the St. John's Telegram:

Wednesday, an ordinary citizen called to ask if it was still possible to comment on government programs, especially if a person was going to use the word "dumb."

Would calling government policies "dumb" result in a lawsuit, the prospective letter-writer asked? It's not an unfair question, given the current atmosphere.

[...]

But perhaps someone could explain how it's a good thing to have ordinary citizens feel that they are at risk of financial ruin for simply questioning the actions of their own government.

It only took four years, but the province has now become, once more, a Banana Republic without bananas.

A Bakeapple Republic, perhaps?

Oh, to have Bob Benson back. His ability to draw some lesson from his vast knowledge of the Smallwood era and its excesses is never more missed than on days like these.