This Week's Honourary Canadian Citizenship Award

This week's winner of my Honourary Canadian Citizenship Award is the Goddess of Truthiness, Patron Saint of Journalism and pit bull in a skirt, Helen Thomas.

Not only is Helen Scott McClellan's worst nightmare, she also serves as the wise sage of a grandmother figure who doesn't hold back when it comes to disciplining her delinquent journalist grandchildren - the "lap dogs of the press", as she recently referred to them in The Nation.

While other, so-called reporters were soaking up the Bush propaganda in the run-up to the Iraq war in deference to their corporate masters, Helen led the charge against the lies and distortions and refused to be led by the nose into a war that was illegal and unjust. Canadians similarly revolted and stood up against our powerful neighbour to the south. We were right. So was Helen.

I think of Helen as our quasi-Canadian ambassador who continues to hold the Bush administration's feet to the fire over every single misstep it makes. In fact, she's done a much better job than any of our real ambassadors since Bush was elected.

She is fearless and forthright. You'd be hard-pressed to find any other member of the media as principled - a sad reflection of the current state of affairs during a time when every single journalist needs to rise up to the standard she has set.

A great war leaves the country with three armies - an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves. ~German Proverb

You decide which army today's press belongs to.

Helen Thomas, we Canadians salute you. You've fought the hard fight and you've never flinched. You are a true example of courage and real patriotism. The world would do well to have more authentic people like you. We all suffer daily because of that deficiency.

(For those interested, Crooks and Liars has an archive of video clips of the grand dame in action.)