Rob Ford's Toronto

[OSS 117]

I'll take that bet. Someone who, from the surveillance report, never seems to leave the house without two bottles of cheap vodka has a problem, and a heavy one. I think he also does hard drugs but the booze is absolutely concerning as well.

What I've heard, and what makes sense is that he gets plastered on booze, and then uses the drugs to manage the effects. Uppers to counterract the downers, basically, theoretically returning him to his version of an even keel.

 

[Dubster]

I like this! If you all don't mind, I'll be incorporating all of your feedback into the site and on Twitter.

If someone doesn't mind, could you create a public event on Facebook?

Okay, but can we avoid some bland happy happy celebration and keep the message on Ford leaving? I hate it when these serious protests become love parades out of fear of appearing too negative.

 

[Jude]

Great points!

Wednesday would be ideal because councillors would need to most likely step outside into the crowd and they'll themselves get a real, tangible feel about the whole situation. Noon-time because it's warmer, and also because there's simply more people around grabbing lunch. They can munch and stand in the crowd.

Council meetings break at 12:30. I expect the next meeting will be well attended. If the rally began at 12:30, it would mean you'd get regular Council watchers coming down. Council begins again at 2 pm. The days of Council meetings are very intense for Councillors, who often schedule additional meetings about issues specifically relevant to their wards / priorities that are coming up on the agenda during their lunch break.

 

[OSS 117]

This is one aspect of Ford's tenure no one wants to discuss. What's the financial equivalent of productivity lost with all the time spent by councilors, the mayor, etc. dealing with all of these scandals and lies? I'm willing to bet it's in the millions.

Has anyone gone over the ITO and compared it to Ford's official schedule to point out any obvious contradictions yet? That could be fun.

 

[OSS 117]

The Star reports this:

“Doug will be provincial — he will be premier one day. It has nothing to do with me,†Ford said.

“The guy is 10 times smarter than anyone I’ve ever met. To say Doug is associated with me? We love each other, we’re best friends, but don’t put him in the same boat as me.â€

If Doug is 'ten times smarter" than anyone Rob has ever met I fear he is not meeting the enough people. :->

Well, Rob does spend a lot of time with his constituents, so that may be almost true.

 

[savetoronto]

Okay, but can we avoid some bland happy happy celebration and keep the message on Ford leaving? I hate it when these serious protests become love parades out of fear of appearing too negative.

Good point. The end-result is him either stepping down/resigning and getting help. We won't join in the speculation (re: @savetdoto)

 

[jiec]

Good point. The end-result is him either stepping down/resigning and getting help. We won't join in the speculation (re: @savetdoto)

Simple...
What: We demand that Rob Ford step down from his Mayoral duties
Why: For his own sake and the city's sake ... and a rationale that explains how his behaviour affects the city and how it affects him.

 

[eastcoastanddown]

We have to strike now though. And this weekend is just too soon. I hope we can just all get on board for next Wednesday and not sidetrack things. Hard enough getting momentum.

The next issue of NOW hits the newsstands on Thursday, and would be a great avenue to reach a large swath of Toronto. Just sayin'.

 

[Lansdude]

It's pretty aggressive, but this article, "When Did White Trash Become Normal?" helps identify what's wrong with a culture that glorifies people like Ford: http://nypost.com/2013/11/02/when-did-white-trash-become-normal/

"Society crumbles when it takes cues from the underclass". Worsening it of course is that power elites are elected who simply know how to signal white trash ignorance, like the Fords. I endorse all this as a child of a low class family.

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

Once you have a name for the Rally, and a date picked up, write a Press Release. Make sure you send it out the morning of and clearly identify yourself so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. A lot of news organizations use press releases as a way to build stories so include the basics; who, what, where, when and why even if it seems obvious. Make sure to send it to the community or city desk reporters AND editors.

It would also help to come up with a name for the group organizing it so that people can point to who it is that's speaking.

 

[Fresco]

Simple...
What: We demand that Rob Ford step down from his Mayoral duties
Why: For his own sake and the city's sake ... and a rationale that explains how his behaviour affects the city and how it affects him

Canadians are fairly passive when it comes to rallies or protests. I bet no more then 100 peeps will show up

 

[Dubster]

simple...
What: We demand that rob ford step down from his mayoral duties
why: For his own sake and the city's sake ... And a rationale that explains how his behaviour affects the city and how it affects him.

this!

 

[guitarchitect]

Okay, but can we avoid some bland happy happy celebration and keep the message on Ford leaving?

Well, just to be clear... it's not some bland happy-happy message.

If we take Pasternak's email to heart, the last thing you want to do is get Ford's back up against the wall. I assume the same goes to all of Ford's supporters.
So, making the message "Show how much you respect the taxpayers of the city, and put the city first" is much less confrontational, and it's a message that a lot of politicians and city figures could actually get behind.

A rally focused on "Ford must resign now! Abomination!" will not get nearly the same amount of blessing.
In a way... it has to play the political game. We can all be cynical and jaded about Ford and his performance, or we can say - you know what, fundamentally this is really about doing what's best for the city. You have to pivot around Ford and everything else, and deliver a strong and positive message if you want broad (and official) support for it.

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

Canadians are fairly passive when it comes to rallies or protests. I bet no more then 100 peeps will show up

Ahh a pessimist. We probably shouldn't even bother then, right? I mean people are so apathetic we should all be apathetic. Logic does not follow.

FYI, I've been to huge rallies. Rallies can work, it's all about the messaging and organization, and having "big name" speakers and musical guests helps.

 

[OSS 117]

I would hope that these news and call-in stations are starting to track the numbers that are calling in...I'd be interested if they would provide some generic stats...% of calls with blocked number, % of calls from 416/905/other, % of repeat calls...I think we are all a little suspicious that this is an astroturfing campaign...they could implement a number of procedures to prevent this sort of thing...ie the person calls in, provides a number they can be reached at and are called back immediately...that would stop people with blocked/fake numbers from calling in...

Some of the newspapers (TheStar) could write a story about the procedures and systems in place at some of these call-in shows...my understanding is that some of them show the question to the host before the person is selected (obviously that doesn't stop the person from changing their question) but the honest people with tough questions may never get through...

Clearly they should also identify publicly when any "known numbers" are calling...for example Ian from Etobicoke...I assume he would have been calling from a known number if he had been the mayor...seems pretty straight forward to call this sort of thing out. "It's Ian from Scarborough on the line, who has called this show 5 times in the last month, 3 times as Mayor Ford, once as Gary from Scarborough and once as Ian from Etobicoke...Ian, what's your question?"

I think it's like anything---a close game creates more drama, so it's in the station's interest to balance out the pro and con calls, even the ratio is actually 10 for Ford and 90 against.