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Rob Ford's Toronto

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Parker said:
interesting thought, though I'm not sure if the comparison is apt. Prorogation as a means to avoid a scheduled non-confidence vote was, and is, unheard of in practice. Leadership changes between elections are, on the other hand, quite common.

And frankly I do agree that a leader who has not lead the party in an actual election does have a lesser mandate than one who has, but I feel that all the "unelected" talk is disingenuous spin, and sound bite politics. Like PM Harper trying to paint a coalition government as illegitimate.
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I agree with you entirely, comparisons not perfect, but follow along.

Harper's prorogation was a first (and still legal), but at least he followed up with a general election, allowing everyone to decide on it and his government.

McGuinty's bailing out is unique in the fact it hasn't happened that quickly in over a century, making it unique in current times, but no election after his prorogation (still totally legal).

And to the detriment of us all, sound bite politics rules the day (not here on UT obviously, a severe majority of people here are far more knowledgeable than your average voter). It's completely and utterly wrong, but that's the nature of modern society. People are more concerned about who Miley Cyrus twerked (or whatever the f@ck the word is), than what Harper, Ford or McGuinty have actually done.

Gotta go now, entering my personal Rod Ford zone..........(very drunk)
 
living it up on the taxpayers dime!
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Let's pretend you weren't actually just inventing that story. What is this "living it up" you're talking about? Is this like when certain people groan about when TCHC gave a box of chocolates to volunteers who gave thousands of hours of work?

Not that I think this stuff should get outa hand, but people who think this is the most evil thing in the universe are just kooky.

Go ahead and live it up on the taxpayers dime. If they don't like it, tell them to come speak to me.....the taxpayer.
 
Peepers said:
What jumped out at me is the fact that Michael Thompson spent 12 days in Rio "negotiating" this symbolic "friendship" arrangement which would have been worth as much as the paper it was written on. It seems Thompson loves to go on these taxpayer funded junkets. He went with the Mayor to Austin and Chicago as well as the municipal conference in Vancouver. Thompson and Kelly should get along well together. They both seem to like living it up on the taxpayers dime! There was a time I thought Thompson would be a good alternative to Ford. Not any more!
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To quote Wayne Gretzky - you'll miss 100% of the shots you don't take. At least he took a shot.
 
Peepers said:
What jumped out at me is the fact that Michael Thompson spent 12 days in Rio "negotiating" this symbolic "friendship" arrangement which would have been worth as much as the paper it was written on. It seems Thompson loves to go on these taxpayer funded junkets. He went with the Mayor to Austin and Chicago as well as the municipal conference in Vancouver. Thompson and Kelly should get along well together. They both seem to like living it up on the taxpayers dime! There was a time I thought Thompson would be a good alternative to Ford. Not any more!
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Thompson could fly to Rio once a month for a year and he still wouldn't come close to Ford's ability to Live It Up On The Taxpayer's dime.

$167,000 to roll into work (often drunk) at 1:00, then stumble out the back door at 3:00, so he can meet his dealer and get drunk and stoned DURING business hours, on pretty much a daily basis. Your tax dollars at work, straight up his nose.
 
Watching a police spokesman talking about the ride program, getting drunk drivers off the road, saying it is a choice to get behind the wheel and endanger lives ... All on the same day that we hear that the TPS let Ford drive, knowing he was under the influence.
 
Peepers said:
What jumped out at me is the fact that Michael Thompson spent 12 days in Rio "negotiating" this symbolic "friendship" arrangement which would have been worth as much as the paper it was written on. It seems Thompson loves to go on these taxpayer funded junkets. He went with the Mayor to Austin and Chicago as well as the municipal conference in Vancouver. Thompson and Kelly should get along well together. They both seem to like living it up on the taxpayers dime! There was a time I thought Thompson would be a good alternative to Ford. Not any more!
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I don't know why this is a thing. Councillors travel all the time. It is part of their job. The fact that it doesn't have to suck is a nice perk, but I don't see how going on a business trip and enjoying yourself is corrupt. I'd go if it was offered.
 
PinkLucy said:
Watching a police spokesman talking about the ride program, getting drunk drivers off the road, saying it is a choice to get behind the wheel and endanger lives ... All on the same day that we hear that the TPS let Ford drive, knowing he was under the influence.
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Do you know surveillance costs well north of $1000/hr? What's the point of nailing Ford for a DUI. Bailao was convicted of DUI, she's still on council, Ainslie got the 24 hour timeout, still on council. They take a calculated risk in skipping the DUI to get Lisi's suppliers and Ford on major charges. I get the feeling you'd be shocked and dumbfounded to know how many times this actually occurs. Ford wasn't an exception, this is SOP when hunting the big fish.
 
PinkLucy said:
Watching a police spokesman talking about the ride program, getting drunk drivers off the road, saying it is a choice to get behind the wheel and endanger lives ... All on the same day that we hear that the TPS let Ford drive, knowing he was under the influence.
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CBC News Network had a former BC Solicitor General and West Van police chief on about 30 minutes ago to explain how hard it is to catch and bust somebody for DUI as a result of 911 calls on one particular night. It seemed plausible to me.

What was not asked, and what seems incomprehensible to me, is that if the police know that somebody is hammered behind the wheel several days a week, week after week, month after month, year after year, why is it hard to take that somebody down? That person is a serious risk to kill somebody, and unless he's a murder suspect or can give really important evidence against some other murder suspect, I cannot understand the cost/benefit analysis that lets the boozing driver keep on rolling.
 
basic said:
How did he make it from Sunnybrook to Jarvis/Dundas in a large Black Escalade with an APB out for him and isn't found until he is snug in his hotel room? WTF?
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It's not that far ... Google says 14-minute drive. I expect by the time the observation was made, the police were contacted, the situation was understood, a decision was made, and cars were actually getting information to keep a lookout, he was pulling up to the hotel. He didn't got where they'd have first expected ... so it's not like they could just go and wait for him.
 
Jimmi T said:
Ya I work on Jarvis and it's really cleaned up. It used to be lined with hookers. Now you only see the odd one here and there. Makes me wonder where have they all gone?
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Probably a victim of the cellphone/internet-advertising era, i.e. it's easier to pass oneself off incognito. (And the doom was already spelled out when actual old-school streetwalkers came to be increasingly emaciated-looking by the 90s.)
 
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