Rob Ford's Toronto

[NYCBoy2305]

Has anyone here read Crazy Town yet? Is it worth picking up, or is it mostly just a re-hash of everything that's been discussed here?

I am really enjoying. Great recap and extends analysis and details.

 

[OSS 117]

Agree. Compared to Lawrence Wright's exposé on Scientology (which I read recently), Crazy Town comes across poorly. Granted, Wright had more time, richer subject matter, and New Yorker researchers/editors at his disposal; still, Doolittle could have done better.

Anyway, UT regulars are probably not Doolittle's target audience. As a sort of introduction/summary of what Ford is all about, the book is fine.

That's the thing. Most people on this board could have probably written their own book at this point. There's more than enough interesting stuff in there, though, especially since she got a few important characters like Nick Kouvalis to go on the record.

 

[PinkLucy]

I'm going to out on a limb and say that Ford wasn't ticketed for jaywalking so much as for being a loud, drunken asshole and drawing attention to himself.

Most likely, but of course he is saying he was targeted because the RCMP recognized him. Wah, wah, poor me. And of course FordNation laps it up.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

It's also up for Canadians here now: http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/#clip1067904

If you want to see the Daily Show's extended interview on Comedy Central (Comedy Network does not provide these in Canada) use Google and ask the question, you'll quickly find the answer as to how to see it. There are two more parts to the extended interview, it's pretty good.

 

[SFO]

That's the thing. Most people on this board could have probably written their own book at this point. There's more than enough interesting stuff in there, though, especially since she got a few important characters like Nick Kouvalis to go on the record.

Speaking of Kouvalis, I would have loved more detail on why his partner Richard Ciano quit the Ford 2010 campaign after like 2 months.

 

[ShonTron]

I am enjoying reading my copy - but I'm just under halfway through. There are a few new things that I am learning - about the Fords in general and about the campaign for mayor - it is great that Kouvalis is on record.

 

[Pblo]

Again she repeated on The Daily Show that Rob Ford was successful because he returns every phonecall. And she made it sound like that was 100% - phone him about a sewer break on your street and he'd be there with city staff getting it fixed. While he certainly did and does some of this, I believe it's mostly Ford overstatement and myth. Like 'saved a billion dollars'. He has always made select constituency calls, often accompanied by media, when they prove his theories that government isn't meeting people's needs and therefore people are overtaxed. The working in the constituency claims were cover for the fact that he wasn't often present at City Hall and at committee meetings while he was a councillour. Now we should realize that was because his priorities were coaching football and hanging out with his buddies like an overage stoner.

With regard to Rob returning phone calls, this was my experience from August this year. I returned home from a vacation and turned on the computer to spend a little time on FB. I was in a “liking” mood so I liked 500,000 Voters for a Rob Ford Free Toronto. It was after the Taste of the Danforth debacle and the site was buzzing with clips and comments. Within 10 minutes of doing this I received a phone call from an unknown caller at 647-391-1452. I answered. It was Rob Ford. At first I thought it may have been a robocall, then I thought my brother was doing his best ever impersonation (he does a great Archie Bunker), when it finally sank in that it was really him. He snapped “You called me. What was that about?” I said “What?” He demanded, “About two months ago you called me, what did you want?” I said “Actually I spoke to a Jonathan (who sounded like he was 10), and told him that the lights at Seaforth and Lansdowne were installed and hooded, but the buttons to cross were visible for both the existing overhead crossing light and the hooded lights. People kept hitting the crossing button for the disconnected lights, and thinking that the light was activated for the overhead crosswalk. People were crossing the street and almost getting hit. He told me that the lights were being synchronized and he would check with someone and get back to me.( Nobody ever came to cover up the unhooked crossing button and we had a summer of screeching tires and near misses.) They`re working now after a month and a half later” “So that`s it?” he spat. “Well yea,” I said. “Well it takes me a while but I always call people back” “Yea”, I chucked, nervously. (At 8:06 on a Sunday night? Right after I publicly declare that I want you out of office? Pissed off?) Then he asked me the famous question “Anything else?” I chuckled nervously, and said no and good night. I was in shock. He was so angry! I started to worry if my taxes were up to date and thinking about all the thugs he hangs around with. I started to feel a little unsafe in my own city, to the point where I only told a few close friends and family about the incident.

 

[euler]

If you want to see the Daily Show's extended interview on Comedy Central (Comedy Network does not provide these in Canada) use Google and ask the question, you'll quickly find the answer as to how to see it. There are two more parts to the extended interview, it's pretty good.

I see all three parts now on the Comedy Network site. The aforementioned hungover intern must've fixed it.

 

[animatronic]

I'm going to out on a limb and say that Ford wasn't ticketed for jaywalking so much as for being a loud, drunken asshole and drawing attention to himself.

The witness interviewed on TV reported Rob saying "the bitch almost hit me". I took this to mean he got a ticket for walking in front of a squad car as he jaywalked across a major road.

It's not that he's a Broncos fan, it's that the cop didn't want to be picking bloody chunks of hair and Broncos jersey out of her car's grill.

 

[typezed]

Doolittle's mention of domestic abuse in the Ford household was interesting. There has been talk before of bruises and late-night 911 calls, but no one but nfitz here says straight-out that Rob has beat Renata. Because charges were dropped, this aspect of the story has always remained as rumour. When Doolittle was speaking of the difficulty reporters have here accessing information from police, it seemed to me that she was fully convinced that abuse had occurred. She spoke of it as accepted fact. She has heard 20 minutes of secretly recorded conversation with Renata, but only a small part of those conversations made the book.

 

[kbdid]

The witness interviewed on TV reported Rob saying "the bitch almost hit me". I took this to mean he got a ticket for walking in front of a squad car as he jaywalked across a major road.

Can you imagine what was going through that cop's head, first probably having to avoid hitting someone and then realizing it was RoFo? A mix of glee and "oh f*ck", I'd think.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

For anyone hanging out here, Doolittle is on CNN in about 3 minutes

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

Doolittle's mention of domestic abuse in the Ford household was interesting. There has been talk before of bruises and late-night 911 calls, but no one but nfitz here says straight-out that Rob has beat Renata. Because charges were dropped, this aspect of the story has always remained as rumour. When Doolittle was speaking of the difficulty reporters have here accessing information from police, it seemed to me that she was fully convinced that abuse had occurred. She spoke of it as accepted fact. She has heard 20 minutes of secretly recorded conversation with Renata, but only a small part of those conversations made the book.

Not fair. I've been calling Ford a wife-beater since at least 2008

News Item: Ford arrested for threatening to kill his wife; charges withdrawn shortly thereafter. Then the resident UT FraudNationalists come to clean up after Ford:

There must be trouble with this forum, I haven't seen one of the many many apology messages that were surely transmitted by all those who were in such a frenzy to assassinate Mr Ford's reputation when he was charged.

Perhaps you all should resend your apologies, I am sure Mr Ford will excuse the delay.

I'll get right on that, just as soon as I finish my apology to Mel Lastman for calling him a "deadbeat dad".

To me, Rob Ford will always be an alcoholic wife-beater whose nephews deal drugs and whose heroin-addicted sister gets shot in the face. Also, he's a fat fuck. And he's stupid. And he's a barrel sucker. I don't care if there's insufficient evidence to convict him for every crime of which he's been accused. He doesn't deserve that kind of fairness. His existence is offensive. I wish him all the worst, and I can safely expect to seem him accomplish ever more spectacular failures before his over-cheesburgered heart finally shows some mercy on our city.

Not sure where I got the "nephews" thing from, but I'll stand by it on principle. Still waiting for the cheeseburgers to do their part, BTW.

EDIT: Spider, how are you feeling now? When did you fall off the crazy train, or did you? Do you realize that supporting an idiot like Ford destroys any semblance of credibility you might otherwise have had? Ford is only as culpable as his limited cognitive ability will allow, but people like you owe the world an apology (at the very least; in fact you owe a debt that you can never repay). If it wasn't against forum rules, I would cuss you out like the bumbaclot enabler you are. YOU CONTRIBUTED TO A WOMAN BEING BEATEN BY HER ALCOHOLIC HUSBAND, AND TO HER CHILDREN BEING EMOTIONALLY ABUSED. I hope karma remembers you.

 

[the lemur]

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/c..._ford_declares_thursday_as_bob_marley/cf8owgd

Saw this list on reddit... I wonder if anything has been missed?
Also, I think all the other candidates would do well to not use the term "taxpayer". Instead use "Citizen", "Voter" or another encompassing term to highlight his ingnorant needless divisiveness.


[–]tupac_chopra 29 points 17 hours ago*
"
• you failed to find the "efficiencies" that you crowed were out there and instead had to break your promise of no service cuts"

Not only that, he actually wasted money trying to find 'efficiencies'! Remember the KPMG study and the depositions? And that's another thing: for all his talk of representing the little guy and giving ordinary people a voice, he made a show of letting people have input to the money-saving process, then he and his brother dismissed the views of people opposed to cuts, mocked them for being professional protesters and welfare recipients and threatened them with physical violence for supposedly being union members.

 

[atodaso]

Again she repeated on The Daily Show that Rob Ford was successful because he returns every phonecall. And she made it sound like that was 100% - phone him about a sewer break on your street and he'd be there with city staff getting it fixed. While he certainly did and does some of this, I believe it's mostly Ford overstatement and myth. Like 'saved a billion dollars'. He has always made select constituency calls, often accompanied by media, when they prove his theories that government isn't meeting people's needs and therefore people are overtaxed. The working in the constituency claims were cover for the fact that he wasn't often present at City Hall and at committee meetings while he was a councillour. Now we should realize that was because his priorities were coaching football and hanging out with his buddies like an overage stoner.

Doolittle had a very short turnaround on this book and had more interesting leads to follow than investigating his rate of constituency calls. So she may be repeating commonly held belief and Ford self-promotion without actually having tested them. But it's something she has stated as fact in every interview I've seen her give.

Myth does not even begin to describe the absurdity of the ford's claim to address constituents personally. That's the job of 311 Toronto which is a heavily staffed call center. To actually see these customer issues through would require a team of hundreds. Meanwhile, Ford proposed to cut back staff in the customer service side of city hall. Ford's 'personal service' amounts to nothing more than a few heavily publicized (and relentlessly repeated) token gestures.