Rob Ford's Toronto

[GenerationW]

it's muzik. With a "z".

Muzik rules!
[video=youtube;S5PvBzDlZGs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5PvBzDlZGs[/video]

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

Most inpatient drug treatment center will require you attend detox for a specific period of time before admitting, regardless of the need for medically supervised withdrawal.

And I highly, highly suspect Rob is not only a daily drinker, but a heavy one. In the ITO, he chugs an entire mickey of vodka in the matter of minutes and drives home. You really would need a much higher than average tolerance, methodically built up over time, to do that without driving off the road 10 minutes later. Also look at the way he was drinking protein shakes in Council right after his November fitness plan for recovery. Two hands to the mouth, to make sure he didn't shake and drop it. That's why most detoxes use plastic or styrofoam for cups. He shows up for work at noon every day, for gods sake. He is probably on a minimum amount of booze to ward off the DTs during the day but not enough so as not to function (that or he is popping benzos to stave it off until he gets home, which is actually more likely). Once he gets home all bets are off.

I agree with this. He has seemed, at least in my opinion, intoxicated in most of the photos and press conferences I've seen of him lately. He's been hitting it hard for at least the past month.

 

[casita]

I agree with this. He has seemed, at least in my opinion, intoxicated in most of the photos and press conferences I've seen of him lately. He's been hitting it hard for at least the past month.

https://twitter.com/FordWorkWatch

"When you chart Rob Ford's work hours for the past 12 weeks, the crash in the last four is quite stark."

 

[jml]

That may be reflected in these Work Watch charts:
https://twitter.com/FordWorkWatch

To be fair, on some of these weeks I counted time when he was allegedly at City Hall drunk or doing substances. Week 8, the only week he verifiably put in more than 40 hours, was the week that ended with Ford's wild night at the Leafs game and the strange odour in City Hall. I do suspect that was around when he started using heavily again -- as soon as it came out that the OPP wasn't supporting the TPS case.

 

[adma]

City politics is secondary to your health. We haven't lost a mayor since 1963.

"Heart attack at 48: Stricken playing hockey, mayor Summerville dead".

Though a Metro Chair died in office in 1973 (Ab Campbell)--and following amalgamation, Scarborough Mayor (and probable reelectee) Frank Faubert was elected to Council only to himself die in office, if that counts...

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

I think it is exceedingly likely that he has gone into rehab for real.

My theory is that the entire last few days have basically amounted to an family intervention.

Doug realized weeks ago that his brother was not going to stop binge drinking and using crack. He disappeared to Chicago to put the rehab plan in place, book the treatment center etc.

Kathy and Lisi were enlisted to put Rob in a room with crack cocaine, and "Unnamed" was there to film him getting loaded, and leak the footage of Rob huffing on the pipe in a matter of a few days. That's why there's 6 minutes of footage.

Rob of course had no idea his brother was going to force him into rehab, and is no doubt cursing as we speak, as he enters the long night of detox and drying out.

I'm on board for everything here, but IMO you're leaving out the possibility that DoFo set up RoFo on higher orders.

 

[OSS 117]

Disagree. Even Doolittle is quite adamant that he's not "stupid". He may be ignorant, small minded, boorish, and adhere to a knuckle-dragging ideology borne of a peculiar, bred-in-the-bone *weltanschauung*, but stupid? No. He has animal cunning and political smarts in abundance. Which is actually a more dangerous thing, IMO.

Doolittle gives him a bit too much benefit of the doubt in the interest of seeming fair and balanced, in my opinion.

 

[OSS 117]

I agree. Just putting it out there.

I really hope for the sake of his wife and kids he follows the doctor's advice.

City politics is secondary to your health. We haven't lost a mayor since 1963.

"Heart attack at 48: Stricken playing hockey, mayor Summerville dead".

For the sake of his wife and kids the best thing would be...nah, I probably shouldn't go there.

 

[Crazy]

Being a go-to media "expert" consultant on addiction must be a sweet gig. No down-and-dirty like the health practitioners in this thread.

Even sweeter if you're a go-to media "expert" consultant on celebrity addicts. Here's comedian Doug Stanhope with a nice bit on Dr. Drew:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBYmiYnFg4M

And just so this post isn't completely off topic, here's a CNN transcript of Dr. Drew discussing Rob Ford with Anderson Cooper last year:

COOPER: Well, also, you know, I was reading one news that the crack smoking video broke, you know, the mayor denied it and one of the excuses Mayor Ford used that he had a twin brother who has all kinds of addictions and it must have been him on the video.

DR. DREW: Yes.

COOPER: Again, that's more family history there.

DR. DREW: If he has a -- if he has a monozygotic twin, if he has a twin that's genetically the same as him, not a fraternal twin, then the twin has advanced addiction, the probability of this man developing advanced addiction or alcoholism is overwhelmingly likely. So if that -- if that twin story is in fact true then again more evidence of how series this thing is, this medical problem and this is becoming a circus. Please, somebody help this man.

COOPER: Dr. Drew Pinsky, appreciate your joining us.

DR. DREW: Sure.

COOPER: Thanks very much.

DR. DREW: You bet.

 

[Crazy]

Doolittle gives him a bit too much benefit of the doubt in the interest of seeming fair and balanced, in my opinion.

Crazy Town was pretty dull for that very reason.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I like the way Edward Keenan put it: "There is a simple-mindedness combined with a stubbornness there that has really handicapped him. He is not a sophisticated thinker and he is not book smart in any sense. He is smart in other ways. He is able to communicate with people who are alienated from the process and tap into that."

My friend who works with Ford used to make the same 'not stupid' comment as Doolittle. It comes down to your definition of stupid, though, and Keenan goes a long way in capturing what I mean when I say Ford is stupid. The thing is, the reason he can communicated with people who are alienated from the process is that he, himself, is alienated from the process. Which makes him the absolute wrong person to have as mayor, even if you are a hardcore right-winger.

 

[euler]

SUNDAY FUNDAY

[video=youtube;oUFKs9TA4BQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUFKs9TA4BQ[/video]

 

[John_Dee]

Doolittle gives him a bit too much benefit of the doubt in the interest of seeming fair and balanced, in my opinion.

Agreed. I realize Crazy Town was hardly meant to be a muckraking expose along the lines of something written by Jeffrey St. Clair or the late Alexander Cockburn, but Doolittle probably went too far in the other direction, in the hopes of making it look like she wasn't trying to pick on Ford. Poor, persecuted, innocent, helpless, defenseless widdle Ford. She needn't have bothered. Anything that wasn't boot-lickingly deferential to His Oafship was going to rile up his fanbase no matter what. Besides which, she did title the book "Crazy Town," rather giving the impression it was going to be a lot tougher than it actually was. Sigh.

As for the discussion on Ford's intelligence, I'm with those who think he's genuinely a moron. There's no need to quibble over semantics; I can see why people would give him credit for being smarter than he actually is, but there are other factors at work conspiring to give that impression, mainly the weakness and cowardice of the people supposedly 'opposing' him. It's possible to appear brighter than you actually are if you get everything you want, but it's easy to get everything you want if your supposed opponents are no opposition at all.

 

[LowPolygon]

I'm on board for everything here, but IMO you're leaving out the possibility that DoFo set up RoFo on higher orders.

I think that's entirely likely. We all know Doug is up to his eyeballs in corrupt dealings, so the idea that he has masters, and that they stepped in and told him he had to Pull The Plug on Rob is very plausible.

And i still think this entire thing is a Hail Mary pass. There are just too many odd details. The missing audio on an iPhone? Sounded like "white noise"? Give me a break. More like they knew the shit Rob said when he was hammered would disgust even the most diehard FordNation deadender--and all they needed were the visuals of him with the pipe.

Doug's unprecedented and lengthy disappearance immediately after the official campaign launch; the story breaking on multiple fronts the minute he returns; and the immediate announcement that Rob is disappearing into rehab?

Also, 8 minutes of recorded video, with Lisi in the room, taken in a one hour period?

Finally, the sudden appearance of Kathy? C'mon.

In this entire year long debacle, and with everything we know about Rob's life over the past few years from the Project Brazen ITOs, there is not one mention of Kathy as a part of Rob's day to day existence. Think of all the characters we've been introduced too throughout this story: the Bassos, Lisi, Bellissimo, Price, etc. Kathy is nowhere to be found. She's a figure from the past, a ghost in the background, and tied to the Rob Ford story through the Scott McIntyre case, but not in any way a part of his inner circle or his life as Mayor.

All of a sudden she's the catalyzing agent that springs Rob out of the Mayor's chair and into rehab? Sorry, this whole thing doesn't pass the smell test with me.

 

[newearthling]

Finally, the sudden appearance of Kathy? C'mon.

In this entire year long debacle, and with everything we know about Rob's life over the past few years from the Project Brazen ITOs, there is not one mention of Kathy as a part of Rob's day to day existence. Think of all the characters we've been introduced too throughout this story: the Bassos, Lisi, Bellissimo, Price, etc. Kathy is nowhere to be found. She's a figure from the past, a ghost in the background, and tied to the Rob Ford story through the Scott McIntyre case, but not in any way a part of his inner circle or his life as Mayor.

All of a sudden she's the catalyzing agent that springs Rob out of the Mayor's chair and into rehab? Sorry, this whole thing doesn't pass the smell test with me.

Just this one short segment of Kathy's re-appearance could make a novel in and of itself! The whole saga (of which we only know a part) would be a 10-8934984739809&%$E&#$%^ part series.