Rob Ford's Toronto

[casita]

"Next question" Doug Ford when asked if he's actually sued the Globe and Mail
https://twitter.com/reporterdonpeat/status/497016381611970560

 

[the lemur]

He was a man ahead of his time. Seat-belt usage did not become mandatory in Ontario until 1976 ( in cars that were equipped with them ).

I think it was the same year for Quebec. My dad got into a multi-vehicle accident and sustained only a minor facial injury, but the car was a write-off due to front-end damage. I don't recall as a kid ever being in a vehicle that didn't have seatbelts, and three-point seatbelts at that, because that car, like the ones before and after it, was a Volvo.

 

[the lemur]

k, need a ruling here, cougar is 10+, 15+, or 20+... 'cause 20+ is gettin' oldish... not that there aren't smok'n hot mid 60's women, but RoFo's got a thing for the 20 somethings that selfie with him... or the 30 somethings that'll give him a handy.. (except that one at carabana, that one inspired the so high gotta punch my cock meme

I think you need to work from the 'when is a woman too young for you?' rule, i.e., younger than half your age plus 7. So Rob is fair game for a cougar no older than 76.

 

[tiffer24]

ddale8 10:04am via Twitter for iPhone
Doug Ford rants about taxpayer funding for MLSE-used BMO Field. Budget chief notes the project they're debating has no cost to taxpayers.

 

[the lemur]

The only people still buying Doug Ford's woof tickets are The Toronto Stun and Ford Nation, the rest know the truth.

Even the Sun isn't totally on board anymore. Don Peat has always been skeptical of Ford, the bros are routinely getting savaged in the comments sections and IIRC even SAL thinks Rob is no longer credible.

 

[TOBorn]

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2014/08/06/doug_ford_idea_theft_and_island_life.html

Leave it to the brutish Doug Ford to burnish the chief’s last days in office. Known for his carelessness with the truth, coupled with a penchant for diarrhea of the mouth, Doug Ford’s criticism of Chief Blair will only serve to enhance the chief’s legacy ahead of his April departure.

The mayor’s brother has a rare combination of personality traits that doom him to failure as a public figure. He knows very little about anything of value to the public; he insists on telling everyone the little he thinks he knows; and he exhibits little regard for the truth or the nuances of life.

Torontonians know this by now. So, whatever and whomever Doug hates, it’s safe to love. He pops off about Chief Blair and accuses him of leaking information to the press. It’s a safe bet he’s wrong and will have to backtrack. The result is the more Ford attacks Blair, the more lovable the chief becomes. With enemies like that, who needs friends?

i imagine if Diarrhea Doug stopped giving himself enemas from top to bottom his condition might improve.

 

[casita]

Older men, younger bimbo, quite trophy worthy.

When a man congratulated Al Jolson on his pretty daughter he replied, "Mister, she's too young to be my daughter. She's my wife."

 

[sweetlou]

I have two among my friends who were huge Ford fans in 2010 and, against all evidence, still haven't written him off entirely.

Both were hugely anti-Miller, and felt Rob was "a breath of fresh air". Neither has been able to articulate what they would have done differently if they'd been in Miller's shoes, they just hated him. Garbage garbage garbage unions unions unions.

The first friend is inclined to make snap decisions about all sort of things in life and is very stubborn, won't back down, and isn't much interested in the facts. Believes for example that the CPP is losing money despite all evidence to the contrary and also believes that all women will be wearing hijabs in 20 years when the muslims take over. Hates cyclists. Hates unions. Even though our social group includes cyclists and union members. Definitely FN-like tendencies in an early willingness to believe the Rob Ford gravy train slogans and to see him as the supreme fixer. She's been very quiet about Ford lately and I think the drug/drink shenanigans have caused her to revise her opinion.

The other friend is a highly intelligent, highly educated professional who is nevertheless a staunch conservative and has worked in the political backrooms. A Mike Harris man. Thinks the CBC is full of commie pinkos. Climate-change denier. My guess is he'll vote for John Tory this time, although he was very anti Tory's blunder about religious schools a few years back.

At our last Ford discussion, I tried to provide some facty/evidency stuff about the Scarborough subway subway subway scam and the 30-year property tax hike. I got a real unwillingness to listen and then the pushback was, well, what about the gas plants and the Liberals wasting even more money and the provincial debt and TTC scheduling and blah blah. Since then I've avoided the topic of Rob as the arguments get too heated and they really don't want to listen.

Well that's my sample size of two. Everyone else I know socially can't stand the Fords.

 

[YPQ]

I have two among my friends who were huge Ford fans in 2010 and, against all evidence, still haven't written him off entirely.

Both were hugely anti-Miller, and felt Rob was "a breath of fresh air". Neither has been able to articulate what they would have done differently if they'd been in Miller's shoes, they just hated him. Garbage garbage garbage unions unions unions.

The first friend is inclined to make snap decisions about all sort of things in life and is very stubborn, won't back down, and isn't much interested in the facts. Believes for example that the CPP is losing money despite all evidence to the contrary and also believes that all women will be wearing hijabs in 20 years when the muslims take over. Hates cyclists. Hates unions. Even though our social group includes cyclists and union members. Definitely FN-like tendencies in an early willingness to believe the Rob Ford gravy train slogans and to see him as the supreme fixer. She's been very quiet about Ford lately and I think the drug/drink shenanigans have caused her to revise her opinion.

The other friend is a highly intelligent, highly educated professional who is nevertheless a staunch conservative and has worked in the political backrooms. A Mike Harris man. Thinks the CBC is full of commie pinkos. Climate-change denier. My guess is he'll vote for John Tory this time, although he was very anti Tory's blunder about religious schools a few years back.

At our last Ford discussion, I tried to provide some facty/evidency stuff about the Scarborough subway subway subway scam and the 30-year property tax hike. I got a real unwillingness to listen and then the pushback was, well, what about the gas plants and the Liberals wasting even more money and the provincial debt and TTC scheduling and blah blah. Since then I've avoided the topic of Rob as the arguments get too heated and they really don't want to listen.

Well that's my sample size of two. Everyone else I know socially can't stand the Fords.

Yes, that sounds about right.

 

[casita]

Garbage garbage garbage unions unions unions.

The great garbage strike of 2009.

That was thanks to the media firing up the taxpayers about the Sick Bank. Something that had been there since before anyone could remember.

No mayor before or since David Miller - including RoFo - ever tackled the Sick Bank.

Also, aren't these private Driver - Loaders ( that's their job title ) members of unions? Maybe Teamsters? ( Not a rhetorical question. I don't know if they belong to a union, but I suspect they do. )

And how loyal are contracted workers to the city? I suspect not as much as ones the city employs.

 

[GavinTheAlmighty]

"Sharp" and "smarts" isn't the same as "smart". Sounds to me like a weasel who makes Reggie Mantle look like, uh, David Soknacki or something.

If it's of any consolation, it sounds like he's a hell-or-high-water kind of right-of-centre, i.e. equivalent to the 10% who'd vote Conservative in Davenport no matter what. Look; anyone who openly grumbles about "socialists" is a lost cause--it's the Ford/Miller or Ford/Wynne crossovers ye shall seek, not goofs like this.

What intrigues me, though, is how he's framing this as a strictly Ford-Chow kind of race (which, if one is into socialist-bashing, is "convenient")--but what about John Tory? Shouldn't he be a viable, palatable default option for the socialist-phobic who feel RoFo's become beyond the pale? Where's his opinion of *him*?

We've never talked about Tory, and I don't particularly want to get into any more discussions at length. I can appreciate that opposition to a particular opponent doesn't instantly mean full support for a competitor (for example, hating Ford doesn't instantly mean you support Chow, and hating Chow doesn't instantly mean you support Tory).

Beyond what I can really only describe as brainwashing, I cannot see a single legitimate reason to support Ford over Tory, if one is of a conservative bent. I disagree with some of Tory's politics, but even so, I still find him to be a respectable person who will represent the city well - sort of like Norm Kelly.

 

[sweetlou]

I still find him to be a respectable person who will represent the city well - sort of like Norm Kelly.

Speaking of whom, where is Norm Kelly these days? Since Pride, he has kept a low profile. Has he decided to cede the ribbon cutting and playpark antics to Rob so he can get on with the business of running the city?

 

[Soop]

Speaking of whom, where is Norm Kelly these days? Since Pride, he has kept a low profile. Has he decided to cede the ribbon cutting and playpark antics to Rob so he can get on with the business of running the city?

Haven't seen where he is today, but he does release he schedule each day. Even when there's nothing of note on it.

 

[GavinTheAlmighty]

Speaking of whom, where is Norm Kelly these days? Since Pride, he has kept a low profile. Has he decided to cede the ribbon cutting and playpark antics to Rob so he can get on with the business of running the city?

He still attends city events as an official rep. He's quite active on social media (or perhaps a staffer is, anyway), advertising local events and talking about stuff going on in the city. The kind of stuff you expect a real mayor to do.

 

[casita]

I think it was the same year for Quebec. My dad got into a multi-vehicle accident and sustained only a minor facial injury, but the car was a write-off due to front-end damage. I don't recall as a kid ever being in a vehicle that didn't have seatbelts, and three-point seatbelts at that, because that car, like the ones before and after it, was a Volvo.

Used to be like getting shot out of cannon face-first into a jukebox.