Rob Ford's Toronto

[dt_toronto_geek]

Or a lick of common sense...

 

[Ice_Burn]

I honestly can't think of anyone on that ballot who'd be this bad or worse than Ford is. Not even Kevin Clarke.

 

[adma]

Or Don Andrews? (*Then*, you'd be stepping into Godwin country...)

 

[Ice_Burn]

Or Don Andrews? (*Then*, you'd be stepping into Godwin country...)

Ha, I'd forgotten he was even running. You win, that'd be worse.

 

[CanadianNational]

Enza Supermodel would be as good, if not better than Ford. She would have aced the social and public angles, lovin' that spotlight, while her team took care of the heavy lifting (Unions, emergencies, makeup). When faced with difficult questions, however simple her responses, she would at least tried to think about what to say. It wouldn't be too hard to avoid the inflammatory, monosyllabic repetitions of Ford's non-communiques. Also, she likes the city.

Let's face it - a dead frog being galvanized with dc current would be as compelling, articulate, visionary, masterful, intellectual, cosmopolitan and of-the-people as Ford at this point.

It's like the Toronto City Hall production of Ubu Roi. Everyone who disagrees is off to the disembrainer!

 

[nfitz]

Oh, this is going to get even more fun.

In council today, councillors are accusing Rob Ford of rigging the civic appointment process based on campaign contributions.

 

[Torontovibe]

Enza Supermodel would be as good, if not better than Ford. She would have aced the social and public angles, lovin' that spotlight, while her team took care of the heavy lifting (Unions, emergencies, makeup). When faced with difficult questions, however simple her responses, she would at least tried to think about what to say. It wouldn't be too hard to avoid the inflammatory, monosyllabic repetitions of Ford's non-communiques. Also, she likes the city.

Let's face it - a dead frog being galvanized with dc current would be as compelling, articulate, visionary, masterful, intellectual, cosmopolitan and of-the-people as Ford at this point.

It's like the Toronto City Hall production of Ubu Roi. Everyone who disagrees is off to the disembrainer!

I seriously think Enza could have done a better job as mayor.

 

[Ice_Burn]

I could paint a face on a patch of sod and it'd be an improvement.

It was a little depressing how many candidates were on the ballot for mayor but were ultimately shut out of the debates. I guess this happens in all elections with fringe candidates but in this case I think if a Himy Syed or someone was allowed in there it would've strengthened the field overall. Even just to bring up some actual issues in the debates or poke more holes in the OBVIOUS lies Ford was spewing.

I really think Himy Syed, with a better managed campaign, could've been our Nenshi.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I seriously think Enza could have done a better job as mayor.

She should be in a position as an assistant to a Councillor or something to learn the ropes inside City Hall if she's really serious. She works at my bank, she's always really friendly. I've seen her deal with customers while standing in line and she's always level headed, even once with a raving lunatic who had his accounts cleared out. So at least she's good dealing with people, I don't know about anything else but she's gone one up on Ford.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

If that's the way you think she's certainly not the one with the problem.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

How is that? If he has a penis, he's a man, no? Our sexual organs determine what sex we are, not some convoluted self identification. As far as I know, he never had a sex operation. Even if he did, that doesn't really change who he is, but just creates an illusion that he is a she.

Google "Transgender", and there is nothing "mentally unstable" about that. And a little respect please, she's given more to this community and city in the past decade than most of us have on this board.

 

[Lenser]

Joe R,: methinks you're confusing your fears and prejudices with scientific fact. If the notion of transgendered anything gives you hives, so be it. But calling it "mentally unstable" is merely your opinion - hardly a medical fact.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Act as if one is a member of the opposite sex isn't normal and any psychiatrist would tell you that.

Being a homosexual as late as the 1970's was considered abnormal by many in the psychiatric community. Those who identify as transgendered can change the sex on their birth certificate if they wish so I don't believe it's as nutty as you suggest.
I don't think she's been the best choice for Mayor or City Councillor which is why I never voted for her but if I did feel she had the best qualifications that I was looking for I certainly would have.

 

[RC8]

Joe R., you are mistaken.

Not in that homosexuality is abnormal. It is abnormal. So are transgenders.

But abnormality is a statistical thing. People with a foot-fetish or those allergic to peanuts are equally abnormal.

Physiologically there's plenty of evidence for at least a very significant percentage of homosexuals and transgenders being inherently different from your average straight person. That is, even though they may have a penis, they may have developed differently (more closely to the opposite sex) internally. This is a very well documented biological fact. I'm a biologist.

While many aspects of 'gay culture' are undoubtedly cultural, we do not discriminate against people due to their taste in music (we don't even discriminte against people if they have RIDICULOUS religious beliefs for crying out loud!)

We wouldn't come out and say that politician X is not qualified for office based on his or her preferences for oral sex. It's a factor of their private life that needs not interfere with a person's capabilities. Homosexuals, transgendered individuals, and those into hardcore bondage can all exercise positions of authority without their sexual inclinations ever coming into conflict with their job.

For all you know Enza is hormonally and cognitively a woman, regardless of her penis.

P.S. Homosexuality is not good, it's just not wrong. If you think you can go 'wrong' with your sex life doing something you feel like doing without hurting yourself or anyone else in the process, you should re-examine that.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

JoeR

Scientific fact will tell you that if you have a penis, you're a male--if you have a vagina, you're a female. That isn't debatable. Enza is a man, dressed like a woman. That's his business and right, but it's certainly not convincing anyone that he's really a woman. If pretending one is a member of the opposite sex isn't a form of mental illness/unstableness, what is it? It's not normal, that's for sure. How we're born is how we were meant to be. If Enza was supposed to be a female, he would have been born as one.

Actually, it is more than debatable. You might want nature to be so nice and neat (isn't it "logical" to have only yes/no as answers?), but the reality is that about 1% of the population have both male and female sexual characteristics (so called intersex). With this biological "scientific fact"/"reality" out of the way, we need to talk about the labels of "man" and "woman" from a social perspective (i.e. gender). There is nothing logical about assigning the application of makeup or wearing of dresses to those who are born female - that is something determined by culture. If that is "abnormal", then you know what, I am fairly sure given our individual idiosyncracies we are all perverts in one way or another.

Homosexuality is a different topic, and it's debatable, but since you raised it. Homosexuality is still considered abnormal by many psychiatrists--they're just silenced by our politically correct media. There was strong political pressure to change the definition of homosexuality in the 1970s and beyond and it was done with strong arm tactics. Read the book, After The Ball http://www.amazon.com/After-Ball-Ame.../dp/0452264987 If you're unfamiliar with it and want to read it, you'll have to order it online as it's been banned in book stores. Basically the premise of it was to change popular opinion on homosexuality through fear and intimidation. Here's a good review: "I think those that think this book is great because they support the gay agenda are missing the point. The book encourages deceptive marketing to advance its goals. It encourages acceptance of homosexuality based on intimidation, lies and half truths. Do the people who advocate this in the name of gay rights really believe that the ends justify the means, even if the means are evil and abusive? Which brings up another question, if it is impossible to convince people of the goodness of homosexuality without lying about it, have you really convinced them? As soon as they find out the truth I would think they would be angry at being duped."

Interesting, first of all, I am fairly certain there is a rather large corpus of scientific literature out there that illustrates that homosexuality is NOT abnormal in a pathological sense of the word; and second, it's funny to talk about fear and intimidation when we're dealing with a population that was facing rather long odds since day one. If there is fear and intimidation - and historically there has been, it's from the other way around - how much more fear and intimation can you generate than convincing the populace that one is against God's plan? And perhaps the acceptance has less to do with marketing but the gradual change in attitudes from openness and people actually getting to know others in real life who are gay but are otherwise just like them?

Just because someone who identifies themselves as transgendered can change the sex on their birth certificate doesn't mean it isn't "nutty" and odd. So what if one calls themselves a man or a woman? Honest reality isn't pliable. That also shows you how spineless our society is. We're so afraid of offending the sensitivities of people that we'll defy logic in order to make others feel comfortable. Why encourage others to be what they obviously aren't?

Funny, I thought that's exactly what the whole topic of transgenderism does to those who are still clinging to binary notions of sexuality and sex roles. What's the next thing you'll tell me - that women shouldn't be wearing pants? Or that men shouldn't pick up interior decorating?

I think the fact that we are picking on what a candidate decide to wear as signs of mental instability while saying absolutely nothing about another's extant pattern of lies, deceit, lack of emotional self control and public inebriation speaks plenty about our supposed "logic" - and a shrink will have a field day ripping apart the mental state of the latter.

AoD