Ford Desecration Pt IV - the march to Detroit continues

I no longer find Ford funny. He is clearly on the edge and likely to hurt someone if he doesn't get help soon. Of course he's already assaulted people--like Sarah Thompson and Daniel Dale--but I feel he has much further to go. I'm a little afraid for his family, to be honest.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/04/09/poll_doug_ford_could_win_toronto_seat_for_progressive_conservatives.html

It seems incredible that the Fords can have any electoral resilience in light of their antics but here is a warning not to underestimate them.

I stopped finding Ford funny a long time ago.

If he were simply a buffoon, a la Mel Lastman, it would be different. But he's not.

And the issue of Thomson's "credibility" is laughable. Around the time of the incident I overheard some progressive people in a shared space at my workplace talking about this, saying things like "it's really a he-said she-said thing" and bullshit like that. My silent response to them was, "What of HIS lack of crediibility? Only with photographic evidence will he slowly and eventually barely admit to bad behaviour. He denies everything, whatever he's accused of, deny deny. So don't talk to me about her credibility issues. And I ain't no fan of hers."

He's an entitled rat bastard, he's out of control, he's a hazard to the city, and he may very well get in again in 2014.

Oh, and no, this rude, obnoxious and abusive behaviour is in no way limited to right-wing politicians, or right-wing regular people. So don't blame all this on his politics. 

.

dp

Oh, and no, this rude, obnoxious and abusive behaviour is in no way limited to right-wing politicians, or right-wing regular people. So don't blame all this on his politics.

Assuming this comment is directed at me, I didn't think I was "blaming" all of Ford's less savory 'qualities' on his politics as such. It's probably accurate to say his personal and professional impulses are in perfect alignment: He's a pig, and that's attractive to a certain section of the electorate, especially if they're in a mean mood.

Margaret Thatcher's death has been an unpleasant history lesson as to just how much politics have changed over the last few decades. I used to read the Toronto Sun back when I was a kid, in the 80's, and a lot of truly nasty shit that was strictly limited to the Sun and its ilk back then has long since become mainstreamed in the conservative movement. Mike Harris' thuggishness was a point in his favor for the people who voted for him; over in the US, the Republican Party's increasingly sinking into freakshow extremism seems to have no end in sight...and no lack of approval from their base of voters. And on and on and on.

Creatures like Reagan, Thatcher, Harper, et al undoubtably give off an impression of strong leadership to people who just don't have the time, patience, or inclination to pay close attention to politics, so they manage to gull a lot of the non-ideological voters in moments of weakness. But for the True Believers, the increasing sadism of their favored candidates are part of the appeal; it's not enough that they win, they have to humiliate the opposition in the process. It wasn't an accident that Boss Hogg brought his buddy Don Cherry along to his swearing-in ceremony as a way of telling all the folks who didn't vote for him that they could go suck it. The Asshole Block, the people who specifically vote for such behavior, absolutely love that kind of garbage.

You don't have to be an asshole or an overgrown schoolyard bully - or both...but then, they're pretty much the same thing anyway, right? - to be a right wing politician these days, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt.

[url=http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/04/21/mayor_rob_ford_offers_t... Rob Ford offers to ‘explain how politics works’ to Toronto women over coffee[/url]

Rob Ford wrote:

I encourage people, I encourage people, I’ve always encouraged people — especially females. We need more females in politics. And it seems everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s male-dominated.’ Well, call me. Call me at home — 233-6934, 416-233-6934 — and [I’ll or we’ll] go for a coffee, and explain how politics works.

Quote:

Wrote feminist activist Steph Guthrie: “Mayor who can't stop breaking the rules because he has never read his council handbook has offered to explain to women ‘how politics work.’’ She added: “Should we do a Toronto Women's Filibuster and call Rob Ford endlessly for days, asking him to explain politics to us?”

What.

attn: mayors, prominent hockey analysts, or whoever else might be in need of such services

[url=http://www.toronto.ca/health/sexualhealth/pdf/sh_needle_exchange.pdf]Harm Reduction Supplies in Toronto[/url]

Why didn't the Toronto Star choose to highlight Rob Ford's ethnicity?

Catchfire wrote:

Racism?

 The hell you say!

.

onlinediscountanvils wrote:

Why didn't the Toronto Star choose to highlight Rob Ford's ethnicity?

Because they don't want to offend the Troll community?

Mike Duffy still has his job. He's just out of the Conservative caucus.

.

If this isnt pure and authentic, then the Star just helped him get re-elected

Wowsers.

Just yesterday, I checked in here to see if anyone was commenting on the latest piece of childish idiocy from the Brothers Ford, i.e. the two of them gleefully attaching magnets with pro-Ford political slogans to random cars without permission from their owners. 'Twas then I saw Nicky's link to this latest little episode, and as much as I hate Ford, I couldn't help snorting, "Yeah, right!" Surely, such a thing just could not be.

And now it's plastered all over the front page of the Toronto Star.

So. Is it true? It doesn't seem possible, does it? No matter how arrogant and out-of-control Mayor Fathead is, there's no way he'd be suicidal enough to wallow around in this kind of shit...Or so any sane person would think. And yet, one could bring up the example of another arrogant rich kid, one George W. Bush, who was not only a cokehead in his younger days (which is pretty widely accepted as being true), but who also had credible rumors dogging him of actually dealing the stuff when he was in college.

The Star, whatever its faults, is not some fly-by-night operation, and there's no way their lawyers would allow this to be published - and as a front page headline, no less - if there wasn't serious evidence backing it up. Or so one would think. And frankly, there had better be some hard evidence behind this, because Bacchus is right: if this is fake, then the Star has likely just ensured Boss Hogg's re-election.

Also, for some friday evening levity, presented by Slate:

Who Said It: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford or SimpsonsMayor Diamond Joe Quimby?:

13. “Those Oriental people work like dogs. … They're slowly taking over.”

14. “Now on to the next item, the proposal for putting term limits on public office. All those in favor say, ‘I have sex with animals.’ ”

15. “I’d love to see us sell the zoo and make money on it if we can. ... Keep the elephants here and take it from there.”

There's a couple to think about, rest and answers on the article. This made brain and soul hurt too.

He didn't just smoke crack, he [i]smokes[/i] crack. It's very easy to believe, if you know Rob Ford's type.

I still think people should be allowed to make their own decisions on these matters. There are TONS of self-important rich folks who love their cocaine, and yes, a few for whom smoking is the preferred delivery mechanism. Or maybe he was just blazing with his homies for the heck of it. I would be inclined to say "let's just let the man smoke his crack," mayor or not, except that he's denying it. Because he's a rich white guy he can get away with doing things that other people can't. If he were to stand up and say, "yeah, you know what, I smoke crack once in a while, and if I don't deserve to be thrown in jail for it, neither does anybody else," I would be the first to applaud him. Hey, there's a first for everything, right?

Well, maybe not. It'll never happen. So let's enjoy the show.

Kaitlin McNabb wrote:

Also, for some friday evening levity, presented by Slate:

Who Said It: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford or SimpsonsMayor Diamond Joe Quimby?:

Thanks, that was fun.  I got most right, except for 11, 16, 18, and 19.

.

onlinediscountanvils wrote:

toaster wrote:

onlinediscountanvils wrote:

Why didn't the Toronto Star choose to highlight Rob Ford's ethnicity?

My guess: Ford is a known public figure, the others are not.

My guess is that as a third generation British-Canadian his ethnicity is seen as "normal", and therefore assumed to be irrelevant. The Star story also mentions Ford's lawyer, his chief of staff, and two Star reporters. None of their ethnicities were mentioned either. Yet for some reason, the ethnicity of the men in posession of the video was mentioned 11 times in one article.

You pondered why the Star didn't say anything about Ford's ethnicity, and I responded.  You didn't say anything about the others.  Could you imagine, "Tom Cruise, white..." or "Morgan Freeman, black...", no.  Public identities are known.  As for the others, I agree with you.

I suppose there's not much stopping anyone with enough money from purchasing the video. Making contact with the men in possession of the video might be one potential hurdle for anyone outside the media who have already had contact with them. If the video is real, presumably Rob would know how to get in touch with them, but admitting that - even privately - could be a double-edged sword for him. And the thing is, I don't think there's anyone arguing that there is no video. The only things that are in question are; what's on the video, and is it real. So if a friend of Ford buys the video and it quietly disappears, does any of this go away? Ford's privileges have enabled him to survive a lot throughout his life, but I'm not so sure he gets out of this one so easily.

What is Ford up to this weekend?

If the PMO, or an employee there, whatever, paid $90,000 to help Duffy, Ford probably will also have access to deep pockets, yes?

If I were Ford, or a weathy Ford supporter, or a Ford political ally - federal, provincial, or municipal, perhaps I would be trying to buy the video and destroy it, but how could a purchaser be assured it is the only copy?

And what is the police's role in this?