Rob Ford's Toronto

[pattycakes]

Put the tinfoil away, for this makes absolute sense!

Well, Rob was rather well rehearsed, not like his usual self at all. Someone polished him up a bit, I think his collar and tie even looked decent for a change. Hmmm...

 

[TOperson]

By at one point being a pharmacist myself....and being a user. Obviously.

Well, that and I've made a few good friends in my time who happen to be chemists or pharmacists.

I should also put it out there that the drug world isn't populated entirely by cartels, human smugglers, and gang bangers. Lots of very decent human beings as well. Hell, make it all legal and you'll see.

Pharmacists and chemists are not "drug dealers" in the usual sense that has been used on this thread the whole time, and you know it, and that is not what you meant with the remark that set off this discussion. Why would a pharmacist be paranoid about being secretly recorded?

 

[TOperson]

The difference is that most UTers are not elected officials that claim they have a zero tolerance attitude towards gangs. I would imagine most UTers that know "drug dealers", know small time cannabis dealers. There's an argument to be made that cannabis has to come from somewhere, and somewhere up the chain, there's gangs, or even organized crime involved, but with cannabis it's also possible it was grown in somebody's closet. In Ford's case he wasn't hanging out with small time cannabis retailers, he was hanging out with gang members zero degrees of separation away from violent crime.

It was clarified several pages ago that this discussion was NOT about small-time cannabis dealers, but higher-level dealers of more serious drugs. E.g. crack. So, organized crime is almost certainly involved in those cases, and apparently several UTers are OK with that.

(Possibly also the illegal distribution of prescription drugs via MTown's "pharmacist" friends.)

I don't recall "I think all drugs should be legalized" or "I have nothing against drug users" or this nuance of "it's not Ford's drug use per se, it's his hypocrisy/irresponsibility/slacking off work/over-use/whatever" coming up when the crack allegations were first made or following Ford's admission or following the ITO release. But now that it has, I guess we can stop criticizing Ford for his drug use - ALL the drugs he uses - and his drug associates, right? Otherwise, we would be the hypocrites.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Well, Rob was rather well rehearsed, not like his usual self at all. Someone polished him up a bit, I think his collar and tie even looked decent for a change. Hmmm...

The ability of someone as clever as Black to manipulate someone as dumb as Ford cannot be over stated. With Black's latest NP rant, it is clear now that this whole Black on Ford thing was simply Black using Ford to attack his old nemesis...the Toronto Star. The one thing Black has not taken into account, like a few other conservatives who pretend to rally behind him, is that Ford's toxic slime is not easily washed off. And as time goes on, he is likely to get more toxic than less so.

Picking apart Black's rant is almost too easy. It's good to see his giant ego and limitless arrogance has not dwindled.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Um, pharmacist is a term used for drug dealer and chemist is a term used for chemists aka the people who make/grow the drugs. I'm not talking about legal pharmaceuticals. Not all drugs come from Colombia, you know. Very many are locally sourced. 100 mile drug diet!

 

[TOperson]

Um, pharmacist is a term used for drug dealer and chemist is a term used for chemists aka the people who make/grow the drugs. I'm not talking about legal pharmaceuticals. Not all drugs come from Colombia, you know. Very many are locally sourced. 100 mile drug diet!

So you used to deal drugs and that's how you know drug dealers. Why didn't you just say so?

 

[ToniK]

...Dale is a small, boyish-looking man who wears glasses and does intellectual stuff for a living...

Have you ever met Daniel Dale? He's over six feet tall, and a big sports fan - particularly Bills football, ironically.

He's smaller than Ford, of course, but aren't we all?

 

[SunriseChampion]

So you used to deal drugs and that's how you know drug dealers. Why didn't you just say so?

Um, I did say that. I also said I met them in other ways.

Can I just say (again) that being in the business doesn't preclude one from being a respectable and decent person who contributes to society. Ford is not a decent human being and therein lies the problem. If his only "failing" was that he was a responsible drug user, I wouldn't have a problem with him beyond policy. He's not though. He's irresponsible, sociopathic, and consorts with violent criminals.

 

[FromTheHammer]

Um, I did say that. I also said I met them in other ways.

Can I just say (again) that being in the business doesn't preclude one from being a respectable and decent person who contributes to society. Ford is not a decent human being and therein lies the problem. If his only "failing" was that he was a responsible drug user, I wouldn't have a problem with him beyond policy. He's not though. He's irresponsible, sociopathic, and consorts with violent criminals.

This may give away my age a bit, but I feel now is an appropriate time for this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XqyGoE2Q4Y

 

[freshcutgrass]

Don't know if I agree with your idea of a "functioning drug user", but I agree that Ford is not being criticized, as he seems to imply, for just doing what everybody else does.

 

[blearghhh]

Not defending Lord BlackAdder but, is he named as a party in the notice? Thought that, apart from Ford, it was just Vision/Zoomer. Black has made it clear (clumsily. mind you) that in his own mind he was just an employee. That would appear to be his stickin' story.

Well, thinking it through, all Black did was ask questions. Rob Ford made the statements, and Zoomer Media broadcast them. Unless Black is a principal in the company, then I would agree with it.

 

[newearthling]

It is a bit infuriating that Ford's version of masculinity is given any credence whatsoever. He is a toxic, damaged, man-child, seemingly developmentally stuck at a young age.
Now, that I think of it, that is a way Ford could frame his libel defense: he did not know any better as he has the intellectual/emotional development of an evil 2year old (not to denigrate all 2 year olds as most are more mature than Ford.)

 

[Jado]

Christie Blatchford's piece today is especially pointless.

I used to enjoy her writing (she handles a lot of crime and trial stories, her frank outrage is at home in this arena) but her approach to the Ford saga has been infuriating. The strangest thing is, the effect is almost banal - like she's being told what tone and angle to take, and her heart really isn't into it. She ends up building straw men then knocking them down with straw brooms.

So, yeah, strike the Post off my morning scan.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Now, that I think of it, that is a way Ford could frame his libel defense: he did not know any better as he has the intellectual/emotional development of an evil 2year old

Well, that worked to keep his job in his conflict of interest debacle.

 

[Crazy]

Christie Blatchford's piece today is especially pointless.

I used to enjoy her writing (she handles a lot of crime and trial stories, her frank outrage is at home in this arena) but her approach to the Ford saga has been infuriating. The strangest thing is, the effect is almost banal - like she's being told what tone and angle to take, and her heart really isn't into it. She ends up building straw men then knocking them down with straw brooms.

So, yeah, strike the Post off my morning scan.

Blatchford's in a tight spot because she supported Ford, or at least attacked his various "elitist" critics, for a long time, and she seems to have a huge problem saying, "I was wrong." She's been slyly and incrementally stepping away from the Ford turd for quite a while now. But I remember a column of hers in The G&M right after the 2010 election. She thought it was great that Ford won, and went so far as to say she voted against Adam Vaughan because of his obvious contempt for Ford.