Hume: Calgary’s mayor is now Canada’s mayor

[jn_12]

Progressive europe????? Surely you're not talking about the Europe of the past decade.

Yep, I am. Obviously I'm painting all of that continent with the same brush, but I think it is very fair to say that many parts of Europe are more progressive than us, and we're more progressive than the Americans (though there are progressive pockets by American standards). What exactly is your problem with that? My point was that Ford represents "the American way". It's a way that is faltering and if every city was run by Ford, we'd be in a lot of trouble going forward.

 

[jje1000]

When considering those of our fellow citizens who may be out of touch with reality, one would do well to begin with the likes of David Miller, Sandra Bussin, Gord Perks, Joe Mihevc, Adam Vaughan and the rest of the left wing loony contingent at city hall. The aforementioned dreamers seem to have been so dissociated from reality that they considered it possible that their extremist agenda would find favour with Toronto residents; evidently they were very much mistaken.

It's never a good idea to call others names (even to your opponents), since it really does do a number to the way people perceive you and downgrades your argument.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Oh, this is a good one.

With respect to the charge that my observation of "precipitous decline" is indicative of my lack of familiarity with reality, I would first observe that one man's reality is another's fantasy. Therefore, it may well be that the Toronto some people exprerienced during Miller's seven year reign of error may have seemed to be in stasis, or perhaps to even have improved, but the collective judgment of a large plurality of Torontonians on election day, coupled with identifiable facts, would suggest otherwise.

Ford's victory was as much about him being the only stand-out in an incredibly weak field as it was about ideology. The poll that showed Miller could have won had he stood for re-election works as evidence of that.

Specifically, the infrastructure of Toronto has clearly deteriorated during Miller's era. Contests now exist to identify the most poorly maintained roads in the city; TTC service has become unreliable, uncivilized and in some instances dangerous; public spaces are littered with illegally dumped garbage and/or weeds that cannot be eradicated because of ill-conceived solid waste management policies in the case of dumped garbage and because of the Gord Perks type of eco-fanaticism to which Miller and his cronies capitulated in the case of weeds; Grafitti commonly adorns public and private property, typifying the overall decline of the city to which the grafitti also contributes.

None of these things can be backed up by anything more than observations. The CAA has always held nationwide contests to identify the worst roads, and it stands to reason that Canada's largest city - and the surrounding area - would dominate that list. I can't really counter your other points as they're just observations, so I'll just say that I spend a lot of time walking around downtown and - while there is certainly room for improvement - I can't say I've noticed a decline. So there.

Miller's solid waste policies were so successful both fiscally and environmentally that no one made any noise about reversing them in this election.

In terms of quality of life, Rob Ford's campaign abviously highlighted the numerous ways in which Miller and his supporters used and abused the powers delegated to them in the City of Toronto Act by implementing the private vehicle registration fee, the land transfer fee, et al. in order to support such absurd policies as the so-called "fair wage policy".

The fair wage policy has been in existence for over 100 years.

Using provincially-granted taxation policies to implement new taxes is not an abuse of power. It's use of power.

When considering those of our fellow citizens who may be out of touch with reality, one would do well to begin with the likes of David Miller, Sandra Bussin, Gord Perks, Joe Mihevc, Adam Vaughan and the rest of the left wing loony contingent at city hall. The aforementioned dreamers seem to have been so dissociated from reality that they considered it possible that their extremist agenda would find favour with Toronto residents; evidently they were very much mistaken.

Aside from Bussin, who seemingly has been replaced by another left-leaning councillor, and Miller, who didn't run, all councillors you named were re-elected quite handily. Adam Vaughan received 75% of the vote in his ward. Are three quarters of the voters in his ward disassociated from reality?

 

[adma]

Do you really want me to answer that? I will just say that Adam Vaughan's constituency is replete with people who seem to have cultivated a "Bizzaro World" reality which only occasionally, and quite unintentionally, bears a resemblance to objective reality.

Okay, a guy named "IH8TTC" posting in all-bold. Pot, kettle, black.

 

[jje1000]

Do you really want me to answer that? I will just say that Adam Vaughan's constituency is replete with people who seem to have cultivated a "Bizzaro World" reality which only occasionally, and quite unintentionally, bears a resemblance to objective reality.

Replying without an answer, other than declaring that the other side is "out of touch". Shameful.

 

[jje1000]

What a flourish of words!

 

[jje1000]

What do you call "reality"? The definition certainly varies from group to group, and it's quite interesting to declare that your definition is superior to the others.

 

[jje1000]

Uh huh. Do explain your universally-applicable beliefs.

Still, you stated this earlier on.

Do you really want me to answer that? I will just say that Adam Vaughan's constituency is replete with people who seem to have cultivated a "Bizzaro World" reality which only occasionally, and quite unintentionally, bears a resemblance to objective reality.

What makes their reality so "bizzare" compared to yours?

 

[SlickFranky]

So in short....their priorities and motivations differ from your own, and they've selected a representative they feel reflects those values. What's the problem here?

Do you think their selected choice doesn't approximately represent those values? Or are the values themselves 'wrong'?

 

[adma]

If, in your efforts to be economical with your word selections you intended to refer to the expression "the pot calling the kettle black", I would urge you to consider the actual meaning of that expression before suggesting that it may apply in this context. Moreover, my monicker is meant to be indicative of my contempt for the TTC however you (not surprisingly) have not sought to discover WHY I hold the once proud service in such low regard. Of course, when one already possesses the answers to all life's questions, what is the need for further inquiries?

And here, my folks, is an example of a person "who seem to have cultivated a "Bizzaro World" reality which only occasionally, and quite unintentionally, bears a resemblance to objective reality." Which, really, has less to do with his views per se, than with his methods of posting them, and his choice of a forum to squat within while posting them.

Face it, kiddo. You're a disgruntled, tasteless, cheeseball loser.

 

[gristle]

I suppose you infer that I am claiming that my perception of reality is superior to others, as I do not think I made the claim explicitly. I think you are correct that "reality" varies from group to group, perhaps even person to person. Without getting too tangential vis-a-vis the initial topic, Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy is worth reading as it addresses a number of philosophical problems, including "reality". Regarding Adam Vaughan's constituents ( or at least approximately 75% of those constituents who cast a ballot ), I suppose their reality is primarily based upon their presumptions about the fundamental aspects of human nature; of course, that is itself a presumption of mine, as I tend to form my opinions based upon my beliefs about those aspects of human nature that I believe are virtually universally applicable.

Actually, you are insinuating that your perception of reality is superior, its just that you are essentially too chicken to state your own (unfounded) beliefs about yourself. The fact that you choose to cast this in terms of some sort of debate regarding "reality" indicates that you neither have a firm grasp over the deeper philosophical concept, nor a clear capacity to differentiate the presuppositions underlying various political points of view being expressed. You can disagree with Adam Vaughan and the constituents who voted for him in Ward 20, but the "reality" is that he was elected by them - whether you like that or not.

And as for your "opinions" based on your "beliefs" regarding what you think about human nature (which you have neglected to properly define in any sense), its possibly only a revelation to you that some of us have long figured out that you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[SlickFranky]

...before government at any level can ask for sacrifice in terms of austerity measures and/or increased taxation, the citizenry must believe that all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the decsion-makers respect the value of taxpayers' money and will be vigilant in demanding the same respect of those revenues from their subordinates.

That's the wordiest version of 'respect for taxpayers' I've ever heard, but all those words don't change the fact that it's idiotic sloganeering drivel.

 

[adma]

Hey, disenfranchised Usenetters need their place to vent...

 

[adma]

Ah, the Usenet invation proceeds apace...

 

[adma]

Okay, I misspelled "invasion". It happens.