Rob Ford's Toronto

[ParkdalePetunia]

When was the last time we had all three levels of government involved in scandals, lies and cover-ups, all at the same time? We seem to have the worst, self-serving scoundrels running things in this country and I'm wondering who's to blame? Ford is clearly the worst of the bunch but no surprise there. Anybody who watched Ford as a councillor, should have known he was going to go down in flames.

Consequences of NeoLiberalism and "democracy". Look at Western governments all over the place. The "powerful" are being purchased, foreign corporations get huge tax breaks and regular citizens take the hit. Neoliberalism puts far too much emphasis on the "individual" and capitalism/corporate love. We've lost the collective which leads to politicians thinking that we're too busy fighting each other to watch what they're doing.

And that is my poli-sci rant of the day.

 

[Adjei]

II wonder at what point will people in this city say enough is enough and demand this guy resign. I mean it's getting to the point where I think he believes he is above any law and can do whatever he wants. He needs to be driven out. This city cannot handle another year of this fool in office.

 

[ThinkRicky]

Consequences of NeoLiberalism and "democracy". Look at Western governments all over the place. The "powerful" are being purchased, foreign corporations get huge tax breaks and regular citizens take the hit. Neoliberalism puts far too much emphasis on the "individual" and capitalism/corporate love. We've lost the collective which leads to politicians thinking that we're too busy fighting each other to watch what they're doing.

And that is my poli-sci rant of the day.

Nailed it. It's all about a pack of rich assholes dividing and conquering the rest of us.

 

[JWBF]

Nailed it. It's all about a pack of rich assholes dividing and conquering the rest of us.

Ever watch the movie "John Doe"?

 

[Peepers]

Just a heads up for those who are interested.

Joe Warmington's late show on CFRB begins in 10 minutes at 10:00PM - He will be discussing the irate Mayors phone call on his show.

Here is the link to the online stream:

http://player.newstalk1010.com/

EDIT: Councillor Mammolitti is supposed to be a guest on the show tonight - should be some fireworks.

 

[Dubster]

Just a heads up for those who are interested.

Joe Warmington's late show on CFRB begins in 10 minutes at 10:00PM - He will be discussing the irate Mayors phone call on his show.

Here is the link to the online stream:

http://player.newstalk1010.com/

EDIT: Councillor Mammolitti is supposed to be a guest on the show tonight - should be some fireworks.

Joe sounded super conciliatory and nervous. I kind of like it. He's slowly figuring out how to think for himself.

 

[44 North]

II wonder at what point will people in this city say enough is enough and demand this guy resign. I mean it's getting to the point where I think he believes he is above any law and can do whatever he wants. He needs to be driven out. This city cannot handle another year of this fool in office.

No, no. The entertainment value offered by his mayoralty is just too good. As Neil Young says, it's better to burn out than to fade away. I'd say grab the popcorn and enjoy the ride.

 

[Peepers]

Joe sounded super conciliatory and nervous. I kind of like it. He's slowly figuring out how to think for himself.

Joe pushing back at Mammo right now!

Here is the link to the story they are discussing.

Turns out the napping community centre worker will not be fired. He is described as a "kid" in his early twenties.

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/10/22/city-heavyweights-ease-off-sleeping-worker

 

[Peepers]

No, no. The entertainment value offered by his mayoralty is just too good. As Neil Young says, it's better to burn out than to fade away. I'd say grab the popcorn and enjoy the ride.

This is how I feel about this matter as well. I can't see how Ford has actually harmed the city. For all his antics Ford is actually is doing a better job of running the city than David Miller did (what is Miller's big legacy? A subway to Vaughan?).

For the local media Rob Ford has been a bonanza. Readership is up and with it ad revenue. Ford's notoriety has also help put Toronto on the map and you can't underestimate the value of such publicity.

 

[44 North]

This is how I feel about this matter as well. I can't see how Ford has actually harmed the city. For all his antics Ford is actually is doing a better job of running the city than David Miller did (what is Miller's big legacy? A subway to Vaughan?).

For the local media Rob Ford has been a bonanza. Readership is up and with it ad revenue. Ford's notoriety has also help put Toronto on the map and you can't underestimate the value of such publicity.

Whoa, whoa. Easy there. Ford is an incompetent piece of garbage and has done more harm than good. And I do not care for how he's representing Toronto and putting us on the map. I just meant purely for the entertainment, and since he's not very capable of passing more of his agenda the way things are, him being around for another year won't hurt too much.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

Are the Fords actively in pursuit of keeping people silent?

Umm, duh?

 

[adma]

Consequences of NeoLiberalism and "democracy". Look at Western governments all over the place. The "powerful" are being purchased, foreign corporations get huge tax breaks and regular citizens take the hit. Neoliberalism puts far too much emphasis on the "individual" and capitalism/corporate love. We've lost the collective which leads to politicians thinking that we're too busy fighting each other to watch what they're doing.

And that is my poli-sci rant of the day.

Except that when it comes to Ford, we're letting the macro overwhelm the micro which *really* requires addressing. Like as I say, the most counterproductive way to attack Ford is to come from a perspective that he's "just like" Lastman, Dubyah, Harris, etc etc etc.

Incidentally, given all these letters-of-support, I'm sort of wondering if some of those malvern2 and HaveLove pro-Ford-posting characters have a history of vice, and maybe a still-active one...

 

[Lansdude]

Consequences of NeoLiberalism and "democracy". Look at Western governments all over the place. The "powerful" are being purchased, foreign corporations get huge tax breaks and regular citizens take the hit. Neoliberalism puts far too much emphasis on the "individual" and capitalism/corporate love. We've lost the collective which leads to politicians thinking that we're too busy fighting each other to watch what they're doing.

And that is my poli-sci rant of the day.

True but there's more to it than that. Decline of a shared cultural community also coincides with the decline of trust, altruism, and honour, fostering individualism. Aside from directly extolling the virtues of greed and self-interest, neo liberalism qua globalization also breaks up the bonds of place. This is no good since the material ramifications of this breakage cannot but be manifested in some place. Hand in hand with neo-liberal economic theories and their practices, is the power of technology to enable a grander ghettoization by ideas in additioin to location. People identify less and less with their specific location, more and more with their ideological confreres.

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

True but there's more to it than that. Decline of a shared cultural community also coincides with the decline of trust, altruism, and honour, fostering individualism. Aside from directly extolling the virtues of greed and self-interest, neo liberalism qua globalization also breaks up the bonds of place. This is no good since the material ramifications of this breakage cannot but be manifested in some place. Hand in hand with neo-liberal economic theories and their practices, is the power of technology to enable a grander ghettoization by ideas in additioin to location. People identify less and less with their specific location, more and more with their ideological confreres.

Amazing response!

 

[One Nut Kruk]

True but there's more to it than that. Decline of a shared cultural community also coincides with the decline of trust, altruism, and honour, fostering individualism. Aside from directly extolling the virtues of greed and self-interest, neo liberalism qua globalization also breaks up the bonds of place. This is no good since the material ramifications of this breakage cannot but be manifested in some place. Hand in hand with neo-liberal economic theories and their practices, is the power of technology to enable a grander ghettoization by ideas in additioin to location. People identify less and less with their specific location, more and more with their ideological confreres.

Is that a quote from Ja Rule?