Rob Ford's Toronto

[pud99]

 

[pud99]

Rob has a hard time staying focused for any length of time. Cut the Waist lasted maybe two weeks, Come to Jesus another couple of weeks, living clean and sober a few weeks. Oh gee, is there a pattern?

So I disagree that he is committed to working the program. He got talked into it, and he'll behave for a little bit, but that's it. Even his jaunt into town the other day, posing for selfies, shows that he can't stick with anything. Adulation is one of his addictions.

Recall the article posted here a couple of weeks back about "The Fonz" personality that some people display in rehab.

 

[pud99]

 

[pud99]

Also noted that the latest CBC web site story repeats, without comment much less any critique, the lie that Doug gave the Escalade to Rob as a birthday gift - this in the midst of a story that reports that Deco is the owner (itself technically inaccurate, since Deco is the lessee and the lessor holds title, but that it a forgivable 'casualness' of speech).

 

[Jimmi T]

I finally have a tiny inside scoop for the thread! Nothing mind-bending but I'll share nonetheless:

I know someone who "graduated" from Greenestone yesterday. They are a respected professional. We had a brief discussion this evening. They confirmed that Rob Ford is indeed there. He's in the 60 day program. He takes part in the program and seems genuinely to want help. He is always making jokes and the other clients seem to like him (This person said they were not expecting to like him due to everything they knew, yet ended up becoming one of his good friends.). They go to AA/NA meetings on-site and off-site. They get to keep/use their phones and that Rob is getting calls regularly while there, from media and others. They said they felt bad for him because it's hard for him to stay focused while he tries to get help. There is an aftercare program available in Toronto.

Clients get urine tested every Tuesday. This is not foolproof since it happens every Tuesday. There are people there who bring drugs in and are using, although I'm not sure if this is something that is common at rehab? People know that if they use on Tuesday or Wednesday, they are good to go for the test. They are also allowed to go overnight back to Toronto unsupervised, if they have a reason. This person came back and actually used but managed to skip the test because he made up excuses as to why he couldn't come back in time for the Tuesday test, which wasn't done upon his return. He fessed up on his own eventually but was allowed to stay. I forgot to ask whether Rob has gone anywhere.

Sounds like a relatively cushy rehab overall. I think you could get clean there but there is alot of leeway given for screwing around. They do have a structured program but I get the sense they will take your money and figure it's up to you whether or not you want to take their program seriously. If not, they will gladly take your money and let you stay.

I asked about the Escalade incident. He was a bit wary at that point and said he couldn't/wouldn't go into detail, but that Rob lent the car to McRobb and that he was "actually doing something really nice". It sounds like the correct theory is that McRobb got turfed and had crashed her other car, and gave a sob story to Rob who, being the idiot who craves the acceptance of others, lent her his Escalade. Once again, Rob Ford, The Victim.

And there goes my first and likely final 15 seconds of fame in this thread.

He was nuts on the football field but when I spent time with him at city hall he was fairly friendly and easy going--a little bit shy. He can't even look at you when he's speaking. He'll look at the floor, the wall, the sky, but never in the eye. It gave me the impression that he was shady with something to hide.

 

[pud99]

 

[Dubster]

Learned last night that Rinse is a guy and not Smith but can't reveal more

Jesus you're everywhere.

 

[zang]

Amen. The right as fiscally conservative trope has been disproven over and over and over again. NDP governments have run the smallest deficits in Canada, more than PCs and Liberals.

While I agree with that, the NDP have unfortunately never been in a position to do this federally, which is probably what it needs to take in order to convince Ontarians (everyone west of us is better educated in NDP restraint). However, given that Ontario accounts for nearly a full third of the voting power in the country, and the one and only time the NDP held provincial power here happened to coincide with a global recession (which unfairly, Mike Harris convinced Ontarians that Bob Rae was to blame for), people here are wary of voting NDP into power nationally to give them the chance to prove it. It doesn't help that we're inundated with US media that seems to believe socialism = communism = evil.

It's frustrating that Rae made people wary of voting NDP again by doing things like raising the minimum wage, protecting jobs and creating greater protections for renters, whereas many seem gung-ho to vote for The PCPO, despite Harris' massive downloading, which created numerous redundancies and forced municipalities to raise taxes and fees beyond what people saved provincially, in addition to the mess that amalgamating the "megacity" became.

 

[PinkLucy]

He was nuts on the football field but when I spent time with him at city hall he was fairly friendly and easy going--a little bit shy. He can't even look at you when he's speaking. He'll look at the floor, the wall, the sky, but never in the eye. It gave me the impression that he was shady with something to hide.

That's something that bugs me immensely whenever Ford is interviewed. He never makes eye contact. He often has his eyes closed. Maybe it's shyness (I can relate), but I think that's only part of the story. Many people who lie have a hard time making eye contact

 

[Sweet Mister]

I'm not big on armchair diagnoses but RoFo does seem to have the classic 'troubled clown' persona. Self-loathing and insecurity concealed beneath a fragile layer of bonhomie which turns to aggression when challenged. His obvious vulnerability makes him hard to dislike. The lack of eye contact is a symptom of not wanting to let anyone get close... the only people he can be honest with are his strange alternative social circle of drug dealers and petty criminals. He does seem like a classic suicide/early death risk (judging by what happened to friends of mine, anyway).

I'm always struck by the observation that no matter how unpleasant it is to have to deal with folk like BroFo, imagine how much more unpleasant it must be to actually BE them.

 

[newearthling]

I'm not big on armchair diagnoses but RoFo does seem to have the classic 'troubled clown' persona. Self-loathing and insecurity concealed beneath a fragile layer of bonhomie which turns to aggression when challenged. His obvious vulnerability makes him hard to dislike. The lack of eye contact is a symptom of not wanting to let anyone get close... the only people he can be honest with are his strange alternative social circle of drug dealers and petty criminals. He does seem like a classic suicide/early death risk.

I think you nailed it.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I'm always struck by the observation that no matter how unpleasant it is to have to deal with folk like BroFo, imagine how much more unpleasant it must be to actually BE them.

Or gawd forbid, be somehow related to them.

AoD

 

[thereverend]

In danger of being viewed as a leftist? That's a dangerous positon? That is precisely why he is my second choice. I have no idea why people seem to equate the right wirh fiscal restraint. They have no fiscal restraint. They starve the beast and destroy revenue, then increase the costs of everythng. No thank you. We need a left-leaning mayor. Not another blowhard austerity anti-tax candidate.

My point is that Soknacki is more than progressive enough for most of us left-leaning voters, however, if he can also highlight his sensible view of fiscal choices he may pull in more voters and stand a greater chance of victory. I am NOT arguing that he should move right, just that he should highlight his fiscally sensible nature for voting-appeal purposes. If so he has a great chance of grabbing left-leaning votes and some of the mass exodus from the Ford camp.

 

[thereverend]

Amen. The right as fiscally conservative trope has been disproven over and over and over again. NDP governments have run the smallest deficits in Canada, more than PCs and Liberals.

I couldn't agree more. My original point was that Soknacki is not a "Fiscal Conservative (TM)", nor should he become one, but he IS a progressive centrist with a sense of fiscal responsibility. Really, voters are all "fiscally conservative" in that nobody wants the government to waste money.

 

[Sweet Mister]

I'm not big on armchair diagnoses but RoFo does seem to have the classic 'troubled clown' persona. Self-loathing and insecurity concealed beneath a fragile layer of bonhomie which turns to aggression when challenged. His obvious vulnerability makes him hard to dislike. The lack of eye contact is a symptom of not wanting to let anyone get close... the only people he can be honest with are his strange alternative social circle of drug dealers and petty criminals. He does seem like a classic suicide/early death risk (judging by what happened to friends of mine, anyway).

I'm always struck by the observation that no matter how unpleasant it is to have to deal with folk like BroFo, imagine how much more unpleasant it must be to actually BE them.

Oh, and the other thing that struck me... his weird violence towards Lisi and Bellissimo, his fantasy-violence rants... the bullying acts of a man who has been bullied all his life, punching down because he's afraid to punch up.