No One To Blame For Rob Ford But The Media And Ignorance

This article in the Toronto Star points to the voters as those solely to blame for Rob Ford being elected.

I disagree. The voters are partially to blame, but there were other major factors.

1) The Media
The Media is very much to blame for the election of Rob Ford. During the election campaign they, pretty much as a whole, focused much more on the celebrity of Rob Ford than on the policies of the candidates. This influenced the many voters who are more easily swayed by name recognition and celebrity than policies.

Also, the Media is largely to blame for discouraging people from voting, by convincing many that it is pointless to vote as it will change nothing. Remember, the vast majority of media is or is owned by large corporations. So, it is in their best interests for the most part to support Conservative ideology. It is known that the most avid voters are conservative supporters. So, by convincing those who disagree with and are disappointed by government policies and trends that it is a waste of time to vote, they are removing votes against the parties/people that support the conservative/corporate agenda/ideologies.


2) Ignorance
A large part of Conservative ideology is the celebration of ignorance over knowledge and reason. Just look at the popularity of the Tea Party in the USA, especially a couple of years ago, during the time of the last Toronto municipal election. Those people in Toronto who embraced this celebration of ignorance over knowledge and reason at the time of the election were/are at the core of Ford Nation. The popularity and sensationalizing of this ideology convinced many more to jump on the bandwagon of celebrating ignorance.

And now, with all that, there is the issue of trying to reason with those who have chosen to abandon reason.

It is easier to fool someone that to convince them that they have been fooled.

We have our work cut out for us. And it is made especially hard for individuals to fight against the Media for the attention of people, especially for those people who currently won't be reasoned with.

Disecting Ford Nation - Part Three - Nov. 20, 2013

Crack smoking admission, "rage/murder threats" video, oral sex comment, international embarrassment, bullying and immature behaviour in council, ... After a series of things that confirm, for most people, that Rob Ford should resign as Mayor of Toronto, Ford still enjoys significant support.  Unbelievable you say? How can this be? Who are these people who still support him?


Today I will look at 5 polls done by Forum Research, Oct. 28-29, Oct. 31, Nov. 4, 2013, Nov. 6, 2013 and Nov. 20, 2013. Again, I will look at the groups with the highest initial approval ratings on Oct. 28-29 to see if there are any significant changes.

Significant observations
• Overall approval has stayed about the same
• Support remains highest among men
• Support from seniors continues to drop (by 10% since the first of these polls), and Other Christians (by 15%)
• We see a sudden drop in support in the recent poll among these groups: Scarborough, Low Income, Other Christian
• We see a significant rise in support amongst these groups that formerly had lower support ratings: 45-54 years of age, Etobicoke or York, Renters, $60-$80k, Catholics,  Households with children

What does this mean?
We can see that the demographics of Ford Nation are changing somewhat as a result of the new revelations and incidents. Some people are starting to change their mind against Rob Ford, while others are becoming more supportive, thus, keeping the approval rating fairly steady.

The biggest swing between groups is the drop in support in Scarborough and the rise in support in Etobicoke. Maybe this means that the people of Scarborough are having second thoughts about the expensive subway plan (vs. the already-paid-for LRT plan), and the people of Etobicoke are feeling the need to rally around their hometown boy.

Below are levels from the 1st date to the latest date

Approval
39% - 44% - 43% - 44% - 42%

Disapproval
61% - 56% - 57% - 56% - 58%

Let's look at the groups with the highest initial approval rating, in other words, Ford Nation.

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE (within 5% from 1st to last poll) - THE BASIC CORE

Transportation - drivers
50% - 49% - 48% - 48% - 47%

Property Owners
43% - 45% - 46% - 44% - 40%

Ethnicity - Other European (non-UK background)
54% - 45% - 53% - 53% - 53%

Education - some college or university
50% - 54% - 57% - 52% - 55%


SIGNIFICANT RISE IN SUPPORT - THE RABID FANS
Gender - male
43% - 46% - 45% - 50% - 49%


DROPPED AND THEN LEVELLED OFF
Voted for Rob Ford
84% - 78% - 74% - 77% - 77%


SIGNIFICANT DROP IN SUPPORT
Region - Scarborough
51% - 54% - 55% - 59% - 43%

Household Income - less than $20k
56% - 47% - 56% - 54% - 49%

Age - 65+
49% -  41% - 42% - 40% - 39%

Religion - "Other Christian" (not Catholic, Protestant or Evangelical)
66% - 56% - 55% - 57% - 51%




And here are new groups that have, over the time of these polls, risen to be the top supporters that were not initially top supporters.

Age - 45-54
46%

Region - Etobicoke or York
57%

Renters
46%

Household income - $60-$80k
53%

Religion - Catholic
54%

Have Children
49%

Disecting Ford Nation - Part Two - Nov. 6, 2013

Even though we now have the revelation that there was a video of Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack, and now that Ford had admitted that he smoked crack, he still has a fairly high approval rating. How can this be? Who are these people who still support him?

Today I will look at 4 polls done by Forum Research, Oct. 28-29, Oct. 31, Nov. 4, 2013, Nov. 6, 2013 (after the 1st video revelation and Ford's confession, but before the release of the "rage/murder threats" video).


Changes
Approval stays about the same since the Nov. 4th poll.
The most significant changes in Ford Nation are:
• Support has risen amongst men and people in Scarborough
• Support from seniors continues to drop




Below are levels from the 1st date to the latest date

Approval
39% - 44% - 43% - 44%

Disapproval
61% - 56% - 57% - 56%

Let's look at the groups with the highest initial approval rating, in other words, Ford Nation.

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE (within 5% from 1st to last poll) - THE BASIC CORE

Transportation - drivers
50% - 49% - 48% - 48%

Property Owners
43% - 45% - 46% - 44%

Household Income - less than $20k
56% - 47% - 56% - 54%

Ethnicity - Other European (non-UK background)
54% - 45% - 53% - 53%


Education - some college or university
50% - 54% - 57% - 52%

SIGNIFICANT RISE IN SUPPORT - THE RABID FANS
Gender - male
43% - 46% - 45% - 50%




Region - Scarborough
51% - 54% - 55% - 59%

SIGNIFICANT DROP IN SUPPORT
Age - 65+
49% -  41% - 42% - 40%

Religion - "Other Christian" (not Catholic, Protestant or Evangelical)
66% - 56% - 55% - 57%

Voted for Rob Ford
84% - 78% - 74% - 77%

Rob Ford Attempts To Keep Toronto From Having Input On Transit Funding

Rob Ford and his council lackeys want to differ discussing transit funding until AFTER Metrolinx' deadline to agree on what they will present to the province - in other words, until after it is too late to have their input considered by Metrolinx in their recommendations to the province.

Typical Rob Ford/Ford Nation idiocy.

The mayor should be doing all he can to encourage ideas and debate on this issue in order to come up with some input for Metrolinx BEFORE this deadline. Instead, he is burying his head in the sand and trying to stifle progress, as usual.

Transit Fees: Ford, Councillors Headed For A Showdown

Mayor Rob Ford Countdown Clock

Instead of checking the news to see when the exact time and date of Rob Ford's removal from office is, just bookmark the Mayor Rob Ford Countdown Clock page!

Stock up and champagne and party horns as the time is fast approaching.

Start the betting pool on whether he will have to be forcibly removed from office or not when the time comes.

Respect for the Taxpayer from Rob Ford - NOT!

Rob Ford got his lackeys on the TTC council to fire Gary Webster, the Chief General Manager the other day for doing his job well. They fired him without just cause. As a result, the City (that's you, taxpayers), will be on the hook for $560,000.00 for Gary's severance package. They could have let him stay for one more year until his retirement and it would have cost far less.

Now, we have no one at the helm of the TTC during a time when we need a very experienced and competent person there.

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount = $560,000.00

Councillors Voted To Deny Rapid Transit For Their Constituents

On Feb. 8, 2012, the majority of Toronto City Council voted to reaffirm most of the Transit City LRT plans.
The vote was 25-18.
Nine councillors voted no to the plan that would bring rapid transit to their wards. The Ford transit plan would only have brought rapid transit to 4 of these 9 wards.

You can see a map of how the councillors voted at the Toronto Star page here.

You can see 5 maps of different versions of Toronto transit plans at the Globe & Mail page here.

Ford's plan has no LRT on Finch West, the Eglinton LRT line is much shorter on the West end, and his Sheppard Subway plan had no funding, so it most likely would not have been built any time soon.


The reaffirmed Transit City lines contains a segment of LRT that crosses the North end of Etobicoke on Finch, has an Eglinton West LRT line that extends to the edge of Etobicoke, and includes the possibility of an LRT line along Sheppard in Scarborough.

The Councillors who voted against rapid transit routes in their wards are:
1 - Vincent Crisanti
7 - Giorgio Mammoliti
11 - Francis Nunziata
12 - Frank Di Giorgio
17 - Cesar Palacio
34 - Denzil Minnan-Wong
35 - Michelle Bernardinetti
37 - Michael Thompson
40 - Norm Kelly

The wards, of the councillors above, which would end up with zero new rapid transit lines in their wards under Fords plan: 1, 7, 11, 12 and 40

Now, people who live in these wards, when it comes election time again, remember that your councillor voted to deny you vastly improved public transit.

Toronto Prevails Over Ford Nation in Budget Vote

Liveblog: City Council's Final Debate on the 2012 Budget

The people of Toronto can breathe a sigh of relief (for now). For the most part, the majority of Toronto City Council voted against the mayor Rob Ford's plan to gut city services.

Centrist rookie councilor Josh Colle moved to reverse most of Ford's planned service cuts. Council voted 23-21 in favour of the motion.

Other motions to save city services also passed:
- To save the libraries from an additional $3.9 million in cuts - passed 22-21
- to give Toronto Community Housing the $ they saved in property taxes rather than shunting it to overall surplus - passed 33-11

Still not safe yet: 3 dozen TTC routes will have their service reduced.

I must commend the centrist councilors who finally showed some backbone tonight.

Outside, the protest got a little heated and there were a few arrests as the crowd decided to try to enter City Hall:
Live: Protest Outside City Hall Budget Talks

See also:
http://torontoist.com/2012/01/city-council-reverses-many-key-ford-cuts-passes-budget-the-mayor-never-wanted/

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1117267--james-ford-loses-the-gamble?bn=1#.TxZIS6vqIqd.facebook

Details from Now Magazine:

Cuts reversed Tuesday include: 

• Restore $2.3-million in funding to community grants, including HIV prevention and programs geared towards seniors, youth, and immigrant women in priority neighbourhoods
• Avoid the closure of the Downsview Dells, Birchmount, and Bellwoods shelters
• Maintain crowding standards and wait times on TTC routes slated for reduction
• Preserve current service levels at libraries, including hours, programs, and material collections
• Continue free recreation programming for youth and seniors at priority centres
• Avoid the elimination of the Women’s Immigrant Health Centre
• Maintain school based childcare rent subsidy
• Avoid closure of three city-run childcare centres
• Keep ice-rinks open during off-peak hours
• Maintain programs at shared-use pools in TDSB schools
• Reject $2 user fee for drop-in swims at pools
• Provide funding to keep three staff positions at the Toronto Environment Office
• Allow the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to keep $6 million in tax savings
• Maintaining mechanical leaf collection

Toronto City Budget - The Problem Is Ford

Numbers Game | Toronto Media Co-op
The City budget is not and has never been in a financial crisis according to figures released by the Wellesley Institute, an urban health research and policy institute in Toronto.
...
Ford, along with the rest of the administration's allies have often repeated the $774 million deficit number as the current shortfall that has to be covered in order to balance the city budget. The perceived 'high number', along with proposed major cuts to key services such as childcare, nutrition programs and libraries, have scared a number of residents and prompted a backlash. This has allowed the Ford administration to promote a wider range of smaller cuts with less backlash.
...
The irony of the $774 million shortfall number is that it has been exacerbated by the Ford's decisions to freeze property taxes in 2011 and eliminate the vehicle registration tax. If property tax increases were maintained at the GTA average (3% a year) and if the vehicle tax was not eliminated, no cuts would be necessary.
...
“So we haven’t overspent for the last seven years, I guess,” Doug Ford said at budget deputations to Robert Cerjanec, a university student union representative. “Do you have any solutions to help the problem?”  It was a question asked repeatedly by Ford-allied councillors.
Surprisingly, neither Cerjanec, nor most of the 300+ deputants referred to the Mayor's own Core Service Review consultation.
The consultation, which polled over 13,000 Torontonians in depth-on their budget priorities, found that participants overwhelmingly supported increasing "property taxes to keep the same level of City services." 
Not increasing "user fees or taxes even if this means reducing the level of service" had the least support. The mean recommended "property tax increase for all participants was 5.15%."

The big question that Ford Nation supporters and trolls frequently ask is "do you want your taxes to increase to pay for these services?". As you can see by the above survey of 13,000 Torontonians, the overwhelming answer is YES.

More gangster politics/backroom dealing from Ford Nation

NOW Magazine // Daily // News // Mammoliti slams door on councillors
Giorgio Mammoliti, acting on behalf of the mayor, barred councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Janet Davis from the recent Child Task Force meeting. The meeting was supposed to be an open meeting. Wong-Tam just wanted to observe, and with good reason - she sits on the Community Development Committee, which delivers childcare.

Ford, during the campaign, said he would put an end to what he called "sweetheart backroom deals". But, since being elected, he has turned around 180 degrees on this issue. Ford's been keeping the majority of council in the dark on many things, and now this.

Ford appointed Mammoliti to the child care task force back in July.
Its goal is to investigate alternative funding models for the child care
spaces the city subsidizes, and many observers believe Mammoliti will
recommend privatization. Wong-Tam and Davis would strongly oppose that
move.

“Whether or not they agree with my politics or I agree with
their politics is not the point,” Wong-Tam said. “The point is we have
to respect our democratic civil institutions and the tools that give us
good government.”

Toronto mayor Ford still confused after provincial election. Better chance now for Transit City comeback

NOW Magazine // Daily // News // Transit City’s minority report
Excerpts:

The results of the provincial election have encouraged progressives
still holding out hope for the resurrection of Transit City. 

Councillor
Adam Vaughan is among the devotees waiting for the transit plan’s
second coming, and lately he’s seeing good omens. One of them is that
the mayor’s replacement for Transit City has stalled, for the time being
at least. The province agreed to fund part of it (the underground LRT
along Eglinton), but so far Ford has been unable to secure enough
private funds for an extension of the Sheppard Avenue subway. 

Another
encouraging sign for Vaughan is the results of last week’s provincial
election, which saw the pro-Transit City NDP gain more power in a
minority government, and confirmed that “Ford Nation” no longer has the
ear of the province. The political playing field is looking rather
different than when Dalton McGuinty acquiesced to a newly-elected and
still popular Ford on Transit City.  

“You’ve got a group of
councillors who support Transit City, and you’ve got a significant group
of provincial legislators from the GTA who want light rapid transit,”
says Vaughan. “Meanwhile you’ve got a mayor who’s still dreaming in
Technicolor when it comes to Sheppard avenue. The mayor’s just one voice
in a sea of people with a lot more power than him.” 

On the
transit file, Ford is looking increasingly desperate. The morning after
the provincial election, the first thing he did was venture out of his
cocoon of protective right-wing media for an interview on the liberal
CBC in which he publicly aired his demand for more provincial funding
for Toronto transit. 

A spokesperson for transportation minister Kathleen Wynne says the
province has no plans to give the city more transit money at this time,
but if that changes, NDP transit critic Cheri DiNovo says any provincial
funding should come with strings attached. 

“If the province is
going to be paying huge amounts for more transit, the province should
have a say in what it’s used for,” DiNovo says. “And Transit City is the
best way of spending it. I’m sure Ford would rather see something built
than nothing built. If we’re paying the piper we get to call the tune.”

...

There remains one development that could alter the political
equation. When Ford decided to cancel Transit City, he made Toronto
liable for the costs associated with work already underway. 

That
bill from the province is expected to be upwards of $49 million, but
mercifully for Ford, who is in the middle of a crusade to stop waste at
city hall, it has yet to arrive. Once it does, Transit City may start
looking a lot more attractive, says Vaughan. 

“There is no
$49-million bill to repay if Transit City gets back on track,” he said.
“For a city and a province looking to save money, the easiest way to
save money is to stop canceling things and to start building things.”

Doug Ford's backroom sweetheart dealings on waterfront breaks Ford Nation campaign promise and the Toronto Municipal Code

Toronto News: Doug Ford’s mall dealings spark complaint - thestar.com
Doug Ford claimed to various newspapers that he had been in talks with The Westfield Group regarding proposals for the Toronto waterfront development of the Portlands.

This has sparked a complaint to the City of Toronto's lobbyist registrar. According to the Toronto Municipal code code of conduct for councillors, councillors
“should not engage knowingly in communications” with anyone who should be registered as a lobbyist but isn’t.
The Toronto Municipal Code
states anyone communicating with a councillor or their staff on matters
including development, planning approvals and other specified topics
must first register with the city as a lobbyist.

The online lobbyist registry was created in response to the MFP computer
leasing scandal that revealed how lobbyists had wined and dined senior
staff and some politicians in the course of gaining contracts.

One of Rob Ford's campaign promises was to stop alleged backroom, sweetheart deals.

If the Westlake Group is not registered with the City of Toronto as a lobbyist, as it seems it isn't, then Doug Ford has admitted to breaking the Toronto Municipal code and one of his brother's campaign promises. And, Rob Ford, by allowing this to happen, or at least by not having immediately launched an investigation into the breach of code himself, is breaking yet another of his campaign promises.

Continue to put pressure on your city councillors to hold council and the Ford brothers accountable to the people of the City of Toronto.

Ford Nation is now a little clam. And, Tim Hudak is as out of touch as ever

Toronto News: Hudak plunges into dangerous liaison with Rob Ford - thestar.com

According to the Toronto Star, Rob Ford's popularity has been steadily declining since the election in Oct. 2010.

Ford’s popularity is sinking, according to polling data, as his hunt for
“gravy” falters and his administration wobbles. Just as the provincial
campaign takes off, Ford is wading into budget deliberations seemingly
eager to inflict deep spending cuts despite a promise not to.
...
And Tim Hudak must have drank a lot of the Ford Nation kool-aid because he thinks that, under the Miller administration in Toronto, services went down and a deficit was run.

Hudak told reporters after the more than hour-long meeting in Ford’s
mother’s sprawling bungalow they talked about the mayor’s efforts to
clean up the financial “mess” left by his predecessor, David Miller.


“Taxes went up and services went down and they have a significant deficit,” Hudak said.
Actually Tim, services were maintained or went up, and they ran a surplus, not a deficit. And the fact that Hudak thinks there still was a "gravy train" when it has been proven that, without a doubt, there was no "gravy train" at City Hall, goes to show just how out of touch he is with reality and Toronto.

And Ford has been asking the provincial party leaders for money for his failed Sheppard subway extension. The subway extension that was supposed to cost the taxpayers nothing since he would be able to get private business to pay for it all. But, no offers are forthcoming.

And then we have a quote from John Capobianco, a PC party activist and Rob Ford adviser claiming about Rob Ford:
“He was elected with a sweeping mandate for change at City Hall and he
has done a phenomenal job of cutting spending and keeping taxes down.”
Actually, John, Rob Ford has increased spending, and reduced income, and will have to put a huge tax hike in place to balance things out sooner than later.

Here is the most heartening part of the article:
But the Star has learned of polling data showing Ford’s
popularity steadily sinking from an almost 70 per cent approval rating
after the Oct. 25 election to only 45 per cent in early August.


Nelson Wiseman, a veteran political  scientist at the University of Toronto, also believes the Fords’  rock-star appeal has dimmed, scoffing at the mayor’s past threat to
unleash his “Ford Nation” supporters to topple McGuinty.


“Ford Nation is now a little clam,”  Wiseman said. “Sometimes it seems to be two people — Rob and his brother who, since the election, have come across like Abbott and Costello.

Doug Ford is not representing the will of the people

Toronto News: Australian firm eyeing waterfront mall - thestar.com
The driving force behind a member of city council should be the people he represents, the people of Toronto, not some rich foreign company!

An Australian company that’s one of the world’s largest shopping centre
owners is a driving force behind Councillor Doug Ford’s mall-based dream
for Toronto’s eastern waterfront, the Star has learned.

Doug Ford pours on the lies. Will the public continue to bite?

Do you like Doug Ford's preliminary plans for Toronto's waterfront? - Your Community
They have to keep piling it up. One lie after another. The next one has to top the biggest one before.

Regarding Doug Ford's plans to mess up the Waterfront development:
Ford says the private sector would fund the project. "People from all
over the world are calling us with billion of dollars to invest," he
said, "and Toronto's open for business."

Hands up everyone who believes this line. .... Didn't think so.

Doug Ford wants to replace this:
Sustainable Urban Design on Toronto's Waterfront (this is the plan in place/being developed)
with this:
Doug's Folly

Remember Transit City - a great, already budgeted plan to provide the whole city with rapid transit? Trashed by Ford Nation. Now they want to do the same to the Waterfront.

Can we get rid of Ford Nation now, please?

Right wing group Toronto Taxpayers Coalition backs contest to win lunch with Doug Ford

Toronto News: Readers wonder: What’s lunch with Doug Ford without any gravy? - thestar.com

These groups that purport to be in support of taxpayers are nothing but a front for hard-right-wing conservatives and libertarians who care nothing for anyone but themselves. They are greedy and would rather not pay any taxes than have the services and things that make the city great. What would they say if the services they rely on (water, electricity, firefighters, police, roads, etc.) no longer existed? 
The fact that the Toronto Taxpayers Coalition has set up a contest to win lunch with one of the main people (Doug Ford) behind the Let's tear it all down. Let's make Toronto a crappy place to live movement (aka Ford Nation) speaks volumes as to what they are all about.
Don't be fooled taxpayers. This group is not supportive of you (unless you are a fool too).

And still others would like to know more about the taxpayers coalition.

“An even more pertinent question: Who is the ‘Toronto Taxpayers
Coalition?’ It seems very strange that Doug Ford would be pumping a
non-partisan group in his talks that he has no links to. Also, it seems a
little stranger that there are no names whatsoever listed on the site.
Their ‘wiki’ only got action at the very beginning of the year and there
was just a huge flurry of comments and article updates. Who are these
people?”

They are definitely NOT a non-partisan group. They are about as conservative as you can get. Conservative as in Let's set the clock back a couple of centuries.

Toronto - Shouldn't the mayor be held to account?

Ford should have known he’d break promises on service cuts and layoffs - The Globe and Mail
And so should the people of Toronto during the election campaign.

Lying or just plain stupid, he should still be held accountable.

Excerpt:
Mr. Ford ran for office claiming to be something different than the usual smooth-talking politician. He was the no-nonsense ordinary guy who would cut through the baloney and tell it like it is. As the whole city knows now – and should have known then – he was peddling a line of  guff. The idea that he could cut spending, taxes and debt without
cutting any services or putting a single person out of work was an obvious fantasy from the start. Now it is being exposed as such. Shouldn’t the mayor be held to account? Are we supposed simply to forget that he was elected on false pretenses? If his promises to avoid
service cuts and layoffs were fake, what are we to make of his election promise to achieve $2.8-billion (yes, billion) in budget savings over four years, to produce $1.7-billion in operating surpluses, to pay down debt by $800-million? It’s not hectoring to expect a mayor to be straight with the public.

A comment from below the article:
He's a liar, a common, garden-variety liar. You can dress it up all you want but he's just a liar. You should recognize him from playground days, he was the bombastic kid who would say anything.

Ford Nation deserves what they voted for. Trouble is, the rest of us have to put up with this joke of a man and his psychologically disturbed cronies on Council. He will severely damage Toronto and turn it into a second-rate city. It will be years before we overcome the destruction he will bring to the fabric of our city.

Think riots in London were bad? Wait till he cuts services here...that's the direction he's taking us.

If you mishandle this situation, you will not be sitting here four years from now

Toronto Spoke: “You’ve been very arbitrary with your choices,” says Jason Adam Robins « Ford For Toronto
Click the link to watch the video.
Here is the transcription of the video. Jason Adam Robins was one of the deputants to speak at Toronto City Hall to the Executive Committee.

Jason:

I'd like to start by saying I'd like to thank all the concerned Torontonians who have shown their support, or lack thereof, for the measures that this committee has seemingly pushed forward and is obviously going to pursue. I'd truly like to say that it's extremely disturbing that this Executive Committee is making decisions that affect so many and have an expectation of sacrifice for so many when they themselves don't seem to have any affect in this way, shape, or form. I don't believe that any of you [members of the Executive Committee] will suffer as a result of these cuts. I frankly believe that you don't understand what you are doing.

You're elected officials. I don't think you understand the weight of your office - it's clear by your choices that you don't. You've been very arbitrary with your choices up until now, and I don't really believe that that's going to change.

I ask you all this one question: Are you prepared to hinder and hang your entire political life on this KPMG report? Are you confident enough? Because, I guarantee it to you, if you mishandle this situation, you will not be sitting here four years from now.

What you have done, to your credit, is galvanize a giant machine of individuals who are fed
up with watching their democracy be hijacked by foolish behaviour. I truly hope that you are ready to reap what is coming, because sitting in this room and in this building for the last – I can't even count because frankly I've been here with them all day. And I haven't been
absent, mayor, I have been here the day, just like many others. All of these people are standing up in front of you asking you very kindly to think before you act. And I frankly believe, like many of the people sitting here in this building right now, that this is an exercise in futility. This is an ugly version of politics that us, as Canadians, and we as Torontonians, are not used to seeing. 

I urge you. I, in fact, warn you, if you do not change your ways, you will not be sitting
where you are today.

I don't expect that you're going to have any questions for me because I didn't sit here and put up any figures, and I didn't support a specific group, and I didn't do any of the things the litany of experts that have sat in front of you have done.

But, I urge you, with this balance or lack of balance with KPMG, why would you not take the
advantage of seeing these community leaders and sit down and see how the external factors of your decisions will destroy the social fabric of our city. Think of this when you are making these choices. I urge you.

Rob Ford's bad math and lies continue to dog his steps

Toronto News: Ford poised to break promise of no layoffs - thestar.com
Rob Ford promised he would balance the books by getting rid of the gravy train - he found there was no gravy train.
Rob Ford promised to not cut services - he is working hard to cut services.
Rob Ford said the attrition rate was 6%, so he would be able to save money by a combination of this attrition rate and not hiring new staff - He found the attrition rate is actually 2.7%. So now he plans to lay off hundreds or thousands of staff - staff who supply much-needed services to the people of Toronto (see the 2nd point above). This plan includes laying off 400 firefighters. Sure, let Toronto burn, Nero Ford.


(photo from http://progressiverambler.blogspot.com/2011/07/fords-vanishing-act-leaves-vacuum-at.html)

Whoever the next mayor is (and, make no mistake, there will be a different mayor after the next election), they will have a lot of work on their hands picking Toronto back up.

Where does he live - in a hole somewhere? Norman Jewison on Doug Ford

Toronto News: Norman Jewison wades into Ford-Atwood spat - thestar.com
Excerpt:

Acclaimed Canadian director Norman Jewison says he was “shocked” by
Doug Ford’s dismissive comments on Margaret Atwood, accusing the city
councillor of betraying the author and all Canadian artists.

Asked by CBC Radio if he had any
comment on Ford’s statement last month — after Atwood criticized his
desire to close libraries — that, “If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a
clue who she is” — the 85-year-old director of films including Moonstruck and Jesus Christ Superstar didn’t hold back.

“I don’t think we celebrate our
artists like we should and other countries celebrate them. So when you
get somebody in Toronto on the city council and he doesn’t know who
Margaret Atwood is, that’s shocking to me. I’m just absolutely shocked,”
he said.

“The world knows who Margaret Atwood
is. I mean, why doesn’t he?” said Jewison, the Toronto-born, U of
T-educated founder of the Canadian Film Centre on Bayview Ave.

“Where does he live — in a hole somewhere?”

Jewison noted he has made many films
on the theme of betrayal, adding: “I felt that Margaret Atwood was
betrayed, but I felt all Canadian artists were betrayed by a statement
like that. It just shocked me.”