[adma]

Then again, there's also a counter-message transmitted by that group of 5; that thus far, no prospective competition has come forward to them as a more attractive option.

So, prospective candidates: here they are now. Entertain them.

 

[Admiral Beez]

One lady describes her political position as a "conservative liberal", for christ's sake.

That's a legitimate point of view. Much of the Conservative voter base would describe themselves as holding both conservative social views and liberal economic views.

This is what's driving so many conservatives batty, since the Cons in Ottawa aren't economic liberals at all, as Harper has increased both the size and expenditure of government to a level never seen in Canadian history.

We have to be careful of labels anyway. Myself, I've voted for NDP, Cons and Liberals both Federally and Provincially. No label fits.

 

[cdr108]

That's a legitimate point of view. Much of the Conservative voter base would describe themselves as holding both conservative social views and liberal economic views.

This is what's driving so many conservatives batty, since the Cons in Ottawa aren't economic liberals at all, as Harper has increased both the size and expenditure of government to a level never seen in Canadian history.

We have to be careful of labels anyway. Myself, I've voted for NDP, Cons and Liberals both Federally and Provincially. No label fits.

i think you have it backwards.
they are fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

 

[canmark]

CP24 tweets: Cut the Waist update: Mayor Rob Ford has weighed in at 311 pounds, up three pounds from his last weigh-in two weeks ago.

 

[freshcutgrass]

i think you have it backwards.
they are fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

It doesn't really matter which way you have it. Those who claim to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal aren't really socially liberal, as not wanting taxes spent on anything beyond what you approve of, is still social engineering.

Conservative-thinking = narcissism.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

It doesn't really matter which way you have it. Those who claim to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal aren't really socially liberal, as not wanting taxes spent on anything beyond what you approve of, is still social engineering.

Conservative-thinking = narcissism.

Hmmm.... I've got to disagree with that. I'm fiscally conservative in that I want government to be a smaller portion of GDP. But I'm socially liberal because, within that smaller portion of GDP, I would prefer progressive taxation and more program spending on health and welfare than defense.

However, a bigger issue for me is that I'm not a social conservative and believe that such social conservative hotspots as abortion and religious education are best left outside the role of government.

Having said all that, I think the good Admiral is defining himself as 'economic liberal' in the pro-free trade/anti-regulatory sense of the term. If I may, Admiral -- that version of small-'l' liberal is kind of inside-baseball 'code' at this point, like 'Burkian conservative' or the Mises types saying 'inflation' when they mean 'growth of the money supply'. I think if you're going to call yourself an economic liberal, you need to give a couple of examples of what you mean by that. IMHO.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Hmmm.... I've got to disagree with that. I'm fiscally conservative in that I want government to be a smaller portion of GDP. But I'm socially liberal because, within that smaller portion of GDP, I would prefer progressive taxation and more program spending on health and welfare than defense.

he he....but you just reiterated what I said. You want the size of government and what they spend tax dollars on to conform to your personal beliefs.

However, a bigger issue for me is that I'm not a social conservative and believe that such social conservative hotspots as abortion and religious education are best left outside the role of government.

The conservative-thinking mind has two major weapons to use...legal and fiscal. Using just the fiscal does not make you a "Liberal".

 

[RC8]

Over the years I've come to conclude that there isn't such a thing as a 'conservative' or 'neoliberal' ideology. Those who happily apply such tags to themselves inevitably propose policies that make their preferred lifestyles cheapest and easier to attain, and that's that.

If they send their kids to public school then public schools need be well funded. If they don't, the government spends too much money on education. If they drive then the government should subsidise their lifestyles and pay for their highways, etc. But the highways they don't use should be tolled. The environment is never deserving of any protection, unless the area around their cottage is threatened in which case all life is sacred and civilization decadent.

Conservative ideology is a melting pot of people who wish to pursue their own interests with the rest of society putting up as little resistance as possible regardless of what these interests may be.

A true 'fiscally responsible' economic liberal who wants everyone to pay for the services they use would believe that no one is entitled to limitless roads and the inefficient services that come with sprawling communities. He would argue that cars are a very inefficient way of moving around and that governments shouldn't be subsidising them for that reason. He would conclude that cars are a luxury that only those who can afford them through hard work should be able to enjoy, and that universal healthcare makes most sense since it leads to a lower per capita spending on health with better results. In short, a true fiscally responsible economic liberal wouldn't see eye-to-eye with most conservatives in this planet.

 

[sarnya]

CP24 tweets: Cut the Waist update: Mayor Rob Ford has weighed in at 311 pounds, up three pounds from his last weigh-in two weeks ago.

There's video of the weigh in here: http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityn...4--mayor-ford-gains-a-few-to-weigh-311-pounds

He certainly doesn't look happy for the very, very brief moment he steps on the scale. How long is this supposed to go on for? He must be regretting getting himself into this publicity stunt.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

he he....but you just reiterated what I said. You want the size of government and what they spend tax dollars on to conform to your personal beliefs.

We'll have to agree to disagree, but it might be just a matter of degree. I'm more concerned on the shrinking of government than on specific policies, although my advocacy of transit does go against that stance.

 

[hawc]

Ford should have been given more criticism for his deal with the police union, given his supposed hatred of unions, but for whatever reason he got a pass there.

Agreed. He should definitely have been criticized there more.

Police/Fire Department unions are sacred cows in this town and it has to stop.

For starters I think we could turn a lot of fire departments downtown into Fire AND Ambulance locations. So we dont' have a huge red truck(s) racing to every medical emergency downtonw. TFD is obviously trying to protect its turf knowing that they're not as needed as they were 50 years ago. There are far, far few fires these days.

Also we don't need as big a police force as we have and they don't need to be the highest paid cops in Canada. And they don't need to be 'guarding' every road project going on in the city. Meter maids could do that.

 

[ShonTron]

Policing side debate moved here:
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/18710-Policing-Attitudes

 

[Palma]

Agreed. He should definitely have been criticized there more.

Police/Fire Department unions are sacred cows in this town and it has to stop.

For starters I think we could turn a lot of fire departments downtown into Fire AND Ambulance locations. So we dont' have a huge red truck(s) racing to every medical emergency downtonw. TFD is obviously trying to protect its turf knowing that they're not as needed as they were 50 years ago. There are far, far few fires these days.

Also we don't need as big a police force as we have and they don't need to be the highest paid cops in Canada. And they don't need to be 'guarding' every road project going on in the city. Meter maids could do that.

I think the EMS should be up there on same level with Firefighter, not below them. I cannot understand that and the fact EMS became an essential service just recently but do not have the same benefits as Police and firefighters. EMS cannot go to arbitration which Police and Firefighters can.

 

[Tee]

Some reporters present at the weigh in saw the reading on the scale as 313. I wouldn't be at all surprised, since Rob Ford is a serial liar.

There's video of the weigh in here: http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityn...4--mayor-ford-gains-a-few-to-weigh-311-pounds

He certainly doesn't look happy for the very, very brief moment he steps on the scale. How long is this supposed to go on for? He must be regretting getting himself into this publicity stunt.

 

[DanTheMan]

I think the EMS should be up there on same level with Firefighter, not below them. I cannot understand that and the fact EMS became an essential service just recently but do not have the same benefits as Police and firefighters. EMS cannot go to arbitration which Police and Firefighters can.

I've posted in this thread a couple times regarding EMS issues, essentially it boils down to the unfortunate fact that property is more valuable than life.
Fire department station coverage and staffing is set out by the insurance companies and any changes to that makes the rate you pay go up. Most of these policies were set out at a time where structural fires were common, not so much any more with modern building codes and construction.
EMS has 3x the call volume, with 1/3 the budget and about 1/4 of the staff. The vast majority of Fire calls are medical calls. The latest study I read showed that firefighters are not required in 98% of those calls.

The last contract medics got shows what little regard the city has for us. They'll do anything but actually hire more medics, the number of which has not gone up in over 10 years despite skyrocketing call volumes. We lost our right to strike and got nothing in return. The quality of care will now degrade with the introduction of part-timers, the city can now unilaterally change our shift patterns (huge), they can now unilaterally change our sick plan, the wage gap will increase even more between us and fire/police. All we wanted was a separate bargaining unit so that the garbage and parks guys would stop voting on our contract/issues, and we didn't even get that.