[typezed]

My poster design for the next election season: that photo of Rob Ford reading while driving with the tagline TORONTO - YOU"RE SMARTER THAN THIS. Any other photos could I use to make it a campaign? A shot of the scales from the weight loss challenge, maybe? Ford running comically from the media? Maybe others would seem loo mean, too smug, too downtown elite (although it's my idea, and for what it's worth, I don't live downtown and, if anything, I'm underclass). Toronto's population overall must be as well-educated and responsibly employed as any in North America, I need to believe that they can't feel well represented by such a bumbling doofus who studies his speech on his steering wheel while driving the highway. I do have less certain moments when I begin to suspect that he does represent us in all our stupid selfishness. I know I've stood and watched with sad resignation as people crammed into the already packed first streetcar in a line of streetcars, where each one is clearly less occupied than the one before. And those streetcar riding people so self-importantly pushing to make sure they're on the first car, most of them aren't even Ford voters.

 

[junior43]

A shot of the scales from the weight loss challenge, maybe? Ford running comically from the media? Maybe others would seem too mean, too smug, too downtown elite (although it's my idea, and for what it's worth, I don't live downtown and, if anything, I'm underclass).

Go for it. You're posters will look real good when at least 25% of our population is considered overweight. Making fun of a fat guy for failing on his diet should work like a charm!

 

[nfitz]

Nope, even the Star's editorial board piled on Miller for how he handled it (boy I bet they regetted this editorial considering what came 16 months later):

The Star was consistently anti-Miller for years. In many ways they set the stage for letting Ford in. Hopefully they'll be more responsible in the future.

A 4+ year old DUI while on vacation didn't matter - he was on vacation, number one.

That's just silly. Your allowed to commit crimes on vacation?

I'm just saying, everyone was anti Miller at the time

Everyone was anti-Miller??? And yet polling around the time of the last election suggested he'd have beaten Ford ...

Ford isn't counting on the surplus every year. He's treating it like gravy at the end of the year (which I much prefer).

And yet Ford has provided virtually no savings over his term, other than the garbage contracting out. He promised $2-billion a year savings, and there's virtually nothing. Taxes continue to rise at similar rates to the last decade. Program spending continues to rise. As far as the extreme-right-wing conservatives are concerned, Ford has failed. Not sure why this hasn't been realised by all yet.

The problem is, he's so unwilling to work in a team, that he's effectively removed himself from the process of governing Toronto, and it's gone on without him. Unlike Miller, he has very little influence on what council is doing. I just can't imagine that anyone on the right-wing would support Ford next time over another right-wing candidate ... unless this comes down to simply supporting Ford because of his evil anti-gay beliefs.

 

[typezed]

The intention wouldn't be to make fun of a fat guy for attempting to lose weight. We would want here to focus on the idea that the Fords thought it was important to the workings of the city to transport an industrial scale from their business down to City Hall to operate some carnival spectacle that was doomed to fail. A gentle reminder to the intelligent people of Toronto that the whole sorry performance was dumb degrading folly. But maybe I misjudge the voters, maybe their bar for stupid is set somewhere different than mine. Maybe they really want their leader to be someone who can be their stand-in victim of whatever culture war they're fighting.

 

[adma]

Right or wrong, Ford coaches football and the general public eats it up. You can mock him all you want, it sells Ford's brand. I find it odd, everyone mocks Ford as stupid and brainless, but his PR machine continues to mow opponents over. Rhetorical question - if he's so dumb, how'd he become mayor? I've got to assume you think a majority of Toronto's population is also stupid, because they voted for him........

I know it's cheap and easy, but...

Go for it. You're posters will look real good when at least 25% of our population is considered overweight. Making fun of a fat guy for failing on his diet should work like a charm!

"You're".

 

[BurlOak]

I know it's cheap and easy, but...

"You're".

I am sure that over 25% of people do not proof read their posts and/or have auto-correct do funny things.

 

[ShonTron]

While I can find repeated misuse of "their", "they're", and "there" and "your" and "you're", I'm not going to call it out if it happens on occasion.

That was cheap and easy, adma. It happens to the best of us from time to time.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I am sure that over 25% of people do not proof read their posts and/or have auto-correct do funny things.

Can you cite the study? How'd you pick 25% as opposed to 52% or 1/3rd? Sorry, maybe I'm the only one who found using a made-up percentage as a defense for a spelling mistake funny, but I LOL'd... ;-)

 

[bobbob911]

Our tax rates are lower because we are more dense, so more contributors per sq/km.
There are also economies of scale for overhead etc.

What evidence do you have for this statement, as opposed to costs being roughly linear to the population regardless of density or scale?

 

[W. K. Lis]

What evidence do you have for this statement, as opposed to costs being roughly linear to the population regardless of density or scale?

12' of 1 1/4" copper pipe costs $54.99 (retail link). The more length of anything, pipe, road, sidewalk, etc. will just add to the cost of maintaining it. A 24' frontage will mean 24' of pipe, sidewalk, road. A 50' frontage will mean 50' of pipe, sidewalk, road, not counting the length of whatever needed to get from the city property line to the housing unit. If there are multiple units at that property, it would cost less to reach them, up to the limit of city water pressure in the area.

 

[adma]

While I can find repeated misuse of "their", "they're", and "there" and "your" and "you're", I'm not going to call it out if it happens on occasion.

That was cheap and easy, adma. It happens to the best of us from time to time.

Still, given the subject matter, those defending Ford have to be extra careful about tripping the Teabonics wire...

 

[bobbob911]

12' of 1 1/4" copper pipe costs $54.99 (retail link). The more length of anything, pipe, road, sidewalk, etc. will just add to the cost of maintaining it. A 24' frontage will mean 24' of pipe, sidewalk, road. A 50' frontage will mean 50' of pipe, sidewalk, road, not counting the length of whatever needed to get from the city property line to the housing unit. If there are multiple units at that property, it would cost less to reach them, up to the limit of city water pressure in the area.

I'm not sure what your example is meant to illustrate.

Firstly, water infrastructure is paid for by the water bill, not property tax.

Secondly, property taxes are primarily used to finance operating costs, not infrastructure costs. (The exception being carrying costs of debt financed capital expenditures)

Thirdly, the vast majority of operating costs are strongly correlated to net population, not necessarily population density.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I so hope Ford's new accuser Frank Trotz isn't another stooge of chaleff-freudenthaler.

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...mplaint_about_rob_fords_lobbyist_letters.html

 

[TonyV]

Just the latest -- I've said it before and I'll say it again, politicians like Ford eventually offend even their supporters.

 

[LordWanker]

Just the latest -- I've said it before and I'll say it again, politicians like Ford eventually offend even their supporters.

Considering that Ford has been using that gang-savior act from the beginning, I'm surprised it took this long for the Don Bosco staff & parents to voice their concerns.