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Ex-Montreal Girl said:
For the record, it wasn't NOW but the now-defunct gay entertainment mag, Fab who got Miller to leather up.
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I think your right, thanks for the correction.
 
thedeepend said:
[h=2]How the Rob Ford crack scandal could save Toronto[/h]
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/comm...ob_ford_crack_scandal_could_save_toronto.html
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While agree with the premise of this argument, I am getting sick and tired of the myths which are used to back it up.

First, Lastman is a traditional conservative and would fit in nicely with the contemporary Liberal party. He was not Harris' pet as the article implies, and spoke out against his policies regularly.

Secondly, to an uninformed reader, one would believe that rapid transit expansion into the suburbs started with amalgamation, which as we all know is completely false. Transit expansion into the suburbs began with the formation of Metropolitan Toronto, which would likely be re-established if such a process of demalgamation occurred. The author also makes it sound like these territories are identical to the kind of surburbs found in Oakville, which as we all know is complete bull. There are many high rise apartment buildings mixed in with retail along arterial avenues, along with a high concentration of new immigrants. Because of this, some of the TTC's busiest routes are found in the inner suburbs - with many routes facing overcrowding despite extremely high service frequencies.

Finally, the inner suburbs are NOT exclusively conservative! For much of the last 20 years they have been a Liberal stronghold. Even in the last federal election when the Conservatives managed a few seats in the inner suburbs, other inner suburbs actually voted NDP.

Is there an argument to break up the municipality? Yes, but making about those sprawl loving suburbanites is just as bad as making it about those latte loving downtowners.
 
Electrify said:
First, Lastman is a traditional conservative and would fit in nicely with the contemporary Liberal party.
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Indeed, Lastman endorsed Mike Colle in the last provincial election.

The article also seems oblivious to the fact that Miller won in the amalgamated city twice and did very well in the suburbs. I agree it was a poorly written piece.
 
Electrify said:
While agree with the premise of this argument, I am getting sick and tired of the myths which are used to back it up.

First, Lastman is a traditional conservative and would fit in nicely with the contemporary Liberal party. He was not Harris' pet as the article implies, and spoke out against his policies regularly.

Secondly, to an uninformed reader, one would believe that rapid transit expansion into the suburbs started with amalgamation, which as we all know is completely false. Transit expansion into the suburbs began with the formation of Metropolitan Toronto, which would likely be re-established if such a process of demalgamation occurred. The author also makes it sound like these territories are identical to the kind of surburbs found in Oakville, which as we all know is complete bull. There are many high rise apartment buildings mixed in with retail along arterial avenues, along with a high concentration of new immigrants. Because of this, some of the TTC's busiest routes are found in the inner suburbs - with many routes facing overcrowding despite extremely high service frequencies.

Finally, the inner suburbs are NOT exclusively conservative! For much of the last 20 years they have been a Liberal stronghold. Even in the last federal election when the Conservatives managed a few seats in the inner suburbs, other inner suburbs actually voted NDP.

Is there an argument to break up the municipality? Yes, but making about those sprawl loving suburbanites is just as bad as making it about those latte loving downtowners.
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Torontonians are all basically the same, but some live a very different lifestyle than others, with different priorities and concerns.

Since de-amalgamation empowers each group to focus on what's important to them, it only makes sense to do so.

If Ford's disaster leads to that outcome it will have been well worth it, I must admit.
 
Electrify said:
While agree with the premise of this argument, I am getting sick and tired of the myths which are used to back it up.

.
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The biggest nonsense that I read in this article (by a Vancouver based writer?) is the assertion that the Ford scandal is somehow bad for Toronto's "image" and that it will hurt our tourist industry. If anything just the opposite is true! As the old adage goes "there's no such thing as bad publicity". Rob Ford is putting Toronto on the world map in a way that no other Mayor has done before him. Very few people outside of Canada know who our Prime Minister is but if this video gets out everyone the world over is going to know that Rob Ford is the Mayor of Toronto! Anything that gets people in other countries thinking about Toronto can only be good for tourism. I am sure some are probably thinking that Toronto doesn't look so boring after-all and might be worth checking out!
 
MetroMan said:
City Councillors are finally stepping away from the sidelines and directly into this matter as they should. It's being circulated around council the idea of a motion calling for a public and transparent inquiry into Rob Ford's office. His hiring practices, his hidden schedule, and why he fired his chief of staff. The pressure will be on. What exactly does David Price do at his office collecting six figures? How was his staff chosen (coincidentally most of them are football related)? There is likely a super majority of Councillors who will support this so I don't see it having any problem sailing through council.
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Council would probably need 2/3rd majority, no?
 
Peepers said:
The biggest nonsense that I read in this article (by a Vancouver based writer?) is the assertion that the Ford scandal is somehow bad for Toronto's "image" and that it will hurt our tourist industry. If anything just the opposite is true! As the old adage goes "there's no such thing as bad publicity". Rob Ford is putting Toronto on the world map in a way that no other Mayor has done before him. Very few people outside of Canada know who our Prime Minister is but if this video gets out everyone the world over is going to know that Rob Ford is the Mayor of Toronto! Anything that gets people in other countries thinking about Toronto can only be good for tourism. I am sure some are probably thinking that Toronto doesn't look so boring after-all and might be worth checking out!
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Totally agree.. nothing worse for a city than being seen as boring and being unknown. I doubt anyone would say I'd rather not visit a city because its mayor smokes crack.
 
But of course, here's the rub: given the ill-at-easeness we've witnessed in him in the past, can *Rob Ford* handle being a tourist attraction? Y'know, camera-snapping tourists saying "Hey, there's the crackhead Mayor!"; maybe even pilgrimaging to Edenbridge for the whole "Hogtown Babylon" experience.

Being "good for the tourist industry" could well be backhandedly disastrous for *him*--y'know, causing him to snap, go into breakdown mode, etc...
 
What would really be bad for Toronto is being the city that re-elected the crack smoking mayor, or the city that cannot get rid of it's crackhead mayor. There's an embarrassment.
 
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack allegedly...Remember Marion Barry?

thedeepend said:
[h=2]How the Rob Ford crack scandal could save Toronto[/h]
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/comm...ob_ford_crack_scandal_could_save_toronto.html
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Deepend and Everyone: This news story made Long Island's Newsday in the past week...I instantly remembered former Washington,DC
Mayor Marion Barry being caught on video smoking crack during a drug sting...I was shocked to say the least...

This could be Ford's downfall - if this is true...and it could be quite an embarrassment for Toronto...

I also found the thought of the Toronto 1998 merger interesting - can this lead to bringing back the six borough government of Metro Toronto?

YouTube has videos of the Marion Barry incident - search "Marion Barry Smoking Crack"

Let's see how this incident plays out...LI MIKE
 
nrb said:
What would really be bad for Toronto is being the city that re-elected the crack smoking mayor, or the city that cannot get rid of it's crackhead mayor. There's an embarrassment.
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Good point. Tourists never visit Washington, D.C. any more. ;)
 
nrb said:
Totally agree.. nothing worse for a city than being seen as boring and being unknown. I doubt anyone would say I'd rather not visit a city because its mayor smokes crack.
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And of course smoking crack is one of Canada's most cherished past-times, if you watch The Daily Show. That really puts our city in a positive light. Like a few on this thread who actually believe in fairies, you know some Americans would believe this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wu6D5xn7jg
 
boogersugar said:
No--but this comment does:
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LOL! Touché.

Seriously, though, I wasn't implying right-wingers are white. I was pondering if at the rate we are going, only the racist/etc. element of the extreme right would be all that was remaining supporting him. Even the die-hards here say they are gone if there is proof he's doing hard drugs.

However, I was lazy and wasn't clear. That can be dangerous.
 
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