From The Pens Of Editorial Cartoonists

...some Saturday afternoon wisdom:

The Stupid Among Us

I was in a rather foul mood yesterday, and I think it was largely attributable to the ongoing spectacle known as Toronto civic politics. Like one sated on too much unhealthy food, I am royally sick of the disruption caused by the crimes and misdemeanours of Rob Ford and his tag team partner, brother Doug. But what I think especially set me off was the pathetic whinging of the duo, who project an image of deep hurt over what Doug calls the "public flogging" of his brother; coupled with the inability to feel even a scintilla of shame or remorse over what they have done to the city and its people, it renders both of them unfit of public office.

But what enraged me most was the patent stupidity of the duo that they hold out as some sort of perverted testament to their characters: "Rob was elected to do a job, and he will continue to do it," says the chief enabler. Big Baby Brother plaintively brays, "All I can do is apologize and move on." Neither is able or willing to acknowledge the massive damage to public reputation, morality and civil discourse they are both responsible for.

To make matters even worse, yesterday during the council meeting they both engaged in a shameful attempt at moral equivalence. Brother Doug barked at Denzil Minnan-Wong, "Have you ever smoked marijuana?"



While the stupid, aka Ford Nation, might have felt that his suggestion of hypocrisy was warranted, people with higher cognitive functioning would have immediately seen the shameless flaw in his 'strategy,' namely that whether anyone has ever smoked pot or gotten behind the wheel when they shouldn't have has absolutely nothing to do with the issues and demons facing his brother. There is simply no comparison.

Yet I got the distinct impression that reputed Drug Dealer Doug felt that he had scored a victory in his defense of his troubled and troubling brother. And I guess that's what really set me off, as it is clearly emblematic of both the intellectual and moral poverty of the rabid right-wing, the faction that seems to believe that you can bully and bray to victory.

Rob got into the act as well, 'magnanimously' offering to pay the cost of drug tests for all council members.

And oh, how they love to play the victims here, besieged by a bloodthirsty mob over a few merely private peccadilloes. Doug gave a CNN interview in which he offered the following emblems of victimhood, his family in general and his daughters in particular:

“Is it tough on the family? Yes, it's tough on the family,” Ford said. “We've been getting death threats. My daughters, I have four young girls, they were threatened to be sodomized and raped."

Just what is a charter and card-carrying member of the Profoundly Stupid Club to do?

I don't have the answer for him and his fellow travellers, but perhaps it is well past time to stop ceding so much airtime and print and influence to the benighted right wing. Perhaps it is time to simply tell them, in language and tones that they can understand, to shut their mouths, stop their bullying, go to hell, and leave the weighty matters of public office to the adults in the room.

Toronto Councillor Adam Vaughan maybe said it best yesterday: "We've spent too much time on this fool already."

Uh Oh - The Big Boy's Mad

One cannot help but wonder if Toronto's Chief Buffoon, Rob Ford, had been 'over served' in some capacity (take your pick of mind/mood altering substances) before making this call to Sun reporter Joe Warmington last night.

Sometimes It Is Hard Not To Feel Smug

Many years ago, the singer Mac Davis wrote and performed a satirical song entitled "It's Hard To Be Humble," about a man so impressed with himself that he has no insight whatsoever into what a buffoon he really is.

I sometimes think of that song when I ponder the shenanigans of Toronto's chief magistrate, Rob Ford, a legend in his own mind and, in his fevered yet cruelly limited imagination, the victim of unwarranted aspersions cast by the envious, aka the pinko left, the chattering classes, and, well, just the damned envious.

So it was with much delight that I read this morning's column by The Star's Thomas Walkom. Entitled Three cheers for Rob Ford, true face of the modern right, the piece suggests that unlike those who try to conceal their true agenda, (think Stephen Harper and the recently-exposed Mitt Romney),

... Rob Ford is never flummoxed. Or perhaps it more accurate to say he is in a state of constant flummox.

His hypocrisy is upfront. Any other politician who made his name fighting the so-called gravy train might be embarrassed when found to use public resources inappropriately.

Ford, however, is unapologetic. Did he pressure city workers to fix up the street outside his family business? So what? Did he break conflict of interest rules? He never read them. Is he using taxpayer-funded resources for private activities? Forget about it.

And so the psychodrama continues. But unfortunately, when pondering people like Rob and brother Doug (the alleged 'brains' behind the operation), I sometimes find that, to paraphrase Mac Davis' song, it's hard not to be smug, something I usually strive to assiduously avoid in my journey through life.

Another Poke At An Easy Target

A busy day ahead of me, so I have chosen the path of least resistance for my post today. Enjoy.

The Pleasures of Ford-Spotting

Were I a fully actualized human being, I would no doubt lead an exemplary life, the proud possessor of a heart filled with love for both friends and enemies. Alas, I am not such a person, and so I freely confess to the on-going delight and pleasure I take when things go awry in the fantasy world of the right-wing.

I suspect that is at least part of the explanation for my ongoing fascination with the 'mind' of Toronto's mayor, Rob Ford, about whom I have written several times already. The latest source of my impure pleasure is the Chief Magistrate's total obliviousness to (or absolute indifference to) the caricature of administrative competence that he conveys to the world, at the same time heedlessly dragging down with him any notion of Toronto as a 'world-class city.'

His latest contribution to my merriment came in an article in today's Star, where the big boy threatens to unleash the "Wrath of Kong" against a former MPP under Mike Harris, Councillor John Parker, for falling to support his one-track mind on subways.

As a consequence of this failure of fealty, the ungentle giant is saying he will turn the 2014 election into a de facto referendum on council’s transit votes, ... hinting publicly he will support an effort to defeat Parker.

Nothing I enjoy more than a good cat fight among right-wing extremists.

The Spirit of the People is not Dead in Toronto

For someone who believes in the potential power of the people, this small demonstration against Rob Ford's brutish abuse of power is heartening.

The Toronto Star- Another Winning Editorial Cartoon.

One of the many reasons I love The Star.

Toronto's Thuggish Mayor

The thuggish mentality of the Ford crew is captured rather nicely here, I think.

An Elephant in the Room

I had a dream last night that Rob Ford and his brother were in my home, and everywhere they sat, the furniture broke. Could it be a metaphor for the policy impoverishment now afflicting Toronto, and accelerated by the firing of Gary Webster?

But then again, I suppose a literal interpretation would not be out of order either.

Christopher Hume's Withering Assessment of Rob Ford and His Enablers

That Ford can still find five members of council willing to do his bidding, no matter how transparently shabby it may be, also speaks volumes about the sorry state of Toronto politics. The members of this odious quintet — TTC commissioners Norm Kelly, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Frank Di Giorgio, Cesar Palacio and Vincent Crisanti — shame all Torontonians, including the mayor.

And that's only a small excerpt from an excellent analysis.

A 'Dwarfish Thief' At Toronto City Hall

For those who think Shakespeare has lost his relevance in our time, try out this quotation from Macbeth when you think of Mayor Rob Ford and his abuse of power:

He cannot buckle his distempered cause
Within the belt of rule...

Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach.
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love. Now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.

The bard was, indeed, a man for all seasons.

The Arrogant and The Obsequious

For those both fascinated and repelled by the abuse of power happening in Toronto, and the obsequious who make possible that abuse, I highly recommend today's column by Royson James, who speculates on the qualities of pusillanimous appeasement that will be required in Gary Webster's replacement.

Rob Ford Continues To Make An Ass of Himself

While the title of this post might strike many as redundant, even I, despite having borne witness to a great deal of asinine behaviour over the years, was surprised to see the following headline on The Star's website a few minutes ago: Mayor Rob Ford to Toronto: Don’t read the Star

Apparently the big boy is calling upon 'Ford nation' (is there anyone still residing there?) to join him in a boycott of The Star. Still petulantly miffed over a story that the paper still stands by, one revealing that he was asked to stop coaching football at a Toronto high school for inappropriate behaviour, the Toronto mayor continues to show the stuff he is made of, and because I prefer to keep a certain level of decorum and language on this blog, I will let the reader infer what that might be.

But please read the story, as it will make you laugh, cry, despair, or exult, depending upon both your level of maturity and, perhaps, political orientation.

The Toronto Star Fights Back

Because the ever-petulant Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, backed by his always doting and sycophantic executive, continues to boycott The Toronto Star on all official notices and pronouncements from his office, the paper has decided to file an official complaint with the city's integrity commissioner.

As reported in an article by Torstar Chair John Honderich in today's edition, the genesis of Ford's childish edict is a story that the paper ran during the mayoral campaign about his conduct as a football coach. At the time, Ford the candidate said he was going to sue the paper for libel, but never followed up on his threat, and has since stipulated that his freeze will stay in place until the Star runs an apology above the fold on page 1. As he recently told reporter Daniel Dale, “I don’t talk to the Star till you guys apologize. You guys (are) liars.”

Putting aside the howls of outrage that would have attended such a proclamation had a liberal mayor issued such a fatwah against a right-wing news organization, the Star, I believe, is right when it says that his boycott raises a serious issue of abuse of power and directly affects [their] ability to cover city hall and serve [their] readers.

The issue clearly goes beyond one person with an axe to grind. Ford, because of the political power he wields, was able to get political compliance from his executive committee to shelve Councillor Adam Vaughan's “free press and democracy” motion [that] would have prohibited city employees and politicians from excluding any specific journalist or news outlet from any “media conference,” “media event” or news release.

It has been said that all politics is local. That is also probably the best place to take a stand against political corruption as well.