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.

Tim Harper on the Vic Toews Debacle

In my opinion Tim Harper, a Star columnist with whom I tend to agree more often than disagree, misses the mark with his latest piece.

Entitled A mean town just got a whole lot meaner, the article laments the ugliness that has ensued in reaction to Toews' attempt under Bill C-30 to erode our online privacy under the pretext of ferreting out child pornographers. Toews and his government's resort to ad hominems, absolutism and other acts unworthy of a democratic government against those with reservations to the bill have provoked a furious response from the Twitterverse, including revelation of the ugly details of the Public Safety Minister's messy divorce.

Tim Harper suggests that those details should have remained private, arguing that Toews has done nothing criminal, hypocritical, nor unethical in his Parliamentary position:

In other words, there was no need to pull back the curtain on a family mess that involved others who did not choose politics as a vocation.

What the columnist ignores here is that the Twitter tactics were perfectly predictable, given the debased public climate fostered and promoted by Stephen Harper since assuming office six years ago.

In the Harper world, anyone who questions or impedes his government's vision is regarded as an enemy of Canada, a Taliban sympathizer, or disloyal to our troops. In Harper's Canada, anyone with a competing vision is villified, marginalized, muzzled, mocked or otherwise neutralized. And in Harper's world, if all else fails and real democracy threatens, there is always the prorogue option.

After six years of exposure to these abuses of power and with no recourse, is it any wonder that people, not only feeling impotent rage at their marginalization but also victims themselves of this government-led warping of public morality, are resorting to measures that in normal times would have been considered beyond the pale? Indeed, haven't more and more Canadians lost hope of legitimately influencing a government that no longer even pretends to represent the best interests of the people?

The Dark Ford Forces Prepare

Were I given to rhetorical flourishes, which of course I am not, I might refer to the gathering tomorrow of Mayor Ford and his good soldiers as a mini-Wannsee Conference as they prepare their plan to dispatch not just TTC head Gary Webster but up to five TTC executives.

Says good soldier/Ford loyalist/TTC commissioner Frank Di Giorgio:

“We will discuss whether removing some managers — and it may in fact be three, four, five — we may discuss whether that’s the way to go,” ...“We’re trying to eliminate some of the problems that surfaced over the last month that should not have surfaced and need not have surfaced.”

In his quest for a final solution to the vexing problem of bureaucrats thinking independently as they search for the best transit options for Toronto, Di Giorgio said the responsibility of the city’s bureaucracy is to follow the will of the mayor and achieve the objectives set out by his mandate, which TTC managers have failed to do.

Put another way, I suppose that grovelling obeisance has suddenly become the prime qualification for employment in the upper echelons of the TTC under the Ford regime. Next stop? Fealty oaths, anyone?

Torontonians Rising to the Challenge Presented by Mayor Ford's Fascism

Although I don't live in Toronto, I am riveted to and outraged by stories of those who abuse their power. As discussed in my previous post, that is precisely what is transpiring in 'the big smoke' under the direction of Rob Ford and his acolytes.

Fortunately, however, people are fighting back. Despite the fact that the meeting to unjustly fire Gary Webster will take place behind closed doors, citizens are planning to show up at City Hall:

Community organizer Dave Meslin, who is part of one group calling on people to attend the meeting, said the frustration and anger among transit riders on Facebook and Twitter is “unlike anything I’ve seen before.”

“That’s because this goes beyond a simple debate about policy,” Meslin said. “This is now a debate about procedure, about governance, and about whether the City of Toronto uses evidence or ideology to make decisions.”

Meslin said firing Webster will create “a climate of fear” among the city’s senior staff, which “will effectively silence all our experts across the city.”

For those who live in Toronto and want more information, Meslin has started a Facebook page.

Good luck to all people who believe in the primacy of reason over ideology.

Fascism Spreads To Toronto

Although Canada will likely never see executions for wrong-thinking, the career equivalent of such is very much evident in Toronto, under the benighted 'leadership' of Rob Ford and his cabal of retrogressive 'thinkers' and Ford loyalists (aka TTC Commissioners Norm Kelly, Vince Crisanti, Frank Di Giorgio, Denzil Minnan-Wong and Cesar Palacio).

A special meeting of the commission has been called to discuss one thing: the fate of TTC general manager Gary Webster, expected to result in his termination. His 'crime'? Refusing to surrender his integrity by endorsing Ford's obsession with subway extensions that Toronto neither needs nor can afford. Webster's termination will send a strong message that the job requirement for city staff members has changed from that of offering the best and most impartial advice on the issues to being sycophantic toadies doing the bidding of their political masters.

For a full accounting of the situation, I highly recommend today's editorial in The Star.

How the aforementioned councillors can even pretend to be representing the best interests of their constituents instead of their own venal political ambitions is beyond me, but like another man of integrity, Munir Sheik, I suspect people will remember Gary Webster long after the people acting like fascist thugs are political dust.

Contemporary Fascism: Harper Government Suppression Of Information Continues Unabated

In reviewing some of the traditional hallmarks of fascism, it is frightening to observe so many of them on the Canadian landscape, not the least of which is the Harper muzzling of federal scientists, who can no longer talk about their discoveries without government permission.

Do these other characteristics of fascism look familiar?

1. Watch for signs of extreme nationalism. One of the key components of fascism is a heavy emphasis, by the government, on patriotism and national pride, often through propaganda. Pride is often encouraged above all else, especially in the military.

2. See if there is denial of civil rights. In fascist regimes, civil rights are often ignored or not adhered to. The people under the leadership of the fascist leader are persuaded to allow drastic reductions of civil rights for the good of the state.

3. Note if there is censorship of the media. Key to the definition of fascism is control of public information. In fascism, the media is either run by the government, controlled by the government or in cooperation with the government through corruption.

4. Look for signs that religion and government are strongly linked. Fascist regimes use religion as a propaganda tool to influence citizens and gain their admiration.

5. Recognize if there is suppression of organized labor. Fascist government are often placed into power by the corporate powers of a nation. The government provides for the corporate interest and either disallows to heavily suppresses the laborers in order to keep business on their side.

6. Take note of any suppression of free expression. Part of the definition of fascism is the government's need to control the thoughts and actions of the citizens. To achieve this, fascist regimes will limit freedom of expression by disallowing the arts and free speech. High levels of education are also sometimes discouraged or eliminated.

For further reading on a very worrisome trend, I highly recommend this article by Nick Fillmore.

Oh, one more thing, and I suppose I state the obvious here: I have nothing but bottomless contempt for all of the Conservative backbenchers and ministers without whose collaboration this insidious assault on our rights and freedoms could not be taking place.