"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 25 May 2013

What a day it was for two days

I've hardly stoppd watching the news. The last thing I read was the Globe and Mail's explanation of  why they published unproven allegations  against Doug Ford  after spending two months ,presumably trying to find proof.

Over the signature  of  Robert Stackhouse ,The Globe states the "Ford Family" are "the most powerful  family in the most powerful city in Canada"

That would  bring a gasp of surprise  and  a wry smile to the face of every municipal politician in Canada.

As for the Ford  brothers, the most remarkable thing about them is how  alike  to every other Canadian  or to be more precise typical Torontonian , they are.

Maybe that's what The Star and The  Globe  and  Mail have against them. They're not part of the Rosedale  crowd or the Empire Club.

They're just Torontonians from Etobicoke who are perfectly satisfied to be who they are and  accept the city belongs to them and others like them.

You really have to wonder who or what  is it that has so much to fear  from Rob and Doug Ford.

John Tory has issued a warning to the newspapers. 

How much damaging stuff can be published without proof before people cease to believe anything you write.

By the way, the young things in the media keep referring to John Tory as a former politicians. 

Long  before he was a candidate for office, Mr. Tory was a significant influence in the Office of Premier  William Grenville  Davis.  

His intelligence and  sound judgement earned him great respect and considerable responsibility in  the business of the Province. 

He is more,much more, than he is seen to be.

Amongst all the momentous stuff we watched today, a snippet  appeared relating to the Royal Bank of Canada.  Apparently the Bank is anxious for Canadians to know they are no longer shipping  Canadian jobs overseas so that they  can maximize their  profits. 

12 comments:

Anonymous said...


If the Ford boys are as "alike to every other Canadian or to be more precise typical Torontonian, they are" then we are all truly in deep doo-doo.

How powerful is the mayor when he loses his pet casino to a woman premier and then has his own city council vote 40-4 against it, he having been one of the four losing opinions?

Perhaps the country's two largest and most influential newspapers feel that someone has stuffed a burr up their collective asses. If the Ford's sue them and are vindicated in a court of law, possibly up to and including the Supreme Court, I shall still my tongue. Possibly they want to increase circulation, a la Murdoch.

In the meantime the brothers Ford appear to be two of the greatest vulgarian boors to have appeared in public in the past 50 years. If confrontation be the sport of politics instead of conciliation then they might come out winners. But I hope to Hell not!

Take a look at the mayors of Alberta's two major cities for comparison. You cannot tell me that Toronto residents relate more to vulgarity and bluster in comparison to the sound, quiet, effective and efficient municipal governments enjoyed by the voters in Calgary and Edmonton.

The Fords bring more to mind of our former, a frothing loudmouthed ignoramus with the scruples of a newt. But then, you have experienced her sting.

And John Tory is simply a failed political candidate. for no one remembers his glorious influence in the office of Bill Davis.

And the Royal Bank just screwed up, got caught out and are now making amends.

Compare this tempest in a tea pot with Apple's overseas multi billions of dollars that have legally avoided tax, or has this been evasion? Stay tuned for the continuing Congressional investigation.

Good to have you back in action, although your opinions are somewhat askew.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back. Really missed you. The Globe lost the high ground with one ill-considered edition. The flack got so bad they shut off comments. It is incredible that they printed 4 pages of ancient garbage from 10 unidentified sources after claiming a year & a half of ' research '.

Anonymous said...

If you turned in a senior essay with that level of research & attribution, you would get it right back in your lap. Rightly so.

Anonymous said...

CBC
" Camera-shy Saskatchewan Senator blocks camera "

Anonymous said...

I have just canceled my subscription to the Star. For a week they have been harping on Ford for not talking about the coke video. He then talks about it and they harp on him for not admitting it.

I am tired of their agenda.

Anonymous said...

@ 8:44 AM
The Globe only have 8 informants, not 10.

Anonymous said...


Rob Ford looks out for taxpayers' money and he and his brother Doug pay their own way. You only had to see his reaction to the proposed "revenue tools" (read taxes) put forth by Metrolinx. So I think he and his brother are decent guys. It's very difficult to stop the spending but they are giving it a good try and for this they would have my support if I were a Toronto resident.

The Toronto Star is and has been irrelevant for some time. Daily newspapers will be a thing of the past. The good old days of newspapers are mostly over. Young people laugh at the thought of reading old news and have no need to purchase a newspaper. It is just a reality of our time.

I have been reading the National Post lately and although there are some good writers like George Jonas I find a lot of it is "old news". I don't want to read another article about Mike or Pamela or Harper's Chief of Staff. Harper has hundreds of people working for him so one less will make no difference.

It seems to me that people want and need politicians to treat their money as if it were their own. How they dress, speak or entertain themselves is of little concern.



Anonymous said...

My, Evelyn, how your wee Blog has morphed! And where are those who used to rant whenever you veered off local politics? Have they perhaps decided that this can be quite a bit of fun when the wheels come off occasionally?

Anonymous said...

Judging by some of these comments, there must be a few more people on crack.

Anonymous said...

@ 1:11 PM
We are displacing our anger. Aurorans first have to deal with our own version of venal politicians, the ones we voted out of office & 2 stragglers. How much have they cost the town per year in legal fees?

Anonymous said...


You would have us believe that residents of Etobicoke, and the Fords, are entitled to the city of Toronto, and that it somehow "belongs to them and others like them." And that they are somehow superior to the "Rosedale crowd or the Empire Club."

What a thoroughly asinine statement to make.

Are we not all humans? If a resident of Etobicoke has a child run down and killed by an errant motorist does that person feel more pain and suffering than that felt by a Rosedale resident whose husband drops dead of a stroke or heart attack?

Are you throwing out distinctions rather than trying to find those things that unite us during our existence in this life?

This Ford subject should be turfed in the trash bin where it belongs, along with the Duffys and Wallins. And you can throw Harper in there for good measure.

Anonymous said...

7:54 PM
I think the point that people might be trying to make is that a large # of Torontonians voted both Fords into office. They are the ones who will make a decision about the future of that council. Not because they are in any way special but because they formed a majority at one time.