The prime M.O.
Posted on March 8th, 2013 –
If you’re a Torontonian, here are two pieces for your consideration:
Three times more lobbyists signed up with the city in 2012 as in 2010. The number of subjects they’re pushing has doubled. Allegations of misconduct have tripled. And the daily communications logged between lobbyists and public office holders appears to be 10 times higher last year than the year before Ford took office, an analysis by the Star has shown.
And with the numbers on the rise, lobbyist registrar Linda Gehrke worries there is dwindling awareness around the “ethical” guidelines set out in the code of conduct.
But for many councillors, the most worrisome result of the new reality is that average citizens and community associations — people without the means to hire Bay Street professionals to plead their case — are being shut out.
This article easily demonstrates the dangers of getting too cozy with lobbyists, a prime M.O. in the Ford’s Toronto is “open for business” agenda. I recommend you read the whole thing, including all of the backroom connections and deals between the mayor’s office and the people who are responsible for all of the projects he’s pushing at any given time (no, the casino wasn’t his idea!)
Basically, if you’re okay with the mayor making hush-hush big-money deals behind pulled curtains, you’d really have to trust in him to be quite honest under such circumstances, no?
I’m going to suggest to you, then, that that mayor isn’t Rob Ford. I mean, the man (predictably) can’t even tell the truth, while (predictably) insulting a few supporters in the process, about that football charity for which he’s already received plenty of attention:
Ford called Don Bosco, in Rexdale, a “tough school” in a “tough area.” Players, he said, have told him they would be dead or in jail if not for the team.
Ford also praised the players as intelligent and hard-working. And he enthusiastically spoke of the happiness he feels when they succeed in life. “You’d be amazed what these kids can do when they have a reason to do it,” he said.
A group of teachers said in an anonymous letter to the board that Ford’s comments were “demeaning” and “filled with untruths.”
In a formal statement on Thursday, the board said some of Ford’s words represented “a completely inaccurate portrayal of our students, our school and the community in which the school is located.”
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March 9th, 2013 12:23 pm
Omg Ford did not come up with the way to cheat the public out of their monies this time??
I know that the TTC has gotten cheaper and cheaper by the day!
The congestion just gets better and worse too! Yay for Toronto!:–S not!!!
I just wanted to inform you that I loathe this place and intend to take him down.
The end.
Love always, SDot.
March 9th, 2013 12:31 pm
Anyway…
I have a huge question! Why do WE SEE THIS BLATANT BS. YET OTHERS DON’T??
I imagine that they feel it in their wallets but are still too ignorant to connect the dots…
I really want your explanation, please.
Cheers.
March 11th, 2013 1:24 pm
Honestly, I think people do see it. They just don’t say anything, or push it out of mind. And I have to admit that it’s easy to ignore until it’s affecting you (TV, internet, etc., help that immensely). Are these a new “opiate of the masses”? And is there a better alternative?
There are, of course, assholes that bait people just because they’re assholes. Their swift defeat comes through ignorance.
The ideologues are a whole new sect onto themselves, and I think they exist no matter the issue or the side. Sometimes they cling on to some core ideas like “saving is good” (pretty common among older generations), which can be invoked whenever “a leader” wants people to fall in line behind their idea (“we have to balance the budget!”) The unfortunate part of this is that those same people implicitly trust “leaders” that wear suits, carry an air of authority, (naturally) display a mild disdain for the lives of those beneath them, are able to make “hard decisions” (i.e. rely solely on their own counsel), and so on.
I’m not sure how acceptance of such sociopathic traits has become accepted, but if I had to guess, everything that falls under the “media” banner (especially advertising, marketing, propaganda, whatever else you want to call it), would be the culprit. Maybe that’s also the first and best way to fight back.
While the internet is open and free, that’s one of the best ways for anyone to get involved. Consider, for example, that Sarah Thomson’s latest revelation on Facebook (however you interpret it), proves that the web can be a powerful weapon. All the more reason why anything resembling censorship on the web, whether it’s called “copyright” or “protecting kids from porn” (both complete misnomers, of course), must be prevented. Yes, it can be a crank-potty place with all sorts of characters, but then again, so is real life!