@thekeenanwire, #TOpoli and that whole 'deserve' thing, redux

Go and read this piece from Ed Keenan in The Grid.

He's right of course, and you don't need a master's degree in public administration to know that public services cost money. And you don't need cheap childish gimmicks, either.

The troublesome part is that something so blindingly self-evident seemed to elude a majority of Toronto voters last fall. They were all too willing to buy into Rob Ford's bullshit about mountains of wasted cash and municipal inefficiencies and gravy trains, and worst of all, the idea that under David Miller, things were just so irredeemably awful that the only thing to do was to blow everything up.

On The Road To Metropolis « All Fired Up In The Big Smoke

@cityslikr's pal Urban Sophisticat on the Six Sigma sickness currently afflicting our municipal leadership. Read it now.

On The Road To Metropolis « All Fired Up In The Big Smoke

Opposing the #HarperRegime: thinking strategically over the next four years

Sorry, dear friends. This is going to be one of those times when I try to get cerebral, but not too cerebral, and end up sounding like a wanker. Business as usual, in other words.

In the context of last week's Twitter exchange with @thekeenanwire over the question of what we deserve, I admitted that I hadn't thought through all the implications of what I was saying or where I was going. To the extent that we could arrive at common ground in 140-character bursts, we managed to agree that "need" was probably a better word than "deserve" when we're talking about a police force, or a society, or a government. At least that's the impression I was left with; if I'm wrong, Ed, please feel free to correct me.

Sleaze, slush funds and the Auditor-General's report: This is supposed to make a difference?

With the release of Sheila Fraser's report detailing a record of malfeasance and misdirection regarding G8/G20 spending, a whole raft of familiar patterns re-emerges.

Sleaze, slush funds, money earmarked for border infrastructure spent in Huntsville (which, one hates to point out, is nowhere near the border). No transparency. No accountability. Blaming public servants. A fig for the public trust.

@thekeenanwire and the police / government / society we deserve

Over at The Grid, Edward Keenan's got a thoughtful and compelling piece about the police assault on Dorian Barton at last summer's G20, and the shameful saga surrounding the SIU's on-again, off-again attempts to investigate.

We all know how that song goes. The whole police force goes Tommy. Nobody saw anything. Nobody knows who the asshole cop is, even though his face and badge number are visible in the picture AND the force actually provided his name to the SIU, Mark Pugash says. Not even his roommate recognizes him. Chief Bill Blair can't or won't do anything about it. Mike McCormack insists that there's no Blue Wall of silence. And I'm not even going to talk about the police services board.

That 'disrespectful' Brigette sparks the wrath of Ottawa's Villagers

Really, it's just so awkward when the lower orders forget their rightful station in the order of things.

The harrumphing, glaring and disdainful sniffing from the self-appointed members of Ottawa's elite is palpable. The political and media establishment types are getting their noses all out of joint because Brigette DePape showed "disrespect" for the institutions of Parliament.

Re Brigette DePape: I will now eat my words

What was I saying about having to build an extra-parliamentary opposition?

This young woman shows us all how it's done. If saying she's got cojones makes me sound sexist, I apologize and beg your indulgence, because it's said in a spirit of unabashed admiration.



Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so. Linkfest here, here, here, here, here and here, for starters.

As for chowing down on my own verbiage: A spirited red, please, sommelier, and preferably New World, but not too aged. I'll need something that can cut through the layers of sententiousness and stand up to the wankery ...

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