So how then, do we clean up this mess?

Boy, am I frustrated. I see tweets, status updates and posts on Facebook from all these really smart people – much smarter than me – who have all the solutions for how to handle Toronto’s almost $800 million dollar budget shortfall.

The common theme: Ignore it. David Miller ignored it and he’s a lawyer. He’s smart. He probably even goes into libraries. GASP. Rob Ford is fat. Him and his brother don’t use libraries. Therefore they don’t know what they are talking about.

David Miller was a New Democrat in every sense of the word. Rob Ford is (shame) Conservative. Ford runs a business and wants to run Toronto like a business. Toronto is NOT a business cries the left. Toronto is our city. Toronto is also our city that is going bankrupt because it does not have enough money to meet its current obligations.

Toronto needs to balance its books. Most in this city would agree. However the way to balance the books differs greatly across the spectrum. The view from the left is to not touch social programs and keep that spending set, but make up the difference by taxing the “wealthy”. Let those SOB’s pay! Good for nothing rich folks. The right, however, want to look at what the City is really responsible for, and trim some of the fat associated with the city’s duties. Do we need 32 librarians making over $100,000/year? Probably not.

I feel the biggest issue here is that people from the left think that Mayor Ford wants to cut, cut, cut and that once all the social programs are cut there will be nothing left for the poor, but that could not be further from the truth. What the Mayor as said repeatedly – however maybe not clear enough – is that the City needs to look at what the city offers first and foremost to see if the city needs to be in that line of business.

Should the city be funding parades? Should the city be contributing money for festivals? How about checking into city run organizations to make sure that there is enough work for the staff to do and that all the positions are needed. Not only is that fiscally responsible but it is morally responsible for this Mayor’s office and city council to do these checks and balances since the majority of the funding they get is from taxes of you and of me.

And as for the fact that there seems to be some sort of tie in between the “rich” and “conservatism”, it might have something to do with the fact that those who have more money pay more taxes. End of story. Sure they may pay less income tax than others, but property taxes are huge and growing and then there are all the additional consumption taxes that are being gathered from this class of Torontonian. To piss them off could mean a sudden mass move from Toronto to surrounding areas and their tax dollars too.

Surely even those on the left who want equality among all citizens even can admit that having wealthy and ultra-wealthy in the city is a boon for the rest of us as their taxes go a long way to keeping this city moving.

So I have clearly given a lot of thought to the predicament the City of Toronto is in, and I look around the world at countries in deep financial hardship like Greece – due to their unions and retirement at 52 years old – and Iceland, and all the countries seeking bailouts, then I look south of our border to the US where there is a deep divide between the democrats and republicans over how to get the US out of trouble and I worry.

I worry that in Toronto we are going to get caught up in the troubles they have in the US and that is going to delay out way out of this crisis and eventually push it on to our children and their children.

I think socialists, liberals and conservatives alike can all agree that there are few viable options aside from either cutting spending or increasing revenues.

Every time Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford announces he is looking at ways to cut expenditures, he has always said that; “Toronto does not have a revenue problem”, at which point, up pop the socialists who demand that he not cut anything that they like. They say no to libraries, zoo’s, farms, the TTC, programs, grants… the whole lot. As a matter of fact, I have not heard one viable way to get out of this mess from any of my friends on the left.

I wonder if in 1974 when Riverdale Farm was closed for almost 5 years, if residents blamed the mayor and said that the local government was chasing away tourism or taking the “culture out of Toronto”. I happen to think that the 1.8 million visitors to Riverdale might be better to turn their tourism dollars over to the Toronto Zoo which desperately needs funds too, or is that thinking too far forward? Does the City even need to run the Toronto Zoo? Does the City of Vaughan run Canada’s Wonderland? No, it’s run by private interests. Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, I believe.

Yes there are more Tim Horton’s than Libraries in Councillor Doug Ford’s ward, but there are 3 within a few blocks of each other and that seems like a waste. I know on Avenue Road, there were 3 TD Banks within 3 blocks of each other and fast forward a year later, now there is one amazing state of the art branch and the other 2 locations were sold off and taken as a huge profit to the bank. Why can’t the city do this without getting flack for wanting to destroy the culture of the city. He’s not closing ALL the libraries… He’s consolidating them and putting the city in a better position to upgrade the remaining ones.

My point… Even though some things are done a certain way, it doesn’t make it right. Would you consider moving to a new house without selling your old one? No, because it doesn’t make sense, so keeping old outdated libraries just because Margaret Atwood thinks it is important – as an author – doesn’t mean it makes sense.

I think it’s time we, as Torontonians take her words and the words of others for what they are… Opinions of interest groups. Atwood has an interest in libraries as an author – probably not the same interest she has in selling her books, but she has a cause. As a staunch supporter of the NDP and their policies, it is her requirement to stir the pot at City Hall in order to make the Ford’s look goofy. Much in the same way other interest groups have stepped forward to gain support for their causes. I would never consider Atwood for the mayor of this city, much in the same way I would not look to the Ford’s to write children’s books.

Can anyone truly stand back and watch something they believe in or like be cut for the betterment of all of society? Heck no. I think if Atwood took a step back and realized the dire straights the city’s financial records are in she would give a second thought to all options for reducing expenses and if she has a better solution that cutting waste, then let’s hear it.

I, for one, as a conservative, think that putting our head in the sand and hoping this goes away is the worst approach to take and I do object to increased taxes because I already pay a lot, but if after exhausting all means for cutting expenses, increasing my taxes for a short-term to make ends meet is the only way to balance the books, then sign me up and fast.

As a citizen of Toronto who has participated in this process by being involved in residents groups, considered running for city councilor and helps my community in any way needed, I just want to know that the current mayor has looked under every rock for ways to save money before coming to me for more taxes. Yes, I do pay more because I choose to live in a bigger house in a nicer neighbourhood, and that is my choice. Paying additional taxes to keep 3 libraries open 3 blocks from each other is wasteful and I wouldn’t waste that kind of money personally, nor would I expect my staff or my employer to accept that kind of waste, so why would I tolerate that from the City that I live in.

So my message to you, mayor Ford, is to keep finding ways to save the city money, keep those programs open and keep helping others. If after all your work you still need some additional tax money from me, I will gladly pay it and consider it money well spent, helping those less fortunate.

It’s a welcome change from the previous left-leaning governments who spend, spend and spend without a substantial plan on how to pay for everything.

The last thing we need right now are special interest groups gathering resources to protect their own interests and not look at the big picture. We are one city. One large city in deep financial crisis. If we take the Atwood approach: She had this to say in the Toronto Star; “Expressing contempt for creative people turns people away from Toronto as a venue, and that’s a pretty serious consideration. If you’re thinking of having a convention, you’re thinking of having a concert, you’re thinking of going to a festival, and that’s the attitude? Why wouldn’t you spend your dollars somewhere else.” So she takes the attitude that if getting finances in order means touching anything “cultural” then stay away from Toronto. So she really does not like Toronto if she is that closed minded to want to damage the city she weeks ago cared so deeply for.

“You start with tossing off latte drinkers, gay Pride and bicycle riders and me, what’s the message? The message is: ‘We don’t want you people here.’ I’m sure Hamilton or Burlington or Oshawa would be very happy if some of those festivals and conventions moved there. Why shouldn’t I spend my creative dollar in New York if I’m not welcome in Toronto?” Does she really take herself that seriously that she thinks people are going to stop spending their money in Toronto because a Councillor doesn’t know who she is? Really, Margaret? Does she also think that all the large corporations and organizations in Toronto are going to pick up their people and ship them to Oshawa or Guelph because the City of Toronto wants to cut waste? That has to be the dumbest comment I have ever heard. No wonder the Star carried this story.

Maybe there is a bit of irony in the fact that Ford, as Toronto mayor wants to stop funding non-core items, yet Atwood who has become an opponent to the mayor’s office was busy writing, “in the woods, without electricity,” last week when this all stated. She wasn’t even in the city! So who is she speaking for? The downtown elite, or herself?

I think every time I see someone criticize the mayor’s office for being thorough investigating ways to save money in the city and for looking at core business services they are cutting off their noses in spite of their faces. Is it really so bad that they want to balance the books now… For good, so that your children and your children’s children won’t be saddled with your debt and our parents debt wondering why we didn’t do anything when we had the chance.

I suspect if this was left to fester again, in Miller-like fashion, future generations will be calling us the greedy generation – too caught up in our own self interests to help others.

 

Where are the Rob Ford haters now?

As 2011 rolls along (project 365, as someone called it) I’m wondering where all the Rob Ford haters are right now. They sure have been quiet since the kerfuffle over Don Cherry calling them “pinkos”. I hope they were not actually offended?!?

I gather they are quiet because since Ford took power he has;

Made the TTC an essential service.
Put Councillor (future mayor and my old City Councillor) Karen Stintz in charge of the TTC
Removed the $60.00 “fee” (I prefer to call it a tax) on registering a vehicle in Toronto
Moving to remove the Land Transfer Tax
Announced he is moving to remove the bag tax of $0.05 for plastic bags purchased in Toronto (if council wants to)
Stopped sending our garbage to Michigan.
Cut Councillors expense accounts from $52,000 a year to $30,000 a year(the taxpayers money councillors spend on stuff)

And he announced that he is not anti-bike and will be unveiling more and safer bike routes for the biking community in Toronto.
He is not done considering a light-rail / subway for Eglinton connecting Scarborough to the airport
and his resolution for 2011 is to lose sme weight.

Not bad.
Saving us taxpayers some money and removing stupid hidden taxes put in place by David Miller.
How awful of him…
I remember the night of his election people tweeting that they were going to move out of Toronto because this was going to destroy the city… Yup.

So I’m going to take a moment and put on my left-wing hat, and figure out how I would reply to this post.
I would probably reply with this comment, saving you all the time to have to type it for yourself;

“Yes Urban Daddy, you right-wing capitalist bastard, he’s cutting taxes but how is he going to pay for services? I’ll tell you… He’s going to cut services and apply userfees!”

Well, Lefties (and I am left-handed so do be offended) I would like present this case in my defense of not wanting to tax the rich to give to the poor… Your hero, David Miller put in place all these taxes and fees because he wanted to point out how poorly the previous mayor treated the city and to pay for all his giving to make every Torontonion equal… Then upon stepping down from being mayor, in order to preserve his “legacy” he announced that he left the city better than it was when he took over, with a surplus! Pardon me.
surplus would mean his additional taxes needed to run the city were either a cruel joke or a huge miscalculation of the debits and credits at City Hall.

That’s like me running a free swimming pool, then suddenly charging users $10.00 a visit because without it the pool will have to close, then after doing this for 5 years saying, Look everyone, I have $2 million extra dollars in the bank”… Not nice!

So I for one am happy that for dinner last night there was no gravy. Staying away from that stuff can help me shed some pounds… That and not wearing pink!

BEAUTY!

 

Say it aint so, Joe. City Councillor Joe Mihevc Tells me who NOT to Vote For.

Not too long ago we moved.

We moved into a better area – for us – with younger families, lots of parks and programs, and mainly to be within walking distance to my son’s school (this year, and both boys school next year). We moved to our 15 year house.

An important part of this move, for me, included finding some new volunteer activities within my community to take part in.  My new City Councillor, Joe Mihevc, from all that I could see and heard, had been doing an awesome job. There is plenty to like in this ward – at least in my part.

So with an election coming, voting for Joe really was the only choice.  I looked at all the good in this ward, and that there appeared to be an acceptable, qualified candidate, and Joe was a shoe-in.

But not every Councillor is perfect, so I started asking my neighbours what they thought about Joe’s work in our community and I was hearing things about delays in getting things done, that he pays too much attention to the south side of the ward, that the streetcar right-of-way cost $100 million istead of $20 million, and I was able to make a determination.  Joe was good for my ward.   I reached out to Joe and was overwhelmed with the response time and information I received from him and from his office, and I look around my piece of the ward and it looks pretty special to me, so I’m not sure where the negative buzz is coming from.

In the back of my mind, I really wanted to reach out to Joe and find out if he would work with Rob Ford, who I will be supporting as Mayor of Toronto, but I also did not for fear of what Mihevc might have to say.

So I decided to not ask that question, and vote for Joe in a couple weeks…

That was until today…

Today, I received this email from Mihevc.

Please read it.

 To me, it says that if Rob Ford is Mayor I (Joe) will not be able to work with him.

This disappoints me greatly.  Now I want to ask Joe if he intends on stepping down if he wins as does Ford?  or will he continue to support us, the constituents in his ward who also voted for a right-wing, get stuff done, stop wasting my money mayor. Aside from advising everyone to not vote for Joe Pantalone (David Miller II) I get a negative feel from this email – intended or not – and that is going to make me reconsider my position.

Say it ain’t so Joe… Why? Why? Why?

So here is what he sent…

“Dear friends and neighbours,

Over the past several months, I have had countless conversations in various settings with folks around the issue of the next mayor of the City of Toronto. I can tell you that I have struggled deeply with this question. I have committed to residents in Ward 21 that I would make a decision around who I will be endorsing for mayor before Thanksgiving. Now that the advance polls are open, I feel today is an appropriate time to announce my decision. I hope my decision will provide some food for thought for those of you who are also struggling with this question.

From my point of view, it is absolutely imperative that I/we do everything possible to stop Rob Ford from becoming mayor. This is a powerful driver for me. Rob Ford and his associates would destroy so much that we value about our city – its diversity, animated neighbourhoods, care for the newcomers and the poor, our quality of life. Very simply, and without getting too personal, I have watched him for the last 10 years as a colleague on Council, and Rob does not have the skill set required to lead a complex city hall and its agencies. Simple one-liners, an angry persona, a divisive disposition is not leadership and will only hurt Toronto. Under Rob Ford, City Council will not function, our city agencies will be in disarray, economic development will be hurt and our city will suffer in many ways.

I know some residents are supporting Joe Pantalone. I do feel that Joe would make a fine mayor and that he has the skills, smarts, and experience to lead the city. The stars, however, have not aligned for Joe as revealed in the polls. Given the strength of Rob Ford in the same polls, and given the need to have all hands on deck to defeat him, I believe that this is a time for Torontonians to rally around a single candidate who has the best chance of defeating Ford. Joe Pantalone’s standing in the polls requires us to look elsewhere. To say this frankly is very difficult for me as I have known and worked with Joe for 20 years and can affirm that he is a person of integrity and that his work has really built the city. It is not Joe’s moment right now and he is not in a position to defeat Ford. Thus people of good will who are committed to community values have to speak up and act in a very pragmatic way.

I have known George Smitherman for over a decade and do believe that he has the skill set needed to make a good mayor. Further and key to my position, he is in the best position to win. In endorsing George, I am not endorsing everything in his platform, though there are many pieces of his platform (around public transit expansion, commitment to the arts, commitment to neighbourhoods, support for community groups, economic development and support for environmental initiatives) that I find attractive. I believe that Council will be able to work with George, agreeing on many issues and disagreeing where appropriate. He will need a good Council to work with him, and an active citizenry to build the city. I am open to that work. I have spoken to George personally in preparation for my endorsement and am convinced that he has the city’s best interests at heart.

I make this endorsement with the best interests of our community, Ward 21, and of our city in my heart and mind.
Sincerely,

Joe Mihevc
www.joemihevc.ca”

Well there is always Beth Mclellan;

https://kscheuer.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/beth-mclellan-ward-21-candidate/

Or, Peter Nolan is the Rob Ford endorsed candidate.  http://votepeternolan.ca/my-issues

Or even Shimmy Posen…

Basically Joe, everyone can be replaced…

Why Joe, Why?

 

Still on politics: 10 Reasons to Vote for Rob Ford for Mayor of Toronto

I’ve been challenged by those leaning to the left (maybe a little too far to the left to make a difference) and those standing in the centre to give them 10 good reasons why I am voting for the right-leaning Fiscally Conservative, Rob Ford, for Mayor of Toronto on October 25, 2010. 

Here is my list: 

10. Once elected, Ford pledges to cut waste at City Hall, and that means no councillors will be given free passes to anything, or free parking or free TTC passes…  I know even those on the left can feel my frustration when reports come out that councillors without cars were passing off their free parking pass to others. 

9.  Reduce spending – It makes sense after cutting waste, to reduce spending.  This goes right in the face of George Smitherman’s campaign promises as this is a big part of Ford’s campaign.  He’s going to reduce spending on salaries, on unionized garbage workers, on building middle of the road streetcar only lanes that mess up streets.   

8. Eliminate the hated city vehicle registration tax – Toronto residents have to pay $60 every year to register their vehicle. It’s a cash grab that hits families hard.  Rob Ford will push to eliminate the Vehicle Registration Tax at the first City Council meeting after becoming Mayor.  Too bad I just renewed my vehicle for 2 years and paid $120.00 extra.   

7. Eliminate the land-transfer tax – This tax almost killed us when we bought and sold our house.  The land transfer tax on a million dollar house in Toronto costs the seller over $10,000.00.   

6. Garbage and other solid wastes must be collected on schedule, without fail. The strike during the summer of 2009 put the health of people and families in Toronto at risk.  Etobicoke, for example, uses contracted providers and saves the city $2 million each year. By adopting the same approach for the whole city, taxpayers will save about $20 million each year and can have the confidence their garbage collectors won’t go on unnecessary strikes. 

5. People and businesses in Toronto depend on the TTC to get them from home to work, or school. When the TTC isn’t running, the city grinds to a halt and commuters and businesses suffer. TTC service is essential and it must be designated this way in order to prevent costly strikes. 

4. For seven years, City Hall has tackled Gridlock by declaring war on cars in Toronto. Toronto has eliminated lanes from busy roadways, increased parking charges, ignored roadway repairs and generally made life miserable for drivers  

3. I often wondered why it takes my 20 minutes during rush hour to go north on Bathurst street considering all the lights should be synchronized, right  Well they’re not.  I no sooner leave on light and the next one is red… Very frustrating.  Once elected, Ford, will synchronize the city’s traffic signals to improve traffic flow.

2. We will keep and maintain our Expressways.  The Gardiner Expressway, Don Valley Parkway and Allen Road/Expressway will be maintained, without tolls, as key components of our transportation infrastructure. 

1. Build a comprehensive network of off-road paved, illuminated, bicycle trails with street lamps across the city.  In addition, 100 km of pedestrian paths alongside the bicycle trails.

 Not bad, eh?  But in case you are still not convinced, I have more reasons…

• Introduction of Smart Card technology for fare payment on TTC
• Streetcars are not the answer to Toronto’s transit needs – To attract drivers into transit, it must be comfortable, convenient, affordable, reliable and rapid. Streetcars are none of these things. Streetcars are slow (average speed: 17km/h) and take hours to travel across town. This limits your ability to live in one part of the city and work in another. Streetcar construction destroys streets and interrupts businesses. Streetcar lines down the centre of arterial roads increase gridlock and create pollution.
•  Hiring of 100 additional frontline police officers giving Toronto Police enough new officers to
  • Protect Children in Schools. 30 additional School Resource Officers will double the number of schools protected by this successful program. By introducing police officers to youth in a positive environment, students are less likely to take a negative view of police and more likely to seek help for issues before they reach a violent stage
  • Target Gangs, Guns & Violence in More Communities. 70 additional frontline officers will support an expansion of the successful Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS) targeting gangs and violence in priority neighborhoods year-round.

Still not convinced?  Still can’t move past the way Ford looks?

Then let’s look at the very poor #2 choice, George Smitherman and his “plan” for Toronto.  

 George has a three-point plan to get Toronto working again:

1. Get City Hall’s books in order.  How?  Freeze taxes and hiring for one year.  Freeze spending for 100 days so he can review “every dollar the city spends”
2. Get Toronto moving again by expanding transit to every corner of our city, ensuring faster, round-the-clock road repairs and separating bikes from cars to improve safety for both.  How?  Where is this money going to come from?
3. Create jobs – especially for young people – by telling the world we’re open for business.  Really?  LOL.  Yikes!!! 

Even though George will not talk about the eHealth scandal – he has walked out of a debate when it came up – stating that he had nothing to do with that scandal.   So I guess as a deputy premier for the province of Ontario, he had no power to stop this from happening.  He does, however, say this; “I have the experience of being a senior cabinet minister – and have the scars to prove it. I know what it takes to run an organization as complex as the City of Toronto”. 

So how is George going to pay for all this?  It’s on his website.  Go see it for yourself.  But I have taken these figures right from his sight and made it nice and clear.

Revenue: 

$100 million from the province 

$100 million from the sale of Enwave 

$65 million from selling off “unused city land” 

$33 million from growth in property tax payers. 

So he’s going to sell of city assets and use property taxes to pay for his plan.  Hope you like paying $20,000 a year on property tax.

But George is going to find cost savings too… So what are in his plan?!?

Well, George is going to save $61 million by only re-hiring 2/3rds of city staff that  retire 

Save $50 million by spending less and;

Save $150 million by being smarter and buying all of Toronto’s items together, a la Rob Ford… 

So there are some might big assumptions here… One that the province is going to give the city $100 million dollars, and that there will be enough city assets left for George to sell to pay for his plan.  Once an asset is sold, it’s gone forever.

By this rate he’ll burn through the 1 billion that was wasted while he was deputy premier of Ontario in 4 years as Mayor of Toronto. 

But what about the re-hiring of only 2/3rds of retiring city staffers.  Well anyone involved in city politics knows that retiring city workers are at the top of their pay-scales and a majority of them are probably pulling in over $100K/year.   Basically Smitherman is going to rely on attrition and not rehire the 6% that retire each year, but he’ll re-hire the fat cats with their pensions and seniority.  Nice…

So what is this $100 million dollars Smitherman is going to net by selling Enwave?!?  Well the city of Toronto has a 43% stake in Enwave Energy Corp. and after 7 years of spend-first, tax the rich leadership, the city faces a budget shortfall of as much as $500 million.

 

“I am the only one that can stop Ford”

That was the quote from Toronto Mayoral candidate George Smitherman yesterday.

I stared at the headline, blinked a few times, then snapped back to reality.

Personally… I’d rather look at Rocco Rossi or Sarah Thompson or whatever her name is, than Smitherman. Nothing against the fact that he is gay – which I just found out yesterday (because last time I checked one’s sexual preference had zero to do with whether or not they could lead a city) but the ego this man has astounds me. I make that comment about him being gay to bring to light what I have noticed this campaign that I do not like at all. For some reason it is acceptable for all the candidates not names Rob Ford to comment on Rob’s weight, hairline, business (Deco Labels and Tags which I used to buy from out of University when I started my own promotional products business. That company was top notch and the service was incredible. I see where Ford gets it from. But back to my point. Each and every attack on Ford is person and seems to be accepted and encouraged. Why not stick to the facts? Transit, economy, budget, services… I think the more the “left” attack Ford, the more his legend grows.

I actually had a conversation with a friend who referred to Ford as a “fat slob”. My response was, “So? Since when do we elect representatives based on how they look, or who they sleep with?” This election in Toronto is about the facts. It’s about reducing wasteful spending of hard-earned tax dollars, both yours and mine.

And speaking about wasteful spending… Let’s go back to Smitherman…

I feel like shouting out loud to anyone who lives in Toronto and has a vote in this city.

GEORGE SMITHERMAN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 1 BILLION DOLLARS BEING WASTED IN THE eHEALTH SCANDAL.

I’m sorry. I cannot, and will not vote for this man. Rob Ford is winning because he vows to reel in the out-of-control spending of the left and try to bring the city back from the brink of bankruptcy. I cannot and will not elect someone who allowed 1 billion dollars, not 1 million, but 1 billion dollars of TAXPAYERS money to be wasted – yet he distances himself from it and refuses to acknowledge it.

Are we idiots, George?

Yet I hear this anti-Ford sentiment from people on the left who don’t like the way he looks or that he has had issues in the past at a hockey game, or with his wife and that is all true and on the record, but none of that affects his ability to lead the city, cut unnecessary spending and waste.

Here is the article from the Globe and Mail in which Smitherman essentially tells the candidates to step down so he can get all the vote and “stop” common sense from Toronto City Council.

Please…

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/city-votes/smitherman-vows-to-lead-anybody-but-ford-charge-in-toronto-mayoral-race/article1721005/

I just heard Smitherman on the radio talking about developing Toronto’s waterfront – how Rob Ford doesn’t want to – but Smitherman feels as Torontonians we need to… He just doesn’t get it, does he? I don’t want to pay $10,000.00 in property tax so that Cherry Beach will be a viable option for anyone and everyone to come swim at. I want fiscal restraint and once outlandish spending is under control, let’s talk about revamping Ontario Place, Exhibition grounds, and the waterfront…

George… In case you failed to notice, we’re in a recession and to tax residents more because you think Ontario Place is outdated is out of touch and irresponsible. It’s akin to, I don’t know, being on guard while 1 BILLION dollars gets wasted on eHealth, which for some unknown reason you refuse to discuss.

I’m glad the unions supported you today, George… Then I won’t feel bad when Mayor Ford outsources a lot of their work at 1/2 the cost.

I like public transit in the City – I take it and really feel that we missed the boat on building a world class system like they have in France, England, Spain, etc. But I also feel that the wages required to be paid to unionized workers is the reason it would cost billions of dollars to build and would take 3 years to complete.

I also think that they has to be some sacrifices before transit is to be built. I don’t care if there is a TTC museum @ York Mills and Yonge Street, but I do want to see more subways all over the city to move people. I think St.Clair’s centre streetcar right-of-way was a huge mistake and I hope they have somewhere to move all the concrete when they rip it up and build a St. Clair subway line.

I just hope people vote with their brains and not with their eyes come the election. And please do not be afraid to send a message to all the current city councillors who have allowed this stagnation to occur under their watch. They are just as bad as Smitherman…

 

Hey Rocco Rossi… You stole my idea for Allen Road!

Well, well, well…

Toronto Mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi has an idea… A GREAT idea, a BOLD idea, which he expects the City of Toronto to embrace and vault him to be the next mayor of this city.

Well, Mr. Rossi, I think the “boldest move of the mayor campaign” was actually my idea and I have plenty of passengers, friends and family that I have shared my idea with since I started driving south on Allen Road for the past 2-3 months.

Allen Road, you see, has always had a soft spot in my heart.  When my father was a child his family live on Everden which is the first street directly south of Eglinton - where Allen Road abruptly ends – and the government at that time expropriated the land for the “Spadina Expressway”, or continuation of Allen Road all the way down to Lake Ontario.

My Dad had always claimed that the decision to remove his family, especially his ill mother contributed to her death as she “loved” that house.  True or not (my dad was a die-hard Conservative), I had always wondered why the 7th largest City in North America has only one major highway down to the waterfront, but it was not until moving into the area that I wondered what, if anything could be done to prevent traffic from backing up at Lawrence as cars have to go East or West at Eglinton.  Plus, with all the side streets set at do not enter, cars must clog up Bathurst Street and Oakwood Avenue.  Makes for a LONG trek downtown…

So one day about 2 months ago, with my 2 carpool passengers in my hybrid, sitting for 45 minutes to get to Eglinton, I was staring at the subway which shoots underground at Eglinton going southbound and really began to consider whether it was possible or not to make the tunnel wider and have a giant express tunnel downtown to waterfront, or with a couple stops on the way to alleviate traffic congestion.  I also wondered about running ramps up from Allen to some of the side streets like Ridelle to allow for cars to get off of Allen Road should they need to feed through the side streets to get home.

Then alas, today, comes the report of Mr. Rossi’s brainchild.  (See article here).

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/09/13/rocco-rossi-proposes-linking-the-allen-expressway-to-downtown-toronto-by-tunnel/

If he fires out the brilliant idea of installing ramps to the side streets next, you will know for sure that something is up.

Personally, I’d like to see something new – with little disruption to people or parks – to move traffic along, but this idea alone won’t put Rossi back in the race.  Not while Rob Ford is offering up cutbacks to the “spend now-tax later” NDP way of running this City.

Besides, Rocco, I have other great ideas too…  Give me a call, or drop me a comment.

 

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things that made me smile today

13. My family. Seeing my wife and kids this morning (and nanny) with smiles on their faces makes my day start off right

12. Seeing someone has recommended me on LinkedIn… Cool.

11. Seeing that Rob Ford is leading in the race for Mayor of Toronto with 37.6% over George eHealth Smitherman.

10. Seeing articles about the G20 protests and how the police have identified and charged the ringleaders – having pictures of them in real life and in hooligan mode. Did they really think they deserve the right to destroy other people’s property? And the one going to University in Guelph… Really? Are we, the taxpayers, not subsidizing your education (through the government you hate?) Lady… You need help! Or a dose of reality…

9. Toasted Marshmallow coffee from Java Joes.

8. Silly Bands. If you have not seen them, then you must not have kids around the age of 5-7. They are “F”unny.

7. Ashley Kirilow – the girl who shaved her head and scammed a bunch of people out of money, claiming to have cancer – is still sitting in prison after her parent refused to come bail her out. While this part of the story is really sad, there are many people I know who starved for affection and attention from their parents but didn’t do anywhere near the amount of damage she has done to those with cancer…
Payback is a bitch!

6. I have had a record number of hits on my blog, and on facebook. Thank you all!

5. My “fat” pants are baggy

4. See how they spell “school” in North Carolina, where street crews just paved a strip of the road and spray painted “shcool” for all the people to see. LOL. Check out the picture via the URL; http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100811/od_yblog_upshot/behold-americas-educational-system-captured-in-a-single-photograph

3. My son holding a bunch of bananas because he was hungry and watching him carry them into a restaurant, where he wanted to eat his 3rd, because his food was not coming fast enough…
2. Boxing in a car on the 401 hignway with 3 other just-as-annoyed motorists as this car was going lane-to-lane-to-lane during rush hour hoping to, I don’t know, find a fast way home in bumper-to-bumper traffic?!?
We boxed him for a good 5-6 minutes and boy was he pissed. He he he.
1. That my house sold for more than we thought it would sell for, and closing much sooner than we thought!

 

Thursday Thirteen

Today’s Thursday Thirteen will be about 13 completely random thoughts that popped into my head while writing this post…

… Please don’t use it against me.

13. Good on Shaquile O’Neal for signing with the Boston Celtics. Now the Miami Heat and LA Lakers have some competition. Interesting that Shaq has played with Kobe in LA, Wade in Miami and LBJ in Cleveland… I think I might actually respect Shaq for doing this… Maybe

12. If you eat a lot of beets your pee and poo turn red… I’m just saying… It’s a real shocker if you had forgotten that and, say, eaten a lot of beets the night before… I’m just saying

11. Right now Rob Ford gets my nod for Mayor in Toronto. He is a fiscal Conservative and the higher my property tax climbs, the more I question how Torontonions can elect NDP’ers in government? See Adam Vaughn. No businesses left. Vote Mike Yen 2010. As for co-front runner, George Smitherman… See eHealth scandal. Under his watch a billion dollars was wasted. We DON’T need that in Toronto!!!

10. I blinked and Old Spice became cool again. Or I’m just getting older. My dad used Old Spice…

9. Iran denies that there was an attempt made on the life of their wacko leader, AhMADinejad. Even if it were a firecracker, any man who threatens to nuke another country (Israel) and denies there is a “homosexual problem” in Iran because there, “are no homosexuals” can only bring a country back into the dark ages.

8. Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf wants to put a mosque right near the fallen twin towers in New York City… Why exactly? I have nothing against places of worship being built anywhere, but it’s still too soon. Either he wants to rub it in the face of the citizens of New York, or he’s just clueless. If you want to improve relations between Americans and the followers of Islam, try ads in the newspaper first…

7. Today is National Underwear Day… Yup. Seriously.

6. August 3rd was, besides my mothers 65th birthday (Hi Mom) National Watermelon Day. Have you hugged a watermelon lately? OR your Mom? Call her… She cares!

5. Buyers leaving Toronto housing market. Sales are down 34% from last year with the price of houses falling… No shit!!

4. I used to listen to the FAN590 every morning until one morning I found Don Landry and Gord Stellick boring. I switched to AM640. Then I heard Lou Schizas (Happy Capitalism) and John Oakley in the morning and I’m hooked. Then the FAN fired everyone and now they are even worse. Yay AM640!!!

3. Model Giselle Bundchen has been breast-feeding her child and has obviously discovered why women have boobs. She commented that there should be a law forcing women to breast-feed for at least 6 months, but then underfire from, I don’t know – baby formula makers possibly, she backed off on her comments. I think she’s bang on. All she needed to say was that, if you are able to breast-feed, you should be allowed to. I also feel more assistance should be given to new moms RIGHT AWAY to ensure they get the baby to latch and they continue to feed. It’s a tough, and not at all convenient, task of being baby’s only source of food, but outside of our fast paced societies that’s how babies eat… I’m just saying.

2. How can you tell that we are still in a recession? Look around. You might notice an influx of “Cash for Gold” type stores. Not only are these stores popping up like weeds, but in the news yesterday was a story about one gold-buying store hiring a hitman to kill the owner of another gold-buying store… On Bathurst Street in Toronto… While that won’t mean anything to those of you not in Toronto, but this area of the city is home to a LOT of very Orthodox Jewish families, not exactly the slums of the City. I’m still shaking my head.

1. I just had a conversation with someone who was on vacation for 5 weeks. I asked her where she went and she replied that she was in the country, “Jordan”. I said that I did not realize how close Jordan was to Israel – being right on the other side of the Dead Sea (my son coloured a map of the region at camp). She replied, “Yes, it is very close to Palestine”.
I looked at her, paused, and said, “I’m sorry, I must have missed that… When did they legally change the name from Israel to Palestine??? Last time I looked at a map, which was, oh yesterday, it said Israel”.
She did not reply.
I walked away.

Should I be annoyed???

 

For a Monday

My Monday rant..  How did your day go?  Let me know if any of these strike a nerve with you too…

I hate when my coffee cup lid does not clip back as it should when I open it. When it flips back towards the shut position it sprays me with coffee. All over my work clothes. #$%^&*&^%$%*&&^

Listening to Alice in Chains – Check my brain.

The Leafs suck, I mean really suck. It’s a tough pill to swallow considering they have no prize for finishing last, like the right to draft the best junior player in the country.

Minimum wage is going up… again. What are the Ontario Liberals trying to do to this province? I might have to jump on to the Toronto as a province party since idiot Ontarians vote Liberal regardless and the Liberals and NDP are killing us!

I’m going to have an opinion about the race for Toronto Mayor coming up as I care about who is going to screw up, errr, lead this city even though I didn’t make the Toronto Star’s list of 30 local active bloggers in the city.
I did raise funds for current city councillor Karen Stintz, revised and ran a ratepayers organization, volunteered on several other ratepayer groups, helped coordinate the Mayor’s community clean-up in my ward, and was on working groups to discuss local developments… No credentials.

Now listening to Fallen Leaves by… Billy Talent

Looking for my referral for physiotherapy on my Achilles… I tried running after a very long lay-off but it’s still bugging me.  @#$^%^%#  I’ve managed to stay in the gym – personal training on Monday – and do that pain-free, but I really like the way I feel after a good long run.

Heard on the weekend that there was a ruling relating to my former government position and as a result the Feds have to make up some payments to be “fair” to those staff who were incorrectly classified since 2007.  Only in the government.    I’ll be sitting by my mailbox waiting for my cheque.

My friend and the brains behind www.supernova.com (the world’s leader in Indie music) told me I need to create and post a video on the correct way to roll up the rim to win on a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee.  After many years in the government and many coffee breaks I have perfected it.  Showed him on the weekend while our kids were in their karate class and him and I were pounding back the XL double doubles.

Speaking of karate… There is a kid in the class with my oldest boy and this kid is a complete distraction.  He’s all over the place!  Sure he makes me laugh at his over the top antics but he also distracts my boy and that bugs me.  It’s almost like this kids over way too bored and would rather do karat-ballet than actual karate.  Poor kid.  In the meanwhile, I had to ask the owner to keep that kid away from mine!!!

Hear a London Ontario dentist has been jailed after performing dental surgery from his garage.  Really?  There are complete idiots who think it’s okay to have dental surgery in a garage???  Were there not any clues that this was not ok… Like the car in the garage at the same time?!?  Seriously folks… Wake the fuck up!

 

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I have wanted to blog about but haven’t had the time.

13. Some stupid, fat, old, piece of shit was yelling at the staff at Tim Horton’s today because they refused to put more jam on top of his donut for free.  He called the server a “stupid bitch” and was really fucking rude.  I glared at him but didn’t speak up because his son, “bubba” was like 6 ft 10 and 350 pounds.  He looked rather proud of “dad” for telling off the server.  Way to go tough guy.  I did, however, tell the manager that if I was her, I would have given back his money, taken the food from him that he already tossed at the server and told him to get his Jabba the Hutt ass out of the store and never come back.  Banned from Timmy’s…  Loser.

12.  My 3 year old woke me up at 2am this morning complaining that his tummy hurt.  In fact when I reached out to touch him, he was sopping wet.  Head to toe.  Upon further patting down I found that he had no night time diaper on and had pee’d himself top to bottom.  I changed him, and him and his brother slept on either side of me for the rest of the night while I tossed and turned.  In the morning, with my glasses on, I realized he did have a diaper on when he went to sleep but had taken it off in the night.  #11 will explain why.

11.  When asked why he took his diaper off, he said, “The elephant was waving his tail in the face of the giraffe who was biting him and the giraffe was not happy at the elephant for bugging him  and the giraffe was not happy because the elephant was biting him so I took off my diaper…”

Yup.

Then he repeated the same story for his mother.

Yup.

10.  Here are some items which did not last the first decade, 2000-2009;

• Jon and Kate
• Beepers
• Retirement savings
• Scripted TV
• CD’s
• Fax machines
• HD DVD
• Microsoft Vista
• Palm Pilots
• Microsoft Zune

9.  9 pedestrians have been killed in the Greater Toronto Area in the past 10 days.  Not blaming drivers, or pedestrians, but if it’s me vs a car or bus… I don’t like those odds.   I will look twice before stepping off the curb.

8.  $100 and I can get my name on the ballot for Mayor of Toronto…  $100.00.

7.  Fionn MacCools on University Avenue in Toronto, rocks!  Went there for a business lunch last Friday and in all the excitement / panic / great food, I forgot my credit card in the bill folder.  I realized it on Wednesday night.  So I called my credit card company, RBC who told me the last charge was my lunch at this fine establishment and there were no new charges.  I asked for a 24 hour hold be put on the card and I called Fionn’s.  A very nice gentleman there – believe was the manager, let’s call him Ryan (real name), told me the card was found Friday and locked away in the office.  How cool.  So when I’m back downtown on Monday, I will run in and grab it.  If you are in Toronto, and looking for a great place to eat, go to Fionn MacCools.  Their website is www.university.fionnmaccools.com.  They are located at 181 University Avenue, Toronto – (416) 363-1944 

6.  I am listening to a few new songs on my iPod.  Sick Bubblegum by Rob Zombie, Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent.  Nickleback’s Burn it to the Ground… Rock!

5.  That “friend” who got the personal trainer… That friend is me.  2 sessions so far and I can still move.  Woo Hoo.

4.  www.supernova.com  Best place for Indie music whether you are a musician or a fan.  Go and go often.  Tell ‘em urbandaddy sent you!

3.  Toyota Motor Corp issued its second large recall in two months to fix a problem with accelerator pedals that can get stuck, causing vehicles to speed up unintentionally.  Fortunately it is the 2010 Highlander and not the 2009 Highlander Hybrid which we received not too long ago… Going to check in with them anyways! 

2.  WTF is up with this whole “sex therapy” thing.  Tiger Woods is there, there is a TV show dedicated to it and seriously, does anyone believe this shit?  In time of companies like Ashley Madison promoting extra-marital affairs, and the stigma of divorce being watered down is anyone surprised?  It’s the best excuse / cope-out for this time and age.  Sorry dear that I slept with 30 other women / men.  I’m addicted to sex.  It’s not my fault.  I’m wired that way.  I just don’t buy it.

1.  Who or what the fuck is Jason Ellis and why is he on my satellite radio?  I’m not sure if he’s an annoying amateur Howard Stern or if he’s brilliant.  Where did he come from?   And while on the topic of satellite radio… I was listening to the 90′s on Channel 9 again today and realized something… Music in the 1990′s sucked!  It was all shit.  After the 80′s (or retro to all you pre-pubes) music died.  Sure there was the grunge area (thank G-d).  But music died when the boy bands came about.