Rational Radical

Okay, I am really torn. Each week, the Star and everyone else who is afraid of a Rob Ford Mayor are attacking the guy. How the fuck does the Toronto City Council get on HIS case for lack of integrity in soliciting PRIVATE funds–i.e., NOT tax dollars–for his charity, when every other councillor wastes TAX DOLLARS on equally questionable things, if not worse. I mean, how was society benefited by Kyle Rae’s $12,000 going away party for himself?  I could go on and on but I’d just get depressed.

In any event, readers of this site know that I’m all about CHARACTER, and Lily has rightfully questioned how I can support a man as lacking in character as Rob Ford is. He has been caught in a number of lies and says stupid things. These are reasons for me to question him.

But today, I had to renew my license stickers and saw the SCAM that is the “Drive Clean Test” that I’m forced to do, as well as the $60/year registration tax. Both of these charges are nothing for me financially, but on principle they stink because they truly are just a tax grab. And my car is quite new yet I’ve had to test it TWICE so far. Yet, I’ve seen many old, disgusting cars driving around for years, so this is obviously a poorly thought out program that is easily defrauded and thus is not helping the planet in any way. Yes, it’s a provincial tax grab but I know that many idiots on the City Council support it because they’re clueless. Again, I’d gladly pay for it if it actually was run properly and could be shown to have a positive effect.  As for the registration tax, that’s all Miller I believe. The registration is $74 and the tax is $60??? How the fuck does that make sense? Do the math.

Anyway, every time I see my money get wasted by any level of government that has a certain mindset and arrogance and entitlement, I look for who embodies different principles. Rob Ford does. Tim Hudak (leader of the provincial Conservatives) does. And I’ve said it many times, beginning YEARS ago before McGuinty lost in his first attempt to defeat Mike Harris: McGuinty has absolutely no principles, no ideals, no ethics, no ideas, and no clues. All he can do is present himself as the “anti-_____” and then change his mind every time he sees an opportunity. And this province is getting it. The question is whether we’re willing to give the Conservatives another chance, in light of the chaos and hatred perpetrated against humanity by the Evil Mike Harris for 2.5 terms. I know that *I* can’t vote for the Conservatives, but neither would I ever vote for McGuinty. Arrrggghhh…

But at least I can vote for Ford, who I know will be open and transparent when it comes to government dealings. And he’ll piss off all those councillors who forgot that they work for us. And I think he’ll get more people interested in city politics than we’ve seen in a long, long time.  For those reasons, I’m going to overlook his faulty character and vote Ford. I feel this is a confession of sorts…I know it’s a rambling diatribe to say the least…

Joy sent me a story that has been bouncing around the city today.

Basically, we’re already getting spiked by the government on Hydro due to mismanagement–look at your bill lately? Look at some of those odd charges–and HST, but now we’re going to pay to subsidize big businesses’ use of electricity. It’s “only” about $50 per year, but the principle sucks. Why not zap all those businesses that keep their lights on and A/C running all night? Calculate what it SHOULD cost them to do business reasonably, then charge them when they go above and beyond that. If a business can’t simply turn off its lights at night, it deserves to be nailed.

Instead, homeowners who are doing everything we can (some of us…my neighbours certainly aren’t) to conserve energy are still getting fucked over. It was just a few months ago that the Ontario government admitted that it lied about the new metres and pricing system saving money. Remember what they claimed? Use electricity at off-peak hours and you’ll SAVE. No, even if you do that and cut down usage by 15-20% on top of that, you’ll STILL see an increase in your bill, BEFORE the HST debacle. But as long as big businesses get a break, we should all be happy…fuckers.

The Portlands Energy Centre in Toronto can generate enough electricity to power approximately 500,000 homes. (STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO)

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/848684–hydro-hike-looms-with-break-to-industry?bn=1

How many chances does one person deserve? If you know for a FACT that a scumbag is going to repeatedly breach probation and simply walk out of minimum security “prisons,” do something about it! Yes, I know this guy hasn’t murdered anyone…YET. But when you lock someone in a room and ask for sex, you are on the path to some nasty shit. Not to judge a book by its cover or anything, but I think the picture below says it all. The full story is in the COMMENTS section below.

Joshua James Turner, 26, was arrested Saturday for alleged probation violations. (HANDOUT)

First, Toronto City Council ignored its own lawyer’s advice in 2008 and voted to cover two councillors’–Giorgio Mammoliti and Adrian Heaps–legal fees of $74,402 and $64,757, respectively. Now, the city is wasting even more time and money appealing a ruling saying that they were in the wrong. Fuck anyone who voted for this. Find out if your rep voted for this and then vote them out of office. Simple. This City Council is out of control and may be even more corrupt than the folks in Vaughn, which is saying a LOT.

Fuckers–aside from Doug Holyday, who is pressing a motion to get them to pay the money back. Of course Mammoliti and Heaps won’t have to pay a cent, since this IS the most generous trough in Canada. Fuckers.  Oh, and did I mention that City Council is full of tax-stealing fuckers?