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A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

No one could have predicted…

Battle won, war still ongoing.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

This blog will pay for itself.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Racial Justice / This Week In Blackness / Rob Ford 2014: The Crack and P***y Platform

Rob Ford 2014: The Crack and P***y Platform

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford the press conference to a whole new level:

Local authorities are trying to kick him out of the annual holiday parade, which is valid. But part of me really wants to see his float.

Also on today’s #TWiBRadio, #TeamBlackness wants to move to #TWiBNation 96122, Wagatwe Wanjuki weighs in on the University of Connecticut shaming student victims of violence, and we’re joined by listener and friend of the show Larime Taylor who discussed his graphic novel, A Voice in the Dark, that will be released Nov. 20.

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And this morning on #amTWiB, The Morning Crew discussed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may be a crackhead but he refuses to leave office, minorities are more optimistic about how education will help their career, and piano music may make you cray.

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(Cross-posted)

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  2. 2.

    BGinCHI

    This whole Ford thing must make Cole feel like a saint.

    Even Charlie Sheen looks harmless now. Except for his acting.

  4. 4.

    Cervantes

    Why on earth are we discussing Rob Ford?

    (Same question I asked Josh Marshall a week ago, to no avail.)

  5. 5.

    max

    Rob Ford 2014: The Crack and P***y Platform

    Yes! VINDICATION! I always knew that someday a politician would be shouting out for HOOKERS AND CRACK!

    Now if only we can get him to campaign on the HOOKERS AND CRACK platform, then we will have truly moved into a new age of uh, hrmm. Something.

    max
    [‘The Goat Age. No. The SPASTIC ERA! Yeah!’]

  12. 12.

    jl

    @Aji:

    ” Have we established that he actually has a wife? ”

    I don’t want to think about Rob Ford having a wife. Either she is a good fit with him, or she is not. Neither case seems healthy to think about.

  14. 14.

    PsiFighter37

    I suppose as a New Yorker, I can feel better about the whole Carlos Danger situation from a few months ago.

  15. 15.

    Faux News

    @max: Well, if we had a Hookers & Blow/Crack party in the USA it would be a welcomed third party for our country. I think many of us would love to see H & B/C convention.

  16. 16.

    Roger Moore

    @PsiFighter37:

    I suppose as a New Yorker, I can feel better about the whole Carlos Danger situation from a few months ago.

    Especially because you got the revelations in time to vote for somebody else. Always more fun to look back on the bullets you dodged than the disaster you’re dealing with.

  20. 20.

    PsiFighter37

    @Baud: I’m curious as to if Ford is actually thinking when he’s talking, if he’s high as shit when he’s talking, or what is going on.

    I’m lovin’ it, whatever it is.

  21. 21.

    Mike with a Mic

    Well… that whole Mayor “the bitch set me up” Barry fiasco doesn’t seem so bad right now.

  23. 23.

    Cervantes

    @MomSense: No, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “wrong” — but I just don’t get it. As I said to the folks at TPM, just the opportunity cost alone tells me to think about something else.

    And with that, I shall.

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    Shoot, I am in moderation because I spelled out the p word. @Baud:

    Ok, I’m going to try this again.

    Are they an awesome country or what? They have universal health care and you can say p***y on tv.

  28. 28.

    Aji

    @Gin & Tonic: LMAO. I’m not sure it gets any more possible than that to convey “I’m not with that asshole” and “Asshole, don’t even think about touching me” than she does there.

  32. 32.

    PsiFighter37

    @ranchandsyrup: I don’t feel bad. He had no legislative record of accomplishment to speak of; he just said the right words about health care in the right manner. Look up his record of how he got elected to City Council and his foreign policy views, and I am happy to say that even if he didn’t take pictures of his dick, I wouldn’t vote for him based on his policy record and accomplishments.

  34. 34.

    ranchandsyrup

    @PsiFighter37: I understand where you’re coming from. I was trying to convey that he did a good job on the topics they discussed on the show. I don’t doubt that I would disagree significantly with some of his positions. Maher and the panel got their shots in on him (well deserved shots) before he got to speak on the issues.

  41. 41.

    MomSense

    My kids call him the honey badger of politicians and think his motto should be “govern hard party harder”

  42. 42.

    bemused

    He has two young kids, 8 and 5. Poor kids He’s only about 43 years old and looks really rough. For his kids’ sake, I hope he really is getting treatment.

  50. 50.

    rikyrah

    White Privilege is international….

    Ain’t no way

    that no Black elected official – ANYWHERE – could get away with this nonsense.

  51. 51.

    Bitter and Deluded Lurker

    This is just Toronto’s way of trying to one-up Montreal (whose mayor was arrested this summer). There may be more to come; the cops have video of one of Ford’s buddies (recently arrested on drug charges) slipping envelopes into Ford’s SUV while Ford is not in it.

  53. 53.

    Mike with a Mic

    @rikyrah:

    We don’t know he’s gotten away with it yet, he could still go to jail. Then he could get elected back to office, like Barry! And then keep getting busted again but not going back to jail, like Barry!

  54. 54.

    LanceThruster

    I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,
    with every crack pipe hit I light

    And I’ll feel super, in a drunken stupor
    ripping some fucker’s head off in a fight

  55. 55.

    Bitter and Deluded Lurker

    @Patricia Kayden: Garden-variety corruption (I think from before he was mayor). His predecessor (Gérald Tremblay) also resigned amidst allegations of corruption, but I don’t think Tremblay was ever arrested.

  58. 58.

    David Koch

    @Cervantes:

    Why on earth are we discussing Rob Ford?

    (Same question I asked Josh Marshall a week ago, to no avail.)

    Who doesn’t love a Chris Farley movie?

  59. 59.

    LanceThruster

    @Mike in NC:

    Christie’s consumption of his drug of choice is pretty much out in the open. In fact, he’s loud and proud about his particular addiction.

  60. 60.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Mike with a Mic: It’s funny that there are so many people who LOVE Barry — absolutely love him to the point where they will not listen to any criticisms of him. I have several friends like that and a Hubby. I guess Marion Barry did enough to please his constituents that even now many years after he stopped being their Mayor, they still defend him against “THE WHITE MAN” who tricked him into smoking crack and associating with a prostitute on camera.

    Never liked the man but I didn’t grow up in DC.

  61. 61.

    Mike with a Mic

    @Bitter and Deluded Lurker:

    I’ve always noticed that when these sorts of shit shows start one should resign. If you get out quick enough the entire thing goes away and criminal/civil charges rarely happen. On the other hand if you sit around and get smart about it you tend to get brought in.

  62. 62.

    Mike with a Mic

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Barry turned the DC department of education into a crony office for his campaign supporters. IE he gave out high paying jobs that did where you did nothing if you supported him, these were all given to black supporters from the various wards. It screwed over the DC school system, and is why they always claim the solution is more money (so they can repeat the process), but it gained him a lot of loyalty. Plus he started a vicious racial crusade against Asians when they started moving here accusing them all of being prostitutes, dirty, drug dealers, and disease spreaders who were… taking jobs from nice clean black people. To the point of helping run Asian owned businesses out of town and letting the black community gobble them up cheap after. Plus he turned every attempt to clean up the schools into “white people taking jobs away from black people”.

    It’s understandable, the man was civil rights leader, and he did take care of his constituents… he’s also a crook, a womanizer, a racist, and all sort of other things and the damage he did to his city has been permanent. He’s not their mayor now but he’s still elected to represent his ward over and over again. And he did give a lot of them phony baloney jobs… so what if he robbed kids of the education to do it, someone got paid!

    Barry isn’t the only big city politician who operated like this. City politics are often crooked as all fucking hell and based off ethnic resentment in the various areas. The difference is Barry got caught on camera smoking crack and took his shit show national. Before that he was just another DC pol. Shit the current mayor was already under federal investigation before the election took place, IIRC he still is. It’s just not a national issue because his arrests are for chaining himself to stuff demanding money for DC… not smoking crack on hidden camera screaming “the bitch set me up”.

    Ford’s in the same situation. Were it not for his smoking crack on camera, the world plus dog wouldn’t be hearing what sort of shit show Toronto actually is.

  63. 63.

    Shana

    @Aji: One of the commenters over at Charlie Pierce’s place has a screen shot of the press conference with her in it. Let’s just say she doesn’t look particularly happy.

  64. 64.

    Shana

    @Aji: One of the commenters over at Charlie Pierce’s place has a screen shot of the press conference with her in it. Let’s just say she doesn’t look particularly happy.

  67. 67.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Mike with a Mic: Funny that you mentioned Barry giving people jobs because Hubby is always proud to say that the first job he ever got was under Barry’s youth job program. Great way to breed undying loyalty among the youth.

    Alas, D.C.’s current Mayor (Gray) is a bit of a mess himself. Poor D.C.

  68. 68.

    Svensker

    @Shana:

    One of the commenters over at Charlie Pierce’s place has a screen shot of the press conference with her in it. Let’s just say she doesn’t look particularly happy.

    A couple years ago there were multiple calls to 911 from Ford’s home for “domestic dispute” — apparently he gets violent, too, the big charmer. She’s not gonna say anything, I’m sure, or go anywhere, because she knows about retribution. In the meantime, Rob’s mom says all he needs is to lose a little weight and have the mean old liberal media stop bothering him so much. The sister is an ex-druggie whose one-time drug dealer boyfriend got the shit beat out of him in prison. And the big brother used to be a dealer and now uses Little Brother to get power in the City — oh, and he wanted to take money from the city library budget and use it for something good like lingerie football. I wish I were kidding.

    These people make Sarah Palin look like a model of educated gentility.

  69. 69.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    @rikyrah: Oh, it remains to be seen whether he’s going to get away with it here. If he gets convicted of anything he’s out. Otherwise, well, we’ll get a real chance to judge the quality of Toronto’s character next fall when they have their next municipal election.

    Given some of what’s been coming out, it’s entirely possible that that could happen between now and Toronto’s next election. The drinking and driving is going to be a serious serious problem for him; he’s going to have to be squeaky clean that way from here on in or there will be no mercy by the cops and courts, let alone the press.

    Rob Ford and I are alike in a lot of ways; white suburban boys from Ontario (him Toronto, me Kingston) who came of age in the eighties. I know LOTS of people who are like him. I can say I get him, even though I think he’s a sodden buffoon who’s in way over his head, and a bullying buffoon to boot. The point being is there’s a lot of people in southern Ontario who are going to be thinking like Jon Stewart’s existential Joisey guy: “hey, c’mon, a little coke booze and hookers… what’s not to like about that?” However, when it comes to drinking and driving there’s a LOT of people who will not like that at all. Nothing wrong with a good party but don’t put other people at risk: if you can’t party with discipline don’t party at all.

    In the meantime, I’m dying over here. Dying.

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