10.29.2010 09:49 AM

Can a train run on gravy? Would you want to ride it if it did?


Rob Ford’s favourite.

More on this important topic, here.

8 Comments

  1. Paul R Martin says:

    Good Morning Warren. Have you become one of those Toronto elites that are out of touch with ordinary Canadians? It is far too early to know if Ford will be any good as a mayor. I can think of a few political leaders such as Dion who looked much better on paper, but struck out frequently when under pressure.

    • Namesake says:

      Uh-huh. Well, if you’ve got your ear so close to the ground, perhaps you could comment on the following.

      Ok, so I gather a core part of the “gravy” Ford want to cut is the way many Pols exploit & bloat their office expenses to engage in self-promotion — essentially working on their re-election on the public dime — instead of sticking to City business; as when Blatchford wrote this summer, “many councillors use their office budgets in a variety of unappealing ways, most aimed at feathering the nests they have built or promoting themselves endlessly under the guise of keeping their communities involved.”

      http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/christie-blatchford/the-logic-behind-rob-fords-bid-to-derail-the-gravy-train/article1684262/

      So how do you square your tacit endorsement of that and your unflagging support of the PM, considering how,

      “Tories preach belt-tightening as costs soar: Expenses in PM’s office, entire cabinet continue to climb as government embarks on deficit reduction… The annual cost of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office has ballooned to nearly $10 million, a jump of 30 per cent over the last two years.”

      http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Tories+preach+belt+tightening+costs+soar/3744666/story.html

      The PMO justifies that in terms of, uh, all the extra communications & travel they’ve been doing to tout the EAP & reach out to ethnic communities.

      But that’s not because it’s necessary for the PM to do his job.

      It’s all about FT electioneering on the public dime, to monitor and reach out to the ethnic media. These 3 ‘branch offices’ the PMO set up are pure gravy and should be paid for out of the CPC Party’s budget, not with taxpayer money, no?

      http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/national/article/75301–pmo-puts-communications-staff-in-vote-rich-toronto-vancouver-montreal

      • Robin says:

        Paul R Martin can’t explain any of that: being fiscally responsible and being fiscally conservative is the myth that conservatives propagate to get elected. It’s a myth that only the stupid believe. One need only look at Reagan, Bush I and II, Mulroney and now Stevie. If Harper said that Santa Claus would come tomorrow riding on a unicorn to save the economy, about one-third of the country would believe it. He is, after all, a trained economist.

  2. allegra fortissima says:

    The mayor’s gravy train has arrived in town,
    greeted by City Hall with a frown;
    Socialists holler and Liberals cry,
    but the mayor makes gravy with one big smile;
    His tastes for sure are not too refined
    he’s cooking up gravy of any kind;
    It’s gravy here and gravy there,
    it’s fatty gravy everywhere;
    Councillors soon will slam on the brake,
    ’cause people will say: that gravy is fake!

    • Ronald O'Dowd says:

      Allegra,

      Please think of me during the Holiday season. A verse or two would make my Christmas.

      Shazzzam!

      (Having tried my hand at the above in the recent and distant past, I humbly realize that I’m not yet in your league.)

      • allegra fortissima says:

        I fear, oh Sir, the answer is no,
        how could my mind be ever so low:
        To sit and laugh and send you a rhyme,
        and all this around Christmas time.

        You Sir, you are such an honourable man,
        who reminds us of chastity whenever he can;
        reminds me to stay below my mask,
        oh Sir, this will be a difficult task.

        However Sir, I don’t intend to be mean,
        at least I should wish you a Spooky Halloween.

        • Ronald O'Dowd says:

          A word or two to the power in the sky,
          if not the case already may providence,
          insure that Allegra’s talents soar on high.

          The leader would do extremely well to note,
          that without said help now, dare we even hope!

          Boo, to you and yours.

  3. WesternGrit says:

    Yup… I guess Conservatives aren’t sore losers, huh? Just look at the Tea Party neoNazi buffoons and ignorant hicks in the USA…. Denying that a democratically elected President can govern them? Wow.

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