"I came out of my house and I was ambushed," Ford said.
Because Mary Walsh as Marg Delahunty is SO terrifying - or something.
Rob Ford really can't take a joke
Tue, 2011-10-25 00:01
#1
Rob Ford really can't take a joke
Tue, 2011-10-25 01:42
#2
Catchfire
You Torontonians still don't get it, even though it's right in front of your face. Rob Ford is the greatest Canadian comedian of his generation--even when he's in cahoots with 22 minutes (hacks in the light of his brilliance), his humor remains too subtle for the great unwashed from Roncesvalles to Etobicoke.
Tue, 2011-10-25 07:24
#3
This Hour often pushes the limits of discretion and taste. Shaun Majumder appearing in the team photos for the Winter Classic being a prime example. Harass politicians all you want but don't fuck with hockey.
Tue, 2011-10-25 07:55
#4
I'd be concerned about potential cornary effects that might arise from Rob Ford being surprised by anything. I mean, they obviously weigh the pros and cons of surprising certain public figures for this segment...and in Ford's case they decided to proceed anyway...in front of his children no less.
Tue, 2011-10-25 09:00
#5
If his six year old daughter was with him then the ambush was ill-conceived at best. Politicans are fair game, their young children are not.
Tue, 2011-10-25 09:10
#6
I just played the clip above of Rob Ford Speaking. He looks and sounds like he is impaired. It could be a lack of sleep, drugs, or alchohol, but he doesn't appear like he can drive a motor vehicle. Not sure if anyone else thought this.... and is he always red faced???
Tue, 2011-10-25 09:37
#7
Maybe he thought it was Margaret Atwood!
Tue, 2011-10-25 09:54
#8
ROTFLMAO @ Oldgoat.
Parenthetically, I need to buy her new book.
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:16
#9
If it were 8 in the morning and i was at my house preparing to take my young children to school and someone ambushed me like that, I'd be pretty pissed off too
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:21
#10
He claims it was dark and his six year-old was terrified, and he didn't know who it was.
Watch the clip. It was broad daylight.
He says he didn't know who it was and was worried about death threats. She was carrying a CBC mic that says "22 minutes" on it. We're supposed to believe he has no idea what This Hour Has 22 Minutes is? I can't imagine that a politician doesn't know who Marg Delahunty is - she's been doing her routine forever. And for someone who was scared he was going to die, he sure didn't look like he was running for his life. He just shrugged her off and walked away.
Yes, he was ambushed early in the morning. But other politicians have managed to survive Delahunty's ambushes without calling the cops. What a dork.
(Hey, just in passing, did you notice how I managed to post about this without making disparaging references to his weight or assuming he has health problems because of it? Sure would be great to have a thread about Rob Ford without a bunch of fatphobic comments in it...can we try it?)
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:36
#11
I doubt he was afraid for his life. His daughter may have been scared. She may have been thrilled at the prospect of being on TV. Who knows?
I just think that showing up at a politician's home (a private residence, not something like 24 Sussex or Stornoway) uninvited when they're with their family crosses the line. At City Hall or a public event, this kind of thing is fair game but you should have some reasonable expectation of privacy when you're at home with your family.
And 22 Minutes has displayed some pretty poor judgment in the past. I remember Peter Kormos (NDP MPP in Ontario) blowing up on one of their correspondents when she ambushed Dalton McGuinty while he was doing a press conference talking about a factory closing, resulting in many people losing their jobs - not exactly the best time for lighthearted comedy.
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:37
#12
I'm assuming Mary Walsh didn't see the six year old. I would like to think she would not abush Rob Ford while a young child was present.
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:51
#13
Oh yes, because a young child would just be terrified at a fake superhero outfit worn by a middle-aged woman. Won't someone think of the children? :D My kid has grown up loving 22 Minutes and would probably have been thrilled to death to see Marg in real life.
For someone who was terrified for the life of his child, he sure didn't look like he was running to protect her. Did you watch the clip? And how many assassins have you heard of who show up wearing a fake superhero costume, holding a microphone, with a TV crew in tow filming the whole thing?
And then, making a 911 call when it's completely obvious to everyone - including him - that he's not in any danger whatsoever? He should be charged for making a false call.
Tue, 2011-10-25 10:59
#14
Catchfire
Are we really debating as to whether Rob Ford or his six-year-old were scared? He has out pranked the pranksters. This guy has a future.
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:07
#15
Instead of calling the cops, maybe he should have tasered them with his portable defibrillator.
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:08
#16
For someone who was terrified for the life of his child, he sure didn't look like he was running to protect her. Did you watch the clip? And how many assassins have you heard of who show up wearing a fake superhero costume, holding a microphone, with a TV crew in tow filming the whole thing?
Is that addressed to me? I have no idea if his daughter was terrified though I doubt she was. I doubt that either she or Ford were fearful for their safety, though Ford doesn't really seem like the 22 Minutes watching type and maybe he didnt know this character.
My objection to this isn't because it's "scary" or "threatening" but because I don't think it's right to show up at someone's house when they're with their family. Even politicians should have some reasonable expectation of privacy in that regard.
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:16
#17
As someone mentioned on the G&M's website, it takes a very special talent indeed to make Stephen Harper look like a good sport 
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:19
#18
I just read about this in the Star. Apparently, the whole bit was to try to encourage Ford to participate in "Movember", where you grow a moustache to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer. Now that's a great cause and Ford may have been receptive to it and getting him to participate would be great. So why not just show up at his office or at one of his public events? Who thought that the best way to get his participation was to show up at 8 in the morning at his home where he lives with his family?
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:43
#19
My objection to this isn't because it's "scary" or "threatening" but because I don't think it's right to show up at someone's house when they're with their family. Even politicians should have some reasonable expectation of privacy in that regard.
You may be right, but one of the pitfalls of being in public life is that peolpe have 24-7 access to you, and sometimes they do approach you at your house. IOW, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. When I saw the clip, it looked as though Ford was on his way home from somewhere and the 22 Minutes crew either followed him or may have been waiting for him. I could have seen your point if they had camped out on Ford's lawn and ambushed him on his way out of the house, but that is not what happened.
Tue, 2011-10-25 11:52
#20
i do not think it matters if he was followed home or if the crew staked out on his front lawn. I never think that any protest (of which this was not one I know) or camera crew, or gag etc needs to be done at ones home. without being invited
It also does not matter that ford is mayor or not. Public Figures appear in many different places and can be filmed there.
as for fear -- it is hard for me to know what someone else finds fearful.
last i wonder if opinions would change if the "target" was someone else. i do hope that would not be the case.
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:04
#21
Maybe we should get Marg(aret Atwood) into a warrior costume too and see if the Fords recognize her :)
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:06
#22
This whole thing seems a bit much. No other politician got their shorts in a knot over Margie
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:08
#23
actually MC i believe that the Ontario NDP were against a Margie ambush of McGuinty
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:09
#24
Why am I not surprised?
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:17
#25
For someone who was terrified for the life of his child, he sure didn't look like he was running to protect her. Did you watch the clip? And how many assassins have you heard of who show up wearing a fake superhero costume, holding a microphone, with a TV crew in tow filming the whole thing?
Is that addressed to me? I have no idea if his daughter was terrified though I doubt she was. I doubt that either she or Ford were fearful for their safety, though Ford doesn't really seem like the 22 Minutes watching type and maybe he didnt know this character.
My objection to this isn't because it's "scary" or "threatening" but because I don't think it's right to show up at someone's house when they're with their family. Even politicians should have some reasonable expectation of privacy in that regard.
Yes we must respect the sanctity of the home. Especially someone who is responsible for over seven hundred families being evicted from their metro housing residences so that they can be sold to developers as a result of Ford's manufactured finance crisis.He certainly doesn't demonstate much respect for the sanctity of their homes.
Ford is both an architecht and participant in a full scale corporate assault on the health and well being of working people resulting in loss employment, housing and essential services. He can attack people and their communities but somehow going to his house is crossing the line.
Tue, 2011-10-25 13:31
#26
These weren't people evicted from their homes there to confront him, N.R.KISSED. (Not that I'd support it if it were). This was a comic from television doing a skit. A skit for a good cause that most people would certainly get behind. But the same effect could be accomplished by showing up at his office.
Whatever you think of Ford (and I don't think much of him), he should be able to go about his private affairs with his family without being bothered.
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:00
#27
Northern Shoveler
22 Minutes was a joke and in the clip I saw I didn't even see his daughter. Left wing politicians not only don't get any respect for the sanctity of their home they get their families abused purposefully and without any humour. Ford's hiding behind his daughter is a just a passive aggressive act and he does it to a tee. I hate passive aggressive behaviour and love to poke fun at people who display it.
B.C. Premier Glen Clark lives in a modest, shingled home on Anzio Drive on Vancouver's east side, near the Burnaby boundary. Last Tuesday night, his wife, Dale, a public school teacher, was home as usual with the couple's two young children, Reid and Layne. Around 7 p.m., three RCMP officers from Vancouver's commercial crime section trudged up the stairs to the Clarks' home, followed by a reporter and cameraman from local station BCTV. The police produced a search warrant and slowly began to scour the house. One hour later, the premier returned home, entering through the back door to avoid the intrusive television camera. There was, however, a BCTV van parked in the lane at the rear of the house. The camera caught Clark in his kitchen, jacket still on, tie off, shirt unbuttoned at the neck, with a look of incredulity on his face, pacing back and forth with folded arms. At around 9 p.m., the police left.
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:01
#28
Whatever you think of Ford (and I don't think much of him), he should be able to go about his private affairs with his family without being bothered.
I would usually agree with this BUT in this case, I agree with N.R. Eliminating hundreds of public housing homes is a shameful, low blow. Ford's home is now fair game. For that matter, so should the homes of those councillors who support kicking hundreds of families out of their homes to make a few bucks to "pay down the debt" (i.e. line corporate pockets with public money).
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:35
#29
Lou Arab
Calling the cops was overkill, and claiming his daughter was scared was likely BS. However, I think a politician's home should be off limits for ambushing, especially if the politican is readily available elsewhere. As the husband of a politician, I would have been pissed off if I came to the door in my underwear to get the paper and found a TV camera.
Say what you want about Ford, he doesn't seem to hide from the media like Harper does. 22 minutes could have easily ambushed him at City Hall.
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:38
#30
Catchfire
:' (
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:57
#31
Parenthetically, I need to buy her new book.
Given recent events, I'll probably be borrowing it from the library.
Tue, 2011-10-25 14:59
#32
They still have an acquisition budget in TO?
Tue, 2011-10-25 15:00
#33
Northern Shoveler
Calling the cops was overkill, and claiming his daughter was scared was likely BS. However, I think a politician's home should be off limits for ambushing, especially if the politican is readily available elsewhere. As the husband of a politician, I would have been pissed off if I came to the door in my underwear to get the paper and found a TV camera.
Did Ford do any door to door canvassing? If he did then he likely "exposed" some people. Many politicians door knock with media in tow. Why is that allowed? When politicians can just go to the mall or somewhere public to reach voters why do they need to violate the sanctity of my home with their intrusions?
Tue, 2011-10-25 15:04
#34
Catchfire
I don't understand why we think Rob Ford's objection has anything to do with the feelings of his six-year old, the sanctity of his home, or the outside limits of media intervention; and not, say, his hostile view of the CBC and anything exposing his very ready capability of making an idiot of himself.
HE CALLED 911 FER CRISSAKES!
Tue, 2011-10-25 15:12
#35
If Ezra Levant (with SUN TV entourage in tow) had shown up on Fordo's doorstep the reaction would have been a little different methinks 
Tue, 2011-10-25 15:14
#36
Maysie
Ezra and the SUN crew would have been invited to Ford's backyard BBQ with Harper a few months ago.
And, what Michelle and NR Kissed said.
Tue, 2011-10-25 15:21
#37
M. Spector
I'd like to know exactly where the people who are so concerned about the sensibilities of poor Mr. Ford suggest the TV crew should have staged the ambush. They wouldn't be allowed within 50 metres of him at City Hall.
Tue, 2011-10-25 16:39
#38
Left Turn
Wow ... for ideological consistency he should have at least called his local private security company.
Tue, 2011-10-25 18:45
#39
Northern Shoveler
Wow ... for ideological consistency he should have at least called his local private security company.
Tue, 2011-10-25 23:23
#40
I love that Michelle is so politically correct 
Wed, 2011-10-26 00:13
#41
RevolutionPlease
Wow ... for ideological consistency he should have at least called his local private security company.
Best belly chuckle in awhile. Thanks LT
Wed, 2011-10-26 07:26
#42
I watched the sketch on 22 minutes last night. They ambushed his brother at City Hall.
It was also great to see Olivia on the Rick Mercer Report promoting Movember.
Wed, 2011-10-26 07:30
#43
Maysie
Jan, speaking for myself and not for Michelle, fatphobic bullshit insults have no place in an allegedly progressive space.
At the individual level, such comments are actually hurtful to individuals. At the community level, when I see my supposed allies saying such bullshit I become excluded from the community, as myths and stereotypes about people who look like me are bantered about, and unquestioned by all but one brave poster, who then gets mocked for being politically fucking correct.
Also, such comments reiterate various myths about the "laziness" and "health problems" of people who are overweight/fat. Ford has enough loathesome qualities for us to critique/mock/smack him with, without resorting to immature bullshit comments about his weight and weight-related health issues.
Are insulting school-yard insults okay if directed to skinny smokers? Skinny alcoholics? What about ableist comments when Jack was using a cane?
Come on.
Wed, 2011-10-26 07:52
#44
well I guess you missed that I complemented Michelle. At first I thought she was joking with tongue in cheek but I thought about it, and realized she wouldn't do that. And it was politically correct and she said it in a way that was "fun" and politically correct.
Have you seen me make fun of him or anybody else because of appearance? No, right, so please don't make assumptions here. Thanks, I will go back to just lurking and remaining in my rural back water.
Wed, 2011-10-26 08:47
#45
Politicians invade the "sanctity of my home" all the time. Every time there's an election I get phonebots from the Tories and Libs daily - sometimes more than once a day. They knock on my door, interrupt my dinner with my family, distract me when I'm trying to write. All uninvited of course. So Rob Ford can take the "sanctity of his home" and shove it in the other end that spews crap.
Rob Ford simply can't help but make an ass of himself. He's not politically astute by any stretch of the imagination, and he's shrewd as opposed to intelligent. He got voted in because of his talent for demagoguery of the most dangerous kind. Create a climate of fear, hold a few vulnerable people up as scapegoats, then present yourself as the savior of the day, et voila - elected!
I'm really grateful to Mary Walsh for hauling the warrior princess out of retirement. Marg Delahunty rules!
Wed, 2011-10-26 08:57
#46
As the husband of a politician, I would have been pissed off if I came to the door in my underwear to get the paper and found a TV camera.
I'll bare witness to that!
Anyway, I wouldn't be pissed off if they delivered a TV camera instead of that gosh darn MSM rag for a change.
Wed, 2011-10-26 09:36
#47
It was my mistake here to intrude with flippant references to Rob Ford's appearance from the picture that accompanied the article. Being somewhat challenged myself these days in that regard is no excuse for using it to get away with saying things that are hurtful to others. I apologize to Michelle and Maysie and to anyone else who felt an association with my comments at post #3 and #14.
Wed, 2011-10-26 12:05
#48
Maysie
Thanks SJ.
And Jan, I apologize as well for my over-reaction to your post. Often the phrase politically correct is used here as a side-swipe insult, which is how I incorrectly interpreted what you said.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled mocking of the doofus who is mayor of Toronto:
Wed, 2011-10-26 13:09
#49
You Torontonians still don't get it, even though it's right in front of your face. Rob Ford is the greatest Canadian comedian of his generation--even when he's in cahoots with 22 minutes (hacks in the light of his brilliance), his humor remains too subtle for the great unwashed from Roncesvalles to Etobicoke.
The Woolfman rabble-rouser Member: 21463 Joined: Sep 11 2010
November 21, 2010 - 12:33pm #20 (permalink)
Maysie wrote:
IwantLiberty wrote: Agreed, the guy is a loon, very dangerous.
Woolfman wrote: The great unwashed see him as a bit of a nut and turn away.
Mod hat on.
Disagree with Galloway all you like, but don't use language like "loon" and "nuts", which is stigmatizing and insulting to those with mental health issues and other struggles.
And don't ever use the term "the great unwashed". That's classist bullshit.
Woolfman, Unionist didn't call anyone a pro-Israel Zionist. He called certain arguments "boring pro-Israel Zionist talking points". There's a difference.
Quite right Maysie. I apologize on the terms and stigmitization. I look froward to the rules being applied equally to all.
Thread drift.
Is using "great unwashed" in a satirical manner to poke eeevil Conservatives really "classist bullshit"? In a rabble search, its been used by any number of leftist writers. "Great unwashed" appears to be too generic to be taken as an insult by any group except the Communists maybe.
This rather disparaging term was coined by the Victorian novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He used it in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford:
"He is certainly a man who bathes and 'lives cleanly', (two especial charges preferred against him by Messrs. the Great Unwashed)."
I use the phrase myself in the same manner as Catchfire and other rabble affectionados, as a sarcastic reference to elites who consider others 'below the salt'
Wed, 2011-10-26 14:13
#50
M. Spector
Welcome back, Roscoe! We've missed your progressive contributions to the discussions around here.
---------
We could speculate forever. So let’s start by making a short list of the possible reasons why Rob Ford called 911 on the 22 Minutes crew.
- He thought it was OUTtv, “Canada's Premier gay lesbian bisexual transgender TV channel,” coming to congratulate him on being in office for one year and offering an invitation to attend Gay Pride next year
- Ezra Levant of Sun News told him to call the cops whenever the CBC tries to ask him a question. It’s what Ezra does and advises all politicians to do so. That’s because the CBC failed to call the cops when Ezra showed up to question the corporation and he’s been bitter ever since. Reverse psychology kind of thing.
- He thought Marg Delahunty (Mary Walsh) was leading an angry gang of feminists, there to express their displeasure at his support for the Lingerie Football League
- He thought it was somebody to whom he had (allegedly, only allegedly) given the finger while driving the day before and they’d followed him home to continue the discussion.
- He thought it was Margaret Atwood leading a cabal of writers from the International Festival of Authors who wanted a word about the importance of libraries.
- He’d finally figured out where all the gravy is located and didn’t want to forget while being distracted by talking to a woman in an orange Xena Princess Warrior outfit. Which is likely to happen.
- Don Cherry told him that all people who go about equipped with TV cameras and microphones are bicycle-riding pinkos. Don Cherry also told him that in some countries the police round up these pinkos, confiscate their bicycles and lock up the pinkos. Ford thought he’d put that into the Toronto Police Services contract – talking on your cellphone in a car is okay, but being a bicycle-riding pinko is a crime.
- He thought it was Stacy and Clinton from TLC’s What Not to Wear and a friend or relative had nominated him for a makeover. Everybody knows that Stacy and Clinton ambush the nominee, arriving unannounced at home or work. Ford really didn’t want to go through the 360-degree mirror treatment, have his wardrobe thrown into a rubbish bin and get a $5,000 shopping spree in New York to replace it. That would be gravy.
Wed, 2011-10-26 14:52
#51
sometimes I feel like a "hick" in babble but I'm pretty sensitive to body image stuff. Sorry for being snarky too. The cartoon sure is not flattering of Rob Ford.
______________________________________________________________________________________ Our kids live together and play together in their communities, let's have them learn together too!Thanks SJ.
And Jan, I apologize as well for my over-reaction to your post. Often the phrase politically correct is used here as a side-swipe insult, which is how I incorrectly interpreted what you said.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled mocking of the doofus who is mayor of Toronto: