It's getting pretty bad when the US media starts paying attention (Rob Ford)

[TrogL]

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Crazy_Mayor_Of_Toronto

I've rather laid back a bit on the saga of Rob Ford, the one-man crime wave currently serving as mayor of Toronto because, frankly, I started two or three posts only to have them rendered completely obsolete because Bob was discovered snorting crack off a hooker's ass while sticking up a fruit stand. Or something. I mean, seriously, wow.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/rob-ford-crack-smoking-mayor

I live in Toronto. Usually this is a matter of the least possible interest. But last week our mayor, Rob Ford, who has allegedly been caught smoking crack, topped Obama on Google's narrative analytic charts. Think about that: A scandal-plagued president of the United States mattered less to the world than a mayor from Canada. That's insanity right there. But as New York magazine puts it, "in Toronto, shit is getting crazier by the day." The story is starting to resemble Elmore Leonard: Kickstarter campaigns leading to murder investigations, and childhood drug rings leading to the mayor's office. In Canada, stories like this don't happen. Literally this morning there was a scandal in Winnipeg about the mayor of that city spitting gum on the street. (He claimed it was lint but a dogged citizen found out the truth. And no I am not making that up.) Then there was the guy who fended off a cougar with his skateboard and felt bad about it. Those are your typical Canadian stories. Not mayors huffing rock.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

1. You know its bad when professional wrestling makes fun of you...

WWE's Monday Night Raw jokes about Toronto mayor Rob Ford

But that didn't stop ring-side analyst and former wrestler John Layfield from poking fun at Ford during WWE's Monday Night Raw in Calgary.

"Up here in Canada, I flew through Toronto and had a party with their mayor, Rob Ford," Layfield joked.

"No he didn't," WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler quickly chimed in.

Layfield corrected himself: "Actually, no I didn't. I'd be indicted by now."

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/29/wwes-monday-night-raw-jokes-about-toronto-mayor-rob-ford

[u4ic]

2. I didn't think any Canadian 'politician' could outdo Ralph Klein

for belligerence and general dumbassery before Ford. It's a photo finish.

[TrogL]

3. Pierce is at it again

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Latest_From_Toronto

Here's another pro tip for you young folks interested in politics -- when the the lead story in one of your city's daily papers is that you probably didn't have anything to do with the murder of the guy with whom there allegedly is a video of your smoking crack, you're still not having a good day. This is especially true if there is a photo accompanying the story of you standing there next to the soon-to-be-dead guy with whom there allegedly is a video of your smoking crack.