An interesting day for Canadians

I love Lu.

Last night the mayor of Toronto was on Jimmy Kimmel (you can see the interview here).  Rob Ford has been videotaped intoxicated, smoking crack, running over another council member, and threatening to kill someone.  Rob Ford's premise is that he "wasn't elected to be perfect" and that he is saving the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and that his official track record should speak for itself.
I feel compelled to speak about what is acceptable behaviour in public office, given that I was pro Eliot Spitzer when that whole scandal broke in 2008.
It's funny to think that, if the Rob Ford scandal had unfurled before Clinton was caught with his intern, perhaps the president could have kept his job.  Clinton lost his presidency for having an affair.  Spitzer lost his post for consorting with a prostitute as he was a family man.
Depending on where you look, the stats on infidelity range from 20 - 40% for men.  On a hunch, I'm going to lean more towards the 40% figure.  So: your locally elected whatever is schluffing his secretary or his nanny. Do you really care?  The odds are your husband, coworker, boss, brother is also doing the same thing.  And yet society still seems to move forward.
It's like prostitution: we all know it exists, but we (for some reason) view it with disdain and try and banish it from our society though it's been around since time immemorial.
Anyways, I guess I just find it a little bit hilarious that we will remove a president from office, and we will remove a politician (who was trying to clean up Wall Street) from office, because of sexual infidelity, but Rob Ford maintains his mayoral status.  Not only did Clinton (eventually) and Spitzer own up to their shit, but they both left their respective offices.
Here we have Ford who, after vowing to eschew alcohol and lose a bunch of weight, is again appearing intoxicated and appears to have gotten even more obese.
All that aside, after watching the Kimmel interview I did come away with the feeling that the audience was seemingly on his side and that he did fervently believe that his private life is just that, and he ought not be judged on it.
It's an interesting premise, but it's a slippery slope.

Stay classy, Strombone1.

What is essentially happening here is that Ford is touting his massive savings to taxpayers (and these very savings have actually been called into question) as a way to offset his illegal and potential dangerous behaviour.  He has been photographed driving and talking on his cell phone.  He is suspected of drunk driving.  His consorts (including his brother) have criminal backgrounds.
Moreover?  He repeatedly lies. He makes promises about getting cleaned up, losing weight and when he fails to do this he just trots out the inevitable "customer service" premise.  Because he eliminated the "car tax" and keeps on mouthing on and on about saving the taxpayers money, he gets their vote.
I'm sick of Rob Ford - and moreover his puppet master brother.
But the most frightening aspect to me is that people are actually buying his bullshit rhetoric.
Spitzer and Clinton owned their mistakes and stepped out of the public light.
What kind of megalomaniac continues to deny his abhorrent behaviour and goes for re-election in October?

In other news: Luongo.
Wow.  Been a Canucks fan for a long time.  Seen a lot of shitty coaches come and go (Keenan, Crawford) and now it looks like Torts will be the next one to drive our team into the ground.
Not that I am loyal to a logo, mind you.  I love the Bruins because of their strong Canadian team, and I will cheer for the Panthers when they meet up with the Canucks in a couple of weeks because I love Luongo (and Tim Thomas).
But: Jesus Price (to quote the Luongo).  He described not being in the Heritage Classic as one of the most disappointing moments of his career.
Speaking of his career: Luongo is a two-time NHL Second All-Star (2004 and 2007) and a winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy for backstopping his team to the lowest goals-against average in the league (2011; with backup Cory Schneider). He has additionally been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender (2004, 2007 and 2011), the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by his peers (2004 and 2007) and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (2007).
Oh right, and he also has two Olympic gold medals.
I'm very sad to see Luongo go.  He is one of my most favourite players of all time, he was a class act and he took the totally unwarranted abuse of the Canucks "fans" with great decorum and aplomb.  We were simply priviledged to have such an amazing netminder for so many years and as much as the Canucks will suffer for this trade, I hope he is happy to be reunited with his family and I hope Florida gives him the support and accolades he so very much deserves.