Questions about Boston that really should be asked

Like everyone else with a TV or WiFi, I was glued to the news on Friday as Boston was shut down to hunt for the remaining suspect of the Boston Marathon bombing. It was an operation peerless in scope and precedent, and I had several questions that went unaddressed as the newscasters and Tweeters updated the world on the progress of the investigation.

• Is this a law enforcement matter, a national security issue, or some new combination of the two?
• Was this a dramatic overreaction: I know that it was believed that the individual (going unnamed because I cannot remember his name for the life of me) was wearing a suicide bomber vest and armed and heavily dangerous, but this was still one individual. Shutting down an entire city to look for one person strikes me heavily as overkill.
• Would the involvement of military personnel be a violation of posse comitatus, given that state and local government was completely functional, and this was looking for one individual and not a systemic or organized attack against the government by a larger force?
• Despite the obvious loss of life during the Boston Marathon bombings, did the (and this is going to sound patronizing and possibly insulting, and I beg your forgiveness) minor economically, politically and militarily marathon really justify such an extreme response the same way 9/11 did?
• If not, what would justify such an extreme measure? Assassination of the president? Destruction of an important target (and if so, what would that be) for the government of the United States? Given the militarization of the police forces of the United States post-9/11, will this establish a precedent for similar manhunts for comparatively minor offences?

No, I don't presume to have any answers, if any objective answers exist to these questions. I am a little concerned that MURIKAN-style hoo-rah patriotism is drowning out desperately needed questions that must be asked.

Oh, and CISPA passed on the day of the manhunt. That too.

Doug Ford: A hero in his own mind

Doug Ford wants to run in any May election that gets called. I am not sanguine about his prospects, or any results if elected: while the constituents of his riding may go for it, I sincerely doubt that such a prospect may warm the cockles of Tim Hudak's heart. Hudak has not established himself as thoroughly as a good candidate, and if the Liberals do go down, it will be to the benefit of the NDP, not him. Having Doug in his pocket does not guarantee a good hand, because, frankly, he and Rob are national embarrassments. At least the rest of the country can take comfort in that they are confined to Toronto.

Metrolinx has prepared a list of possible taxes, fees and charges to facilitate badly needed transit construction in Toronto, including subway construction (ie, the Downtown Relief Line, not the utterly useless subway to Scarborough). Naturally, this is anathema to the proud Ford nation! Cheered on by the hacks at the Toronto Sun, Doug will no doubt ride a populist wave to victory (no...couldn't say that with a straight face, sorry), and if he dosen't win, and if the Tories aren't in power, no doubt he will challenge Hudak for the party leadership---and I'm certain the prospect of that is making many Dippers and Grits smile.

Doug Ford's declaration of intent sounds like a high school bully rather than a grown man. Granted, I'm sure this will have some sway over a certain category of voter. The kind that hates all taxes, ever, period, yet still expects things handed to them---the reaction, in other words, of a dense and spoiled brat, who wants things but turns their nose up at working for them. Somehow this is the embodiment of populist conservativism. Somehow.

Taxes suck. On that there is no disagreement. However, how else are we going to make meaningful contributions of transit and infastructure construction and maintenance? A casino at it's best would make, what, a hundred and twenty million a year---versus 1.7 billion dollars on a dollar a day parking levy (which I noticed Ford was not unopposed to at one point). Ford has had enough time to put together a free-market based strategy. He has failed. A year ago Karen Stintz sat down, did the numbers, and came to the conclusion that there was no way Ford's underfunded turkey could fly.

Here's the dirty little secret: every major North American city has done some combination of what Metrolinx is proposing. Even Chicago, which is basically the second home of the Ford twins. Dealing with information you do not want to hear is one of life's great challenges. It's not fun.

I pray that Ford, both of them, gets turfed at the next two elections. The city of Toronto cannot afford either of them. If they do get their way, this city is heading into a political dark age. But we won't be taxed to death: productivity sapping gridlock will reign, we'll be overpolluted and congested, perhaps, but we still won't be taxed, and that's the important thing!