Toronto News
Did David Miller finally "get it"?by Arthur Weinreb, Associate Editor,
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Toronto mayor David Miller has done an apparent about face on the issue of violent gun crime which at least appears to have reached epidemic proportions in recent weeks. The mayor cut short his family vacation in Maine to return to the city in an attempt to deal with the issues of guns and crime.
After his return, Miller ventured, no doubt warily, into the Jane/Finch corridor where he met and visited with Shaquan Cadougan, the 4-year-old who took a couple of bullets while he was just outside of his home with his family. Miller also at least professed anger at the fact that a man who was arrested carrying a fully loaded semi-automatic weapon was released on bail within a few hours.
Miller was applauded editorially by the law and order Toronto Sun,who commented that they "hope" the mayor is starting to get it.
The reality is that Miller has always "gotten it". You dont have to be a Harvard graduate (which the citys golden-haired boy is) to realize that not only are gun crimes escalating, but they are becoming more brazen. The use of guns is no longer used for self defense or retaliation for drug rip-offs. People are now being shot and killed simply because they have "dissed" some lowlife. Without so much as a second thought, guns have been fired into crowds that contained not only gangbangers but mothers with their babies and children. It is beyond comprehension that Miller somehow failed to see this or understand that it is a serious problem.
David Millers change of positions on the issue of gun violence was truly Nixonian. During the last days of his presidency, Richard Nixon refused to deal with or acknowledge the Watergate allegations that were being levelled at him. The more that his political enemies and their friends in the anti-Nixon media such as the New York Times and the Washington Post went after him, the more Nixon dug in his heels. Nixon only resigned when his friends; those very few who were on a first name basis with the president who liked to refer to himself in the third person, went to see him and said, "Dick, its time to leave".
Miller changed positions on guns and crime not because he finally "got it" but because his friends began to turn on him. First there was the Toronto Star who editorially criticized the mayor for not visiting the Jane/Finch area to reassure the residents. The editorial came a day after Toronto Star columnist, Royson James, accused Miller of having a blind spot when it came to crime.
While the Toronto Star supports David Miller and his group hug approach to violent crime, Citytv fawns over the mayor. They absolutely worship His Worship. But at a press conference, Citys Adam Vaughan asked the mayor if he had visited the 4-year-old Shaquan. When a somewhat surprised Miller said "no", Vaughan, in a pure and unadulterated act of journalism, kept asking his buddy "why not". The mayor mumbled and stumbled but couldnt give a coherent answer as to why he had not visited the boy. The reality is that he just didnt care.
Miller revealed his true feelings and character when he said that the violence "isnt Toronto". And its not his Toronto. His Toronto consists of islands with no bridges, Nathan Phillips Square, the home of the homeless, and his trendy High Park neighbourhood. He has no empathy with the honest law abiding people who live in areas where they go to bed every night to the sounds of gunshots. David Miller is an ideologue. He has no use for people who do not share his lifestyle or his ideas. Those who live in crime ridden neighbourhoods, many of whom are visible minorities, are good for they mayor to use as a group when he talks about diversity. But as individuals, they really dont matter.
It is practically impossible for an incumbent mayor (or counsellor for that matter) to lose a municipal election. But if there are enough shot-up babies, toddlers and children. Miller could easily be defeated by practically anyone.
David Miller did not change his position on violent crime in the city. The only thing that David Miller cares about is David Miller. >
To read other News items, Columns by Arthur Weinreb, please click here
Arthur Weinreb is an author, columnist and Associate Editor of Canada Free Press. His work as appeared on Newsmax.com, Men's News Daily, the Drudge Report, Foxnews.com and The Rant. He can be reached at . You can read your Letters to the Editor here.
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