This 'n that for a Saturday

A note about loss: Toronto suffered two gigantic losses this week when Ed Mirvish and Bluma Appel died. Although very very different individuals and personalities, they had this in common - both were immensely generous with their time and their talent and their money; both were always about other people and their community and not about themselves; both were classy individuals who made everyone around them better for their existence; in their outlook, both had vision and a view of life that surpassed the narrow borders of Toronto. Our city and our nation are greatly poorer today because Ed Mirvish and Bluma Appel are no longer with us. The greatest honor we can pay each of them is to follow their example of lives well lived.

Turning from the sublime to the ridiculous...

A note to David Miller: in your last term as mayor - and the way you're going, this is it - you might want to try a little leadershop instead of a whole lot of petulant blame gaming. Yesterday's threats of a subway shut down to balance the budget was pathetic. You're beginning to sound a lot like Harpoon, who's mistakes are always somebody else's fault.

A note to the voters of Don Valley West - we are going to need a good mayor soon - make John Tory available. He'd be a much better mayor than premier so do your part and re-elect Kathleen Wynne, who deserves to win on her own merits.

A note to the ghetto dude - how dumb are you? I wouldn't hire you now on a bet. That email needs explaining but who hires a guy who's first reaction is to run to the newspapers and play the race card? There were far more effective and appropriate ways of dealing with it but since you don't appear to know or understand any of them, you shouldn't even make the short list of candidates for the job. And that has nothing to do with where you live, your accent or your mother's accent - it has to do with judgement, which you lack to an alarming degree.

Note to Conrad Black - jail time is going to look real good on you, tubby. It's taken a lifetime but it's finally all catching up with you. From the bamboozling of two widows, which got you started, to your high-handed use of other people's money you've left a trail in which everything you've touched has turned to crap. Enjoy jail, Connie, orange looks good on you. As for getting back your Canadian citizenship - any prime minister that let's that happen can kiss his office bye bye. Even the dumb post currently holding the position ought to know that.