The rise of luxury rehab (New Yorker, Dec. 1, 2008)

A Dec. 1, 2008 New Yorker article is entitled: “Letter from West Hollywood – Special Treatment – The rise of luxury rehab.”

The topic of drug rehabilitation is discussed as well in a Sept. 19, 2013 Globe and Mail article, and in a Feb. 4, 2013 New York Times article.

An Aug. 6, 2013 Globe and Mail article also addresses the topic.

At an earlier blog post, I’ve listed updates to an Oct. 31, 2013 Toronto Police Service report concerning this story.

Here is the list (to which I’ve added additional links):

Updates (listed in two segments)

A Nov. 1, 2013 Metro News article is entitled: “Timeline: Gawker’s warning, Rob Ford’s call, Lisi’s alleged extortion.”

A Nov. 2, 2013 Globe and Mail article is entitled: “Is Ford’s Nation still with him?”

The article notes that:

“If there’s one question that’s likely to identify a Ford supporter, [Zack Taylor, who teaches city studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, says,] it’s whether they drive to work.”

A Nov. 4, 2013 Globe and Mail article is entitled: “Six questions Mayor Rob Ford has yet to answer.”

A Nov. 4, 2013 Globe and Mail video link is entitled: “A close look at the phone records revealed in the Lisi police documents.”

A Nov. 5, 2013 CBC article is entitled: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford ‘could easily get re-elected.'”

A Nov. 5, 2013 Maclean’s article is entitled: “Who is to blame for this mess in Toronto?” The subhead reads: “Let’s start with the anti-elite, anti-downtown, anti-transit, anti-everything-frankly vote that swept Rob Ford to power.”

A Nov. 5, 2013 Metro News article is entitled: “Ford Nation: Three takes on why they’re so loyal to Toronto’s troubled mayor.”

A Nov. 5, 2013 New York Times article is entitled: “Toronto’s Hot Mess. What Mayor Rob Ford Knows About Toronto.”

A Nov.6, 2013 Globe and Mail article is entitled: “Amid crack scandal, Ford’s approval ratings have gone up (but not in ‘Ford Nation’).”

A Dec. 7, 2013 Toronto Star article is entitled: “Rob Ford: Low-income supporters stand by their mayor.”

The subhead to the story reads:

• Mayor Rob Ford’s support among low-income people is a paradox to critics who say he has consistently voted against programs that would help the poor. But his supporters in Rexdale social housing complexes say they support him because he’s active in the community.

The articles arising from the report provide a context for the ongoing story

As I’ve noted in a previous blog post, Councillor Gord Parks has shared comments of value, including a November 2013 comment at reddit.com.

A Nov. 8, 2013 Globe and Mail article is entitled: “Toronto’s problem has grown beyond its mayor.”

Also addressing a topic in the above-noted article is a Nov. 8, 2013 Atlantic Cities article entitled: “Why It’s So Incredibly Difficult to Fight Urban Inequality.”

A Nov. 8, 2013 article at rabble.ca is entitled: “‘Boys will be boys:’ Rob Ford and toxic masculinity.”

A Nov. 7, 2013 New Yorker article is entitled: “Toronto’s Rob Ford problem.”

Comment

The reference to masculinity brings to mind the “cult of masculinity,” which arises as a central theme in Erving Goffman’s Symbolic Interactionist analysis of everyday life.

Many narrative threads come together in the ongoing City of Toronto scandal story including:

• The conceptualization of an urban-suburban divide.
• The role of anger as a driving force in  political life and the related salience of optics, polling, branding, public relations, and media relations
• The implications of an accelerated trend toward extreme income disparity in the Greater Toronto Area and elsewhere
• The challenges of accelerated growth and associated demographic changes in the Greater Toronto Area
• The effects of the Drug Wars strategy – whereby drug use is criminalized – regarding substance use and abuse
• The differential stigmatization of crack cocaine and marijuana
• The conceptualization of evidence, which varies according to the frames of reference applied to the gathering and interpretation of it

The broader context is Military History, in the sense that war can be characterized as the strategic application of organized violence in the pursuit of specified outcomes.