My Doug Ford presser report:
1. Ford rambled for X minutes, experienced # of tech difficulties, cried crocodile tears & repeatedly evaded question about when/how would bring back paid sick days, while blaming fed govt repeatedly for what characterized as "gaps" & lack of vax

2. Ford used & fell back on one main talking point–"we moved too fast"–in closing playgrounds & requiring police forces to stop & question citizens found outside their homes, but went on to contradict himself about both initiatives

3. Asked to provide details & explains the govt's April 16 decrees, Ford said that neither playground closures nor erstwhile carding was within the province's powers; he refused repeatedly to address questions about issues that are within Ontario's jurisdiction

4. These included specific queries about why the Ford govt is ignoring the recommendations of its own scientific panel, epidemiologists, heads of hospitals and other leaders in the medical community

5. Ford once again fell back on his patented "people talk to me" response, saying that his politically-appointed chief medical officer & a number of unnamed doctors have said things to him that contradict what the experts say

6. Ford went so far as to make a doctor joke to back up his assertion that he has seen evidence that undermines that of the province's medical experts, saying that "if you talk to 10 doctors, you get 11 opinions"

7. Much is being made of fact Ford cried, or "fought back tears", or was otherwise overcome by emotion. Long-time Ford watchers will recall this is nothing new: Ford family politicians have always become emotional when confronted by experiences or facts they don't like

8. Were I writing this for publication in something other than a micro-blog, I'd have a sidebar on the many many many times Doug Ford or his brother Rob exploded in anger when faced with opposition & tears when they felt sorry for their personal plight

9. Meanwhile, in the main story, would report: Ford refused to acknowledge that, far from being a "gap" preventing the province from accessing $700-million in undistributed benefits to Ontario workers, paid sick days are a provincial responsibility

10. I would explain the mechanism by which this works, and throw to a chart showing what other provinces have done historically, & what specific sick days benefits they've added during the COVID-19 pandemic

11. I would recap what the Ford govt did when it took power to cancel the two measly legislated paid sick days brought in by the Wynne government, and then run his response to (very good) specific questions from reporters who tried to get him to even acknowledge that happened

12. I would make it clear that this response was evasive & meandered into the talking points, i.e. that this is a "gap" that the province has been "working" with the feds to remedy. Then I would TELL THAT STORY

13. In the many weeks that the Ford govt has been feeding people this spin, I would have found somebody who is not Chrystia F. to spell out for me specifically what's been going on in these alleged negotiations

14. What is the province asking for? What is the fed position, really? People are dying; if this is the narrative that the Ford govt is hiding behind, I would want to know very specifically what the hell is going on

15. My sense, & say this w/out having done reporting, is that fed money is a retroactive benefit for workers whereas provincial jurisdiction requires salary/paid hours to continue & then–should province wish–enable/require employer to apply for rebate

16. And therein lies the rub. Ford said two things that felt honest, unscripted & true in the presser: first, that he will not put any additional burdens on COMPANIES. When he said that, he was again on the brink of tears. I would make that clear.

17. Ford is an emotionally-damaged person whose reactions to world around him are, like his brother's, 100% shaped by his own & the family psyche. Reporters connected this psychology to Rob's political performance but have, since 2017, turned blind eyes to evidence Doug is same

18. Doug Ford gets upset when he recalls or feels protective of something from his own experience: Rob's experience with cancer; holding the hand of a dying relative; protecting small biz from greedy bureaucratic governments & the demands of its workers

19. Ford has shown repeatedly that he is incapable of extrapolating beyond his own experience. He demonstrated that again in today's press conference. I would report that.

20. The only pieces of real news that can be retrieved from his messy, buck-passing, inarticulate performance today are i) that he still does not want to use the province's powers to require that workers get paid if they are infected with COVID-19 or anything else

21. ii) that he is determined not to listen to the scientists because they are telling him to do things that he doesn't like

22. iii) that he "feels" for the pain & burden being suffered by small business owners but does not want to ask those businesses to step up & do the paperwork required to apply for provincial wage rebates

23. that it remains very likely that Ford does not want to use provincial funds to cover paid sick leave; & that he may well be asking the feds to cover the provincial gaps, versus the other way around

24. that Ford said he will not go the route that Australia & other jurisdictions took to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus because he doesn't like or agree with those measures–even if they worked

25. that Ford is either an emotional child or a deeply stupid man, or both; whatever the case, he showed clearly that he is incapable of complex thought or decision making

26. confronted with genuine unprecedented horror Ford & his govt have brought onto the Ontario, he can only retreat into blaming others & insisting that whatever he's done is actually the best thing ever, anywhere (because he really said that, many times)

27. & that what he & his PCPO cronies do decide to do, when they do it, will be the best thing anybody's ever done, anywhere.

28. In my report, I'd look at what U.S. reporters finally started doing in the final year of the Trump regime, & being honest with readers about Ford's history of blaming, ducking, prevaricating & self-mythologizing

29. i.e. in rambling spin-filled defence of himself & his cruel govt, Ontarios' premier once again shifted blame for illness & death sweeping the province but refused to take steps experts have identified as ones that will alleviate pressure on the hospital system & save lives

30. Finally, I'd find somebody to quote comparing Ford govt to those computers that captured the Starship Enterprise in old Star Trek series but would self-destruct when confronted with complex ideas.

31. Doug Ford's presser displayed a similar process to those old Star Trek plots but sadly, the people of Ontario remain in the grip of a decompensating & self-destructive force–one that will see the province in flames rather than acknowledge or repair its own tragic mess.