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| "A Family Tradition for 128 Years" LE TTERS trom our readers To the Editor: Cutbacks and Federal trans- fer payments to the provinces. Cutbacks and Provincial trans- fer payments to the municipali- ties. Banks are making record profits. Politicians have a very lucra- tive pension plan. They do not pay taxes on a third of their in- come, besides other perks. Tax shelters such as Family Trust Funds are available for the rich. They keep telling me we have a deficit of nearly $3/4 trillion and rising by the min- The French Imposition To the Editor: There are still hundreds of little English speaking chil- dren being thrust into early French Immersion classes across Canada. English speaking parents, (a great many of whom are profes- sionals) should be ashamed of themselves for their short- sightedness. To date, hundreds of drop- outs of early French Immer- sion have experienced the disadvantages compared to the few that have succeeded, and have spoken out about it. Who are these mothers and fathers who have a limit- ed concept of the advantages of placing their children in early French Immersion, rendering them compara- tively illiterate in the global language? The truth of the matter is, we need to diminish totali- tarian authority, and the im- position of the French lan- guage in our country, not encourage it. No, I'm not prejudiced; but I see my freedom being erod- ed away. Vona Mallory, Barrie utes. Therefore, I am willing to bleed, but all of us have to share the cuts equally, including poli- ticians of all levels of govern- ment. This includes Bay Street Barons and Bankers. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Will Premier Harris follow through with this mandate of smaller, more efficient govern- ment? Per capita we are the most over-governed country in the Politicians' pay is unfair world. Politicians should now set an example, and eliminate their one-third tax-free income. It reeks of unfairness. On Aug. 23, I faxed Premier Mike Harris. My exact words were: "We have to eliminate the controversial and unfair one- third tax free allowance, as this is a very big sore spot amongst the voters." We need his quick and posi- tive action. Herman van der Veen, Oshawa Man's deficit-killing lottery plans on track To the Editor: Well, with your most tremen- dous boost and Mike Steele's brainchild, the "Kill the Deficit Lottery"is abudding fact. A number of items of interest follow: Five heart attacks have fin- ished my walking days, so my booth and I sat out a day at Mike the Greek's Shell Station on Hwy. 35 above Manvers 12th Line; could speak to no one: took in zip. Then, Mr. Kenneth M. Dow- son kindly "installed" me out front of his Valu-Mart food mar- ket in the Port Perry Plaza; and with the absolute vital help of two local newspaper write-ups of the coming event; what an amazing help that proved to be. People would just walk over to my "booth" with cheque in hand. At the end of that day there were 67 cheques totalling $545. Four patriots "insisted" on giv- ing cash, either because they don't use banks or had no cheques. I ended up stapling their name, address, postal code and telephone number to their cash. How to refuse a patriot's will- ing blessing? But, how are you going to make it understood that cash tends to vanish whereas cheques leave indeli- ble tracks? The only thing I can promise is to deduct postage from the amount of such cash, and mail back the difference. Cheques will stale date if Mr. Harris denies the lottery; so cheque givers cannot lose: but cash lives on. Marilyn James was quick to volunteer her services. So, that makes her the Official Port Perry Chapter of "Death to On- tario's Deficit c/o Minister of Fi- nance" Her telephone number is 985-3251. Her job of volun- teer canvassing takes grit; so please be kind. There was a senior man who also volunteered, but in the ac- tion going on at the time, I did not get his name. If he contacts Marilyn, betcha two heads could figure more than one. In his enthusiasm, Mr. J. Marsh of 277-2513, R. R. 1, Janetville, to date has brought me nine cheques. Turnto Page9 by Jeff Mitchell POOR ON THE RAMPAGE TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET ...That's where everything is going these days. At least, that's how my Dad would have described it. He's no longer among us, having succumbed more than a decade ago to the ravages and worries of life, and he's off pursuing his Great Reward. But while he was here, he kept a watchful eye on the world, most often from the comfort of his armchair, with the papers spread in his lap and around his feet. "Look at this," he'd mutter, to no one in particular. "To Hell in a handbasket. Everything's going to Hell in a handbasket." Then he'd rustle the pages of the paper, turn his attention to the next item, and take a swig from the coffee cup that was always at his elbow. ...I can't say for sure how he'd react to Bosnia, or Somalia, or Whitewater (It was with special glee he watched the unraveling of Nixon's regime after Watergate, and I'll never forget the evening | spent with him watching as Tricky Dick -- also gone to his Great Reward -- resigned. It was a wonderful time, the sort of quality time sons should spend with their fathers. | miss those times, and am saddened by my son, who is now six, and his apparent lack of interest in global aftairs...). But this week alone would set him back on his heels, I'm sure. Poor people -- who just don't seem to understand their designated station in our modern society -- marched in Toronto with signs bearing slogans such as We are the Real Revolution, The Only Good Tory is a SupposiTory and Eat The Rich to protest Iron Mike Harris' slashing of the funds upon which they - - foolish sots -- have come to depend. They then had the gall to take their tawdry demonstration from Regent Park uptown to Rosedale, invading the digs of Lt.-Gov. Hal Jackman who, fortunately, wasn't at home. Even if he had been, the high iron fences would have kept the rabble out, but the fact remains that they displayed audacity enough to try. What's next? Once the poor start noisily invading Rosedale, who knows what they'll do? Don't they know the score? It's like the fabled argument explaining the -- um -- reluctance suburbanites showed about '| welcoming black folks to their neighborhoods years ago. "It's not that we don't want you, see, it's just that we feel you'd be more -- comfortable -- with your own kind." The sooner these Poor People realize they just have to take their medicine like the rest of us, the better off they'll be. If the province says you should take a 25 per cent cut in your subsistence income and then allow welfare inspectors in to check under the bed for unreported spouses, well, who the hell are you to argue? The point here is that the Greater Good is being served, as Hal Jackman and his neighbars will tell you. The Poor are out of control, and something has to be done. Pretty soon. Otherwise, we're going to Hell in a handbasket, for sure. EEE... Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten Hockey and Ringette registrations took place last weekend at the arena and the ice will be in by week's end. MN supplies etc. SUMMER IS COMING TO AN END, EH! It's sure not hard to tell summer | is quickly coming to a close. : F/ 711 Inthe past week, the hot sultry nights we've been experiencing all summer have given way to crisp, cool nighttime temperatures. Mailboxes are filled with flyers offering an assort- ment of special back to school bargains, and news- papers, radio and television advertising urge par- ents to shop here or there for clothing and school Eh! Here at the Star, the phone never stops ringing with requests to cover year end tournaments, play- offs, awards presentations etc., as baseball, soccer and other sports wrap up the season. With the end of summer comes school. In less than a week, the kids will be heading back off to classes mom will finally get a well deserved break. Yes, fall is quickly closing in on us, but we sure shouldn't complain with the weather we've had this summer (although many do anyway). It's been hot, and dry during the days, with just enough rain in the evenings to keep the farmers happy. Don't forget it was only a few years ago we had a cool, wet summer, with about 13 weekends in a row with rain as | recall. Now that was something to complain about.... and we did. | guess complaining about the weather is as much a part of being Canadian as using that famous two letter word we're known so well for. QUEBEC... IN OR OUT! It looks like October 30 could be the day we find out whether Quebec wants to remain in Canada, or as Jacques Parizeau would prefer, to separate and become a sovereign nation. My bet is the majority of Quebecers will not follow Parizeau's Pied Piper act on referendum day and will denounce his dream of a sovereign Quebec. If Canada's Premiers speak for the rest of Canad- ians, their "all deals off" response to Parizeau prob- ably reflects the the opinion of the majority. There's no way Canadians are going to allow Parizeau to deceive Quebecers into thinking they will still be able to use Canadian currency, and enjoy the economic benefits of being within Canada, if they vote Yes to separation. As Premier Mike Harcourt of BC put it, nowhere else in the rest of Canada is sovereignty associa- tion acceptable. "You're in or you're out - we hope you're in," he said. . Quebecers are not a stupid lot, and most realize the danger in separating from Canada. And when they vote later this fall, they'll vote no. There have always been, and always will be radi- cals. Parizeau and his troops are just that and the sooner they realize they're not going to get their own way on sovereignty, the better. A I A A A I A Rr is oe