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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-06-15, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 1994. PAGE 5. The The Yanks are nice. But terribly forgetful Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana You know the scariest thing I know about Americans? They forget so easily. A quarter of a century ago, Richard Milhous Nixon stood exposed to the world as a foul-mouthed crook and a liar - the only president in the history of the republic to be hounded from office by the threat of impeachment. A couple of months ago, five presidents - four ex- and one serving - stood solemnly at attention while the same man was buried with a Marine Guard band and all the pomp and ceremony Washington could muster. Magically, the blue-jowled troll of Watergate had been transformed into a Great Statesman. A decade ago, a renegade colonel by the name of Oliver North stood exposed as a traitor who had broken the law and betrayed his country in secret negotiations with Iranian terrorists. You can probably catch the same Oliver North on your television tonight, smiling and waving as he campaigns for a seat in the Let’s attract tourists As a committee of one, I have duly announced that the rest of 1994 is to be called "Let's Attract Tourists" year. There may be other similar ventures around, some thought up by the federal or provincial governments, but I just thought I would tell you about mine which you can recognize as the official one since it is not subject to some political whim but is totally altruistic in nature. Why did I pick this year? For one thing it is long overdue; we find it hard to realize, for some reason, that the tourist industry is one of the most labour-intensive in the entire country. By this I mean that it takes a smaller amount of spending to create one job than in almost every other industry and, if we are really sincere in coming to grips with our high level of unemployment, this is as good a way as any to go about it. The second reason is that Canada is a real bargain this year. The exchange rate of our dollar has dropped from over 90 cents U.S. to somewhere in the vicinity of 72 cents. Let's see what this means in the eyes of an American contemplating buying something in Canada. Al 90 cents, he gets $1.11 Canadian for his dollar. Should the exchange rate drop to 72 cents, he now gets $1.39. A lot of things suddenly become attractive when that change takes place. But the Americans are not the only ones who should be attracted to our shores. The exchange rates of such currencies as the German mark and the Swiss franc have moved in the same direction as the American dollar and for them, as well as for others in Europe, Canada has become a cheaper place to visit. The Japanese are also in the same boat; all this adds up to Canada as a place to visit in 1994. Some of you who make a habit of reading United States Senate. And then there's J. Danforth Quayle. You remember Dan - the smile-button Veep in the Bush administration? The politician with all the verve and clan of a sock puppet? Sure you do. But Americans don't. I don't see how they could, because the same Dan Quayle is currently on a 36-city tour promoting his book, Standing Firm. It's supposed to be an autobiography, but insiders say it's more of a stepping stone towards Quayle's next objective: the Oval Office. Well, why not? Quayle's still good­ looking. He knows where the washrooms are in the White House. And he could use a full-time job. Is it possible that Americans could have forgotten what a fumble-tongued disaster Quayle was as vice-president? It's possible. And so, as a public service we present a reprise of some J. Danforth Quayle's more profound observations: GREENPEACE DAN "The best thing about rain forests is that they never suffer from any drought." "It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in the air and water that are doing it." FLEXIBLE DAN "I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy. But By Raymond Canon my articles may recall that I talked about something called the Purchasing Power Parity which means that there is an exchange rate at which a basket of goods can be bought at the same price on both sides of the border. Such a situation exists if the Canadian dollar is at 80 cents U.S. which means that our currency is actually undervalued and as such Canada is a bargain. Since a currency tends to move, albeit slowly, in the direction of the PPP, 1994 may be a better year to attract tourists than 1995. If you are going to take part in my "Let's Attract Tourists" plan, one of the best things you can do is tell your American friends, if they don't know already, about all the great theatre we have up here. Stratford is the first that comes to mind but let us not forget that there are excellent performances at such places as Blyth, Grand Bend, Petrolia, Port Dover. There is literally something for everybody and, having been to these places myself, as well as having sent others, I can vouch for the quality. A visit or two to such places should put them in a good frame of mind for some serious shopping afterwards. If you are over in the U.S., do as I do. Take some brochures along and leave them in places where they are bound to be seen and read. It only takes a few minutes to carry this out. I have put these brochures on bulletin boards and left them in travel agencies and the like. If I come across anybody who seems interested, I get their name and address and send them some material to look at. You will be surprised how effective this can be. Canadians can do more to make sure that foreigners enjoy their stay and want to come back. If you post an exchange rate in your store, make it is as attractive as possible. If you meet tourists from other countries, be as friendly as possible. If they have problems with their English, laugh with them and not at them. Suggest other places that they might like to visit that would be of interest to them that could change." NEW MATH DAN "One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is 'to be prepared' ". PHILOSOPHER DAN "If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure." "The real question for 1988 is whether we're going to go forward to tomorrow or past to the - to the back!" SPACEMAN DAN "Mars is essentially in the same orbit...somewhat the same distance from the sun, which is important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe." All quotes certified true and accurate. Remember Canada, the author of these bon mots (Quay-ludes, perhaps?) has aspirations to become leader of the western world. You can help prevent this. Do you have friends in the States? Then clip this column out and send it to them - preferably just prior to the next Presidential election in '96. Nice folks, the Yanks. But terribly forgetful. and of which they might not have thought. The list goes on and on, but by this time I am sure you get the point. Keep in mind too, that you are doing Canada's balance of payments a favour by encouraging tourism. The tourist sector of this balance got into such a deficit that we had literally lost 200,000 jobs to such places as Florida. If we could only balance the tourist sector, i.e. have tourists spend just as much here as we do in other countries, these 200,000 jobs would come home and thereby put less of a strain on our unemployment insurance and welfare programs. Attracting foreign tourists thus makes sense from several points of view. We can't afford not to attract them. MPP explains THE EDITOR, After two weeks of discussingBill 167: Equality Rights Legislation for Same Sex Couples, and listening to my constituents, I decided that I could not support this bill in its present form. I made it very clear that I would not support any bill that would allow the adoption of children by same sex couples or change the definition of spouse. In our legislative process proposed legislation must pass three readings and receive Royal Assent before becoming law. Passing first reading allows a Bill to be introduced and opens the issue to discussion in the Legislature. From the time I was a member of Hay council, I have felt that any issue deserved debate despite my personal feelings. I voted "yes" on first reading simply to maintain that important freedom we have. Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Marion Boyd gave both verbal and written assurances that the Bill would be amended- adoption would not be allowed and the definition of spouse would not be changed. With that promise, I agreed to support the bill for second reading. If either of these amendments were not included in the final legislation, I would have stuck by my position and voted against it. Since the Bill was defeated al second reading, it docs not proceed further. Paul Klopp, MPP Huron. Short of it By Bonnie Gropp Gossip is mean It should have been one for the record books. There are 10 months to the school year and during my Grade 10 year I was pregnant no less than three times. Either my schoolmates were unimaginative or there just weren't enough potentially good storylines out there to amuse them, but such single minded devotion to spreading a fallacy surely can't have been equalled, right? Wrong. The way the rumour mill turns out tales you're bound to get some overlap. What is it about human nature, that we love juicy gossip? While there are a few admirable exceptions among us, most of the human race possess a churlish glee for, if not creating, than at least spreading fabrication, innuendo and sometimes downright lies about others. Such a fascinating pastime is that, that even those of us who have been on the receiving end seem ready to share titillating tidbits about someone else. I'll admit it —I have been there and done that! What we don't seem capable of doing is thinking of the effects our fun and games may have on others. Recently model Cindy Crawford and her husband, actor Richard Gere took out an ad to denounce several tawdry tales about their life, their sexual proclivities and their marriage. Though the two of them had reportedly laughed off the rumours for some lime, they finally couldn't take it anymore and paid a fortune to tell people they are just people who would like to be left alone. This move actually fueled the fire, however, causing further speculation that their protestations only proved the charges. You know the old "Methinks he doth protest too much" idea. Much as I'd like to be behind closed doors at the Gere home, I won't presume to know which way they swing. However, I will agree with their final remarks regarding the allegations. Marriage is difficult enough without the added pressure of continual public scrutiny and tabloid tattles, whether real or imagined. When we hear stories about another we seem too willing to accept that they are fact. That we may know something someone else doesn't makes us inclined to share our newfound knowledge, without really knowing if we speak the truth or what the consequences of our actions may be. While spreading tales may seem harmless at the offset, we need to maybe think just a little more on the feelings of those we're talking about. I was acquainted with a young girl several years ago whose friends (I use the term in the broadest sense) had deserted her, whose self-esteem was shattered and who walked alone among her peers for a year because of a ludicrous story begun by a nasty classmate. It is with a degree of satisfaction, I might add, that I have since learned she is a strong, successful woman, while her nemesis has accomplished little in life. We really do need to remember, and try to teach our children, that telling stories about another person, particulary those that we can't verify, seldom serves a useful purpose. I remember someone telling me when I first moved to a small town (true gossip havens as we all know) that you shouldn't repeat something until you hear it three times. By then she said, it must be fact and it's such old news there really wouldn't be anyone to tell. It is a rule I have tried to live by, though admittedly, and abashedly, I have strayed from time to lime. When I catch myself I do, however add a footnote to my tale — ' This is just a rumour. I don't know if it's true." II doesn't really make me feel a whole lot better about myself, but perhaps calling it what it is, might stop its progress. There's no doubt gossip is wrong, but to knowingly continue the spreading of a rumour is, when you think about it, just plain mean.