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The Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-01-21, Page 7Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - Page 7 Changeswo r wide ma was the Banks and part of Bay Street that people, are getting on with our lives. It's a bought and sold toxic financial paper . And pity that "Ottawa" is so far behind the popu- it is argued, our situation might be worse if lace . the provincial regulators had not been in Americans are saving again - I hope that place . Federal regulation does not replace Canadians will do the same, and will stop common sense . living on credit. Savings can be loaned to That said, Business has not ground to a allow business expansion, can be loaned for halt as the media would like us to believe. mortgages, etc . And can be used in the These first two weeks in my business is future for retirement comforts . booming - people have decided to just get on The Norwegians have shown the world with life and business. Orders came in from how to capture CO2 and store it deep under - Greece, Guyana, and the USA . And lets not ground . Now we can use coal for power forget that schools, universities, and com- plants to supplement wind and solar . The munity colleges will carry on. Food and next few years will be good - sooner than Health care will go on. Car and truck repair you may realize . Sooner than the media will shops will go on. The oil and gas exploration realize . Have a great year all ! will go on - at a reduced and more normal pace. Loans are available to non risky per- Don Wilson sons and companies. And so on. We, the Dear Editor, I am writing on this very cool and historic Saturday - The Obama - Biden train is about to leave Philadelphia en mute to DC and is getting unprecedented coverage on the TV news channels. Many Canadians, including ordinary Canadians, will be en mute from Canada via bus and other modes of transit . While we are going through difficult eco- nomic times all over North America, the promise of change in the USA has captured the attention and hope of millions . Change was overdue for North America. The Security Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA gave up it's oversight of most all things financial and greed quickly took over resulting in this worldwide recession for many . As. I write Letters opinion steps aie being taken to make the necessary changes to stop and prevent the unbridled greed. I'm not so sure that our Federal gov- ernment yet understands that rules need to be enforced and additional rules need to be put in place to avoid repeats . The Ontario Security Commission (OSC) and the Federal banks regulator need to accept a great part of the blame for the hurt to our economy that has occurred in Canada. There are those that want to establish a Federal Securities Regulator, similar to the SEC, but one has to question the wisdom of that for ordinary Canadians . The Provincial regulators, with the exception of the OSC in Toronto, are not to blame for this crisis. It Congratulations to the United States on Obama election I want to offer congratulations to the peo- ple of the United States on achieving this monumental high in their evolution. That Barack Obama, an American of African heritage, could be chosen President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, is a stupendous occasion. As others of my generation, I remember the strife of"integration", as people formerly relegated to the "back of the bus" or wash- • rooms only for "coloured" or schools only for "coloured" became full fledged citizens. I watched (from afar), the "Freedom March" on Washington. I remember the murder of Martin Luther King Junior and other heroes of the struggle. And now, the people of the Utiited States have chosen an American ofAfrican heritage to their highest office! That I should live to see this! Credit for this achievement must go not only to Barack Obama and his supporters. Although it takes a person of special abilities to recognize these qualities and follow. The people who opposed should also be proud. They offered an honest and honour- able alive. No one can say Barack Obama did not have a worthy opponent. John McCain was indeed a most credible candidate. His campaign presented credible, justifiable alternatives. McCain's proposals tested Obama's proposals in the court of public opinion. Obama's ideas won only after a long and vigorous conflict. Both sides should be proud. Every American should be proud of this achievement. Gordon Hill Varna, Ontario The legacy of George Bush - OOPS! or Shame happens Now, and approximately eight years too late, the unduly elected 43rd president of the United States leaves office and his dwindling band of merry minions are rum- maging through his political luggage trying to find just one little keepsake by which he might be remembered. It's called a "lega- cy." legacy. So far, all they've come up with is �y laundry. Historians chronicling the legacies of American presidents like to use the word "gravitas" to describe the weight, the dig- nity, the power they have brought to the office. Not the most literate of leaders, that word is likely to leave George W. Bush scratching his head, trying to remember when it was he did "the gravy toss." Either that or he'd think it was another trick ques- tion from the press to reveal his lack of worldly knowledge. "Oh yeah, Roberto Gravitas. President of Argentina. Yeah, me and "Gravy" go back , a long ways." John Kennedy stared Khrushchev down and left Anieiica with hope, energy and a man on the moon. Lyndon Johnson created "The Just Society" and left office in order to end the war in Vietnam. Richard Nixon opened up China, oder people's mail and office doors, leaving office as an almost - indicted felon. Ronald Reagan invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada, famous for its spices and took credit for bringing down the Iron Curtain which actually imploded from the rot. Bill Clinton, famous for a blue dress he never wore, gave America eight years of peace, prosperity and bud- get surpluses. President George W. Bush signed a historical peace agree- ment with ... was triumphant in the war against ... enhanced the American economy to the point ... improved the education system ... term presidential plane crash, if Americans had put Groucho Marx in the White House with Curly, Larry and Moe in the three top cabinet posts and Pewee Herman as head of Homeland Security — it's hard to imagine a worse result. In fairness, it's not all the fault of guaranteed that the pensions of Al ", ;c George Bush. Clearly a lightweight senior citizens ... reduced the def- A eitZu... who was never expected to actually icit to ... uncovered weapons of mass ... hunted down and killed ... OOPS! And incredibly, given a second term: "OOPS!" I did it again!" Depression, disaster, death and a national debt approaching two trillion dollars with every man, woman and child in America on the hook for $25,000 each — that's the bequest left behind by a man known as Dubya. Bill Clinton paid down the national debt by $360 billion and left a booming econo- my on its way to a $l trillion budget sur- plus. After tax cuts for the rich and the war in Iraq, as expensive as it was unnecessary, George Bush's America is being defined by bailouts and breadlines. He's the man with the merda touch. The level of incompetence, the monu- mental bungling, the massive mismanage- ment, the greed, the gore, the stubbornness and the stupidity — it almost defies logic that one man could create a national and global catastrophe of this magnitude in only eight years. Picking through the debris of this two - win the presidency — and he didn't — his handlers gave him a brain., Honest, Karl Rove was supposed to serve as George Bush's brain. Unfortunately in some sort of cabinet mix-up involving American Icon slashbackunderscoieAmerican Idol, George got Paula Abdul's brain. George Bush wanted to be known as "The Educational President." He made that clear from the start: "Education is not my top priority — education is my top priority" He was introspective. "Rarely is the ques- tion asked: Is our children learning?" He led by example: "As Governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards." Of all the ridiculous things George Bush has said — from "compassionated" conser- vatives to the truly "misunderesiimated" — the prize came on a television interview last week. When asked what he plans to do after he leaves the White House he replied: "I'm going to write a book." Good Lord. That's like Sarah Palin saying she's going to read one! Write a book?!? About what? He can't possibly tell the real story about what he did in eight years. First, he'd be charged with war crimes and hauled off to 'The Hague. Second, Americans do not deserve to relive all that pain and suffering. If he's honest, the best he could say of his presidency is: "I wrote a big fat cheque to fight AIDS in Africa. Neither dog died on my watch. And oh yeah, I've dodged a shoe or two." What possibly could be the title of a book about George Bush's legacy? Equals To The End — Me And The Exxon Valdez. I Was The Smartest Guy In The Room — Me And Barney At Miss Beasley's Birthday Party. Mission Not Accomplished — Mission Not Even Clear. Shame Happens — On The Fly With Uncle Dick. President George Btfsplk — Man, Here Comes That Cloud Again. Eight Years As America's CEO — Clean -Up In All The Aisles. Me And Katrina — She Lasted A Few Days, I Went Two Terms. The State Of The Union Is Strong - Buddaboom. If I was writing the book on George Bush, I would double Mayberry for America when he became president, safe, peaceful, prosperous. Suddenly, over the crackle of a police radio you would hear Deputy Barney Fife warning Aunt Bee to get off the veran- da and stay in the basement "Opie just stoled the squad car!!" Sadly, that's the legacy — "Opie stoled the squad car."