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Editorial Comment "Well Now ! - -Perspective ee 5ANTA'S HELPERS Lire TEUME..." 'FAT CATS Room service charges of $688 for one person during a seven-day stay in a European hotel. An accomodation tab that worked out to more than $150 a day for the same period of time. Hotel bills in a European city for seven-day period for a party of two that amounted to $2,233. Limousine services for $474, including tips of $50. More limousine services for one trip for four people that amounted to $658 including meals and accommodation for the chauffeur. Per diem wages of $250 and $180, with expenses on top of that. A European excursion for five people that cost $46,000 in travel and associated expenses. No, Ao incurred whena Geneva, No, the items listed above are just part of a $2.2 million bill that the tax-payers of Ontario paid for a Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry. : Do you remember that one? Judy LaMarsh was the commission chairman, with some-time sports writer Scott Young and judge Luciean Beaulieu serving as com missioner. isted above are not the expenses up of oil ministers from the Middle East get together\ for a conference in Vienna or The commission on violence in the media, was announced by the provincial government in July, 1975, and the original estimate of the cost was about $700,000. Well, it is not hard to see why the costs went completely out of line. LaMarsh received over $90,000 for two years work, and although the concern of the commis- sion was violence seen and heard by residents of Ontario, she managed to visit Germany, Poland, Austria and Hungary, while the good judge took in Holland, Belgium, France and Britain, courtesy of the tatpasers: : is horror story of extravagance on the part of people charged with a responsibility supposedly for the betterment of the citizens of Ontario is absolutely inexcuseable. At a time when politicians of all stripes are telling us to tighten the belt and that Canadians are living too high on the hog, we learn of this orgy of uncontrolled spending. What a sham. Is it any wonder that the average guy in this province who is busting a gut just to make ends meet feels a little cynical about what is going on? LaMarsh and company prepared seven. fat vol- umes on the violence in the communications industry. Any wisdom or credibility that .might have been contained in their pages just came crashing down. Their over-indulgence, their fat-cat ways and their "by John McClelland luxuriating around this province and several other countries was a violent assault on every person in Ontario who pays taxes. It's a pity one of them didn't choke while consuming a $55 meal in a fancy Paris cafe. ABOUT TIME Star Wars was an overwhelming box office smash, and Close Encounters will rake in similar millions. The general public in North America is obsessed with tales of paranormal phenomena: everything from UFO's, alien beings, and star ships to Uri Geller and his bent spoons. Recognizing the inherent danger in the public infatuation with all this psychic hokum-pokum, a committee of scientists, educators and magicians has been formed to debunk these people who are running around claiming super human powers. Basically the committee wants to see the claims of paranormal phenomena subjected to same rigourous standards of proof required for any legitimate scienti- fic discovery. In short, they want guys like Geller to admit they have no super human powers, and that their acts are nothing more than slight of hand, or good old fashioned magic... This committee which publishes a magazine called Zetetic (Greek for skeptic) feels quite rightly that if the public starts to believe this irrational nonsense about UFO's, twisted spoons, astrology, and alien beings from outer space landing on the earth, there is a danger that it will start to believe anything, and that logic, reason, and rational thinking will not be applied to social and political concepts. If the ability of people to distinguish between reality and fiction becomes impaired, or if people refuse to make even an effort to see the differences, the door will be open for all kinds of quacks with half-baked ideas. Although this may be stretching the point a little, it was suggested that pre-Nazi Germany lost touch with reality, so to speak, which helped an } idiot like Hitler gain power and keep it. It's about time that logical, rational men and women of science went to work on some of thes characters who claim to have para-normal.j 5 And hopefully, they can shoot a few holes in these claims. But what is more intriguing, is wh: shen d people today are inclined to believe these clail hg, 3 'why do such fantasies as Star Wars and Hse Encounters attract such an overwhelming number of followers. Are people afraid of science? Are they afraid of truth and reality? Are we entering an age where myth, fiction and fantasy will dominate our lives? One would hope not, for the evil .potential is dangerous and alarming. School vandalism ~ Alarmed at what appears to be a significant increase in the number of incidents of vandalism, and the resulting cost to the taxpayer who has to foot the bill, Durham Board of Education trustees last week endorsed a recommendation that the courts impose tougher penalties for those convicted and that restit- ution for damages be demanded. ~The trustees, who are elected representatives of the tax-paying public, have good reason to be con- cerned. A report to the Board indicated that in the first six months of 1977, damage to school property throughout Durham Region amounted to $50,000, with the vast majority of this caused by mischief or wilful damage. And of this amount, just $2,000 has been recovered by the Board through restitution. That $50,000 is just for the first six months of this year. The final bill is expected to be considerably higher for the whole year, and higher as weil over figures for 1976. Aside from the monetary reasons, demanaing restitution from those who purposely destroy public: property might serve as a deterrent in the future, and also remind parents that they are responsible for the actions of their children. Restitution does not necessarily have to be in the orm of money for damaged property. There are any number of ways that a person convicted of vandalism or mischief could repay society, so to speak. It would not be unreasonable to say that there are many in today's society who feel that our court system is not being tough enough in imposing penalties against those who break the laws designed to protect persons and their property. We don't have to revert back to the lash or other forms of barbaric punishment to get the message across. But the public is trying to tell our courts something, ' - Christmas message By Rev. D. C. Payne, Port Perry Baptist Church The Romans had crushed the warring nations of the earth and peace reigned; they had built excellent highways for the traveller to journey on, and her ships traversed all the known seas. The Roman Eagle was spread over all nations, but in spite of these advan- tages, the world was-still.clothed in darkness - there was no hope shining in the hearts of men, but God's time had now come (Galatians 4: 4). On that glorious night the mighty Caesar was sleeping in his golden canopied bed in Rome, but no one came to him from heaven to tell of the Saviour who had been born. The High Priest rested in his palace in Jerusalem, but no angel knocked at his door and told of 'Peace on earth, goodwill to men'. The angel came to shepherds, out in the fields with their sheep. 'For unto you is born a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...and ye shall find the babe wrapped in swadd- ling clothes, lying in a manger'. : There were no arguments or skepticism about the biological impossibility of the Virgin birth (and being shepherds, wouldn't they know about these things?) but right away, they came with haste, found it as the angels had told them, and returned glorifying and praising God. How happy are people who believe what God has said. How sad those who will not believe something they cannot explain, who leave no room for God and His miracles. The angel came to those who would believe - the Saviour is come for those who know they need a Saviour, the good news of the gospel is for those who will believe it. Christ will make no difference in our lives unless He has been born in our hearts. Jesus came, was born in a stable, lived in a cold, sinful and hostile world for you! He died on a cruel Roman cross - for you! Christmas? Have you come to know the Christ of -- (PORT PERRY STAR Company Limited CLR? 5 7, < & Phone 985 733) cin 3 (18m); aw Serving Porl Perry, Reach, Scugog and Cartwrighl Townships J. PETER HVIDSTEN, Publisher N Advertising Manager JOHN B. McCLELLAND EDITOR Member of the C per Assoc ti. and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associal.or Published every Wednesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid, Port Perry, Ontario Authoritéd as second clash mail by Ihe Post Office Department, Ottawa, and Jor paymen) of postage in cash Second Class Mail Registration Number 0245 Subscription Rate: In Canada $9.00 per year Elsewhere $10.00 per voor. Single copy Mc p------ "3 >