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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 11, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Letters to the editor NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Endorsement applauded I would like to applaud you for recommending the Conservative candidates. It takes some bravery and faith, I think, to do this in the face of the onslaught that has occurred in the last week and some. It would be so much easier to go with the tide. I must say I had expected you to once again suggest the Liberals were your pick. I hope that a weekend of sober thought and family celebration, removed from the braying opposition leaders, will bring more folks around to the same idea. Although not perfect, and certainly not led by a messiah, the Conservatives plot a steady course. Ultimately, businesses must be able to thrive and grow in a capitalist economy. Canada needs to be open to new business opportunities from within and without. Jobs and prosperity will follow. We must be responsible stewards of the world we live in and, I think with increased awareness and the public's growing momentum, we can first deal with pollution (remember climate and pollution are two different things). I do not think the Conservatives will ­ nor can they ­ ignore this issue. It is time to look at what we can do and influence and time to close our ears to the naysayers and Chicken Littles. The markets may be falling, but the sky is not. GREGG ANDREWS IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Our choice is not my choice I was astonished by your Our choice editorial, Oakville Beaver, Oct. 8 which was quite irrational. You say Stéphane Dion will not do what he says; maybe, but to base this assumption on the actions of others over 30 years ago is a giant leap of imagination. However, we do have Stephen Harper's record. He promised to cut taxes, then raised the lowest income tax rate. Promised not to tax trusts, then brought in a tax of 31 per cent. Promised a capital gains tax exemption, then did nothing. He ran on government accountability, while according to Elections Canada, his party was ignoring expense rules. Freedom of information requests have been dealt with slowly, and documents supplied heavily censored. Promised and enacted a fixed election date, then called the election earlier. You accuse Garth Turner of saying anything to get elected -- but the government will do anything to get elected. It has given tax breaks to select groups that might be persuaded to vote for it; and a few days after the last election in a riding which rarely supports conservatives the MP (David Emerson) was persuaded to cross the floor. House of Commons mailing privileges have been used to send multiple propaganda leaflets at public expense -- not only that, they solicited replies on which taxpayers would also postage . Mr. Harper recently backed off film production censorship when he found it might cost a few votes. Mr. Turner may not be so bad after all. Since a vote for your recommended candidates is also a vote for Harper, I think you should reconsider and suggest a vote for anyone but Conservatives. G. JONES Maybe Cubs fanatics need to wear a little lingerie for luck T here's no one to blame but me and my old underwear. Alas, last weekend the dreaded Dodgers of Los Angeles eliminated my beloved Chicago Cubs from the baseball playoffs, extending the Cubbies' World Series drought to 100 years and counting. That's a century of fabulous futility, of enduring and endearing ineptitude. That's a lifetime (or two or three) of lasting and, at turns, lamentable, lovable, laudable and laughable incompetence. But this time around, I fear, the inevitable Cub collapse is all my fault. Specifically, the fault of me and my ancient unmentionables. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll determined that 20 percent of American sports fans are uncharacteristically superstitious when it comes to the fortunes of their favorite team. Apparently these fanatics routinely resort to seemingly irrational behavior --adhering to odd rituals and routines, donning good-luck gear and such -- to promote success and prevent failure from befalling their beloveds. To that end, rally caps are worn, playoff beards are cultivated, non-believers drop to their knees to pray and, accord- ing to Sports Illustrated, one grown man in Tampa, Florida, slips into his wife's garter-belt because he believes, through some strange leap of logic, that this will help his team. As an aside, it is duly noted that the Tampa Bay Rays remain in the World Series hunt, which has me thinking that next year I may ask my wife if I can borrow a little Andy Juniper lingerie for luck. Now, I have to admit that entering the playoffs I really didn't think the Cubs would need other-worldly assistance to demolish the Dodgers. Over the regular season, the Cubs ruled while the Dodgers drooled. To boot, the opening two games in the best-of-five series were slated in the lair of the baby bears, venerable Wrigley Field. Consequently, I didn't even bother to don my lucky underwear -- underwear that has never let me down, well, save for last year's Super Bowl when my underwear let the Giants upset my Patriots. Anyway, before me and my under- wear knew it, the Cubs were down by two games as the series headed back to Los Angeles -- as I packed my bags for a weekend getaway in Niagara-on-the-Lake, secure in the knowledge that on game day, I would don my lucky underpants and the Cubs would begin mounting a ferocious comeback. Think I'm crazy? Generally speaking, Cub fans are crazy. So, how do you think a crazy fan felt when it was determined just prior to game time that the place at which he was staying in Niagara did not have cable TV, and therefore could not pick up the game? Oh, and how do you think a crazy fan felt when it was determined just before game time that his lucky underwear had been, ah, left at home? Of course the upstart Dodgers won. My grandfather was heard softly weeping in his grave. Another Cub collapse complete. The worst losing streak in sports. And after 100 years of ineptitude, I've decided that there's no other way to take this, but personally. It's my fault. Me and my old absent underpants. Andy Juniper can be visited at his website, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.