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â€"It is written Yes, these are high times for the Liberals, and high time for an election. Watch them roll. They can thank Mulroney, almost on a daily basis, for dragging the provincial Tories down by association. They can look across the floor at the deeply disorganized provincial PCs under leader Larry Grossman. A party truly divided as Grossman strays from traditional PC lines alienating even his own backbenchers, the provincial Conservatives are in poor shapeâ€"perhaps the poorest in their history. The Liberals can also thank NDP strategists. Giddy at the prospects of shedding their third party status, the NDP gang is laying election cards on the table fast and furiousâ€"â€"unfortunately little thought has gone into saving the trump card for crucial election timing. _ _ Moreover, he has meshed his abilities with a knack for dealing swiftly and diplomatically with the potholes that so often show up in the political arenas of the dayâ€"â€"even the ones that he himself has on occasion created. Said Epp: "Peterson has ended situations within days while Muironey continues to make all the headlines." Yup. 6 It should be noted that the Liberals, having survived a basically uneventful accord with the NDP, have more than their modernâ€"day Moses to thank for their sucâ€" cess. Rightâ€"â€"and never underestimate the value of such a posture in relating well to the people. Peterson‘s openness will not alone carry his party‘s fortunes to the top the heap. But Sir David, who only several short years ago was seen as little more than a stopâ€"gap solution while his party beat the bushes for a higherâ€"profile leader, has been a smashing success at Queen‘s Park, earning the respect of his own party, the media, and the people of this province. The guessing game continues daily as to when the call will come for the next provincial election in Ontarâ€" i0. But whether it comes in late June or not until the fall, doLettr;‘;fi ;:,c:;g ;:'OW }: oing" fan of millionaire it is a virtual certainty that the Liberal party will top ‘f,ZRCX OWRC" JEUMY, (Coming Insurmountabie the polls in decisive fashion. lnad in the Prail HRalhnrt« Hinath Wirairh aÂ¥firn mnant Waterloo North MPP Herb Epp, interviewed on page 1 about his party‘s lofty status in recent popularity polls, accurately identified the major reason for the Liberals‘ strong emergence as the party of choice. ‘‘David Peterson is frank and open with the public and admits to making mistakes from time to time," said Epp. Second Class Mail Registration Number 5540 "I wouldn‘t call the Waterioo situation a typical response."‘ Address all correspondence to Waterioo office, 45 Erb St. E., . =~ Waterloo, Ont. N2J 117. Telephone 886â€"2830,; News and Sports line 886â€"3021. * % j * Waterioo Chronicle office is located in the Haney, White law | _ office building (rear entrance, upper floor). Parking at the rear v olunbuldtng.On-Myum.y.l.u.hlp.n. > uxd Publisher: Paul Winkler Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by Fairway Press, a division of JEMCOM Inc., owner. Publishing address 225 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener, Ont. Rolling along 3 <<> SR\ a W Suburtan Mewepapers of Amersce Circulation: Jerry Fischer Typesetting and Composing: Fairway Press Senior reporter: Melodee Martinuk Reporters: Mark Bryson (news) Sales Manager: Bill Karges . Circulation Manager: Greg Cassidy Display Advertising: Helen Smiley, Paula Hummel, Cl c c oo .. Gerry Mattice Richard O‘Brien (sports) Ontario senior housing coâ€"ordinator Peter Cridiand on reaction : Rick Campbell Maureen McNab he gets off the Death Watch hook, claims $8 million isn‘t enough and ‘Lmoedo to shack out in his prayer tower for rest of the month to raise even more funds. e Oral Roberts, who makes without a doubt the National Enquirer claim of the year, cries about cynical, hurtful folks who scoff at his attempts to aid Third World countriesâ€"while he himself luxuriates in the height of excess, and then, when ‘"I think he needs psychiatric treatment. He needs to relax...and get back on main street." Hey, Jerry my man, look at me, I‘m hurtin‘ too, mentally deranged. scribbling all sorts of weird columns lately, I need help, and I would like nothing more than to relax and get back on King St. Since you cost me my office pool, how ‘bout shuffling a loose milo dolaros my way too? I‘ll even send progress reports... â€" Boy, all this religion stuff is really getting me down. Now, let me establish here and now, I am a very religious person. But my beliefs are personal and private, and I have have little time for, or patience with those who would forcefeed their views on others, Particularly through the use of guilt trips and/or scare tactics, and especially through hypocritical professions. I think you know the types I am talking about: Now, it would appear, our Death Watch office pool will have to carry over into the Stanley Cup playoff pool, thanks to the generosity of Collins, who, after forking over the funds, offers this assessment of Roberts‘ mental state: Big news from the weekend of course was that Collins coughed up $1.3 million to Roberts, who prior to that was claiming if he didn‘t raise $8 million by the end of March for medical missionary scholarships in Third World countries, the big bell in the sky would clang and he would be "called home." There I was, with a seeming insurmountable lead in the Oral Roberts Death Watch office pool, and Collins comes along and tugs the rug right out from underneath me. That‘s where our office pool came in. A bunch of us got together and tried to predict the outcome of such an outrageous threat, based on the premise that Roberts would not benefit enough from PTL (pass the loot) and therefore would be forced to pack his earthly bags. Among the wagers: ‘"He will get croaked before the end of January for making such an asinine statement," said an avowed Atheist.‘""He will suffer the big Hâ€"A just trying to keep up with the Bakkers," a cynical one claimed. ‘"‘The last $5 needed will be mailed via Canada Post and he won‘t receive it in time," a realist reâ€" ‘‘You are all wrong," I exclaimed. "He simply will not get the money needed, the March deadline will pass, and he will then claim that his comments were misinterpreted by the press. Believe me, I know these things." Chronicle Editor Rick Campbell ‘Belief‘ it whenever 1 get ripped off f. have Jerry Collins to thank. their magazine subscription angle. 1 have the feeling they would be more successful (at least around my household), if they scrapped the mandatory question and instead offered a good deal on Sports Illustrated or Girl Guide cookies. Pardon the cynical sermon. 1 get this way rardon the cynical Ssermon. I get this way whenever I get ripped off for an ofg:o pool. You door and are faced with questions like: "what about this world of ours makes you most unhappy?" Then, before you can say "unwelcome people who knock at my door too early on Saturday mornings," they open their purses and fire up e The travelling road show religious types, who deal out of their satchels, usually early on Saturday mornings when we groggily answer the & Tony Fernandez, and all other professional athletes, actors/actresses,politicians and other public figures who profess peace with the Lord on one hand and then use it selectively and to best advantage. I find it wonderful that those who are in the public eye (and those who aren‘t) and subject to harsh criticism as well as adulation can find inner peace to deal with the accompanying emotional peaks and valleys. But isn‘t it hard to swallow when an athiete like Fernandez, as gifted a shortstop as one will likely ever see, cries foul over a contract that would pay him many times over in one year what a handful of his countrymen will never make in their lifetimes?]s it that tough to maintain inner peace with a couple hundred thousand per year? Is it right to talk about "pride"‘ when it refers not to personal performance, but to contract table negotiations? Can we talk about commitment to religion and sixâ€"figured sports cars in the same breath? Cannot athletes, politicians, and so on who preach religion as their guiding light not see that at times, that faith will be put to the test, and that others will judge them on how they react? I am more than willing to accept that for public figures, religion can play a big role in their lives. I find it difficult, however, to accept the playing of both sides of the fence, using religion as the crutch or whipping boy. What can we expect next, an athlete who says that unless he receives a fiveâ€"year, multiâ€"million dollar contract, he will get called to the big leagues in the sky the day before spring training starts? e The Bakkers, Tammy and Jim of PTL television ministry fame, who, rocked by sex and drug addiction scandals, have moved out of the driver‘s seat at multiâ€"million dollar Héritage U.S.A. Apparently their house was not made of shatterproof glass after all. Incredibly, Jimbo has the nerve to blame the scheming wickedness of others as the reason for his devastating downfall, without explaining one lick where the blackmail funds he paid came from, or why it took 17 years to get help for his wife‘s drug dependency, or whether he would have ‘fessed up had the blackmail bucks been sufficient hush money? The saddest thing about this scenario is that, through their past actions and current cries, the Bakkers cannot be seen sympathetically as victims of human frailty and others‘ greed.