10
OPINION
Mountain Views News Saturday, June 5, 2010
My Turn
California Primary Statewide Candidates
HAIL Hamilton
Mountain Views
News
Publisher/ Editor
Susan Henderson
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Dean Lee
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Hail Hamilton
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La Quetta Shamblee
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Pat Ostrye
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John Avery
Proposition 34, approved in November 2000, established voluntary spending limits for
candidates running for statewide office. The expenditure limit for candidates running
for Governor is $7,768,000. For Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller,
Treasurer, Attorney General, lnsurance Commissioner, and Superintendent it is
$5,178,000. For the Board of Equalization in the June 8, 2010, Statewide Direct Primary
Election is $1,295,000. An asterisk (*) designates candidates who have accepted the Proposition
34 campaign spending limits. Candidates in BOLD are endorsed by the Mountain Views News.
Candidate Name Party
Governor
* Richard William Aguirre Democratic
S. Deacon Alexander Green
* Stewart A. Alexander Peace & Freedom
* Carlos Alvarez Peace & Freedom
Mohammad Arif Peace & Freedom
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Democratic
* Bill Chambers Republican
* Lowell Darling Democratic
* Vibert Greene Democratic
* Douglas R. Hughes Republican
* Ken J. Miller Republican
* Lawrence "Larry" Naritelli Republican
* Robert C. Newman II Republican
* Chelene Nightingale American Independent
* Dale F. Ogden Libertarian
* Charles "Chuck" Pineda, Jr. Democratic
Steve Poizner Republican
* Markham Robinson American Independent
Peter Schurman Democratic
* Joe Symmon Democratic
David Tully-Smith Republican
* Laura Wells Green
Meg Whitman Republican
Lieutenant Governor
* Sam Aanestad Republican
Pamela J. Brown Libertarian
* James "Jimi" Castillo Green
Bert Davis Republican
* Yvonne R. Girard Republican
* Janice Hahn Democratic
* Dave Harris Republican
* Jim King American Independent
* Eric Korevaar Democratic
* Scott L. Levitt Republican
* Abel Maldonado Republican
* Gavin Newsom Democratic
* C.T. Weber Peace & Freedom
Secretary of State
* Debra Bowen Democratic
* Marylou Cabral Peace & Freedom
* Damon Dunn Republican
* Ann Menasche Green
Merton D. Short American Independent
* Orly Taitz Republican
* Christina Tobin Libertarian
Controller
Lawrence G. Beliz American Independent
* John Chiang Democratic
* David Evans Republican
* Andrew "Andy" Favor Libertarian
* Ross D. Frankel Green
Nathan E. Johnson American Independent
* Karen Martinez Peace & Freedom
Tony Strickland Republican
Treasurer
* Charles "Kit" Crittenden Green
* Robert Lauten American Independent
Bill Lockyer Democratic
* Debra L. Reiger Peace & Freedom
Edward M. Teyssier Libertarian
* Mimi Walters Republican
Insurance Commissioner
* William Balderston Green
Richard S. Bronstein Libertarian
* Hector De La Torre Democratic
* Brian Fitzgerald Republican
* Dave Jones Democratic
* Dina Josephine Padilla Peace & Freedom
Clay Pedersen American Independent
* Mike Villines Republican
Attorney General
* Peter Allen Green
* Steve Cooley Republican
Rocky Delgadillo Democratic
* John Eastman Republican
* Robert J. Evans Peace & Freedom
* Timothy J. Hannan Libertarian
* Tom Harman Republican
Kamala D. Harris Democratic
Chris Kelly Democratic
* Ted W. Lieu Democratic
* Pedro Nava Democratic
* Mike Schmier Democratic
* Diane Beall Templin American Independent
* Alberto Torrico Democratic
Superintendent of Public Instruction
* Larry Aceves Nonpartisan
* Karen Blake Nonpartisan
* Alexia L. Deligianni Nonpartisan
* Lydia A. Gutierrez Nonpartisan
* Diane A. Lenning Nonpartisan
* Leonard James Martin Nonpartisan
* Grant McMicken Nonpartisan
* Daniel M. Nusbaum Nonpartisan
* Gloria Romero Nonpartisan
* Faarax Dahir Sheikh-Noor Nonpartisan
* Tom Torlakson Nonpartisan
* Henry Williams, Jr. Nonpartisan
Boycott Arizona?
What’s up with
that?
Clueless of what Arizona’s new illegal immigration law actually
says, much less means, the State of California, as well as a number
of cities, school districts and other entities are threatening to
boycott the Grand Canyon State and warning Hispanics not to
go to there.
In Sacramento, leaders are calling for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
to do everything legally possible to sever California’s economic
ties with Arizona until the law is repealed.
Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg requested
that no new contracts be negotiated and that the state study the
legality of breaking existing contracts.
“I think we have a moral obligation to deliver an unequivocal
message to lawmakers in Arizona that California does not
condone its conduct,” Steinberg wrote in a letter to the governor.
“The Arizona law is as unconscionable as it is unconstitutional,
and the state of California should not be using taxpayer dollars to
support such a policy.”
Here’s a question for all those grandstanding, sanctimonious
public officials threatening to cancel Arizona contracts, and
issuing travel advisories.
What state’s penal code does the following section come from?
“(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and
suspected of being present in the United States in violation of
federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall
do the following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen
of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent
resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of
time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation
of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but
shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or
her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and
demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status.”
That would be… California!
Oops.
The only real difference between Arizona and California on the
“show me you papers” front is that in Arizona they no longer call
I.C.E. and get the bureaucratic brush off; they will enforce the law
themselves.
Which means none of the reasons given by California liberals
for opposing the Arizona law are honest. What they are really
mad about is that in Arizona, immigration laws will be enforced,
and that in California-– and in the rest of the country for that
matter--they are not.
What these open border advocates really want is “comprehensive
immigration reform”--i.e., amnesty and a path to citizenship for
illegal aliens.
Here is the rest California Penal Code Section 843 pertaining to
local enforcement of federal immigration laws:
“(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an
alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal
immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any
criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal
status or leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United
States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent
illegal status and provide any additional information that may be
requested by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city,
county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity
with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency,
to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is
expressly prohibited.”
And, there is even a California Attorney General opinion
upholding the penal code. California AG Opinion 01-213
(11/16/2001) says:
“While California’s Penal Code Section 843b’s mandate that local
officers inquire into immigration status has been enjoined, officers
can still voluntarily make the inquiry. A local law enforcement
officer during detention of Spanish speaking person for otherwise
valid purposes may question the person as to immigration status,
but may not question status solely because the individual speaks a
non-English language.”
In supporting the boycott L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
called the Arizona Law “unpatriotic and unconstitutional.” The
mayor is clearly suffering from a bad case of foot-in-mouth
disease.
He sure as hell hasn’t read either the Arizona law or the
California Penal Code.
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RICH Johnson
You Go, Girls
Does anyone remember Hedy Lamarr?
Often called the most beautiful actress in
Hollywood, Ms. Lamarr was born in either
1913 or 1914, depending on whom you
believe.
No, I’m not here to discuss the beautiful
actresses of the last century (though that’s
not a bad idea.) I’m here to talk about
what Ms. Lamarr did in her free time. In 1941, she co-invented
a secret communications system that helped combat the Nazis in
World War II. Her “spread spectrum” technology manipulated
radio frequencies at irregular intervals between transmission
and reception that created an unbreakable code that prevented
the bad guys from intercepting our secret messages. What’s truly
extraordinary is this technology that Lamarr invented helped form
the technical backbone that makes cellular phones, fax machines
and other wireless operations possible. Can we say WOW?
Not that Ms. Lamarr was alone in the women inventor club.
In 1903, Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper. Whatta
you think of that? In 1956, Bette Nesmith Graham invented liquid
paper. She called it Mistake Out and it proved invaluable in helping
typists correct mistakes when.typing. You may be more familiar
with Bette’s son, Michael Nesmith. He was one of the Monkees
(musical group from the 1960s.) Surely you remember Ruth
Handler. She invented the Barbie doll. Up unto that point most
(if not all) dolls were infants or small children. This was the first
“grown up” doll. Barbie was named after Ruth’s daughter Barbara.
Margaret Knight invented something in the 1870s that is still in
use today. We call it the paper bag. She invented the machine that
made the flat bottom paper bag. What makes this story interesting
is that there is a villain in the story. A nefarious man, named Charles
Annan, spied on Ms. Knight’s invention, essentially stole it and got
credit for the patent. Ms. Knight took the whole issue to court.
Mr. Annan had a somewhat less than clever defense. He argued
that a woman could never design such an innovative machine. Ms.
Knight actually displayed actual evidence that the invention was
hers. She was awarded the patent in 1871.
Every soldier and law enforcement officer should say a little
thank you to Stephanie Kwolek. The chemist invented something
that was five times stronger than steel. We call it Kevlar and it’s the
stuff they make bullet proof vests out of.
My favorite gal is Ruth Wakefield. She and her husband bought
a tourist lodge named the Toll House Inn. She prepared food for
the guests. One day, while making cookies, she ran out of Bakers
chocolate and had to improvise. She took broken pieces of Nestles
semi-sweet chocolate. When she took the pan from the oven she
was surprised to see the chocolate “chips” hadn’t totally melted
into the cookie. She invented the chocolate chip cookies. Yay!
Ms. Wakefield eventually contracted with the Nestle Company.
In exchange for putting her recipe on their packages of chocolate,
Ms. Wakefield was given a lifetime supply of chocolate. Visit http://
www.women-inventors.com. It will give you the story on many
other great inventions by women.
P. S. Now I wish some gal would come along and invent chocolate
chip cookies with no calories. Come on ladies, someone needs to step
up to the “plate.”
STUART TOLCHIN
The Quest
I read a lot. Why? Habit
mostly, I guess, but it doesn’t
really feel like that. I think
I’m looking for answers or
at least looking for the right
questions. What am I to do
with this life? Or, if that’s too
hard, what am I supposed to do
today? Having a job makes it
easier. I go to work, get tired,
complain about it and wonder how long I can
keep it up. Underneath the job I know I want to
do something right. More than that. I want to
live and act like a good man acts. Forget acting.
I want to BE a good man who automatically does
what a good man does. Even that’s not enough.
I want to think and feel like a good man thinks
and feels.
Why is this so hard? I think many people,
including me, get confused right from the
beginning. We are dependant upon our parents,
so we do what they want in the hope that they
will keep us alive. Neotony is a word I learned
somewhere that describes the immature state of
a human being as it leaves the womb and enters
the world. Other animals are pretty ready to
fend for themselves after a relatively short time.
Not us. For years we are completely dependent
on our mothers, and to an extent our fathers,
for survival. Anthropologists theorize that it is
this prolonged period of dependence that allows
“culture” to be inculcated within us, such that we
learn what others expect us to do. That’s probably
true, but it is also during this same period that
we probably lose touch with a great percentage
of our own instincts, such that we spend the rest
of our lives searching for someone else to tell us
what to do.
Frankly, I now believe that there is no “someone
else” to give us answers. Where the truth lies is
within the experience of ourselves as we interact
with others. In the present we experience our
past and create a new future. We can notice
ourselves grow and change but we cannot do this
without our own memories. When I hear people
talk about being indifferent to their own families
and traditions it makes me angry. WHO WE
WERE IS ALWAYS RELEVANT TO WHO WE
ARE AND WHO WE BECOME.
Today, along with my son and his girl friend,
I visited my soon to be 95-year old mother at
her assisted living center. Visiting is hard, as my
mother is in a kind of permanent distress. She’s
unsure of where she is, of who we are, even of who
she is and she’s angry about it. She yells at us,
whoever we are, and in the next moment tells us
how lonely she is and how much she appreciates
the visit. What bothers me is that, as usual, I have
no idea of how to act. I hold her hand as she
vents and actually take some joy in her spirit and
energy especially at those times when she is not
yelling at me. I wish I had some idea of how to
behave. I wish I was aware of models of healthy
parenting and the most loving ways of caring for
the elderly. I’m not and don’t know anyone else
who really seems to know what they’re doing.
My wife says that where she grew up in Boyle
Heights the generations all lived together until
the adolescent boys went off to war, or jail, or
even to college. Maybe the problem is that we’ve
all become so self-important that we’re all too
good to talk to one another.
Really, I think we are all now Strangers in a
Strange Land, increasingly isolated and wrongly
searching for connection through social
networking and superficial contacts. To be a
good man, I believe one must CARE and this
can be done in isolation. Life is With People is
the title of some book describing village Jewish
Life, which I now cannot find. I will not give up
looking. Staying in contact with our families,
however difficult (and it is always difficult) often
gives meaning to our confused lives. We are all
part of an old tradition creating new meaning
with every breath. Atheist that I am, I still believe
there is a path to follow. Hard-wired within us is
not only a universal capacity for language but also,
believe it or not, a universal capacity for love. It’s
out there and in us and our continuous struggle
to find it is part of the process. What a Good
Man does is to keep believing and keep looking
and through it all trying to be kind. Alas, I think
there must be more to this than just reading a lot.
I should talk about it with someone.
Mountain Views
News
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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com
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