Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 5, 2010

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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Patricia Colonello

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Contributors

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Paul Carpenter

Stuart Tolchin

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Hail Hamilton 

Rich Johnson

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Mary Carney

La Quetta Shamblee

Glenn Lambdin

Greg Wellborn

Ralph McKnight

Trish Collins

Pat Ostrye

Editorial Cartoonist

Ann Cleaves

Webmaster

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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