Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 8, 2011

10

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 8, 2011 


HAIL Hamilton My Turn

SUSAN Henderson

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“First, Speak the truth.” 

Mission Impossible -- 
Obama’s “Lame Duck” 
Congress

Jerry Brown has returned 
as Governor of California 
and I’ve been searching for 
a catchy phrase for him. 
Let’s see, The Terminator 
is gone. Re-Pete was worn 
out with Governor Wilson. 
Hmm….how about… 
Second time around? Older 
but wiser? Tried tested and 
true? Been there done that? Nope. None of them 
seem to work for me. Well, he used to be Governor 
Moonbeam, but, ah yes, I think I have it, 
how about Governor Sunshine? Now I know that 
sounds a bit optimistic, but I am. Why? Because 
since his emergence as a candidate last year, he 
has spoken with a level of honesty that I believe 
we can trust. And, as some may know, especially 
my sons with whom I have engaged in hundreds 
of lively political discussions over the years, Jerry 
Brown has not always had my support.

 The challenges we face are very real and very 
threatening. Not only is the state in crisis, the 
country is slowly recovering from the “W” years. 
Imagine if you were unexpectedly incapacitated 
and your only means of support was your parents. 
You have the taxi drop you off at their house 
and you roll up in your wheel chair and have 
your parents open the door. Surprise….they are 
in wheel chairs too. Imagine that….the cripple 
hanging on to the cripple. The blind leading the 
blind. Well, that’s pretty much the state we are 
in now. California’s economy is crippled and so 
is the federal government. There is no one for 
us to turn to for help. So, I find it comforting to 
know that a person with real experience, successful 
experience, is in charge. After all, it was Jerry 
Brown’s California back in the 70’s that attracted 
Meg Whitman here! (Not my words, she is the 
one of spoke of the great state of affairs and the 
opportunities in California that brought her here. 
Jerry Brown was the governor then.)

 Right out of the gate, Governor Brown got 
straight to the point: “First, speak the truth; Second, 
no new taxes unless the people vote for them. 
Third, return—as much as possible—decisions and 
authority to cities, counties and schools, closer to 
the people.” Isn’t that what we all wanted? He 
went on to say, “Choices have to be made and difficult 
decisions taken. At this stage of my life, I have 
not come here to embrace delay or denial.”

And those words are a ray of sunshine in an otherwise 
truly gloomy situation.

 Now, I am ready for the critics, after all, what 
would they do if they didn’t have me to criticize. 
But Brown’s message and agenda isn’t about upholding 
the party platform and trouncing on everyone 
else. It is an agenda of a wise man who 
recognizes, as I said last week, that “time marches 
on” and we certainly don’t have any more time 
to waste on figuring out how to fix our economic 
crisis.

 But the Governor didn’t just talk about the 
money, he went on to say, “Aside from economic 
advance, I want to make sure that we do everything 
we can to ensure that our schools are places of 
real learning. Our budget problem is dire but after 
years of cutbacks, I am determined to enhance our 
public schools so that our citizens of the future have 
the skills, the zest and the character to keep California 
up among the best.” Amen!

 Well, since I too have a word limit, I just want to 
share one more thing from his speech. He quoted 
Josiah Royce, a famous American philosopher 
born in a mining camp. Royce had a “Philosophy 
of Loyalty” that Brown feels we all need to embrace, 
“Loyalty to the community, to what is larger 
than our individual needs.” Amen again!

After the November elections, members of 
Congress returned to Capitol Hill for their 
“lame duck” session with one huge piece of 
unfinished business – the Fiscal Year 2011 budget. And while 
they failed to complete work on the budget – the government is 
currently running on a “continuing resolution” that funds federal 
agencies through March 4, 2011 – the lame duck session of the 
111 Congress did pass legislation on a number of serious issues in 
the last weeks in Washington.

The most significant piece of legislation was the agreement between 
the Obama administration and the Republican leadership 
to extend the Bush era tax cuts. Congress opted to extend the 
tax cuts for all taxpayers by another two years. The package also 
extended unemployment benefits by thirteen months, and cut the 
Social Security payroll tax by 2 percent, from 6.2 percent to 4.2 
percent through 2011. It is estimated this legislation will add almost 
$1 trillion to the national debt over the next two years.

A lot happened in the area of national security. The Senate ratified 
the new START nuclear weapons reduction treaty by a vote 
of 71 to 26. Both the House and Senate voted to repeal the Pentagon’s 
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” policy which barred gays from serving 
openly in the military. Congress also enacted the Fiscal Year 
2011 Defense Authorization Act, which, at roughly $725 billion, 
including $158 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the 
highest Pentagon spending bill since World War II. 

Congress did not, however, pass the controversial DREAM Act, 
which would have created a way to legalize young undocumented 
immigrants who arrived in the United States before the age of 16, 
lived here continuously for at least five years, and who either go to 
college or enlist in the U.S. military. The legislation passed in the 
House but was blocked in the Senate.

Congress also reauthorized the “America COMPETES Act” 
which is intended to maintain U.S. global economic and scientific 
leadership by supporting basic research, improving science, technology, 
engineering, and math (STEM) education and fostering 
innovation, especially in the area of new energy technologies.

Congress also approved the Government Performance and Results 
Modernization Act of 2010. This legislation forces federal 
agencies to prioritize programs and report quarterly on progress 
in reducing redundant programs and increasing efficiency as a 
way to save money.

Congress also adopted the FDA Food Safety Modernization 
Act – the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety laws since the 
1930’s. It gives the Food and Drug Administration new authority 
to recall tainted food. Under current law, the FDA can only 
recommend a recall and it is up to the food companies to voluntarily 
recall suspect foods. The Act also gives new protections 
to whistleblowers who report fraud-related food manufacturing 
problems.

And finally, Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act, which would provide $4.2 billion in compensation 
and long-term health-care benefits for first responders 
who became ill from working at Ground Zero in the wake of the 
September 11 attacks. Originally the bill would have provided 
$7.4 billion over 10 years, but this was scaled back to $6.2 billion, 
and then to $4.2 billion over concerns about the legislation’s costs 
and how to pay for it. The legislation is named for James Zadroga, 
a police detective who died from respiratory disease it was believed 
he contracted at Ground Zero.

Neither Kindler nor Gentler...

 Just as this paper was going to press, word of 
the senseless murder of 6 people and shooting of 
12 more in Tucson, Arizona was breaking. Early 
reports indicate that the target was Democratic 
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was 
shot in the head. She was recovering in critical 
condition at press time. Among those murdered 
were an innocent 9 year old little girl and a Federal 
Judge who had just left Mass. The alledged 
gunman was a 22 year old who was known to 
rail against government mind control.

 As this story unfolds, it is quite clear that our 
society has not become a kindler, gentler one, 
but one in which the ‘language of hate’ is recklessly 
bandied about. CNN noted that in March, 
on Sarah Palin’s website, Congresswoman Gifford’s 
district was in the ‘crosshairs’ of Palin’s political 
rifle site. One can only wonder if that, and 
other hateful rhetoric, drove this young man to 
commit such a heinous crime believing he was 
doing the ‘right’ thing.

 Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik warned 
America that the current level of vitriol and bigotry 
was the root cause of incidents such as this.

He said, “That may be free speech, but not without 
consequences.” Regardless of what we learn 
about this young man’s actions, we must address 
the wholesale hate mongering that is permeating 
this society under the guise of ‘freedom of 
speech’. 

 Over 20 years have passed since President 
George H.W. Bush made the “kindler, gentler 
society” remark. We have gone completely the 
opposite direction. When you cultivate an environment 
of hate, massacre’s like the one in Tucson 
are what you get. What, say you then, shall 
we do about it?

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STUART Tolchin..........On LIFE

EDUCATING GROWNUPS

Yesterday as I drove home from 
work I heard on the radio that Philosophy 
Courses had become very 
popular in a certain New York 
Community College. In a separate 
article in the New York Times an 
article appeared identifying itself 
as a forum for contemporary philosophers. 
Both the item on the 
radio and the newspaper column emphasized the 
importance of taking time out and reflecting upon 
what it is that we are actually doing with our lives. 
Coincidentally, I happen now to be reading a book 
entitled HOW TO LIVE –OR--- A LIFE OF MONTAIGNE-- 
IN ONE QUESTION AND TWENTY 
ATTEMPTS AT AN ANSWER. 

 For those few of you who were not previously acquainted 
with Montaigne he is described on the 
book jacket as a Renaissance writer who is perhaps 
the first recognizably modern individual. He wrote 
free-roaming explorations of his thought and experience 
that were unlike anything written before. He 
called them “essays” meaning attempts or tries. The 
method used by Montaigne was to write down everything 
that he thought of as he addressed himself 
to any subject. He did not seem to be concerned with 
impressing anyone else but instead was obsessed 
with just trying to understand what influenced him 
to do as he did. His writings were a best-seller four 
hundred years ago and the book I am describing is 
a best-seller today. As described on the book cover 
the writings of Montaigne have for over four hundred 
years drawn readers to him as they search for 
companionship, wisdom, and entertainment—and 
in search of themselves. Readers for centuries have 
found in these writing an inexhaustible source of answers 
to the haunting question, “How to live?’’

 The popularity fo the Montaigne book, together with 
the radio message and the New York Times article 
have shown me that I am on the right track. In my 
approximately 165 articles entitled Stuart Tolchin On 
Life I, unknowingly of course, have addressed myself 
to the same philosophical concerns that interested 
Montaigne and which now seem to be important 
to contemporary readers and students. One of my 
favorite chapters in the Montaigne book is entitled 
Read a lot, forget most of what you read, and be slow-
witted. Really, this could and should be my rallying 
cry. I read continually, forget most of what I read 
and have a lifetime of spectacular non-achievement 
to testify to my slow-wittedness.

 To clarify what is meant by this prescription I believe 
Montaigne is remarking upon the importance 
of learning all that one can but still not taking oneself 
too seriously. He speaks of the importance of understanding 
that there are always many perspectives by 
which to judge anything and that it is always important 
to be ready to change one’s mind. Have patience, 
and above all Pay Attention. Pay Attention to What?

 Why to everything, of course. In addition to paying 
attention reflect upon what you perceive rather 
than absorbing what others tell you. Montaigne lived 
through horrid times of religious, dogmatic wars in 
which death was always preferable to compromise. 
Somehow these times do not seem so very far away.

 The New York Times Article explains that Philosophy, 
among other things is that living activity of critical 
reflection in a specific context, by which human 
beings strive to analyze the world in which they find 
themselves, and to question what passes for common 
sense or public opinion. This is the very process 
utilized by Montaigne and it is described in the 
New York Times article as THE EDUCATION OF 
GROWN UPS. This process must form part of the 
life of a culture. It must engage the public and influence 
how a culture converses with itself, understands 
itself, talks to other cultures and seeks to understand 
them. The article emphasizes that without a willingness 
to seriously reflect upon our own actions we 
cannot really engage in dialogues intended to influence 
one another. Without this willingness to look at 
ourselves from different perspectives the best we can 
do is simply to exchange opinions in kinds of parallel 
monologues that carry no influence other than to 
already believing members of the choir to whom we 
preach.

Yes, I think my articles are on the right track and at 
long last they have obtained some physical recognition. 
Hung upon the walls of my favorite breakfast 
place, Andy’s Coffee Shop on Colorado two blocks 
west of Hill are a couple of my articles next to my favorite 
table. Check out the good food at Andy’s and 
meet the owner Yesenia and the server Lorena, both 
delightful folk. While at Andy’s notice the other contemporary 
figure and customer to whom a portion 
of the wall is dedicated. This contemporary hero is 
Steve O, one of the stars of Jackass. As I understand 
it the Jackass programs and films (I have not seen 
them) are completely within the spirit of Montaigne 
as they question the rules of society and the boundaries 
of good taste and endeavor to entertain at the 
same time. I really don’t know, but like everything 
else, you’ll have to chick it out for yourself.


RICH Johnson

If, Then 

I’m not sure which phrase was used more 
by parents in raising us kids: “if and 
then,” or “why and because?”

I was certainly flogged by my parents 
with “if” and “then”. If you do that, then 
this will happen. And if you don’t do that, 
then this will happen. The why and because was a bit different. 
The “why” was typically ensconced at the beginning of a 
string of words comprising a question or request uttered by 
me. The “because” was typically a one word answer with no 
further elaboration other than the occasional “I said so.” 

The word “if” is often used in aphorisms. Not sure what an 
aphorism is? Me either, so I looked it up: Aphorism: “a terse 
saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation.” 
Let’s take a look at several aphorisms. First out, some uttered, 
or at least attributed to famous persons:

“If it tastes good, it’s bad for you.” Isaac Asimov

“If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me.” Jimmy Buffet

“If passion drives, let reason hold the reins.” Ben Franklin 

“If you can’t convince ‘em, confuse ‘em.” Harry Truman

“If you ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it.” Jonathan Winters

“If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.” Ted 
Williams

“If your wife wants to learn how to drive, don’t stand in her 
way.” Sam Levenson

“If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called upon to repeat 
it.” Calvin Coolidge

“If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well 
think big.” Donald Trump

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.” 
Vince Lombardi

“If you want to get rid of somebody, tell him something for 
his own good.” Kin Hubbard

“If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one 
you’re with.” Stephen Stills (Is that in the Bible?)

“If you think a quarter horse is that ride in front of Kmart, 
you might be a redneck.” Jeff Foxworthy

Then there are some anonymous aphorisms that bear 
repeating:

“If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.”

“If at first you don’t succeed, try reading the instructions.”

“If at first you DO succeed, try not to look so astonished.”

“If a cow laughs, would milk come out of her nose?”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Now for a self-serving aphorism: “If you have an iPhone, 
then buy my and my writing partner Lisa Bowman’s App 
called Upelevator.” $1.99 is all it costs and it gives you a cornucopia 
of clever, often funny quotes on a variety of topics.

Let me close using another aphorism: If you travel to the 
Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Thursday night, 
January 13th, then you’ll see my friend, contemporary pop 
musician Jane Fuller, open for a great guitarist, Lee Ritenour. 
Buy tickets for $20 (normally $25) by going online to janefuller.
com and click on the store. Hope to see you there! 


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