Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 20, 2011

12

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, August 20, 2011

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

SHARED SACRIFICE

HAIL Hamilton My Turn

Mountain 
Views

News

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

CITY EDITOR

Dean Lee 

EAST VALLEY EDITOR

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Patricia Colonello

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Richard Garcia

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John Aveny 

CONTRIBUTORS

Jeff Brown

Pat Birdsall

Chris Leclerc

Bob Eklund

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Stuart Tolchin

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Hail Hamilton 

Rich Johnson

Chris Bertrand

Ron Carter

Rev. James Snyder

Bobby Eldridge

Mary Carney

La Quetta Shamblee

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Greg Wellborn

Dr. John Talevich

Meaghan Allen

Sean Kayden


Last weekend’s victory in the Iowa Straw 
Vote is another feather Michele Bachmann’s 
political cap. Despite her relatively short 
political career, she has clearly established 
herself as a unique brand in American 
politics, mostly due to her scary, in-your-
face ability to immediately occupy an utterly 
extremist position on any given issue. 

Bachmann has become ubiquitous in the 
national media as the Tea Party poster 
woman, attracting attention for her lightning-
rod comments, frequent slips of the tongue 
and ability to drive Chris Matthews crazy. 
Below are some of her outrageous statements 
and public blunders.

• “What I love about New Hampshire 
and what we have in common is our 
extreme love of liberty...You’re the state 
where the shot heard round the world in 
Lexington and Concord.” March 12, 2011 
speech to the Republican Liberty Caucus 
of New Hampshire.

 (Note: The 1776 Battles of Lexington and 
Concord took place in Massachusetts.)

 Source: RealClearPolitics 

• “This [health care reform] cannot 
pass…What we have to do today is make a

 covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood 
brothers on this thing. This will not pass.” 
Think

 Progress, Sep. 1, 2009

• “The big thing we are working on now 
is the global warming hoax. It’s all voodoo, 
nonsense, hokum, a hoax.” Crooks and 
Liars, Mar. 18, 2008 

• “Carbon dioxide is natural, it is not 
harmful, it is a part of Earth’s lifecycle. 
And yet we’re being told that we have to 
reduce this natural substance, reduce the 
American standard of living, to create an 
arbitrary reduction in something that is 
naturally occurring in Earth.” C-Span, 
April 22, 2009 

• “What I would say -- what I would 
say is that the news media should do a 
penetrating expose and take a look. I wish 
they would. I wish the American media 
would take a great look at the views of the 
people in Congress and find out, are they 
pro-America or anti-America? I think 
people would love to see an expose like 
that.” Chicago Sun-Times, Oct. 18, 2008

• “This [taxation] is slavery, it’s nothing 
more than slavery. The Constitution 
provides freedom.” StarTribune, Sep. 1, 
2009

• “We’re $14 trillion in debt, but that 
doesn’t include the unfunded massive 
liabilities. That’s $107 trillion, and that’s 
for Social Security and Medicare and all 
the rest.... But basically what we have to 
do is wean everybody else off. And wean 
everybody off because we have to take 
those unfunded net liabilities off our bank 
sheet, we can’t do it. So we just have to be 
straight with people. So basically, whoever 
our nominee is, is going to have to have 
a Glenn Beck chalkboard and explain 
to everybody this is the way it is.” Think 
Progress, Feb. 8, 2010

• “But parents are going to excluded 
from Planned Parenthood as they write 
these clinics because the bill orders that 
these clinics protect patient privacy and 
student records. What does that mean... 
Does that mean that someone’s 13 year-
old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, 
have a pregnancy test done, be taken away 
to the local Planned Parenthood abortion 
clinic, have their abortion, be back and go 
home on the school bus that night? Mom 
and dad are never the wiser.” The Hill, Oct. 
1, 2009

Is Michele Bachmann presidential material? 
Absolutely not? Will I vote for her. No way.

Chis Matthews said it best in his critique of 
Bachmann to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show:

“I don’t want to be elitist... but she ought to at 
least know high school history. ... You gotta 
know something to run for President, don’t 
you?

 ... She’ll say things like, ‘I’m a woman. I’m 
a multitasker.’ Okay, That’s a start. That’s not 
bad. I agree that women can multitask. But 
the idea that that’s somehow a credential to 
be President of the United States? Wouldn’t 
you like your plumber to know what a pipe 
is?” Tonight Show, Mar. 15, 2011

IS MICHELE BACHMANN 

PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL?

In an article that appeared on the 
internet this morning entitled “This Can’t 
Be Happening” John Grant an award-
winning writer asked: 

How do you assure the security of a 
nation of human beings who consume a 
disproportionate amount of the world’s resources, habitually 
live beyond their means, and is addicted to all forms of fantasy 
from Bible based delusion, to patriotism based-arrogance, to 
movie special effects that make ordinary human drama seem 
boring?

What is the most powerful nation in the world to do when 
the good times turn bad, the money goes funny, and class 
warfare breaks out on the home front?

It is not my intention to alienate people with strong religious 
beliefs or to offend people who believe in the unique worth 
of Americans as opposed to all other people; but I am of the 
belief that such notions at this time are detrimental to the 
welfare of this Country. We are now living in a time of great 
crisis—a time when it is necessary that everyone be prepared 
to make some great alterations in the way we live. Both 
President Obama and the mega-rich investor Warren Buffet 
are proclaiming that this is a time requiring a shared sacrifice 
involving everyone. Something must be done to change this 
situation but what is that something? 

Please look around you –there really is something to 
worry about. It’s not just that the economy is bad or that 
the government is more of an impediment to change than 
an instrument of progress. No it’s not just that the wars in 
Afghanistan and Iraq are continuing and wars seem to be 
spreading everywhere. It’s not just the famines and disease 
spreading all over Africa or the possible breakdown of 
the European Union. It’s not the riots in England or the 
unbelievable silliness expressed by the conservative (and 
seemingly only) wing of the Republican Party. The basic 
problem for many Americans, I maintain is the boring 
emptiness of their own lives.

This experience of emptiness has little to do with outer 
circumstances of people’s lives. People are dissatisfied and 
looking for constant distractions. Some take drugs just to 
tolerate being alive while many others take unnecessary risks 
to make their live tolerable. I could keep enumerating the 
various and desperate methods but there is little need to. The 
question is what is so bad about our lives that they must be 
avoided? I think the answer to this question relates to what is 
meant by the need for a shared sacrifice.

Have you ever noticed the joy young children take in just 
moving? They love to run and jump and take great pleasure 
just in being themselves. One sees the same joy in dogs 
running in fields or greeting their human companions. Why 
aren’t the humans just as happy? Why is keeping a marriage 
together so difficult? Why is raising children so hard? Why is 
belief in the good intentions of our leaders almost impossible? 
Why is trust of anybody so foolhardy?

Okay, it’s time for an answer. I submit that the problem is 
that it has become very difficult for contemporary humans to 
respect themselves. In a way even in these difficult economic 
times, a great many Americans are smothered in abundance 
and comfort. I know this statement is contrary to common 
understanding but look around you. Everywhere there are 
people who seemingly should be enjoying life and yet are 
miserably engaged in the process of creating problems for 
themselves. Do you remember Robert Redford’s line in the 
Way We Were---“Like his Country,Everything came to him 
too easy.”

Can that be the simple answer? That Life in America is too 
easy. That after mastering the difficult task of walking and 
taking pride in that ability we never do much else. Americans 
never develop an individual joy in their simple existence 
because they never have to work too hard at it .

When it comes time to do something hard like maintaining 
our commitments or raising our children or paying our bills 
we simply have not developed the resources and we fail. We 
know we fail and we cannot stand this knowledge and we try 
to avoid ourselves.

This is the best solution I can come up with. The shared 
sacrifice we are called upon to make is to develop respect for 
ourselves. To do this we must do hard things like keeping our 
commitments and meeting our responsibilities. Instead of 
blaming others for our failures or praying for outside help or 
diverting ourselves we must live awarely and be responsible.

Consistent with this dedication to responsibility I admit 
that I erroneously misinformed you of my e-mail address. 
For those of you interested in attending a physics class taught 
by an accredited professor who will help us to uncover the 
secrets of the universe please contact me at noeltrauts@
earthlink.net. The class may be hard but it will be well worth 
our time. 

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OUT TO PASTOR A Weekly Religion Column


On joining the Over-the-Hill Gang

A friend of mine 
said to me recently, 
“Old boy, how’s it feel 
to be a member of the 
Over-the-Hill gang?” I 
mumbled something as 
politely as I could, but 
on the inside, I was a little furious. I may be 
getting older, but I definitely am not old! In 
fact, I plan to get older every day.

 Once I got my blood pressure under 
control, I looked into this a little more closely. 
I am not quite sure I want a membership in 
such an organization. I checked out the dues 
and I am not quite sure I am up for it.

 In order to be a part of this elite group, if 
elite is the word I want, there are certain dues 
required of each member. I understand that 
every organization has its dues, but some 
dues may not be worth the membership.

 Here are some dues associated with the 
Over-the-Hill gang.

 First, I must complain about something 
every day. I know there are most days where 
it is easy to find a half a dozen things to 
complain about. But what about those days 
when everything seems to be going right? 
What about those days, rare though they may 
be, when there is nothing to complain about?

 According to the rules manual, I must 
find something to complain about every day 
I get out of bed and the more vehemently I 
complain the better. This may explain why 
many members of this infamous Over-the-
Hill gang stare into space with a faraway look 
in their eye. They are trying to find something 
to complain about.

 There is a little secret here about the 
complaining aspect. If I do not remember 
complaining about something yesterday, I am 
fully entitled to complain about it today. This, 
also, may explain why so many people in this 
membership complain about the same thing 
every day.

 The second rule has to do with matters of 
health. In order to be a part of the Over-the-
Hill gang, a member must become proficient 
in medical sounding terms and words. I use 
the word “sounding,” because they do not 
have to be real medical terms or words; all 
they have to do is sound like medical terms 
and words. This is also a reason why many 
of the members mumble a lot.

 Everyday I must find something wrong 
about my health. If I do not have anything 
wrong with my health, I need to make 
something up.

 “How are you feeling today, Jake?”

 “I’m not quite sure,” Jake responds, “the 
day’s early and there’s plenty of time for things 
to go wrong.”

 Personally, I really do not like talking about 
health issues. For one reason, I do not have 
any health issues to talk about. There is a 
question about my being sound in mind but 
there is no question about my being sound in 
body. Actually, my body makes more sounds 
then I am comfortable with, especially in 
public.

 I have no health issues to complain about 
when I am in public. If I suspect someone 
to be part of the Over-the-Hill gang, I avoid 
him or her like the plague. I know as soon 
as I say hello, that will open the floodgates 
for complaining about health issues. What I 
hate the most is when somebody goes into 
great detail in explaining his or her health 
problems. I’m not a doctor. Some things 
should be kept between the patient and his or 
her doctor.

 If another old person, and I say this most 
respectfully, tells me their surgery was worse 
than anything their doctor had ever seen 
in his life, I’m going to start complaining 
for real. To take at face value what some of 
these old people say, we have some pretty 
inexperienced doctors in this country.

 Another membership due is the constant 
referring to the “good old days.” I am at the 
age now when I remember those “good old 
days” being referenced. The only good thing 
about those days is the fact that they are gone. 
I think when you get old a person’s memory 
filters out negative things and all you can 
remember is how wonderful those good 
old days were. The fact being, they were not 
wonderful then and they are not wonderful 
now and the only pleasure I get in their regard 
is the fact that they are long gone.

 I was at the point of tearing up my 
membership application to the Over-the-Hill 
gang when a certain incident happened. I was 
walking in to a store to get something and I 
must have looked a little absent-minded to 
the public. I probably was thinking of what I 
was going to get and if I had enough money to 
get it. Whatever the case, as I reached for the 
door, it suddenly opened and a very cheerful 
voice said, “Here, Sir, let me help you with the 
door.”

 A very lovely young woman stood there 
holding the door open for Yours Truly. She 
smiled so sweetly at me and I thanked her 
and immediately pulled out my application 
for the Over-the-Hill gang and filled it out.

 This getting older is going to be great 
fun. As the Bible says,” The hoary head is a 
crown of glory, if it be found in the way of 
righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31 KJV).

 I am now proud to be a full-fledged 
member of the Over-the-Hill gang.

Curbing Bad Behavior/

 The Burr of 
Singularity


Legendary businessman David Ogilvy 
was one of the most famous names in 
advertising and one of the handful 
of thinkers (Raymond Rubicam, Leo 
Burnett, William Bernbach, Ted Bates) 
who shaped the business after the 1920s. 
If you are a fan of the Emmy Award TV 
Show, “Mad Men,” you might have heard his company, Ogilvy 
and Mather, mentioned in one of the episodes. Mr. Ogilvy 
coined the phrase “The Burr of Singularity,” which means 
“the one magic element of a product that differentiates it 
from everything else on the market.” I recently have become 
a huge fan of Mr. Ogilvy’s work. So, as I was preparing to 
write this week, the idea of singularity flowed through my 
mind.Presently, since there is so much clamoring in our 
society regarding who’s up, who’s down, who’s out, who’s in, 
when will things be normal again, we are fighting too many 
wars, this prompted me to asked the readers of “Curbing 
Bad Behavior:” what is your “Burr of Singularity?” And, how 
does it affect your relationships at home, work, friendships 
and your community? I know it’s none of my business, but 
thought I would ask anyway. Hmmmm. 

You can share your thoughts with Ron on his blog: http://
thecarteragency.com/2011/08/curbing-bad-behavior

Mountain Views News

Mission Statement

The traditions of the 
community newspaper 
and the concerns of 
our readers are this 
newspaper’s top 
priorities. We support a 
prosperous community 
of well-informed 
citizens. We hold in 
high regard the values 
of the exceptional 
quality of life in our 
community, including 
the magnificence of 
our natural resources. 
Integrity will be our 
guide. 

Ron Carter