Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 3, 2011

13

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 3, 2011 

HAIL Hamilton My Turn

Mountain 
Views

News

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

CITY EDITOR

Dean Lee 

EAST VALLEY EDITOR

Joan Schmidt

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

626-818-2698

PRODUCTION 

Richard Garcia

PHOTOGRAPHY

Lina Johnson

Ivonne Durant

WEBMASTER

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


MONEY

It Makes Us Crazy


IT’S TIME TO END THE ERA OF FEAR POLITICS

If you thought President 
Obama was ending the 
war in Afghanistan, think 
again. Your children will 
be fighting it in 2024 if 
the Pentagon has its way. 
Whatever you thought, it 
turns out that you were wrong, and it’s time to 
recalibrate. 

According to an Aug. 23 story by Ben 
Farmer in the British Telegraph, the Obama 
administration is now negotiating a “pact” with 
the government of Afghan President Hamid 
Karzai that could leave American military 
“trainers” -- thousands of them -- as well as 
special operations forces and the U.S. Air Force, 
settled into some of the enormous Afghan bases 
the Pentagon has built there until… 2024! 

Does this mean we are obliged to continue 
being the world’s policeman? Absolutely not!

There is no reason why the United States 
should send its soldiers into wars they cannot 
win. We are told that we are in Afghanistan to 
protect the Afghanis from other Afghanis called 
the Taliban. We call them Islamic terrorists; they 
call themselves Jihadist freedom fighters. This - 
despite the fact that the Taliban had nothing to 
do with the 9/11 attacks. In fact, they were in the 
process of giving Al Qaida the boot when the 
attacks happened. 

Our goal instead should be to minimize our 
battle casualties by not fighting where we know 
our influence will end the moment we leave the 
scene. I suppose we could continue to build and 
train the armed forces of Afghanistan to shore 
up the corrupt Karzai regime in the delusional 
hope that it will expand its rule beyond the 
city limits of Kabul. But do we need American 
ground forces to do the job Afghanis should be 
doing? 

To date the U.S. has squandered nearly 
$500 billion on its adventure in Afghanistan. 
How much more blood, sweat, and tears - and 
national treasure - must be spent on a war 
without end and without any attainable goal? 
We are told that we are in Afghanistan to bring 
western-style democracy to that troubled land. 
Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Viewed in a different way, these wars are a 
continuation of the politics of fear that began 
under George Bush and have gone on under 
Barak Obama. These wars do nothing but keep 
the rest of us looking over our shoulders rather 
than keeping an eye on what’s really happening.

Who among us was paying attention to the 
economy before it tanked in October 2008? We 
were told that the Wall Street debacle and the 
Great Recession that followed was the result 
of a bunch of poor people getting home loans 
they couldn’t afford to pay back from a bunch 
of predatory lenders enticing these high-risk 
home buyers with subprime adjustable-rate 
mortgages.

We also were told that AIG and Goldman 
Sachs were too big to fail. We were told that 
bailing out the large banks and investment 
firms would loosen credit, help homeowners, 
and stimulate the economy. In the meantime, 
millions of homes went into foreclosure and 
millions of Americans lost their jobs. 

Heck, Anybody with a scintilla of intelligence 
could see it was home owners who needed help 
- and that only creating jobs, not giving trillions 
to Wall Street, would stimulate the economy. 

Sure, our attention was briefly caught by the 
Enron scandal and the mini recession of 2001-
2003. Then caught again with the overnight 
collapse of Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers in 
2008. But for the most part we spent the decade 
confident in our spent 401Ks, buying more 
expensive homes, and charging everything else 
on our credit cards. It was enough just being 
flag-waving patriots supporting our troops 
fighting terrorism in distant lands we couldn’t 
care less about. 

Folks, wake up, get angry, and stop being 
afraid. It’s time to cut our losses and bring our 
troops home. It’s time to put end the era of 
“fear politics.” It’s time to rebuild our decaying 
infrastructure and our declining middle class. 
It’s time to stand up and say to our elected 
officials: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to 
take this anymore!”

 I might as well write about money; everyone else 
is. After sweating out that weirdness about the 
debt ceiling the news last week involved the Angel’s 
star pitcher, Jared Weaver. If you can believe it, the 
twenty-seven year-old pitcher voluntarily agreed to 
accept less money so that he could remain with the 
Angels. Of course he’s still going to receive something 
like $85,000,000 over four years so it doesn’t really seem like that much of 
a sacrifice. As Mr Weaver attempted to explain to incredulous reporters, 
“Really, how much money do I need?” The reporters couldn’t believe it. It 
was as if this young pitcher was challenging the entire American way of life. 
For many Americans, money is the way we keep score. The more money 
we make, the more valuable we are. Valuable to whom, you might ask, and 
I guess the answer is that money is the quantification of our value to society 
no matter how we feel about ourselves. 

I believe that I am in complete disagreement with this way of thinking. I 
can remember my father saying to people that my sister and I were his two 
million dollars. This always seemed to me to be a feeble excuse to the world 
that he was not making much money and was trying to pretend to some 
satisfaction that he did not really experience. To my own young mind, I was 
worth more than money and I still think that way. To my father, however, 
money probably meant something else. He was born in the Ukraine, came 
to America with no money and never went beyond one year of middle 
school. He lived through the Depression and started several businesses 
and struggled his whole life to earn a living. As I have written before, he 
continued working even after going blind and managed to support his 
family.

For my dad money was not just something that just had value as 
currency. It was something more, a recognition of commitment, of strength 
and responsibility and character. It seems to me that money no longer 
means any of these things. As far as I can tell, money is thrown around 
irresponsibly to athletes and celebrities who earn more than they know 
what to do with or have any need for. Our own wealth seems dependent 
upon everything beside our own efforts. Really, I think the possession 
of wealth should be significant because it presents great opportunities to 
be helpful to other people, and the opportunity to be helpful to others is 
a chance to experience one of the great joys of the world. Still, I do not 
dispute that it is easy to become confused.

As I think about it, I note that my attitudes, just like my father’s, are 
influenced by past experiences in ways that are no longer appropriate. For 
example, I hate paying for parking. I remember when parking was free, 
or almost free, and I will park a mile away in order to avoid a parking fee. 
It’s crazy I know and, on top of it all, I don’t save any money. Four times I 
have had my car towed away by the police because time to park had expired 
or I had overlooked some sign which restricted the area. Each tow-away 
is a costly catastrophe, not only in money but in the inconvenience of 
not being able to locate the car. I hope you never have to go through the 
experience. I wish I could say I was sure that it won’t happen to me again; 
but it probably will, as I still can’t allow myself to pay sixteen dollars to park 
at the Courthouse.

Speaking of Court, I am an attorney on this Panel that receives hourly 
payments for Court appointed representation. In order to get paid I need 
only to fill out these forms, send them in, and eventually money arrives. 
Why then do I have such trouble filling out the forms and sending them in? 
I have noticed that other lawyers have the same problem. Why? Because 
the money makes us crazy. What money? The paltry amount we receive 
as testimony to our own meager worth? Or perhaps the realization that 
we are earning money from the pain of others? Who knows? Maybe, just 
like when my father valued me in terms of dollar worth, there is something 
invariably degrading about allowing oneself to be valued in terms of 
money?

As usual I don’t know the answer. I must admit that, just like the Country, 
I have problems surrounding money and I wish those problems would go 
away. I would like to have more control of my own behavior. Maybe if 
some nice man would offer me eighty-five million dollars I could act more 
rationally;. probably not, though I would not refuse the opportunity. It 
would allow me to be so helpful to other people and still have enough left 
over to pay for parking. 

OUT TO PASTOR A Weekly Religion Column


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MONEY, SEX, POLITICS 

AND THE AMERICAN WAY

Rev. James L. Snyder

I cannot speak for 
anybody else; in fact, 
I have a hard enough 
time speaking for 
myself. Thankfully, I have those who have 
volunteered to speak on my behalf on a variety 
of issues. This has been good, relieving me 
the necessity of expressing myself. But, as 
people keep telling me, all things must end 
sometime.

As far as I am concerned, I have had enough. 
There is absolutely no use in trying to talk me 
out of it; I have had enough.

My wife and I just finished supper and were 
relaxing while watching a bit of television. We 
were busy chatting and rehashing the day’s 
events and not paying too much attention 
to what was on television. It finally dawned 
on us what the television program was all 
about. It was completely devoted to scandals 
that have happened recently. The program 
went through an almost endless list of people 
caught up in some kind of scandal.

There were politicians, actors and actresses, 
musicians, businesspeople and, much to our 
chagrin, ministers. The slime of scandal 
seems to touch every level of human society.

Recently, a well-known minister in our area 
was found dead in a New York City hotel. 
Even though he was from our area, I really 
did not know too much about him. The TV 
program brought me up to date on his far-
reaching scandal. It seems he had been living 
in adultery, which led to the divorce of his 
wife and the demise of his family.

The thing that bothered me is that his 
scandal did not cause him to lose his job. He 
was still the pastor of a mega-church and his 
weekly sermons were broadcast on television 
and the Internet. As long as people like him, 
according to the story, he was allowed to get 
away with anything and everything.

 

I absolutely object.

 

Recently, an actor from Hollywood, the 
center of all that is indecent and immoral, 
was caught in an adulterous affair, which 
led to the divorce of his wife. He then comes 
on TV and tries to convince me, an absolute 
skeptic, that he is really a good person, a 
wonderful father and just an all-around nice 
guy.

 

I absolutely object.

 

In order to be a good father you have to be 
a good husband and in order to be a good 
husband you have to be a good man. A good 
man does not cheat. A good man does not 
hurt his family. What happened to the idea 
of putting your family first?

A politician can be caught in some scandalous 
affair and all he has to do is go on television 
and say how sorry he is and that he is going 
to go to some rehab for his problem. In the 
meantime, this ethically challenged person 
is drawing a paycheck from the taxpayers of 
this country.

 

I absolutely object.

 

If this politician were sorry for his act, he 
would resign office right away and return to 
the public every cent of his salary and 

benefits that he has absconded while in office. 
Why do these people believe they can get away 
with everything and bear no consequence? 
If it started to touch their pocketbook, they 
might think a second time before doing some 
of these immoral cartwheels that has been 
happening lately.

According to the TV program we were 
watching, these men in places of power 
cannot help what they are doing.

 

I absolutely object.

 

What I want to know is, how can some 
ethically challenged, immoral rascal make 
decisions for the rest of us that is going to be 
beneficial and helpful?

 

I guess I have had just about all I can take.

 

I am tired of hearing about sex scandals, 
money scandals and politicians who are 
involved in both. I’m tired of hearing about 
ministers who have been caught up in the 
same scandalous web of immorality and 
greed. Some people shrug their shoulder and 
say, “Well, I guess it’s just the American way.”

 

I absolutely object.

 

Where are the men and women who 
have integrity in this country? Where are 
those who have some semblance of a good 
conscience? Where are those who think of 
others rather than themselves?

As the TV program was concluding my wife 
and I looked at each other and sighed rather 
deeply. We both knew what each other was 
thinking. After 40 years of marital bliss, we 
have come to know one another rather well. 
Actually, she knows me better than I even 
know myself.

In spite of all the problems in our country 
the real problem is that we have too much of 
everything. The average person in America 
is bored to death and looking for ways to 
spice up their life. In this feverish, nervous 
condition, people are looking outward to be 
dazzled and thrilled. And the next thrill has 
to be bigger and better and more spectacular 
than the previous thrill.

 

I absolutely object.

 

I long for those peaceful days of contentment 
and inner satisfaction. Maybe it’s my age, 
maybe it’s because I have been married for 
a long time, but nothing really beats the 
quietness of a life contented with what I have.

That was the advice that the apostle Paul 
gave. “Not that I speak in respect of want: 
for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, 
therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11 
KJV).

To be content with what you have is to have 
all you need.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family 
of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 
34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver 
Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or 
e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web 
site is www.whatafellowship.com.


RICH Johnson

Fairy Tales, Analogies 
and Metaphors

Before we get to the “meat” of my column (that’s 
a metaphor btw), let me start by promoting my 
friend Derek, a very talented actor and a magician 
starring as Merlin in the latest Fairy Tale Theatre 
offering entitled, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. I saw 
the first performance last Saturday and it is magic. “Merlin” meets the kids 
in the lobby before the performance and performs magic tricks. Each child 
receives a coin and a fluorescent magic wand and the play is completely 
interactive with the kids in the audience. Let me also add that Helen 
Frederick makes a terrific rabb…I mean hare. Performances are Saturday 
mornings at 11:00 am (approximately 45 minutes in length) through 
September 24th. Tickets are $18.00 for adult and $12.00 for children 12 and 
under. Call (626) 355-4318 for more information. 

Now, where were we? Oh yeah, do you know what an analogy is? A 
metaphor? Doest thou knowest the difference between the twoeth?

An analogy is defined as a similarity between like features of two things, 
like a heart and a pump for example.

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a phrase is applied to something 
to which it is not literally applicable but rather suggest a resemblance. An 
example would be “I am frozen with fear when a bear comes near.”

Get it…got it…good.

English teachers from around the globe have been collecting examples 
of funny analogies for years and many of these bear repeating (hopefully 
for your reading enjoyment). 

1. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

2. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

3. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a 
bowling ball wouldn’t

4. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag 
filled with vegetable soup.

5. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

6. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across 
the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left 
Cleveland at 6:36 pm traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 pm 
at a speed of 35 mph.

7. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds 
who had also never met.

8. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was 
the East River.

9. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not 
eating for a while.

10. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, 
either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a 
land mine or something.

11. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender 
leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

12. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard 
bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

13. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.

14. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike 
Phil, this plan just might work.

Some examples of metaphors require you to look no further than your 
computer: Checking your desktop. Opening a new folder. Save the image 
to your clipboard. Paste the image into your file.

Also there are: Rug Rat, Couch Potato, Road Hog, Baby Grand, and 
Foggy Memory. Can you think of any?

Finally, the oldies band I have assembled has had three gigs so far and 
early word back is very positive. People say we sound good musically, and 
we are fun to watch. In fact, we have booked into Corfu Restaurant on 
September 30 for another dinner concert and all the people who were at 
our last performance have made reservations for the upcoming one.. We 
perform mostly 1960s songs, Beatles, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan. Our name 
is JJ Jukebox and I will certainly use this forum to promote our activities. 
Now, if only I can get fellow columnist Stuart Tolchin to shamelessly plug 
the Jukebox. Have a good week.

Mountain Views News

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