Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 18, 2012

10

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 18, 2012 

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

STUART Tolchin......On LIFE 


SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT 
MITT ROMNEY

I’M SO SORRY

 I regret to 
say this but I 
really think 
all the tears 
and grief relating 
to the 
unfortunate 
death of 
Whitney Houston is really misplaced. 
It is often said the way 
to judge a country is to notice 
how the least privileged people 
within the society are treated. I 
don’t doubt that but perhaps another 
important perspective is 
to notice how the society treats 
the most honored and privileged 
people. Hilary Clinton 
reminds us, “It takes a Village” 
meaning that, in a way, we are 
all responsible for the nurturance 
of our next generation. I 
believe this is true. I also believe 
that the society is responsible 
for the ultimate treatment of our 
celebrities.

 Really, as shocking as it was, 
the untimely death of Whitney 
Houston cannot be said to be 
a surprise. Similarly the tragic 
death of Michael Jackson cannot 
be said to be completely 
unexpected. As you may know, 
the most frequent cause of death 
in America from unnatural 
causes is overdoses of prescription 
drugs. I find this statistic 
amazing because, as a Criminal 
Attorney appointed to represent 
indigents, I am constantly faced 
with situations wherein people 
are brought before the Criminal 
Justice System because of their 
use of illegal drugs. I tend to 
think of drug use as related to 
the attempts of poor people to 
fortify themselves as they strive 
to cope with their difficult lives.

 Yes, I am mistaken. I gather 
now that it is all America that 
is awash in drugs, legal and illegal. 
The main difference I 
guess is that if you have sufficient 
wealth you can prevail 
upon your doctor to prescribe 
drugs so that their simple possession 
is not illegal. It is not 
only Whitney Houston, Michael 
Jackson, Heath Ledger, Lindsay 
Lohan, and Robert Downey Jr. 
who abuse drugs. The list also 
includes the great American 
conservative Rush Limbaugh, 
the great quarterback Brett 
Favre, popular newscaster 
Fred Rogin, and the list 
goes on and on. An incredible 
percentage of America's most 
famous writers: Hemingway, 
Fitzgerald, Styron, Faulkner, 
Mailer, Cheever, were drug 
abusers and drunks. The recent 
suicides of Spalding Grey, David 
Foster Wallace, and Hunter 
Thompson - all of whose work 
I loved, and all of whom abused 
drugs for their entire adult lives 
- must be considered. What is 
going on? Is life just too hard? 
Is being famous so dehumanizing 
that our most famous people 
often think of taking their own 
life? Suddenly, Marilyn Monroe 
comes to mind.

 All right I admit it. I do not 
drink alcohol. Perhaps this has 
something to do with the fact 
that I am a Type 2 Diabetic, but I 
don’t really think so. I just never 
liked drinking very much—perhaps 
it has something to do with 
being Jewish? I also take no prescription 
drugs to combat depression 
or emotional problems. 
This is contrary to the practice 
of many people I know who 
take daily doses of prescription 
medication to combat depression 
and anxiety. Maybe I am 
just lucky or too dull or something. 
My friends tell me I just 
do not understand how important 
these mood-changing, anxiety 
reducing drugs are and that 
life would be impossible without 
them. Again, I AM SORRY, but 
I do not agree. I believe that all 
these drugs, yes legal and illegal 
- cause more problems than 
they solve. I believe that modern 
society is kind of perpetually 
adolescent. People crave 
excitement, thrills and adventure. 
They want to do secret bad 
things and not get caught - isn’t 
this the lure of Las Vegas? Really, 
I don’t know; I never go there. 
Aren’t the constant thrills and 
fantasies of Disneyland what 
make it the Happiest Place on 
Earth? I don’t know about that 
either, because I almost never go 
to Disneyland.

 I think you know what I am 
saying: Modern Society has 
chosen to glamorize and prolong 
adolescent needs. Our 
video games present cyber-
existences filled with excitement 
and adventure that many 
young-folk seem to prefer to 
their actual boring lives. Our 
society celebrates the adventures 
and drug-filled adventurous 
sex-lives of our celebrities. 
The whole society seems to 
search for adventure and prefers 
powerful automobiles to fuel 
conserving vehicles. Everyone 
seems to yearn for permanent 
adolescence as they dye their 
hair and torture themselves trying 
to keep their body toned and 
perpetually attractive.

 Have I made my point? Look, 
Hitler, Stalin, and Nixon too, 
were drug abusers. We can stop 
the madness. THE WAY WE 
ALL LIVE IS CRAZY and the 
untimely deaths of Whitney and 
Michael are just the tips of the 
iceberg. If our poor, vulnerable 
species is to survive it is necessary 
that all of us, THE WHOLE 
VILLAGE, learn to FOCUS on 
what is really important.----and 
I AM SORRY to tell you that 
does not seem to be happening. 
Really what would the world 
be like if we all threw away our 
drugs and our alcohol along 
with our guns and video games? 
Do you think it can happen? 

 
Republican perennial 
presidential candidate 
Mitt Romney is just 
another bright-eyed sycophant 
for whoever it is who really pulls 
the strings. Mitt’s the Man if you believe 
that America needs to spend MORE on 
defense, because spending more than the 
combined defense establishment of the 
known universe just isn’t enough!

 With his phony and plastic “Hey Goober” 
smile, Mitt is one more entrant in 
America’s long cavalcade of idiots who will 
say--then unsay--whatever that particular 
whistle-stop requires to keep the catcalls 
down to a murmur.

 Mitt’s Mormonism is the least of his 
problems. It’s his message - not his religion 
- that turns people off. It’s his contempt for 
those less fortunate than he is. We’re in the 
middle of the worst economic downturn 
since the Great Depression and he has the 
gall to say:

 “I’m not concerned about the very poor. 
We have a safety net there. If it needs repair 
I’ll, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about 
the very rich; they’re doing fine. I’m concerned 
about the very heart of America, 
the 90-95% of Americans who right now 
are struggling.”

 Most of us don’t spend much time thinking 
about the poor (or the rich for that matter). 
We’re too preoccupied with just keeping 
our jobs. By Mitt’s calculations only 
5% to 10% of Americans are “very poor” 
or “very rich.” This may seem reassuring 
to some folks, but it is both inaccurate and 
misleading. 

 According to the 2010 Census, 1 in 2 
Americans are poor or low-income, while 
the wealthiest 1% of households averaged 
225 times the wealth of the median households. 
But no matter, Mitt will say anything 
to get the GOP nomination, even something 
he knows or should know to be false.

 Mitt is likely to soften his message a little 
in order for it to reach beyond the Republican 
faithful he is appealing to now. If he 
wins the nomination, the idea that Obama 
is somehow un-American, anti-religion 
and pro-abortion is likely to suffuse the attack 
ads that will be unleashed this summer 
with an intensity unparalleled in U.S. 
history.

 Although Mitt has earned some points 
with the right wing lunatics during the 
primaries by savaging Obama, this probably 
won’t work during the general election. 
Most Americans may be unhappy 
with Obama’s performance, but polls consistently 
show that they generally like the 
President as a person and hope he does 
well. 

 If Mitt decides to attack Obama in the 
same merciless fashion he has attacked the 
other Republican candidates there may 
very well be an anti-Romney backlash. The 
idea of a failed presidency orchestrated 
largely by the Tea Party fringe is just not an 
option for most Americans. 

 But what if this ruthless anti-labor, 
anti-union stooge of Corporate America 
becomes President? What if this one-time 
corporate raider with no foreign policy experience 
becomes the Leader of the Free 
World? I think we all know the answer--a 
return to the failed Bush policies at home 
and abroad--the same policies that got us 
in the crapper in the first place. 

 All politicians crave power, but the big 
difference between Mitt and Barack is the 
depths of dishonest, opportunistic, corrupt 
lengths Romney is willing to go to get it. 
The good news is that If he is elected, the 
stench of Corporate America and its Military 
Industrial Energy Complex will be 
out in the open again. The bad news is that 
everyone but the top 1% will take it in the 
shorts.

 Mitt, like most Republican candidates 
since Reagan, has a predictable speech:

 “My opponent believes the best days 
of America are behind us. He believes we 
can’t compete. We lack ambition, drive, 
and ingenuity. We have lost our way. 

 “I believe in an America that is always 
moving forward towards an even better, 
greater, brighter future. 

 “I believe that Americans can do anything, 
and by God, when I’m President, we 
will begin that journey toward renewed 
greatness.”

 Then end with the obligatory “God Bless 
America” while a giant flag waves in the 
background and the release on cue of hundreds 
of red, white, and blue balloons. Add 
some cleverly edited patriotic film footage 
of “Morning in America.” Old Glory, balloons 
and patriotic film clips... That’s the 
way to win an election. 

 And that my friends, is why America’s 
greatness is quickly receding in the rearview 
mirror. Because DESPITE our gifts, 
natural resources, education, and know-
how, we want easy answers not thoughtful 
evaluation. Sound bites, talking points and 
clever TV ads are what win elections--Image 
not substance is what it takes. 

 WE GET THE LEADERS WE DESERVE! 

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OUT TO PASTOR A Weekly Religion Column

Forty-one years ago, I 
was a naïve 19-year-old 
just beginning life's journey. 
I do not like to brag 
but I was the poster child 
for naïveté. I had a few 
ideas about life but too 
few to make me a contributing 
member of the 
human society. What I 
knew about life could fit nicely in my trouser 
pocket with plenty of room for a country boy’s 
pocketknife.

One of the things that I did not know is that a 
naïve country boy is a target for a young lady 
looking to settle down. It is a good thing I did 
not know these things because it is better in 
some areas of life to be caught off guard. If you 
always have your guard up you are never going 
to see some of the more interesting sights of life.

 It was exactly 41 years ago this month that I 
was introduced to a very nice young lady. She 
smiled at me and I smiled back. Being a courteous 
naïve young man I did not know that smiling 
back had a different meaning to the one receiving 
the smile than the one giving the smile. 
Ah, that sweet innocence. How I miss it.

 We attended the same Bible College and therefore 
were in constant contact with each other.

 Looking back on the whole affair our relationship 
changed one day when she slipped me a 
note as we passed each other in the hall going 
to separate classes. The only note I had ever received 
in my life came from my mother which 
contained a list of things she wanted me to do 
"or else." Now I was getting a note from this 
young lady.

I smiled when she handed it to me but inside I 
was more frightened than I have ever been in 
my entire life. A note, what in the world did she 
want me to do? What did I do that she has to 
communicate to me in such a covert manner? 

My fears were allayed when I opened the note 
and discovered it was a "love note."

For anybody who has received such communication 
in the past you will understand quite 
readily that this completely changed our relationship. 
This was before e-mail, texting, cell 
phones and Facebook. Back in "the day,” we had 
to do all of our communication in person like, 
face-to-face. The only exception was the notorious 
love notes, of which I was being introduced.

 Getting my first "love note" was rather enlightening 
to me. I had just seen this young lady in 
the hallway, and before that we had lunch together, 
and before that we had chapel where 
we saw each other. However, the note that she 
handed me, this infamous love note, said that 
she, and I quote, "missed me."

I turned the note over to see if there was any explanation 
on the back, but it was blank. I was a 
little concerned about her when underneath her 
name she put a series of X's and O's. Whether 
this was some secret code I was supposed to 
know about or whether she had just run out of 
words was beyond my experience at the time.

As I thought about that note, I wondered, when 
in the world did she have time to miss me? 
What was it she missed? It certainly was not my 
charm because I had not developed that attribute 
until recently.

 Now I was in a quandary. What do I do? Do I 
go up to her after class and apologize for being 
missed? Do I sit her down and explained to her 
that between seeing each other we had been in 
different classes in different rooms? What do I 
do with this bit of information? I thought the 
better part of valor was to pretend I knew what 
she was talking about.

It was not long before I realized that she was expecting 
me to reciprocate and write her a love 
note. I really did not know what to say. If I wrote 
a note similar to the one she wrote me and said, 
"I miss you," I would be lying. I knew where she 
was. I knew that after the class was over I would 
see her again.

It took me a while to realize that the purpose of 
love notes had nothing to do with exchanging 
information. In fact, no love note carries with it 
any sensitive information at all. To this day, I am 
still not sure what a love note really is.

I began my writing career and although I had 
hoped to start writing nonfiction I was writing 
fictitious notes that had no meaning whatsoever. 
I began writing little love notes to her 
saying, "I miss you, too." I felt a little guilty and 
somewhat silly, but she looked forward to my 
"missing" her. I'm still a little embarrassed to say 
that it took some time for me to figure out the 
X's and the O’s.

 Now when I hear someone say that X marks the 
spot a different picture comes to mind.

Upon thought, I discovered that God was the 
first one to write a love note. "Jehovah appeared 
of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee 
with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness 
have I drawn thee" (Jeremiah 31:3 
KJV).

Everything in my life began with God's marvelous 
love note to me.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family 
of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 
34483. 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.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH A LOVE NOTE


RICH Johnson

CELEBRITY MONIKERS 

 

 One of my favorite actors was Archie Leach. 
His performances were great in such movies 
as “North by Northwest”, “It Takes a Thief”, 
“The Philadelphia Story”, and my personal 
favorite “His Girl Friday”. What? You don’t 
know Archie Leach? Oh, forgive me, that’s 
right, he went by a stage name. Most people 
knew him as Cary Grant? But his good friends knew him as Archie 
Leach. 

 Stage names, once commonplace in Hollywood, seem to have 
fallen out of fashion. Studio execs once wanted snappy billboard 
friendly names like Tab, Chuck, Rock, Judy, Kirk or Bo. Like the 
following: (aka means also known as)

 

Tab Hunter aka Arthur Andrew Kelm

Chuck Norris aka Carlos Ray

Rock Hudson aka Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. (Fitzgerald later)

Judy Garland aka Frances Ethel Gumm

Kirk Douglas aka Issur Danielovitch Demsky

Bo Derek aka Mary Cathleen Collins

 The list goes on and on. Some actors use part of their real 
names. Bruce Willis is really Walter Bruce Willison. Sophia Loren 
is Sophia Scicoloni. Gary Oldman is Leonard Gary Oldman. 
And who can forget Chan Kong-Sang? You might recognize him 
as Jackie Chan.

 Musical celebrities are not immune from creative name changing. 
Are you a fan of George Michael? His parents called him 
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou! Here’s more:

 

Freddy Mercury aka Farouk Bulsara

Tina Turner aka Anna Mae Bullock

Shania Twain aka Eileen Regina Edwards

Joni Mitchell aka Roberta Joan Anderson

Courtney Love aka Love Michelle Harrison

Billie Holiday aka Eleanora Fagan

 And you’re probably not surprised that Snoop Doggy Dogg was 
once known as Cordazer Calvin Broadus. Other names we have 
long suspected were not on the birth certificates:

 

Chubby Checker aka Ernest Evans

LL Cool J aka James Todd Smith III

Meat Loaf aka Marvin Lee Aday

Pink aka Alecia Moore

Coolio aka Artis Ivey, Jr.

Vanilla Ice aka Robert Van Winckle

Eminem aka Marshall Bruce Mathers III

Billy Idol aka William Broad

Ice Cube aka Oshea Jackson

Axl Rose aka William Bruce Rose

Sting aka Gordon Matthew Sumner

Ice-T aka Tracy Morrow

 Maybe the record for the longest “real” name belongs to the 
“cuchi-cuchi” girl herself, Charo. If you want her real autograph 
you better have a big piece of paper. Maria del Rosario Pilar Martinez 
Molina Baeza de Rasten (take a breath). 

 My band, JJ Jukebox will be performing at Café 322 in Sierra Madre on 
Saturday, March 31st starting at 7:00. Our group specializes in music from 
the 1960s and 1970s peppered with humorous banter. We will be followed 
by Jane Fuller performing rock and roll. Café 322 offers wonderful Italian 
cuisine. Reservations are cheerfully accepted by calling (626) 836-5414. 

Mountain Views News

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The traditions of the 
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and the concerns of 
our readers are this 
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of the exceptional 
quality of life in our 
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the magnificence of 
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