Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 14, 2012

4

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, April 14, 2012

HAIL Hamilton My Turn

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

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


TAXATION WITHOUT 
REPRESENTATION

 Like most us I pretty much live from 
paycheck-to-paycheck. I’d like to say that 
each month I squirrel away part of my 
earnings for that proverbial “rainy day” or, 
better still, stash it away for those sunny 
days of retirement. But the fact is with a family, mortgage, car 
payments, and all the other necessities of life I can barely make 
ends meet. I wish it weren’t so but that’s the way it is. 

 So when tax time came around this year and I was again forced 
to pony up a good part of my hard-earned cash I asked myself 
this simple question: If I can’t decide how my government spends 
my money, why can’t I choose not to send it at all -- or at least a 
portion equal to that which the government spends on things I 
don’t like my money being spent on. 

 In the wake of the most recent reauthorization of the Patriot 
Act, I have asked myself why doesn’t “terrorism” apply to 
the IRS? According to Webster’s Dictionary “terrorism is the 
systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion.” I 
can think of a long list of examples, past and present, where the 
U.S. government has done exactly that. In fact, under the current 
Patriot Act, it is illegal to provide money to organizations that 
that practice terrorism. 

 As such, I have concluded that as a matter of national security 
I should withhold payment of my income taxes because the IRS is 
by definition a “terrorist organization.” 

 Now, I’m not advocating breaking the law. I know it’s unlikely 
that the IRS or any federal court would agree with my novel 
conclusion, I’m just trying to make a point. Why do we continue 
to pay for programs that put ourselves and our country (not to 
mention the countless people in other lands) in greater danger? 
The continuing bloodshed and corporate welfare perpetrated in 
our name and with our money -- and our kid’s money, and their 
kid’s -- raises an obvious but seldom asked question: why do so 
many of us pay our income taxes?

 This is not a rhetorical question. We now have a political system 
where low, middle, and even upper middle income people get far 
less back in services and benefits from the federal government 
than we pay in. Meanwhile the extremely wealthy -- the top one 
percent -- get far more. 

 Military spending, non-military corporate welfare, and 
interest on the national debt alone accounts for more than 
60 percent of the discretionary part of the federal budget each 
year. Public opinion surveys consistently reveal preferences for 
spending less on the military and more on social programs. The 
divide between public opinion polls and the leadership of both 
major political parties regarding what to do in Afghanistan is an 
obvious example. Meanwhile, as we’ve seen this year, programs 
for the poor and needy are always the first to be cut.

 The impact of how this money is and isn’t spent is even greater 
when considering how much money is in the budget in the first 
place because of what the rich don’t pay. Corporations and high-
income folks are getting more tax breaks each year, while already 
inadequate social spending continues to be gutted and more and 
more prisons get built to hold the people who can’t cope.

 The very rich are getting richer while our wages have been 
stagnant or declining for years. Government -- whose office 
holders are funded largely by the wealthy, in both parties -- are 
the primary mechanism for this wealth transfer. The rich get 
richer, and a relatively tiny portion of their proceeds are then 
reinvested into purchasing politicians and policies to ensure an 
even more beneficial taxation, legal, and regulatory structure. The 
ordinary U.S. citizen today has no meaningful choice or input 
in almost any important public policy issue at the national level.

 So why do so many of us pay our taxes? Quite simply we pay 
out of fear.

 We quake in fear at the thought of the IRS auditing us, yet we 
know fully well that our taxes aren’t just being squandered by 
the federal government -- they’re going, in large quantities, to 
an institution now dedicated at the highest levels to enriching its 
patrons at the expense of all the rest of us. 

 “Taxation Without Representation“ is when a government 
imposes taxes on a particular group of its citizens, despite the 
citizens not consenting or having an actual representative deliver 
their views when the taxation decision was made. Two hundred 
and thirty-six years ago this was one of the triggering events that 
spurned the original thirteen colonies to revolt against the British 
Empire.

 Jefferson was right: “A little rebellion now and then is a good 
thing... as necessary in the political world as storms in the 
physical.”

CAN YOU IMAGINE MIKE WALLACE 
AT A REST HOME?

 

 How was your Easter Holiday celebration? I must admit my Holiday 
was difficult. My wife says it’s my own fault but I think my difficulty 
is more a reflection of the changing times and attitudes. I’ll try 
and explain. Like a great many couples today my wife and I are 
representatives of different faiths and cultures. I am a non-practicing 
Jew who is the son of immigrant parents. In talking about my heritage I like to explain 
to people that there is no word in Yiddish for “yes”. People ask why and I explain that 
the need for such a word never came up. I have been repeating this joke for years. It 
is probably not reflective of the truth, but it is my way of explaining that for my kind of 
Jew, saying “yes” would demonstrate only a lack of imagination or attention. Instead, we 
disagreed and forced other people to defend and explain their positions. I think this 
behavior served the purpose of entertainment and was part of an ongoing competition 
which helped to form some sort of world outlook.

 Who was this kind of Jew? Actually, it is a disappearing class. We were poor, generally 
the children of immigrants, uneducated Eastern Europeans whose parents had come to 
these shores with nothing in their pockets but had fought their way to this golden land 
filled with dreams for their children. The children knew they carried those dreams on 
their shoulders and fought with all their energy to actualize those dreams. You want 
to know with those Jews looked like and wonder how they behaved? Think MIKE 
WALLACE. 

 I hope you’re familiar with Mike Wallace. He died yesterday at the age of 93 after 
spending the last couple of years in a Rest Home. To my mind, Mike Wallace was the best 
interviewer that ever appeared on television. Like m, he was the child of Russian-Jewish 
immigrants. Like me, he had a father who owned a small grocery store and worked long 
hours with the rest of the family. Mike, who was born with the name Myron, grew up in 
a big city and had to prove himself. When he found his way on to radio and TV he asked 
the toughest possible questions and never backed down. His ego seemed to require this 
kind of relentless questioning as a way of proving his own worth. Tough as he was, it 
became clear over the years that underneath it all he was pretty insecure. He had a fairly 
public suicide attempt in the’80’s and was diagnosed as manic-depressive, but he stayed 
on television for another twenty years requiring daily doses of medication.

 What can I tell you? I identify with this kind of man. I like to provoke arguments. 
I have strong opinions about many things and I’m not hesitant to express them. No, 
I’m not suicidal, but I am insecure and I have doubts about my own abilities and need 
to keep proving myself to myself I guess. I feel like a shark—unless I keep swimming 
(arguing) I’ll drown. I have trouble just shutting up and being nice. I try and imagine 
Mike Wallace just shutting up and being nice at his Rest Home. I imagine all the other 
residents saying to each other, “Don’t talk to that man, he just wants to argue because he 
likes arguing.”

 In a way that’s how I imagine my wife’s relatives see me. She is Mexican and attended 
Catholic Schools for most of her educational life. Really she is no more of a believer than 
I am, but her attitude about it all is very different. I am under strict orders not to argue 
with her relatives about politics or religion or anything else. I am not to interview them 
about their attitudes or ambitions. My wife explains that if people want me to know 
something about them, they will volunteer it. Asking just puts them on the defensive. 
So, I have nothing to talk about and I hide and my wife accuses me of being anti-social. 
It’s all rather sad because the whole family goes out of their way to be nice to me and 
prepares special food to meet my diabetic needs and includes me in their present giving. 
The presents they present me with are really appropriate, like Magic Eye Books and 
Puzzles. They really try but, alas, they don’t like reading my articles and when they talk 
about movies, they talk only about plots and not character interactions and directorial 
decisions. I’m not a snob, I just feel misunderstood.

 I think this is how Mike Wallace felt probably towards the end of his life while living 
at the rest home. Somehow arguing is more appropriate when everyone has nothing and 
there are no educational differences. Of course to me this is a great loss, because I think 
one of the great benefits of education is to be able to share knowledge with other people. 
Perhaps you disagree—DO YOU WANT TO ARGUE ABOUT IT? I hope so! 


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Armenian Genocide 
Commemoration

I have been fortunate to have had Armenian friends since my teens. 
Interestingly my first Armenian friend was a 60 year old gentleman (I 
was 19 at the time) named Tigren Gevorkian who had the nickname 
“Tiger”. He and I worked side by side at my dad’s foundry. Tiger taught 
me a lot about seeing the positive in life.

I am blessed today with good friendships in the Armenian community including Vic and 
Amy, owners of Corfu restaurant right here in Sierra Madre; Vic’s brother Raffi and his wife 
Maria; and Amy’s mom, Rose, and Vic’s nephew, Shahe. Two brothers Sarkis and Harry 
(who are Beantown regulars.) Another good friend of mine is Khatchik Chris Chahinian 
who is the chairman of Armenian Community Coalition in Pasadena. 

The Armenians have a proud and rich heritage. Did you know the Armenian nation in 301 
A.D. was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion? In the fifteenth century 
A.D. Armenia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire (a Muslim Empire) which ruled them 
for hundreds of years. As Christians, Armenians were considered infidels and subjected 
to abuses as second-class citizens. During the period 1915 – 1923 the Ottoman Empire 
attempted to exterminate Armenians. In fact the term genocide was created to describe the 
atrocities committed against the Armenian community by the Ottoman Empire. Between 
a million and a million and a half Armenians were systematically killed. After the demise 
of the Ottoman Empire the nation of Armenia was taken over by the Soviet Union. The 
country didn’t know freedom until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They now have 
claimed their independence and are the Second Republic of Armenia.

In recent years the Armenian community has repeatedly asked the Turkish Government 
(successors to the Ottoman Empire) to acknowledge the genocide of these of 1.5 million 
Armenians. The Turkish government should do this. This is the right thing to do. It could 
serve as catharsis to the Turkish people just as the acknowledgment of the Jewish Holocaust 
has been cathartic for the German people. To date the Turkish government has refused 
to acknowledge the genocide. The Armenian community has chosen to never forget their 
ancestors who suffered this persecution. 

Armenians has had a strong community in Pasadena since 1889. They have invited all of 
us to come and join them to commemorate the genocide. This year the 97th Armenian 
Genocide Commemoration will take place Tuesday, April 24th from 10:00 to 11:30 at the 
Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue. 

Armenian Community Coalition Chairman Chris Chahinian says regarding the event as 
“A time of remembrance, of all the lives lost and a call for the recognitions of this terrible 
suffering, not just the suffering of the Armenian people but for the suffering of all past and 
present events.” For more information call (626) 399-1799.


RICH Johnson

OUT TO PASTOR A Weekly Religion Column 
by Rev. James Snyder


Whenever 
I 
am out 
in public, 
I 
try conducting myself with the 
greatest of care knowing that 
people are watching. The thing 
that bothers me the most is that 
many people have never mastered 
the fine art of how to dress 
in public.

 Some people have never been 
taught how to dress, let alone 
how to dress in public. Whenever 
I go to the mall, and believe me 
it is as seldom as possible, I cannot 
help noticing some of these 
people.

 What I cannot understand is 
why young men wear pants too 
big for them and young women 
wear pants too small for them. 
Perhaps we ought to get a little 
group together and try to reverse 
this trend. Somebody got the 
wrong information.

 I was in the mall the other day 
and noticed several young men 
in front of me with trousers several 
sizes too big and were constantly 
falling down. One hand 
was grabbing their trousers while 
the other hand was hanging onto 
a cell phone.

 I wanted to go up and tell them 
that there is this marvelous new 
invention called "The Belt" that 
would solve the problem that 
they were having. Once they have 
"The Belt,” they can put it on and 
forget about their trousers falling 
down to their ankles. If there is 
anything I do not want to see it is 
somebody’s trouser falling down 
to their ankles.

 Criticize me if you want to, but 
I simply cannot not follow these 
young men walking down the 
mall. By the time I go the space 
of three stores, I am a nervous 
wreck wondering when those 
trousers are actually going to fall.

 Young women are no different. 
It seems to me that most 
young women purchase their 
entire wardrobe when they are 
in the first grade. At that time, 
the clothing fits very nicely. By 
the time these young women hit 
the 10th grade, those first-grade 
clothing are not only out of style, 
but fit no more. Where are their 
mothers?

 I know the economy is bad, but 
really, is it so bad that people 
cannot afford to upgrade their 
wardrobe, as they get older and 
consequently bigger? Shouldn’t 
there be some sale on mirrors 
these days?

 If I were a congressman in 
Washington DC, I would work 
very hard to pass a bill that would 
make it illegal to walk out of 
your house on any given morning 
without first looking into the 
mirror to see if everything is covered. 
That is the kind of change I 
can believe in.

 As I get older, it gets more difficult 
to conduct myself as a gentleman 
because there is so much 
I do not want to see.

 Last week I had to return an 
item to a store and was unprepared 
for what I was to encounter. 
I assumed I was well prepared 
for the day. I went through 
the normal routine of exercising 
my eyes to look upward. I try my 
best when I am out in public to 
look into the eyes of people, especially 
those of the gentler sex. 
This particular day I had really 
met my match.

 I stood in line waiting to return 
my item and I was not thinking 
too much about the process. I 
was humming to myself some 
hymn that was on my mind at 
the time and was not paying attention 
to the surroundings. As 
I say, I trained my eyes to look 
upward when I am out in public.

 Eventually, it was my turn to 
go to the counter and return the 
item. I walked up and was aghast. 
I said to myself, "Look at the eyes, 
look at the eyes, look at the eyes." 
For some reason my eyes were not 
paying any attention whatsoever. 
All those years of training seem to 
have gone out the window.

 My eyes were in a staring mode 
and I did not know how to break 
it.

 It really is not my fault; I think 
people should take personal responsibility 
for their person when 
they go out in public. They should 
make sure that everything is prim 
and proper because you never 
know what you are going to run 
into in any given day.

 For a moment, I had forgotten 
what I was at the counter for, I 
tried to shift my eyes into a higher 
level and it was all I could do to 
communicate what I needed to 
communicate at the time.

 But my eyes, oh, my eyes. They 
certainly were not helping me in 
this regard.

 I might as well come clean and 
confess.

 As I walked up to the counter to 
return my item I could not help 
but notice that the woman behind 
the counter was wearing, and 
you will not believe me, a beard. 
Yes, I said a beard, whiskers and 
all. I could not believe it at first. 
I thought maybe my eyes were 
trying to get back at me for being 
so harsh on them the last few 
months.

But no, there in full view of everybody, 
including my pair of eyes, 
was a woman with a beard any 
man would have been proud to 
wear.

All I could think of at the time was 
what Job said. "I made a covenant 
with mine eyes; why then should 
I think upon a maid?" (Job 31:1 
KJV).

 My motto: be careful little eyes 
where you stare

BE CAREFUL LITTLE EYES 
WHERE YOU STARE

Mountain Views News

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