Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 12, 2012

15

 

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 12, 2012

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

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

 
A couple of days ago 
I had this dream that 
I was standing on this 
corner and an old 
classmate from Law 
School passed by in 
a car. I chased the 
car and I was sure it 
contained my old friend but I couldn’t 
catch him. After I awoke I tried to locate 
the guy on Face Book and have now 
heard from him. I have learned that he 
does some work in an attempt to assist 
people in African villages and I kind of 
imagine that I will connect with him and 
start doing something honorable and 
significant. It probably won’t happen but 
I certainly can feel the need.

 This morning my cousin in 
Arizona sent me an e-mail containing a 
You Tube of a more than thirty year old 
Johnny Carson show. In viewing the 
old show there was mention of other old 
Johnny Carson shows which reminded 
me that I had briefly appeared on the 
show in 1965. Now I am immersed in the 
adventure of trying to find the record of 
that show in some sort of wild attempt to 
locate myself in the world. I think this 
attempt at reconnecting with my past has 
something to do with the fact that I have 
reached retirement age even though I am 
still working. My birthday was last week 
and driving the Freeways in an attempt to 
get to Court on time is becoming more 
and more arduous. I was reminded of my 
advancing age as I drove home tonight 
after a Doctor’s appointment and passed 
the now closed Café 322.

 Really it’s upsetting to notice this 
formerly vibrant restaurant now empty 
and dark. Just a couple of Tuesdays 
ago the last game of Trivia Pursuits was 
played there and my wife and I and my 
fellow columnist Rich Johnson had been 
the winning team Now I hear that the 
landlord raised the rent. Who knows? 
It all just emphasizes the horrid truth 
that what was is no more and that it is 
all inevitable and undoubtedly will also 
happen to me. This is one of the most 
unfortunate aspects of being a non-
believer. I don’t need a belief in the meta-
physical world of talking snakes and 
everlasting Fathers to accept the reality of 
this troubled and at the same time utterly 
miraculous opportunity for life that has 
come my way; but in retrospect it seems 
like it has lasted for such a short time.

 Just yesterday I was a kid finishing 
my paper route and riding my bike to 
Little League tryouts and being afraid that 
I wasn’t good enough. Well, in a way, I still 
fear that I am not good enough but when 
I look in the mirror I l expect to see the 
same kid. Instead, what do I see? Some 
sort of almost unrecognizable weird old 
man with my eyes is grinning back at me. 
Yesterday my friend Charles came over to 
watch the basketball game and while we 
were having dinner he noticed a picture 
of me sitting with three old friends. “It’s 
almost iconic”, he said. “You all look like 
John Lennon.” Well, it was the 1970’s and 
I guess that was about when Charles was 
born; a long time ago for him and just 
yesterday for me.

 I don’t relate very much to 
thoughts about my body after I die. Burial 
seems like a waste of space and cremation 
or being tossed into the sea and melting 
or burning away seems fine. Actually, to 
me, my body has always just felt like a 
carrier for my head. And my head is just a 
carrier for my thoughts. That’s where my 
real world is, in my awareness and I hate 
the idea of my awareness disappearing. 
Maybe instead of storing decaying dead 
bodies it would be possible to retain the 
awareness of people. Maybe there’s a way 
of downloading all of a person’s thoughts 
and memories and storing it somewhere 
in cyberspace. I never saw the movie 
the Matrix but I have heard that the film 
contains the concept that information can 
simply be uploaded into a person’s brain 
while that brain continues to exist in a vat 
someplace.

 I admit that this idea of a brain 
in a vat is not very attractive but it’s no 
less attractive than the thoughts of bodies 
decaying in coffins. Maybe our individual 
awareness could be stored in some way 
such that if anyone, at some future time, 
wanted to converse with us a conversation 
would still be possible. Maybe 
information about this future present 
world could be uploaded into whatever 
was containing our old awareness and in 
that way we would still be made aware of 
what was happening after the death of our 
bodies.

 Okay, maybe this is all getting a 
bit far-fetched but really is it any crazier 
than me dreaming about someone I 
haven’t seen for forty-five years and then 
presto, after pressing a few letters on 
my key board, we are reconnecting. All 
right, it’s not eternal life but still it is more 
than I ever expected to be possible. We 
now all take it for granted that we can 
reconnect with the past so WHY NOT 
THE FUTURE?

 Well, let’s stay in touch.

STAYING IN TOUCH


Operation “Geronimo” 
Coverup Continues

 A year ago, President Obama announced: “I can report to 
the American people and to the world that the United States 
has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the 
leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the 
murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.” 
But does anyone still believe the official story of Osama bin Laden’s death? 

 It’s been a whole year since Osama bin Laden was allegedly assassinated in 
a Pakistani Navy Seal raid, Operation “Geronimo,” but that hasn’t stopped the 
corporate media and the White House from ratcheting up fears of terrorism, 
painting the potential for an “anniversary attack.” 

 Not surprisingly, a federal judge recently ruled, because of “national security,” 
the Obama Administration does not have to release photos or video of the raid. 
We were told by the White House the Seals had helmet cams running in real-time 
during the operation. However, now they claim that no video exists because the 
feed allegedly, and coincidentally, experienced an apparent “black out” during 
the actual raid itself. 

 In a 2011 60 Minutes interview, a week after the raid, Obama said, “We have 
done DNA sampling and testing... we are absolutely sure it was him.” If they’ve 
done DNA testing to prove it, why can’t they show us that evidence? Perhaps 
because it raises more questions; for example, why would they need to do DNA 
testing at all, unless his body was unidentifiable to the naked eye.

 Two weeks ago, an Obama-appointed federal judge ruled in favor of the 
government in a national security case, when he denied a FOIA request to obtain 
all photos and videos taken during and after the raid in Pakistan that resulted 
in Osama bin Laden’s death. The DOJ responded to the lawsuit by arguing that 
the requested materials “are classified and are being withheld from the public 
to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret 
systems and techniques used by the CIA and the military.” 

 Among other things, disclosure of these materials would have helped resolve 
the seriously conflicting statements made by White House officials about what 
happened during the raid and what its actual goals and operating rules were. But 
while the Obama administration has insisted to the court that all such materials 
are classified and cannot be disclosed without compromising crucial National 
Security secrets, the President’s aides have been continuously leaking information 
about the raid in order to create politically beneficial pictures of what happened. 

 Last August, The New Yorker published what it purported to be a comprehensive 
account of the raid, based on mostly anonymous White House claims, that made 
Barack Obama look like a mix of Superman, Rambo and Clint Eastwood; The 
Washington Post called it “a fascinating, cinematic-like account of the operation 
that killed Osama bin Laden.” 

 The coverup appears to be continuing. Pentagon officials recently disclosed 
to the Associated Press that they could not find any photo or video evidence to 
confirm that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in the Navy Seal raid 
in Pakistan a year ago.

 Moreover, in February “bin Laden’s compound” was totally demolished. On 
February 27th, it was reported that “Pakistani authorities began tearing down the 
house on Saturday night, working under floodlights, with the local population 
subject to a strict curfew and Pakistan Army soldiers and police personnel 
reportedly deployed in large numbers”, and how the “total destruction of the 
death scene makes it much less likely independent verification of the official 
narrative will ever be established”.

 President Obama said a year ago after the raid, “We have put out the results of 
the DNA testing as well as the facial recognition.” Have we all been asleep for a 
year? The government hasn’t “put anything out,” nobody has seen the DNA tests 
or the facial recognition results. Nada!

 We may never know whether it was really Osama bin Laden we killed. But one 
thing is certain, the Operation “Geronimo” coverup continues....


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OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD 

 

 Remember the 7 wonders of the world? Before you 
answer you should know there are really at least 28 
wonders of the world, not counting Barry Schwam. 
Also wondering what you are going to have for lunch 
is not considered one of the 7 wonders of the world 
unless you are Neil the Pig. Then really the shorter list 
is to wonder what Neil is NOT going to have for lunch.

 There are 4 generally accepted sets of 7 wonders of the world. They 
are: The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World; the 7 Wonders of the Medieval 
World; the 7 Wonders of the Natural World; and finally the 7 Wonders 
of the Modern World. If you ask me nicely, I will tell you what all these 
wonders are. In my minds eye I can see my Fresco’s friends Linda and Bob 
asking me nicely. Thank you. So I’ll tell you the wonders and where they 
are in case you want to arrange a vacation.

The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

1. Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt) 
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Iraq) 
3. Statue of Zeus at Olympus (Greece) 
4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Turkey) 
5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Turkey) 
6. Colossus of Rhodes (Greece) 
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt) 


The 7 Wonders of the Medieval World 

1. Stonehenge (England) 
2. Colosseum (Rome) 
3. Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (Egypt) 
4. Great Wall of China (China) 
5. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing (China) 
6. Hagia Sophia (Turkey) 
7. Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy) 


The 7 Wonders of the Natural World

1. Grand Canyon (United States) 
2. Great Barrier Reef (Australia) 
3. Harbor of Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) 
4. Mount Everest (Nepal) 
5. Auroras Borealis and Australis (The Sky) 
6. Paricutin Volcano (Mexico) 
7. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia Border) 


The 7 Wonders of the Modern World

 

1. Chunnel (English Channel)
2. CN Tower (Canada) 
3. Empire State Building (United States) 
4. Golden Gate Bridge (United States)
5. Itaipu Dam (Brazil/Paraguay Border)
6. Zuiderzee Works (Netherlands) 
7. Panama Canal (Panama) 


 And of course, out of the mouth of babes: An elementary school class 
was asked to list all the wonders they could remember. One young gal 
brought the last list to the teacher. She wrote, “the 7 wonders of the world’ 
are: 

 

1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch
4. To Taste
5. To Feel
6. To Laugh
7. To Love” 


 And then of course, there’s Barry Schwam. Thanks for wonderin’.

RICH Johnson

MY MOTHER WAS WRONG 
ABOUT SPINACH

 One of the great joys of getting older, and there is at least one 
joy involved in this grueling process, is discovering that you were 
right all the time. I try not to boast here because, well, that’s just 
the kind of person I am. And, I’m not going to make a list of all of 
the things I was “right” about. No sense in boasting, but I just can’t resist one.

 Some of these things centered on my relationship with my mother. One advantage 
a mother has over her children is that sense of authority and being right all the time. 
Looking back, I can see that she was not right all the time.

 As a young person, my mother told me things I have since learned not to be true. For 
example:

 It takes more than clean underwear to survive an accident. 

 The boogieman under my bed does not exist... any more. 

 None of my friends wants to jump off a bridge. 

 I will grow up even if I don’t clean up my plate. 

 And, it’s almost impossible to behave yourself and have a good time simultaneously. 

 My mother, like other mothers, was not a bad mother. She just had bad information, 
much of which she got from her mother. I’m not sure where grandmother got her 
information, but it too was wrong. And, when you have bad information, there is nothing 
more you can do but inflict it upon your children. And my mother inflicted away at us 
children.

 This week another one of these “not true things,” was revealed. This one was the mother 
of all untrue things mothers tell their children.

 I must confess there is a bittersweet sense of victory in this recent announcement.

 I can’t tell you how many times my mother told me to “Eat your spinach. It’s good for 
you.” When I would protest she would further admonish me by saying, “Finish all of your 
spinach on your plate, it won’t kill you.”

 Boy, was she wrong. I hate to say, “I told you so.” However, the temptation is beyond 
my ability to resist. After all, I’m only a man. I guess I never ate enough spinach for the 
strength to resist everything. 

 For years, I told my mother that spinach was not good for me. Now, I have scientific 
proof as well as verification from the United States government that spinach can kill you.

 Where was all this information and government verification when I was young and 
being force-fed spinach? Some things should be retroactive. If I could find a way to give 
back all the spinach I have eaten from my mother’s table I certainly would do it right now. 
(Could someone find me a porkbarrel?)

 Of course, there is always the idea that my mother knew this and was simply trying 
to kill me. No, after further thought, I’m sure that is far from being true. But don’t think 
I haven’t been pondering this, lately. She had plenty of evidence to incite this kind of 
attitude toward me, I assure you.

 My mother used everything she could think of to get me to eat my spinach. She used 
intimidation, arguments and a good old-fashioned thrashing. None of it seemed to make 
her spinach taste any better.

 One of the arguments my mother used to get me to eat spinach was good ole Popeye. 
“Popeye eats spinach,” my mother would taunt me. “Look at all of the things he does 
because of eating spinach.”

 Of course, from my observation, Popeye only ate spinach when he was in extreme 
trouble and his life was being threatened. I tried to have an agreement with my mother 
that I would eat spinach every time my life was threatened. Then she threatened my life.

 Her arguments continued. “Certainly you want to be like Popeye, don’t you?” my 
mother pleaded.

 To which I responded, “Yes, and he smokes a pipe too. Can I smoke a pipe?” I did not 
think it fair for my mother to make me eat spinach and then not allow me to smoke a pipe. 
If you choose one the other comes too.

 At the time, my mother was not too amused with my argument concerning Popeye’s 
pipe. I tried explaining that Popeye’s use of spinach was only occasionally but his use of 
the pipe was continuously. This argument had no effect upon my mother, but it did cause 
severe pain in my left ear as she led me by my ear back to the table to finish my spinach

 At the time, my mother had a one-track mind, which led to a plate of spinach. I, on 
the other hand, had a one-track mind, which led as far away from that plate of spinach as 
possible. Nothing would do but clean up my plate of spinach. Only one mind could win, 
and it sure wasn’t mine.

 I listened with amusement to all this news concerning spinach this past week. Reflecting 
upon this incident from my past, a verse of Scripture came to my mind. “Therefore to him 
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17 KJV).

 At the time of my spinach eating frenzy, my mother thought she was doing the right 
thing. At the time she was, much to my consternation. It’s not so much, what we do, as it 
is what we know.

 The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship located at 1471 Pine Road in Silver 
Springs Shores. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores and can be contacted by calling 687-
4240. His E-mail address is jamessnyder2@att.net. The Church website is www.whatafellowship.com.

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