Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 21, 2012

15

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday July 21, 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

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


STOPPING UNWANTED 
TELEMARKETER CALLS

 Has your evening quality quiet time or dinner been 
interrupted by a call from a telemarketer? Dumb question, 
right? We all have received these unwanted and annoying 
telephone solicitations. What is not commonly known is that 
a large number of these solicitations are fraudulent. Either the 
people aren’t who they say they are or the organizations they purport to represent 
are scams.

 This is not to say that all telemarketing solicitations are scams or all the people 
making the calls are crooks. On the contrary, most telemarketing firms are legit, 
and to their way of thinking are merely another form of advertising. The people 
making these calls are, for the most part, folks just trying to make ends meet in 
these hard times. 

 Most callers work in boiler room operations with a headset and microphone, 
viewing a computer screen with a consumer profile of the person they are calling, 
and a “pitch script” to read. Most of these telemarketer callers know little if 
anything about the organization on whose behalf they are calling.

Some Startling Statistics

• The FBI estimates there are 14,000 illegal sales operations bilking billions of 
dollars from consumers in the United States every day.
• The National Association of Attorneys General estimates that although 5 million 
Americans are defrauded by telemarketers every year, only one of five of them 
report the fraud, usually because they are too embarrassed.
• Americans lose $40 billion a year to fraudulent telemarketers according to the 
National Fraud Information Center (NFIC). Investment scams alone amount to 
losses of $1 million and hour!
• Charities make more money from selling your name and number to other 
telemarketing companies than from the donations they collect from calling.
• On average, only 24% of what you donate as a result of a telemarketing call 
will actually get to the charity on whose behalf the solicitation is made. The 
telemarketing company hired to make the call gets the rest.
• 56% of the people targeted by telemarketers are 50 or older!
• Fraudulent telemarketers prey on vulnerable consumers with certain 
characteristics. Unfortunately, the most common victims are the elderly and 
immigrants, who in worst cases may lose their life savings. But anyone without 
knowledge and due diligence can fall prey.
• The same telemarketers will often call an elderly person day after day, building a 
relationship with the target, until he/she thinks a friend, not a stranger, is trying 
to sell him/her something.
• 92% of the adults in the United States have reported receiving fraudulent 
telephone offers within the past year, according to the NFIC!


 These are just examples of fraudulent telephone solicitations. What about our 
right to the private use and enjoyment of our telephones without the unwanted 
intrusion of telemarketers at all? Unlike the traditional advertising we are exposed 
to on radio, TV, and the print media, telemarketers aren’t welcomed into homes 
because we have chosen to use a particular medium in which they advertise. They 
are like door-to-door salesmen who can violate our privacy without even knocking. 

 Hawking a product on a busy street corner is one thing; forcing someone to 
listen to a hard-sell pitch in the privacy of their home is quite another.

 The California Business and Professions Code Section 17590 (a) states: “There is 
a compelling state interest to protect the privacy of residential or wireless telephone 
subscribers who wish to avoid unsolicited and unwanted telephone solicitations...”

 CBPC section 17593 (a) states: “The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a 
city attorney may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against 
a telephone solicitor to enforce the article and obtain any one or more...” of court 
ordered remedies.

What Can You Do To Stop The Unwanted Calls?

 Pursuant to its authority under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act 
(TCPA), the FCC established, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 
a national Do-Not-Call Registry. The registry is nationwide in scope, applies to all 
telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit organizations), and covers 
both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls.

 Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is on the 
registry, subject to certain exceptions. As a result, consumers can, if they choose, 
reduce the number of unwanted phone calls to their homes.

Do-Not-Call Registry

 You can register your phone numbers for free, and they will remain on the list 
until you remove them or discontinue service -- there is no need to re-register 
numbers.

 The Do-Not-Call registry does not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover 
the following:

• calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;
• calls for which you have given prior written permission;
• calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements; and
• calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations.


 Subscribers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless 
numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call registry by telephone or by Internet for free. 
To register online go to www.donotcall.gov. To register by telephone call 1-888-
382-1222; for TTY call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the number you wish 
to register. 

BANK ROBBERIES 

 Do you remember those wonderful old movies when Bonnie 
and Clyde or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid would go out 
there and rob banks? Somehow it all seemed so wholesome. 
Sure, sometimes there was some shooting but, after all, it was 
only movies and nobody really got hurt. Really nothing to worry 
about. 

 As I read today’s newspaper I realize that there really is something to worry 
about. Not only do the Banks make mistakes, but also they are purposely deluding 
their customers, people like you and me, and stealing our money. Worse yet; it’s not 
just the Banks, it’s all our trusted institutions. Cities, colleges, lawyers, insurance 
companies—they’re all in on it. It’s a smorgasbord of corruption and all the super-
privileged folks are getting rich at the expense of the rest of us. .

 Yesterday’s newspaper revealed that our returning veterans are being lured into 
using their G.I. Education Benefits to pay tuition to private colleges that make false 
promises. The programs offered are not accredited elsewhere and lead to no real 
jobs. These seemingly unregulated “schools” are frequently just scams accepting 
millions in governmental loans while wasting the time of those attempting to 
prepare for new careers. Meanwhile traditional universities, colleges, and even 
Community Colleges have increased their tuitions while failing to provide classes 
that are necessary for the completion of a degree. It takes longer to graduate which 
requires more student time and money, both in short supply. There are some 
demonstrators but certainly not enough to gain sufficient attention to bring about 
change.

 The super-rich corporations are earning (that seems like the wrong word) 
unprecedented profits at the expense of the rest of us. What I fail to understand is 
the failure of America’s hundreds of millions of defrauded and betrayed inhabitants 
to display much open hostility. Where is our anger? Yes, there is the Occupy 
Movement, and some say that this is a sign of potential change; but for me, and 
everyone else that I know, the Occupy Movement is something that happens 
somewhere else. Most of us are caught up in the Presidential Horserace even though 
it has become abundantly clear that both horses have the same owners. Money now 
rules America and we who are not the privileged few are being controlled by those 
that are. Why are there no talks of third parties? Why are there no boycotts? Why, 
for that matter do we willingly keep eating unhealthy foods and unable to even form 
carpools?

 You know why? We have been ROBBED; Robbed of our awareness, robbed of our 
energy, really robbed of our ability to survive on our own. To illustrate my point, let 
me share a story conveyed to me by another article writer. Several months ago he 
saw charges applied on his Chase Bank Statement that he did not understand. He 
asked for an explanation and was referred to a friendly bank officer. After a moment 
she handed him a fine print brochure entitled “Terms and Conditions”. He was told 
that a “detailed explanation” would be contained. After reading the whole brochure 
he realized that the only possible explanation was the following:

 “Bank reserves the right to apply other charges as appropriate.”

 He asked the bank employee if this was what she meant by “detailed explanation”. 
She said “yes.”

 Now get ready for the really scary part. We passively accept such disrespect and 
nonsense. Both the other article-writer and I are quite aware of other alternative 
depositories such as Community Banks and Credit Unions. Still today both of u,s 
and many like us I am sure, have made no changes. Our moneys remain deposited 
in our local, friendly, full-service Chase Bank. I can speculate about the reasons for 
this inaction but it saddens me to tell you that I feel more resignation than anger. 
Will anything I do actually make a difference? More and more I hear people talking 
about the predicted world calamity which is to occur at the end of this year and 
they seem to be looking forward to that day. Let’s not give up. Perhaps we can 
awake from our decade long nightmare. Write your Congressman, write me, form 
a carpool, become a vegan, go off the grid, run for office. The rich elite know that 
there are many more of us than there are of them and it is only a matter of time until 
things start to change for the better. See how good it feels to be optimistic. Please 
write to me when you notice things are getting better. It will make me feel good, no 
matter what else happens. 

Mountain Views News 
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OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

PIGS CAN FLY, BUT NOT 
WITH ME!

It is time for good 
old Uncle George to 
pay up. For years, at least as long as I can 
remember, he always eluded everything 
by saying, "I'll do that when pigs fly." Or, 
"I'll give you $100 for that when pigs fly." 
My favorite might be, "I'll go to church 
when pigs fly."

Well, Uncle George, it is time for you to 
pay up for all of those promises in the 
past.

According to some airlines, pigs can fly. 
I am not sure I have all of the facts, but 
then again facts have little to do with 
most stories going around these days. All 
I know, certain airlines will allow you to 
carry on board your pet pig if it is important 
to you for your mental well-being. 
After all, only the pilots are allowed to be 
mentally off when it comes to flying.

I must confess that my least favorite 
mode of transportation is flying. Now, 
according to some rumors flying around, 
I have more reasons not to like flying.

I think the cost of flying his discouraged 
me from enjoying the flight. It seems terribly 
expensive to squeeze your body into 
the seat made for a person half your size 
so that you can pay double the price.

It takes me about a half hour to get myself 
squeezed into a seat and manipulate the 
seatbelt to go all the way around me. By 
that time, I need to go to the restroom. 
Why I do not think of that before I sit 
down is one of those mysteries of nature 
that never will be solved. Another half 
hour to extradite myself from the seat 
and go and stand in line at the restroom 
for another half hour and then come 
back and squeeze myself back into the 
seat and again manipulate the seatbelts. 
By that time, I am totally exhausted.

Another reason I am not too fond of flying 
has to do with the cuisine. When you 
mentioned airline food, the term cuisine 
does not readily come to mind. Whatever 
they serve on board has nothing whatsoever 
to resemble nutritious cuisine.

I think some of these people who are going 
to begin taking their pigs on board 
might take this into consideration. If the 
food is as bad as it has been, somebody, 
like yours truly, might look at that pig 
with a certain cuisine activity in mind. I 
am not adverse to a nicely roasted pork 
for lunch. In fact, I am going to start taking 
apples with me when I fly just in case 
the occasion presents itself.

I suppose the biggest reason I do not like 
flying has to do with the seats. Whoever 
designed airline seats never had an encounter 
with a real man. I believe they 
thought that the only people who would 
ever fly an airplane would be height-
challenged people. Those who would 
not take up much space. Perhaps also 
they were thinking of people who were 
posteriorly-challenged.

Have you looked at people lately? There 
are very few posteriorly-challenged people 
left in the world anymore. Perhaps 
they were thinking of those days when 
people had to work their butts off making 
a living. Now, no such activity is being 
exercised in our country.

Now that pigs are going to be able to fly 
the friendly skies, what's next?

I have endured all kinds of people during 
my years of flying. Now, not only do 
I have to share my seat with suffocating, 
boring, chatty people, but also I need to 
make room for pigs.

Who was it that made this decision? 
Who was it that sat down and said, "You 
know, I think it would be a good idea if 
we allowed pigs to fly on airplanes."

It is obvious that the people who made 
this decision are not familiar with pigs. 
Perhaps they were thinking of Porky Pig. 
Now, there is a pig I would not mind 
traveling with in the friendly skies. The 
conversation would probably be better 
than some of the conversations I have 
had in similar situations. Of course, his 
stuttering might drive me crazy.

Being a country boy, I know what a pig 
is. My grandfather used to raise pigs, 
so, I have been around pigs and know 
what they are like and, most importantly, 
how bad they smell. It is a well-known 
fact that the reason pigs have such large 
snouts is because they smell so bad. And 
they enjoy smelling bad.

I can think of one reason why the airlines 
want to include pigs in the list of passengers. 
Most of them serve food only a pig 
would like.

I know that being "politically correct" is 
a mandate in our culture. I further know 
that criticizing stupidity in our culture is 
a huge no-no. In fact, to recognize such 
absurdity is a reflection upon your character. 
For anybody to think that a pig 
does not belong in a seat beside you as 
you fly the friendly skies is some kind of 
antediluvian moron.

I think Solomon got it right when he said, 
"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, 
and to know madness and folly: I perceived 
that this also is vexation of spirit. 
For in much wisdom is much grief: and 
he that increaseth knowledge increaseth 
sorrow" (Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 KJV). 

Uncle George, it is pay up time, I'll see you 
in church Sunday.


RICH Johnson

HOW TO DRIVE IN L.A.

Summertime and Southern California is, yet again, teeming 
with tourists. Very few travel professionals prepare out of 
town guests for the rigors of traversing the greater Los Angeles 
– Orange County area by car. As a reporter, reporting for a 
newspaper committed to informing the misguided, I submit 
a primer on traveling in L.A. Please, if you have foreigners 
guests or relatives, from say, Phoenix or Vladivostok coming 
to visit, pass these travel tips along. They’ll thank you and 
we’ll thank you.

1. Weekday morning rush hour is from 5:00am until 12:00 noon. The evening rush 
hour starts at 12:00 noon going until 7:00pm. Friday’s rush hour starts on Thursday 
morning.

2. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85mph. The exceptions are 
the 105 and the 110 where your speed is expected to match the highway number.

3. Forget traffic rules from other municipalities, states, countries or hemispheres. 
L.A. has it’s own version for the rules of the road. For example, the first car to go 
through a 4-way stop is the car that has the least to lose. Wait, that may be universal. 

4. If you, for some unknown reason, actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-
ended, cussed out and possibly shot.

5. Never, ever honk at anyone. Ever! Seriously, it’s another offense that can get you 
shot (and not by law enforcement).

6. Road construction is permanent and ongoing throughout L.A. and Orange 
County. Those orange detour barrels are often moved around in the middle of the 
night to make the next day’s driving a bit more exciting and entertaining.

7. Watch out for such road hazards as: Drunks, skunks, dogs, cats, barrels, cones, 
celebrities, rubber-neckers, shredded tires, cell-phone users, deer and other road 
kill.

8. Don’t rely on Map Quest and Google Map for directions. Few of the roads are 
where they say they are, or actually go to where they say they do. I have friends and 
relatives still missing having attempted travel from Sierra Madre to Palos Verdes. 
Also, visitors should know all the freeway on and off ramps are moved each night.

9. In the unlikely event that someone actually uses their turn signal, wave them 
off to the shoulder of the road immediately and inform them their turn signal is 
malfunctioning. 

10. If you are in the “fast” lane and are only driving 70 mph you will be officially 
considered a road hazard. Drivers forced to go around you will remind you of your 
hazardous driving by giving you the universal signal, which is the middle finger of 
the left hand extended in your direction accompanied by a facial gesture expressing 
the seriousness of the infraction.

11. Due to the uncertainty of road and traffic conditions in the greater Los Angeles 
and Orange County freeway system, make no attempt to estimate travel time. If 
you have a Tuesday appointment, leave Monday afternoon. A Thursday noontime 
departure is good for Friday meetings. Leave right after church on Sunday for any 
meeting scheduled on a Monday morning.

Finally, a bit of travel advice from celebrities:

“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.” 
George Carlin

“If you are going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill

Important words to live by. 

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 
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the magnificence of 
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