Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 2, 2013

B4

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 2, 2013 


JOE Gandelman.......An Independent’s Eye

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

Mountain 
Views

News

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

CITY EDITOR

Dean Lee 

EAST VALLEY EDITOR

Joan Schmidt

BUSINESS EDITOR

LaQuetta Shamblee

SENIOR COMMUNITY 
EDITOR

Pat Birdsall

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

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WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

CONTRIBUTORS

Chris Leclerc

Bob Eklund

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Stuart Tolchin

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Hail Hamilton 

Rich Johnson

Merri Jill Finstrom

Lori Koop

Rev. James Snyder

Tina Paul

Mary Carney

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Greg Welborn

Renee Quenell

Ben Show

Sean Kayden

Jasmine Kelsey Williams

AMERICA'S POLITICAL CENTER FIGHTS BACK

Is America's center rising again? It certainly seems that way.

After months of looking as if it was being prepared for embalming by a political mortician, 
several things have happened. American voters, the Republican establishment and 
Wall Street got a harrowing glimpse of how the Republican far right was ready to willingly 
shove the United States over political and fiscal cliffs in the government shutdown and 
debt default crisis. So now America's mainstream has started to make known its ire and 
willingness to inflict consequences on ideologists. Meanwhile, a certain New Jersey Governor 
who refuses to march lockstep with the Tea Party and their enablers made a shift 
that confirms the center's influence.

Whether it's called the "might middle" (by centrists, moderates and independents) or the 
"mushy middle" (by Republican conservatives and by Democratic liberals who now call 
themselves "progressives," which is like "used cars" being called "pre-owned cars"), a new 
NBC News/ Esquire poll found 51 percent of Americans in the middle. NBC News notes 
it's a 21st century work in progress: "Yes, the center is mostly white (78 percent) but so is 
most of the American voting public (72 percent) — and the center is changing. Already it 
contains a fifth of African-American voters, one in two Latino voters, and half the women 
in America. The center is roomy, or in other words, welcoming."

Far-right conservatives seem to be actively working to alienate these groups. More NBC: 
"Among the middle groups, 64 percent are in favor of same-sex marriage and 67 percent 
want to see a federal minimum wage hike. Sixty three percent believe women in their first 
trimester should have the right to an abortion and 52 percent believe marijuana should 
be legalized. Of those responding, 54 percent of the middle say the government needs to 
maintain public assistance programs." In other words, the opposite of what Tea Partiers 
advocate.

Poll after poll shows Republicans reaping political sewage from the shutdown. A CNN/
ORC International poll found that more than half of Americans now feel Republican 
control of the House is bad. A new ABC/Washington Post poll finds that only 20 percent 
think Republicans are interested in doing what's best for the country. While experts such 
as The National Journal's Charlie Cook still say Democrats retaking the House in 2014 is 
"a long shot," the unimaginable is now imaginable.

The Tea Party's poster boy is shutdown fiasco architect Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the embodiment 
of Rush Limbaugh's ideological dreams, a kind of Sarah Palin 2.0, a first-termer 
threatening to politically take out fellow Republican Senators who don't agree with him. 
Humorist Andy Borowitz's tweet underscores how Cruz and the Tea Party are outside 
America's mainstream: "BREAKING: Bipartisan Effort in Senate to Avoid Making Eye 
Contact with Ted Cruz." 

Meanwhile, an open Republican civil war has begun as traditional conservatives vow to 
remain silent no more. As Tea Partiers have announced that they'll work to defeat GOPers 
who voted to lift the shutdown, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 
Republican donors unhappy with Tea Partiers are withholding checks -- and some Wall 
Street linked groups will reportedly work to defeat Tea Partiers.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie, who is heading to a landslide re-
election, outraged social conservatives by dropping the state's opposition to same sex 
marriage. It was an acknowledgement of the reality where the country is on the issue 
-- and Christie does reality-based politics.

Christie is loathed by Tea Partiers, many Internet conservatives and the conservative talkers, 
but is he a GOP nominee in waiting? The Week's Marc Ambinder calls Christie " 
the leading edge of politics, the most broadly acceptable captain of a change movement 
that the Republican Party can embrace. That makes him the de facto leader of red state 
America, even if it's not willing to accept him just yet."

The old saying "all good things come to those who wait" may not be accurate. All signs 
now point to America's political center not waiting to give a thumbs down on Tea Party 
Republicanism. The question is whether the Republican Party can halt the Tea Partiers' 
crusade to weed out non-Tea Partiers and take the party over before America's voters and 
The Might Middle give a thumbs down to the GOP.

ARE WE OUR OWN WORST ENEMY?

 This morning I woke up a bit early and spent about half 
an hour lazing in my recliner and thinking how pleasant life 
seemed so far today. I read the Sports Section of the L.A. 
Times and delighted in the article written by the catcher 
for the L.A. Dodgers who is writing articles focusing on 
the World Series. The wonderfully literate article described how, win or lose, 
at the conclusion of the season ballplayers returned to their regular lives as 
family members. Generally the players are not treated as heroes in their own 
homes. Their young children are often not impressed or even interested in 
their fathers’ performance on the field. Really the kids are just interested in 
having their Dads back at home, and it takes a little while for the kids to accept 
this man who has been away for so much of the year.

 A. J. Elli, the Dodger catcher, describes the pleasure he obtains from just 
fitting back into the household and participating in the shuttling of kids 
back and forth and helping his wife with all the tasks associated with being 
part of a family. The article, for me at least, was very inspiring. It made the 
point that underneath we are all human beings doing the best we can to fit 
into this complex society. The fact that some of us are big stars or celebrities 
doesn’t really change anything. This realization gave me great satisfaction. As 
A.J. explains, “The day after the season ended, my 5-year old daughter asked 
whether I had to go to the baseball field. My answer of, ‘No, honey, the season’s 
over,’ was met with a simple enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ from her.” A. J. concludes the 
first section of his article with the wonderful sentence “Baseball is important 
and provides for our families and loved ones, but being a parent is the most 
important job we will ever have.”

 What a wonderful truth. There aren’t many of us who have the skills or talent 
to make the “A” list of celebrity successes, but most of us have the opportunity 
to be parents and can make use of that opportunity to be good parents. It’s so 
nice to realize that it isn’t necessary to see our name in lights in order to accept 
ourselves. Speaking of self-acceptance, another guy who has made me feel 
better about the state of the world is the new Pope, who is reminding the world 
that the basis of religion is to treat other people with dignity and acceptance. 
The basis of his message is that other people are around so that we can bestow 
upon them acceptance and love in the same way we can bestow that same gift 
upon ourselves.

 I was still thinking about the Pope and A.J. Ellis when I happened to glance 
at my recently arrived copy of PARABOLA magazine. I glanced at the table 
of contents and noticed an article by the famous psychologist William James 
entitled WHAT MAKES LIFE SIGNIFICANT?, written in 1892. I began 
reading the article, assuming it would fit into my pleasant positive feelings 
about the true values in life. 

 The article begins pleasantly enough, with Professor James describing an 
idyllic conference at lakeside in the woods. He planned to stay only a day but 
remained a week because the surroundings and the company were so satisfying. 
So far so good! Then came the surprise. Upon leaving Professor James caught 
himself saying, “Ouf! What a relief.” He longed for “something primordial and 
savage, even though it were as bad as an Armenian massacre, to set the balance 
straight again. James writes that “he cannot abide the atrocious harmlessness 
of the tepid lakeside sun and chooses to take his chances in the big outside 
worldly wilderness with all its sins and sufferings.” He wants challenges.

 If one looks at history, it is pretty clear that mankind has some sort of basic 
need for conflict and what I call needless destruction. If this is part of our 
individual DNA, maybe it is time to stop complaining about man’s inhuman 
behavior and to attempt to meet these needs in the most minimally destructive 
manner. Maybe horrifying Video Games are an outlet for an unfortunate, but 
nevertheless omnipresent, need to destroy. Maybe drug addiction really is 
self-medication. Maybe the truer view is not the senselessness of war but, 
instead, is the miracle of mankind’s survival. I hope not.

 I was so pleased this morning as I thought about the catcher and the Pope. 
Well, my advice is still to be the best person you can be and try and do the best 
job of parenting that you can; but if your children seem at times to be little 
monsters, don’t be shocked. After all being a responsible and effective parent 
wouldn’t be so important if it was not one of the ultimate challenges. I wonder 
what kind of parent William James was?

 I guess I shouldn’t ask about the Pope.

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OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


RICH Johnson 

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN, NOW EVERYBODY 
TURN AROUND

Flying in an airplane is not my preferred style of transportation. 
However, flying without an airplane is quite disastrous, if you know 
what I mean!

I am not quite sure the Wright brothers would be too happy with some of the things 
passing as an airplane these days. It seems to me that psychotic midgets have designed 
modern day airplanes. Nothing in an airplane is designed for the normal person, and I 
might as well say it, I consider myself normal. I may be a shade taller than normal but I 
am normal in every other respect.

 The one plane I took from Detroit to Dayton Ohio was about as small as I have ever been 
on. Walking down the aisle, I could not even stand up but had to bend over in order to 
walk down the aisle. I heard a noise behind me that startled me and I stood up only to 
dash my head against the ceiling. That was not the worst headache of my flight.

 One of these days, I would like to meet the person who designed the seats in those 
planes. I will admit to being a little post thin, but after all shouldn't you be able to sit down 
in a seat when you are flying?

 I truly do not understand what a seatbelt is for with individuals like me. I can barely 
squeeze myself into that seat and then it takes me about 15 minutes to extract myself 
from the seat. I suppose a seatbelt is for the comfort of the pilot who believes that somehow 
I will not bounce out of my seat while he is flying. I could not bounce out if my life 
depended upon it.

 My seat was so tight and I fit so snugly in it that when I sneezed it felt like I did some 
damage to my inner organs. Somewhere in the Constitution there has to be something to 
the effect that an individual has the right to sneeze without hurting himself.

 What I want to know is why do I always have to sneeze when I am in certain situations 
like this?

 Then, comes the time when you need to go to the bathroom. The flight attendant will 
bring you all the free beverages you can consume. They know, and I guess they are snickering 
behind our back, that everybody is going to have to go to the bathroom at the same 
time.

 Coordinating the bathroom run is one of the trying exploits of flying the friendly skies.

 For one, by the time I realize I have to go to the bathroom there is a line for the bathroom. 
Fortunately, but the time I extradite myself from my seat the line has dwindled 
dramatically. Then again, I have to go to the bathroom so bad I am dancing up the aisle to 
the bathroom to the great applause of the people sitting there.

 Once I fasten myself into the seat, I try to get comfortable enough to do a little reading. 
Since I am sitting in the aisle seat, everybody is bumping into me as they go up and down 
the aisle.

 Now that I am situated so that I cannot move, they come again with beverages. Why is 
it I forget there is a link between drinking a beverage and going to the bathroom? I know 
there is a link but when I am up in the air so high my tiny little grey cells are working in 
slow motion. So why take a free beverage? Well, it is free!

 I am at the age in my development where going to the bathroom is a frequent activity, 
even when not drinking any beverages. When consuming a beverage, this activity kicks 
into high gear. Once again, I need to extricate myself from my seat and find my way to 
the bathroom.

 I am not quite sure about this, but I believe in mid air the airplane pilot switches the 
bathroom from the front to the rear. I am dancing up the aisle, which I believe is in the 
direction of the bathroom, only to discover I am going in the wrong direction.

 A few of the people in the seats are smiling at me and one person gives me a thumbs-up 
as I turn around and dance in the direction of the actual bathroom facility. With a forced 
grin, I give a thumbs-up back at him and proceed in the direction of the bathroom.

 It is at this point that I run into a line. Wouldn't you know it; the line is for the bathroom?

 This is a real thumbs-down for me. It is at this point that I really wish I was not a gentleman. 
After all, a gentleman has to let the ladies go first. I think if some of these ladies 
would know the actual situation, they would insist I go first and I certainly would give 
them a wonderful thumbs-up.

 As I was standing in line, a verse of Scripture popped into my head.

 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when 
ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:21 KJV).

 Many things in life have us going in circles to which there is no end. God, however, puts 
us on the straight and narrow path that ends with Jesus Christ.

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 1-866-552-2543 
or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www.jamessnyderministries.com.

LITTLE MR. PIGGY

 

 “Better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open 
your mouth and remove all doubt” — Abraham Lincoln

 Oops! Too late. Darn! I’m back. Actually we’re back!

 Yes I have returned. And with two co-conspirators…Lisa and Barry. (Hee 
hee, Lisa here, aka one of the co-conspirators. Yes, we’ve infiltrated Rich’s 
column. He was helpless against our hypnotic superpowers. Don’t snap your 
fingers. He may come out of it.) 

 As many of you may know I am involved in a radio show called “The 
Barry, Rich and Lisa Show.’ It, coincidentally stars my friends Barry and Lisa 
hence the use of 
the names “Barry 
and Lisa”. And 
rounding out the 
trio is me, often 
referred to as 
Rich…or worse. 
(Yeah, we’d be 
dangerous if we had 
the imagination 
to come up with a 
clever name). 

 You can hear 
our show, “The 
Barry, Rich and 
Lisa Show” locally 
on Villagevine.org. 
You can also hear 
us on iHeartRadio.
com. (iThink 
therefore iAm on iHeart, iThink?) 

 Our show is a comedic talk show. Occasionally we get an opportunity to 
help save the day. This week we helped save a pig. You may have seen, or even 
been a part of the viral “Save Neil the Pig” campaign here in Sierra Madre. 
Our radio show joined the rest of you who were dedicated to saving the bacon 
of our town’s porcine legacy: a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig named Neil. Neil, 
at 17, is a senior citizen member of our community (normal life span for pigs 
is 12 – 14 years). (Next week, we save the ants of Sierra Madre. Bring a picnic 
lunch to the rally with enough food for 6,000. By the way, obviously Rich and 
Barry are hams. But Neil the Pig a ham? Never.)

 Neil’s real heroes are his big sister, Kate, and the Sierra Madre Chief of 
Police, Larry Giannone. (We love our SMPD.) The other heroes are the citizens 
of Sierra Madre who expressed support for Neil’s continued and permanent 
residence. (As Neil would say, “Anks-thay, olks-fay.” And I say thanks as well 
for letting us butt in on Rich’s columns.)

 Well, to really class up this column, I bring to your attention observations 
about pigs made by really smart people.

 “I have myself a poetical enthusiasm for pigs, and the paradise of my fancy 
is one where pigs have wings. But it is only men, especially wise men, who 
discuss whether pigs can fly; we have no particular proof that pigs ever discuss 
it.” — G.K. Chesterton

 “…therefore would I rather be a swineherd on Amager, and be understood 
by the swine than a poet, and misunderstood by men.” — Søren Kierkegaard 

 “Never try to teach a pig to sing — it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” 
— Robert A. Heinlein (and maybe Mark Twain)

 Glad to be back. Please listen to our radio insanity on iHeart.com and 
villagevine.org. It’s the Barry, Rich and Lisa show. 


Barry, Rich and Lisa

Mountain Views News

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