Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 25, 2014

B4

OPINION & More

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 25, 2014 


GREG Welborn

NOBODY IS AS GOOD 

AS THEIR SELFIE

Mountain 
Views

News

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

CITY EDITOR

Dean Lee 

EAST VALLEY EDITOR

Joan Schmidt

BUSINESS EDITOR

LaQuetta Shamblee

PRODUCTION

Richard Garcia

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

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WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

CONTRIBUTORS

CoCo Lasalle

Chris Leclerc

Bob Eklund

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Dr. Tina Paul

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

Marc Garlett


ISLAM MAY NEED 

A CIVIL WAR

By Dr. James L. 
Snyder

I must confess I am 
not up to date with the 
latest technical gizmos. So much technology 
is around today that I believe most people 
have really lost their identity. I do not think 
they will soon recover.

 I am not against modern technology; I 
simply cannot keep up with it. I would vote for 
anybody who would call a moratorium on all 
updates for the next five years. As soon as I get a 
product, it is out of date and I need, desperately 
need, an update if I am going to benefit from 
this product.

 This brings me to the subject of the Selfie. It 
took me a long time to understand what this 
was. My clock is not always ticking. My idea of 
a Selfie is someone who is self-centered. How 
was I to know it had something to do with 
taking your own picture? I am not sure what to 
call people who take their own picture, but the 
modern term today is Selfie.

 People want to believe that they are as good 
as their Selfie. I do not believe that for one 
moment. If I am as good as my Selfie, I am in 
pretty bad shape. I know you can Photoshop a 
picture to make yourself look a lot better, but 
then I ask, is that really a Selfie?

 I think there are other ways to evaluate 
yourself.

For me, my worth has to do with the pens I use. 
The Selfie that I took has no class and certainly 
lacks a lot of dignity.

 Nothing is more personal than a person’s 
pen. I never leave home without mine.

 In fact, I carry on my person at all times a 
variety of pens. There is a pen for every activity. 
You can tell a lot about a person by the pen 
that they use. In my book, it is a fountain pen 
and I have a variety of them in my personal 
collection.

 When it comes to pens, I have a collection 
that, well, let’s say it exceeds a few. I have been 
collecting these pens since I have been able to 
write. After all, a writer without a pen is not 
really a writer.

 The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has 
the opinion that I am a wee bit obsessive about 
my pen collection. I remember in exasperation 
at my growing pen collection, she once asked, 
“If you had to choose between me or your pens, 
which would you choose?”

 As a man who has been a husband for 
more decades and I care to remember, certain 
questions that come from the other side of this 
marriage equation should never be answered 
and should be avoided at all costs. When such 
questions are put forth, the name of the game 
is switch the topic as quickly as possible.

 I do not want it to be, an “either/or” kind of 
a situation. I choose to keep both, which has 
made me happy for so many years.

 My idea is simply this, if something is worth 
writing it is worth writing with a fountain pen. 
You can tell a lot about a person by the pen 
they use and if it is a fountain pen, that tells me 
volumes about that person.

 A fountain pen is the choice of the really 
serious writer. I know there are all kinds of 
pens these days, and I have my share of them, 
but when it comes to serious writing, it always 
has to be a fountain pen. There is something 
about a fountain pen that makes words flow 
almost effortlessly.

 I take pride in my fountain pens and always 
have on my person the fountain pen for the day. 
Each day calls for a special fountain pen. Woe 
be unto the person who confuses one pen with 
the wrong day. After all, let us get serious about 
this fountain pen business.

 I was at the post office jotting down some 
notes while I was waiting in line just using and 
enjoying my fountain pen. The person in front 
of me turned around and said, “Sir, could I 
borrow your pen for a moment?”

 There are questions and then there are 
questions. I froze and simply stared at her. I 
like being a gentleman as much as I can but 
when it comes to a fountain pen I really draw 
the line. Fortunately, for me, I had another 
pen, which was not a fountain pen for such 
emergencies as this. Not everybody is worthy 
of using a fountain pen, especially my fountain 
pen.

 I do not think it is appropriate for someone 
to ask to borrow one of my pens!

 Also, on the other side of the counter, I do 
not borrow or use somebody else’s pen. I know 
it may be a phobia on my part, but I am sticking 
to it. When I go to the counter to pay for lunch, 
for example, the cashier always offers one of her 
pens. I refuse to use a pen that has been used 
by a million other people. I am not a germ-a-
phobic, just a pen-a-phobic.

 Davidunderstood this when he wrote, “My 
heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the 
things which I have made touching the king: 
my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 
45:1).

 A person’s value is determined by what he or 
she values the most.

“The test of every religious or political system 
is the man that it forms – Amial”

 Murder and terror in Ottawa brings close 
to the heart once again the reality that one 
of the world’s major religions begets such 
evil that a great war may yet be required to 
purify it and allow it to reclaim a mantle of 
moral credibility it once wore proudly. This is 
not a war of the type we’re seeing now in the 
Middle East; this is not the war between ISIS 
and western powers, as necessary as that war 
is to saving thousands from slaughter, torture 
and suppression. No, the killings in Ottawa, 
the earlier beheadings of innocents, the brutal 
subjugation of women and the torture of 
children may compel us to defend ourselves, 
but such acts should also demonstrate that 
simply driving them from our shores, or from 
the borders of any particular Middle East 
country, will not eliminate the evil which has 
taken root at the core of Islam. As painful as 
it is to realize, the war which must be fought 
is a civil war within Islam itself between the 
powers of good and evil vying for dominance.

 We have always been reminded, and now 
doubt will hear again, that Islam is a peaceful 
religion. That may be true, but it is only true 
insofar as it applies to a classical strain of Islam 
which existed in history, and may well exist in 
some quarters today. But it is false insofar as it 
does not explain the totality of Islam; insofar 
as it fails to explain the great numbers of 
Muslims (upwards of 20%) who believe terror 
and violence against the infidels are justified, 
not to mention the smaller – but more potent 
– numbers of Muslims who willingly commit 
these heinous and cowardly acts.

 So if classical Islam spawned a great culture, 
established a body of law which condemns 
terrorism and suicide, restricts jihad to the 
retaking of one’s own property, prohibits the 
slaughter of non-combatants, and tolerates 
other religions in its midst, we can celebrate 
such fine religious principles, but we must still 
ask ourselves where is this form of the religion 
and what actions are its adherents taking in 
the world today? 

 We can fairly ask that because world events, 
as briefly listed above, seem to demonstrate 
another version of that religion – another 
darker, evil vision of fealty to Allah – is 
dominant and active. This is the Islam 
which dismisses the tenants of its classical 
roots, condemns Jews as “pigs”, “dogs”, and 
“unworthy to draw breath”, acts to kill and 
maim those same Jews, and tortures, murders 
and beheads vast categories of unbelievers. 
This is the Islam which produces Muslims who 
lead or join Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban, 
and who troll the streets of Ottawa.

 Pretending that the vile, evil side is small and 
confined to a few isolated patches of real estate 
is self-deluding. 20% of a one billion people 
is still 200 million adherents or supporters of 
an evil philosophy. They cannot readily be 
contained to some small area – not in the 21st 
century of social media 
and easy international 
travel. Polling in 
Muslim countries has 
continuously affirmed 
the existence of this worrisome population, the 
most recent of which shows 60% of Jordanians 
do not view ISIS as a terrorist group. 
Remember, the Jordanians are supposed to be 
the moderate ones.

 With the events in Ottawa, we may once 
again be prompted to find our nerve and 
the commitment to confront ISIS in some 
meaningful way, but as of today, the numbers 
of bombing sorties we currently fly against 
ISIS are but rounding errors compared 
to the numbers we flew against Saddam’s 
forces when we really meant to “degrade and 
destroy”. But removing ISIS will not solve the 
larger problem – the problem presented by the 
existence of, and credibility accorded to, the 
underlying evil philosophy that grips Islam. 
An honest assessment of the situation today 
inevitably draws comparisons to Christianity’s 
struggle with good and evil. 

 Centuries ago Christianity was intolerant, 
repressive and in most places thoroughly 
corrupted. In essence, it took a long and 
protracted civil war to restore Christianity’s 
original moral vision. The birth of 
Protestantism started this battle, leading to the 
Thirty-Years’ war. The American Revolution 
continued it, establishing freedom of religion. 
The battle was ultimately successfully 
concluded through the abolitionist movement 
and our American civil war, which finally 
eliminated slavery as an acceptable Christian 
practice. Thankfully, because brave believers 
were willing to fight the good fight, intolerance 
and repression in the name of God are no 
longer accepted by faithful Christians.

 So it appears that Islam must fight its own 
internal civil war if it is to resume its role as 
a moral religion. Homeland Security and 
our military may be able to protect us from 
Islam’s dark side, but to rid the world of 
it – which is to protect Christian, Jews and 
Muslims themselves – Islam will have to do 
the heavy lifting. Islam must fix itself.

 We can hope and pray that only a few lives 
will be lost. But if we truly love our Muslim 
brothers, we must refrain from that very 
human tendency to simply pray for peace. 
Peace, at the price of subjugation, torture 
and fear, is not a noble or moral outcome to 
wish upon that cohort of a billion people who 
claim to worship Allah. The conflict between 
good and evil, which will define what 
allegiance to Allah really means, must be 
fought within Islam. Islam must be purged 
of the hate which seeks to consume it. I don’t 
know where it will start; I would have hoped 
it would have begun by now, but this battle 
will have to be waged across the globe by 
Muslims of all nationalities. Only then will 
Islam be able to reclaim the mantle of moral 
credibility.

 

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PUBLIC NOTICE

City of Sierra Madre

ORDINANCE NO. 1355

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE, 
CALIFORNIA AMENDING TITLE 9 OF THE SIERRA MADRE MUNICIPAL CODE 
BY ADDING CHAPTER 9.56 RESTRICTING HUNTING OF ANIMALS WITHIN THE 
CITY OF SIERRA MADRE 

 WHEREAS, SECTION VII OF ARTICLE XI OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION 
PROVIDES THAT A CITY MAY MAKE AND ENFORCE WITHIN ITS LIMITS ALL LOCAL, 
POLICE, AND OTHER ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS NOT IN CONFLICT WITH 
GENERAL LAWS; AND

 WHEREAS, THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE HAS THE OBLIGATION TO PROTECT 
ANIMALS TO THE BEST OF THE CITY’S ABILITY WHILE THE ANIMALS ARE WITHIN THE 
CITY LIMITS; AND

 WHEREAS, THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE HAS DETERMINED THAT THERE IS A 
NEED TO PROHIBIT THE HUNTING OF ANY ANIMALS DOMESTICATED OR WILD, WITHIN 
THE CITY LIMITS; AND

 WHEREAS, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE HAS AN 
OBLIGATION TO TAKE ACTION TO PRESERVE THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF 
ITS RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

 THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE DOES HEREBY ORDAIN 
AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. TITLE 9 OF THE SIERRA MADRE MUNICIPAL CODE IS HEREBY AMENDED 
BY ADDING CHAPTER 9.56 (“HUNTING OF ANIMALS”) TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

“HUNTING OF ANIMALS”

 9.56.010. TITLE. 

This chapter shall be known as the “Hunting of Animals” Ordinance” and may be so cited.

 9.56.020. Purpose and Scope.

 It is the purpose and intent of the Sierra Madre City Council, through the adoption of this chapter, to 
restrict the hunting of animals within the city limits of City of Sierra Madre.

 9.56.030. Definitions. 

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this section: 
Hunting” shall mean the killing or wounding of any animal by the means of discharging any 
fireworks, firearm, weapon, air gun, archery device, slingshot, paintball gun or explosive of any type 
with the specific intent to injure, mutilate, or kill any animal, domesticated or wild.

City Limits” shall mean the all areas, both private and public within the City of Sierra Madre.

 9.56.040. Hunting prohibited.

No person shall hunt, pursue, trap, kill, wound, maltreat or attempt to hunt, pursue, trap, kill, wound, 
or maltreat any wild or domesticated bird or animal, and no person shall permit any pet to pursue, 
trap, kill, or wound any wild or domesticated bird or animal within the City Limits of the City of Sierra 
Madre. This prohibition shall not apply to removal of rats, mice or other vermin from private property.

SECTION 2. Effective Date. This Ordinance is adopted by the City Council and shall take 
effect 30 days after approval by the City Council. This Ordinance and the City Clerk’s certification, 
together with proof of publication, shall be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the City Council. 

SECTION 3. Certification. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this 
Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published according to law.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED, this 14th day of October, 2014I, Nancy Shollenberger, City 
Clerk of the City of Sierra Madre, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was 
introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Sierra Madre held on the 23rd day 
of September 2014, and was adopted at its regular meeting of October 14, 2014 by the following 
vote:

 

AYES: Mayor John Harabedian, Mayor Pro Tem John Capoccia, Council Members Rachelle 
Arizmendi, Denise Delmar, and Gene Goss

 

NOES: None

 

Sierra Madre Police Blotter

During the week of Sunday, October 
12th to Sunday, October 19th, the Sierra 
Madre Police Department responded to 
approximately 323 calls for service.

Wednesday, October 15th

 At 10:30 pm, Sierra Madre Police 
performed a traffic stop on a vehicle 
whose record showed the registration 
had expired in 2012, but the vehicle 
was displaying a 2014 registration 
tab. When Officers questioned the 
subject, he initially denied having 
knowledge of why his record showed an 
expired registration. Through further 
questioning, the subject admitted to 
Officers he currently worked at a storage 
facility in Pasadena, and had recently 
fallen on hard times financially. Unable 
to pay for his vehicle’s registration, he 
decided to remove the registration of a 
motorhome being stored at the storage 
facility, and place it on his vehicle. 
He stated the motorhome had been 
stored there for quite some time and 
believed no one would have noticed 
that the registration was missing. The 
subject was arrested and charged with 
possession of stolen property and 
unlawful display of registration tabs. 

Thursday, October 16th

 At 1:35 am, Sierra Madre Police were 
dispatched to the area of Hermosa 
Avenue and Mariposa Avenue 
regarding a traffic collision. When 
Officers arrived they noticed a vehicle 
on the west curb line facing south, 
with a flat left front wheel bent inwards 
and pieces of shrubbery on the hood 
of the car. Officers made contact with 
two male subjects, one of which was 
attempting to pull the spare tire out 
of the vehicle’s trunk. The driver of 
the vehicle informed Officers he got a 
flat tire and his friend, who had called 
Sierra Madre Police Department was 
helping him. He stated to Officers he 
was the only one in the vehicle. While 
questioned by Officers, they noticed a 
strong odor of alcohol emitting from 
the man’s breath. The man showed signs 
of intoxication from blood shot eyes to 
having loss of balance. By consent of the 
male driver, Officers performed a Field 
Sobriety Test, which he ultimately did 
not successfully pass. The driver of the 
vehicle was arrested and cited for DUI 
of alcohol and/or drugs and DUI with 
BAC greater than 0.8%. 

Saturday, October 18th

 At 2:14 am, Sierra Madre Police 
performed a traffic stop on a vehicle 
driving without its headlights on in 
darkness. While Officers did a record 
check on the driver, they were informed 
that he had three outstanding warrants 
totaling to $110,000. Azusa Police 
Department was contacted as they were 
one of the warrant issuing agencies. 
Officers then removed a female subject 
from the rear of the vehicle. During a 
search of the female subject, Officers 
discovered a hypodermic needle. When 
questioned about the needle, she stated 
she was holding onto it for a friend. The 
male subject was arrested and taken 
into custody by Azusa Police for his 
outstanding warrant and the female 
subject was cited for possession of a 
hypodermic needle.

Sunday, October 19th

 At 1:17 am, Sierra Madre Police 
performed a traffic stop on a bicyclist 
for failure to have required lights. 
When asked by Officers if she was in 
possession of any illegal substances, she 
informed Officers she had marijuana in 
her pocket and backpack. She informed 
Officers she did not have a medical 
marijuana license, but used the drug to 
help her with her insomnia. The female 
subject was cited for possession of 
marijuana and failure to have required 
light on the bicycle. 


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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com