Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, December 9, 2023

11

OPINIONOPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 9, 2023 

RICH JOHNSON 

NOW THAT’S RICH

STUART TOLCHIN

MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

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Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

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CONTRIBUTORS

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Harvey Hyde

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Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta ShambleE

PUT THE LIGHTS ON

A LOOK AT THE FUTURE


IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE 
CHRISTMAS

Okay, now that the lights are on what do we see? 
A few people I know, smart people, have concluded that 
within a few generations humankind will disappear. They 
point out, happily it seems, that more than 90 percent of 
all species that ever existed are now extinct - they’re just 
not around anymore. That’s the way it goes - no big deal.

 

Every human ever born is fated to die and that will probably be the 
fate of the entire species. I HATE that kind of thinking. Being alive is a great 
miracle and it is our miracle, yours and mine. We come into this world with 
these wonderful, amazing brains. All of us have learned languages and we are 
able to communicate, for better or worse, with other humans who speak the 
same language.

Language is really amazing in that little kids seem to learn a new 
language quickly and effortlessly while adult humans often are unable ever 
to learn a new language. This fact is frequently overlooked and undervalued.

Those young brains are open to new worlds. They can adapt while 
adults are so frequently stuck in their old way and are unable or simply refuse 
to make the necessary adaptations.

I read somewhere that one of the important abilities of humankind 
is the ability to adapt. Humankind can survive in all kinds of climates and 
altitudes. In fact humans are almost uniquely able to survive. I don’t know if 
you ever thought about it, I really hadn’t but female humans can produce their 
own food sufficient to nourish their young and if necessary keep themselves 
alive.

Certainly there are a few other female mammals that possess this same ability 
but it is something very remarkable.

 Think about it menfolk we can’t do it AND you know what else we 
can’t do? Right, we cannot give birth. Every female is an instrument of survival 
necessary for the species to continue to survive and evolve.

 Men are basically unnecessary for the process. One man can father an 
entire community. Think about the Mormans or frighteningly, think of Jeffrey 
Epstein, an associate of Trump, Clinton, the Kennedys, various government 
heads and dictators. Epstein, described by Trump in New York Magazines in 
2002, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be 
with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I and many of 
them are of the younger side.”

 My point is that Epstein, buddies with powerful people all over the 
world, had his own private island filled with 13 year old girls who were available 
as sex partners. It is said that Epstein intended to personally impregnate all of 
these girls himself, or perhaps share that responsibility with other prominent 
men of his own choosing. Help- you of course know that Epstein died by 
hanging, allegedly a suicide while in prison.

 My point is that the likes of Jeffrey Epstein may be a guide to the 
world’s future. Powerful men who now compete mainly for wealth and prestige 
may within a few lifetimes be the only men allowed by law to father children. 
The history of eugenics is filled with mandatory sterilizations and prohibitions. 
Would you prefer these limitations of the right and ability to father children 
over the total extinction of the species?

 Right now both alternatives seem horrible but not altogether unlikely. 
Maybe the unfathomable future process of AI will be manipulated by the rich 
and powerful to eliminate everyone but themselves (and their progeny.) Is it 
best to just close our eyes to the future much as many of us close our eyes to 
the present. Time will tell. I hope the smart young people can save us.

“Here I am stuck in the middle with you!” In the middle of the 
Christmas season…wherein our bank accounts recede and our credit 
card balances exceed. Somebody had it right when they uttered:

“It’s beginning to cost a lot like Christmas!”

Last year someone (who reminds me of me) asked Santa Claus for a big fat bank 
account and a slim body. (Message to Santa…you mixed those two up again last 
year!)

Christmas, here again. Let us raise a loving cup.

Peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up. Wendy Cope

Important safety tip for Christmas purchases: Don’t ever give a little child something 
“useful” for Christmas…unless its cash. Kin Hubbard

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are 
all 30 feet tall. Larry Wilde

Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? He was picking his nose. Ha!

My Grandfather’s Holiday fruitcake recipe.

(NOTE: To be truly enjoyed, this recipe must be read out loud precisely as written! 
There are no typos.) 

“You’ll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large eggs, two cups 
of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a 
bottle of whiskey.

First, sample the whiskey to check for quality. Now, take a large bowl. Check the 
whiskey again, To be sure the whiskey is the highest quality, pour one level cup and 
drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy 
bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

Make sure the whiskey is still okay. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer, Beat two 
leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If 
the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. 
Who cares? Check the whiskey. Now sift the lemon juice and strain the nuts. 
Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don’t forget to beat the turner. 
Throw the bowl out the window. Check the whiskey again and go to bed.”

I am joyfully amazed at the yearly celebration Christmas has on (and in) the world. 
Millions of people (and families) who do not embrace an endearing faith in Jesus 
Christ still celebrate his birth. And celebrate it in a way that brings joy right to the 
heart of humanity…to the family. And right to the heart of God the Father.

It takes a big God to pull this off every year. And we got a good one!

Fathers…take a tip from God. Focus on your family.

P.S. When you see that down and out street person, make their day. I used to walk 
by street people certain any money I give them would be ill used. God softened 
my heart. He told me to take the risk. If it’s a couple of bucks, great, $5 better, $10 
better still.

$20? Meet me on the corner of Baldwin and…just kidding.

Thanks for reading my column to the end. AND RECITE THAT FRUITCAKE 
RECIPE OUT LOUD AT GATHERINGS!

You’ll make people smile and laugh. -Rich

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HOW TO RESTORE 
THE GIFT OF GIVING

TOM PURCELL


Here’s an 
unpleasant 
holiday statistic: 
Average 
Americans are 
giving significantly 
less to 
their favorite 
charities this 
year than they 
did just four or 
five years ago.

Average Americans have long been 
among the most generous people on 
Earth.

But this year, thanks to an economy 
disrupted by covid, soaring interest 
rates and three years of high inflation, 
many are unable to give.

Americans are hurting in their 
pocketbooks.

This past year credit-card debt jumped 
faster than ever before in history, reports 
Business Insider, as more Americans 
are borrowing at high interest rates 
just to meet their daily living needs.

An increasing number of people are 
taking hardship withdrawals out of 
their 401K savings accounts, reports 
CNBC — tapping their future retirement 
funds to pay bills they are unable 
to afford today.

As a result of these financial troubles, a 
regrettable shift in charitable giving has 
occurred.

When I last wrote about giving in 
America in 2017, the people who gave 
the most, as a percentage of their 
wealth, weren’t the richest Americans.

They weren’t even middle-class 
Americans.

They were the people on the lower end 
of the economic scale — people who 
gave almost 30 percent more of their income 
to charity than any other income 
bracket.

That changed in 2020 when covid lockdowns 
wreaked havoc on the economy.

Before that, according to Gallup, more 
than 80% of U.S. adults said they donated 
money to a religious or other type 
of charity.

But in 2023, regrettably, individual giving 
has dipped to about 70% — and the 
biggest drop-off has happened among 
America’s lowest earners.

About 73% of people who earned under 
$40,000 in 2017 gave what they could to 
charities.

During the peak of covid in 2020, that 
percentage fell to 53% and still remains 
low — which is heartbreaking, because 
no group of people understands the joy 
of giving to others better than America’s 
most humble earners.

While our lowest earners are struggling 
the hardest in a difficult economy 
— and therefore are giving less — another 
group is making up the shortfall: 
America’s extremely well off.

Americans with a household net worth 
of more than $1 million, or those who 
make more than $200,000 per year, are 
giving 19% more now than before the 
COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 
AP.

Barrons reports that the landscape of 
philanthropy has shifted from average 
individuals giving, say, to The Salvation 
Army, to wealthy nonprofits and corporations 
that may be more interested in 
using their sizable funds to promote the 
latest popular cause or “systemic societal 
change.”

Private charity in all its forms is 
welcome.

But if we want more of the kind that 
helps the less-fortunate individuals and 
families who need it most, we need to 
reverse the incredible damage government 
policy has done to our economy.

A good start would be to end the spendthrift 
fiscal and monetary policies that 
cause inflation and interest rates to 
spike.

Let’s help our lowest earners get their 
heads back above water so they can experience 
the joy of giving again every 
Christmas.

After all, they know how to spread the 
joy of giving better than anyone — by 
helping a needy neighbor pay their 
utility bills or making sure the neediest 
children have presents to open on 
Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!


Mountain 
Views 
News

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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