1414 
Mountain Views-News Saturday November 1, 2025 OPINIONOPINION 1414 
Mountain Views-News Saturday November 1, 2025 OPINIONOPINION 
MOUNTAIN 

VIEWS 

NEWS 

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson 

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR 

Dean Lee 

SALES 

Patricia Colonello 
626-355-2737 
626-818-2698 

WEBMASTER 

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION 

Peter Lamendola 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Lori A. Harris 
Michele Kidd 
Stuart Tolchin 
Harvey HydeAudrey SwansonMeghan MalooleyMary Lou CaldwellKevin McGuire 
Chris Leclerc 
Dinah Chong WatkinsHoward HaysPaul CarpenterKim Clymer-KelleyChristopher NyergesPeter Dills 
Rich Johnson 
Rev. James SnyderKatie HopkinsDeanne Davis 
Despina ArouzmanJeff Brown 
Marc Garlett 
Keely TotenDan Golden 
Rebecca WrightHail Hamilton 
Joan Schmidt 
LaQuetta Shamblee 

Mountain Views News 
has been adjudicated asa newspaper of GeneralCirculation for the County 
of Los Angeles in CourtCase number GS004724: 
for the City of SierraMadre; in Court CaseGS005940 and for the 
City of Monrovia in CourtCase No. GS006989 and 
is published every Saturday 
at 80 W. Sierra MadreBlvd., No. 327, Sierra 
Madre, California, 91024.
All contents are copyrighted 
and may not bereproduced without the 
express written consent ofthe publisher. All rights 
reserved. All submissions 
to this newspaper becomethe property of the Mountain 
Views News and maybe published in part or 
whole. 
Opinions and views expressed 
by the writersprinted in this paper donot necessarily expressthe views and opinionsof the publisher or staff 
of the Mountain Views 
News. 

Mountain Views News is 
wholly owned by GraceLorraine Publications,
and reserves the right torefuse publication of advertisements 
and other 
materials submitted for 
publication. 

Letters to the editor and 
correspondence should 
be sent to: 

Mountain Views News 
80 W. Sierra Madre Bl. 
#327 
Sierra Madre, Ca.
91024 
Phone: 626-355-2737 
Fax: 626-609-3285 
email: 

mtnviewsnews@aol.com 


A member of 
the 
California 
NewspaperPublishers 
Association 

Mountain Views News 

Mission Statement 

The traditions of 

community news


papers 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 

valuesoftheexceptionalquality of life in our 
community, includingthe magnificence of 
our natural resources. 
Integritywillbeourguide. 


PUT THE LIGHTS ON

STUART TOLCHIN 


IS THIS THE END OF AN ERA OR THE 
BEGINNING OF A NEW ONE? 

On Monday, November 17th I bravely viewed Democracy Now 
on PBS. Generally, the news depresses me but at the beginning ofthis week I felt courageous. What I saw was coverage of the 2025 
COP30 United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in 
Brazil. This is the 30th annual meeting of the conference but, of 

course, I was completely unfamiliar with it. The conference is taking 
place in Belem, a city at the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, marking the first 
time the UN Climate Summit has been held in the Amazon region. I’ve learned that the 
focus of the conference is to focus on global warming associated with the climate crisis, 
Indigenous life is a central and prominent concern of the conference. What I saw was 
articulate people with their faces painted and adorned with feathers speaking about 
how their entire way of living was being threatened by the climate crisis. I immediatelythought of a question which was reportedly posed to Mahatma Ghandi by a journalist.
The question was “What do you think of Western Civilization?” he is widely reportedto have replied “I think it would be a good idea.”
Going once more to my iPhone I learn that Ghandi’s criticisms of Western Civilization 
are detailed in his 1909 Book and centered on the following points. I will now list them 
for you and wonder if you have the same reaction that I had.

l. Materialism over morality including physical comfort at the expense ofMoral and spiritual development. 
2. Violence and Exploitation. He saw the colonialism, racism, and militarism of Western 
nations as evidence of a civilization built on “brute force "rather than ethical conduct. 
3. Industrialism and Dehumanization, which he believed led to the exploitation of 
workers in contrast to his vision of self-sufficient village-based societies.
4. Lack of a clear goal suggesting that Western civilization was characterized by endless 
activity without a higher moral purpose.
Frightening, isn’t it? I thought of contrasting Ghandi’s criticisms with a description of 
indigenous life. Once more I consulted my iPhone and read about the Western View of 
the relationship to nature “Humans are separate from and often dominant over nature 
which is viewed as resource for human benefit and extraction.” 
Now contrast that with what is described as the indigenous Worldview. “Humans are 
an interconnected part of nature with a responsibility to maintain harmony and balance 
within the natural world.” 
In terms of social structure, the iPhone informed me that the Western World places “emphasis 
on individualism and personal achievement and self-expression" contrasting that 
with the Indigenous “Emphasis on collectivism, community well-being, relationshipsand the survival of the group.
That’s enough quoting. Originally, I had planned to contrast the differences myself but 
upon consulting the iPhone I realized that the description presented was more succinct 
and probably more accurate than anything I could produce myself. This is also frightening. 
With AI available to all of us, why take the trouble to think about anything when 
it is so easy to just look it up? I happen to think that thinking about things is of extremeimportance.
Returning to the Belem Conference, the Trump administration didn’t send a delegation 
to the COP30 Crisis Conference consistent with the Presidential position that the 
climate crisis is “essentially a hoax”. The climate crisis is --- real and threatens everything 
--you and I, the entire human species, the natural environment and everythingelse. How did America put a person in power who is so clearly out of touch with anyreality beyond his own needs? The most frightening thing about this is that our political 
system is paralyzed, I guess, because of the need for personal advancement and 
comfort. 
We have all adjusted, perhaps unwillingly, to the inevitability of our own death. Actually, 
I believe that Trump and Putin and other autocrats plan on living forever. Theythink that they are that powerful. They aren’t, but their utterly unrealistic and perhapsdemented idea threatens all of us. I do not wish to adjust to the imminent destruction of 
our entire culture and species. I believe that unless a radical rejection of the destructive 
Western values described over 100 years ago by Mahatma Ghandi to be exchanged with 
the need to maintain the collective values inherent to the still functioning indigenouscultures. 
Time will tell! 
HOWARD Hays As I See It 

QUIET! QUIET, PIGGY" - President Trump to Reporter 
Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg, aboard Air Force One enroute to 
Mar-a-Lago when asked about the Epstein Files. 

Someone commented on the above quote: “Why isn’t this 

bigger news?” We wouldn’t abide a toddler calling someone 

“piggy” – let alone an adult – let alone the President of the 

United States. There could be two reasons: One is that it’s 
been made clear to reporters who might otherwise object that they cover the 
president at his pleasure – and they can’t risk losing access. 

The other reason is that oafish behavior from our president is not “news”. 
He’s called Rosie O’Donnell a “pig”. He referred to Stormy Daniels as “horseface”. 
When Trump owned the Miss Universe pageant, he used the name 
“piggy” against the 1996 winner, Miss Venezuela. 

Hillary Clinton referred to that incident during her 2016 debate with Trump, 
“This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs . . . and he called 
this woman ‘Miss Piggy’. Then he called her ‘Miss Housekeeping’, because 
she was Latina.” Alicia Machado, Miss Venezuela, was nineteen. Contestants 
from Miss Teen USA recalled Trump coming into their dressing rooms as 
they were changing. They were fifteen and sixteen years old. 

Donald Trump is our only president to have been found liable for sexual 
assault. He’s the only one convicted on felonies related to hush money for 
a porn star. He’s the only one implicated beyond mere association with Jeffrey 
Epstein. A beauty pageant promoter told of how Trump asked him to 
bring contestants down to Mar-a-Lago – where the only other attendee was 
Trump’s neighbor from up the street, Jefferey Epstein. 

Model Stacey Williams, dating Epstein, told of how he took her to TrumpTower, then handed her off to be groped by Trump. She recalled “this horrible 
pit in my stomach that it was somehow orchestrated”. Trump is our only 
president to have referred to a child rapist and sex trafficker as “a terrific guy” 
and “a lot of fun to be with”. 

Last July, the Justice Department reported its Epstein investigation concluded 
with nothing more to see, no need to see anything more. But Congress 
could now vote to have records released, including the “client list” AttorneyGeneral Pam Bondi said last February was “sitting on my desk”. 

A bill to release the records was prepared, along with a discharge petition to 
have that bill voted on. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) then sent colleagues 
home early for their August recess, which stretched into two months. 
This also gave Johnson an excuse to delay the swearing-in of newly-elected 
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who would provide the final signature needed 
for that discharge petition to bring the matter to a vote. 

At her swearing in, Rep. Grijalva addressed the chamber: “What is most concerning 
is not what this administration has done, but what the majority in 
this body has failed to do – hold Trump accountable as (the) co-equal branch 
of government that we are.” She introduced two of Epstein’s victims in the 
House Gallery to an ovation. 

Despite opposition from Speaker Johnson and Trump, Republican support 
was growing for releasing the files. Trump then changed his position, coming 
out in favor of their release. He had to - so he could claim Republicans 
were simply obeying his direction, after all. Had he really wanted to have the 
records released, of course, he could’ve simply ordered the Justice Department 
to release them months ago. 

When AG Bondi was asked why, after having assured for months that all 
investigations had been completed with nothing more to see, there was now 
a new prosecutor assigned to pursue new investigations, she explained it was 
because of “new information, additional information”. What she meant was 
that she’d been told by the president to launch criminal investigations tyingEpstein to Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and whatever 
other Democrats they could find. 

They had to get their excuse ready for when it actually came time to deliver 
the records as Congress demanded: Bondi would explain that as much as she 

RICH JOHNSON 


RISKS, REGRETS, RESULTS ( A REPRINT) 

Who is considered the greatest player in the history of the 
National Basketball Association (NBA)? Easy! Michael 
Jordan. 
So, what did Mr. Jordan do at the peak of his career? February 
7, 1994? I’ll get to that in a minute. Tough competition! 
In June of 1991 Michael helped his team, the Chicago Bulls, 

win their first (of six) NBA titles. 

Okay…back to February 7, 1994. Michael Jordan, the most popular athlete 
on the planet and the best player in the NBA, left basketball and 
signed a contract to play baseball (that’s right, I said BASEBALL) for the 
Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox assigned him to play for their double-A team, the Birmingham 
Barons. Jordan played in 127 games. His batting average for 
the ’94 season? 202. Not good. He did lead his team in…strikeouts lol! 
Not good either. He was a failure at baseball. 

A year and a month later, on March 18, 1995 Michael Jordan rejoined 
the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. 10 days later he scored 55 points, the record for 
the most points scored by an opponent at the Madison Square Garden. 
He played fifteen seasons in the NBA, winning six NBA Championships 
with the Chicago Bulls, six NBA MVP awards, 10 NBA scoring titles. In 
1988, Jordan became the first NBA player to win both the NBA Defensive 
Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player award in the same year. 
And as of 2023, Forbes Magazine estimates Michael Jordan’s net worth 
at $3 billion dollars. 

Risking failure is a critical element in achieving success. Here’s another 
example:
In 1968, Spencer Silver, a research chemist for 3M (Minnesota Mining 
and Manufacturing) was attempting to create a new super-strong super 
glue. But Spencer couldn’t make the glue work right. The objects he glued 
could easily be peeled off leaving no residue or damage. The project was 
shelved. A failure. 

3M, a smart company, has a policy for publishing failures as well as successes 
in research. They made Chemist Silver publish his failure…the 
glue that wouldn’t stick very good. I mean, what good is glue that doesn’t 
stick? 

9 years later, in 1977, someone in another division of 3M came up with an 
idea called “Press and Peel Pads”. The problem these inventors faced was 
the glue used in the pads stuck too good. Test marketing was an unmitigated 
failure. About to shelve the project, someone came across Spencer 
Silver’s published account of his glue failure. 

And by 1980 “Post-It Notes” were generating $1 billion a year, hailed as 
one of 3M’s greatest products. As of 2023, more than 50 billion Post-It 
Notes are produced by 3M every year! 

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were 
to success when they gave up.” Thomas Alva Edison 

“Failure is success in progress.” Albert Einstein 

So, dream, risk, take a chance. Just remember this important sequence distinction: 
“Ready, aim, fire”, not “Ready, fire, aim”. “Capeesh?” “Capiche!” 

P.S. “Capeesh” is a correct spelling variation. 
and the president were dying to hand over those files, because of an ongoinginvestigation they simply couldn’t. 

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) pointed out how that argument could bring an unintended 
response: Since the investigation involved Clinton and other Democrats, 
documents where they’re mentioned might be justifiably withheld. 
But since they’ve insisted Trump is already in the clear, there’s no reason why 
any docs in which he’s named shouldn’t be out there for the world to see. 

Law Professor Joyce Vance wrote of Trump’s “Quiet, Piggy!” comment that “It 
tells you all you need to know about this president’s attitude towards women.” 
She suggests it might finally bring a “Have you no sense of decency?” moment 
like that which came to Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-WI). 

“Have you no sense of decency?” was asked of Sen. McCarthy when he dominated 
his party and the national discourse. But when lawyer Joseph Welch 
asked McCarthy that question at a Senate hearing, the foundation began to 
crumble. It wasn’t in response to McCarthy having said or done anything 
particularly out of character. It was rather an expression of exasperation felt 
by a country that had had enough. In six months, McCarthy had been censured 
by the Senate and consigned to irrelevance. We’ll see where we’re at six 
months from now. 


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