Mountain View News Saturday, March 28, 2026 
1212 OPINIONOPINION Mountain View News Saturday, March 28, 2026 
1212 OPINIONOPINION 
STUART TOLCHIN PUT THE LIGHTS ON 

RICH JOHNSON 

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS and INFORMATION 

Hooray, the Major League Baseball season has begun!

Today’s opening day game was in San Francisco between the 

Yankees and the Giants. I particularly cared about this game for 

one reason. Max Fried, the starting pitcher for the Yankees, is a 

Jewish kid born almost locally in Santa Monica. Max did great 

pitching six and a third shutout innings while giving up only 

two hits and striking out Aaron Judge three times. Perhaps this 

is unimportant to you, but for me, an 82-year-old Jewish kid, it is very impor


tant. My favorite all-time player on the Dodgers was number 32, Sandy Koufax, 

a Jewish pitching star. I wish that the Dodgers cared enough to bring Max to 

the Dodgers and have him wear number 32 as he did in High School at Harvard 

Westlake School located in the San Fernando Valley. I also wish that in addition 

to acquiring Max Fried the Dodger ownership would provide fans with a Jewish 

Deli at Dodger Stadium.

Jewish delis are probably not important to you, but they are important to 

me. Delicatessens are a part of my heritage. I was very pleased and surprised 

when I first moved to Sierra Madre 45 years ago to find Kaplan’s delicatessen just 

as I entered the Santa Anita mall. Kaplan’s is gone now along with most of the 

other Jewish Delis. The major one remaining is Canters on Beverly and Fairfax, 

which is often fondly referred to as Beverly and Koufax. This is something I care 

about, but I wonder what it is you care about? People replying to my articles 

mention that I only seem to talk about myself. Maybe it would be possible to 

form a group to discuss the weekly issues of the Mountain Views News and dis


cuss what people liked and didn’t like and what else talk about in addition to what 

else people would like to see covered in the paper.

The only group I am a part of now is the book club run by our one local 

bookstore, Fables and Fantasies. The club has very few members beside the own


ers and workers at the store. The club meets this Sunday at 6:00 to discuss the 

book, Hail Mary. Hail Mary was released this past weekend as a film, but it is 

important to me to read the whole book before the club meets and before I go to 

the movies. 

I have already benefited from struggling with Hail Mary although I have 

not yet plowed through all 478 pages. There is a great deal of science in the book 

which I do not understand and do not even make the effort to comprehend. Al


ready the book has motivated me to consider the truths which I have ignored and 

chosen not to think about. The major item is the inevitability of my own death 

and the realization that my life, and all our lives, are a kind of suicidal mission di


rected to a place we don’t know or understand. Perhaps you are a person of Faith 

that knows all the answers and lives comfortably with that knowledge. My view 

is that often such people avoid questioning in exchange for a transparently false 

experience of comfort.

Another thing the book leads me to is the realization that all humans are 

just that, simple limited beings who knew themselves as children and have expe


rienced changes and must have some doubts. Everyone, perhaps even Donald 

Trump must wonder and doubt and be amazed at their own existence and mor


tality and legacy. People like our President seem to look for self-acceptance in the 

eyes of other people but still he must look in the mirror no matter what pictures 

he puts on the walls.

Perhaps we all can look in the mirrors together and ask questions and 

share answers and information and create sustaining connections. If you are in


terested in that process my e-mail address is stuarttolchin@gmail.com

GO DODGERS! 

HOWARD Hays As I See It 

“follow the money” – Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook) to Bob Woodward 
(Robert Redford) in the film 
“All the President’s Men” (1976) 

It’s been four weeks 

since the U.S. and Israel 

launched this war on 

Iran, which came eight 
weeks after the operation to capture Venezuelan 
President Nicolas Maduro. Many 
wonder what this Iran war is really all 
about. For an answer, we’re getting clues as 
we learn more what the Venezuela operation 
was really all about. And what it was 
not all about. 

In Venezuela, the administration condemned 
Maduro for his “narco-terrorist 
activities”. But just a month earlier, President 
Trump pardoned former Honduran 
President Juan Orlando Hernandez who, 
according to NPR, U.S. officials described 
as “at the center of one of the largest and 
most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies 
in the world.” But Trump said he’d been 
treated “harshly”. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) 
saw Hernandez’ pardon as “suggesting 
that President Trump cares nothing about 
narcotrafficking.” With Maduro, it wasn’t 
about the drugs. 

The administration also complained about 
Venezuela suffering under the “socialist 
dictatorship” of Maduro. But this wasn’t 
about restoring democracy, either. Opposition 
leader Maria Machado had endured 
years of arrest warrants, death threats and 
attacks from Maduro thugs. She received 
90% of opposition votes in 2024, and was 
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in 
hiding. But Trump said she didn’t have the 
“respect”. Instead, he turned the country 
over to Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez 
- who Machado described as “one 
of the main architects of torture, persecution, 
corruption, narco-trafficking”. 

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal 
reported an alternative explanation for 
what the operation in Venezuela was really 
all about – implicitly suggesting what this 
situation in Iran is really all about, too. 

Retiring from Chevron, Ali Moshiri continued 
as consultant to the company - becoming 
an informant for the CIA with advice 
going to President Trump. Moshiri advised 
against the democracy option with Maria 
Machado, and to instead continue with the 
current regime but under Maduro’s V.P. 
Rodriguez – who’d be more amenable to 
ceding control over the nation’s resources. 
Moshiri was also kicking off his own investment 
fund, seeking $2 billion to exploit 
Venezuelan assets under this new face for 
the old regime. 

Others got in on the action. Sen. Markwayne 
Mullin (R-OK) put thousands into 
not only Chevron but also Conoco-Philips,
Raytheon and Caterpillar just five days before 
we struck Venezuela. Ousting Maduro 
would bring payment of an already-arbitrated 
award to Conoco-Philips, a military 
action benefiting Raytheon and reconstruction 
work boosting Caterpillar stock. 
Sitting on the Armed Services Committee, 
Mullin had access to info that most of us 
wouldn’t. He now heads our Department 
of Homeland Security. 

With Iran, five minutes before Trump publicly 
announced suspension of his threat to 
bomb civilian power plants, $1.5 billion in 
S&P 500 futures were bought and $192 million 
in oil futures sold. 

Paul Krugman wrote, “Somebody close to 
Trump knew what he was about to do, and 
exploited that inside information to make 
huge, instant profits.” He added, “we have 
another word for situations in which people 
with access to confidential information 
regarding national security - such as plans 
to bomb or not to bomb another country 

-exploit that information for profit. That 
word is ‘treason.’” 
Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s investment 
firm has jumped some 30% in value 
over Trump’s first year of his second term 

– to over $6 billion. 99% of its assets belong 
to foreign investors – primarily Gulf 
states like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. 
Once again, representing the United 
States in talks with Iran are not State Department 
diplomats but Jared Kushner 
(along with billionaire property developer 
Steve Witkoff). 
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Sen. Ron 
Wyden (D-OR) wrote, “Mr. Kushner is simultaneously 
being paid millions of dollars 
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other 
Gulf monarchies while leading diplomatic 
negotiations with Iran and Russia. This 
corrupt arrangement is not only criminal 
but is endangering the lives of Americans 
and threatening our national security.” 

Concurrent with these negotiations, Kushner’s 
hitting up “Gulf monarchies” to kick 
in another $5 billion for his firm. For the 
bulk of it, he’ll no doubt rely on his best 
bud, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed 
bin Salman (“MBS”). MBS wants the U.S. 
to commit thousands of troops to “boots 
on the ground” deployment against Iran. 
Kushner wants MBS to commit billions in 
Saudi sovereign wealth funds for his firm. 
And Kushner will be advising the president 
what to do. 

Rep. Eugen Vindman (D-VA) posts: 
“Crown Prince MBS wants Trump to keep 
pouring Americans - and billions - into his 
illegal war with Iran. This is the same MBS 

U.S. intelligence tied to the murder of Jamal 
Khashoggi. And Trump’s response? ‘Thingshappen.’” He added, “The American people 
deserve to know exactly what he promised 
MBS -and at what cost to our troops 
and our values.” 
As evident from those nightly, deranged 
Truth Social posts alone, our president is 
out of it. He’s unclear day-to-day whether 
we’ve already won this war or need another 
$200 billion to sustain it. His main concern 
appears to be assuring this coming July 4th 
will be more a celebration of himself than 
of our country’s 250th anniversary. But we 
need to hold accountable those who’d exploit 
whatever their position, along with 
the president’s incapacity, for their own 
personal enrichment. Follow the money. 

HYSTERIA FESTIVALS AND MORE 

Not to be confused with our own precious Wisteria Festival. For those of you who have 
never understood the significance of the Wisteria Vine…have a seat and I’ll tell you.
In 1894 Alice Brugman purchased the original Wisteria Vine for 75 cents. She brought 
the vine home in a 1-gallon bucket. As we sit here pondering the significance of the 
Wisteria Vine, we should know the single vine now weighs over 250 tons. It boasts 1.5 
million blossoms. 

Where does the name Wisteria come from? Dr. Caspar Wistar. Yes, Botanist Thomas Nuttall named the 
vine after Dr. Wistar but accidentally spelled it Wisteria. He is also responsible for misspelling the fine 
doctor’s name in naming the vine… for the rest of history or so far anyway. 

By the way, if you happen to be passing through Tokyo Japan in Mid-April or thereabouts plan on enjoying 
an excursion to the “Fuji-no-hana” Festival, which translated literally means “Wisteria Festival”. 
Let’s take a look at other stranger than fiction festivals across the globe and in our country. The first is 
my favorite: 

Sweet Wars Festival 
Also known as the “Candy Wars”! This yummy festival takes place in February in Vilanova, Spain. 
On that special day 10,000 couples dress up under their native flag and colors, march down the street 
throwing candy at their rivals. There is a children’s candy war and an adult candy war. Apparently a 
rather sticky mess by the end of the day. 

Air Guitar World ChampionshipsEvery end of August for 30 years, people have traveled to Oulu, Finland to compete in this World Class 
Championship at pretending to strum the guitar. I have obviously wasted my time learning to play the 
guitar over the last 50+ years. In this contest you compete playing an instrument that doesn’t exist. 
Their motto: “Make Air Not War”. 60 second performances. At the end of the championship the entire 
audience is invited to play air guitar together at the finale. 

La Tomatina 
We are not the only town on this planet to have a day devoted to a vine. Each year, the last Wednesdayin August, the Spanish town of Bunol, Spain, celebrates La Tomatina. 20,000 people (nearly double 
of Sierra Made) enter the city armed with 145,000 pounds of squished tomatoes and throw them at 
each other. Damage? Actually, the city fathers say the acidity in tomatoes helps in cleaning the streets. 
Sounds like a lawyer got someone off on a technicality. 

Lets come back to the USA. In Maine, in October you can compete in the North American Wife Carrying 
Championship. (By the way, you don’t have to be technically married to compete as a team.) And 
either team member can carry the load if you know what I mean. No sexism allowed. You run a 278yard 
course, traversing two dry obstacles and one water obstacle along the route. The winning team gets 
the carried person’s weight in beer and five times that person’s weight in cash. 

Don’t know what to do during the Independence Day celebrations? Go to Austin, Minnesota and participate 
in “Spam Jam”. Austin is the home of Hormel, makers of Spam. Cook-offs, eating contests, 
strange merchandise. If you’re free the last week of April you can celebrate “Spam Jam” in Honolulu,
Hawaii. Why Hawaii? The Hormel folks tell us more Spam is consumed per person in Hawaii than in 
any other state. Almost 7 million cans a year. Bon Appetit! 

Finally, there is Foamhenge. It’s true, in Natural Bridge, Virginia is a full-scale replica of Stonehenge 
made out of stryofoam. 

If you see this article on Saturday, my band is playing tonight, March 28th at Nano Café after the Wisteria 
Festival. 6:30-9:30. Classic, fun rock from the 1960s-1970’s. Don’t go home and cook a meal! Come 
join us at 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre. 


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