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Mountain View News June 6, 2026 OPINIONOPINION 1111 
Mountain View News June 6, 2026 OPINIONOPINION 
STUART TOLCHIN WHAT CAN BE DONE TO 
HELP US FEEL OKAY? 

Yes, I know Right now, I realize that my intention 

that there are very in the creation of this article is an 

strong reasons to attempt to understand who I am, or 

worry. At one time perhaps who I want to be? Thinking 

the problems of the about that, I remember this program 

world just seemed that attempted to define what particular 

like something on characteristics of homo sapiens have 

television. You know, contributed to their dominance on this 
something far away that I knew existed planet. Another trait of homo sapiens 
but that really did not have that much in addition to their intelligence is the 
to do with me. My problems had to need for ritual and connection and the 
do with my everyday life. It was my willingness to subordinate themselves 
responsibility to do my job, raise my to an acknowledged common leader. 
family, take care of my health and the Do you see that this willingness might 
health of my kids, and live consistently help to explain the unexplainable? 
within my own value system. I also Think about this. Do you personallybelieved in the importance of education adhere to or follow the teachings of a 
and understood that awareness of the leader. Someone to whom you have 
state of the overall world was important given the right to tell you what to do 
and voted in every election and read and how to behave. Think about those 
newspapers every morning. who follow the President. Yes, he was 

Overall, I felt like I was doing my job famous before he became President. 
and was pretty satisfied with myself. His willingness to ignore customs and 
Well, times have changed and I am no tradition and even the Constitution 
longer satisfied. I feel like I should be may meet the needs of individuals who 
doing more, but I really don’t know are dissatisfied with the way their needs 
what else there is to do. Personally, I are ignored and present them with a 
don’t like contributing money to causes. new sense of freedom, perhaps.
My association with money is that it is Thinking about this I realize that my 
something that causes problems rather own rituals, the clothes I wear, the 
than solves them. dependence I accept is all a part of my

Sixty years ago, when I went to UCLA attempt to feel okay and be satisfied 
Law School there were only two with my life as it is. Completing this 
women in our class of 300 White Men. article is a part of this same process. As 
Most of the students were interested co-creators we have done it together 
in interviewing for jobs that would and with this little understanding and 
that potentially would lead to wealth the pride of completion I hope we all 
and power. This was not my interest can feel a little better. We did it! 
for reasons I have never stopped to 

POSTSCRIPT

question. Thinking about it now, I 

feel wealth and power are associated Talk about scary. I finished this article 
with a need to control and to validate Wednesday night and planned to 
oneself in their own eyes or their reread it Thursday morning. While 
educated successful parents. I was the I was asleep, *I saw a typed version of 
first High School graduate. In the eyes the article with an additional opening 
of my family, I was already successful. paragraph which I read. The paragraph 
Probably wealth was associated with began with “Hang in there. This 
the ability to have luxurious homes, document was left overnight in a café, 
take expensive vacations, obtain and no one has claimed it. If you do not 
beautiful wives and mistresses, and take possession of the document, it will 
buy expensive stuff. This was not stuff be disposed of.” That is all I remember 
I thought about. I just wanted time to and when I realized I was still in bed 
read all the books in the library. I believed Artificial Intelligence had 

As an undergraduate, I followed my penetrated my dreams and added the 
friends to UC Berkeley. The friends paragraph to the article which was still 
all lived in their own apartments or in within the computer. I GUESS IT WAS 
Fraternities. I never joined a fraternity ALL A DREAM. BUT THESE DAYS 
or belonged to any group. Maybe I was YOU NEVER KNOW. Feeling okay is 
afraid of rejection, perhaps I still am. tough!! 

HOWARD Hays As I See It 

“I am tired of amateur hour.” – Retiring Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) 

There was resignation we’d have to wait for the new Congress come 
January, or at least until November’s midterm elections, to see meaningful 
change in this administration. But with primary elections, lowest-ever 
polling for President Trump and a recent flurry of court rulings, that 
change might already be happening. 

One of these rulings concerns Kennedy Center board members, chosen by and answering 
to Trump, having changed the name to the Donald J. Trump and John F. KennedyMemorial Center for the Performing Arts. Board member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) sued 

– charging that microphones had been muted during discussion and the vote clearly wasn’t 
“unanimous”, as later claimed. A US District Judge ruled the name can only be changed byCongress, and also put a hold on that two-year shutdown for “renovations”. Since he didn’t 
get his way, Trump announced he’s now simply walking away from the mess he created. 
Another ruling came from a current federal judge in response to a filing from 35 former 
federal judges. Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for leaked tax returns is now to be 
reopened, despite having been closed by some “settlement”. There are “grievous allegations” 
raised that the whole thing was “premised on deception”, "the court was the victim of a 
fraud" and it was all intended as a means "to avoid judicial scrutiny”. The settlement’s 
$1.8 billion slush fund, which the retired judges described as “without constitutional or 
congressional authority”, now seems pretty much dead (outside of Trump’s mind). But 
there’s still that forever-immunity granted Trump and family businesses from IRS audits – 
referred to as “unlawful private benefits” in the judges’ filing - that acting AG Todd Blanche 
will now have to defend in court. 

There’s a ruling affecting Trump’s targeting of former FBI Director James Comey. A year 
ago, Comey posted a beach pic of seashells arranged to read “8647”, suggesting the 47th 
president be 86’d. Trump’s Justice Department charged in Comey’s indictment that a 
“reasonable person” would interpret that seashells post as “a serious expression of intent to 
do harm to the President of the United States”. This recent ruling was against the National 
Park Service, which sought to revoke the permit of a group displaying a banner reading 
that same “86 47”. A U.S. District Judge ruled it’s “difficult to fathom . . . that a reasonable 
observer would view the flag as a true threat.” Around the time of this ruling, the lead 
prosecutor in Comey’s seashells matter withdrew from the case. 

Also ruling against the administration was the US Court of Appeals in upholding a 
previous injunction against Trump’s kicking trans people out of the military. Trump had 
banned them from service during his first term, President Biden lifted the ban, then Trump 
reinstated it soon after taking office the second time. The court made clear the policy has 
nothing to do with fitness, ability, dedication or service – but rather, in the words of Circuit 
Judge Robert Wilkins, it’s “both arbitrary and based on animus”; “driven by the bare desire 
to harm a politically unpopular group.” 

And up in Chicago, a federal judge tossed a case against six anti-ICE protestors, charging 
prosecutorial misconduct: “I have never seen the types of prosecutorial misbehavior before 
a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.” 

Heading into the midterms, seven Republican senators are calling it quits, vs four 
Democrats. In the House, it’s 36 Republicans vs 22 Democrats leaving. And there are the 
new lame ducks -Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-FL), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Thomas 
Massie (R-KY) – defeated in their primaries. With already narrow gaps between numbers 
of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate, it’ll make a big difference 
with more of these Republicans, leaving anyway, feeling freer to vote in the interests of 
their convictions and constituents – rather than in fealty to Donald Trump. 

Already, enough Republicans in the House sided with Democrats insisting Trumpeither withdraw from the war with Iran or obtain Congressional approval to continue. 
Enough Senate Republicans made clear they wouldn’t proceed with DHS funding unless 
the administration dropped that $1.8 billion slush fund idea, which retiring Sen. Mitch 
McConnell (R-KY) called “Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick.” They also 
nixed Trump’s $1 billion “security” demand for his ballroom. His SAVE Act, banning 
mail-in ballots and turning more control of elections over to Trump, isn’t going anywhere,
either – despite Republican majorities in Congress. 

The opening quote from Sen. Tillis was in reaction to Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte to serve 
as Director of National Intelligence – a guy regarded as even less qualified than Tulsi 
Gabbard. Sen. Tillis added that even as Trump’s personal choice, he doesn’t think Pulte 
“has a prayer” of being confirmed in this still Republican-controlled Senate. 

As for judicial rulings and direct court orders, there are still those in the administration 

– like new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin – who regard them as merely advisory. But 
now an increasing number of Republicans, especially those no longer facing reelection 
challenges, are willing to publicly take their oaths to the Constitution – rather than to 
Donald Trump – seriously. They’re not waiting for the midterms. Like most of us, they’re 
already long-past being “tired of amateur hour.” 
RICH JOHNSON 
THE SEVENTH DECADE OF SINBAD 

As of the publication of this column, I will be in the middle of my seventh decade. 
Yikes, roughly 27 thousand days old. Put another way, 39 million minutes old, 2.4 
billion seconds old. (I better sit down…fast) 

One of my more obscure nicknames is Sinbad. No, not named after the swashbuckling 

sailor in the Scheherazade stories. Named after me who has a black belt in sinning and 
being bad. That’s why I hug my personal faith with such ferocity lol! Jesus came to forgive and I work 
Him overtime. In my seventh decade I have outspanned all of my ancestors. 

A fellow Minnesota singer/songwriter named Robert Zimmerman wrote a wonderful song entitled 
“My Back Pages”. The message in the song is when he was young, he thought he knew everything. As 
he grew up, he realized how little he actually knew. (By the way, you may know Robert by his other 
name…Bob Dylan.) The iconic line: “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now!” 

A secret to my understanding young friends: I, at this age, don’t feel any different than when I was a 
young whippersnapper (old person term). Sure, the bones, joints, muscles tend to scream out in pain 
with growing frequency. I just make less mistakes. But I dream. Even have a rock and roll band. People 
come to see us. 

You were put on this planet to enjoy life… challenges and all. But here’s the kicker: the only way to 
find real fulfillment is to take chances, risks. Make mistakes. Learn from them. Do it again.

 Option 1: You can MINIMIZE the risk of failure by following this simple formula: ready, AIM, fire 

Option 2: You can almost guarantee failure by following this simple formula: ready, FIRE, aim 

Option 1 tells you to approach a decision to do something innovative after seeking the counsel of 

others and careful consideration of the elements. Then roll the dice. And monitor the progress. 

Make course corrections. You may find success…or not. Keep trying. 

The Apple iPhone’s predecessor was the Apple Newton. Failed miserably in 1993. Today there are over 
1 billion iPhones in operation. 

Bubble Wrap was invented (get this) in 1960 to be a trendy new wallpaper. Failed again.Then marketed 
as house insulation. Then IBM got hold of bubble wrap and packaged their computers in it and the 
rest is history. 

James Dyson, inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, created 5,126 prototypes that failed. The 5,127th 
attempt made him a multimillionaire today. 

Option 2 tells you to just go for it. Good luck. Don’t bother with research. In fact, close your eyes lol 
and roll the dice. Hope for the best. Go see a movie. 

And the dumbest line often used in these circles? “If it was meant to be it was meant to be.” Balderdash! 
If it was meant to be it was because you did your homework, decided it was worth the risk, risked and 
succeeded. 

Dream the dream. Dream another one. And another. Got an idea? Remember what inventions need 
to be successful…INVENTORS! Ponder and pursue your idea. Let other people tell you 600 reasons 
why it won’t work. Write the next great novel. Write an article for the local newspaper (who would do 
that?) 

I sound like a motivational speaker. But remember, the journey IS the reward!
Now for the really important information. Living my dream, my rock and roll band, JJ Jukebox, has 
two concerts coming up: Saturday night, June 20 three of us will be doing an acoustic “Crosby, Stills, 
Nash” type of soft rock concert at Moffett’s Restaurant in Arcadia. Concert is 6:00-8:00pm Moffett’s 
is at 1409 So. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia (just south of Duarte Road) Phone is (6626) 447-4670. Call 
for info or reservations. Saturday, August 8th is the next full band rock and roll concert at Nano Café 
in Sierra Madre, Reservations (626) 325-3334 (call Wednesday through Saturday after 5:00 to leave 
reservations. 


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