OPINIONOPINIONMountain View News Saturday, October 24, 2026 1010 OPINIONOPINIONMountain View News Saturday, October 24, 2026 1010 
MOUNTAIN 

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NEWS 

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Susan Henderson 

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR 

Dean Lee 

SALES 

Patricia Colonello 
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John Aveny 

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Peter Lamendola 

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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 
Lori Ann Harris 
Rev. James SnyderKatie HopkinsDeanne Davis 
Despina ArouzmanJeff Brown 
Marc Garlett 
Keely TotenDan Golden 
Rebecca WrightHail Hamilton 
Joan Schmidt 
LaQuetta Shamblee 

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PUT THE LIGHTS ON

STUART TOLCHIN 


MENSCHKEIT 

Have you ever seen these wordsin print? Frankly, I have not, but it has a specific meaningfor me.A “mensch” a person who does the right thingeven when no one is watching, guided by an internalmoral compass rather than a desire for recognition.
At least that is the definition of “mensch” provided ny

Google. I am by my own definition a Jewish man with 
absolutely no religious training or belief. Nevertheless, I believe stronglyin the obligations of a person to be a “mensch”. First, being a “mensch” isnot limited by gender or age. What it is not is a “mockery” of all one’s othervalues in the pursuit of compensation, or acceptance, or self-satisfaction.

 Hidden in the back pages of the paper for almost twenty years my articlesare about one thing which I label as the Search for Truth. Let us contrastthat search with Modern Day America which we have called Democracy.
There is a need for all of us to be actively doing something and I think that issomething more than voting or contributing to a cause or even just stayingaware of the news.

 For any of us to be living our presently comfortable, satisfactory livesjust wondering about mid-term election results is inconsistent with“menschkeit” . Instead what should we be doing? Every day for the lastcouple of months my wife has driven me to Kaiser Baldwin Park Hospitalwhere I sit at my son”s bedside and silently watch him suffer. As a result ofan auto immune condition combined with medical procedures he has hadno energy and cannot even sot up in bed or talk. A couple of nights ago hemanaged a few words to me. “I am terrified” he said.

 What can I do to help? As I sit in the hospital I see other patients sufferingbeing pulled across the floor on stretchers and taken to ambulances andgoing on as best as they can. On Sunday, sitting on a bench waiting to bepicked up by my wife as I am finding it hardto walk, I realized I was justsitting there crying. How can I help my son, how can I help the world?
What are my responsibilities connected to my being “human.”HUMAN is 
the root European word for Mensch and according to me being a menschshould be the major continuous purpose of every Jewish person.

Let’s talk about being Jewish for a moment. My father was born in 
the Ukraine, which was a part of Russia at the time. As a Jew, neither heor his siblings were allowed to go to school, but he told me that he satbeneath the windows of the schoolhouse listening to the lessons althoughthey were being taught in Russian, a language he never learned. Hisfamily was threatened by a pogrom in 1919 and somehow they managedto escape eventually arriving in Chicago. My father was supposed to goto an American Junior High School but was so uncomfortable there he 
simply refused to go. Life was never easy for him, but eventually he and hosbrothers started a business even while he was in the Army and the wholefamily was supported for awhile.

 That was their “menschkeit” and even as my father went blind, he felthis major responsibility was to hode that fact from my mother and supportthe family for as long as he could. In a small way my life has been similar.
Almost fifty years ago, I found myself as a single parent with two childrento care for. My son was characterized as learning disabled but we pushedforward. Really, I think my son had an amazing life as he became part ofan acting troop that performed at the Clinton Inauguration and later wasmarried and became part of a wealthy family.

 Well, that life has fallen apart and he has been hospitalized for twomonths. He is only in his early fifties and we still need to push forward andI must do more tjan sit on a bench snd cry. Yes, Americans we must all domore than sit on a bench and cru. Should we support a general strike thatforces change? Can we afford not to go to work or lose our jons? Perhapsour solution is to keep joking and tasting and staying as aware and healthyas we can while we maintain our personal search for truth. I am off to thehospital again today and perhaps I can do more than cry. Pleading forwardany ideas to stuarttolchin@gmail.com. 

HOWARD Hays As I See It 

RICH JOHNSON 


CRAZY BELIEFS THROUGH HISTORY 

When was the last time your doctor brought a few leeches into theexamination room and told you to roll up your sleeves? They called 
it bloodletting and the Egyptians came up with the idea, oh, about 
3,000 years ago. The Greeks picked up on it, as did the Romans and itcontinued to be practiced into the 1800’s…imagine that! 

When it comes to crazy beliefs, we humans have no limit to our ability to exercisestupidity. (You might be exhibiting it right now reading my column!) Let’s share some 
crazy misconceptions shall we? 

For years there was a widespread belief that you had to worry about swallowinga watermelon or an apple seed. “Experts” told us they would sprout into a full vineinside your stomach. In a related topic people believed that you needed brown cows toproduce chocolate milk. And yes, pink cows produced strawberry milk. (That’s trueisn’t it?) 

There was a misconception on the part of many that before the advent of color in 
photographs, tv and movies, color did not exist because it had not been invented yet.
During the medieval era, what we call the Middle Ages from 500 to 1500 AD, it wasgenerally held that the earth was flat. If you could go into space it would look like a 
giant frisbee to you. (You mean, that’s not true?) 

It may still be true that kids believe your belly button was the place where each of 
us were sewn together. “Play with your belly button and it might pop open warned 
concerned moms.” 

Speaking of children’s misconceptions, kid psychologists tell us loads of kids believetheir teachers actually live at the school. I suspect by college they don’t hold onto thatbelief. But who knows? 

Continuing with kid’s misconceptions, I actually believed this. What? Well, I’ll tellyou. I and all young kids believed dogs were all male and cats were all female. 

Are you left-handed? Left-handed people were viewed in history with suspicion, linkedto the Devil or witchcraft. In the 1800’s when train travel began, experts believed thathigh speed travel would cause your human body to melt. The trains hit maximumspeeds of 28 miles per hour back then which I’m sure we will all agree will cause us tobe blown apart lol. Or at least driven mad by the high speed.
In the mid 1500’s with the introduction of tobacco into society, people thought it wasa sacred herb, a cure for many ailments and medicinal properties. How do I say thisdelicately. In the 1700’s doctors used tobacco smoke enemas believing they had healingproperties. I guess that’s where the term blowing smoke up …well, let’s just move onshall we? 

Going back to Roman times, the rock stars of society were gladiators. They were keptseparate from the rest of society. And their constant training causing rippling bodiescame to be admired by all. Gladiator bodily fluids, particularly their sweat becamesought after commodities in Ancient Rome, particularly to wealthy Roman women. 

I mean, where else do you get important stuff like this. It doesn’t grow on trees…doesit? 

As I close in on my 75th revolution around the sun, I reminisce about the previous 74.
Like all of us, our past is filled with highs, lows, and in betweens. Life is meant to bean adventure. And risk of failure is part of success. Michael Jordan was cut from hishigh school basketball team and had 9,000 missed shots over his career. Walt Disneywas told he lacked imagination. And he also went bankrupt more than once. J.K.
Rowling had her Harry Potter manuscript rejected by 12 publishers. Thomas Edisonwas described by his early teachers as “too stupid to learn”. And Elvis Presley was firedfrom the Grand Ole Opry and told to stick to truck driving. 

Life is meant to be an adventure. The “safe” path is a good place to spend most but notall of your time. That being said, adding adventure and risk to your existence can makeyour life a bit more interesting and colorful. Whatever your plane of existence is, have 
a great week! 


“We had nothing to do with that. The United States, nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened.” – Secretary of 
State Marco Rubio 

“You can stipulate he’s not an agent of Putin, but let me tell you something: He does every single thing that Putin wants.” – former White Housecommunications director Anthony Scaramucci 

An “October Surprise” is a singular event that alters the trajectory of an election. This month, we’ve already had a boatload of these “surprises”, 

any one of which would dominate headlines in “normal” times. But instead of reinforcing support for the party in power, they’ll likely bring ablue wave that’s even more a tsunami than what’s been predicted. 

History shows not only October Surprises, but actions taken to prevent them. In October 1968, the Paris Peace Talks seemed likely to bring a ceasefire in 
Vietnam before the election. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was running slightly ahead of Richard Nixon, so Nixon had an aide convince the SouthVietnamese to hold off on any agreement – that they’d get a better deal under a Nixon presidency. The South Vietnamese went along; Nixon won the election 
and the war continued another four years – 22,000 more Americans killed. 

Preparations against a potential 1980 October Surprise were made months earlier. If American hostages held by Iran were released before the election, JimmyCarter would likely win a second term. Aides to Ronald Reagan – campaign chief William Casey, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, banker DavidRockefeller - were dispatched to Mideast capitals. They worked a deal - with hostages held until Reagan’s inauguration the following January. 

October 2016 brought the Access Hollywood tape – Donald Trump’s “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything . . .” A top story – until a couple 
days later, when Wikileaks released hacked info from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s computer. At the end of the month, FBI Director 
James Comey announced reopening the investigation into Clinton’s email server. A week later, 3 million more voters chose Clinton over Trump – but she 
came up short in the electoral vote. 

This year, we’ve been overloaded with October “Surprises” - barely halfway into the month: 

The home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was raided by federal agents - Trump demanding she be investigated, stripped of citizenship and deported because herdad might have messed up immigration paperwork thirty years ago. The raid took place the day Trump endorsed her opponent. 

The NY Times reports $20 million shifted from Customs and Border Protection after “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer moneyfor TV ads praising him and his presidency”. Though courts barred further expenditures, through October 8 ads have cost taxpayers $15.4 million. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced live-streaming of an execution by firing squad. The Justice Department launched anti-trust investigations againstCNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox News for collectively not filling in after Trump banned CNN from the press pool. Our ambassador to Greece was caught in a 
$100,000 shakedown. A White House press secretary lasted barely five days in the job. The president posted footage of a young, mentally-disturbed man being 
mauled to death by a tiger at an English zoo. 

And President Trump affirmed his subservience to Russian President Putin. For higher oil prices brought by our war with Iran, Trump blamed Ukraine’s 
attacks on Russian refineries. Under a “ceasefire”, Ukraine stopped attacking Russia while Russia continued attacking Ukraine. Trump suggested the problem 
is Ukrainian President Zelenskyy – his refusal to surrender to Putin. Trump waived sanctions on trade in Russian diesel fuel along with sanctions in theLindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, which he’d signed just the month before. 

Zelenskyy noted that a slowdown in the Starlink system allowed Russian attacks to come undetected, with Ukrainian drones unable to defend against them.
Initial reports blamed Elon Musk, who responded that the system was controlled by the U.S. military. “Sources” then said orders to slow down the system and 
leave Ukraine vulnerable had to have come from the White House. 

It’s now reported that the decision was in fact made by Elon Musk –
while he says it was only after discussions with top officials, includingPresident Trump. Our president insists he’s clueless on the whole thing 
– our Secretary of State explains, “It sort of happened”. Trump thenpushed for a conference where the fate of Ukraine would be decided byhimself, Putin and China’s Xi Jinping – no participation by our Europeanallies or by Ukraine itself. 

Anthony Scaramucci refers to the “Budapest Memorandum”, whereUkraine exchanged its nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees:
“In 1994, Ukraine gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal onAmerica’s word. This month, the president traded that word for a diesel 
deal with Putin.” 

Maybe aware of the effect all this is having on the polls, Trump is fightingback with his instinctive strategy: reaffirming his promise of $5,000 toevery voter if the election goes his way, along with an $8 billion bailoutfor farmers and $90 payments to us seniors. Again, from history, we 
know that polls are often wrong. But especially with this ongoing delugeof October “Surprises”, I’m not expecting any November Surprise onelection day. 


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