Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, March 28, 2020

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OPINION: 

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 28, 2020 

MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

PRODUCTION

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

626-818-2698

WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION

CONTRIBUTORS

Audrey Swanson

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Bob Eklund

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Stuart Tolchin

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

Mountain Views News 
has been adjudicated as 
a newspaper of General 
Circulation for the County 
of Los Angeles in Court 
Case number GS004724: 
for the City of Sierra 
Madre; in Court Case 
GS005940 and for the 
City of Monrovia in Court 
Case No. GS006989 and 
is published every Saturday 
at 80 W. Sierra Madre 
Blvd., No. 327, Sierra 
Madre, California, 91024. 
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concerns of our readers 
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support a prosperous 
community of well-
informed citizens. We 
hold in high regard the 
values of the exceptional 
quality of life in our 
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the magnificence of 
our natural resources. 
Integrity will be our guide. 


STUART TOLCHIN

CONVERSATIONS

 This is a tough 
day for all of us. I 
don’t need to tell you 
that the coronavirus 
has affected all of our 
lives-except for the 
people on the beaches 
in Florida who seem 
to be enjoying a lovely 
spring day gathered 
together on the beach. 
I am sorry that I 
have wasted all the 
preceding words on them but I doubt that 
I am the only one who feels hostility toward 
such folk and kind of hope that they come 
down with something. Rarely do I wish 
illness on anyone and, in fact, now I feel a 
kind of regret for bringing it up in the first 
place.

 Now, a few words later, I honestly 
feel different about those happy beachgoers 
knowingly risking their lives in pursuit of 
pleasure. Are they any different from racecar 
(a surprising palindrome I just noticed) 
drivers, motorcyclists, high wire aerialists, 
skiers, and a million other categories of 
people that do things that I would never 
dream of doing. Well, perhaps I do dream 
of doing some of these things, but I was 
raised not to take unnecessary risks. My 
mother’s constant message to me was don’t 
rip your pants, don’t touch anything in the 
refrigerator, don’t let them hurt you, and 
don’t hurt them. I was instructed I guess 
not to make judgments about other people’s 
lives. Wait a minute! Those narcissistic, 
sun drenched Floridians jammed up against 
one another are potential germ carriers 
that could and probably will infect other 
innocent people. Now I don’t like them 
again.

 Consciously, I kind of know what I 
am attempting to illustrate in my first two 
paragraphs. By constructing an article it 
allows me to sometimes reevaluate and 
analyze my own thoughts and obtain greater 
clarity about my stance in the world. Being 
able to write in private allows me to make 
modifications and alterations and not be 
immediately faced with criticism or a bored 
look which is an experience that frequently 
confronts me. When I am ready I can send 
my articles out for publication and await 
the response of others. Unfortunately, or 
perhaps fortunately, I very seldom receive 
any response from actual readers of the 
paper but I do receive responses from the 
handful of friends to whom I email the 
articles. Why do I need to publish the 
articles if I only receive responses from 
my friends? This is an important question 
because earlier this week I received notice 
from the Editor of the paper that, as a 
consequence of the coronavirus, there may 
not be sufficient revenue to continue the 
publication of the paper. As you actual 
readers know approximately one-third 
of the paper is devoted to the publication 
of Legal Filings. Because of the virus no 
new Legal Filings are being permitted thus 
no publication of Notice of such filings to 
generate the revenue that greatly assists 
meeting the cost of publication. End result, 
maybe no more Paper.

 Admittedly my greatest hope is 
that the Paper continues so that my articles 
can continue. For me the creation of my 
articles, the submission for publication, the 
sending of the articles to my friends and the 
receipt of their responses complete a unique 
conversation that I do not believe can be 
replaced. I share my thoughts and opinions 
and questions and put them out into the 
world. Contrary to many writers I seldom 
am trying to convince anyone of anything 
other than continually recommend that 
people vote. Actually the recent primary 
results were so disappointing to me that 
I momentarily considered a non-voting 
alternative. Only momentarily, I still 
recommend that everyone take advantage 
of their main guaranteed right and get out 
there and vote. Okay, other than that what 
you do with your life is your business but I 
would suggest that you not hurt anyone.

 Before closing I should explain 
why my other attempts at conversation 
are so frequently dissatisfying. Telephonic 
conversations invariably involve parties, 
including me, who are multi-tasking as they 
talk and not able to think very deeply about 
what is being said. Frequently one or the 
other party has the need to rush off or is 
distracted by something else or is needed 
elsewhere. My cellphone is such that 
transmission is frequently interrupted as I 
drive or go up hills or reach dead spots. 

 Face to face conversations for me at 
this age are frequently difficult. They begin 
generally with a question like “how are 
you” which invariably leads to a description 
of medical problems, recent deaths or 
operations of friends, and a recognition of 
how each of us is aging. Certainly, in the 
last month or so, an errant sneeze or cough 
begets worries about contagion and a desire 
to be somewhere else. I do not believe I 
am the only one who experiences these 
distractions which prevent the conversation 
from being anything but superficial. Being 
who I am, I try to talk about what I feel to 
be profound subjects and am confronted by 
the expression of boredom that immediately 
accompanies my attempt. I frequently 
discuss such subjects in my articles and can 
imagine that the other party is as interested 
as I am and will give the subject the thought 
it deserves.

 So the question remains. Why do 
I need the belief that the newspaper will 
publish my articles and that these articles 
will be read and considered by an interested 
public at large? Well this is a complex 
subject and in order to clarify my own 
thoughts and feelings I think it necessary 
that I construct an article about it and 
submit it for publication.

Kia Ora Be Safe (These are the last 
words of the acceptance speech of the Maori 
Academy Award 

Winner that I have discussed in previous 
articles. I think the words are very 
appropriate now and have obtained car 
bumper stickers with those words

I imagine making a gift of these stickers to 
anyone who contributes to the

Campaign to raise funds for this newspaper. 
If you are interested or want to share 
any information with me my email is 
stuarttolchin@gmail.com 


LEFT/RIGHT/OR IN THE MIDDLELEFT/RIGHT/OR IN THE MIDDLE

TOM PURCELL

AMID PANDEMIC, 
CYBER SCAMS A 
GROWING THREAT

CHRISTINE FLOWERS


FORGET SOCIAL DISTANCING, WHAT’S 
HAPPENING IS CRIMINAL

I got an email from the ACLU the other day. I have absolutely 
no idea how I got on their mailing list, since I ve written column 
after column criticizing them for their positions on everything 
from representing accused terrorists to their problem 
with religion in the public square. I do not carry their card, I 
do not want their card and if someone offered me their card I 
would treat it like Abbie Hoffman treated his draft card back in 
the day.

The email was a request to sign on to a petition that would urge President Trump and 
our nation s governors to empty the prisons. They wanted communities that are the 
most vulnerable to COVID-19 to be protected. They wanted defendants released back 
onto the streets, or at the very least, out of custody.

There are a few problems with this proposal, the first being the suggestion that detained 
prisoners make up the most vulnerable communities for infection. Uh, no. 
That would be the elderly, the immune-deficient or immune-compromised, and those 
who have no health coverage. Just because someone has committed a crime, has been 
arrested and is awaiting trial (or has already been convicted) does not make him or her 
a high risk for the coronavirus.

So to the ACLU, I would say that being in prison does not make you a member of a 
vulnerable community. It makes you a member of a community that has to deal with 
the consequences of your actions, which in many cases involves preying upon actual 
vulnerable people. But even more off-putting than the suggestion that detainees are 
vulnerable is the idea we should give them a Get Out Of Jail Free card because of this 
public health crisis. It is almost laughable that we would respond to one crisis by creating 
another one: criminals released back into the streets.

If you think about it, it s laughable. Instead of looking to sanitize and maximize the 
safety of the detention centers by implementing protocols that will segregate certain 
populations that have reduced immune systems (drug users, for example), the ACLU 
decides to just flood communities that are already struggling to keep law-abiding citizens 
healthy with people who have either committed crimes or have been arrested on 
suspicion of committing crimes. That is a special kind of crazy.

And to be fair to the ACLU, it is not alone in having these delusional episodes. The Police 
Department of Philadelphia announced last week that it wasn t going to be arresting 
people for the vast majority of crimes that are committed in the city. Among the crimes 
included are narcotics offenses, burglary, vandalism, and prostitution.

If the police encounter someone who is in the process of committing one of those 
crimes, they will simply confirm the identity of the offender (and you can absolutely 
trust that the criminal will tell them the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth 
because they re all Boy Scouts,) will prepare all relevant paperwork and then release 
the offender. At a later date, that paperwork will be submitted to a supervisor, and if the 
supervisor thinks an arrest warrant is appropriate, it will be issued. Then, if D.A. Larry 
Krasner thinks that there are grounds for a prosecution, he will prosecute.

Realizing that perhaps initiating the Philadelphia version of The Purge might trouble 
some people, they added this provision:

 If an officer believes that releasing the offender would pose a threat to public safety, 
the officer will notify a supervisor who will review the totality of the circumstances and 
utilize discretion in the interest of public safety, in determining the appropriate course 
of action. Translation: What the public doesn t know won t hurt them, let him loose. 

When I read that directive a few days ago, I really did think it was someone playing a 
prank on the city. It was so incredibly fantastical and the stuff of apocalyptic fiction that I 
thought not even Krasner and his social justice warrior band of merry men and women 
would come up with a blanket no arrest plan.

But it is legitimate, and taken together with the ACLU s demand that we release criminals 
because they are part of a vulnerable community, I have come to the conclusion that 
no amount of social distancing will save us.

We've already gone mad.


The dirty rotten crooks.

While the rest of the world is doing its best to sacrifice to 
beat an unseen biological virus, cyber scammers are trying 
to attack us with a variety of digital viruses.

Before the start of 2020, I warned about the rapid increase 
in cyber attacks. The more we live our lives online, the 
more vulnerable we all are to email phishing attacks (fake emails), ransomware 
attacks (when bad guys gain illegal access to our computers and lock up our 
devices until we pay them a fee), scammers who pose as government representatives 
and many other schemes.

Last July, I warned about another worrisome cyber threat: attacks on the elderly. 
People 80 or older are especially at risk and reported a median loss of $2,700 per 
scam ” and there are many regrettable stories about older people who have been 
taken for their life savings.

But in the midst of our current crisis ” as millions are working from home ” 
scammers are busier than ever.

First of all, the virtual private networks companies use for remote workers are 
not set up to handle the massive number of people now working from home. The 
systems run so slowly, employees are avoiding them ” opening up security gaps 
for the scammers to exploit.

Second of all, anyone with ill intent can become a scammer now. Even 10 years 
ago, one had to be highly skilled to run cyber scams, but today, any fool can purchase 
and operate an off-the-shelf digital scam.

Digital Shadows, a cyber threat intelligence firm, identified a “for-sale” email 
scam that mimics an actual Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering 
distribution map of the coronavirus’s outbreak. Click the link in the 
email and you will download malicious software.

The asking price for the sophisticated scam? A lousy 200 bucks.

Fear is the scammer s most potent weapon. Scammers are peddling fake coronavirus 
test kits and cures. Some pretend to be from government agencies offering 
information on the number of people afflicted with COVID-19 in your city. Others 
set up fake charitable organizations.

Their goal? To send emails with malicious attachments or links to fraudulent 
websites to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or donating to 
fraudulent charities or causes, says the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency (CISA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

It makes my blood boil to know that heartless cybercrooks are adding to the 
woes many are experiencing. We all need to understand that we must increase 
our ability to detect and thwart their scams to protect ourselves and our families 
” in particular, our elderly family members and neighbors.

There are steps we can take right now to get started.

CISA s Stop.Think.Connect program offers basic cyber tips that we can begin 
using today; tip sheets on detecting threats and protecting our computers, 
smartphones and other devices; and tips for protecting older Americans.

And for helpful videos, look to StaySafeOnline.org s YouTube offerings.

It s regrettable that those of us who are staying at home to limit the spread of 
the coronavirus are at increasing risk as we conduct our daily business on our 
computers.

 Let s make it harder for those dirty rotten online crooks to exploit us.

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