Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 5, 2022

5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 5, 2022 OPINIONOPINION 5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 5, 2022 OPINIONOPINION 
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Stuart Tolchin 
Audrey SwansonMeghan MalooleyMary Lou CaldwellKevin McGuire 
Chris Leclerc 
Bob Eklund 
Howard 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 
HALLOWEEN, J. EDGAR HOOVER and 
THE 2024 ELECTION

 
As I walked around trick or treating with my 

granddaughter on Halloween I was amazed at how many 

adults were in costume and enjoying all the pretense. 

My granddaughter is now three and really it has been a 

great many decades since I walked along trick or treat


ing and certainly I never was in costume. Actually the 

idea of encouraging children to go to strangers’ homes 

begging for candy is really something to think about. In 

fact, thinking about Monday night’s Halloween adventures 
as I heard Tuesday morning news lead my mind to focus on the consequences 
of pretense. I thought of the factors now revealed as the reasons for the release of 
men convicted in 1966 for the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X. This 
release based on evidence that the FBI, under the personal direction of J. Edgar 
Hoover withheld information disproving the convicted men’s involvement in the 
crime. Today’s newspaper stories speculate as to whether or not the FBI and Mr. 
Hoover actually went so far as to order the assassination of the Black Civil Rights 
Leader. Furthermore, you should also be aware that there are questions regardingMr. Hoover’s involvement in the assassination of Martin Luther King. It is documented 
that Hoover sent letters to MLK recommending his suicide to prevent release 
of potentially scandalous information possibly having a negative effect upon 
the Civil Rights movement. 

J. Edgar Hoover is a man whose fantasies have had a profound influence 
over at least the past sixty year years and alas, are still influencing us today. I have 
no personal connection to Mr. Hoover other than one time a couple of decades ago 
when I and opposing attorneys were invited into a Judge’s Chambers to discuss a 
pending matter(remember, this was at a time when there were already questions 
circulating about Mr. Hoover’s behavior) nevertheless, in his chambers, the Judge, 
an ex-FBI agent displayed items relating to his FBI tenure and what I remember 
most is the way in which the Judge spoke of the FBI director as if he was speaking 
of royalty. Newspaper articles have repeatedly mentioned that at the height of his 
power in office, ex-President Trump’s most favored pals spoke of him in the same 
way, in fact I read that he enjoyed, almost required, being called King. 
What is the connection of Mr. Trump to Mr. Hoover? Both men were 
steeped in fantasy that they succeed in causing others to believe. J. Edgar Hoover 
was a five foot seven inch tall man who lived with his mother until he was in his 
forties. In his fantasies he imagined himself to be a super-hero protecting America 
from evil-doers. It is now known that his whole life was a life of denial and fantasies 
influential in creating a powerful imagined character which remarkably became 
a kind of reality. Almost single-handedly he developed an Investigative Agency 
which became the Bureau of Investigation and the immensely powerful Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. He became the holder of many secrets regarding politicians 
and the rich and famous and powerful. He used the possibility of revealing 
this information as a way to manipulate public figures. He, of course, was also subject 
to blackmail relating to his cross-dressing, pornography collections, and, at the 
time, publicly unacceptable gay lifestyle. Nevertheless, J. Edgar Hoover retained his 
power and remained the Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. 

This information would only be of limited interest if the fantasies in fact Mr. 
Hoover was an honest, effective, innovative, governmental employee. That would 
be nice but it is also fantasy. It is documented that Mr. Hoover protected the Mafia 
because of his fear that the Mafia would reveal his own personal secrets. Even worse 
than that Mr. Hoover felt threatened by America’s progressive movements. The 
anti-war (remember Viet Nam) and the Civil Rights movements were his enemies 
and he did everything he could to discredit them possibly including directing assassinations. 
He had many deceptions to protect and the only character trait he valued 
was personal loyalty to himself. Recall that despite prevailing criticism Mr. Hoover 
remained powerful and served as the Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Of 
course, who does that remind you of? Frighteningly Donald Trump has remained 
popular to many millions of Americans who accept his fantasies. Despite continual 
revelations regarding his honesty, morality, treacherous and possibly treasonous behavior 
Mr. Trump remains unpunished and popular enough to be a potential 2024 
Republican Presidential candidate and a possible re-elected President. 

I do not believe that Halloween should be a 365 day holiday. The masks must 
come off and the electorate, all of us, must recognize what has happened and what 
is happening to our country. Most of us grew up believing in values like truth, honesty, 
fairness, justice and we spoke of equality of opportunity and overall humanity. 
It seemed as if we were headed to a better world and a better country as policies 
relating to racism, sexism, and discrimination were reformed. I do not believe this 
was a fantasy but right now one has to wonder. At the risk of offending everyone 
I do not believe much good comes from handing out candy to children. There is 
something more important to give to children which is the ability to distinguish 
truth from lies and fantasy. 

DINAH CHONG WATKINS 


CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WRONG KIND 

My Neighbor is a Communist 

My neighbor is a communist. A card-carrying cadre from the 
CCPC, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of 
China. Actually, most of my neighbors were - communists 
that is, when I lived in China for 25+ years. 

Now, communists make good and bad neighbors. Most keep 

the communal areas tidy, sort their recyclables properly, and hold the noise pollution 
to an agreeable level, piano lessons notably excepted. Of course, there’s always the few 
who disregard the “poop and scoop” rule of civility, much to the shrieking curses of 
the guy who stepped into it. 
But, living in a totalitarian political system ultimately means one thing - your voice 
isn’t heard, you have no skin in the game, you have no vote. 

Now this has definite advantages if one wants to build state-of-the-art, billions dollar 
airports, highways, high-speed trains, subway lines and 100,000 unit housing developments 
within 24 months or the next Olympics - current residents (human and 
wildlife) in those areas be damned. 

The disadvantages, though that ultra-speedy baggage carousel at the new airport is a 
sure winner; are lack of individual property rights, no right to protest, no free press, 
and government intrusion and control of public and private life at the highest levels. 
And the national anthem is no sing-along except by a professional chorus with a 
percussion-heavy orchestra. 

Being in a system where you have no representation is like living in a byzantine HOA 
overseen by committees of molasses-paced, apathetic, under qualified bureaucrats. 
Mediocrity and kow-towing to the lowest common denominator is revered. Imagine 
“Bachelor in Paradise” only reset to “Bachelor in the DMV”. 

During my time in China, I had a few friends who went through the heart-breakingjourney of mass eviction from their homes by the government. A nominal sum was 
given to them for their “transfer”, far below the fair market rate and insufficient for 
them to relocate in the same area. Written appeals to the local and national government 
offices went nowhere (literally), as they, as individuals had no legal right to 
protest. Office holders and officials napped comfortably at their desks, secure in the 
knowledge that their positions were appointed not elected, and they didn’t have to 
answer to “the people”. 

I’ve seen a nation’s morale and morality break firsthand, the human spirit treads despairingly 
on a slow death when one has no control or input on issues that matter. 

We in America are privileged in our constitutional rights, borne from the sacrifices 
of our armed forces, activists, suffragettes, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, 
and yes, our next-door neighbors. 

Let’s make our voices heard and vote on November 8th! 

RICH & FAMOUS 
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS 
VOTE VOTE 
VOTE 

As we near the eve of our 2022 election 
cycle a rare burst of enlightenment reminded 
your intrepid columnist how 
valuable a review of our political process might prove. And what better 
than analysis through the eyes of brilliant humorist, politicians and hackneyed 
columnists. 


First off, Will Rogers.

Let us look at his appraisal of Republicans first: 
“With the election coming on, you are going to be fed up with a lot of 
hooey about a lot of things. Naturally the Republicans are to put their best 
side forward. They are just trying to figure out which side is their best.” 

“Don’t blame all the things that have happened to us lately on the Republi


cans – they’re not smart enough to have thought ‘em up.” 
“The Republicans built their Platform not only to stand on, but it’s in such 
shape that they can hide behind it or run clear around it, or even crawl 
under it.” 

He didn’t leave the Democrats alone either: 
“The trouble with the Democrats up to now has been that they have been 

giving the people ‘what they thought the people ought to have’ instead of 
‘what the people wanted’.” 
And possibly his most famous quote regarding the Democrats: 
“I’m a member of no organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” 
He often picked on both: 
“The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit 

that each party is worse than the other.” 
“Both parties have their good and bad times, only they have them at dif


ferent times. They are each good when they are out of office, and each bad 
when they are in.” 
“The Republican and Democratic Parties both split. The Republicans have 

their split right after elections, and Democrats have theirs just before an 
election.” 

Speaking specifically generally regarding politicians: 
“I’m just like a politician – the less I know about anything, the more I can 
say.” 

“Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat 
with nowadays.” 

How about a few runner-ups? 
“No one (political) party can fool all of the people all of the time, that’s 
why we have two parties.” Bob Hope 

“I have opinions of my own – strong opinions – but I don’t always agree 
with them.” George W. Bush 
We can’t forget Dan Quayle (Vice President under George Bush Sr.): 
“The Future will be better tomorrow.” 
“A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.” 
“It’s time for the human race to enter the solar system.” 
“For NASA, space is still a high priority.” 
“We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.” 
“I stand by all the misstatements that I’ve made.” 

And finally a Dan Quayle quote I would like to get credit for saying: 
“I deserve respect for the things I did not do.”
Finally…
“You have my respect and admiration if you exercise your obligation to 
vote.” Rich Johnson 


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