Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 14, 2023

13 Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 14, 2023OPINIONOPINION 13 Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 14, 2023OPINIONOPINION 
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 

Peter Lamendola 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Stuart Tolchin 
Audrey 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 

Mountain Views News 
has been adjudicated asa newspaper of GeneralCirculation for the County 
of Los Angeles in CourtCase number GS004724: 
for the City of SierraMadre; in Court CaseGS005940 and for the 
City of Monrovia in CourtCase No. GS006989 and 
is published every Saturday 
at 80 W. Sierra MadreBlvd., No. 327, Sierra 
Madre, California, 91024.
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A member 
of the 
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Association 

Mountain Views News 

Mission Statement 

The traditions of 

community news


papers and the 

concerns of our readers 


are this newspaper’s 
top priorities. We 
support a prosperous

community of well-
informed citizens. We 


hold in high regard the 

valuesoftheexceptional

quality of life in our 

community, includingthe magnificence of 
our natural resources. 


Integrity will be our guide. 

PUT THE LIGHTS ON

STUART TOLCHIN 



RACE - A QUESTION WITHOUT 

I would be very

happy to never 

think about the 

question of race 

again. What does 

it mean anyway? 

According to 

what I have read 

“Race” is not a 

real scientific 

category. Well, 
real or not, it is always on my, and probably 
many of your minds. The media is full of 
announcements regarding the swearing in 
of the first Los Angeles Black female Mayor 
by the first Black female United States Vice-
President. All L.A. sports fans read of the 
exciting UCLA v. USC College football game 
in which for the first time both Colleges had 
starting Black-Quarterbacks, one of whom 
just won the Heisman trophy. Why is race 
even brought up in these contexts? The reason 
is obvious but rarely even stated today. 
There continues to be continuing racial discrimination 
directed against individuals of 
African heritage that makes very clear the 
distinction between seeming American ideals 
and values and the actual policies reflecting 
continuing realities and practicalities. A 
few elected politicians may make us all feel 
better but that does not mean real change has 
occurred. 

Yes, I know that from 2008 through 
2016 we had a “Black “ or actually half-Black 
President, and boy do I wish he was still in 
office. Yes I know that professional football 
now has many Black quarterbacks and Black 
head coaches are present throughout the 
sports world. Yes and television now displays 
many Black people in prominent roles and 
the music world is now filled with successful 
Black musicians---so what’s the problem? 
The problem is blatantly presented in discussions 
relating to the reparations task force. It 
is understood by everyone that Africans were 
brought against their will to North America 
to be uses as slaves, a population considered 
sub-human and brutalized and mistreated 
in every conceivable way. Our Civil War or 
the War of Northern Aggression”, a popular 
name for the War Between the States still 
used by Confederate sympathizers and believers 
in so-called White Supremacy reflected 
in today’s political conflicts between the 
“Blue” States and the “Red” states. (see color 
still matters)

Immediately after the assassination 
of President Lincoln and after the adoption of 
the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments 
to the Constitution which formally abolished 
slavery and established African Americans 
as equal citizens of the United States manySouthern States passed Jim Crow Laws. 
These laws were passed permitting violence 
against Black People. These Laws in practice 

ANSWERS 

mandated racial segregation in public facilities 
and institutionalized economic, political 
and social disadvantages and second class 
citizenship for most African Americans living 
in the United States.

Jim Crow laws were enforced until 
1965, coincidentally the year I entered UCLA 
Law School at which time there were no African 
American students enrolled (and only2 women; but that’s another problem which 
merits a separate discussion). My point today 
is that all Americans must, or should recognize, 
the unspeakable injustices that have 
been inflicted upon Black People for generations. 
For a huge percentage of White Americans 
it was just assumed that Black People (it 
is now fashionable to use the term “people of 
Color” to refer to all non-White minorities) 
were inferior. Americans used that rationale 
to explain the continuing dehumanization 
of African-Americans that, if the truth be 
known, continues to this day.
Presently in California the California Reparations 
Task Force has reviewed the racist 
harm inflicted on generations of people. The 
task force is intended to list recommendations 
to atone for generations of 
trauma suffered by Black children among 
ongoing depictions of White families as ideal 
and Black families as not. During the very 
short time I worked with the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference in Mississippi in 
in 1966 I became very aware of this damaging 
and completely incorrect assumption. 
As young Black students became entitled to 
attend integrated Schools, they were warned 
by their parents that all White Children were 
well-behaved and studied hard and actually 
were kind of superior. I was happy to be 
there to remind these young people that this 
was not who White People were and all that 
the new students had to do was to do their 
best as they were damn smart themselves. 

It is now 66 years later and Americans have 
come to realize the unfairness and discriminatory 
policies that have taken place and, yes, 
we feel bad about it. White people have had 
the benefit of better education, better health 
care, more family stability, and every other 
kind of benefit. Personally, I do not feel that 
giving certain individuals a pile of money is 
the answer. Right now before we try to remedy 
past wrongs let us do something about the 
present discrepancies in equality of opportunity. 
Child care help, free college tuition,
free tutoring, no interest residential loans, 
and available free counselling to try and 
keep families together are necessary and can 
be instituted now. Something like Nixon’s 
War on Drugs, which amounted to a War on 
Black People is not necessary, but the use of 
drugs and alcohol by teenagers (and adults)
is a problem. Before we deal with the past,
let’s try to make the future better. I think we 
would all feel better about that. 

TOM PURCELL 
LAUGHING YOUR WAY TO HAPPINESS 


What makes us happy and fulfilled? 

According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, 
the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the 
answer is very simple: our relationships. 

“The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, 
satisfying and overall healthier lives,” according to the book “The 
Good Life,” which recounts lessons from the Harvard study. 

“Relationships in all their forms — friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, 
tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups — all contribute to a 
happier, healthier life.” 

Most of us know this to be true, yet too often we pursue the shallow and material 
things that do not make us happy. 

On one hand, we want wealth and fame. We want people to recognize us when we walk 
into a public place. 

On the other hand we know wealth and fame are bogus. You never know who your real 
friends really are. You’re surrounded by people looking for a handout. 

I enjoy talking with older people, who are a treasure trove of experience and wisdom. 

I still remember the conversation I had 20 years ago with my brother-in-law’s dad, who 
told me what it was like to grow up during the Great Depression. 

He said his family had no money, but he had no idea they were financially poor because 
they were otherwise wealthy beyond belief. 

His city neighborhood was filled with characters, people watching out for them and 
lots of friends to play with. He said it took forever to walk to the store and back because 
of all the people stopping him to say hello. 

He said he felt sorry for kids today who have material wealth but will never know the 
warmth of being surrounded by so many people who cared for you. 

But we know all this. We know that the happiest moments in our own lives involve 
friends and family. 

These are the people who affect the deeper part of our nature, our spirits and souls, 
where true happiness resides. 

These are the people who help us when we’re down, or engage us in deeply satisfying 
conversations, or make us laugh so hard our guts hurt. 

Perhaps that’s why laughter and a sense of humor are key components of happiness, 
according to The Atlantic. 

“Consuming humor brings joy and relieves suffering,” the magazine reports. 

“In a 2010 study from the Journal of Aging Research, the researchers gave one group 
of senior citizens “humor therapy” — daily jokes, laughter exercises, funny stories and 
the like — for eight weeks. A control group did not receive this therapy. At the end of 
the experiment, the people in the first group reported feeling 42 percent happier than 
they had at the beginning. They were 35 percent happier than the second group, and 
experienced decreases in pain and loneliness.” 

The evidence is clear that engaging and laughing with family and friends are the keys 
to human happiness and fulfillment. 

But sadly, rather than create more connections with other human beings, the U.S. Census 
reveals that Americans — especially elderly Americans — are increasingly becoming 
isolated and lonely, reports PBS. 

The solution to unhappiness and loneliness is clear to me: Make more friends, engage 
and visit those who are isolated, and tell more silly jokes like this one:

“Where is happiness made? At the satisfactory.” 

RICH & FAMOUS 
BAN ON BANS 

This just in…

…CNN has reported a US Consumer 
Product Safety Commissioner has 
“set off a firestorm” (get it) by saying 
gas stoves pose a “hidden hazard” and 
should be banned. Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., said “everything’s 
on the table” (pardon the pun). Berkeley, San Francisco and New York 
City already have restrictions in place banning gas hookups on future 
construction. 


Is the controversy “heating up”? Your intrepid reporter will keepa finger on the pulse, the heartbeat and report back. 

Bans have been with us for as long as legislative bodies and “oversight” 
groups have been organized. Books, seething with dubious meetings 
and intentions have been the focus of bans. For example, “Harriet 
the Spy” (my daughter loves that book…and the movie). “Charlotte’s 
Web” was banned because certain parents in Kansas believed it was unnatural 
for animals to talk (I consulted Mickey Mouse on this issue. He is 
getting back to me). 

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was banned, not because 
the n-word was used 200 times. But because Huck had said “sweat” when 
he should have said “perspiration”. 

Bans are not limited to only books. Here are a few more:

McDonalds have been banned in New Zealand, Bermuda, Kazakhstan 
and Monte Negro. 

You are not supposed to die in the Houses of Parliament in the 
United Kingdom.

It’s illegal to buy women’s magazines in Iran. In Malaysia do not 
walk outside wearing clothing the color yellow.

Having a baby in Denmark. You can only choose a name for your 
baby from a list of government-approved names. There are 24,000 approved 
names. In case you didn’t know “Tiger” is not one of them.

In Oklahoma you can do time for making ugly faces at dogs.
Can’t walk in public in New York City with ice cream in your pocket…
on Sundays. Of course.

Reincarnation is banned in China without preapproval. Time 
travel is also banned in China. That includes films that have time travel 
depicted are banned .

Ketchup is banned from elementary schools in France unless 
French fries are on the lunchroom menu. 

In Victoria, Australia you cannot change a light bulb unless you 
are an electrician. $10 fine 

Married women in La Paz (Bolivia) are limited to one glass of 
wine in a bar. 

Flip flops are banned in Capri, Italy. And if you own a dog in 
Torino, Italy, gotta walk that dog at least 3 times a day. Oh, and in Milan, 
smile all the time. There is a legal ban on frowning. 

As far as I know Sierra Madre has not banned me promoting upcoming 
concerts of my fun-rock band, JJ Jukebox. We are performing 60’s-70’s 
fun rock Saturday, January 21st at Corfu Restaurant in Sierra Madre. 
Come join us 6:00-8:30pm for great food, beverages, and fun rock such 
as “Your Mama Don’t Dance”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Sweet 
Caroline” and lots more. Call (626) 355-5993 to make reservations. Intimate 
setting (meaning not a lot of seats) so act quickly and we will see you 
there (48 West Sierra Madre Blvd., south side of the street). 


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