Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 29, 2023

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OPINIONOPINION

Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 29, 2023 

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 

Harvey Hyde

Audrey Swanson

Meghan Malooley

Mary Lou Caldwell

Kevin McGuire

Chris Leclerc

Dinah Chong Watkins

Howard Hays

Paul Carpenter

Kim Clymer-Kelley

Christopher Nyerges

Peter Dills 

Rich Johnson

Lori Ann Harris

Rev. James Snyder

Katie Hopkins

Deanne Davis

Despina Arouzman

Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

STUART TOLCHIN

RICH JOHNSON 

NOW THAT’S RICH


PUT THE LIGHTS 
ON


BARBARA MILLICENT ROBERTS aka BARBIE!

SEARCHING FOR 
HAPPINESS

This is quite possibly my most important column ever!

Have you seen Barbara Millicent Robert’s movie yet? I hear it’s all the rage. 
The film stars Margot Robbie as Barbara, and Ryan Gosling as her beau 
Kenneth. You might know the movie more by its namesakes nickname…Barbie!

“Barbie” of course is the famous toy doll created by Mattel in 1959. “Barbie” was named 
after Mattel co-founders Ruth and Elliot’s daughter, Barbara. “Barbie” was designed by 
design engineer Jack Ryan. Prior to Mattel, Jack helped design missile systems for the government. 
Ryan later married Zsa Zsa Gabor.

By the way, Barbie is not from Malibu. She’s from Willows, Wisconsin according to the 
official Barbie website. When Barbie first arrived on the scene you could purchase her as a 
blonde or a brunette. Apparently blondes have more fun, because brunette Barbie was soon 
relegated to the Bargain Bin (alliteration accidental as always).

Barbie didn’t smile for 12 years. Her lips were pursed until 1971. By the way Barbie is dating 
a younger man. Ken is two years Barbie’s junior having been “birthed” in March, 1961. 
Ken first came with red swim trunks, sandals, towel and that’s it. No shirt. Topless. Barbie 
and Ken were together for 43 years breaking up just before Valentine’s Day, 2004. Barbie 
rebounded into the arms of a “Cali Guy” named Blaine Gordon. Fortunately Barbie and 
Ken reunited in 2011 on, you guessed it, Valentine’s Day.

Barbie has six siblings. Skipper was born in 1964 and twins Tutti and Todd arrived in 1965. 
Tragically, Tutti was “discontinued” in 1971, replaced by Stacie. How cold hearted can that 
be? Kelly arrived in 1995, gone in 2010 replaced by Chelsea. And finally Krissy was born in 
the late ‘90s (Are you keeping up?)

Speaking of revolving doors, Barbie had more than 40 pets: 21 dogs, 14 horses, 6 cats, 3 
ponies, a parrot, panda, chimpanzee, giraffe and a zebra. A PETA spokesperson described 
her as “animal friendly”.

Barbie has had close to 200 different careers. The arts, business, politics and science to 
name a few. She taught sign language, was a UNICEF ambassador, Canadian Mountie, and 
a rapper. Barbie has run for president six times. (She’s a “Progressive” by the way.)

Barbie beat Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon by 4 years. The news reported 
that Miss Astronaut Barbie sashayed her way into space in 1965.

Barbie could be bought originally for $2.99. Today she costs about $10. The “Stefano Canturi 
Barbie” was auctioned off in 2010 to raise money for charity. The winning bid was 
$302,500. Barbie came with a actual diamond necklace.

Finally, the best selling Barbie of all time is Totally Hair Barbie, released in 1992. 10 million 
dolls. And Bettina Dorfmann, a German fan of Barbie has 15,000 dolls.

Thank you Alex Daniel of BestLife Magazine for your indepth research.

For over 45 years I have lived here in beautiful 
Sierra Madre in a special place we call 
the lower canyon. After living here for fifteen 
years I contracted to build a new house with three decks. 
It took about a year but soon there it was, a brand new house 
with four levels of stairs and observation decks on both sides 
of the house. I’m almost eighty now and I never thought 
of stair-climbing as a problem but it clearly now is a potential 
disaster. Nevertheless, the most pressing question for me 
now is what is necessary for me to be happy? Despite my 
worries about falling, the decks help as I will explain later.

 Since I stopped practicing law about three years ago 
I have had a lot of time, too much time I guess, to try and 
manipulate my own feelings. My experience tells me that 
my “happiness” cannot be found in the eyes of others. What 
I crave is success in communicating with a deeper more authentic 
part of myself. Recently a neighbor who I have rarely 
spoken to mentioned to my wife that he and his mother regularly 
enjoyed reading my articles for the reason that they 
both found the columns so “vulnerable and earnest.” That 
pleased me. It might be a sign that I am on the right track although 
my need for validation might actually be an obstacle. 
I just got a phone call from a friend and told her I couldn’t 
talk because I was trying to finish an article that didn’t seem 
to be making much sense. She advised “don’t stress –just let 
it flow. “

 Speaking of allowing myself to become integrated 
into a positive flow I recently I began to volunteer at the 
nearby Los Angeles Arboretum. I have created a beautiful 
private space place for myself in front of a window overlooking 
the beauty of the gardens where I can familiarize with 
new book arrivals prior to writing brief descriptions of my 
reactions. While at the library I have spent a little time talking 
to the librarian who is herself an artist and the child of 
artists. I asked a simple question of what to expect when I 
look at a piece of art. She explained the absolute importance 
of not being involved with judging the art as good or bad. It 
is best to make no judgments but instead let the piece talk. 
Appreciate its colors, the time and materials necessary it took 
for creation. Look at the details and the shapes and allow a 
conversation with the piece to occur. Please be aware of this 
instruction as you continue to read this piece. It will help. 
Luckily my house on the hill, with all of its levels and 
stairways is a great place to observe the ever-changing sky 
and clouds and birds travelling across the canyon and try to 
not worry about the breaking TV news I am missing. I do 
my best to relax and experience the great gift, the miracle of 
existence. The car crashes and global conflicts can wait. You 
too have been given this special gift the recognition of which 
lies deep inside all of us. How it got there I don’t know but 
that is not necessary. Maybe that knowledge is what some 
people call faith.

 Many of us spend our lives allowing that knowledge 
to be obscured. Instead we worry about what other people 
think of us and are busy judging ourselves. I am beginning 
to realize that all life, all existence, is a work of art and, just as 
the librarian instructed, it can be appreciated and not simply 
judged. My email address is stuarttolchin@gmail.com and I 
will be HAPPY to hear from you. The challenge of my search 
is probably not to search but to just observe, receive, and experience. 
I hope you can help me as I have tried to help myself 
by continuing to write these articles with the belief that 
it is possible to find myself. 


Mountain Views News 
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for the City of Sierra 
Madre; in Court Case 
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HERE WE GO AGAIN. by Michael Reagan

The first Republican presidential 
primary debate is less than 
a month away and the GOP is 
hell-bent on making the same 
mistake it made in 2015.

 For its first primary debate 
back then Republicans had a 
herd of medium-caliber presidential 
wannabes that was so 
large the party had to split 
them into two tiers based on 
their polling numbers.

 Fox News hosted two crowded 
debates back-to-back on 
one night that were more useless 
than usual.

 In the main event, 24 million 
Americans watched a chorus 
line of party heavyweights – 
Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike 
Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted 
Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and 
John Kasich – struggle to out-promise each other 
while they ganged up on Donald Trump.

 In the preliminary debate Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, 
Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, Jim 
Gilmore and George Pataki tried to do or say something 
memorable that might explain why they, their 
wives and their mothers thought they were presidential 
timber.

 Today, most of those 2016 dreamers have disappeared 
from the scene, become answers to trivia 
questions or appear on Fox News every 20 minutes 
doing commercials for pain relief or sleep aids.

Those over-crowded Republican debates in 2015 
were a waste of time and energy that did the party, 
the candidates and the country no good. Plus, except 
for the entertaining Trump Factor, like most debates 
they were boring and unenlightening.

 Apparently, the GOP’s thinking about primary debates 
this year was, “Hey, let’s make the same mistake 
again.”

 So far, seven of the 11 Republican candidates who’ve 
announced for the 2024 presidency have qualified 
for the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee.

 They are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron 
DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Ha-
ley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina 
Sen. Tim Scott and some rude former president 
named Donald Trump.

 Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former 
Vice President Mike Pence are still trying to meet all 
the polling and fundraising requirements they need 
to be included.

 Ditto for former Texas congressman Will Herd and 
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Did I actually say the 
mayor of Miami? Really?

 Other than Mayor Suarez, the Republican slate for 
2024 is pretty impres-sive.

 It’s a deep, diverse and accomplished lineup of 
current and former public servants who should be 
thanked for their service – and then urged to drop 
out and endorse someone who can win in 2024.

 Realistically, except for Trump and maybe DeSantis, 
the other candidates are kidding themselves and 
their supporters.

 They have as much chance of becoming the 2024 
Republican presidential nominee as my gardener 
and don’t deserve to be included in a debate.

 Meanwhile, our presidential debates are not really 
debates at all.

 They’re become places where candidates duck hard 
questions and instead deliver pre-packaged, poll-
tested, 90-second answers that no one re-members 
the next day.

 In a better world, our political debates would be limited 
to three or four candidates who are competitive.

 In a perfect world, they also would be conducted 
by unbiased, skeptical journalists and would allow 
plenty of time for candidates to answer im-portant 
policy questions and challenge each other.

 Unfortunately, we live in the real world. Which is 
why we’re going to con-tinue to get overcrowded debates, 
poorly constructed debates or no de-bates at 
all from the major parties and the major media.

 The GOP’s upcoming string of presidential primary 
debates will be anoth-er waste of time and energy.

They will just be a series of TV tryouts to see who 
has the brains and guts to be Trump’s vice president 
pick – which makes Pence’s candidacy make even 
less sense.

 I respect Pence, but he’s never going to be nominated 
for president by a MAGA Republican Party. He’d 
have 75 million votes against him on Elec-tion Day.

And anyway, he shouldn’t be in the primary debates 
because he’s already been Trump’s VP.

Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, 
is an author, speak-er and president of the Reagan 
Legacy Foundation. Send comments to reagan@
caglecartoons.com and follow @reaganworld on 
Twitter.


A/C HASN’T ONLY MADE LIFE COOLER 

By Tom Purcell

As a heat wave hits America from 
coast to coast, it’s hot outside — 
but cool inside, thanks to the triumph 
of air conditioning.

For most of human history, there 
was little people could do to avoid 
heat.

During the day, it drove people 
outside of their homes to enjoy the 
shade of a tree or to take a refreshing 
dip in a lake or river.

At night, folks in cities slept outside 
on their porches, roofs and 
even fire escapes.

When I was a kid in the suburbs 
of Pittsburgh, few homes had air 
condi-tioning.

Our windows were always open 
with several fans bringing in the 
cool night air, as we drifted off to 
sleep comforted by their wobbling 
sound.

Air conditioning changed 
everything.

Homes used to have big windows, 
high ceilings, cross ventilation and 
large hallways to dissipate heat. 
This is no longer necessary, and 
most homes are sealed shut all 
summer long.

Commercial buildings used to 
have windows that opened but that 
isn’t necessary, either.

Today’s glass-plated buildings are 
designed to keep the light and air 
out, so that we are oblivious to 
whatever season it may be.

AC dramatically changed our 
politics.

Before air conditioning, Washington 
D.C. was so hot, the halls of 
Congress were empty from mid-
June to September.

Now they can spend lots more time 
working on — as former New York 
Times columnist Russell Baker put 
it — “… the promulgation of more 
laws, the depredations of lobbyists, 
the hatching of new schemes for 
federal expansion and, of course, 
the cost of maintaining a government 
running at full blast.”

Without A/C, heat was the great 
equalizer. The rich suffered just as 
much as the poor.

All of that changed a little over 100 
years ago when Willis Haviland 
Carri-er invented air conditioning.

Department stores and movie 
houses were among the first to install 
A/C. Regrettably, the federal 
government soon followed.

It wasn’t until the 1920s that A/C 
began making its way into residential 
homes.

Today, 90% of American homes 
have air conditioning, which is 
why tens of millions of young and 
old folks have been able to safely 
migrate to steamy places like Florida 
and the baking deserts of the 
Southwest.

A/C can literally be a life saver.

Europe’s unbearable 2003 heat 
wave killed more than 30,000 
people. That’s unconscionable at 
a time when a window A/C unit 
costs a hundred bucks at any big-
box store.

The good news, according to Scientific 
American, is that by “2050, 
re-searchers expect the number of 
room air conditioners on Earth to 
quad-ruple to 4.5 billion, becoming 
at least as ubiquitous as cell 
phones are to-day.”

Here’s even better news: Technology 
innovation is making A/C units 
more efficient, less costly and less 
impactful on the environment.

Consider: A/C requires hydrofluorocarbons 
(HFCs) to cool the air.

HFC refrigerants are very effective 
at cooling the air inside our homes, 
but they are potent greenhouse 
gases that, as they leak from aging 
units, are bad for the environment.

An intense competition is under 
way among A/C manufacturers to 
replace HFCs with eco-friendly refrigerants 
and advanced filtration 
systems.

To further aid this effort, a global 
coalition of partners has joined 
hands to launch the Global Cooling 
Prize, a first-of-its-kind challenge 
to spur inno-vation in the 
A/C industry.

Meanwhile, A/C continues to be 
one of the greatest inventions to 
better the lives of millions — maybe 
the coolest American invention 
ever.


Mountain Views News

Mission Statement

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concerns of our readers 
are this newspaper’s 
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support a prosperous 
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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. 

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