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OPINIONOPINION

Mountain View News Saturday, May 10, 2025

STUART TOLCHIN

MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS

NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

SALES

Patricia Colonello

626-355-2737 

626-818-2698

WEBMASTER

John Aveny 

DISTRIBUTION

Peter Lamendola

CONTRIBUTORS

Lori A. Harris

Michele Kidd

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

RICH JOHNSON

EVERYTHING COMING UP MOTHERS!

PUT THE LIGHTS ON


IS THERE HOPE?

Of course you have 
noticed the chaos 
around us. Everyone 
is confused, 
some are terrified, 
and everyone 
wonders why 
it is happening. I 
have done a little reading and a little 
thinking and am going to offer some 
other possibilities. Just after I graduated 
from Berkeley in 1965 the College 
hired a very young man who soon became 
the youngest tenured professor 
in the College's history. He entered 
Harvard College art the age of 16 and 
in a very short time he obtained his 
PhD in mathematics. As a professor 
students noticed he was a little strange 
because he wore the same clothes every 
day. In 1971 he left teaching and 
moved to a remote cabin in the wilderness. 
Eventually he produced an anti-
technology essay entitled Society and 
its Future.

Perhaps you have already guessed the 
more popular name of this writing 
which is commonly called a manifesto. 
According to the internet this 
manifesto contends that the Industrial 
Revolution began a harmful process of 
natural destruction brought about by 
technology, while forcing humans to 
adapt to machinery, creating a sociopolitical 
order that suppresses human 
potential and freedom. The writer 
who is remembered as the Unabomber 
carried on a campaign designed to 
protect wilderness by hastening the 
collapse of the industrial society. The 
manifesto states that the public largely 
accepts individual technological advancements 
as purely positive without 
accounting for the erosion of local and 
individual freedom and autonomy.

Yes, I used my iPhone to look up information 
about the author of this 
writing popularly remembered as the 
Unabomber Manifesto. Why do research 
when I can just go the iPhone 
and end my curiosity. Using the phone 
isn’t exactly research or learning. It is 
a momentary activity that brings little 
pleasure. On the stand behind my bed 
there sits a book by Richard P. Feynman 
entitled The Pleasure of Finding 
Things Out. I read the book and recall 
Feynman's description of scientists 
struggling so desperately for every bit 
of knowledge, staying up night seeking 
an answer. When eventually a satisfactory 
explanation is understood Feynman 
describes a feeling probably akin 
to an epiphany.

Well, I often stay up all night playing 
with my phone doing puzzles. Perhaps 
you stay up playing video games. That 
is not what Feynman described. There 
is no epiphany connected to pressing a 
button on the phone and taking a few 
minutes to read what has already been 
found. I believe the progress of social 
media and technology have robbed 
many of us of the pride we formerly 
obtained from our own discoveries. 
Sending a link to someone else is 
very different from sharing the joy of 
discovery.

 Of course, I can do nothing but condemn 
the methods the Unabomber 
employed to attempt to reverse the 
trend. He engaged in domestic terrorism 
for nearly twenty years, planting 
bombs that killed three Americans 
and injured many more before his capture 
in 1996.

 As we all recall now, he attempted 
to attract attention but other than attracting 
attention he completely failed 
in his attempts to reverse the progress 
of modern technology. In 1998 he was 
sentenced to consecutive life terms 
without the possibility of parole. He 
remained in prison until June of 2023 
when he hanged himself in prison. All 
right he failed but what about us. We 
must be more than passive observers 
who watch our most important values 
being destroyed.

 What I suggest is something really 
radical. Individually we must take care 
of ourselves. Stop drinking and stop 
using drugs. Talk to people, listen to 
them and listen to yourself. Try writing. 
I find it helpful. Be brave enough 
to share your thoughts with other 
people who exist in a bubble different 
from your own. Limit use of the phone 
for yourself and your kids to an hour 
per day and encourage them to obtain 
library cards and to discuss what they 
read with others. Meet the challenge 
and always avoid violence.

 The Unabomber tried to use violence 
to combat technological progress and 
its consequences. He used the wrong 
weapon. The one true weapon is our 
individual human intelligence and social 
skills. The Unabomber had the intelligence 
but not the skills. If Americans 
can free themselves from the 
crippling addictions associated with 
isolation and despair, we can rediscover 
sanity. Let us fight for our heritage 
and release our own energy to reclaim 
our own humanity. 

GET INVOLVED!! Join protests and 
throw away your phones. Try living 
without your alcohol and drugs. 

 Mother’s Day seems an appropriate time for me to reveal something 
about my family. Yes, I have a mother. I am not a test tube 
baby, or an alien found on another planet, no matter what the 
compelling evidence might suggest.

 Revelation #1: I am a twin. No, not an identical twin. A loving 
Heavenly Father would never inflict the world with two of me. My twin Sister’s 
name, Ruth. We were born on Halloween (I know, my birthday explains a great 
deal regarding my particular peculiarities!) My twin sister and I are not identical. 
She was prettier, smarter, more athletic, frankly my superior in every category. 
(Sadly, I use the verb “was” as she is no longer with us.)

 Revelation #2: Ruth and I were not the only twins in my family. No, I’m not 
referring to cousins. The startling fact is, 13 months following my sister and my 
arrival, mom gave birth to my brother and sister, aka Elizabeth and Roger. Twins, 
part deux! Their birth facilitated an instant invitation from my mother to my father, 
to go join a monastery as this “factory” was now closed. Two sets of twins in 
13 months! 

 Of the thousands of wonderful quotes about mothers, to me the most 
powerful quotes describe the profound influence a mother can have on her children. 
Please read and reread these quotes. “Behind every great child is a mother 
who believed in them!”

 Jessica Chastain: “I am where I am today because of this warrior woman. 
Thank you, Mom.” 

 Muhammad Ali had this to say about his mother: “My mother once told 
me that my confidence in myself made her believe in me. I thought that was funny, 
because it was her confidence in me that strengthened my belief in myself.”

Beyonce to her mom: “Dear Mama, everything I am is because of you! You are the 
first voice that ever sang to me. At every turn you push me to be better…be true 
to myself and the ones I love.

 Michelle Obama on her mom: “I couldn’t have done this without you, 
mom. You are my role model. You are an amazing woman even though you don’t 
think you had anything to do with me. She always says that, it’s like, you raised 
yourself and I did not, it was you.”

 Rudyard Kipling told us: “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he 
made mothers”.

 (24/7) Once you sign up to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer!

Those of you unacquainted with the Bible, might not know women overall, have 
a much better reputation in the Bible than men. Duh! In fact, beginning in the 
garden, God acknowledged what was instantly obvious: Eve had more on the ball 
than Adam. 

 That might be because God created man first. Think of Adam as the Model 
T: Simple, utilitarian, available in one color. When God created the first woman, 
there were several improvements: Eve was the Model A: More modern, more colorful, 
more powerful with twice the horsepower…you get the picture.

Finally, I think mothers should have a celebratory day once a month. The problem 
is it would probably result in more work for them. In conclusion, mothers, you 
keep the whole world together. Your positive direct influence on your children is 
what keeps civilization civilized. Thanks for the good work!

Speaking of celebrations, my rock and roll band, JJ Jukebox, will be performing at 
Nano Café, Saturday, July 19th. If you like to eat, drink and dance; and if you like 
music such as “Born to Be Wild”, “Taking Care of Business”, “Crazy Little Thing 
Called Love”, etc. come let us entertain you. Our shows are always “in bed by ten” 
starting at 6:30 and ending at 9:30. Great food, great dancing, adult drinks (if you 
qualify). Parties of 6 or more call for reservations (626) 325-3334. 

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HOWARD Hays As I See It


“100% tariffs on foreign films (maybe shutting off China market for US films?) Re-open Alcatraz (closed for 60+ years)? I really do not think it is 
a good idea to leave President Trump alone on Sunday nights.” – Jeff Greenfield on X

 

Not just with Trump on Sunday nights, but over the past week in this administration: The White House posts AI-generated pics of Trump as 
both a pope and a jacked-up Star Wars character. Attorney General Pam Bondi declares that 258 million Americans, over 75% of the population, 
have been saved from fentanyl poisoning by President Trump. The top 25 investors in the $TRUMP meme coin are promised VIP tours 
of the White House.

 

Voting rights cases are dropped at the Department of Justice and managers overseeing them removed, with the new head of its Civil Rights Division focused 
instead on “supporting Trump’s priorities”. Trump calls for investigations of pollsters who come up with numbers he doesn’t like. 

 

Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” asks Trump, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States?” and the president answers, “I don’t know”. 
As to whether everyone deserves due process, Trump says he doesn’t know because “I’m not a lawyer”. On the state of the economy, the president explains, “the 
good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy”.

 

The president suggests reopening Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay. The popular tourist attraction hasn’t been used as a prison in over sixty years. It would 
take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it to the point of again holding 200-300 prisoners – with ongoing expenses more than double the 
per-prisoner cost at an existing Supermax facility.

 

Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens points out that where Trump was staying that weekend, the local PBS station was showing the 1979 Clint Eastwood 
film, “Escape from Alcatraz”. Stevens explains, “clearly what happened is, this guy saw ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ and then grabbed his phone and started tweeting”. 

 

The day after that 100% tariff on foreign films was announced, Jon Voight posted on X taking credit for the idea. Trump appointed Voight, along with Sylvester 
Stallone and Mel Gibson, as “Special Envoys” to Hollywood. During the campaign, Voight called a vote for Kamala Harris “the lowest and most vile choice”. 
Gibson said Harris “has the IQ of a fence post”. Introducing Trump at a campaign event, Stallone likened the candidate to George Washington.

 

Voight had tariffs as part of a package including tax incentives, “co-production treaties” and subsidies. But for Trump, it became simply a 100% tariff to fight “a 
concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat” – a threat he claims allows him to enact the tariff without bothering with Congress. 
He warned of “messaging and propaganda” coming from foreign-made films

 

Nobody knows specifically what the tariff would apply to. Tariffs traditionally apply to “goods” rather than “services”, and with “services” we consistently run 
trade surpluses with other countries. According to the Motion Picture Association, the film industry’s $22.6 billion in exports resulted in a $15.3 billion trade 
surplus. Should other countries retaliate with restrictions of their own, however, it could cause real problems – like further restrictions on American films in 
foreign markets.

 

As it was when stocks tanked a month ago, they again fell not in reaction 
to a policy, but because nobody knew what that policy was. 
Governor Newsom already has made clear that whatever it might 
be, he intends to go to court over it. The president claims authority 
under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, while, 
as the governor points out, we are neither in an “economic emergency” 
nor does that act mention tariffs as a remedy.

 

All we know is that with this uncertainty coming on the eve of 
Cannes film market, American producers counting on foreign distribution 
deals already see the value of their product suffering a 
major, and unnecessary, blow.

 

News last week on other tariffs was unchanged from the week 
before, when President Trump told Time magazine he’d already 
“made 200 deals” – though neither he nor anyone in his administration 
could name any specific deal or country he’d made a 
deal with. Also unchanged was the assurance we’d be hearing announcements 
of terrific deals any day now. 

 

Aside from Alcatraz and tariffs on the film industry, we had Trump 
telling us last week to get used to the fact that, in the future, we’ll 
be buying fewer toys for our kids. Commerce Secretary Howard 
Lutnick told us to see factory jobs as “the new model, where you 
work in these plants for the rest of your life, and your kids work 
here, and your grandkids work here”. Lutnick sits in a cabinet with 
a combined personal net worth over $12 billion; an administration 
pushing for factory jobs while fighting union protections, telling American families to settle for less while prioritizing tax cuts for billionaires.

 

For those film tariffs, analysts see their major harm being inflicted on low- and mid-budget independent filmmakers. Sometimes I feel like I’m sitting through 
one of those long, mega-budget studio blockbusters – trying to make some sense of the endless noise and bluster, all the while increasingly looking forward to 
its end.


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