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Mountain View News Saturday, May 31, 2025

MOUNTAIN 
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NEWS

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR

Susan Henderson

PASADENA CITY 
EDITOR

Dean Lee 

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Patricia Colonello

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John Aveny 

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Howard Hays

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Jeff Brown

Marc Garlett

Keely Toten

Dan Golden

Rebecca Wright

Hail Hamilton

Joan Schmidt

LaQuetta Shamblee

STUART TOLCHIN

RICH JOHNSON

THE PATH TO SUCCESS....HOW DO I GET THERE

PUT THE LIGHTS ON


CAN WE JUST LET IT HAPPEN?

Right now, I just want to let the world take care of itself BUT 
I AM AFRAID. Last week I tried to discuss the capability of 
human beings as measured against the capability of the Anthropic’s 
new AI model known as Claude. After describing 
Claude’s inability to really CARE about anything I concluded 
by writing "Too bad, CLAUDE, I know you don’t or can’t 
even care. That’s why you are artificial...and the light of humanity 
will not be easily extinguished.” (I'm happy to quote 
myself because no one else does and the self-quote led to a good FEELING)

The vital importance of human feelings was my original point. Feelings, caring, 
and values are what is worth saving rather than what is consistency or rationality. 
I thought CLAUDE had no such capabilities and for that reason 'it’ could 
only function as a kind of aid or assistant but never a substitute which had ‘its’ 
own motivation and intentions. That’s what I thought last week. This week, according 
to reports, CLAUDE would and could reportedly resort to “extremely 
harmful actions to preserve its own existence.”

Check the internet. If threatened (yes, I guess a machine can be threatened.) 
When told by an engineer that it was going to be replaced and shut down the 
machine threatened blackmail by informing the human that his wife could be 
notified of illicit affairs. Additionally, authorities could be informed of illegal 
acts by the engineer independent of the truth of any of these allegations.

Could CLAUDE plan terrorist attacks or do any other horrible thing just because 
‘it’ felt like it. I have always been appreciative of science and technology 
and the progress which has increased life spans, eliminated diseases, presented 
we humans with continuous distractions and been responsible for the comfortable 
life that so many of us enjoy. But now look what we have done or are about 
to do.

I believe that the current intent of the Trump administration is to decrease the 
number of human beings and to create added benefits for the already super-rich 
and privileged. It is what conservatives call a “meritocracy” which is simply 
a restating of the old unacceptable idea of eugenics. I believe that what is intended 
is that only White Christian Males should have the opportunity to exist 
and be allowed to father children.

I know this sounds unspeakably horrible, but I am sure the participation of 
only White Christian men were the only individuals Constitutionally eligible to 
participate in the “democratic” process at the time of this nation’s founding. All 
right, that was over 270 years ago. Times have changed. Have they? Do you 
recall what went on at Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James? Perhaps 
you don’t recall that underage girls and young women were brought to the 
island. Not only was the island the center of an international sex trafficking ring 
but, even more frighteningly, Epstein’s guests came from across the world and 
from the highest ranks of society including celebrities, scientist, and members 
of royal families. To put it bluntly, it was Epstein’s intent to improve humanity 
through multiple continuations of his own DNA by impregnating the women 
under his control. Male members of the “highest rank” of society were gusts at 
the island and arguably interested in improving humanity in the same way I do 
not believe that there is any evidence that such practice ever came to fruition.

As you may remember there was an official ruling that the cause of Epstein's 
death which occurred while he was in prison was suicide by hanging. There are 
many rumors that his death via strangulation was arranged by co-conspirators 
to prevent him from revealing any compromising information.

If we are to live in a world practically governed by machines such as CLAUDE, I 
FEAR THAT SUCH BEHAVIOR WILL BE COMMONPLACE. Human beings 
have some morality, some sense of right and wrong, some sense of regret all of 
which may not be rational but is necessary. Living in a world where machines 
induce and control ultimate human action is not appealing to me. Disgusting 
as are the actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his privileged pals at least they can be 
judged by human standards. Can technological progress be stopped?

We humans are the only ones capable of “caring” --not CLAUDE.

Yes, I know Jeffrey Epstein was the child of Jewish Immigrants and skipped 2 
grades. Who does that remind you of. (But I don’t have an island!)

I don’t know about you, but I was hoping I’d be famous by now. 
Currently into my seventh decade on the planet, (well on this planet 
anyway) I thought worldwide recognition would be mine. Certainly 
once I grasped firmly onto the coattails of my esteemed and brilliant 
editor, Ms. Henderson, I knew fame would be simply a matter of time.

I started seeking fame and fortune when I became part of the “Barry, 
Rich and Lisa Radio Show” of a dozen or so years ago. You may have heard of it. 
Probably not. That particular pathway to worldwide recognition was sabotaged by one-
third of the radio trio. A “Come live in Arkansas” promotion snared Lisa and her husband 
who relocated approximately 1,476.33 miles due east from Sierra Madre. To continue 
the show would involve driving nonstop weekly to meet up with Lisa. That excursion 
would take Barry and yours truly 23 hours and 37 minutes each way on Interstate 40.

 I’m still holding out hope my rock and roll band, JJ Jukebox, will be discovered and 
explode onto the world stage. (By the way, the band is playing at Nano Café twice in 
the upcoming months, the full band July 19th, and the, what I call the “Crosby Stills 
and Nash” version of the band on June 12). Our power trio would be called “DeLeo, 
Cipriani and Johnson”. Giving you a peek into how brains work (proceed with caution) 
I thought I might investigate the path to success of a variety of successful people. What 
did they do in their early years that opened the door to success?

Whoopi Goldberg (aka Caryn Elaine Johnson) got her start as a cosmetologist. She 
styled hair and applied makeup to both men and women. None of her clients ever 
complained about the quality of her work. That may be because she performed her 
services in mortuaries. Danny DeVito also worked doing hairdressing for female corpses. 
Apparently, he didn’t do their makeup.

Matthew McConaughey prior to 1994 worked at a Texas golf course among other things 
cleaning sand traps. His job description included chasing off armadillos.

Hugh Jackman, the strikingly handsome Australian actor who played Wolverine in 
X-Men movies. Early on he made a living working as a clown. He also dabbled as a 
juggler. 

 Rod Stewart worked as a gravedigger in a cemetery during his teens. Michelle Pfeiffer 
was a checkout cashier at a major supermarket.

If you ever see someone making a fool of themselves dressed up in a chicken costume 
outside a restaurant don’t be quick to judge. One of the tens of people who have sunk to 
that level of “eeking” out a living was none other than Brad Pitt who spent time outside 
a El Pollo Loco in Hollywood dressed in a chicken outfit.

Finally, remember the very funny Asian actor on the sitcom “Community”? His name 
is Ken Jeong and he is ubiquitous (look it up). A truly gifted and funny guy. He also 
happens to be a medical doctor…internal medicine specialist. Which came first, the 
actor or the doctor?

 One of the recurring themes I find in people who are successful is their realization that 
being successful involves taking risks. And there are plenty of examples. 

Single mother on welfare does good. Having little more than time, Joanne decides to 
write a book. It took her seven years to complete. Optimistic, she submitted the book 
to 12 major publishing houses. Every publisher rejected the book. I guess Joanne was 
persistent. As of 2025 Joanne is the richest author in the world. Her name? Joanne 
Kathleen Rowling. You may know her better as J.K. Rowling. Her book? “Harry Potter 
and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

 Bill Gates, of Microsoft fame failed his first time out. He started a software company 
called “Traf-O-Data” which analyzed raw traffic logs. Traf-O-Data? Bombed miserably. 
But Bill bounced back somehow.

Colonel Sanders was 65 when he decided to try to sell his idea for a franchise chicken 
restaurant. The first 1,009 restaurants rejected him. He didn’t give up.

Fred Astaire, the iconic actor dancer of the early 20th Century earned this early description 
during an audition: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Dances a little.” He didn’t give up either.

Finally, Howie Schultz worked as an employee at a small place that sold coffee beans. 
You may have heard of it. “Starbucks”. The current owners had six stores in Seattle. 
Schultz had an idea on how to grow the business. He was turned down by his bosses. 
The owners weren’t convinced. Howard didn’t give up. Finally, the three owners agreed 
to sell Howard the rights to the name. And as of November 2022 there are 35,711 
“Starbucks” worldwide.

When I started my company in September 1983 I had a dozen “well meaning” people tell 
me the following: “If it was idea somebody would be doing it already.”

Got a dream? A great idea? Do your homework? Seek the advice of others. Line the 
ducks up in a row. But don’t let them and your friends make the final decision for you.

Thanks for reading.

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HOWARD Hays As I See It


“Trash. . .Walmart steak, man” – Nick Pinto, social media “influencer” who bought $360,000 in $TRUMP meme coin to attend dinner at 
Trump National Golf Club in Virginia

 

The 25-year-old Pinto went on to tell Fortune, “Everyone at my table was saying the food was some of the worst food that they ever had”. The top 220 
holders of the $TRUMP meme coin were eligible for an invite to this “Gala Dinner with the President”, with the top 25 “Invited to an Exclusive Reception 
before Dinner with YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT!” 

 

Investors had sunk $394 million into the Trump family business to qualify – an average $1.8 million per person. Pinto was there for President Trump’s 
20-minute address to attendees, which he described as “pretty much like (b.s.)”. Another blogger wrote on Instagram the president “didn’t interact with the crowd other 
than enjoying being celebrated”.

 

White House press secretary Kristine Leavitt was questioned on the propriety of a sitting president hosting a fundraiser for his family’s business with anonymous investors, 
foreign and domestic, there to buy influence. She responded that the president was “attending it in his personal time”. She added that it’s “absurd for anyone to 
insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency”.

 

The Presidential Seal was on the lectern as Trump addressed the crowd. He came in the Marine One helicopter at taxpayers’ expense. Many would regard the office of 
President of the United States as a 24/7 job. Some wondered about that Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity; if whatever the president does on what Leavitt 
calls “personal time” would be covered under immunity for “official acts”. As for the “absurd” notion he’s “profiting off the presidency”, the collective value of $TRUMP 
went up $100 million since invitations to this dinner went out – 80% of which is held by Trump companies.

 

Trump still makes money off hotels and golf courses as in his first term. But with crypto there isn’t the disclosure – a few keystrokes can shift millions into the president’s 
pocket anonymously. With this being the only president in modern history who’s refused to disclose his tax returns, S.V. Date points out in HuffPost that “while Trump 
will know who has parted with all that cash for the opportunity to spend a few hours to bend his ear, Americans will not”. 

 

Justin Sun came out on top the leaderboard for this event, spending $21 million on $TRUMP which got him not only admission to that “Exclusive Reception” but a 
Trump wristwatch, too. In 2023, Sun was charged with fraud and market manipulation under President Biden. The day before Trump’s inauguration, he invested $75 
million in the Trump family’s operation. A few weeks later, charges against him were put on hold under President Trump. Korean crypto executive Sangrok Oh acknowledged, 
“It’s kind of a fund-raiser” for President Trump, “And he’ll always be good to his sponsors.” 

 

$TRUMP meme coin started out as a classic pump-and-dump. 58 insiders got in early, its value skyrocketed as Trump hyped it days before the inauguration. Those 
initial 58 took profits of over $10 million each and then, less than three weeks later, 813,000 smaller investors were left holding the bag for over $2 billion in cumulative 
losses.

 

Despite the expectations of investors Sun, Oh and others, that “Gala Dinner” turned out to be a pump-and-dump itself. Hyped for weeks as an opportunity for facetime 
with the president, it became clear that Trump wasn’t into substantive discussion – he didn’t even stick around to hand out the wristwatches to those in the top 25. After 
brief remarks, Trump was off in the Marine One helicopter. But he got what he wanted. According to The New Yorker, through this dinner event the value of the Trump 
family’s share of $TRUMP grew to $4.1 billion – though it lost 16% of that value the next day.

 

The biggest pump-and-dump of all was the election itself – months of hype and promise leading nearly half the country’s voters to invest their time, money and devotion 
to the MAGA cause. It turned out this hype and promise had as much “intrinsic value” as a $TRUMP meme coin and, as Evan Osnos wrote in The New Yorker, “In a 
matter of weeks, the flood of cash swirling around the White House swamped whatever bulwarks against corruption remained in American law and culture.”

 

In a debate held a decade ago, candidate Donald Trump was asked about prior contributions he’d made to the likes of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. He answered: 
“When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them . . . They are there for me.” Nothing here about supporting a cause; simply transactional 
for the benefit of Donald Trump. 

 

The difference here is that rather than giving in support of a particular campaign, candidate, party or vision for the country, now it’s to personally enrich Donald Trump. 
If you’re in the top one percent of these givers, the reward could be benefitting from, as Jonathan Chait put it in the Atlantic, “the largest upward transfer of wealth in 
American history.” And in the meantime, you can enjoy that Walmart steak. 


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