Letters for June 12, 2008

Cory’s wrong
Re “Politics should be informed by science” (Left in the Lurch, May 29):

I would say that Cory Farley’s basis for his view is not the best. NPR is a more “left” radio, and so their commentary goes that way. Cory himself admits that NPR covered the “Mormon issue” briefly without reaching a conclusion. Yet NPR had to give a conclusion about Americans supposedly seeing Evangelicals going too far in their views. Cory went on to say he knows people who see no reason for conservation of the planet because Christ will take them away before everything runs out. Cory is afraid that politicians might make decisions that would affect the world based on their religious views. I think he had the office of the president in mind since most politicians do not affect the world in their decisions. Well, let’s see, of the first 20 presidents of the United States, about half of them were ministers. Our laws and legal system have a Judeo-Christian basis. For example. needing witnesses to convict someone and varying degrees of guilt for murder, having judges and more.

As an Evangelical, I have never met any Christian believer of any denomination or otherwise who thinks it’s OK to trash the planet. Of course, there are always fringe groups who use the name “Christian” to describe themselves, but I am more bothered by people like Cory and the media stories that try to distort mainstream Christianity. Where was the coverage by these people when Obama was supporting a racist church spouting hate against whites and America? I guess if your politics are supported, then it must be OK to ignore racism and hatred.

Ernesto Serano
Reno

Insensitive words
Re “A changing group” (Editor’s note, May 29):

Early in the column, the terms homeless, substance-addicted and mentally ill are used. These terms are often used to demean and dehumanize people. I am not going to defend the character of everyone living a rough lifestyle, but a check of the Reno police blotter would reveal that the majority of crimes are committed by people who live indoors, many even in the suburbs.

There are many reasons that people could be roughing it. For whatever reason they came to Reno, it hasn’t worked out. Or there are many people here who are working low- paying jobs with little or no benefits and are one paycheck away from disaster. The problem is not being on the streets, it is getting off the streets. That takes a lot of hard work, patience and more than a little help.

It is true that San Francisco has serious problems. But at least they are trying to do something there. For instance, the motto of Saint Anthony’s Dining Room is “Ask no questions, preach no sermons.” When I lived there, a friend of mine who was a tai chi expert wanted to voluntarily teach tai chi at a soup kitchen. Unfortunately, he was not able to carry out his plans. Down through the years, I have often thought of that wonderful idea: to use what you can do to help restore dignity and hope to those who have lost so much.

John D. Daniels
Reno

Middle-class homeless
Re “A changing group” (Editor’s note, May 29):

I’ve noticed the change as well. Due to the condition of the housing industry, I believe we may see a change in the definition of the phrase, “the homeless.” At the very least, we might have to add subtitles: the mentally-ill homeless, the fringe homeless, the working homeless, etc. As the American Dream of home ownership slips into a coma on life support, more and more “homeless” emerge, staggering with disbelief at how quickly their lives, our lives, have changed. I don’t think our society will work toward true change simply because we have more homeless, jobless and healthcare-less people. Maybe more people will take notice when we start to have the “Ipodless.”

Martha Liou
Sparks

No personal bias
Re “Prince Caspian” (Short takes, May 22):

I am extremely offended and appalled by Mr. Grimm’s review of Prince Caspian.

His review stated, “Enough with the Jesus was a lion movies already!”

Does Mr. Grimm review all of his movies with religious animosity or is it just the ones that tie into Christianity? Was his review of Lord of the Rings the same way because of Tolkien’s religious beliefs?

I am completely amazed that Grimm has a job as a reviewer.

Hire me, and I will do a much better job. I have an English background and a love for movies as entertainment.

There is no need to review a movie using personal bias. Say the movie sucked, say you didn’t like it, but don’t bring the Lord Jesus Christ into it.

My review of Bob Grimm’s review is as follows:

“I was repulsed by my happening upon a laughable review of Prince Caspian by a true irreligionist named Bob Grimm. I was and continue to be nauseated by his offensive and outright unkempt review. What else can I say about Bob except to say that he needs to change careers and become a spokesperson for the AAI?”

Justin Goodrich
via email