Believers and unbelievers

Self-Wrongeous

Answering Saul Harmon Gritz’s letter (May 1) responding to David Child’s letter (April 24) asking for a Reader section devoted to atheistic concerns.

Mr. Gritz, you seem to intend to speak for atheists, but what you write indicates that not only do you not understand what an atheist is, but you are almost certainly not one.

To shed some light: Some people, called theists, believe that there is at least one god. They can’t prove it, but base their belief on faith. Some people, called atheists, believe that there is not even one god in the universe. They can’t prove there is/are no god/s, but they, also, base their belief on faith.

Please note, Mr. Gritz, that atheists are not unbelievers — they believe strongly that no god exists. If you are a nonbeliever, you are not an atheist. You are the following.

Some people, called agnostics, do not believe and do not disbelieve that any god exists. They remain undecided for the reason that they can’t prove the god proposition one way for the other, and they are sticklers for proof — they can’t or won’t resort to faith to establish truth or belief. Theists and athiests have a lot in common. Agnostics are the hard cases.

All three kinds of thinkers think they are right, and are proud of being right, and will tell you so; which means that they (we) are all self-righteous. That’s ok. Who would want to be self-wrongeous?

I’m with you in nixing Mr. Child’s demand for a Reader page for nonreligious affairs and viewpoints. The whole magazine is devoted to nonreligious affairs. Come on, Mr. Child!

Dorothy Casey via snail mail

Financial Rape

It would be a good idea for you to forward this article (“Electricity Refund? Not in California,” City Lights, May 8) to the California State Attorney General’s office, under “Utility Fraud and

Ripoff.”

As it is, I have had solar since 2009 and last year my Summer Rates were under $5.00, but $5 is what I had to pay as a minimum, and I got no end-of-year rebate.

This year my rates are $20 to $25. Nothing has changed; I still make the same amount of kilowatts. Now, as you say, they want us to pay for mistakes, fraud, and reuse of old parts by Edison’s maintainence of the San Onofre Plant. Why should the rate payers have the burden of clean-up and tear-down? Meanwhile, the shareholders still receive their dividends. It’s worse than wrong. It’s financial rape by the people who are suppose to protect us — the California Publlic Utilites.

Edison, who claimed the facility had no problems and San Diego Gas and Electric for their part, all reap the benefits and sail off free and clear. As you have said, any lawsuits will probably go on for many years, well past my lifetime. And, as you say, there is no refund. All their public notices are lies.

It’s time the State of California, Attorney General got involved!

• Carol Muszynski
• Del Cerro

Disappointed

I’m calling regarding how there is no Diary of a Diva and no Ed Bedford in the May 1 issue. I’m disappointed because I love to read Ed Bedford and Diary of a Diva. I read everything else in the magazine, but the two that I read the most are those two. I also like Neighborhood News and Letters.

• Name Withheld
• via voicemail

A Parking Lot Full of Pickups

I just finished reading your article on country bars in San Diego (“Country Conundrum,” April 15). I own the Renegade and for the first time in the ten years I have owned the bar we were actually mentioned in an article. We are the oldest country bar in San Diego and have live country bands every weekend, yet never a mention of us in any of your articles.

This comes as no surprise as we have been ignored by the only country radio station as well. I realize we are in East County and you seem to concentrate on downtown and the beach areas, and East County always gets left out.

There are some excellent clubs in East County and some very talented musicians. All you need to do is get off the beaten path for a while and check us out. The Renegade has promoted and showcased local talent over the last ten years with some of the bands going on to bigger and better things. We have great crowds on Friday and Saturday nights with great live country bands, a packed dance floor, a great staff, and a parking lot full of pickup trucks. Come and check us out sometime and you will find East County’s best kept secret.

• Will Cook
• Owner, Renegade Bar

Sterilized Stories

Dear Scott Marks:

I’m also a Jew and I want to applaud your excellent reply to that jackass commentary (“Jackass Journalism,” Letters, May 1).

I saw the movie [Walking with the Enemy] and was struck by how there were no Jews acting, except maybe one playing a Nazi, or some other adjunct role. The main character and his romantic interest completely obliterated the tragedy, as if some comic character could take on this huge apparatus. Then there was the smiling response of the actress when the holy nuns took in the Jewish children — a man left the theater at that point.

What you say is so true. There are children whose entire knowledge of what happened derives from these sterilized, caramelized stories. Would that more survivors would have spoken the truth. Someday the American Jews, remnants of that lost world, may speak out, what we remember being told to us, so that more truth can come forth.

There was a man and his family in the theater who participated in creating the explosions. He was part Native American, and said the film was filmed in Romania. Too bad they didn’t find some gypsies to play us.

I wonder about the real men in the story, Lutz and Rosenbaum, and the motivations of those creating this movie. The man who worked on it said it was originally going to be about Lutz, but they added this romantic story and changed things.

Thank you for your recommendations.

• Name Withheld
• La Jolla