Save Us A Seat To the Editor, Regarding "We Must Confess" (The Skinny, Tucson Weekly, June 13): I was delighted when I read that Good News is one of your favorite local publications. I can tell by your statements about Danny Harnden that you don't care for his representation of sports. I have not seen his performance and therefore I will not comment. However, I would like you to know that for anyone to open themselves up and share how Jesus changed their life takes a great deal of courage. I commend Danny for that. I would also like to offer answers to the questions raised in your article. First, until recently, Catholic congregations were not encouraged to read the Bible. They relied on a priest to tell them what they should know. Second, being a Christian means to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You can only do that if you know Him. Many people know about Jesus but they have never asked Him into their heart. Going to church will not get you a seat in Heaven. A relationship with Jesus does. Third and most important of all, true born-again, Bible-reading Christians love the Jewish people. We pray for peace in Jerusalem. We mourned all those who went through the Holocaust. Jesus is a Jew. You remind me of another young man long ago who thought he was doing God a favor when he had the Christians exterminated. According to the book of Acts, "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.... Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women , he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from Heaven... Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me? and he said, Who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...." From that day forward Saul was known as Paul and never stopped preaching the Gospel. Paul also referred to himself as the chiefest of sinners. Most of the New Testament was written by the man that spent his early years destroying Christians. It makes for interesting reading. Hope to see you in Heaven. --B. Kathy Thanos To the Editor, If The Skinny is going to include vicious puerile personal attacks like the one on Danny Harndon ("We Must Confess," Tucson Weekly, June 13), then The Skinny ought to have enough juevos to put the name of the author on the column. Or is it just journalistic masturbation 52 times a year? --Duke Pelton Pig Pen To the Editor, The ongoing references in The Skinny to Marana as "Dogpatch" are pretty amusing. I grew up reading "Li'l Abner" and well remember another group that Al Capp put in his Dogpatch. I think The Skinny does a good job of filing the role of "S.W.I.N.E." in the Dogpatch universe. If we substitute the word "Skinny" for "Students" in S.W.I.N.E. we get Skinny Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything. That about sums it up for The Skinny's approach to journalism. --Rod Wentworth The Big Fix To the Editor, I read the Tucson Weekly regularly. Reading Dan Huff's "Problem Pueblo" (Tucson Weekly, June 13), I chuckled and even laughed--he has a zingy way with language. But what did I come away with? I came away with 10 minutes of amusing reading, a few striking facts and the same sinking feeling of helplessness that his sort of "hard-hitting" journalism perpetuates. Is that what Huff wanted? Suppose that his journalism comes form sincere concern and not from mere style and stance. I suggest that offering innovative alternatives to the persisting failures is more rallying, responsible, provocative and constructive than wailing the same old anti-establishment catechism. I am a recent-arriving-renter. I have lived in lots of elsewheres. I like Tucson. I'd like to see Tucson take good turns ahead. To do that you need to know what the wrong turns are, or have been, how to recognize and anticipate them, and you need to specify ways to avoid them. It seems to me that Tucson is in a position to take advantage of new trends and to turn the inevitable to good. Demographics and climate both point to enormous population growth here. It is within possibility for the city to have in place a plan (with zoning and building laws to support and encourage it) for development of just that mid-to-center part of the city that has outlived its 40-year warranty, yet has infrastructure already in place. Ideas and new ways of thinking about urban blight and sprawl are out there, and so is money looking for a sound place to invest. Let's find out what it would take to redirect where Tucson is going! --Karen Kubara Hoop Dreams To the Editor, Tom Danehy's "Hoop Dreams" (Tucson Weekly, June 6) was witty and insightful and just a lot of fun. By coincidence, I had the opportunity to see Danehy's team play this past season. My niece was on the receiving end of one of those drubbings, and while I felt a bit sorry for her, as a basketball fan, I really enjoyed watching the Salpointe girls play. They played the game with enthusiasm and passion, yet it was obvious that they were all having a good time. Danehy never yelled once, didn't question the referees' calls and basically just had a good time along with the kids. One time a play got ragged and Danehy stood up and said in a calm voice, "Play harder, please." That's it. And they played harder. Just like that. It was amazing. Congratulations, Tom. Great article, great job of coaching. --William Washington Street Talk To the Editor, Dave Devine's "Street Hustle" (Tucson Weekly, June 13) was interesting. The University just seems so sure that the enrollment will increase; in fact the evidence is that just the opposite will happen. The Western Governors have got a Virtual University going where students will take courses on the Internet and not come to campus. If the experience at other schools is any guide this is just what will happen. --S. A. Hoenig We Want Letters! Thrilled by our brilliant insights? Sick of our mean-spirited attacks? Need to make something perfectly clear? Write: tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com

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