Letters to the Editor
Eric Samuelsen
Published Letters: 32 Editor's Choice: 6
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Point is, we're giddy
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]King almost gets it. Of course, this rash of upsets makes nonsense of what was already nonsense, the BCS. But for most college football fans there's a tremendous visceral reaction when we see Stanford-over-USC on the ticker. We may not personally give a hoot about Stanford, and we may have no particular beef with USC. But it feels SO good to see that score, precisely BECAUSE it makes nonsense of the BCS.
I don't know a single college football fan who doesn't utterly loathe the BCS. I don't know a single college football fan who doesn't regard the BCS as the moral equivalent of the Bush tax cuts--further rigging an already rigged system designed to make the rich insanely rich. The one top ten loss I sort of felt bad about was when South Florida lost--I was so rooting for that South Florida/Hawaii national championship game. Now I'm just rooting for Hawaii (come on, their quarterback's named Colt Brennan! Plus all their wideouts have these fabulous dreadlocks. Go Rainbow Warriors!) Otherwise, I'll persist in regarding Boise State as the real national champions last year, though I'm even reluctant and grudging about that, because of the whole noblesse oblige air of condescension with which they were graciously given a chance to play in a BCS game.
It strikes me that to have your fan base hate the system by which you choose a champion is sort of a bad thing for any sport. I mean, the World Series starts sometime next year, and while we may grouse about how television schedules drive what should be straightforward scheduling issues, we don't hate the World Series. Even baseball purists who dislike the wild card and interleague play and the DH don't think the World Series itself is somehow corrupt or meaningless. But in college football, and only in college football, we spend championship week arguing over why those two teams are the ones in the game, and how stupidly unfair it is, and why do they get to keep all the money, thus screwing over good old State U. So when we see unlikely upset after unlikely upset every week in college football, it feels SO good. Kind of like voting for Obama's gonna feel.
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How is this not good news?
[Read the article: "A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I thought jschip nailed it; I'm a Mormon too, and think of myself as a Christian, but if other Christians define their faith so as to exclude me, then fine. I'm also strongly opposed to Mitt Romney's candidacy. Um, "I'd double Guantanamo?" Romney's essentially running as the torture candidate, and there's no way that's compatible at any level with Mormonism, or with Christianity.
Mitt Romney hasn't really distinguished his beliefs from the beliefs of mainstream Christians, and that's what's troubling to some evangelicals. But he also hasn't distinguished his beliefs on any major political issue from the beliefs of George W. Bush. So his candidacy can be defined as 'the same as Bush, but with better hair.'
All of which means that if he's the Republican nominee, the Republicans will lose this election. Isn't that great news? Shouldn't we be rejoicing? He'd be even easier to beat than Giuliani.
About the only downside that I can see is that the Romney campaign might lead to an upsurge in anti-Mormon feeling nationally. But, come on, this isn't 1830. No mobs are forming, no property will be confiscated, none of our leaders face tar and feathers. So a few ignorant people like me less because of my beliefs. I can live with that, all the easier in an Obama Presidency.
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A shout out to Anonymous
[Read the article: "A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I begin, finally, to understand. It doesn't matter to you that the ENTIRE rest of the CHRISTIAN world excludes you. You consider yourself a thing, therefore it is."
Yep.
I'm a Christian. I know I am; why should your opinion matter to me? I read the New Testament, I pray to the Father in the name of the Son, I try to live according to the Sermon on the Mount. I try to stand up for what I believe, publicly, and I sign my own name to my letters.
As for the Apostles Creed, it's got a nice cadence and rhythm, and if you insist I have to believe in it before you'll regard me as Christian, I don't really see how that has anything to do with my life. I couldn't care less if you think I'm a Christian or not. But I do actually believe in the statements contained in the Apostles Creed. I just reject the idea that any creeds have anything at all to do with faith or Christ's ethical teachings or my eternal salvation. Oh, I guess I've got a problem with the 'holy catholic church' part, about which my understanding would be the same as that of most Protestants.