Mailbag

The Rev. Bryan Griem certainly outdid himself in this week’s In Theory (“Musings about a resolution on Ramadan,” Saturday). Regarding Congress’ unanimous declaration recognizing the month of Ramadan as important, he writes “For Congress to endorse other gods essentially repudiates the exclusive claims of the One that we have known and are known for.” Though Christians, Jews and Muslims all believe in the same God of Abraham, Griem insults Muslims by asserting that they worship a different god.

He further says his “. . . two labels [Christian and American] once went together.” He is right. Those who believed strongly that America should remain a white, Protestant Christian nation used to burn crosses to demonstrate their burning devotion to a pure Christian nation.

Griem tops his piece off with the question “. . . should we exalt the foreign religions to a place on par or even above our own?”

I am a Christian, but Griem’s religion is foreign to me. I apologize to Muslims for this outrageous piece. He does not represent the beliefs of any Christians I know. Perhaps Griem’s most inflammatory statement of all is “We are at war with Muslims abroad,” as if we are involved in some holy war. I thought we were fighting to protect Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

STEVE MILLS

Glendale

Why do so many issues seem to hang around for so long? Why do we hear all about settlements and variances, when there are zoning and design rules that exist so that we maintain consistency in our communities?

When someone files a petition to gain a variance that is in violation of the codes, just say no! The Hazbeth project (“Appeals stacking up on council,” Thursday) is not just a little problem — it is really wrong. But still the posturing goes on and on. What’s so difficult about seeing that a ridiculously huge new home that is 7,089 square feet is not consistent with the neighboring homes?

Haven’t we learned that cutting and grading to remove the tremendous amount of soil in this case can cause mudslides?

Ten obvious inconsistencies were outlined in a Community Commentary Saturday titled “Facts about Hazbeth project spell ‘wrong’.” What a hideous proposal this project is. Why does it seem to be so hard to say no when the laws are already on the books?