Letters to the Editor

Drilling on U. S. grounds

W hen you pull into the gas station, are you shocked at the price of gas and diesel? You can point your finger at Rep. Lois Capps and the Democratic Congress because it is they who will not let us poke holes in the ground up in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where we can produce about 1 million barrels of oil a day, about what we import from Saudi Arabia.

ANWR is not the beautiful oasis as pictured in the political cartoon May 5. but instead it is a vast wasteland with no mountains, no streams and no trees, there is nothing there but flat tundra. ANWR is about the size of North Carolina and the oil is in an area about the size of LAX airport so there should be no delay in going after it.

The high price we are paying at the pump is because of the demand becoming greater than the supply. The oil companies make just more than 8 cents on every gallon of gas sold, their profits are up because we are consuming more fuel, so now is the time to drill in our own ground and build some new refineries.

Ralph Bush

Arroyo Grande

A great birthday gift

On reaching our 84th birthdays, a longtime friendly couple celebrated by donating $84 to one of our favorite community programs in our name, in this case to the SLO Botanical Garden. We couldn’t have been more pleased. This seems such a sensible and generous way to honor a birthday or anniversary of any kind.

For us senior citizens who have all the gadgets and possessions we need or can use, a contribution to some worthwhile nonprofit group such as a library, an environmental organization, Cal Poly Organic Farm, even to a political candidate, etc., makes such a

sensible and gratifying gift.

Neva and Charles Glenn

Atascadero

Avoid growth in SLO

Beth Marino (“SLO needs to see the reality of its economy,” May 6) would have us believe that growth can help protect the special qualities of San Luis Obispo. The greatest threat to the special qualities of San Luis Obispo IS growth.

When I tell people where I live, they almost always respond “Ooh, nice.” Not once have I heard, “Too bad it isn’t bigger,” or, “That town needs more shopping.” I also have read, “I would rather grow up than out.”

Constructing tall buildings downtown will not prevent sprawl, and both are undesirable. Another writer calling for more growth said when it got “too big,” he would just move somewhere else. I can only hope the majority does not think this way.

Our resources and infrastructure can’t accommodate endless growth. Please don’t allow what we have to be ruined in pursuit of a quick profit.

When you vote for city and county representatives, choose those who will protect what we have.

Rod Preheim

San Luis Obispo

No punk rock at Mozaic

I have been reading with interest the letters regarding the name change from the Mozart Festival to Festival Mozaic.

While the change is fine with me, I can understand why some people are reluctant to embrace a new name. But when I read a recent letter implying the festival was featuring punk rock and country music, I was alarmed.

I am a sponsor of one of the concerts and really don’t want to hear any punk rock. So I grabbed the beautiful ticket brochure to check. Safe, the concert with my name attached features work by Beethoven and Stravinsky. But then I wondered if perhaps some of the other concerts might be featuring some punk rock or country. So I looked at each of the 10 concerts’ programs and did not see anything resembling punk rock or country. The writer also warned there might be some 20th century modern music. There is some, but it is classical music!

Take a look at the programs being offered at this summer’s festival. There is going to be some outstanding music, and I would hate for anyone to miss it.

Steve Bland

San Luis Obispo

Media veer off path

You can tell from watching the media buildup and exploitation of the Wright- Obama controversy just how far off the path to democracy and freedom of speech America really is.

Why don’t both men have a right to their differences without apologies, justifications and denunciations? Why is anyone who criticizes publicly the awful record of this government over the past 100 years of racial discrimination and military conquests doomed to be pilloried?

Jean Gerard

Los Osos

Help the working class

John Gilbert (Letters, April 22) seems to think that the answer to the energy crisis is to continue increasing the cost of fuel. He seems to think that if the public is treated like pawns in some kind of cruel game of “say uncle,” that we will all give in and buy a Prius. However, there are many working-class people that need to haul materials, harvest food, raise animals, catch fish, travel for business, etc. What are these people supposed to do?

I believe Mr. Gilbert is being very unfair to these folks by taking such a heartless attitude regarding the escalating cost of fuel. Perhaps if there was a viable, affordable, accessible alternative, things would be different. But there isn’t. Energy experts say we are a decade away from efficient alternative fuel.

Personally, I thought Sen. John McCain had a good idea to decrease the federal fuel tax. I know many people that appreciate any help they can get with fuel cost.

It seems to me that the Democratic Party has changed from being the party that protects the working man’s rights to the party that protects environmentalists’ agenda, no matter what effect it has on the working class.

Sheri Hafer

Atascadero

Universal care lessons

Advocates of a government single-payer universal health care system should take note of the many articles lately in The Tribune about government cuts in its health care funding. There is a valuable lesson to be learned from the recent economic slump on how the state plans to manage its budget with reduced revenues.

The federal government wants to reduce the funding and eligibility to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). There is also a plan to raise Medicare premiums. California has plans to reduce Medi-Cal by 10 percent, and no doubt when the county budget for 2008-09 becomes available, there will be cuts in health care spending.

So what will happen to your health care under a government single-payer universal system when the government runs short of money? Maybe giving control of your health care to the state isn’t such a good idea after all.

Richard Riggins

Pismo Beach

A superiority complex

There are many who believe that humankind is set apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, that somehow we are the only creatures to feel and express emotions such as kindness, love, anger, fear or pain. Any study of wildlife will quickly alter that perception; these basic emotions are very much in evidence with most of nature’s wildlife.

An interesting metaphor would be that we—all life — constitute a vast orchestra with each species having a specific role. Some appear to dominate; the crashing percussion instruments or the resounding brass. But each is necessary to fulfill nature’s ensemble as in a Bach Concerto where many instruments hardly register, but to remove them would destroy the work.

Humans have accomplished vast enduring projects, but who is to say that these are superior to, for instance, the towering structures created by termites on the vast plains of central Africa? Many believe domination through force constitutes superiority. If this is true, bacteria must rank at the top of the multitude.

Humans might not be able to alter their basic ego-centered attitude of superiority, but they can at least recognize that when we abuse animals we debase ourselves.

W. R. Cole

Arroyo Grande