To the editor:     Every time I read another article (Who get's Unocal's money? May 23-24, 1998), I am reminded for the umpteenth time that all that matters in today's political world is money. No one really cares about; The environment because we all know that underground oil is a natural condition that requires no clean up and poses no health hazard. The teenagers because we all know they will smoke tobacco regardless of parental, school or government action to prevent it.      What it is really about are politicians (local, state and national) looking for a deep pocket to dip into so they can continue to spend money on whatever special interest project they can to get votes to get re-elected, to spend other people's money, to get reelected, over and over again.      So, the mantra of the day is: Punish X... corporation for making money and distributing it to their stockholders instead of giving it to those (elected officials) with superior ability to determine the needs of our neighbors. gail lightfoot One who is sensitive to tobacco, hydrocarbons and government intervention in the private lives of individuals and businesses. Arroyo Grande (805)481-3434

June 23, 1998 Representative Louise Capps louise.capps@mail.house.gov Dear Repesentative Capps: Thank you for so ably serving us in the United States Senate. Our founders based this nation on freedom, not safety. News reports tell me that the U.S. Senate is working on legislation to prevent children from smoking cigarettes. Free people (including children) in a free country should have the right to do things that are dangerous to themselves. America is the land of the free and home of the brave and we are not afraid of danger. If we persist in removing all dangerous activities in our society, we will have cowardly enslaved ourselves. Please work to ensure our freedoms and allow us to be brave. "Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither and lose both." Thomas Jefferson Thank you, Gary L. Kirkland

June 9, 1998 Senator Jack O'Connell Dear Senator O'Connell: Thank you for so ably serving us in the California State Senate. Our founders based this nation on freedom, not safety. News reports tell me that you are working on legislation to outlaw open, alcoholic containers in off road vehicles while they are operating off the state's highways. Free people in a free country should have the right to do things that are dangerous to themselves. America is the land of the free and home of the brave and we are not afraid of danger. If we persist in removing all dangerous activities in our society, we will have cowardly enslaved ourselves. Please work to ensure our freedoms and allow us to be brave. Thank you, Gary L. Kirkland

June 10, 1998 Senator Jack O'Connell Thank you for so ably serving us in the California State Senate. Also, thank you for sending me a letter informing that Assemblymember Keeley has authored Assembly Bill 1241, which would change marine life management in California. As a scuba diver and sport fisher I am very interested in this issue. I observe that although we are running out and over fishing our marine animals, we are not running out or over selecting our cattle. This is true even though people eat much more beef than marine life and we have no government oversight of cattle harvesting. The reason for this difference is obvious to me, private ownership. People in the cattle industry can and do own the land and the cattle. These people have a vested interest in wise husbandry of their assets. If the people in the fishing industry could own sections of the ocean and develop means, probably electronic, of controlling the migration of the fish in their area, those fishing would have a vested interest in wise husbandry. Under the current condition of the fishing industry all participants must harvest as many fish as they can because they can claim no ownership and cannot stop others from doing the same thing. Government oversight has not prevented depletion of these valuable resources. I submit that changing the methods of government regulation will have little or no effect on over harvesting. I propose that the government divide up and sell sections of the ocean to the highest bidder. These owners then could behave as landowners do and the fishing industry would then resemble the cattle industry and we would have no shortage of fishing resources. Thank you, Gary L. Kirkland "People selfishly looking to their own interests raises the wealth of the nations the most." Adam Smith F.C.: Assemblymember Keeley