It seems that the current administration lacks vision when it comes to our energy policy. I understand that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but why not take it a step further and reduce our dependence on oil domestically as well? Drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a short-term answer to a long-term question. From my understanding, ANWR has about a five-year supply of oil. Once it runs out, then what? Sure, we can drill somewhere else, but oil is a finite resource. Fuel-efficient vehicles and new technologies offer a more promising answer and a much better future (despite the auto and oil industries'' propaganda stating otherwise).

Increasingly I see more SUVs and pickups on the road when I go to work. Unless your job requires that you drive an SUV or pickup, why not keep it at home? SUVs are great for going off-road or driving in the winter, not for shopping at the mall. I hate seeing tricked-out SUVs that have seen less dirt than my Honda. Yeah, I know they''re popular, but at some point, you''ve got to grow up and leave high school. As for pickups, they''re great for hauling stuff, that''s why they have that empty space in the back. Unless you''re moving dirt or junk, a pickup is just a car that gets really crappy gas mileage.

John Kochis,
Monterey

He Nailed It

First, many thanks to Peter Kwiek for his letter ("Against Terrorists?" Oct. 18) and to you for publishing it. The letter is right on the mark in its review of our government''s terrorist practices and their tragic cost in human suffering. And now, added to all this, the relentless bombing of Afghanistan driven in no small measure by oil interests, arrogance and the ambitions of the military-industrial complex, has placed the American people in horrible, perhaps unfathomable, danger.

Regina Hewet,
Pacific Grove

A Crying Shame

Just when I thought our country had really taken a positive turn towards re-examining our lives after the terror of Sept. 11, I got a rude reminder in the mail that on our Peninsula, it appears to be politics as usual. In other words, the mud-slinging attack mailers have begun. The ugly mailer I got was from the candidate opposing incumbent Ron Chesshire for the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board. The postcard political ad used old political tricks like partial quotes that distort the true events, and name-calling. In the first instance, the mailer makes it sound like Chesshire left a Board meeting merely to get a drink and not, as it was in fact, in principled protest to actions by members of the Board. In the second sleazy case, the challenger''s political ad uses a quote calling incumbent Chesshire "juvenile." I am saddened, because before receiving this hit piece, I actually believed this new challenger to Chesshire had what she claims to have: "integrity." Not anymore.

Vincent T. Newman-Brooks,
Seaside

They Were Doing Sit-Ups

I am writing in regards to "Myth America" by Michelle Caldwell (Oct. 18). I was shocked at how easily she thought she could take a simple and interesting piece of advertising and make it into an unrealistic view of what many families are actually like. Ms. Caldwell said she went door to door and could not find anyone at home or any women for that matter, insinuating that they must ALL have been working to support their half-million dollar, 3,532-square-foot home. Could it be that Mom was helping out at school, volunteering for the Red Cross, exercising or working because she chooses to do so? After checking I found that the average cost of a Harrod Home is $385,000 and the average square footage is approximately 2,100, which is very reasonable for this area. As for Ms. Cald- well''s subsequent Saturday afternoon adventure, she said she went out looking for the "typical family" and instead found people of all shapes, all sizes, all ages and all family dynamics. How are the cardboard cutouts any different than a family living in the Harrod Homes community? Just because the family depicted looks a certain way doesn''t mean they are any different than Ms. Caldwell''s rendition of a "typical family." No matter how you look at it, a family is a family, whether there is a mother and a father, they are fat or thin, black or white.

Jill Isaac,
Salinas

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