In 1776, Thomas Paine published an instant best-seller entitled "Common Sense." It helped establish the new colonies.

Today we need common sense as never before. We suffer a severe dearth of this quality. Many of us can hardly fathom the senselessness that enshrouds a lot of our public policies.

The president wants to give $250 to all seniors as a cost of living allowance. This will cost $13 billion at a time when budget deficits are skyrocketing - and when the cost of living is going down. Is this common sense?

The phrase "unsafe abortions" is senseless. It arises to show concern that 70,000 women lose their lives each year in this process. The unsafeness also results in nearly 4,000 babies eliminated each day. Such absurdness lacks common sense.

Mind-boggling federal spending in the form of stimulus packages, cap and trade bills, and national healthcare are drawing our nation to a precipice, from which we'll never recover. No common sense here.

And consider this: Following the University of Illinois admissions scandal, the disgraced chancellor was forced to resign. Yet, his fall is cushioned because until the end of June 2010, he'll receive his $395,000 salary. Then, he'll take a one-year sabbatical at $244,000.

It's surely not common sense to reward admissions corruption with this financial largesse. Public confidence is shattered with such outlandish spending. We hapless taxpayers can only stand aside and watch this comical, tragic, and ongoing lack of common sense.

Thomas Paine, where are you?

Perry A. Klopfenstein, Gridley