Mr. President, please use common sense

This open letter to President-elect Obama is a plea for common sense.

I have followed your campaign with interest and appreciation. Your on-message, rational, and dignified campaign has given me some hope for our country's future. I hope you'll continue to apply common-sense critical thinking to grave situations, especially the following:

War in Iraq: Continuing the war is squandering our economy, our military resources, thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, and our credibility in foreign relations - including creating massive mistrust in the entire Islamic world. It is not insignificant that we have virtually no allied troops supporting us there. The war was founded on (poorly disguised) lies, Congress's inability or unwillingness to exercise judgment, and unwillingness to resist political pressure. No American interests are served by this war.

War in Afghanistan: Again, no American interests are served by this war. Our military is not geared to vague guerrilla tactics, and our failures make us appear weak and incompetent in the world. We are encouraging terrorism. If we cannot sell the mission to our global neighbors, we should leave before we are forced out with dishonor as we were in Vietnam.

Bailouts: We cannot keep adding trillions to our already $50 trillion plus of public debt and unfunded liabilities. Every trillion equates to $3,000 owed by every man woman and child in the U.S. Transferring private liabilities to the public debt is unconscionable. It also unethically funds insane salaries for executives.

Civilian Defense Force: Any new massive bureaucracy and expensive program is unjustified, barring specific and tangible goals, with offsetting economies. We should be streamlining government for economies and encouraging citizen involvement.

Let me know if I can be of assistance.

Louis A. Muno

Rolling Meadows