Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I understand from today’s news announcements that you would like to move the state forward in discussions on legalizing the use of marijuana.  I have heard and read about many of the pros and cons, academic debates and wild ludicrous rants about legalizing marijuana.  After taking all of these into account; my rationale and reasoning for being an opponent to the prospects of your agenda is simple and first hand.

I am 46 years old. Today I am executive in the technology field. I am in the highest tax bracket, I am not wealthy, I still have to work to put my kids through school. I grew up in the poorest sections of the South Bronx, what is typically referred to as the Ghetto or the “projects”.

Growing up, my mother worked in the elementary school as a teacher’s assistant while she attended college at night to become a teacher. This gave my mother a first hand perspective of working with many of the children in the neighborhood.  We lived in a small two bed room apartment in the projects and both of my parents smoked cigarettes.  I grew up hating smoke. This is probably why I personally never smoked marijuana or cigarettes for that matter.  I hated being around smoke from a very young age.

As many of the kids in the neighborhood progressed through elementary school, and into middle school and high-school many of them started smoking marijuana recreationally.  I hung out with a large group of kids, and probably through the last year of middle school and through high-school lighting up a joint on the way to school was a normal occurrence.  And getting high, on the benches in front of our buildings at night was also a normal occurrence.  It was fair to say that there was not a single “drug fiend” amongst the group.  The “getting high” always seemed to be “fun times”.  I learned how to simply hang-out, keep out of the smoke, and when the joint passed my hands I just passed it on to the next person, everyone knew that I didn’t smoke and it wasn’t a big deal.  There were a few of us that never par-took of the drugs and beer (40oz’s) which also  became a normal accompaniment to the pot.

I can’t put my finger on why a few of us always managed to refrain, nonetheless we were still all looked at as a good bunch of kids.  We generally did well in school, some of us excelled, others were mediocre but we all graduated high-school and moved on into adult hood, getting married, having kids and so on.

All of the above is some basic context, now here is my perspective. Thirty (30) years later, I went back to the “old neighborhood only to find some of the “old crew” sitting on the “same bench” in front of the “same buildings” that we grew up in,  still smoking pot and drinking their 40oz of Old English beer. It’s as if time stood still for them. I remember calling my mother, and sharing with her what I witnessed.  Her response was enlightening; remember she had these kids in elementary school and later in middle school (before their pot smoking started). She recalled each one that I told her about by name, and she recounted how each one of these kids were the brightest kids not only in the school but the entire neighborhood.  There was one kid especially that she was so saddened about, his name was Frankie, and she recounted how Frankie scored higher on many of the standard tests that were administered than any kid in the state.

It was amazing that how some of these kids, now men my age, were still living in their parents apartments in the projects, sleeping on the same twin beds for 30 years.  Some just inherited these subsidized apartments after their parents passed away. They were on welfare, disability, SSI, food stamps, you name it – if there was a program available they knew how to qualify for it.  And, no they did not move onto other gateway drugs, they loved and were loyal to their weed.

For the few of us that managed to refrain from the recreational drug use; I did spend some later bachelor years experimenting with harder drugs, and eventually pursued the career that I make my living in today. Another of us joined the NYPD and have since retired to the Caribbean with his wife who was also NYPD and retired. Another, became a fire-fighter in the Bronx. A few of us joined different branches of the military and served with distinction and have since retired.

All in all, looking back, my mother recounts how some of the kids with the greatest aspirations and chances for success based on their sheer brain-power had their lives muffled due to smoking some harmless marijuana joints – they are now wards of the government, and supported by the other group of us, smaller in number, according to my dear mother, not even close to being as smart. Yet we have given back to our communities, pay taxes, and have raised honest hard-working children of our own.

I can’t for the life of me imagine why you would entertain the legalization of marijuana.

Comments welcome

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Commonsense2day Survey Questions

Venturing into unchartered waters is always a challenge for both a new administration and the citizens - the reality is that President elect Obama presents more unknowns than many would like to think or better yet admit. Questions, many questions and answers can help to alieviate unknowns and encourage productive discussions. We will use short surveys to ask probing questions and provide the results as well. Please visit often to see new survey questions.

Is Obama a One or Two term President? Click here to answer survey questions.

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Children do what children see…A must see!

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Let Detroit Go Bankrupt

A real dose of common sense. Mitt Romeny stands apart with a brilliant OP-Ed piece published in the NY Times. This continues the same “work out” not “bail out” stance that he took during the 2008 primaries. He suggests that this is an opportunity to “work” with the auto-industry, not to abandon them.

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed. Read more

How Obama Got Elected . com

 
This is an insightful piece of video and documentary.  It is neither a slight on Obama nor his supporters. From our perspective it makes the case for the CommonSense2day. Those interviewed on the piece are intelligent individuals, who some may say were subjected to “media malpractice”.  This documentary highlights the importance for the American people to develop a true “common sense” understanding on the basics of mass media. Read more

Over 12 Million Views on YouTube

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Is this a Democratic Strategy?

Obama continually states that John McCain supported George Bush 90% of the time.

Does it surprise any reader here that Democrats stand with Democrats and Republicans stand with Republicans?  John McCain is accused of voting with George Bush 90% of the time.  However, the record shows that Barack Obama voted 97% of the time with the Democrat party. In fact there are many instances where the Democrats vote with Democrats 100% of the time.

Here is a very interesting piece of information worth further analysis.

The New York Times on September 11, 2003 printed an article about a Bush Administration proposal for a “significant regulatory overhaul” to the housing finance industry.

The proposals were designed to prevent the financial collapse of the housing mortgage industry at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

During the 2005-2006 congressional sessions of the 109th Congressional session, Senator John McCain addressed congress in support of a bill to save and regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  It was called S.190 (190th ): Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005.

This bill was introduced by Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE] and co-sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R-NC;  Sen. John McCain [R-AZ] and Sen. John Sununu [R-NH].

On Jan 26, 2005, Sen. Charles Hagel addressed the Senate introducing and explaining the bill.

Senator John McCain’s address to the Senate on this bill was on May 26, 2006.

They both urged the passing of this legislation hoping to ward off economic crises. We now know that they were absolutely correct in that assessment.

But a Democrat controlled Congress, lined up 100% against supporting this or any action, and as a result we have the chief component (housing and mortgage) of our recent economic slowdown.

What many cannot understand is how the government, when given the chance, made a decision to do nothing. It failed to act on the looming financial crisis that has overtaken us recently.

There were significant advance notices of this crises dating back to September 11, 2003 in the New York Times and in the 109th Congress S. 190 bill.

So why did the Democrats do absolutely nothing when they held the majority position in votes and committees?

Why did Senator Christopher Dodd [D-CT], Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs fail to act?

Why did  U.S. Representative Barney Frank [MA 4th Congressional District,- D], Chair, House Committee on Financial Services fail to act?

The Republicans tried to do something about Freddie and Fannie before the bottom fell out and the economy collapsed. But the Democrats can point to nothing but inactivity on their parts to avoid the 2008 economic slide of the last few months.

Yet, the general population for the most part who are not aware of the above facts are about to lay the blame on the current Republican administration by voting in an entire Democratic government.

Is it possible even probable that the Democrats let our economy slide intentionally so that they could seize control in 2008? In 2006, did they realize that an economic crisis would be blamed on the current administration making it easier for Democrats to move into the White House in 2008?

Is it possible that the Democrat leadership was more interested in themselves and the acquisition of power then in serving the good of the people?  Have they forgotten they work for us and not themselves?

Sir Conan Doyle writes (Sherlock Holmes), that “It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”.

By Jay Ashe, Staff Writer (jay.ashe@att.net)

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McCain for President

 Charles Krauthammer delivers common sense insight into why he is endorsing John McCain for President over Barack Obama. 

Contrarian that I am, I’m voting for John McCain. I’m not talking about bucking the polls or the media consensus that it’s over before it’s over. I’m talking about bucking the rush of wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama before they’re left out in the cold without a single state dinner for the next four years.

Read more

“Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” the plumber asked…

[Watch the Video] Barack Obama told a tax-burdened plumber over the weekend that his economic philosophy is to “spread the wealth around” — a comment that may only draw fire from riled-up John McCain supporters who have taken to calling Obama a “socialist” at the Republican’s rallies.

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Important Update from CommonSense2day Editor in Chief. Watch this Video.

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CommonSense2day is an organization that strives to bring “common sense” news to its readers and subscribers. We have received feedback recently that we are one-sided as it pertains to our news promotions for the current election.  In posting this video we are continuing our pursuit of promoting “common sense” news which we have viewed through a lens of the every day American and more importantly have reviewed for accuracy as best we can.

In viewing this video we have considered some of the feedback that we have received, and feel even more compelled to promote this YouTube video.  It is accurate.

Part of our charter is to help in leveling the playing field of big media that can in fact shape the outcome of political elections due to their massive reach and “deep pockets”. While we do believe that the election coverage in the news has been slanted in favor of Senator Obama, that does not change our charter, we exist to bring pertinent information to everyday Americans. Read more

A Congressional Outrage: An ACORN Falls from the Tree

As negotiations over Congress’s emergency rescue bill continued over the weekend, repeated rumors leaked out that the Democrats were trying to funnel money to a hyper-partisan organization involved in criminal voter fraud. I’m speaking of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — known by its acronym, ACORN. Although ACORN was cut from the final legislation, it’s important to understand this organization and its long history with, of all people, Barack Obama. And it’s important to see how partisan this emergency legislation has become.

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Report on Debate: Only One Candidate Looked Presidential in Debate

Barack Obama Agrees With John McCain Again and Again and Again John McCain and Senator Barack Obama particapated in the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi on Friday evening. Once again, John McCain showed without a doubt that he is ready to be Commander in Chief from day one. Senator McCain’s answers were clear, direct, and heartfelt. Barack Obama, by contrast, repeatedly evaded questions and directly contradicted previous statements that he has made. Read more

How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) — The financial crisis of the past year has provided a number of surprising twists and turns, and from Bear Stearns Cos. to American International Group Inc., ambiguity has been a big part of the story. Read more

McCain Wants To Delay Debate To Focus On The Economy And Obama Says No: Who Is Right?

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Election 2008, What matters most?

 

 

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