Post by RowleyIf they do bring it back, you might want to consider signing up
to be a member of your local draft board.
https://www4.sss.gov/localboardmembers/bminquiry.asp
Martin
Post by CurmudgeonI wonder just what might happen if both J.Kerry and G.W.Bush were asked the
very same question at some kind of Presidential debate ?
That question being "Do you now think it is time to bring back the Draft ?"
I wonder who would be in favor of it and who would be against it ?
As they are both poles apart politically how in the world could they both
agree on their answer to this question ?
I got an email, from a well respected friend on this very subject. I read
the email and had some questions about the objectivity of the sources cited
in the email I'm cutting and pasting the email I received. The bills are
accurate. There have been bills, introduced in the House and the Senate on
this subject. I checked them through thomas.gov. The rest of the
information hasn't been checked through objective sources. I'm working on
that.
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/mandatorydraftcoming19mar04.shtml
Mandatory Draft Coming-Soon
From: Sophie Lapaire <***@sun.com>
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/mandatorydraftcoming19mar04.shtml
March 19, 2004
I rarely send a mail to a large audience, but the possibility of mandatory
drafting for boys and girls (age 18-26) starting June 15 2005, is something,
I
believe, everyone should know. This litteraly affects EVERYONE since we all
have or know children that will have to go if this bill passes.
If there are children in your family, READ this.
There is pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and
HR 163) which will time the program's initiation so the draft can begin at
early as Spring 2005 -- just after the 2004 presidential election. The
administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the
public's attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed
immediately. Details and links follow.
Even those voters who currently support us. Actions abroad may still object
to this move, knowing their own children or grandchildren will not have a
say about whether to fight. Not that it should make a difference, but this
plan, among other things, eliminates higher education as a shelter and
includes women in the draft
--
Also, crossing into canada has already been made very difficult.
Actions, actions, actions:
P please send this on to all the parents and teachers you know, and all the
aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents.... And let your children know --
it's their future, and theycan be a powerful voice for change!
Please also write to your representatives to ask them why they aren't
telling their constituents about these bills -- and write to newspapers and
other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important
story.
The draft
$28 million has been added to the 2004 selective service system (sss) budget
to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June
15, 2005. Selective Service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the
system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please
see website: www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the sss annual
performance plan - fiscal year 2004.
The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft
board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though this is
an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members
of congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard
slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"]
proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5146.htm
www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward this year,
http://www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp entitled
the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common
defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the United
States,
including women, perform a period of military service or a period of
civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland
security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the
committee on armed services.
Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era.
College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada
and the U.S. signed a "smart border declaration," which could be used to
keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's minister of foreign
affairs, John Manley, and U.S. Homeland Security director, Tom Ridge, the
declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other
things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each
country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along gender and
class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen
would only be able to postpone service until the end of their current
semester.
Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.
WHAT TO DO:
- Tell all your friends
- Call the Mercury News (Newsdesk) 408-920-5000
-E-mail the SF Chronicle at: ***@sfchronicle.com
- Contact your Senators and tell them to oppose these bills.
Barbara Boxer: 415-403-0100
Diane Feinstein: 415/393-0707
Anna Eshoo: 202/225-8104
Nancy Pelosi: ***@mail.house.gov
For the full list of representatives (53) and websites, go to:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi?site=ctc&state=ca
We just can't sit and pretend that by ignoring it, it will go away. We must
voice our concerns and create the world we want to live in for
our children and their children's children.
~Cate