Cocoa wrote a letter to the editor in the Northeast times. June 17th Letter to the Editor:
Put a chill on the draft bill
Just this week I received an e-mail so upsetting that I forwarded it to all my friends, who then forwarded it to all their friends. We are now a good size group. The e-mail concerned Bill S89 and HR 163. The bill is about reinstating the draft, beginning in the spring of 2005. The draftees will be all males and females between the ages of 18 and 26. There will be no deferments; seniors will be allowed to finish the year, and underclassmen will only be allowed to finish the semester. There is already a document signed between the U.S. and Canada, the “Smart Border Declaration,” which will prevent crossing the border. Since this is a federal bill, I was advised to contact Sen. Specter, Sen. Santorum and Congressman Joe Hoeffel. Sen. Specter’s office said that these bills are a “secret.”
When I told him that the cat was out of the bag, he offered to connect me with the Washington office. That office assured me that the senator was against this bill. I am still waiting for Sen. Santorum to respond, but Congressman Hoeffel is undecided. His office is sending me a letter detailing his thoughts. We are now in the process of collecting as much information as possible about this bill and the candidates.
We keep getting told that there are no sponsors for this bill and not to worry about it. But why did South Carolina Sen. Ernest Hollings draft this bill, and why is it sitting in the Senate? We think that it is important to find out before the election.
Meanwhile, we are starting an organization called Parents Against the Draft (PAD).
For more information, call me at 215-632-4997. Beverly Cocco Walton Park
Congressman clears the record
Beverly Cocco’s letter in the June 17 edition of the Northeast Times in which she expresses her alarm about a bill (HR163) currently in Congress that would reinstate the military draft contained a great deal of accurate information, but it had one major inaccuracy. Ms. Cocco wrote that I was undecided about the bill. I am not undecided. I am against the bill.
While I support the fight against terrorism, I do not believe that reinstating the draft or mandating civilian service is necessary at this time. I support the bill’s emphasis on civilian service, but I do not believe in requiring young people to perform civilian or military service. Instead, I support directing increased funding towards recruitment and retention programs in the armed forces.
Attracting and keeping the highest quality of men and women into the armed forces through increased pay, better career opportunities and enhanced benefits will guarantee our military’s continued ability to respond to threats against our country.
Additionally, I fully support enhanced volunteer opportunities for civilians and have been working with my House International Relations Committee colleagues to see that the Peace Corps budget doubles by 2006, and that funding for travel and exchange programs between young Americans and their foreign peers is increased. By enhancing incentives and increasing possibilities for engaging in volunteer service, we can improve our armed forces without reinstating the military draft.
Joseph M. Hoeffel 13th Congressional District Editor’s note: Rep. Hoeffel is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
Repeating "Sparrow Fall's", a blogger: "hmmm! what's that D there! so why did these honorable gentlemen, scarcely bush supporters, introduce a pair of bills that the white house has said are unnecessary and the pentagon does not want?"
Lets Roll people! Rathergate style!
Lets get this around the blogosphere and let it chew on the issue for a while and keep the story alive till it finally topples CBS!
What has happened to America? The worst thing that ever happened to this country was getting rid of the draft. My husband was drafted during the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban missle Crisis and I followed him to Ft. Riley KS with only my last allotment check (91.30)in my purse. (he made only 25.00 as a pfc.) We paid 75.00 rent, 25.00 reduced car payment, with 16.30 left over to eat and buy gas for a month. My mother was hysterical when I left to drive 13 hours in an old car (with very bad tires) through a snow storm to Manhatan,KS, but I was in love and I had the ridiculous notion that no one in America starved to death. (Little did I know) For two years we had a crash course in "the real world." That was 43 years ago, and to this day still think it was the best thing that ever happened to us.
GWB may need to address this to allay the fears of these types of voters.
Need to copy Cocco's info to Hannity etc.
See post #55!
CBS has no credibility left. Another Hit Bush piece <yawn And the fact of the matter is its the Democrats who want to reinstate the draft! Don't look for Danron to mention that in his set-up piece about how Bush is plotting to put more American boys in harm's way in Iraq.