E-Mail Making The Rounds: Reinstating the DRAFT -- a Bill After the Elections!

E-Mail | 9/29/04 | Douglas P. Olsen

[JulieRNR21]

This Draft Hoax is not only being sent arount the internet.

My local paper had a letter to the editor.....telling mothers & grandmothers to vote for Kerry "if you don't want your children & grandchildren to die in a senseless war!"

I called the Editor, sent him sources proving the letter is part of the internet hoax and have demanded a correction!

FREEPERS: Watch for newspaper letters on the Draft Hoax and demand a correction!

This is clearly a DEm dirty trick to hurt Bush with the women's vote!

[Chieftain]

Fight fire with fire! Send this out:

KERRY’S SECRET DRAFT PLANS FOR AGES 18-26. MEN AND WOMEN. NO COLLEGE EXEMPTIONS. THIS NEEDS TO BE CIRCULATED AROUND ASAP.

Subj: U.S. Military Draft expected to start under John Kerry

Importance: High

If there are children in your family, READ this NOW.

John Kerry has now called for increasing the U.S. military by 40,000 troops, probably in order "to match its new missions'' in the war on terror and homeland security.”

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&refer=us&sid=apQHTegvEtDo

This includes sending more troops to Iraq.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-04-18-kerry-nbc_x.htm

Kerry has gone on record as stating that ”As President, John Kerry will call on young people to help strengthen America's security.”

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

There is pending legislation in the House and Senate HR163 and Senate S89 by Democrats Charles Rangel from NY and Fritz Hollings of South Carolina to reinstitute the draft.

Here is a link to the CNN article about the Rangel bill

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/07/rangel.draft/

All the supporters of this bill are Democrats: Mr. RANGEL, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. STARK, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE

These bills will time the program's initiation so the draft can begin as early as Spring 2005 -- just after the 2004 presidential election.

The democrats are 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.

See the following websites to view Bills:

http://www.hslda.org/legislation

Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward, 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. This plan, among other things, eliminates higher education as a shelter and includes women in the draft. College students would not be exempt under the new draft. Kerry has stated that “A Kerry Administration will offer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service.”

http://web.archive.org/web/20040210043828/www.johnkerry.com/issues/natservice/

Actions, actions, actions:

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 they can be a powerful voice for change! Please also contact your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and contact 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 the next president on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation.

Please see website: http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the SSS annual performance plan - fiscal year 2004.

WHAT TO DO: Tell all your friends!!!!! Contact your Senators & Reps and tell them to oppose these bills!!!

Send this email to everyone you know, and ask them to forward it to draft age teenagers and their parents.

We need to stop the Kerry draft before it is too late!

[Leifur]

Hum, these bills seem to make, if passed, the US to be very similar in these matters as many European countries (not mine, we don´t ewen have an army). They have conscription from half a year or more for each and eweryone, although in most countries people can choose between the armed forces or some civil work in nurserys, schools and such. Instead they pay for nearly (it varies) all their college costs and some ewen pay them for beeing in school (like the other Scandinavian "welfare" states), practically paying them for existing.

I have often thought that this is a major drawback for both the armed forces of these countries, having people that do not want to be there, and no politican can send to fight without making a political suicide, and for the schools that are state run and thus do not have effective cost analysis or administration that is up to the task of reducing costs. They are beurocratic sprawls that suck money out of the system (as most things state run are of course) and hinder competition in education.

On the other hand conscription teaches young people discipline and values of defending and honoring your country, and enables them to be redy when you have to defend your street from the red armie´s coming over the Berlin wall...ups, I forgot, that threat seems to be over, thank to the US, specially Reagan and the evil empire policy (and of course Tatcher, and the political cooperation of the west).

I have allways thought of the US system as good and strong, it enables poor people to go to school (they do get education costs payd by the army after serving right?) but still keeps the school mostly private run and enables competition and makes you pay for the real cost of your education. It also makes the army more professional I would assume, although I am a little surprised hearing that most of the soldiers in Iraq are from the national guards, wich I thought was more like a hobby soldiering and emergency rescuers for natural disaster and such.

The national guard is more similar to the European conscription armys than I thought obviously, f.e. like in Switcerland (Der Scweis) where every male is a soldier from age of 18 to 40, and has to go to military camps regularly, once a year or something, plus going regularly to shooting practises in the hills with the army "buddies".

But I wonder, if you do not want to use draft, what are you going to do to get more soldiers, as there seem to be need for many more? I would think using draft on like unemployed people, on f.e. social security and such would be an accessable solution to fill the ranks of the armed forces, or what?

If not, I just see one solution, wich I wonder you would consider, that is making it an option for smaller crimes to serve in the army instead doing time behind bars? It is a fact that the US has one of the worlds largest percents of the population behind bars (most for drug related issues) and although I would not consider those to be the best candidates, specially for winning hearts and minds, they can surely be put into special punishment units, used for heavy fighting, thus freeing other units for peace-keeping missions.

Or do you see any other solutions? What do you think of these ideas? Best wishes,
Leifur