Free Republic

Giancarlo Marotti not only sensed fear inside Fairfield Warde High School teacher Amy Handy's advanced placement English class, he saw it and he touched it, too. So did the rest of his classmates. "My parents don't support what's going on (in Iraq). And they'd feel I was putting my life in danger if I went," Marotti said. "So, I would have to seriously contemplate heading to Canada or Italy or someplace. My parents wouldn't want me to go to war. So I know that they'd support what I had to do."

Bob Gay/The Dominion Post Photos U.S. Army recruiter SFC Willie Richardson stands by a bulletin board bearing photos of the newest recruits to enlist in the Morgantown area. Richardson said recruits from the area have a high level of patriotism and interest in serving their country. "I'm definitely against it. I just think that if you inscript people you get people who don't want to be there. The military would be better suited by those individuals who want to be there. Whether it's men or women, a voluntary system would make a bett er military." Buz Clark, furniture company...

NOTE: President Carter used his 1980 SOTU speech to address the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the American hostages taken by Iran. He called for increasing military spending, reducing restrictions on the CIA, and revival of the selective services registration. Many on the left, like Noam Chomsky, attacked him for his response to the crisis, others, like Sen. McGovern supported him, while John Kerry offered qualified support and equivocation. ************************************************************************************************** January 25, 1980 by Richard H. Stewart Globe Staff Antiwar activists from the Vietnam era are not as united about President Jimmy Carter's tough-sounding [State of the Union] speech on...

She was cute in her own way. I caught a glimpse of her across the pub, and we finally made eye contact. I knew how the night would end, but I didn't know whether it would be voluntary on her part. Her name was Eileen, and she was nineteen years old. She looked innocent. She was perfect for defiling. After a few beers and conversation about how I was going to change the world, she agreed that I could walk her home. Southern charm gets 'em every damn time. While she made a restroom stop just before we were ready...

Ladies and Gentlemen (yes, Ladies, too), you are about to receive the greatest infringement possible upon your freedoms, one that would cause any other intrusions of the Welfare State into your lives to pale by comparison. For, you see, this planned intervention could quite easily kill you. The twin bills S 89, sponsored by Senator Fritz Hollings (D) and HR 163, sponsored by Representative Charles Rangel (D) are currently pending before the Armed Services Committee. They would legitimize a nationwide draft of individuals aged 18 to 26, male or female, rich or poor, college students or workers or parents or...

"Is this, sir, consistent with the character of a free government? Is this civil liberty? Is this the real character of our Constitution? No sire, indeed it is not. The Constitution is libeled. The people of this country have not established for themselves such a fabric of despotism. They have not purchased at a vast expense of their own treasure and their own blood a Magna Carta to be slaves." A political giant of the 19th century and a firm proponent of American principles, Daniel Webster spoke in the House of Representatives on December 9, 1814, concerning a proposed draft...

Notice: Notwithstanding recent stories in the news media and on the Internet, Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces -- either with a special skills or regular draft. Rather, the Agency remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new. Further, both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency,...

Hardly anybody is speaking of it, and then only in a whisper, but President Bush, his administration and the American people are about to face an explosive and divisive issue: the draft. For those of a certain age, the very idea of restoring the draft brings back memories of how the system worked, and how it didn’t, during Vietnam. Think for a moment of those prominent people who did not serve. President Clinton stayed out. President Bush disappeared somewhere into the Air National Guard and is still missing over Georgia. Dick Cheney never got near Vietnam. When we recall those...

(A public letter to Illinois Senator Peter Fitzgerald) Most Honorable Senator Fitzgerald, My passion for freedom and the ideals implicit in the founding of the United States of America is unwavering, and the words of Thomas Jefferson concerning the requirement for eternal vigilance if liberty is to be preserved come to mind as I become alerted of a menace to the fundamental rights of Americans that is closer to home than the threat of terrorism itself. While the United States seeks to broadcast the image of liberation, free enterprise, and individual rights abroad, there is a design within the chambers...

Winding up a visit from my wacko Liberal older Brother this weekend, and boy, does he have an incredible NEW alert from Liberal radio. It seems that our President has made it LAW that ALL Vietnam Vets, even up to age 65, are now eligible to be drafted back into the military to be sent to the Middle East. Yes yes.......the last time I saw him it was the children, male and female, who were about to be "drafted" even though his girl is 32 and his boy is 25, and partially handicapped. Yes, sez he, Bush is going to...

Subject: Draft Expected to Start July 15, 2005 The possibility of mandatory drafting for boys and girls (age 18-26) starting June 15, 2005, is something, I believe, everyone should know. This literally 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...

Last year, Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) introduced bills calling for reinstatement of the military draft. A far more descriptive term for the military draft is government confiscation of labor services, but keeping with the spirit of euphemistic obfuscation, I'll stick to the term draft. Let's first ask why a draft would be needed in the first place. Rest assured that if the military offered a compensation package of, say, $50,000 to $100,000 a year, it could get all the soldiers it wanted. Thus, lesson No. 1 is that whenever there's a draft, you know that...

Last year, Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) introduced bills calling for reinstatement of the military draft. A far more descriptive term for the military draft is government confiscation of labor services, but keeping with the spirit of euphemistic obfuscation, I'll stick to the term draft. Let's first ask why a draft would be needed in the first place.  Rest assured that if the military offered a compensation package of, say, $50,000 to $100,000 a year, it could get all the soldiers it wanted. Thus, lesson No. 1 is that whenever there's a draft, you know that...

WASHINGTON -- The chief of the Selective Service System has proposed registering women for the military draft and requiring that young Americans regularly inform the government about whether they have training in niche specialties needed in the armed services. The proposal, which the agency's acting Director Lewis Brodsky presented to senior Pentagon officials just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, also seeks to extend the age of draft registration to 34 years old, up from 25. The Selective Service System plan, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, highlights the extent to which agency officials have planned for an expanded...

I told you it would come to this. When the social crusaders determined to put women in combat or as near to combat as they could, I warned it would eventually lead to the drafting of women. Some scoffed. But a report by the U.S. Selective Service System to the Pentagon shows the plans have been under way for more than a year. According to a memo obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer through the Freedom of Information Act, the Selective Service System has proposed revamping the draft to include the registration of women, expanding the age limits and requiring young...

Democratic candidate John Kerry asked a very important question when he testified before Congress 33 years ago, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?” With the war in Iraq heating up and the daily loss of American lives, there is a growing possibility that we might be experiencing what the previous generation experienced in Vietnam: the draft. According to an editorial from The Minnesota Daily, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. believes that the United States should return to compulsory military service. The editorial raises and important point that would support Hagel’s beliefs:...

Bad ideas flourish in tough times. Calls to reinstate the draft offer a case in point. Americans today rely on the service and sacrifice of our military. The global war on terrorism has put our soldiers, sailors, marines, Air Force and Coast Guard into harm's way in numbers unprecedented since the Vietnam War. National Guard and reserve troops have been posted overseas at record levels. All the men and women of today's military volunteered to serve. They swore an oath to put aside their personal aspirations and obligations for the service of all Americans. But some politicians argue that these...

Rosen: Draft bills a cynical ruse April 30, 2004 'Vietnam War Redux: Mandatory Draft Coming." That was the headline over a cockeyed story by Sophie Lapaire on the Conspiracy Planet Web site, which bills itself as "Your Antidote to Media Cartel Propaganda," and offers links to a collection of exposés like: "Osama bin Scapegoat," "USA PATRIOT Act (Treason)," and the ever-popular "Moon Landing Scam." You get the idea. It's a hangout for paranoids and wackos of the black helicopter/Bilderbergers ilk. Lapaire warns us that there's pending legislation in the House and Senate to reinstate a military draft, and that "the...

TAIPEI - If China ever makes the decision to invade Taiwan it is unlikely to be a large-scale Normandy-style amphibious assault. The reality is that China is more likely to use a decapitation strategy. Decapitation strategies short circuit command and control systems, wipe out nationwide nerve centers, and leave the opponent hopelessly lost. As the old saying goes, "Kill the head and the body dies." All China needs to do is seize the center of power, the capital and its leaders. If China decides to use force to reunify the mainland with what it terms a breakaway province, the window...

<p>Democrats began a weeklong attack on Vice President Dick Cheney's record yesterday, with party chief Terry McAuliffe calling him "the last guy who should be lecturing John Kerry" and a Democrat-leaning group suggesting that Mr. Cheney's wife became pregnant to help her husband avoid serving in Vietnam.</p>