Speaking of
"In an emergency when there is a severe shortage of personnel in the US armed forces, the government can call men registered with selective services. This has neven happened and most likely will never happen.":
Here is some info I have encountered recently:
"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.
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: 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 talk to your
representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents
about these bills -- and talk 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.
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.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward
this year,
http://www.hslda.org/legislation/na...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 eliminate 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:
Tbyrne@sfchronicle.com
mailto:Tbyrne@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:
sf.nancy@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."
