Voices should be heard, Act, do not Say ..... Options

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi all.

First off, let me say this before I post this new debate:
[*]I do not want to hear which party you are
[*]I do not want this to become a personal statement
[*]I DO want this to be a place to voice your opinion, YOUR opinion...

OK, here goes:

"Tis easy enough to be pleasant
when life flows along like a song
but the man worthwhile
is the one who will smile
when everything goes dead wrong."
~Anonymous

I'm sure most everyone reading this thread now knows that our President Bush was re-elected for another 4 year term on Tuesday.

It has been widely publicized that the parties spent more money in this election toward the 'college votes'.  What is surprizing to me is that the last I read, only 17% of the college-aged Americans actually voted! 17%!!!!!!

If they say the future is in the hands of our younger generations, then we must show them how to DO what they SAY and put their money where their mouth is, IMHO. There has been talk of the student demonstrations (picketing the parties they disagree with) etc.. and this will continue in our country. I have no issue with that, after all, here in my country, freedom of speech is a powerful tool & right.

I'm not here to say which party I chose, nor do I wish to hear who your party is, I DO however, want to get a discussion going, regarding the CHOICES that our younger generations should understand.

The following is from "Google" searching 'new selective service legislation' regarding a potential "draft":

Despite denials that the U.S. plans to re-institute the draft, the Pentagon has stepped up preparations for a new Selective Service System that could allow for a full-blown draft by next year.

Every few months Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gets peppered with the nettlesome question about whether the administration, straining to keep boots on the ground around the globe, is considering reviving the compulsory military service draft – moribund since 1973. The answer is always an unqualified “No.”

Inquiries by NewsMax – and a persistent host of others, says the agency – to the Selective Service System (SSS) about an impending return to the draft are answered as well with an explicit canned denial:

“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, such as Iraq.

“Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft. Therefore, Selective Service continues to refine its plans to be prepared as is required by law, and to register young men who are ages 18 through 25.”

For sure, “The Selective Service System’s Annual Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2004,” is a document that leaves the careful reader with anything but the impression of a sleepy agency drilling for a fire it knows will never flare.

By early next year, the government will be test firing a mobilization infrastructure of 56 state headquarters, 442 area offices, and 1,980 local boards.

Funding is in the coffers to kick off a rigorous “Area Office Prototype Exercise,” which will “test the activation process from SSS Lottery input to the issuance of First Armed Forces Examination Orders.”

Ramping up is the “Selective Service System’s High School Registrar Program,” a plan to put volunteer registrars in at least 85 percent of the nation’s high schools – an increase from 65 percent in 1998.

At the head of the busy-work list – a no-nonsense commitment to report to the president by March 31st, 2005 that the system is ready to roll full steam within 75 days, which would clear the decks for a first lottery by June 15th, 2005.

Meanwhile, helping the agency to reach its goals and objectives is a little known provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires schools to provide contact information for every student – upon pain of losing federal aid dollars...

For the rest of the article, click here: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2...24/104815.shtml


The eRumor warns that there are two bills before Congress that, if passed, would bring back the military draft and make it mandatory for both boys and girls starting in June, 2005.

The bills, S.89 and H.R.163 are real. But they are not new.

An eRumor started circulating in June, 2004 warning that the draft was only a year away. In reality, these twin bills have existed since 2003 and have never gotten out of committees.

In other words, they are stagnant.

Nobody in Washington seriously expects a draft and certainly not by 2005.

It's known as the "reinstate draft" bill or the "Universal National Service Act of 2003."

The wording of the bill says it is "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons 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."

It would require U.S. citizens and other residents, both male and female, between the ages of 18 and 26 to serve two years of "national service."

The reason the bills have gotten attention in 2004 is the military actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the war on terrorism. There has been debate about troop strength in Iraq and the status of all the U.S. Armed Forces.

The U.S. Selective Service, however, says that despite the Internet stories, the agency is not getting ready to conduct a draft. It says it is ready to do so should the President and Congress decide, but "that responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new."

The Selective Service further says that "...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, such as Iraq. Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft."

1.) The legislation to reintroduce the draft was initiated in January
of 2003 by Charles Rangel (Dem) and sponsored by the likes of Sheila
Jackson-Lee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jesse Jackson Jr. and other
extreme left-wing democrats. In the Senate it was introduced by
retiring Ernest Hollings, also a Democrat. In other words, no
Republicans involved and not even any mid-stream Democrats.  

2.) Two weeks ago the measure was called to a vote and defeated 421-2 in the House. Not even the sponsors voted for it.  

3.) The Bush administration has repeatedly indicated that it is
satisfied with the size of the military.

4.) The Kerry campaign has indicated a need to add divisions and
increase Special Forces by 40,000 (ignoring the fact the SF folks
require about 4-6 years of experience before qualifying for the
specialty.)

5.) The current US military is smaller than it has been since before
WW II.  

6.) The high-tech, all-volunteer force is not easily adaptable to a
conscription system which doesn't have the ability to control
motivation or qualification of the input.  


Any takers on this debate?
~Cleo