Is the Draft coming back?

http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sss092203.html

The Selective Service System wants to hear from men and women in the community who might be willing to serve as members of a local draft board.

Prospective Board Members must be citizens of the United States , at least 18 years old, and registered with the Selective Service (if male). Prospective Board Members may not be an employee of any law enforcement occupation, not be an active or retired member of the Armed Forces, and not have been convicted of any criminal offense...

...If a military draft becomes necessary, approximately 2,000 Local and Appeal Boards throughout America would decide which young men, who submit a claim, receive deferments, postponements or exemptions from military service, based on Federal guidelines...

Salon.com posted an article yesterday (I believe) about this very thing. Supposedly the Repukes are quietly setting up to re-staff the draft boards in case they have to reinstitute the draft. At this rate of needing new cannon fodder, they'll be drawing lottery numbers by next summer. Also, all the old deferments are history -- for example, no more 4 year college deferment, you only get to finish out the year then off to boot camp you go.

reservists and regular troops are re-enlisting. Early 2005 would be my guess. And I would expect every current soldier will be stop-gapped to the max.

...with no nation willing to send its troops to Iraq, the draft seems like the obvious answer...

If only Freepers are on those boards, no one will get Conscientious Objector deferments.

If appointed, I will only send rich Republican spawn to war. Kidding of course.

Perhaps we should start a thread later specifically for this purpose - after election day.

Appeal for draft board volunteers revives memories of Vietnam era
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1077906,00.html

<snip>

However, officials were not immediately able to explain how the advertisement appeared on the site. Mr Amon said the notices were a response to the natural attrition in the ranks of the draft board, where some 80% of 11,000 places are now vacant. "It is the routine cycle of things," he said.

But it was unclear why the Pentagon decided at this time it was necessary to fill staff bodies which had played no function since the early 1980s.

The idea of a draft has never entirely disappeared, and is contemplated by Democrats and some military experts.

In the run-up to the war, the New York congressman Charles Rangel argued for a draft on the grounds that the US military was disproportionately made up of poor and black soldiers, and that it was unfair for America's underclass to go off and die in wars.

In recent weeks, there has been growing concern within the defence department about relying too heavily on members of the National Guard and army reservists.

Goodbye Vietman, Hello Iraq ...

means they are actually pretty well advanced in the planning, so I am betting, (unfortuntely) that the Draft will be ennacted as soon as the staffing crisis HITS the DoD... best case scenaerio AFTER the election... worst case scenario by the summer of 2004. Why would Bush do this AFTER the election? By the way he can do this whether he wins or not... and I am betting he will... if he did it NOW it will guarantee he will not get reelected (Rove knows this and I think they can keep jerking the Reserves and National Guard until AFTER November of 2004, maybe) ... even if he looses, he signs the executive order and gets the bill from Congress (it is ready to go), the next president will have a hell of a time STOPPING that machine once it is activated... I don't care what the name of the President is. Poltiically it would cripple the next President before that President is even sworn in... and the riots, oh the riots... that will fill America's streets, if history is a guide, will make the Summer of '65 look like a walk in the park... so if your name is George Bush and you really want ot cripple your successor, the Draft is just the ticket, no pun intended.

The only POSSITIVE of a Draft is that it will make politics RELEVANT once again for middle America and the side issue of DEMOCRATIZING the country... these are balanced by WAY TOO MANY NEGATIVES... such as cost, social, economic, you mention it, traiining, morale problems, disipline problems et al.. but point is, the Draft is coming, and all DENIALS point to it.

Now for teh usual suspects this is a strategic view of the matter... not an ideological one so try to look at things STRATEGICALLY. If you are between the ages of 16-25 start your file RIGHT NOW for consicentious Objector, though be advised the way the Bill reads, you will be REQUIRED to serve, even if NOT in the military. Yes you read correctly 16 is a good age to start that file to present to the Draft Boards if that number should come.

Yuo may want to contact any of the groups helping active service personnel right now, as to the requirements...

Oh and for the record I am not in favor of one, but can read the hand writing on the wall RIGHT NOW

Technically a speeding ticket is a criminal offense.

Do they mean felonies?

and notice they do not want police OR military veterans...

Fishy I tell you since them Veterans woudl send the bush
kids to the front...

And always fight it:).

I was in the Army Reserves - I don't think that disqualifies me.
90% of the people I served with were there for economic reasons.
This wishing our troops harm stuff is driving me nuts.
By paying taxes, those who would throw stones at our soldiers, you are supporting the same unjust war, with the same degree of "guilt" and responsibility our soldiers have.
A draft would force the people of this country to face the consequences of our actions.
I live in an area with lots of Hummers and those Mercedes SUV's that get 7 miles a gallon. Maybe those folks will think differently when the gas tanks of their gas guzzlers are being filled with the blood of their sons. When fraternity life at the University of Florida and Duke have to wait because there is a country to occupy.
Change won't come by wishing harm to our soldiers who volunteeered, the great majority of whom did so for economic reasons.
Change will come when the mom who would have had a Princeton sticker in the rear window of her Wagoneer instead has a POW/MIA sticker.

don't throw stones, just learned FORD makes one that is a hybrid...

Gives 40 MPG in the city... yes I need to replace a car, and have
been looking at all hybrids out there.

I couldn't believe it that Ford of all companies got a clue and is building this.
By the way, there are SUVS and then there are the FU! SUV's. We've got a lot of the latter around here unfortunately.

that I have been able to find...

Toyota, small vehicle lousy acceleration

Honda Civic, I love Hondas, heck my Accord has pretty decent
MPG for a gas vehicle and has lasted close to 100K

And the last one is that Hybrid by Ford... hey will be good
when the family is around... whem my father sugested an SUV or a
van my reaction was NO WAY, because of the gas guzzling... so while
watching the auto show we saw the Hybrid and went, time to look
into it.

By the way, acceleration (and this is important in Cali) is about the same as a V-6

http://www.top100musclecarsites.com/Ford-Escape-Hybrid.html