Mandatory Draft Bill to be debated in House on 6-6

http://rense.com/general71/dd.htm

(snip)

On February 14, 2006, Congressman Charles Rangel (Democrat - NY) introduced a bill (Universal National Service Act of 2006 - HR 4752 IH) aiming at drafting everyone - men and women alike - from the ages of 18 to 42 into the military for a minimum period of 2 years.

Or to quote the bill: "To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to 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."

The House is to convene on June 6 (06/06/06] to debate and possibly adopt this bill, that is, unless a vast public outcry succeeds in derailing this insanity

Now this ought to get down right interesting!

And I don't need anyone telling me how deadly wrong
I am. If there is a draft- don't go. Don't go
by the millions- What will they do then?

Now that I'm no longer a virgin (arrested 6 wks ago protesting
this criminal war) I strangely feel empowered.

Probably not a good thing.

I recently decided to 'drop out', 1960s style. I don't even have a job at the moment. Point is, I've decided I have NO INTEREST in keeping up with the Joneses, trying to "make it", having a "career" in the usual pro-capitalist-drum-beating sense. I don't WANT to work anywhere that would fire me for protesting or having a tattoo. Fuck em.

Times are tough all over. I make a statement wherever I go!
Peace sign earrings (celtic style- beautiful) At the hospital
I wear tye dye clogs with a peace sign on them. Where ever I go
I wear anti-bush clothing- Always have an anti-bush sign in the rear
window of my car(one someone dumped fish-parts all over it because
of my advertising)

Stick to your guns Stella! My own opinion- but things are going
to get worse before they get better- So it's time to start
fighting back NOW!
Peace IN!
PVD

By the end of the week, I will be living in an intentional community of five adults and one child. We may well expand from there.

:yourock:

two days ago. The trip hasn't gone well (you can see my pity me post in the lounge) but the goal is a worthy and long thought out one. We're going to be building some earthships (check out earthship.org - no it isn't about aliens). I am hopeful that even if my country falls apart, we can create a different kind of life, one more akin to how folks at the beginning of the last century did it.

DUers give me hope. :)

and all of us who can't get out there much

And if it did, the war would be HERE, not in Iraq. That's why it won't pass.

Sad state of affairs

and the the college students and young people led the way. There was a huge outcry against the war. It's one way to wake up the sheeple and chickenhawks, getting drafted.

nothing like a draft to mobilize the citizens against a war.

I am very much afraid that they're going to call Rangel's bluff and pass this bill.
Their drones in the MSM will point to the Democratic sponsorship and ignore acquiescense of the Repub majority.
Then they get the cannon fodder they need for another war, they get to militarize the entire society,
and we get the blame.

if it passes and the war goes on, the Canadian border crossings by Americans will make the Mexican crossings look like a trickle.

at the water cooler away from gay marriage and flag burners if that were to happen.

he insane?

to Iraq and/or Iran, then we'd start looking at war seriously.

now going voluntarily and even they aren't signing up anymore---or they're getting maimed and killed so can't continue. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, why should only the poorest of the poor go over there because they have no future here in the US? On the other hand, King GW's war is illegal and immoral and never should have happened. The fact is, when the repuke sons and daughters and 40 y.o. chickenhawks are drafted, this war will end.

I've been hearing this from Rangel for atleast two years now.

not as traumatic as asking them to put their money where their mouth is (they really like their money) but it's challenging the phony chickenhawk poser warriors.

than voluntary! And then, let's blame the Dems for it!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1352039&mesg_id=1352286

will play out.

That part I don't get.

Is he doing it for precisely the reaction we're talking about?

Oh, yeah, and Uncle Sam: FUCK YOU.

We discussed this- He introduced this BEFORE the illegal and immoral
war we waged in Iraq. I was dead set against it then, but nearly
4 years later...

Lets show the Republicans to be the cowards WE KNOW they are!
Lets make this one motherfucking tough bill- No exemptions
both, male/female, increase the age to 42- Everyone spends
time up front! Call their fucking bluff-

And if it passes- THEN REFUSE to let your child go to
war FOR GREED! Otherwise this bullshit continues
for decades while the non-existant class warfare breeds!

puts YOUR life on the line. But when you put my son's life on the line, and the lives of the sons and daughters and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of everyone in this land on the line, then you've gone to far.

All of you who believe that the huge uproar by a huge majority of the people of this country would stop the neofacists in our government from doing anything they want haven't been paying attention.

No protest and no outrage has stopped them from doing anything they've wanted to do thus far into this administration. Their approval rate is only 29% which means 71% disapprove of their actions and they STILL do what they want.

They are threatening Iran as we write this. If they are given the draft, they will continue to invade other sovereign nations because they will have the cannon fodder they need to do so.

At some point you have to decide to fight these
bastards- even if it's through peaceful means!

Just because they make a draft doesn't mean
you have to obey!

When do you decide to stand up for what's right?
Peace

those who didn't would be rounded up and forced one way or another. I'ts happened in other countries and even our own, people forced to fight in wars they don't believe in. In some countries those who refused were given a choice: go to war or die.

On edit: Just looked at your profile. Too young to remember much about the previous draft. Yes, Nixon ended it, but he was in serious trouble at the time and his administration did have to fear impeachment, unlike the current one.

I protested in what was formally known as Kennedy country last Monday- Memorial day

Cape Cod- once was quaint... Once was democratic...
I can't tell you how many 30-40.000 dollar auto/suv's went by
with kids en-tow and parents only too happy to slap me the bird.

THEY DON"T GET IT...
AND
THEY THINK THEY WILL NEVER HAVE TO!

As long as there is a poor to lower middle class they
believe they are sitting pretty- sitting safe.

I'm with Mr Rangel- Make them know THEY ALL are responsible
for the so called 'freedoms' we enjoy.

This has not been an easy decision for me. But if the draft came
to pass WITH EQUALITY then it would be easier. If not equality
I WILL do my part to shelter conscience objectors AND I will do
my part to educate the young- and move them to freedom.

Or I guess I could be less aggressive an allow an economic draft
to continue as is the status quo.
Peace

to use it.

I don't want to see anyone, rich, poor, or someone in between; Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Reform, or Independent; young or old, dove or war/chicken hawk, marched into the killing fields.

If I were to be forced to advocate a draft, then it would insist that those who pressed the loudest for that war, President, Vice President, Cabinet Member, Senator, Representative, Halliburton and other war profiteer lobbiers, Board of Directors, etc. would be the first to go and on the front lines too.

They should put their lives, not their children's lives on the line first.

I've been fighting against a draft for the past 5 years.

But I think, we the people, HERE, have a part to play
and can make this work to our advantage- or yes, I'm
naive...

The thing is, I'm willing to call this bluff-
My kids are not going to go- I'll sacrifice my
body in front of recruting offices. This, I will
do for the future of democracy.

Strange thing is a few nights back... I told my husband
that I was ready to die for this fight.

I don't know this source.

At least the part about Rangel introducing such a bill.
Don't know about whether they actually are going to debate it.
Rangel's my congressman.

That's what I'm not sure bout.

....Now this ought to get down right interesting!

I've said before why I think this is a damn fool bill, and I don't feel the need to repeat myself. If you want to see my reasoning, look up my posts in the archives.

are you afraid that this just
speeds things up a little.
I'm not being a wise ass- but
how else do we stop these criminals?
Lets have a draft. Refuse to send your kids!

Is he a sociopath, like B* et al? Does he like to murder innocents?

they could very well come up with something like mccain, where they word it a "mandatory service to the country", where they will say it wouldn't necessarily be military, but a choice between that and a "peace corp/vista/ or army option"

I don't like it. This is a VOLUNTEER ARMY, and though rangel thinks his little game will show that the public will turn against the hypocricy of the repukes I wouldn't count on it. In fact, they may reverse it to bite us.

Who does he think he is? It makes him appear to be more bloodthirsty than B*/Rumsfeld/Cheney/Gonzalez etc. At least their torture and death is not viewed as 'mandatory' but 'voluntary'.

Stupid, sick idea. Puke on him.

the hypocrisy, or dimson claiming we need the troops because he fucked up Iraq/we need people in Iran. Take your pick.
Whatever works to end this travesty works for me.
Having said that, I do not have a child in the line of fire, so I have a different view.

What are the exemptions that will allow all the privileged children to get out of this?

Why is a Democrat, of all parties, submitting this?

NO exceptions! Front line duty for all!

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d109:49:./temp/~bdUqEC::

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR04752:

Edited to add: there are two versions, with different #s

Congressman Rangel's Draft Bill Defeated 402-2

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/06/41639f0ad4825

By Shira Lee Segal
Columbia Daily Spectator

October 06, 2004

Some are concerned that with 135,000 soldiers in Iraq and no end to the war in sight, implementing a draft is a potential outcome. For now, the U.S. House of Representatives disagrees, and by a large margin.

The bill would have required those within the proscribed age limits to serve to promote national or homeland security as defined by the President, providing education deferments only for high school students.

Despite Internet rumors--and there have been many, especially with an intensifying election season--Brian Hillary, a representative in Congressman Rangel's office, emphasized that the implementation of a mandatory draft is not likely to happen anytime in the near future.

For college students who are worried that the draft would be reinstituted in June 2005, Hillary has a message: "it's a load of crap."

Republicans said the bill was introduced to undermine the president's foreign policy. In the House, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) said, "This campaign is a baseless and malevolent concoction of the Democratic party. It has one purpose--to spread fear."

According to Congressman Rangel, if college students had been required to serve in the military, the U.S. probably would not have rushed into war. He purports that, at the very least, there would have been a lot more questioning.

The U.S. now has troops in South Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq, among other places, and recruiting and retention numbers are down. But, at least for now, Columbians don't have to worry that they'll be forced to fill the empty spaces.

Forced servitude, which is what any draft is, is unconstitutional. The draft is slavery.

on edit: spelling

And I'll be willing to take it to court, too.

As we know, its part of the PNAC plan. Eliminate the middle class
and for housing, healthcare, food and clothing- what's left?
Slavery... You belong to the supreme leader!

His stated idea is that it would take mandatory conscription to vigorize opposition to the occupation of Iraq, much as the draft was the focus of the anti-war movement during Vietnam.

And it does not exclude anyone, unlike a draft that favors poor kids, and those without the means to loophole their way out of it by daddy's rich connections.

The bill states that it is mandatory that everyone has to serve, regardless. No ducking out by being a professional student for 10 years, no champagne units, no exemptions.

I am actually interested to see what these war-mongering chicken hawks in Congress that have been so gung-ho about sending other peoples children to die in the shrubs meat-grinder, will have to say about this, because it appears that they will not be able to keep them and theirs from being excluded from serving if it passes.

I am a free person, beholden to no government or interests. I will chose what causes I serve, and when, and where.

Perhaps its a bit easier for me being
from Mass- than you from TX.

I'm headed to Crawford this August again-
You should join us!

I would've been there this year, except I'd just gotten back from spending four years abroad and had no money, no car, and a borderline emotional breakdown. ha

:hi:

if you need to you can bunk with me

I haven't protested since the 2000 coup. Was in the UK. M best friend was in the massive anti-war protest in 2003, though.

It's time to stand up to these criminals!

Suppose you and he have a disagreement about something (anything).. Suppose he gets hot under the collar, as young men do.. and just decides not to risk prison or exile and just goes?

Is that ok?

Find some dope, set them up-
They won't go

They are losing career soldiers in droves and their recruiting numbers are way down. I also read recently that there are approximately 8000 defectors to the Iraq War.

I think the plan here is to adopt some form of mandatory service and blame it on the Dems to save face.

he's been talking about it forever. it's not going to pass. it's not coming from the neocons -- it's from the middle.

it's about asking everyone to contribute their children to this war -- and not just the economically disadvantaged.

Rangel represents an almost entirely black district. He knows damn well that those who are fighting and dying are predominately from the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. And he is sick and tire of the Neocon Chickenhawks hypocrisy. He wants a level playing field in which all will serve regardless of who they know and where they come from.

The reinstatement of the draft might just be the catalyst to create the revolution that is needed. Too many Americans are still apathetic because they have no direct involvement in the Iraq War. They may not like, but they are not ready to spew venom over it. As a product of the Viet Nam War era, I can tell you that it was an entirely different time. Americans were willing to protest, riot, if necessary to make their dissent known. And the numbers were staggering.

A draft is the only conceivable thing that would spur people to action. That would wake up the fat, bloated students.

in a major way, by the Vietnam War and the Draft. Mainly because a WHOLE LOT of people had "Skin in the game", political pressure mounted much more fiercely then, than it does now with no draft.

Truly fucked up I agree, but true just the same, IMHO.

:shrug:

After what the federal govt. did to us last year in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I will NEVER EVER serve, work, volunteer, etc.

FUCK YOU!

I'm not serving their greed. EVER.

of the areas that still have not been touched!
Made me sick to my stomach. He has come home
a different boy Swampy.

He did feel that he made a difference tho'

Peace

:hug:

I wish I had the chance to meet such a great person as your son, but we had to put a roof on our house this week - we finished yesterday evening!!! :bounce:

Will be lighting candles for you all season!

Finally! A veto! :woohoo: Now quick; bundle all sorts of tax cutting malarkey along with it.

Stupidity on the merits
1. Mandatory conscription for military or public service is involuntary servitude.

Political impact
2. Politically it is poison for a Democrat to introduce this extremely unpopular and unnecessary bill.

Military misconceptions
3. The military doesn't need amateurs forced to serve. It needs committed soldiers, sailors and marines.

Legislative dead end
4. It will never pass. It got only 2 votes (and not Rangel's - the sponsor) in the House the last time it was introduced. The idea that this will 'force' an end to the war is idiotic. It would have to pass and be signed (or overcome a veto) first. Nothing of the sort will happen.

We all work to man the corners of nearby recruiting stations.
We work underground, if we have too.

We just say NO!

Are you all that afraid of GeorgeBush&Co.?

but I want the draft back so that we can accelerate the end of this insanity. The youngin's with some notable exceptions are asleep right now and they don't have any skin in the game. If they did, they would rage against this insanity, rise up and end it twice as fast as the Vietnam War was and they would have better people in leadership roles and they would care, like they should, but don't. If it takes personal threat to get them to wake up, then so be it!

I'm sorry, but I won't protest this one. It's tough love time for the country and people I love.

I don't like being used as a pawn for anybody, period.

I know his intentions are good and the point is to shock the masses into protest, but I'd rather choose that on my own as opposed to being used as a pawn and having the concept shoved down my throat.

leaving others less privileged to fight in their stead.

Reverting to simple little bumper sticker messages

What if there was a war and we refused to go

Imagine MILLIONS of draftees telling the Bush evil
crime family to stick it!

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