Wednesday, September 10, 2003


Unless we start thinking a bit more like Dennis Kucinich and a lot less like Joe Lieberman, the draft will be back soon.

Don't look at Dennis Kucinich like he's crazy. We should concentrate our efforts to get our troops back home where they are needed.
The compliance of our Congress to give these billions so easily to Bush gives me icy chills. They are paving the way, felllow citizens of America, to an endless war and a draft that will take your boys...and mine.

Beware.








Sept. 5- A federal court in Massachusetts has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to make women eligible for a possible future military draft.



What happens when the "poverty draft" dries up? "In the Vietnam war, when the US military was still conscripting soldiers for compulsory service, the de facto characteristic of the men who did the fighting and dying was class. Poor people - whether black, white or Mexican - were much more likely to be drafted, and more likely to find themselves in the front line
Now the military operates what Mr Jahnkow calls a "poverty draft" - selling itself as an attractive career option or stepping stone to further education in communities that have few other options..."


"The American middle and upper classes haven't suffered much nor given up much in support of the war on terrorism. Enlistment offices weren't bursting at the seams on 9/12/2001. How likely is it that increasing recruitment goals for an all-volunteer military to restore the services to the Korean War or Vietnam War strength levels would succeed?"


"As the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches and the U.S. military remains embroiled in conflict overseas, the role of national service in a democracy is as relevant as ever. In a new book, United We Serve: National Service and the Future of Citizenship, academics, lawmakers and former government officials engage in a vigorous debate about compulsory service for citizens, the reinstatement of the military draft and how the government can harness the patriotism that swept through the American public after the attacks.
“Why shouldn’t citizens be required to give something to their country in exchange for the full range of rights to which citizenship entitles them?” asks Robert Litan, vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, in an essay supporting the idea of mandatory service..."


Sept 9- U.S. may not be able to sustain Iraq troop levels
Rotation schedules and a limited number of soldiers mean a change is inevitable, experts say.
By Jonathan S. Landay
Inquirer Washington Bureau








$87 Billion For Catastrophe

Article & Essay: $87 Billion For Catastrophe
-A Decent Debunking of Bush's Speech to the Nation Last Sunday-


"......despite all these lies, all this deceit, all this perfidy, despite an economy in shambles, George Bush enjoys an approval rating of 54 percent by the American people, according to the most recent polls. Are we as a nation so blinded by jingoism and hubris that we cannot see the havoc this man and his regime have wrought upon this country? Did 9/11 so blind us to reality?

How many body bags will it take? When George Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 137 Americans had died in combat; another 150 have been killed since then. Just yesterday, (Tuesday, September 9), one soldier died and seven were wounded in combat.

How many more soldiers will lose their lives or their limbs?

How many more Americans will lose their jobs?

How many more Americans will be thrown into poverty?

Just how many will it take?...."