The tone of this email forward is a little hysteric, and I'm inclined to call BS on ruminations about the return of the draft simply because of its incredible unpopularity. The draft bill could also be sponsored with a similar intent to an earlier one done by democrats to draw attention to the problems the occupation is causing. Still, we're running out of volunteers for Iraq, and a reinstatement of the draft is far more concievable now than it was two years ago, say.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 as 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.
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 write to your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and write to newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story.
$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 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.informationclearinghouse.inf ... le5146.htm
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Congress brought twin bills, S 89 and HR 163, forward this year, http://www.hslda.org/legislation/nation ... efault.asp entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [ages 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 it was in 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. [I have located that document, but cannot find the specific reference to potential draft-dodgers. If anyone else does find it, please let me know. ? Faith]  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.
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WHAT TO DO:
? Tell all your friends
? E-mail your newspaper
? Contact your Senators and tell them to oppose these bills. (For the full list of California representatives (53) and websites, go to:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-b ... c&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.
Thoughts?
