Please take a moment to read this.

(I cannot post the link to this since I haven't posted 50 times here (and I respect and support that restriction), but if anyone is interested, you can find information about this at congress (dot) org - and when you do, please reply to this post with the link).

"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 at 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..."

"$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.

Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward this year, entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 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."

"Please send this on to all the friends, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins that you know. Let your children know too -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for change!

Please also contact your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and contact newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story."

I've written to my congressmen regarding my feelings on these bills, and I encourage you to as well.

BTW, this draft would include women.

I'm opposed to a draft of any kind...you decide for yourself. I support my country, but I believe that it should be the right of every young man and/or woman to decide for themself if they want to join the military or not.

Thanks!

Cheree

My son is 19 and is very very concerned with this to the point of anxiety disorder!.. he worrys about this every day and Its just not right! I am very opposed to this my self.. what can i do as a parent ?? not that i even think any thing will make a difference they do what they want.. but id at least try !!

My family has been military since 1941 and I fully support the draft. If you live here, you defend the country, not expect someone else to do it for you.

Well those are the people who should be in there defending our country then.. the ones who chose to not the ones who dont...i dont think it should be a forced issue should be weather u want to or not .. and if not well so be it.. just my 2¢

If this is in reference to me , I dont know what you have read, but smart or not smart has nothing to do with this.. besides its an opinion.. you dont need to agree or disagree with.. its mine and mine alone?! As for kids loafing around, I dont really care what other kids do, mine are what concern me, and mine are in school and working the summer and in college .. not loafing around, they are productive young adults.. and I really dont think that they need to be in a place where they dont have a clue about because our wonderful country feels the need to go fight wars for other people and doesnt do much for the people it should.. again just my opinion.. one that I am entitled to just like you ............

Those of you who are in favor of this, I suggest you volunteer to do some sort of military or civil service for your country. My father, mother, and brother all served in the military. I love my country, but I am not in favor of forcing young people to do service...I wouldn't mind if they have the option to do some sort of civil service though. But again, I don't think we should limit it to young people only. So if you're in favor of those, go walk the walk.

Jack, you reference my statement as far as "walking the walk". I'm talking about you doing something in the way of service to your country (not your nephews). I've performed a great deal of volunteer work and so have my sons. I'm not oppossed to them doing some sort of civil work. I'm extremely proud of my sons and they have done the right things in their lives.

I don't care if you disagree with me. I'm glad for anyone to express their feelings about this, one way or the other - write to your congressmen in support of the bills if you feel so inclined. However, it sounds more to me like you are upset that we disagree with you. And btw, it is insulting that you refer to those in the military as "poor slobs"...I consider them brave and heroic...not "poor slobs".

Are you really a moderator of this board? If so, I'm disappointed that you are allowed to be a moderator here and will send an e-mail as such to the owners of this board. I view your posts as being very confrontational.

(P.S. I just sent an e-mail to the owners of the board regarding Jack's posts and also said I would be fine if they chose to remove this thread entirely.)

LOL, talk about "assuming"...go back and read your posts and see exactly how much you assumed. I respected your right to express your opinions (and I said as such), but I do not respect the confrontational manner in which you did so. If you showed respect, you would not have said the following to one of the posters "...but maybe since you're are so smart you will tell all of us!" Your confrontational and disrespectful manner as a moderator reflects poorly to this wonderful website. I have nothing further to say to you and I will not read any more of your postings.

The following is from an article from MSNBC News:

[But how real is another draft? In the past year, some lawmakers have urged that a draft for military service be reintroduced, most notably New York Rep. Charlie Rangel and South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings, both Democrats, who have sponsored bills to that effect, primarily as a way to protest against war in Iraq. Though both bills (S. 89 and H.R. 163) remain stuck in committee—and Sen. Hollings was unable even to garner any cosponsors for his bill—one widely forwarded e-mail letter claims the administration is “quietly trying to get these bills passed now” so the draft could begin as early as the spring of 2005.

Dan Amon, a spokesman for the Selective Service System, which has about 13.5 million men between the ages of 18 and 25 registered, says he’s heard the rumors. But he insists: “That is just not the case.” While the agency was asked to look at a special draft for health-care personnel should one be needed, he says the agency’s report on the subject is “gathering dust on the shelf” and that there are no plans of implementing either a targeted or a general draft. “We take our cue from the Department of Defense and from Congress,” he says. ]

I am leary of a draft in this day and age. I do believe that each and every young person should be required to perform some type of service for two years, Coast Guard, Peace Corps, SOMETHING and as a trade-off, the government should help more with college tuition, trade programs, etc. HOWEVER, when I look at a lot of the teens, young adults, both white and black and latino and other nationalities, I get worried about forcing them into the service and putting weapons in their hands. When the draft was in effect years ago, the US was a much different place than it is now. Parents raised their children differently and there was more respect for life, authority, etc. This isn't the case nowadays. I served 5 years in the service - MY choice - but my parents also raised me to have a healthy respect for authority, weapons, life, etc. However there are a lot kids in my community, and I dare say in your communities that aren't all raised the same way. They may not look at the drill sergeant, the Company Commander, Batallion Commander etc. as an authority figure but as someone getting in their way and forcing them to do what they don't want to do and if there is NO respect for authority and access to weapons, problems WILL come. They may even take issue with the person in the bunk next to them which could be my son, or your son or nephew or grandson or whatever and then decide that they "just had to do what they had to do." Just my two cents.

Tiki

We prefer not to have political debates here because it divides the community and damages the support system we have among us. We're all friends and we want to stay that way

There are plenty of political forums on the internet which welcome debates and thrive on them, but we aren't one of them. I know everyone's intentions were good when voicing their opinions, but good intentions don't always have the expected result and sometimes it's best to walk away. Therefore, I'm closing this thread.