Subject: FW:
Compulsory draft for every child.
Mandatory draft
for boys and girls (ages 18-26)
starting June 15,
2005, is something that
everyone should know
about. This literally effects everyone since we all have
or know children
that will have to go if this bill passes.
There is
pending legislation in the house and
senate (companion bills: S89 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.
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:
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!
This legislation is called HR 163
and can be
found in detail at this website:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
Just enter in "HR
163" and click search and will
bring up the bill for you to read. It is less
than two pages long.
If this bill passes, it will include all men and
ALL
WOMEN from ages 18 - 26 in a draft for military action. In
addition, college
will no longer be an option for avoiding the draft
and they will be signing
an agreement with the Canada which will no
longer permit anyone attempting to dodge the draft to stay within
it's
borders. This bill also includes the extension of military
service for all
those that are currently active. If you go to the
select service web site
and read their 2004 FYI Goals you will see
that the reasoning for
this is to increase the size of the military
in case of terrorism. This is a
critical piece of legislation, this
will effect our undergraduates, our
children and our grandchildren.
Please take the time to write your
congressman and let them know how
you feel about this legislation.
www.house.gov
<http://www.house.gov>
www.senate.gov
<http://www.senate.gov>
Please also write
to your representatives and 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.
The
draft $28 million has been added to the 2004
selective service system 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 www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
to view the Selective
Service System 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 permanent
state of war on terrorism) proves accurate, the U.S.
may have no
choice but to draft.
www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp
http://www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp>
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. Dodging the draft
will be more difficult
than those from the Vietnam era. College and
Canada will not be options.
In December, 200 1, Canada and the
U.S.
signed a "smart
border declaration," which could be used to keep
would-be draft dodgers in.
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 eliminates 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.
What to do:
Tell your friends, Contact your
legislators and ask them to oppose these
bills
Just type "congress" into the aol search
engine and input your
zip code. A list of your reps will pop up with
a way to email them directly.
We can't just 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 grandchildren.