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McCain Wants to Bring Back the Draft
Hey kids you want to go die in Iraq vote for McCain
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McCain says he "doesn't disagree" with reinstituting the draft?
Presidential candidate John McCain appeared at a town hall meeting in New Mexico today. And, for some reason, tacitly endorsed the draft.
Watch the video
Audience Member: Senator McCain I truly hope you get the opportunity to chase Bin Laden right to the gates of hell and push him in as you stated on your forum. I do have a question though. Disable veterans, especially in this state have horrible conditions, their medical is substandard. They drive four hours one way to Albuquerque for a simple doctors appointment which is often canceled. Our VA hospital is dirty it is understaffed, it is running on maximum overload. The prescription medicines are ten years behind standard medical care we have seven hundred claims stacked up at the VA office in Albuquerque some of them are ten and seven years old waiting to be processed in the mean time these people are homeless. My son is an officer in the Air Force, and I am a vet and I was raised in a military family. I think it is a sad state of affairs when we have illegal aliens having a Medicaid card that can access specialist top physicians, the best of medical and our vets can't even get to a doctor. These are the people that we tied yellow ribbons for and Bush patted on the back. If we don't reenact the draft I don't think we will have anyone to chase Bin Laden to the gates of hell.
McCain: Ma'am let me say that I don't disagree with anything you said and thank you and I am grateful for your support of all of our veterans. Presidential candidate John McCain appeared at a town hall meeting in New Mexico today. And, for some reason, tacitly endorsed the dra... more -
McCain: World War III Would Justify Draft
So when they talk about World War III, know it is your children and grandchildren who will be called to duty! George W. and John McCain have both talked about the possiblity of World War III, which is why they need to be held accountable for their actions.
Today our soldiers are fighting in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan and they are beating the war drums for Iran. What do they think would constitute World War III? What would be the deciding factor for a draft?
From: The Huffington Post
John McCain said last night during a campaign tele-conference that he would bring back a military draft in the United States only in the case of a 'World War III' scenario.
Reuters reported:
Many Americans are fearful the U.S. government will be forced to reinstitute the draft given the prolonged Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Asked about that possibility by a potential voter in Florida during a telephone "town hall meeting," McCain said: "I don't know what would make a draft happen unless we were in an all-out World War III." ...
McCain, a Vietnam veteran, said the draft during that conflict weighed most heavily on lower-income Americans, and that this should not be repeated.
But McCain may be more open to the draft than it seems. During a July 2006 interview on CNN, McCain was asked about the following statement by Newt Gingrich: "We're in the early stages of what I would describes as the Third World War and, frankly, our bureaucracies aren't responding fast enough." Asked whether he agreed, McCain said:
"I do to some extent. I think it's important to recognize that we have terrorist organizations which -- who are dangerous by themselves, are now being supported by radical Islamic governments, i.e., the Iranians, which makes them incredibly more dangerous because they are trained, equipped, motivated and assisted in every way by the Iranians."
Also, as ThinkProgress noted, "Last October, President Bush himself warned of a coming 'World War III' with Iran. 'I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III,' said the President. 'It seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.'" So when they talk about World War III, know it is your children and grandchildren who will be called to duty! George W. and John McCa... more -
New York Yankees draft a soon to be 103-year-old
Emilio “Millito” Navarro boarded a jet in San Juan on Wednesday morning, three months before his 103rd birthday.
He was bound for Orlando, Fla., bound for Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, bound for the New York Yankees, his favorite team.
And Robinson Cano had better break out of that slump.
“Now that I’ve been drafted,” Navarro said, “I’m ready right now to play second base. I might take his job.”
In Memphis, somebody ought to fetch one of those low-hanging, welt-raising switches, because Joe B. Scott is fixing to be a ballplayer again.
He’s 87.
“I love baseball,” he said. “I used to get a whipping for playing it. My mother used to whip me on Thursdays and Sundays. Those were my whipping days because she knew I was on the ballfield. But I didn’t cry when she whipped me.”
He’ll be selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the draft. Held, of course, on a Thursday.
In San Diego, Neale “Bobo” Henderson packed for Orlando. He’ll be 78 in three weeks. Sadly, his wife, Annie, is ill and won’t accompany him. But he’s waited the better part of a lifetime for this, to be draft-day eligible, draft-day worthy, draft-day remembered. So he’ll leave Annie behind for a few days, report for duty 60 years coming, dust himself off again and get on with it. He’ll be drafted by the Los Angeles Angels.
Rogers Hornsby, a minor league manager and occasional scout in the 1940s, watched Henderson play a few games. Henderson said the Hall-of-Fame second baseman called him “The California Comet.”
“I was known for my head-first slides,” he said. “Rogers Hornsby really liked my head-first slides.”
Yes, he’ll dust himself off one more time.
Navarro, Scott, Henderson and 27 other former Negro Leaguers will be drafted in a pre-draft ceremony, a tribute formulated by Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield and embraced by Major League Baseball.
Aging men (and one woman, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson) who once were denied access to the big leagues but not the national pastime, who abided the rules of a narrow-minded era, who made do in a separate-and-not-equal game, smiled gently and accepted with true graciousness.
Navarro, the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues, is the oldest living professional ballplayer. Scott played 20 years in the Negro Leagues, some of them alongside Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell. Henderson was a bat boy for the Kansas City Monarchs, wore No. 3 as a high schooler to honor Babe Ruth, and once met Ruth himself. A framed photo of that moment hangs in his home, Henderson’s team surrounding The Babe, Henderson shaking Ruth’s hand. Then he grew up to play for those Monarchs.
They have stories, lives that went on without the game, careers stunted by circumstance. Navarro ran a ballpark in Puerto Rico, then taught school. Scott drove a truck. Henderson evangelized on the game in neighborhoods like the ones in which he was raised.
“I’m not bitter,” Henderson said. “God has been good to me. I put all the prejudice aside.”
The shame of that time, it belongs to somebody else. It is not their burden.
“If that’s your door and it’s closed, I don’t have any regrets about that,” Scott said. “Let that door be closed. Nope, I don’t have no regrets myself.”
(More at Link) Emilio “Millito” Navarro boarded a jet in San Juan on Wednesday morning, three months before his 103rd birthday. ... more -
The Back Door Draft ! STOP LOSS !
Over 58, 000 troops have been extended up to one year with STOP LOSS orders.
This has a devastating effect on moral, to say the least.
The troops that are there are already overworked and spread too thin. Over 58, 000 troops have been extended up to one year with STOP LOSS orders. ... more -
I sorta got drafted to go back to Iraq
I'm an Army Captain who just got back from Iraq about 10 days ago. I got involuntarily recalled out of the inactive reserves to return to Iraq for a second tour. The FEDEX package came in the mail one day after I'd been out of the Army for a full 2 years; the letter contained orders for me to report to Fort Jackson, SC for training. A shock, yes, but I knew that technically I had no excuse not to go because back at West Point I'd agreed to serve for 8 years total--not just the 5 years active duty.
I was based at Camp Taji, Iraq with the California National Guard Field Artillery. I'm an Army Captain who just got back from Iraq about 10 days ago. I got involuntarily recalled out of the inactive reserves to r... more -
The Truth Seeker - Ritter says (80% chance) White House preparing for war in Iran
TO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE! "I'M AMERICAN HEAR ME ROAR, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER STINKIN WAR"
Scott Ritter, former head of weapons inspection in Iraq who protested there were no weapons of mass destruction to justify an invasion, believes the same is true for Iran.
But there is an 80 percent chance of war with Iran, he told about 200 people Wednesday at Middlebury College as part of a series of talks facilitated by the Vermont Peace and Justice Center.
The pattern of preparations for such a conflict has been steadily developing and involves Congress as well as the Bush-Cheney administration, he said.
Scott Ritter
People ask him if he feels vindicated by the absence of WMDs in Iraq, he said, but "there isn't any vindication in being right about this one." A war with Iran would hasten the ongoing decline of American standing in the world, and afterward Russia and China would be ready to take advantage of the resulting power vacuum, he said.
Among the war clouds Ritter cited were:
· Preemptive strikes against the two groups most likely to erupt if the United States invaded Iran, Hezbollah (unsuccessfully attacked by Israel) and Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army (unsuccessfully attacked in Basra by Iraq's central government).
Ritter predicted a similarly disappointing showing if the American forces attacked Iran, a country 2-1/2 times as large and populous as Iraq that is much more unified culturally and did not have its army destroyed in a previous war with the United States.
· Recent visits to Middle Eastern allies by high officials, ostensibly for other purposes, but really to prepare them for the effects of such a war.
· The appearance of the "miracle laptop," as Ritter called it, a thousand pages of technical documents supposedly from a stolen Iranian computer, which dubiously had just the sort of information the administration needed to support a hard-line stand on Iran.
· Congressional supplementary funding for more "bunker-busting" bombs, with a contract completion deadline of April.
· Congressional supplementary funding for the extra bombers to carry those bombs, with a contract completion date of April.
· Cheney's order to send a third aircraft carrier battle group close to the Persian Gulf, a necessary bolstering of forces for a war with Iran.
Admiral William Fallon, the first admiral to be head of Central Command, said that level of naval forces was unnecessary and blocked the move. Ritter said that was "a heroic thing."
The main target of Ritter's criticisms was an American public that couldn't pass a test on the Constitution and understands little of international history and politics, and refuses to believe the life of an Iraqi is worth as much as the life of an American.... TO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE! "I'M AMERICAN HEAR ME ROAR, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER STINKIN WAR" ... more -
Pentagon: Colleges must hand over names
Pentagon: Colleges must hand over names
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 14:12:38 EDT
The Defense Department has announced a new get-tough policy with colleges and universities that interfere with the work of military recruiters and Reserve Officer Training Corps programs.
Under rules that will take effect April 28, defense officials said they want the exact same access to student directories that is provided to all other prospective employers.
Students can opt out of having their information turned over to the military only if they opt out of having their information provided to all other recruiters, but schools cannot have policies that exclude only the military, defense officials said in a March 28 notice of the new policy in the Federal Register.
The Defense Department “will honor only those student ‘opt-outs’ from the disclosure of directory information that are even-handedly applied to all prospective employers seeking information for recruiting purposes,” the notice says.
Directories are an important recruiting tool because they include the names, birthdates, phone numbers and academic pursuits of college students that can be used to identify people with knowledge and interests that are particularly useful to the military.
The new policy also no longer lets schools ban military recruiters from working on campuses solely because a school determines that no students have expressed interest in joining the military. If other employers are invited, the military has to have the same access.
Federal funding can be cut off if colleges and universities do not give recruiters and ROTC programs campus access. While student financial assistance is not at risk, other federal aid, especially research funding, can disappear if a school does not cooperate.
The Pentagon can declare colleges or universities anti-ROTC if they prohibit or prevent a Senior ROTC program from being established, maintained or efficiently operated.
The new policy is, in part, the result of a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the federal government’s ability to use funding as a means of forcing equal access for military recruiters and ROTC units on campuses. Pentagon: Colleges must hand over names By Rick Maze - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 14:12:38 EDT ... more -
Crooks and Liars » Joint Chiefs: Change Course, Start Draft Or Lose Army
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody sternly rebuked all those who’ve been blowing sunshine and spreading baseless happy talk for five years with regard to the war in Iraq. And he was blunt–blunter than I’ve ever heard him before–about the crisis facing the Army. He even went so far as to hint at the “D-word” in his prepared remarks:
Today’s Army is out of balance. The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies . . . Current operational requirements for forces and insufficient time between deployments require a focus on counterinsurgency training and equipping to the detriment of preparedness for the full range of military missions.
Given the current theater demand for Army forces, we are unable to provide a sustainable tempo of deployments for our Soldiers and Families. Soldiers, Families, support systems, and equipment are stretched and stressed by the demands of lengthy and repeated deployments, with insufficient recovery time. Equipment used repeatedly in harsh environments is wearing out more rapidly than programmed. Army support systems, designed for the pre-9/11 peacetime Army, are straining under the accumulation of stress from six years at war. Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it.
And then he added the kicker:
If unaddressed, this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the All-Volunteer Force and degrades the Army’s ability to make a timely response to other contingencies.
Anyone with a lick of sense (which clearly does not include anyone in the Bush administration) has known that the military is stretched to the breaking point. But this is not what the White House nor the RNC wants to hear during an election year. Will they listen to the generals now? In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody sternly rebuked all t... more -
Voices from Iraq: stories that define the war of our generation
Our goal is simply to create a place to talk about this conflict. Whether its a policy opinion or a tribute to a loved one, share your stories of how the Iraq war has impacted you. The best of these stories will be shown on Current TV. Please post you comments at http://current.com/topics/88802387_soldiers_speak Our goal is simply to create a place to talk about this conflict. Whether its a policy opinion or a tribute to a loved one, share you... more
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U.S. Would Not Avoid Draft
According to former Marine Colonel Werner, with our military stretched so thin and expanding into other areas we will not be able to avoid a draft. Politicians may not be talking about this, but I believe it will come to pass in the next four years if we continue on the path we are on. That is why I am leary of Clinton, Obama, and McCain (though moreso about McCain) because even though Clinton and Obama have stated they want to drawdown troops from Iraq they have not pledged that we will not get involved elsewhere in the Middle East. Matter of fact, on Obama's website it explicity states what a "great friend" he is to Israel and he defends their right to defend themselves "as they see fit." Does that mean nuclear? He even voted for Bush's Syria Accountabiility Act, and Bush is now ramping that up. Now, does that mean expanding this war to Iran or Syria? This is also why I get frustrated watching people get all googly eyed at Obama speeches and not asking the hard questions of either of them. I already know what we would get with McCain and that is why I would never vote for him. However, with Clinton and Obama all we get are vague answers and no discussion on this issue and I would rather have the truth than vague roundabout answers. With my own son turning 18 within the next couple years, I will be damned if I will hand him over to anyone to fight an illegal war for corporate America or for any other country just because the "president" sending him is bound to a lobby and "is a great friend of Israel" or that other country. According to former Marine Colonel Werner, with our military stretched so thin and expanding into other areas we will not be able to a... more
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The Draft: No way it's happening
A draft wouldn't work because nobody would go.
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