On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 2:27 PM, Robert Naiman <[email protected]> wrote: > Well, I take your points, but I think, at the least, that there is an > in-between. Call it a "two-shot." > > Every so often, Rep. Rangel introduces a bill to re-institute a > military draft, as a means of calling attention to the currently > skewed distribution of the burden. It makes a small splash when he > does so, but only a small one, in part because hardly anyone in > Washington wants to be associated with calling for a reinstatement of > a military draft, even as a rhetorical device. > > I think, at the very least, that if Rangel and/or similarly situated > Members of Congress (ie progressives from super-safe districts) would > introduce my proposal, which is significantly more plausible, instead > of what Rangel usually introduces, it would make a significantly > bigger splash, and therefore do more to advance the underlying > argument.
A point. Hope you forwarded it to Rangel or a staff member. > > On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 6:08 PM, Gar Lipow <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 10:25 AM, Robert Naiman >> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> How can we spread the burden of current wars more fairly, hasten the end of >>> the wars, and make future wars less likely, without compelling Americans to >>> participate directly in unjust wars? By instituting a wartime national >>> service draft. A universal time tax will disproportionately inconvenience >>> the super-rich, who will use their disproportionate political influence to >>> make war less likely. >>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/for-a-dreamy-wartime-nati_b_762757.html >> >> My take: pretty obviously you don't intend it as a serious proposal, >> because it has no more political chance of being passed than a Draft, >> and if a path opened to change that the political energy it would take >> would be better spent on ending the wars directly. >> >> So I think we can only judge it as a rhetorical device. And as an >> answer to Gate's rhetoric, your rhetoric is pretty good.. It has some >> emotional appeal, but is also a good frame on which you were able to >> hang some facts. So I think it is good in this particular context. Not >> a good long term frame - too indirect. I would not like to see it >> pursued further. But quite good as a one-shot. >> >> >>> >>> -- >>> Robert Naiman >>> Policy Director >>> Just Foreign Policy >>> www.justforeignpolicy.org >>> [email protected] >>> >>> Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from >>> Afghanistan >>> http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pen-l mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >>> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Facebook: Gar Lipow Twitter: GarLipow >> Grist Blog: http://www.grist.org/member/1598 >> Static page: http://www.nohairshirts.com >> _______________________________________________ >> pen-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >> > > > > -- > Robert Naiman > Policy Director > Just Foreign Policy > www.justforeignpolicy.org > [email protected] > > Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan > http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Facebook: Gar Lipow Twitter: GarLipow Grist Blog: http://www.grist.org/member/1598 Static page: http://www.nohairshirts.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
