=> => On Nov 2, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Hal Kaplan wrote: => => > I am opposed to the draft. It is another layer of => bureaucracy that is => > subject to corruption. Did you all forget (or never heard of) the => > stories of favoritism, cronyism, etc. associated with the draft of => > yore? => => Followed by... => => > I believe that every young person (no exceptions) be => required to serve => > at least two years in some kind of public service. => => And how will that be administered? By another layer of => bureaucracy that is subject to corruption? => => > What really needs to be brought back is the 5-cent Pepsi => and the Cold => > War. => => We can do without the corn syrup drinks. And the Cold => War is back, except it's been 'rebranded' as the "War on Terror". => => -- Ed Leafe
The draft was exclusively male and had several legal "outs." It was also administered at a very local level (i.e. neighborhood) by mostly volunteers or political appointees who were not paid, but had the "prestige" (read power) of the position. This is the kind of draft organization I am referring to. If it were to start over again today, it might be different. Mandatory public service with no exceptions means just that. No exceptions. Even disabled youths could participate in some kind of service. There's no limit to the machinations that can be made to circumvent good intentions, but that does not mean we should abandon good intentions, does it? Also, my reference to the 5-cent Pepsi was price-oriented. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with corn-syrup drinks. You are able to keep yourself from drinking furniture polish, just apply the same discipline to Pepsi. Finally, I don't remember any time during the Cold War (excluding the hot spots) where we were losing 100 or so soldiers a month. How you could you possibly compare what is going on now (the "war on terrorism") to the 50-year period following World War II? I think you lost it on this one, Ed. HALinNY _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
