i'm getting too many emails on this one to ignore it.. [note: the articles are listed in backwards chronological order] just to give some context, it seems what started as a way to even out the injustices of who is serving in the war, has led to a frightening plan on the part of the pentagon to fill draft board seats..this first article is from someone affiliated with project censored, which focuses on the news that the larger media outlets *somehow* miss..

US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005
by Adam Stutz • Wednesday January 28, 2004 at 09:50 AM (http://www.vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/01/105146.php)

Dear Friends and Family,

I urge you to read the article below on the current agenda of the federal government to reinstate the draft in order to staff up for a protracted war on "terrorism."

Pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills S 89 and HR 163) would time the program so the draft could begin at early as Spring 2005 -- conveniently just after the 2004 presidential election! But the administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed NOW, so our action is needed immediately. Details and links follow.

If voters who currently support U.S. aggression abroad were confronted with the possibility that their own children or grandchildren might not have a say about
whether to fight, many of these same voters might have a change of mind. (Not that it should make a difference, but this plan would among other things eliminate higher education as a shelter and would not exclude women -- and Canada is no longer an option.)

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! Please also write to your representatives to 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 (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. SSS must report to
Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: to
view the SSS 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 a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.

Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and H.R. 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.

Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era remember. College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the US 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 US Homeland Security Director, Gov. 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
a
lo

ng 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.

• This article by Adam Stutz is from the "What's Hot Off the Press" column of the newsletter of Project Censored, a media research group at Sonoma State University that tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list (more than 20 years running) of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported, or self-censored by the country's major national news media. The mission of Project Censored is "to educate people about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The News That Didn't Make the News and why."

"What's Hot Off the Press" includes student synopses of articles currently being investigated for inclusion in the next Project Censored report. For more info and/or to receive Project Censored's newsletter, go to or email [censored]@sonoma.edu

Don't believe it yet? Go to and search for "S 89", then later
search for "HR 163" where it says "By Number" and you'll find the articles. I would link you to the articles directly but that doesn't work for some reason.

"Oiling up the Draft Machine?" (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5146.htm)

updated:

brian has brought it to my attn that these bills have been sponsored by legislators not aligned with the white house, to highlight the fact that not everyones sons and daughters are fighting. the salon articles i found when i typed "millitary draft" yielded this article, from when the bill was first being introduced:

Bring back the draft? (http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/01/07/draft/) Rep. Charles Rangel says yes -- the poor, black and brown shouldn't be the only Americans fighting and dying in Iraq.

what to think?

but if its true that the pentagon is planning on filling draft board vacancies, (refer to the oiling the draft machine article), what then? would that level the playing field any? this still doesn't get at deeper issues of wars, lies, media deception and justifying invasions. and would the public outcry over an unjust war stop any of this motion of talking about drafts? military spending is up, the global trade machine is moving forward (and many a link has been made between war and the proliferation of trade), and if the pentagon's report on climate change (see journal 103) is accurate, we are at the beginning of more conflict. and they're not just suggesting that climate change is happening and that we should think about it, theyre thinking strategically about building power to fight those climate-related wars, when they come...

village mayor in new york state says he'll marry gay couples (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/26/national1843EST0831.DTL). thats the new paltz mayor that is.

youre out of touch im out of time but im out of my head when youre not around

i have exactly 666 emails in my mailbox(es). funny that.

theres absolutely nothing meaningful to say. if i was charming and conniving id sucker you into helping me drywall and paint to start the 'move emily upstairs' effort this week.

now, for a word in the second person

we were observing how rare it is that people use the term second person, its always referred to when the first or the third person is used. except for choose your own adventure, remember those?

you remember and take a stroll down memory lane (go to page 56)

you don't remember and try to look it up online to figure out what the hell she's saying (go to page 128)

you don't remember, and don't remember that you don't remember (go to page 42)

you sigh about how stupid and meaningless it all is, and decide to go back to the oscars (go downstairs)

so email me with yr answer to this:

what is your life like when youre in love?

this is really happening, happening

never before have the words 'conveyor belt' been so frightening.

the nytimes reports of a hollywood movie coming out showing climate change attacking the earth..(even though it's not really happening, according to the administration.)
the sky is falling! say hollywood and, yes, the pentagon (http://nytimes.com/2004/02/29/weekinreview/29revk.html)

"The Pentagon study (available at: www.ems.org/climate/pentagon-climate-change.pdf (http://www.ems.org/climate/pentagon-climate-change.pdf)) is not as dramatic as Mr. Emmerich's film, but it was alarming enough that a British newspaper, The Observer, proclaimed: 'The Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us. Secret report warns of rioting and nuclear war. '"

Conclusion

this is the actual conclusion of the pentagon paper. don't worry, if you live in the u.s. you ll be ok..until you get to the last sentence:
It is quite plausible that within a decade the evidence of an imminent abrupt climate shift may become clear and reliable...In short, while the US itself will be relatively better off and with more adaptive capacity, it will find itself in a world where Europe will be struggling internally, large number so refugees washing up on its shores and Asia in serious crisis over food and water. Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life.

don't wake me, i plan on sleeping in

"
again last night i had that strange dream
where everything was exactly how it seemed
concerns about the world getting warmer
people thought that they were just being rewarded
for treating others as theyd like to be treated
for obeying stop signs and curing diseases
for mailing letters with the address of the sender
now we can swim any day in november
"

here's a proposal.

we want to start a crafty night, which is composed of a bunches of peoples doing all sorts of craftyness, from knitting to crocheting to beading to making jewelry to paper crafts to decoupage to drawing to sewing to mending to anything else that you would count as being crafty. we want to switch it up from house to house to house and rotate between those locations so that its not just one house. and we want to make flyers and get people to come to each others house and be crafty together. if anyones into all things crafty, lets figure out a night, im into spearheading an effort if i know people want to do it. im tired of talking about it and not doing anything about it.

what a numbskull.

i just discovered that i missed todays critical mass. i hope you all were there anyways. theres always next month. this year i will pull out my blades or quad skates and pay respects to the year when i only skated (and where did all the skateboarders go, wtf) mass. speaking of skates I've also decided that im going to throw a rollerskating party for everyone for my own birfday when it approaches. we ll have ice cream, pizza, a dj spin the tunes, and plenty of games. we'd better start practicing our dance moves. i will be watching my blue-skintight-legging-clad video teacher religiously if anyone wants to join me. for rea