The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Democrats sponsored bill to reinstate draft

I think I might have to stop reading your Voices section every Thursday, for every time I do there's some mindless tidbit that forces my teeth to grind, my fingers to the keyboard, and another hour of my precious time to be devoured. Nonetheless, it would be irresponsible to allow Mr. Mike Harty's letter of Oct. 21 [Bush victory could bring return of draft] to go unanswered.

So, Mr. Harty, the draft was around when you were young, huh? So your friends went to Canada, huh? So Bush got out of it because he was privileged, huh? What, for the love of God, does any of this have to do with Bush's military agenda?

Anyone reading this whose brains are still being supplied with oxygen has probably figured out the answer: NOTHING! And for those of you who fall under that category, I've provided something special - prepare yourselves for this - actual facts that are relevant to my argument.

First, I might be jumping to conclusions, but I'd say Mr. Harty's letter caters heavily to the "Republican President equals War Hawk" train of thought. This is a bad thing. Why, just last week the Republican house shot down bill H.R. 163 to reinstate the draft by 402 to 2. You want to know something interesting about this bill? A Democrat, Mr. Charles Rangel from blue New York, sponsored the resolution. Also, every co-sponsor was a Democrat.

Oh, and about that backdoor draft thing? Yeah, that is getting hard on the troops, but it's also a measure that the President and Defense Secretary have reluctantly taken to avoid drafting the rest of the population. They hope to end it soon, as they are feverishly working to finish training 200,000 Iraqi troops to take over the duties of our boys.

What else is Bush doing to avoid drafting? He's pulling in soldiers from areas of the world where we no longer need them, such as Western Europe and parts of Asia. He's trying to up the pay incentives for volunteers coming into the military.

In fairness, though, he still might not avoid a draft in his second term if elected. The thing is, neither will Kerry. If a situation pops up elsewhere, such as Iran or North Korea, then whoever's in the Oval Office, Democrat or Republican might have little choice but to "crank up the draft machinery." This will not be the fault of either person elected.

People, please stop talking about the draft. It's pointless. Stop saying that Bush is more likely to do it. And if you are going to say this, please stop listening to MTV or reading the Internet when arguing your case.

Anyone who is tired of reading unfounded alarmist tripe, especially those who have to spend hours discrediting the tripe, "has a potent reason to vote on Nov. 2."

John White
senior, cinema and photography

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