set being designed for TV broadcast of draft lottery?

[villager]

yes, this is received anecdotal over-the-internet info, I'll cop to the disclaimer. Still, as someone who works in "kid lit," and was sent this by another professional -- and as a father in Bush's imploding America -- I found it unsettling. So here it is, FYI...



Dear friends,

On Tuesday, September 21st, I visited my 22 year old daughter, a recent George Washington University graduate who is working in the field of theater design in Washington, DC. She told me of a conversation that disturbed her, and greatly concerned me.

The week before, she and one of her girlfriends, a GW undergraduate, had lunch with her former theater lighting professor, who, separate from the college, runs his own highly successful design firm which specializes in television set production, lighting, etc.

In the course of the conversation, her friend mentioned that she was concerned about a reinstatement of draft, but her father had reassured her it could not possibly happen. The professor contradicted her, stating that there was a great possibility that the draft was going to be reinstated. My daughter questioned her professor further, and he added, bragging, that he and his design firm had just been commissioned to build a set for the draft.

She explained that he had been commissioned to design a television set, a staging for the draft, like, he said, in the old newsreels, where someone pulls numbers out of a some kind of contraption- not unlike the television sets designed for state lotteries- only the set that he had been commissioned to design was supposed to be computerized and updated for a 21st century audience.

I work as an advocate for literacy and libraries and have met a number Senate staffers in DC over the years. When I mentioned the above conversation to them, they were neither shocked nor surprised. Many stated that the way things are going in Iraq and around the world, that reinstating the draft is not only likely, it is probable.

Why isn't the topic of a draft getting dominant press attention if in DC it is taken for granted that the reinstatement of the draft is inevitable? Washington insiders reacted to my concerns with the knowing eyes of people looking at one they believe to be hopelessly naive. Yet, pundits and congressional leaders publicly dismiss draft concerns while the national media is ignoring the issue. Not only is it deeply disturbing that many knowledgeable insiders assume the reinstatement of a draft is inevitable, the lack of media coverage of that assumption is equally disturbing.

If it were a slim possibility, why would a government office be commissioning a television set for a draft lottery? If it were an unlikely possibility why is the Selective Service System, the Bush Administration, and the Pentagon quietly moving to fill draft board vacancies nationwide in order to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Several million dollars have been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget. "The SSS Administration must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide." from Project Censored - Sonoma State University, CA at
http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2005/24.html

And shouldn't the topic of a draft be part of the presidential debate to be discussed before the election? As the mother of three young people, ages 16-22, I would like to know where both candidates stand on reinstating the draft before I vote for them and get them on record NOW.

If you are concerned about the reinstatement of a national draft, please contact your local paper, and email the news divisions at NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and PBS, as well as your local news stations and tell them you want this issue covered before the election. Email your congressman and senators. Let your friends know what is going on, especially friends who are parents and grandparents of teens and young adults ages 18-27.

The Select Service website disavows that actions are being taken to reinstate the draft at this moment. But, take the time to read the entire site. It states that all 20 years olds and medical personal will be drafted first. That there will be no scholastic exemptions. If your child is drafted while in college, he or she will have to leave at the end of their semester. ( As the law stands now , only young men will drafted, but the twin Congressional bills, S. 89 and H.R. 163 state their aim is “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 bills are currently active and could be passed any time the power structures deem necessary.)

For map of states linking drivers’ license applications to Selective Service registration: http://www.sss.gov/PDFs/DriversLicense2004.pdf
For information on how the draft has changed since Vietnam:
http://www.sss.gov/viet.htm
For more on the U.S.-Canada “Smart Border Agreement”:
http://www.canadianembassy.org/border/declaration-en.asp

We have power as citizens, please use it and vote.

Thank you,

Mary Brigid Barrett
Writer, illustrator, educator, and activist for children, literacy, and libraries.