Has Rumsfeld opened the door and let in the draft?
TIME reports Donald Rumsfeld is commissioning studies to determine if there is a need for a “larger army” and will recommend “with alacrity” an expansion should the findings fall in favour of it. He “remains firmly opposed to a draft.” Where will these troops come from if volunteers fail to fill the ‘void’?
Accessing another BuzzFlash link I find that George signed a bill on Saturday expanding FBI powers.
It appears we are witnessing a stealth enactment of the enormously unpopular “Patriot II” legislation that was first leaked several months ago. Perhaps the national outcry when a draft of the Patriot II act was leaked has led its supporters to enact it one piece at a time in secret. Whatever the case, this is outrageous and unacceptable. I urge each of my colleagues to join me in rejecting this bill and its incredibly dangerous expansion of Federal police powers.
Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich co-sponsored legislation in an attempt to prevent this extension of the Patriot Act.
Matthew Bargainer once posted on AntiWar Blog that a Kucinich/Paul ticket in 2004 was a ‘half-baked, but surprisingly tasty‘ idea.
I suggest it’s an idea that should be studied quickly in sincerity.
I suppose the antiwar movement can continue to focus its energies on plans for protest marches commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion and the nomination of George to the 2004 Republican ticket. But what will it accomplish in the long-run?
A catalyst needs to be introduced at the very least to gauge the attention span of the roughly 60% of Americans who aren’t stimulated enough by the usual suspects to get off their duffs and participate in the election process.
What about an Independent ticket? Paul/Kucinich? Kucinich/Paul?
For no other reason than to finally determine where the real majority of Americans stand on these issues, don’t we need to pursue this?