photo by S. Olson, courtesy LA Times
I became draft-eligible in 1973. It was during the last, ugly days of the Vietnam War. The war was winding down, the fighting was still intense, combat casualties were high, and Americans, including many guys my age who were serving “in country”, wondered what the hell we were doing there. We clearly weren’t fighting to win.
At that time the military draft operated on a lottery of birthdates. As the draft date approached, I resigned myself to the possibility that I might soon be headed for ‘Nam. But then Selective Service ended actual conscription just before my age group became eligible.
It was a big relief. I was a patriotic young guy, but nobody wanted to be drafted during the waning years of the Vietnam War. According to street legend, the “FNGs” (f’***ing new guys) were immediately sent to the front line and were the most likely soldiers to come home in a bag. Nobody wanted to be the last one to die in the jungle.
So as it turned out I never served in the military. But I have always had a fascination with all things military. I can’t resist combat air museums, decommissioned ships, and war documentaries on the History Channel. Friends my age take on a wistful look and a wry smile reminiscing about their military days. I have a hole in my soul where military service might have been.
This week our Senate passed the 2016 NDAA (National Defense Appropriations Act), a bill which funds military operations. It included a rider that would make women eligible for Selective Service. The House had earlier passed their version of the appropriations bill which did not include a provision for drafting women. Now the two legislative bodies will meet in conference to hash out the differences in their bills.
I sincerely hope the House wisdom will prevail, and we will not submit our young women to Selective Service.
I know that our young women are as patriotic and generally, if not physically, as capable as our young men. But I also know that the draft will only be reinstated if there is a real calamity – a serious conflict that involves deadly, boots-on-the-ground, man-to-man combat.
Yes, I said it. “Man-to-man” combat. In a winner-take-all battle, our enemies will not be sending 18-year old women to the front lines. Our soldiers in combat will face the enemy’s most hostile, physical, violent young men: jacked-up warriors who don’t give a rip about gender equality.
Female former marine Jude Eden said, “Combat is not an equal opportunity for women because they don’t have an equal opportunity to survive.” And study after study has proved that combat units which include women consistently underperform. By drafting women, we risk sending them to the front lines. And by sending them to the front lines, we risk endangering not only our brave but overmatched women; we are handicapping our brave men.
Our patriotic American women will always play a vital role in our military, and they are free and welcome to join the service branch of their choice voluntarily. But our congressmen should know that setting young women up to be the next conscripted “FNGs” headed for the front line in desperate times is something we just can’t live with.
Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
Born In the USA – Bruce Springsteen
The Sunday news show pundits all shook their heads about the difficult choice voters face in the upcoming election. They said most voters don’t really like either of the two presidential nominees. How on earth will voters decide?
Every day, day after day, the anti-Trump insider Republicans wail and moan, louder and longer. It’s beginning to sound like a teenage summer chainsaw movie. Or a difficult childbirth.
I’m a rock guitar player. I grew up riffing to “
At breakfast this morning my daughter was relating a conversation she had with a neighbor-friend who is a third-grade teacher at a predominantly Hispanic public elementary school. They were discussing the problems caused by the extensive federally-required testing of third graders – the loss of instruction time, the stress for students and teachers, the declining scores. Then the teacher made a startling observation.
The US Constitution lists many of the rights we citizens enjoy: the right to assemble, to speak freely, to bear arms. The most important right of all is overlooked by most Americans. You never see it mentioned on a protest sign, or by a political candidate. It doesn’t have its own enumerated amendment in the Bill of Rights. It is the right of individuals to own property and use it for their benefit.
Our country was built on business. Free market, survival-of-the-fittest, improve-or-die business. The United States of America has always been the land of opportunity – a place where success is not only possible, but fully expected by those who follow the timeless and dependable business formula: work hard, be fair and honest, embrace change, meet the customer’s needs, strive for continual improvement. Roll up your sleeves, git ‘er done. Take care of business.
Liberals fervently believe in protecting women and women’s rights. They claim that anybody who is not a liberal Democrat must hate women. Meanwhile, they insist on accepting hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants, most of whom require that their women are not allowed to show their faces in public and must be totally subservient to their husbands. So which is it, liberals? Are you for women, or for Muslims?
Paul Ryan attended the University of Miami (Ohio) where he got a degree in economics and political science and worked for John Boehner’s congressional campaign. After graduation he immediately moved to Washington, DC and became enmeshed in the Republican machinery. But for a short stint selling hot dogs, Ryan has never held a non-government job. In 1998 he ran for Wisconsin’s first district congressional seat, and won. Since then he, like most incumbents, has been repeatedly re-elected, and in October of last year he replaced his old friend Boehner as Speaker of the House, causing a uproar among grassroots conservatives. He promised to bring “regular order” back to Congress, whereby the budget would be broken into spending bills which would by voted upon individually. Instead, he 
