Free Republic

Prominent lawmakers such as Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and others argue that our volunteer military is not representative of society, and that it offends fairness to have casualties in Iraq disproportionately drawn from members of America's less advantaged classes. A presidential election is shaping up in which two veterans of the Vietnam era have had to assert or defend their performance in that conflict - America's last draft-based war. To anyone under age 45, discussions of the draft must seem like discussions of the Great Depression seemed to their parents. The last time a young American male faced...

To his eternal credit, Richard Nixon helped end America's draft. Congress responded to his President's Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force by discontinuing the draft in 1973. The United States has set an example that we should encourage other countries to copy. The commission's report noted that the draft: "has been a costly, inequitable, and divisive procedure for recruiting men for the armed forces. It has imposed heavy burdens on a small minority of young men while easing slightly the tax burden on the rest of us. "It has introduced needless uncertainty into the lives of all our young men....

(CNN) — The Selective Service website crashed Friday because of "the spread of misinformation," the agency tweeted. The website's crash came hours after the announcement that the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump. The hashtag #WorldWarIII was one of the top trends on Twitter Friday.

A lot of people, especially on the Left says that America will see a military draft. Look at this Twitter thread I saw tonight....a lot of millennials don't even have respect for those who are going to deal with this Iranian crisis....they are belittling their service saying that "they signed up for it, etc." https://twitter.com/757Native/status/1213134119279955968

Women have been serving in the United States military since the Revolutionary War, helping to sew uniforms, heal the wounded and, eventually, fight in combat. But they have never been required to register for a military draft. That could soon change. Under a new recommendation to Congress by a national commission, all Americans ages 18 to 25 — and not just young men as currently covered by the law — should be required to register with the government in case of a military draft. The move sets up a debate over a divisive issue that has been simmering for years....

Rush Limbaugh, the nation’s top-rated radio talk-show host, briefly brought up the issue of Barack Obama’s potentially criminal use of a Connecticut-based Social Security Number, since the president has never lived in the Constitution State. While speaking with a caller named Rob about Obama’s alleged deception of citizens, Limbaugh tossed out the question: “What are your thoughts on the fact Obama’s Social Security Number is from Connecticut and he’s never been there?” Rob responded, “That’s what you call a red flag. A red flag is also, ‘First of all, I don’t need to give you my birth certificate,’ and then...

To what extent are records available on draft registrations and classifications of a politician who was prime draft age during Nam's hottest years - but never served? And - assuming they are available - where would I find them? (No DD214 on this guy; he never served - despite being a big jock at the time.) Thanks in advance; feel free to email any suggestions you want private.