I know, another unpopular topic, but do you know that the United States is the only country that has an all volunteer army? Most countries have conscripted armies where you are required to serve a couple of years in defense of your country. One of the benefits of having the draft back would be. a lot those who are under-educated can use the military to finish their education. Not only that but in the military, they have on the job training in many fields. I've met people who were in the military who that had a better understanding of their job than someone who went to college to learn about it.



Plus, the national security wouldn't be stretched so thin. With the National Guard's tours of duty are being extended, its doubtfull any of them will reenlist. This will leave a large gap in our security. We need to keep our armed forces at full strength in these troubled times.





To answer Dennis' rebuttal, those who volunteered to serve in the National Guard or Reserves as a reserve force. The reservist just that, reservist. They are supposed to be used to fill in the gaps when are forces are at war, not the be the front line of the battle. In history, all battles had your front line forces, or your regular army. They bore the brunt of the battle while you kept your reserve forces behind to fill in where needed. IF the military was stretched beyound its means then whey on May 31, it was reported that several reservist, who had recently came back from Irag was being asked to re-enlist. If our military isn't being stretched too thin, why the need to trick people into re-signing?



And according to a to an AP report by John J. Lumpkin. (June 2. 2004) the Army is extending the enlistment of all soldiers with 90 days or less, as a "stop loss" manuver to keep forces from being broken up in Iraq.



"The rationale is to have cohesive, trained units going to war together,"

Hagenbeck said.

Martha Stewart

Yeah I know, I didn't what to go here but this weekend's developments has caused me to voice my opinion. It was on all the network news shows that Martha Stewart's attorneys are trying to get the judge to either lessen her sentence or let her do some of the time in community service. In this community service she wants to teach under privileged women how to start and run their own businesses. Hey, wait a minute, isn't that part of what she's been trying to do for 20 yrs? and was getting paid to do it? and if they give this to her, maybe she will teach those women how to buy and sell stocks without getting caught by the SEC.



Sam Waksal is serving 10 yrs for insider trading. and thats not for lying to federal prosecutors. So why is Martha hoping to get an easy ride for more severe crimes?

Power Stuggle

At the begining of our Memorial weekend and the first true weekend of the summer, there is a power struggle going on in Washington DC over who is the top law enforment agent. Constitutionally is John Ashcroft. Attorney General of the United States. But after 9/11, Bush appointed Tom Ridge with homeland security. Yet the word about the seven possible terrorist that are possibly in the US and planning to attack us internally, it was Ashcroft who was on TV making the annoucement. Tom Ridge found out about it the same way the rest of us did, off the TV. Instead of trying to "one up" each other in Washington, they need to be working together to protect us from the people. I would have thought by this time, they would have all the kinks worked out of the system and have it working like a well oiled machine.



To answer your question Gabe, yes, it was on all the networks and on CBSNew.com.



(CBS/AP) When Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the latest terror warning, the rest of the government -- including the Department of Homeland Security -- heard the details on television" CBSnew.com. May 28, 2004



But the next day, the two of them got together at a news conference and said there was no infighting going on between the two groups.

training camp

Well, I had intended to stay away from Iraq and the war on terrorism, but now there is word that a Cleric, Mustafa Kamel Mustafa was eyeing Oregon as a place to build a terrorist training camp. Some of you may not remember, but it has been done before.



Back in the 80s there was this charismatic self proclaimed sheik, Bhagwan Shree Rajeesh. He was sort of like the Gurus of the 60s who always had a group of chanting followers that went anywhere the sheik did. Rejeesh and his merry group of followers settled into a farm in a small town of Antelope, OR. No one knew what to think of this group of guitar playing, dancing flower children that seemed to be two decades late for the party. Some were even happy they came to town because the women of this group often sunned themselves in the nude on the rocks on the edges of their compound. What the people of Antelope didn't know at the time, was that this seemingly peaceful group of people had plans for poisoning the food of near by towns.



"Cult members once sickened 700 residents of The Dalles after lacing restaurant salad bars with salmonella. Cult members were also accused of plotting to kill a U.S. attorney" The Associated Press/April 24, 2000

By Joseph B. Frazier



Rajeesh was later arrested of conspircy to commit murder of a U.S. attorney and the rest of the group disbanded in 1985



So, now another radical wants to set up camp in Oregon. I don't know about you, but I kind of mis the days of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. At least he was preaching the bible not terrorism and bombs

the story that wasn't

not much different going on in the world today but the same war and investigation, but here is a story that really wasn't the big headliner that everyone thought it would be.

Bill Cosby was in Washington, DC commerating Brown Vs the Board of Education. When he got up to make his speech, he said the problem with todays black youth is that there isn't much parenting going on. that parents would rather go spend $200, on a pair of sneakers than $50 on Hook on Phonics. Well all the news agencies. NBC, CBS, ABC (those are the only ones I see on my tv) plus the web news links, thought that it would bring an up roar from the public, but it never happened. On the Today show. the only response were from two black leaders who more or less agreed with Cosby. Even Matt Lauer tried to get an arguement going about it and no one would bite. but its not a racial thing. its a parental thing. Years ago there was a column in psychology today headlined "Johnny cant read" citing all the problems with education. About 6 yrs ago the same headline appeared, but this time they cited that parents give into their kids with video games and computers. No one knows how to pick up and read a good story instead of turning one on the TV. I inherited my love for reading from my mother. and by the time I was in 3rd grade I was reading on the 8th grade level. want to help a kid out? buy him a book and teach him to read it.

FBI APOLOGIZES?

Everyone is talking about Iraq, but the biggest news not many are talking about is that the FBI apologized to Brandon Mayfield, the Oregon attorney, for linking him to the train bombings in Madrid, Spain last month. Can anyone recall when the FBI ever apologized to anyone for what they did?

Remember O'Ferrelll, the junk dealer, whose life the FBI turned upside down, accusing him of the mailbombing of US Appeals court judge Robert Vance. As a result of their accusations, he lost his business, his wife and had a heart attack. It took the FBI 2 yrs, and the conviction of Walter Leroy Moody before they admited that they made a mistake. And the only possible link was that a typewritter that O'Ferrell once owned was used to write the letter that was with the bomb.

In Spain, they had a fingerprint. supposedly a ironclad connection. Only that the fingerprint lab made a mistake. At a time when the law enforcement agencies are supposed to be opperating at peak performance, can we afford mis-identifying possible terrorist?