posted on September 21, 2001 06:57:15 PM new
I just love this post as it is identical to UK in six months time! I am sorry if I have caused offence. Also my daughter will be 18 in november and was notified that she must go to her local post office and register for the draft by the school.
posted on September 21, 2001 06:57:16 PM new
Most of the unconstitutional things the executive branch does during a war or emergency are not addressed until after the emergency.
Lincoln did things to offend the constitution (Habeas corpus suspended), as did Wison during WWI ( jailing people for subversive speech), as did Roosevelt during WWII ( Japanese Americans jailed and stripped of property), as did Truman during Korea ( Federalising striking Railroads, coal mines and steel mills), as did Nixon, and perhaps Bush will too.
Emergency measures are rectified after the emergeny.
Until we or our allies are attacked again, Bush is pretty much limited to doing what Congress and allies will approve of.
As an emergency deepens, it is realized by Congressmen that floor debate takes too long and ends up undecissive and can expose them to politically dangerous positions.
A good example is the "football" that travels with Bush. He does not need Congressional approval to launch nuclear missles. Can you imagine getting congressional approval for a launch when the country is under attack ?
posted on September 21, 2001 06:58:02 PM new
Thanks for the link....seems it is something just we do!!!! Our girls must be making a statement! Gotta love their spunk!!!I will also be sure and let the postal clerk know that it is not a requirement for ALL 18 year olds to register!
posted on September 21, 2001 07:04:25 PM new
Thanks to my friends in USA for a civilised chat. http://www.wtcfund.org.uk
[ edited by GreetingsfromUK on Sep 21, 2001 07:05 PM ]
posted on September 21, 2001 07:06:29 PM new
Roosavelt
Truman
Eisenhower
Nixon
Clinton all declared emergencies
I did not know about Carter.
Congress tried to recind the state of emergency in '88 I think it was, but they made it so the law took effect in 2 years if the President did not extent it. Well everyone has each year.
posted on September 21, 2001 07:11:13 PM new
UK - Your girls have to register? Is each member of the UK independant in administering these things? Thanks for coming by - hope nobody offended YOU.....
posted on September 21, 2001 08:15:34 PM new
Under the current system men must register at 18, but the system is set-up to draft men between the ages of 20 and 35--youngest first.
There has long been a separate system in place to draft Doctors and Nurses into military service if needed. BOTH Men and Women health-care workers between the ages of 20 and 45 would be required to register for the draft if this program were to be activated by Congress.
There are no current plans to bring back the draft. The Congress would have to pass new legislation to start a draft and the President would have to sign it.
Those in Congress want to keep their jobs, so I seriously doubt there will be any draft unless it's really necessary to keep this country going. It's not something they would do on a whim or for show.
posted on September 21, 2001 09:56:06 PM newThriftStoreQueen:*If* women are required, I wonder how many "surprise" pregnancies would come up if the draft was brought back.
I would wager far fewer than the number of men who "accidently" shoot themselves in the foot while "cleaning their guns" or totally lose their sense of direction, end up in Canada & are unable to find their way home again...
posted on September 22, 2001 11:36:21 AM new
Pregnancies reached a crisis amount on ships at sea during the Gulf War.
The females became pregnant while at sea, not before they left. I forget the name of the ship, but one ship was nearly ordered to turn back due to the number of pregnancies.
posted on September 22, 2001 08:23:38 PM new
It's not correct that the President can suspend virtually any law or regulation --only those laws that have a clause within them that say they can be suspended in a national emergency. The National Emergencies Act of 1976 (http://www.disastercenter.com/laworder/50chap34.htm) repealed most existing emergency declarations and set the procedure for declaring future emergencies. One of the laws with an emergency "trigger" is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which lets the President seize or freeze economic assets. That one has been invoked a number of times. But no trigger, no emergency suspension by executive order.
Regarding the draft, the chances of it being invoked for the current crisis are slight. It has been 30 years since there last was a draft. Since then, military pay has been increased substantially and the concept of an all-volunteer military is well accepted. The Army is probably a third the size it was at the peak of the Cold War, and it's hard to conceive of the circumstances that would require the Army to grow to that size again. Even if it did grow to that size, the debate about reviving a draft would be so divisive that it's hard to imagine why any President would make the proposal.
posted on September 22, 2001 08:49:47 PM new
With some of the technology the military has, even with ground forces, and even with them hiding, and knowing the territory, our guys will not do too bad. infrared, night vision, just to name a few, will help find the enemy before they find us. I'm sure there are some other technologies out there that are light years ahead of these. At one time I read that they were workng on some kind of camoflauge/invisible appearance type of thing, and in the test videos I saw, it worked pretty darn good!
All this being said, I know that if we do send in ground forces, it will still be tough. And my prayers are with all the troops that are/get sent over there. (And quite honestly, I'm relieved that my husband will turn 36 next month!)
posted on September 22, 2001 09:00:47 PM newReamond: the simple solution to *that* would be Norplant devices, human nature being what it is. ThriftStoreQueen, though, seemed to be implying that women would use pregnancies to get out of the draft, which is what I replied to.
