posted on September 30, 2004 01:15:15 PM new
CBS Again Under Fire for Questionable Reporting
By Bobby Eberle
Talon News
September 30, 2004
HOUSTON (Talon News) -- CBS News is again under fire for a story which aired Tuesday evening by CBS News Correspondent Richard Schlesinger purporting to compare the views of President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry on the possibility of reinstituting the military draft.
"It's no secret, the all-volunteer U.S. military, especially the Army, Marines, and many Reserve units, are stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan," CBS News anchor Dan Rather said leading into the segment. "So what about bringing back the draft? A lot of Americans are worried about that. Where do the presidential candidates stand?"
The story was presented as part of a continuing series on the election and featured a Philadelphia woman named Beverly Cocco who was characterized by Schlesinger as someone who "has spent most of her life protecting children in Philadelphia" and as "a Republican, but also a single-issue voter."
"I go to bed every night, and I pray, and I actually get sick to my stomach," the story quoted Cocco as saying. "I'm very worried; I'm scared. I'm absolutely scared; I'm petrified."
Cocco's fears center around her two draft-age sons and her stated fear that the Bush administration is about to reinstitute a military draft.
The Schlesinger story (web site) goes on to cite Internet e-mails that have been circulating for the last month or so, saying, "There's an undercurrent of anxiety; mass e-mails are circulating among parents worried their kids could be called up."
In an article posted September 23, 2004 on their Urban Legends Reference page, Snopes.com debunks the e-mails by reporting on draft bills introduced to Congress which have since languished in committee.
"However, both these bills were introduced not by legislators genuinely seeking to reinstate the draft, but by Democrats seeking to make an anti-war statement," Snopes.com reports.
Senate Bill S.89 was introduced in January 2003 by Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) and had no Republican co-sponsors. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in January 2003. It was sponsored by Democrats Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), John Lewis (D-GA), Pete Stark (D-CA), and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI).
Neither bill was passed out of committee, and these Democratic bills were not mentioned by either Schlesinger or Rather.
"You¹d think that in the midst of the terrible publicity he is getting for working closely with a partisan Democrat -- bent on bringing down President Bush -- that Dan Rather would have the good sense to lay off the liberal bias for a while, especially since just three weeks ago, the 72-year-old CBSer denounced the Internet as 'filled with rumors,'" said RatherGate.com owner Mike Krempasky (web site).
Paul Rodriguez, the managing editor of Insight Magazine, said in an online column (web site), "Frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if CBS News is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee -- or at least a satellite office for John Kerry's campaign committee."
Rodriguez added that he now wonders whether other CBS stories aired over the years "contained flaws, errors, bad judgment and perhaps even purposeful deceit."
"As a consumer of news I should never harbor such thoughts," Rodriguez said. "But now I do ... because of CBS."
The military draft came to an end in 1973 following the Vietnam War. Although young men are still required to register with the Selective Service, reinstituting the draft would require congressional approval. It is estimated that it would take up to two years to complete the necessary congressional and military steps for a reinstituted draft to actually produce soldiers.
CBS also failed to mention the background of the "worried mother," Beverly Cocco in the on-air report. Although labeled simply as a "Philadelphia voter" by Schlesinger, Cocco is a political activist involved with the Philadelphia Lancaster/Bucks County affiliate of "Parents Against the Draft" (web site). This information was added to the online version of the report.
Neither President Bush or John Kerry has stated they would reinstitute a military draft according to CBS.
Bush was quoted by CBS as saying, "The war on terror will continue. It's going to take a while and no, we don't need a draft."
CBS quoted Kerry as saying, "I will give us a foreign policy that absolutely makes it unnecessary to have a draft for this country."
Despite the fact that both presidential candidates are on record opposing a draft and no evidence exists that a draft is likely, CBS pursued a draft story based on urban legends and the opinion of a staunch anti-draft activist. At the same time, CBS withheld Cocco's background while she helped raise the issue of a possible Bush draft.
When asked if she would vote for a Democrat, Cocco responded, "Absolutely."
"I would vote for Howdy Doody if I thought it would keep my boys home and safe," Cocco added.
Schlesinger concluded with a warning: "She's a Bush supporter today, but if she doesn't like what she hears between now and November, Beverly could easily cross over."
Here we go again. Ever since the First Gulf War (1990), hardly a year goes by where we aren't inundated by rumors of re-instatement of a military draft. This year, of course, is no different, as we are in the middle of a presidential race.
Vice presidential candidate John Edwards recently publicly stated that there would be no draft under a Kerry presidency. That alludes, without actually stating it, that a draft is likely if President Bush is reelected. There is an email floating around which specifically states (without any credible evidence) that Bush is secretly planning to re-instate the draft sometime in 2005, following the elections.
Let's take a look at the real facts:
First and foremost, one must understand that the President does not have the authority to re-institute the draft.
In order for a draft to be implemented, Congress would have to pass a specific law to authorize it.
What's that? You, in the back row. Could you repeat the question, please?
Oh. The email you read stated that Congress is already considering two such bills, and that the Bush administration is quietly pushing them through?
You're speaking of Senate Bill 89, introduced by Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC), and House Resolution 163, introduced by Representative Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). Both bills would require two years of military service (or community service for those who are medically unqualified) for every male and female in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 26.
These are the only two "draft" legislation bills which are currently active. First and foremost, please note that both bills were authored and introduced by Democrats, not Republicans. Senator Hollings and Mr. Rangel introduced the legislation over a year ago (January 2003), as a means of protest against a potential invasion of Iraq. Congress immediately stuck them "in committee" to die (that's what Congress does with bills that have absolutely no chance of passing). The two bills have languished there, ever since, with absolutely no action being taken.
Both bills would require every single male and female between the ages of 18 and 26 to serve two years in the military (or community service). Hollings version has just 13 co-sponsors, and Rangel's bill has no support at all. Folks, these bills have ZERO chances of passing. More about this idiocy, later.
There are no other draft-related bills currently pending. None. Zero, Nada, Zippo.
Any more questions about these bills? No? Good, let's continue. The Bush Administration has stated over and over and over again that they have no plans to re-institute a draft, that they don't think a draft is necessary, and they don't believe a draft would even be effective with the type of military we have today. Ladies and gentlemen, they couldn't have made their views any clearer. The current administration is against a draft. It's that simple.
One of the programs that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has expounded on, indicating that (under a Bush presidency) a draft is necessary, is the use of "Stop Loss." When "Stop Loss" is in effect, members of the military are not allowed to separate or retire, during the period of the "Stop Loss." "They have effectively used a stop-loss policy as a backdoor draft," Kerry said.
I've got news for the good senator -- Stop Loss has been going on now for 14 years. It was first widely used by President Bush (senior) during the first Gulf War. Stop Loss was extensively implemented by President Clinton for both Bosnia and Kosovo. Bush (junior) implemented it for Afghanistan and Iraq. The "Stop Loss" in effect today is the minimum ever implemented. It affects a soldier only if he or she has been notified of an upcoming deployment. In other words, if a soldier is told he/she is scheduled to deploy, then he/she cannot separate or retire until after the deployment is complete.
Military Size and Needs. By law, each year Congress sets the maximum size of the active duty and reserve forces. They do this by passing the Military Authorization Act and Military Appropriations Act. Each year, Congress has the option to increase the authorized size of the military -- and they have chosen not to do so (exception -- last year -- in 2003 -- Congress authorized the Army to TEMPORARILY increase in size by 20,000 -- a drop in the bucket. This temporary increase in size is to help the Army through a planned reorganization, not because Congress wants to have a larger Army).
Hey, hey Ho, ho Kerry - sign the 1-8-0
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The person who has nothing for which he is willing
to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
--John Stuart Mill
posted on September 30, 2004 01:39:16 PM new
No suprise there. Continuing on the 'get kerry elected no matter how many false stories they have to put out to the pubic. Always hopeful it will scare more to their candidate.
It's desperation to get kerry elected. Anything goes...lie away.
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On the emails...now bear, you know when I said the kerry supporters were sending out these emails to college students trying to scare our young people into voting for kerry - since they're being told President Bush will draft them if he's elected - the dems here didn't believe it.
So if THEY don't believe it...then we should all just KNOW it never happened.
