Representaive Rangel once again introduces the Universal National Service Act by David S
(libertarian)
Monday, July 19, 2010
New York Representative Charlie Rangel has introduced a bill entitled The Universal National Service Act, H.R.-5741. The stated purpose of the bill is as follows:
"To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes."
That includes men and women, although people who have already served in the military are exempt. The bill only allows induction into the military during a declared state of war, something which has not happened since WWII. So this bill seems to be more about forcing the American people into servitude for the government than about filling the ranks of the military. In other words it would turn the American people into slaves of government.
The term of service would be 2 years... for now. But remember that when the income tax was first created the top rate was only 7%. However, within 31 years the top rate was raised to over 90%! So once the government establishes the precedent that it can demand service from the citizens then the duration of the service and the age brackets are negotiable. They could easily ratchet up the term to 5 years or 20 years or forever, and the age brackets could be changed to "birth to death". That would put Americans citizens into perpetual servitude for the government and would turn America into a communist country.
Of course there is no provision in the Constitution which allows the government to do such a thing and in fact the 13th amendment specifically prohibits it. But apparently none of that matters to Representative Rangel. It is outrageous that any member of the government should propose such a bill.
Maybe Mr. Rangel should be reminded that the American people are not slaves of the government, and that America is not a communist country. And perhaps he should be reminded that he took an oath to support the Constitution. Better yet, maybe Mr. Rangel's constituents should send him packing at the next election.
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Posted By: Billy Roper
Date: July 20, 2010 10:36:01 AM
In an interview with Salon magazine in 2003 regarding his bill, Rangel expressed his views that “the poor, black and brown shouldn’t be the only Americans fighting and dying in Iraq,” and “Fairness dictates that the sons and daughters of the white middle and upper classes share the burden of war.”
Today’s armed forces rely heavily on minorities, the working class and the poor, he says, who turn to the military because few other opportunities are available to them. Roughly 40 percent of the U.S. military is minority, compared to a quarter of the overall population. African-Americans are particularly likely to join: They make up 26 percent of the military, but only 12 percent of Americans.
As is often the case, Rangel is purposefully ignorant of the facts. As can be seen in the statistics furnished by USA Today: Deaths in Iraq: A look at the American lives lost, it is Whites who have been disproportionately burdened by loss of their loved ones in the war machine.
Stipulating, that if Whites make up just 60% of the U.S. military, Whites account for 73.7% (3,254) of the reported 4,416 deaths.
Blacks, who make up 26% of the military ranks, only account for 9.6% (441) of reported deaths.
Take a few minutes and go through this interactive graph where one can select from a range of categories and obtain the correct statistics.
A congressman calling for re-establishing the draft because he has a debased intuitive feeling that a specific race is not dying in sufficient numbers in Iraq? Quite appalling.
Posted By: Jason McClinsey
Date: July 27, 2010 10:58:58 AM
The bill states that you can be drafted into the military if the president declares a state of emergency or if there is a "contingency operation" under way. It is my understanding that our current "wars" are contingency operations.
