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Extortion.....US Government Style

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10/11/2005 1:02 AM
Pierre Debs	Extortion.....US Government Style http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100605/met_19960764.shtml Gee how nice

10/11/2005 10:31 AM
anonymous	When the recruiters started calling my house, I told them immediately that if the military wanted to talk to my son they would have to find a way to do it without using my telephone, and not to ever call my number again. If you do that, they can't call again...

10/11/2005 11:30 AM

Tempest in a teapot.

First of all, this provision, which is described in the article as having been "inserted" by Senator Vetter and "buried" within the bill, was in fact an amendment that went before the full House and was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

Second, Federal law requires that parents be able to opt-out their kids from being contacted by recruiters or from having their information sent to them. But it's up to the local school boards to determine the specifics of how this opting-out is handled.

The article focuses on Duval County, where they adopted a three-tiered approach that bundles the opting-out with regard to recruiters with the opting-out with regard to all personal information. This gives rise to the unfortunate situation of students not appearing in the yearbook when all they really wanted was to steer clear of the recruiters.

Now, according to the article, when the chairwoman of the Duval Country school board was approached about this, she agreed that it was a problem and that it ought to be addressed. The article further states that the Duval County authorities, though they had considered their policy to be in adequate compliance with the Federal law, are now in the process of changing it to create an opt-out option specifically for military recruiting.

So there you have it. The prevision was not some stealthy thing slipped into the bill when no one was looking. And the issue with the yearbooks was not an effect of properly-applied Federal law. It was the result of local discretion, and the local authorities are working to change their policy.

I don't see much to be upset about here.

MT

10/11/2005 12:05 PM

quote:
"Tempest in a teapot."

Perhaps. OTOH, Pierre could have posted links concerning the tactics recruiters use on the people
whose kids didn't opt out --which have been appalling in some cases.
Perhaps it's time for a draft --a reverse tiered system that assures the children of the House and Senate are the first to go.

-Eric

10/11/2005 1:34 PM

I've heard stories about pushy recruiters. Apparently some can get pretty pushy.

Nevertheless, I think there are measures short of instituting a draft that could be taken to rein in overzealous recruiters.

My experience with the recruiters, for what it's worth, was a period of moderate hounding around graduation time -- I think I got an evening phone call from each branch, maybe one or two a week -- then they disappeared. They'd call and I'd basically tell them "no thanks". They weren't total pushovers, but in no way were they unpleasant or coercive.

MT

10/11/2005 1:48 PM

quote:
"Nevertheless, I think there are measures short of instituting a draft that could be taken to rein in overzealous recruiters."

I'm more interested in reining in the executive/legislature. The old farts who send in kids (usually someone elses) to fight their battles for them. The horse is already out of the barn, though.

-Eric

10/11/2005 12:08 PM

Is there ANY list of names anywhere that will not be provided to the highest bidder? Sheesh. Makes you think twice about signing petitions or registering yourself for anything.

It is no secret the the D.O.D. is having trouble filling its ranks and, by extension, its international commitments. Unfortunately, war is a social institution that emerged before it was possible to get the same rush of adventure from being in a band, being a day trader, or playing professional sports. Once upon a time, you may have needed the support of the military and governent to go to the college of your choice. Now, of course, if you are fit enough to be in the infantry, chances are pretty good you can turn to athletic scholarships to do what you might have needed the military for in an earlier time.

Whether one believes in the justifiability of those "international commitments" or not, the fact remains that the military has to shake the tree MUCH harder these days to harvest recruits. Between these measures aimed at high schools via presumed education legislation, and P.R. fronts like the free video shooter game "America's Army", clearly the military is getting desperate. If there is a good side to this, it is that today's military has a much smaller fighting force, as a percentage of its size, than it did 60 years ago. More people are involved in the administrative, and technical, support side than ever before...so you don't HAVE to go to Bagdhad and get your legs blown off.

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