The Liaison

1. Journalists accompanying President Obama on his trip to Saudi Arabia were threatened with "arrest and detention by Saudi authorities" if they reported on anything other than the president's visit.
   

"Conscription… or You May Know it As…"

Elliot Jacobsen

The military draft. Those words are being etched back into our everyday speech in such a subtle way that to many, it goes undetected. Lawmakers talk about it using code words and disguised speech in order to keep the option alive but not tip the public to the eventual application of the idea.

The United States tends to boast our status of having one of the world's only all-volunteer armed forces but as our undeterred elected warmongers continue to advance their quest of profiteering by force, that claim will be forgotten due to the basic necessity of disposable soldiers. We are stretched to the very limit of every branch of our military due to the forgotten war in Afghanistan and the unlawful invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.

This past month has also brought us rumors and renewed lobbying that inch us ever closer to a conflict with Iran. With the looming possibility of three wars within a year's time, I beg the question, when (not if) will the draft begin?

John McCain, the Republican Nominee for President, stated on June 24^th that only World War III would justify the resurrection of the practice. He was hoping that people wouldn't realize that World War III is in its infancy stages as we speak. He supports military action in Iran. He stated that he could see an occupation of Iraq lasting 100 years.

He has vowed to continue the fruitless hunt for Osama bin Laden and the continued battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He has done nothing to smooth extremely strained diplomatic ties with Pakistan. His campaign has used the idea of another domestic terrorist attack as a political advantage over his opponent. John McCain seems to be pushing World War III so that he would be able, by his own words, justify a military draft.

Conscription is the actual term for a draft. It is the mandatory service of an individual demanded by their government. The penalty for non conformity is incarceration in the prison of their choosing. The irony of a Country who at its fundamental core was based on the simple ideal of individual freedom also possessing the ability to rob you of that central virtue at the whim of a warmonger should be lost on no American.

Conscription is a legal form of military slavery in which a citizen simply has no choice and is given no consideration concerning their moral compass. Conscription gives no mind to basic human right we all have to decide for ourselves whether the value of the conflict is worth the cost of one's life. John McCain is leading us down the path were conscription, the military draft, will tear apart the very foundation this land is built on and he is asking for our vote in prime position to make it a reality.

A McCain presidency will lead to forced military service - "insert your name here".

We still have a choice though. We can choose to stand in the way of the stripping of our freedom and vote against John McCain. It is a choice we must consider with great diligence and hold in the highest regard because one day soon, the very ability to make a choice could be taken from us.

“What My Father Told Me”
Elliot Jacobsen

This was originally intended to be an article about my merits for supporting Senator Barack Obama…

Not too long ago, I found out that the economic stimulus package, that was supposed to do so much for so many people, will not reach many of those who are in desperate need. My father, who was due to get a check worth $1,200, will not receive it because he owes student loans from over 20 years ago.

The IRS is not only withholding his income tax check but keeping money the Bush administration promised to help stimulate the economy and relieve my family’s financial woes. My parents need that money. They were hoping to move out from their broken-down two bedroom apartment which is located in a horrible part of town.

They wanted to move into a safer, nicer neighborhood that didn't require a nightly 911 call because gunshots were being fired a block away.

Now, my parents are confined to the same building where rent is continuously on the rise on par with a spike in crime.

My father can't even clear his debt by declaring bankruptcy. His loan is so high with interest that he could probably work the rest of his life and never be able to pay it off. This is especially tragic considering that he served proudly in the U.S. Army and is a Vietnam Veteran. The sacrifices he made for our country are still being paid today; my father just finished one battle with prostate cancer that was caused by chemicals he was exposed to in Vietnam. Not once has the Government ever stepped in to help.

My father is voting for Barack Obama because he realizes that George Bush's presidency has failed our nation in nearly every aspect. He realizes that John McCain voted along with George Bush 90 % of the time during Bush's term and also voted along with Bush policies up to 95% from last year.

My father realizes that as Americans, we simply cannot give tax breaks to oil companies that willfully raise the price of gas daily.

He also realizes that you cannot give billions of dollars in tax breaks to corporations who ship our jobs overseas while hardworking American citizens fall into financial ruin. My father realizes that our servicemen and women need to pull out of Iraq this next year and not in 2013, as John McCain stated in dire contrast that, "Bringing the troops home is not too important."

How can America not pass a bill that puts statues of limitations on student loans? How can we not have better funding for the VA and better assistance when a veteran absolutely needs it?

How can the Government refuse to tax the same corporations who gleefully rape our pocketbooks?

How would you, as an American, even consider voting for a John McCain presidency, a certain third Bush term, and promote the assured economic stagnation, loss of our soldiers’ lives, and self-destruction of the greatest country on earth?

My father is an American hero just like you, John McCain, and if you would have told my father that it wasn't important to bring him back home from a useless war, then I could promise you - he would have punched you in face.