January 1, 2003 Our esteemed representative from New York, Charles Rangel, feels compelled to pass legislation calling for a military draft.  By all means, let's dragoon young men and women into this ridiculous war in the Middle East.  While Bush is pushing for a "regime change," a euphemism for assassinating an admittedly brutal tyrant, some members of Congress are more interested in playing the race card.  You see, Rep. Rangel is annoyed that too many black soldiers may die in the sands of Iraq.  Anything over the statistically significant 12% of the total casualty figure is unacceptable in his view. Of course, it is entirely acceptable in peacetime to employ well over that amount of blacks, but when the bullets start flying, 12% is all he is willing to send.  Thus, we must implement a military draft and send lilly white boys to risk their lives in equal measure.   Affirmative action has its limits, apparently. Is there anything remotely absurd about this bill?  Am I the only one disturbed about this horrendous measure?  Frankly, it is time to march on Capitol Hill (and the White House, for that matter) with pitch forks and torches and tell the gutless politicians that if they want to wage war, they ought to play Rambo with their own worthless hides. I would have written a letter to Rangel himself, but it seems that I am limited to contacting my own representative, Ms. Eshoo, the bleeding heart liberal from Santa Clara.  My letter, which will be summarily ignored by a snot-nosed college intern, is attached.
		Dear Rep. Eshoo, I strongly urge you to vote against the measure introduced by Rep. Rangel to reintroduce the military draft.  While unsure of his motive, I find the act of forcing people into the armed forces to be incompatible with a free society.  To send Americans to foreign lands against their will to die for causes they may not believe in is a reprehensible use of government power.  Is this so hard to fathom? Further, Rangel's claim that the military is overly represented by minorities is a classic catch-22.  No doubt he would complain about the lack of minority representation in peacetime.  The last time I checked, our military is comprised entirely of volunteers.  Maybe you should suggest to your colleague from New York that he make up his mind about what he wants.  Either minorities are autonomous human beings capable of making their own decisions, or they are brainless cannon fodder for politicians to use at their discretion.  Better yet, maybe Congress should follow the Constitution and forget this nonsense about drafts and minority representation. While on the subject of the Constitution, I find it curious that the Congress has failed in its most important duty: declaration of war (Article I, Section 8).  Anyone in Congress not willing to declare war or reject war outright should immediately resign and let someone else replace him/her!  When will you people assume this awesome responsibility?  The failure to do so is indicative of a body of spineless cowards. Please take a stand, one way or another.