well, fuck you very much

[rone]

"In line with today's needs, the Selective Service System's structure, programs and activities should be re-engineered toward maintaining a national inventory of American men and, for the first time, women, ages 18 through 34, with an added focus on identifying individuals with critical skills," the agency said in a Feb. 11, 2003, proposal presented to senior Pentagon officials.

Maybe i'll have a chance to burn my draft card after all.

thanks to ceejbot

Comments

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Just be sure to fake being gay

[opadit.livejournal.com]

Awright! Draft card burning party! We could do it simultaneously over IntarNET. I'll have Tom bring up NH; it'll be like gnat and jenine's wedding.

[kodi]

The "focus on identifying individuals with critical skills" really kind of bothers me, and I don't know why. I was bothered before I found out that one of the targeted groups is "computer-talkin' guys," too. (I wonder if they're talking about developers, too, or just infrastructure people? And now I'm picturing them conscripting a whole slew of people who bang around in VB and think they're god.) (Not nearly as concerning to me, but the terms they use to describe the other skillset are equally ambiguous - "language skills" and "linguists.")

[fredfred.livejournal.com]

Two degrees in linguistics, eep. Good thing I miss the age cutoff...

[vspope.livejournal.com]

Heh. "We're looking for a few l33t men to pwn Iraq."

As it happens, I am 33, my wife is 31, and neither of us are amused by this development. I'm (tangentially) in computers, she's in health care.

[cyclotron.livejournal.com]

Men have had to register with the Selective Service since Carter was president. This is not new.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Note "ages 18 through 34". The current limit is "18 through 25".

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Wait, fake? ... Oh, right! Fake!

[huaman.livejournal.com]

I will say that I've long believed it should include women as well, if it's going to exist. How long has the age cutoff been 25 for? I wonder how life expectancy has changed throughout that time. Also, if one acquires critical skills after turning 18, how do they plan to keep track of that?

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

It's been that way since the start (1940). I don't think life expectancy has changed that much. As for the keeping track of skills, i'm sure that they'll be able to keep better track of our whereabouts after Bush is reülected and they can then really tear into the Bill of Rights.