[antimedia] antimedia: For a precious few in Congress,....

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President Eisenhower said we should have Universal Military Training, two
years, no alternatives (e.g. Peace Corps), for all males when they reach 18
years of age (but they could finish high school). He was right!

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Posted by antimedia:
For a precious few in Congress,....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1154987190.shtml


   ....the [1]war is personal. (Annoying login required.)

     We loved him dearly, and well miss him more than words can ever
     express, said a man from Montana on Tuesday upon learning that his
     nephew had been killed in Iraq.
     Words like those have been uttered thousands of times in big cities
     and tiny towns, heard mostly by friends and relatives. But the man
     from Montana is Senator Max Baucus, so his words attracted more
     notice.
     Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus of the Marine Corps, dead at 28, was like a
     son to Senator Baucus, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the
     Democratic leader, said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
     Our family is devastated, Mr. Baucus said after the Defense
     Department announced that Corporal Baucus, of Wolf Creek, Mont.,
     was killed in combat on Saturday in Anbar province. Three other
     marines from his battalion were also killed there Saturday,
     according to the department.

   The Times' found several examples of Congresspersons who have family
   members in the service and exposed to combat - only one of whom is on
   the Democratic side of the aisle.
   Along with Senator Baucus they are; Senator Tim Johnson, a Democrat
   from South Dakota, Senator Christopher Bond, a Republican from
   Missouri, Representative Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California,
   Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina,
   Representative Todd Akin, a Republican from Missouri, Senator Jim
   Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky and Senator John McCain, a
   Republican from Arizona.
   I suppose this reflects the country in a way. A very small percentage
   of American families have members in the service, serving in combat
   zones. Many come from families with a long tradition of service.
   This is one reason why a draft has always been attractive to me. I've
   often thought that service, of some kind (military, Peace Corps,
   etc.), to our country should be mandatory for every eighteen-year-old
   graduate from high school - at least males. It would go a long way
   toward engendering more of a concern for our country as well as an
   understanding of what sacrifice is. Both would help change the
   attitude of a spoiled public that drinks freely from the waters of
   freedom but never contributes.

References

   1.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/washington/03family.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&
oref=slogin