MILITARY DRAFT COMING IN 2005 From: Mary Alice O'Connor   Dear friends:   It has come to my attention in recent days that the Bush administration is very quietly laying the groundwork for a reinstatement of the draft.  I was surfing the Pentagon's website when I came across an obscure link entitled "Defend America." On that site, a message was posted asking for volunteers to sit on local draft and appeals boards. My curiosity was peaked, to say the least. I then did a search for the Selective Service System's website, and sure enough, I discovered that Bush has included $28 million in the FY2004 federal budget to get the SSS up to speed and ready to begin processing 18-25 year olds within 75 days of March 31, 2005. Meaning, that by June 15, 2005, your sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, friends and neighbors will be compelled on pain of imprisonment to fight, kill and die in the deserts of Iraq (or Iran, Syria and God knows where else).   I have also discovered that there are two bills pending in the House and Senate which could be voted on in the coming weeks.   I find it obscene that this man, who went AWOL from his Air National Guard unit, has the gall to send America's young men and women to fight a war that benefits no one, with the exception of his oil and defense industry supporters. The mainstream media has paid virtually no attention to this story (Big Surprise!) A few articles were published by the AP, BBC and a few other obscure "alternative" news sites. Those articles generated enough attention to get the Pentagon to "disappear" its message from the website. Fortunately, I've located a "mirror" site that contains the original text of the message, which I've included below.   This insanity must be put to a stop. Are we going to sentence another generation of America's youth to death for the benefit of Haliburton and Bechtel? I urge all of you to contact your Senators and Representatives to let them know that you will not tolerate this madness.   SAY NO TO BUSH'S WAR!   SAY NO TO THE DRAFT!   USA OUT OF IRAQ NOW! [Editor's note: The forwarded E-message did not contain links to the pages referenced below.  I will try to get those links posted.  Or let me know what you find out.]   Mirrored site for Pentagon draft board notice:   DefendAmerica News - Article   Missing Pentagon page link:    Defend AMERICA - PAGE TEMPLATE   Selective Service System link:  Selective Service System: Publications   Summary and Status of House and Senate bills:  Bill Summary & Status