"Back-Door Draft?" WHAT Draft?

By "draft" most people (but certainly not all) mean involuntary conscription.

Like it or not, every poor pitiful American G.I. in harm's way signed up for military service. No one forced them, and the nature of the military is that you go into harm's way and there are no flipping "rules." You have standards and policies and plans and regulations and traditions and orders and in the end the real world laughs its ass off and says, "Grow up. Here's a live grenade in your hands. Cite regulations and die, or get rid of the thing in the fastest way possible, even if it isn't by the book. Good luck."

Just in case anyone has forgotten, I find the "war" in Iraq to be immoral and misguided. I also disapproved of the "war" in Afghanistan on the very same principles. The nation of Afghanistan did not bring the WTC down. Ya don't go after the nation for what a handful of creeps do. If that were the case the entire planet should nuke YOUR rear-ends for the preposterous antics in Washington, D.C.

In spite of technology and refined sensitivities of feeling, war and the military are about adapting, going beyond limits, and hopefully living long enough to succeed, and to get home again alive.

War is not hell. It is terror and confusion and pain and destruction and death. For that reason it should not be entered into lightly ... by trouble-making politicians, OR by volunteers.

So, while I am eager for someone to find a way for the military to come home safely, until that happens I have very, very little sympathy for the cry-babies who are unhappy that they volunteered for peace and got caught up in war. If ya can't stand the heat, stay the hell away from the uniform. And if you DO put on the uniform, wear it well, do the job (even as it changes), and by doing these things you hasten the end of the stupidity.

I volunteered for peace-time (albeit Cold War) duty in the Air Force. Can't get much farther from "real war" than that, right? But I took it seriously, and I was always aware that I was not in the Boy Scouts or the Salvation Army. I was a non-combatant G.I. and if it came down to it I recognized that my life (and comfort) were forfeit ... but forfeit in exchange for the hope that my service (and possible death) were for something more valuable than my own life. My service was for the life of my civilian family back home.

A big part of the reason why the rest of the world has trouble taking America seriously is because, beneath the technology and money, Americans are disgustingly soft, bratty babies.

The volunteers in Iraq should not be pawns in wars of words, their "suffering" justification for pontificating pet theories.

There is no draft. And the so-called "back-door draft" is just another word for reality. I will never defend this stupid non-war, but I will not attack it with specious allegations aimed at clouding the issue and hyping emotions. It is not honorable or noble to use irrational discourse when reason seems to fail. Principles are not variable, situational or conditional. Build a house with a rubber yardstick and you'll be wearing the roof in short order.

The Eyes Have It

Perspective.

A person with one eye removed or blinded has virtually no depth perception. The lack of another eye looking in almost exactly the same direction, but from a slightly-offset position, robs an individual of the ability to judge dimension.

People who are ensconced/entrenched at one end of an issue or a socio-political "camp" are inclined to be "single-minded." They have one view of the issues. One eye, if you will.

One-eyed Righties cannot see any significant value in the leaders or ideals of the Left. The reverse is also true.

I live and work among both poles every day. From the Right eye I see individual accountability and non-circumstantial principles. From the Left eye I see tolerance of human diversity and reluctance to commit violence. I flatter myself to think that I have more perspective, more depth perception, than my relatively-extreme friends and family.

In order to "justify" failure, it is common to find Capitalized Pronouns to point out as being the villainous influence. The Righties loved to squawk about the Reds. The Lefties loved to cluck about the bigots.

Having been religious, I can assure you that most religions are frustrated with how little they really matter in the lives of individuals. (I will also point out that most of the "clergy" in mainstream Christianity are woefully under-educated about their own religion and misrepresent the genuine core of their "faith." The Man commonly called "Jesus" would not launch soldiers at people He disagreed with. He also would not coddle the lazy and demand that the productive rob themselves on behalf of the lazy.)

As long as the Right blames the media-popularity of the Left, the Right will have no motivation to improve. Their weaknesses are out of their control because "It's the Other Side, stupid." And as long as the Left blames religion, the Left will have no motivation to improve.

The beams in the eyes of the Other Side are woefully effective excuses for ignoring the mote in the eyes of the Side of the Just.

If someone really wants to make something happen positive for their Party ... they need to look at and deal with what they CAN change ... their own side. Sharpen up your rhetoric. Refine your grasp of the numbers. Learn how to communicate with the Other Side in a way that forces the reasonable among them to consider your points, and perhaps join your side on at least one issue or another.

Are there bad qualities in the Other Side? Certainly. But can you change those things? Very seldom.

Change what you CAN.

Change yourself.

Tort Distortion

There is an excellent article on the history and features of the American tort system at www.boileryard.blogspot.com. If the subject interests you, go there now without delay!

In part, I answered that post in this way....

In my seldom humble opinion, the tort system has suffered the same trouble as the rest of the once-sterling American government system: Subsequent Diddling Bloat.

Compensatory damages, as cited in Sadie's post, seem like "fair play" to me, and I was enlightened about many of the positive aspects. The SDB ("Subsequent Diddling Bloat") comes when, after the fair compensation is assigned and the plaintiff/victim recovers financially from negligence, the court enters the Bonus Round and the trial becomes the Hot Coffee Lottery. That's the point where SDB turns (typically) lower-income people into millionaires at the expense of the rest of the (typically) lower-income people paying higher prices for goods and services, losing goods and services to collapsing businesses, and losing jobs while working for collapsing businesses.

On the surface, the "answer" seems simple to me ... discontinue the Hot Coffee Lotto and end the SDB (not to be confused with the dread SBD).