My son turned 18 this past August, a bittersweet time as I miss him as a child but am anxious to see the man and eventual father he becomes. Yesterday in the mail we got a letter from Selective Services that he has failed to register for the Draft and if he doesn't do it immediately, he is subject to some pretty hefty penalties, I'll link to those at the end of the story.
I had to register for the Draft in 1981, at that point the last time we'd used the draft had been 8 years (1973), so it was still reasonable I suppose, I lived in fear of it for years, when the first Gulf War broke out, my family was freaking out I would get drafted, fortunately they didn't do it and I was just past the age at that point.
We are now over 40 years since the last time we've used the draft, and the likelihood of it ever being needed again is pretty non-existent. The cost is about $25 million a year, I suppose this is lunch money to congress, but every bit helps. You can get details on the GAO and costs and timelines and history at http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/defenseandsecurity/a/Is-the-Draft-Still-Needed.htm
The only way we can possibly ever get anything done is by making our voices heard. Believe it or not, our reps in congress do actually react to public opinion and the Draft is not popular with anyone, you'd think they'd kill this program just so they can be seen as doing SOMETHING, and they won't alienate any groups with this one. Please, I encourage you to write your Senators:
Boxer
http://www.boxer.senate.gov/
Feinstein
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me
