No to Drug Traffickers and Homosexuals
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.--Albert Camus
Criticism in a time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government.
--Sen. Robert Taft, (R) Ohio
The USMC and U.S. Army are recruiting more enlistees with criminal records, "including some with felony convictions." This is a questionable and illegal action by those entities. It seems Department of Defense (DoD) policies are above the law. Where in the phrase, "Duty, honor, country..." does it say, "convicted felon"?
It is illegal for a convected felon to be around firearms unless legal rights have been restored. In fact, felons are not allowed to own cartridges or any other ammunition. For the average felon, the likelihood of this restoration is akin to an act of God; it seldom happens. The legal costs to do so and the policies of the federal government preclude restoration of gun rights for ordinary individuals.
The Army calls these "moral waivers," in a manner of doublespeak. Shouldn't they be "immorality waivers"? It seems that even with higher enlistment cash bonuses, allowing more high school dropouts and low-scoring aptitude candidates, and loosening weight and age restrictions, the Army is still not making its numbers.
The number of moral waivers has increased 65% since 2003. from 4,918 to 8,129 in 2006, with the sharpest increase in waivers for "serious misdemeanors," including "aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide." Waivers for less serious crimes, like drug use, have "dropped or remained stable."
There are also indications that the Army is wooing skinheads and other gang members to flesh out their ranks. Possibly it is that intimidating skinhead tactics are an excellent skill set for today's new Army requirements of imposing torture upon detained individuals.
Still, the Army has its pride. They will not recruit those with more than one felony, or drug traffickers. Considering the waving poppy fields of Afghanistan, that seems like a wise restriction.
As a citizen and a retired soldier, this writer finds it exceedingly strange that convicted felons can openly join our military, but homosexuals are treated as scum by recruiters and the administration, alike. Forget the criminals--allow open service by homosexuals and DoD can remain a law-abiding institution. DoD must comply with the law and disallow felons from carrying weapons.
posted by rangeragainstwar at 7:15 PM
10 Comments:
On some news reports, you can see LA gang graffiti in Baghdad. It reminded me of a picture I had seen in an history book of graffiti left by Greek professional soldiers in Egypt during the days of Alexander. Some things never change, eh?
I agree that there is no moral justification for these felons to be granted access to the military as well as access to arms. They used discriminatory methods to sack lesbians and homosexuals, and the result was a dire lack of Arabic linguists.
At the same time, we know for a fact that the armed services has neo-Nazis in its midst, and that they have been involved in some incidents in Baghdad.
Even more paradoxical is the fact that the U.S. executive branch gives and is giving millions of dollars of arms which are without serial numbers or registered, and which have been getting into the hands of Sunni Arab guerrillas, as Juan Cole reports.
It's funny, I bet that if any current U.S. military leaders read this and had to reply, he would reply that you don't "understand" the nature of the War on Terror or something, and that we do what we have to in these circumstances to get the troop numbers up.
Mike,
Your point is well-taken that we have proliferated the availability of weapons in Iraq to all the players.
It's a violation of U.S. federal law to produce a weapon w/o a serial number. I'm sure all of the weapons in Iraq have serial numbers; they're just not recorded. this is a niggling point, but you and I are in agreement on the topic,
Thanks for writing and reading.
A.E.,
It's better that they're doing the grafitti there; that way, they don't have to do it here (!)
That reminds me of the old joke of why lieutenants can't have checking account--b/c you can't sign a check with a crayon. No, nothing does change,
Thanks for reading
Kilroy was here.
claymore,
I thought you said you were combat arms, so why would you use a bathroom stall...unless you were in there w/ a can of spray paint? I know day-glo orange would be your choice.
Claymore,
As infantrymen, generally we prefer pictures.
The gays and the crimminals of the U.S should all be given a one way ticket to Iraq. It doesn't matter the gays are going to always bitch about something. Send the bastards on over.
re. "anon": The erudition of our readers never ceases to amaze us.
Perhaps your attitudes should be geared slightly more towards forgiveness, one of the founding principles of this country. Life is hard enough for convicted felons --- even after having served their time, the "collateral damage" as it's called results in few being able to find gainful employment even after higher education has been obtained due to their criminal backgrounds. This can occur years and decades after the original incident. It has been dubbed the digital scarlet letter of our times.
In closing, if a young man or woman has made one grevious mistake, they should not be punished for the remainder of their lives for it. If that same young man or woman feels they can serve their country and can prove they have led a meritous life, why should they not be allowed the opportunity to risk their lives for their country? It is they who have the greatest need to prove they are not terrible people, and should be given the chance.
I am reminded of the biblical verse, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." You may not have been caught by the law when you did your wrong doing or had your moment of error; consider yourself lucky ... but to thine own self be true.
anon,
Certainly you're right--many felons can be rehabilitated. It'd be great if every human could become their best self, but for whatever reasons, that is not possible.
But to suggest a "moment of error" not caught is somehow equatable to a felony conviction, that I won't buy.
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