Time to stock up on Enlistment Forms

[BOSSHOG]

The knuckledraggers and the neanderthals on the radio are beating the drums for war in Iran. Fine.

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/pdf/enlistment.pdf

Give them an enlistment form and offer to drive them to the nearest Army Recruiting Station. I have failed to get one "conservative" to take me up on the offer but the live entertainment when you whip out the form is truly priceless. Also, if you can, swing by the Army recruiting office and ask for some of their business cards and tell them you'd like to help out. If "conservatives" want to support and defend the constitution help them achieve that goal.

[niyad]

1. what a lovely idea--I have just been telling them to enlist and giving

them the address of the nearest recruiting office, but this is so much better!!!

[corkhead]

2. excellent idea.

I would love to have some business cards on hand for any wingnut chickenhawk who spouts off. I do believe they are going undercover, however. I rarely see W stickers on cars anymore. I don't think the koolaid is working as well as it used to. wingnut radio is beating the drum, but I don't expect the same response as we saw in 2003

[LiberalFighter]

26. How about sticking the apps under the wipers of vehicles with W04?

[MADem]

3. There's another way to play this--and Bosshog, you are ESPECIALLY

suited to do it. You go to the recruiter, offer to give him a hand if you happen to meet a likely prospect, and ask for a stack of his cards. He doesn't pay for them, Recruiting Command does. He or she will gladly give you a stack, embossed with the appropriate military seal and all!!!

[BOSSHOG]

5. I got about a hundred Army Cards in my glove compartment

I want to steer the chickenhawks to the Army because that service suffers the most. I occasionally chat with a young lad who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life but offers no political views. I keep a handful of Navy Recruiting Cards for them. And I just enjoy heading down to the recruiting stations (Army, Navy, Air Force all located in the same strip mall) and chit chat and keep in touch. And they just love when I bring them a warm body (only Navy so far.) I've failed in aiding the Army boys.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. We had an especially obnoxious war monger yell at us

last week while we were protesting. He stuck his bald head out the car window and was quite rude.

So I yelled back "Hey the army takes bald guys now". :evilgrin:

[BOSSHOG]

6. Isn't it amazing

You make an effort to keep our kids from getting killed and you are the bad guy.

My hate is rational.

[sce56]

7. 1-800-USA-ARMY or www.GOARMY.com! That is what I sent to Tucker

Yeah! tell them to put there Signature where there mouth is they are now taking 39 year olds!

Been There Done That

[BOSSHOG]

11. Love the pic sce56

I went to Boot in San Diego in the 70's and while the physical aspect of our training was nothing compared to the Marines, the Company Commanders spewed forth salty language all the time. I loved it. You fucking maggots are never going to get off this island. You will never set foot on my ship you fucking slime. Whale shit will be the makeup of your fucking roof. All the good ole days.

[sce56]

14. When I was at a school in Virgina we had a sprinkling of Seabees mixed in

It was a heck of a different tune when one of the ShearBees, he had a habit of shearing the bolts on the Gas turbine by coming in out of synch, would call cadence while double-timing,running for nonmilitary types, something about up on the poopdeck!

[ewoden]

8. you'll also need to give them the following:

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/pdf/DD2807-2.pdf
and

http://usmilitary.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=usmilitary&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mepcom.army.mil%2Fpubs%2Fpdf%2Fforms%2Fdd-2807-1.pdf

The medical prescreening forms, though many Freepers may not pass based on answers to the mental questions.

[havocmom]

9. Thanks BOSSHOG. Getting on to high school graduation time.

Would love to hand them out to some young freeper types about to be released from their cacoons. Also think they would make lovely gifts for the rah-rah-war-squad that graduated 1-3 years ago and cannot find any little foothold in life despite the fact that their hero bush tells them the economy is just peachy. ;) They were all for the war so long as their asses were safe and somebody else's son, dad, husband, grandfather, daughter, mother, wife, granny was doing the fighting.

Now they look so sad and lonely, wandering aimless around town, finding out that they are not as important as they thought they were when people came out to watch The Big Game every weekend. They can't find work to support themselves in the manner to which they think they have a birthright. They could use some pals. The Army would be just the ticket ;)

Seriously, I really grieve for the young people. They don't have much of a future right now. But for the ones who were all gung ho when they were safely occupied here, sign up or shut up! For the ones who challenged anyone who asked pertinent questions about the policy of invading Iraq, called them names and thought them unAmerican, I say, humiliate them by offering up the form when they prattle their talking points. Offer up the forms in front of others and then let the big mouths know YOU will drop them by the recruiters FOR them, ya know, as a kindness for their patriotism and all

:evilgrin:

I saw too many friends off in the 60s & early 70s and didn't get to welcome enough of them home to be gentle with loud mouthed chicken hawk louts who decry dissent as un-American! All for a bit of public humiliation for the die hards who won't learn.

[BOSSHOG]

10. My nephew was in eighth grade when the war started

A war avidly supported by his father (my wife's brother) who never served in the military, and at the time there was no concern for the welfare of the son. Now he's a few months away from becoming a senior in High School. My, my, my how attitudes change.

[havocmom]

13. Noticing that change in attitude around here too.

Lots of those hawkish parental units singing a different tune as the kiddies age and war continues to rage.

And in related news, the building owned by the parents of our county's one KIA (we are a VERY small population) suffered an act of vandalism. Someone dug up the tulips growing in front of the little building. The building is an unused church with an apartment on the second floor. That was where their son had lived before he enlisted, about a year and a half before the invasion.

Somebody dug up the tulips in front of his home... the second anniversary of his death coming right up, along with Mother's Day. Someone dug up the flowers.

There are no words for the rage I feel.

[Ian David]

12. Volunteer for your local draft board

LOCAL BOARDS

A Selective Service Local Board is a group of five citizen volunteers whose mission, upon a draft, will be to decide who among the registrants in their community will receive deferments, postponements, or exemption from military service based on the individual registrant's circumstances and beliefs.

http://www.sss.gov/fslocal.htm

[gratuitous]

15. I got no love for the military

But I have to say that steering these worthless punks toward the recruiters? Even the military doesn't deserve that!

[BOSSHOG]

20. The actions

may just give a punk or two pause for thought. That fighting wars requires more than waving flags and displaying magnets.

[CPMaz]

16. Maybe we should email two forms to the WH -

One for each of the Bush twins.

Maybe if the possibility of losing one or both of his daughters in a war of HIS OWN MAKING would cause W to reexamine the way he has conducted his foreign policy, and even his entire presidency.

Maybe pigs will fly, too.

Never mind.

:banghead:

[anoraksia53]

18. why only 2?

How bout 4 so the whole family gets included. Wouldn't want anyone left out now, would we? O8)

[newyawker99]

19. Hi anoraksia53!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[wicket]

17. Also, print 'em out and put them on windshields of cars w/ Bushco stickers

Thanks Bosshog!

:kick:

[tn-guy]

21. that's a great idea

May I suggest a few others?

Anyone who advocates an improvement in education should be given a teacher's application.
Anyone who wants to improve health care should be given a medical school enrollment application.
Anyone who wants to see the roads improved should be handed a wheel barrow and a load of asphalt.
Anyone who wants to see care for seniors improved should be given a job application from a nursing home.

Gee, this is fun. It's so much better than formulating real arguments that require some actual thinking!

Seriously, inanity like this gives the anti-war movement a bad image. There are plenty of good, rational reasons to oppose war in Iraq or Iran. Why resort to playground tactics?

[BOSSHOG]

23. I must ask

have you ever served? I did 24 years in uniform, served in a combat zone and would not appreciate being put in harms way for political reasons by inept civilian leadership and those reasons supported by yahoos who wave the flag but avoid serving. Much different circumstances than those you've listed, but I've worked in a VA hospital, I've volunteered at a nursing home (horrible experience), I've shoveled asphalt. You mention alot of improvements. Pray tell what are the advocates of war in Iraq, (especially those who don't want to carry a rifle) suggesting we improve? You've obviously memorized your talking points.

[tn-guy]

24. I must answer

I was not a career person as you were but I did spent some time in the Navy. I too currently volunteer time in an assisted living center and have volunteered time in a nursing home in the past.

I'm not defending those who are advocates of war in Iraq. I'm just trying point out the fatuous nature of a line of argument that says only those who have or are willing to serve can advocate for employment of the military.

That argument is a poor one for several reasons:
1. It tends to undermine the concept of civilian control of the military. In other words, if only military veterans are eligible to make decisions to deploy troops (This being the essence of the "Here's your recruiting form," school of thought.) Then it is a short step to the idea that only veterans can serve as President or Senator or Congressman.

2. It falsely posits that being for a certain position necessarily implies a moral obligation to take an active, personal role in the enterprise. That was the particular point that my poor attempt at satire addressed. No one would seriously suggest than advocating for better schools would require one to sign up to be a teacher. It is perfectly natural to want to see schools improve yet not necessarily want to be directly involved in classroom instruction. If you agree with me on that, and I would expect you do, then by analogy one would have to accept that a reasonable person could support a mission requiring troops to be deployed without wanting to don a uniform and shoulder a rifle. Otherwise how could Ms. Albright have advocated for military involvement in the former Yugoslavia?

3. It serves to limit legitimate debate rather than foster it. "You're for the war in Iraq? Why don't you enlist?" is a way to stop a conversation, not start one. If the goal is to inform and persuade others with different points of view, then one should be willing to debate the issue on the merits, not descend into what amounts to a claim that the other person doesn't even have a moral right to hold his position.

4. It undermines other arguments. Advancing such a specious, defective argument naturally causes others to be less receptive to other, potentially more effective arguments. If I go to a store and the items on the first 2 aisles are junk, I tend to look askance at all the other merchandise. Including junk arguments in a discussion on an important subject has a similar effect on those one wishes to persuade. If a person can see the obvious holes in one argument then he will begin to look for the holes in others rather than looking for areas of agreement. That is just human nature.

That being said, I will readily concede that my arguments have validity if, and only if, one wishes to engage in constructive debate with an eye to persuading supporters of the war to change their point of view. If, however; one seeks only to taunt others then handing them an enlistment form is as good a way as any. I guess it all depends on what your goal is.

[BOSSHOG]

27. Let those chickenhawks

keep waving the flag and persuading george bush that he is correct in dragging us through the desert and eventually we will need the draft because there will be fewer Soldiers than flag wavers. Another sad outcome of the actions of "patriots." If one is so damned sure that war is the only way then one should not have to be persuaded to enlist. And, as you suggest, offering an enlistment form does end any discussion. Why is that? In 03, I was called a coward for my position against the war. I was told by a 20 something yahoo that I should join the Army and go to Iraq to prove my love of country. I asked him where he served in the military and he said he hadn't served "yet." I showed him my retiree ID card and that ended the conversation. Its telling that those who advocate peace are willing to march and be spat upon but those who advocate war aren't willing to do a damn thing to aid their "cause." I'll continue to try to persuade war advocates to take up arms and I will continue to fail, not because I don't have conviction and am sincere in my pursuit, it will be because they don't and aren't.

[tn-guy]

28. fair enough

If that's the path you want to take, have at it. As I said, the approach you take depends on your goal.

[BOSSHOG]

29. My goal

is to have our military used as sparingly as possible, with as little death and destruction involved. We should negotiate till the cows come home and then some more with any and all countries with peace as our goal. Those who advocate death and destruction should be willing to join in the fun.

[Kailassa]

25. Don't forget to add that you shouldn't climb trees because

seaweed is not very strong.

Last I heard ....

Improving education is beneficial to society and does not cost the lives of 1000s of Americans and 100s of 1000s of Iraqis.

Improving health care is beneficial to society and does not cost the lives of 1000s of Americans and 100s of 1000s of Iraqis.

Improving roads is beneficial to society and does not cost the lives of 1000s of Americans and 100s of 1000s of Iraqis.

Improving care for seniors is beneficial to society and does not cost the lives of 1000s of Americans and 100s of 1000s of Iraqis.

If you want someone to kill and die for a lie, go do it yourself.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Done that

you are right, the entertainment IS priceless. Did it to a couple yuong Pubbies that are ahem fighttng the war of ideas in this country. Put form in open hands, and told them, dead pan... go enlist and fight in the real war you wanted.

I have other ...

Yep priorities, then raised my voice so it could carry. And here ladies and Gents is a prime example of cowardise, ask others to die, so you can drive your SUV.

They were ANGRY I tell you, and people starting snickering... I walked away... they had forms in hand, but if they put them in trash the ribbing from other college students was sure to follow.