November 26, 2005

Leave My Child Alone!

Leave My Child Alone!
The New Recruitment
It is not a surprising confluence of events — opinion polls show support for the Iraq War waning and military recruiters working harder to fill their quotas. In November, 2005, the Government Accountability Office released a study which showed, "the military is falling far behind in its effort to recruit and re-enlist soldiers for some of the most vital combat positions in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The June 2005 issue of HARPER'S MAGAZINE published some excerpts from a high school recruiting manual. Among the instructions: "Contact the seniors in the early spring. The end of their lives as high school students is approaching fast. This is the time reality sets in. For some it is clear that college is not an option. If you can make the appointment for a sales presentation on the first contact, then do so." The manual suggests frequent re-contacting of students throughout their high school years.
Read the manual online. *pdf

Leave My Child Alone!
Advocacy group opposed to the release of information through the No Child Left Behind Act.
Read full story:

Did you know…
... that the notorious No Child Left Behind Act includes a sneaky section that requires high schools to turn over private information on students to military recruiters?
And that the Pentagon has created an illegal database of 30 million 16-25 year-olds, including names, addresses, email addresses, cell phone numbers, ethnicities, social security numbers, extracurricular activities, and areas of study?
Yikes. What do we do? Any way you look at it, this is a family privacy nightmare, another strong-arming of our local schools, and a creepy warm-up to a possible draft. However, it's also a great reason to get together and take action.
So, whether you're a parent, teacher, school administrator, veteran or just another adamant American concerned about privacy rights, look for an action that you like and JOIN US!
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The Costs of War, A Mother's View