http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002449.html


Alito: Where were you in '72?
A lot has been said this morning about Samuel Alito, President Bush's
nominee for the Supreme Court, and his impeccable legal resume. Well,
here's one portion of his resume we hope gets some very, very close
scrutiny over the next few weeks, before his confirmation hearings.

Where were you in '72?

Specifically, what were the circumstances of Alito getting a coveted
slot in the Army Reserves that year, while the Vietnam War was still
raging? Is Alito yet another "chickenhawk" who avoided the war and now
will be deciding on life-or-death cases involving our young men and
women fighting in Iraq and elsewhere today?

We don't know the answer -- it's only been about four hours since Bush
nominated Altio to replace Sandra Day O'Connor -- but it's a question
that needs to be asked, especially in light over the controversies
over how Bush and ***** Cheney avoided Vietnam.

Alito was born on April Fool's Day -- April 1, 1950. He entered
Princeton University as an undergrad in 1968, the year of the Tet
Offensive, at a time when there was still a college deferment for the
draft. That meant that full-time students working toward a degree were
not in jeopardy of being sent to Vietnam.

However, in 1971 Congress voted to essentially end the college
deferment, and by then the U.S. Selective Service had switched to a
draft lottery -- the higher your number, based upon your birthday, the
more likely that you would be drafted.

In February 1972, the service held its draft lottery for 1973
inductions -- and Alito, in essence, lost. His birthday, April 1, came
up as No. 12 that year, a certain ticket to induction, or so it
seemed.

In fact, the draft class of 1973 would never be called. The U.S.
involvement in Vietnam was substantially winding down in 1972, to just
49,000 troops from a high in the 1960s of more than half a million.
But as Richard Nixon's Christmas bombings that year showed, no one had
a crystal ball to predict the final American withdrawal at the start
of 1973.

By then, young Sam Alito -- who was graduating Princeton on his way to
Yale Law School -- was already in the Army Reserves, which, as this
article notes, "became a haven for those avoiding service in Vietnam."
The future judge served in the reserves until 1980 and left with the
rank of captain.

How did he get that coveted slot? The judge's father, Sam Alito Sr.,
was the director of New Jersey's Office of Legislative Services in
1972, so he surely knew some powerful politicians. Did someone make a
phone call? We're curious.

The Vietnam War was an immoral enterprise, just like the current
military misadventure, and many people -- including some who became
outstanding public servants -- took measures to avoid fighting it.
Still, it's troubling that so many of our current leadership is
comprised of "chickenhawks," eager to throw military weight around now
that their own generation's turn is over.

That list includes Bush, whose convoluted history with the Texas Air
National Guard during the Vietnam period has hovered over his
presidency, and Cheney, who had "other priorities" during Vietnam. And
in the next few years, we expect the Supreme Court will render key
rulings on cases involving their military actions in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Gitmo or elsewhere.

That's why we need to find out if Alito is a bird of the same feather.

NOTE: Since publishing this, several readers who were exposed to the
draft lottery and know more than we do said that Alito's exposure to
the draft lottery came in 1969, not 1972. That said, the number in
that lottery for April 1 was an also very high No. 35, also very much
in the inductee zone. So that doesn't make us any less interested in
the story of how he found his way into the Reserves.

UPDATE: From the AP:
Alito joined the Army ROTC at Princeton. In 1972, one year before the
military draft ended but while the Vietnam War was still raging, he
was one of nine in his class to receive a commission in the Army
Reserve. He was discharged in 1980 as a captain.


Yang

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002449.html


Alito: Where were you in '72?
A lot has been said this morning about Samuel Alito, President Bush's
nominee for the Supreme Court, and his impeccable legal resume. Well,
here's one portion of his resume we hope gets some very, very close
scrutiny over the next few weeks, before his confirmation hearings.

Where were you in '72?

Specifically, what were the circumstances of Alito getting a coveted
slot in the Army Reserves that year, while the Vietnam War was still
raging? Is Alito yet another "chickenhawk" who avoided the war and now
will be deciding on life-or-death cases involving our young men and
women fighting in Iraq and elsewhere today?

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002449.html


Alito: Where were you in '72?
A lot has been said this morning about Samuel Alito, President Bush's
nominee for the Supreme Court, and his impeccable legal resume. Well,
here's one portion of his resume we hope gets some very, very close
scrutiny over the next few weeks, before his confirmation hearings.

Where were you in '72?

Specifically, what were the circumstances of Alito getting a coveted
slot in the Army Reserves that year, while the Vietnam War was still
raging? Is Alito yet another "chickenhawk" who avoided the war and now
will be deciding on life-or-death cases involving our young men and
women fighting in Iraq and elsewhere today?

We don't know the answer -- it's only been about four hours since Bush
nominated Altio to replace Sandra Day O'Connor -- but it's a question
that needs to be asked, especially in light over the controversies
over how Bush and ***** Cheney avoided Vietnam.

Alito was born on April Fool's Day -- April 1, 1950. He entered
Princeton University as an undergrad in 1968, the year of the Tet
Offensive, at a time when there was still a college deferment for the
draft. That meant that full-time students working toward a degree were
not in jeopardy of being sent to Vietnam.

However, in 1971 Congress voted to essentially end the college
deferment, and by then the U.S. Selective Service had switched to a
draft lottery -- the higher your number, based upon your birthday, the
more likely that you would be drafted.

In February 1972, the service held its draft lottery for 1973
inductions -- and Alito, in essence, lost. His birthday, April 1, came
up as No. 12 that year, a certain ticket to induction, or so it
seemed.

In fact, the draft class of 1973 would never be called. The U.S.
involvement in Vietnam was substantially winding down in 1972, to just
49,000 troops from a high in the 1960s of more than half a million.
But as Richard Nixon's Christmas bombings that year showed, no one had
a crystal ball to predict the final American withdrawal at the start
of 1973.

By then, young Sam Alito -- who was graduating Princeton on his way to
Yale Law School -- was already in the Army Reserves, which, as this
article notes, "became a haven for those avoiding service in Vietnam."
The future judge served in the reserves until 1980 and left with the
rank of captain.

How did he get that coveted slot? The judge's father, Sam Alito Sr.,
was the director of New Jersey's Office of Legislative Services in
1972, so he surely knew some powerful politicians. Did someone make a
phone call? We're curious.

The Vietnam War was an immoral enterprise, just like the current
military misadventure, and many people -- including some who became
outstanding public servants -- took measures to avoid fighting it.
Still, it's troubling that so many of our current leadership is
comprised of "chickenhawks," eager to throw military weight around now
that their own generation's turn is over.

That list includes Bush, whose convoluted history with the Texas Air
National Guard during the Vietnam period has hovered over his
presidency, and Cheney, who had "other priorities" during Vietnam. And
in the next few years, we expect the Supreme Court will render key
rulings on cases involving their military actions in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Gitmo or elsewhere.

That's why we need to find out if Alito is a bird of the same feather.

NOTE: Since publishing this, several readers who were exposed to the
draft lottery and know more than we do said that Alito's exposure to
the draft lottery came in 1969, not 1972. That said, the number in
that lottery for April 1 was an also very high No. 35, also very much
in the inductee zone. So that doesn't make us any less interested in
the story of how he found his way into the Reserves.

UPDATE: From the AP:
Alito joined the Army ROTC at Princeton. In 1972, one year before the
military draft ended but while the Vietnam War was still raging, he
was one of nine in his class to receive a commission in the Army
Reserve. He was discharged in 1980 as a captain.







-----

Yang
a.a. #28
AthD (h.c.) conferred by the regents of the LCL
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Sorcery Division
Proudly plonked by Lani Girl and Crazyalec (aka