Watergate runoff ''m&mimrrtMww6t:Cm
It is becoming more apparent every day that the
time is long overdue for us to reconsider our
evaluation of the significance and meaning of the
Watergate affair. In truth, the Watergate bugging
incident may turn out to be the greatest contribution
in several decades to the two-party political system in
America.
The continually unfolding Watergate story has
done more to revitalize the Democratic Party than
anything since the Great Depression.
More importantly, the Watergate scandal has
removed some of the smug arrogance from the
countenances and attitudes of President Nixon and
the men with whom he surrounds himself. Men who
just a few weeks ago were smiling malignantly from
the front covers of national news magazines are now
busy writing resignations.
The Watergate Affair has shown what can happen
when any one man becomes as powerful as President
Nixon has made himseif during the past four years.
There is little dispute that the convicted Watergate
defendants thought they were doing a job that
expressed their loyalty to a man who seems to want
his aides to view him as a reigning king.
The Watergate disclosures also demonstrate the
insecurity of Nixon and his palace guard. The
Watergate Affair has shown the American people a
strange schizophrenic portrait of their president. It
presents the question of why a man who is so
publicly self confident and condescending is privately
insecure enough to condone illegal espionage.
Tom Lansworth
Draft may return
!! Zulus i has been a counselor for the Lincoln Draft
Infoinuition Service lor three years He is a conscientious
tor currently performing alternative service.
suggestion
ox
OljjVt
by Sam Zeleski
Possibly for ih- first time in many years, significant
numbers of men no lonwr worry daily about the draft.
Foimer t ). Sec. M.'lvm Laird and President Nixon both
I'HM.at'-d they see no need to ask for renewal of drafting
durlionty which w.H expoe June 30. Hence, inductions are not
an nnmed'aK- thiei.it.
However, the entire Military Selective Service Act,
excepting induction authority, remains in effect, at least until
repealed by Concjress. This means that the Administration
could seek renewal of diaftmg authority after June 30, on the
basis of a crisis (real or imagined), or a drop in reserve
manpower or ??? Recent information indicated local
recruiters are only about 50 per cent successful in meeting
their quotas. Remember at no time did anyone in the
Administration state that there will never be a further need for
the draft A candid observation of present world conflicts (i.e.,
Cambodia and the Middle East) would suggest the strong
probability of a military draft in the forseeable future.
i n r7 n f 7f :
'Well, we can't say they didn't respond to our amnesty petition.
Tn fnnns throuah this perspective onto the level of the
individual, it's possible to see a man assuming a false sense of
security. Everyone is celebrating his good fortune in outlasting
the draft (for now). Our P.O.W's are home (are they all
home?), the war in Vietnam is over (or is it?), people are
concerned about jobs and the high price of meat not about
war and the military.
It is imperative for all of us, men and women both, to
remember the thorn may be out of our flesh for the moment,
but we are still standing in the briar patch. A wary eye on the
Selective Service System may keep you from getting stuck
aqam.
There are two levels at which people ought to work. First,
be aware of the present status of the draft and its implications
for your personal life. (See summary below). Second, attack
the overall problem which brought us the draft. Work for the
repeal of the Military Selective Service Act. Better still, work
to remove the causes of strife between people of different
countries. That way, we may be able to reassure such people in
the military who support the present Administration that
there is no real need for a draft, armies or war.
Minimally, make every effort to thwart moves to bring the
military closer to home. Resist extensions of ROTC into high
schools; oppose any notion of compulsory civilian
service. Let's try to make people realize that a commitment
of loyalty to one's own people should not also be a
commitment against people of different countries.
Draft policy changes
The following summary of Selective Service System process
is adapted from Draft Counselor's Newsletter, 1973 Issue, No.
2. The newsletter is published by the Central Committee for
Conscientious Objection.
No induction orders are to be issued, and all postponed
induction orders are cancelled. Men who get cancellations also
will get reopenings and thus have full personal appearance and
appeal rights. Exceptions are: men who have already refused
induction, failed to report or committed some other draft
offense may be offered induction in lieu of prosecution;
imprisoned draft violators may be offered immediate parole if
they will accept induction; certain unsatisfactory reservists will
continue to be certified for punitive inductions and men
whose inductions were postponed by court order.
No one may volunteer for the draft, that is, inducted for a
two year hitch voluntarily. Enlistment is different from
volunteering for the draft. Usually enlistment is for 4 years.
All outstanding alternative service work orders for C.O.'s
including postponed orders and orders under which men have
already reported, are to be cancelled if the reporting date is
Dec. 12, 1972 or later. If a CO. was to report for alternative
service prior to Dec. 12, 1972, he is still legally bound by the
orders.
No physicals are being gi All orders for physicals are
cancelled. No volunteering tor physicals. Registration of
18-year-olds is still required 30 days before or after the 18th
birthdayy.
No personal appearances of appeals, except: 1) doctors,
dentists, and allied medical specialists; and 2) men born in
1953 with lottery numbers 1 through 100; 3) men born in
1954 with lottery numbers 1 through 20.
Men in extended Priority and First Priority (if born prior to
1952) will be moved to the less vulnerable Second Priority
group and classified 1-H. Men born in 1952 or earlier with
deferments or exemptions will be classified 1-H and put in
Second Priority.
Men in ROTC should check the provisions of their
commitment or contract, before dropping out J
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, april 25, 1973