Alas, a Blog

Do to overwhelming (well, nonexistant) demand, I’ve decided to make some “Alas” merchandise available.

No, really.

Please check out my “storefront” on Cafepress. There’s tee shirts, tree ornaments, mousepads, infant clothing, and some other stuff (my favorites are the coffee mug and especially the wall clock). If you know someone especially unfussy, some of these could make good Christmas gifts, I suppose. Stranger things have happened..

Some days being a libertarian would almost make sense. From Bloggity Blog-Blog-Blog:

A more detailed account, written by the comic book store owner, is also on Laura’s blog.

This is a frightening case. I’ve been around comic book shops enough to know that virtually no comic book shop is taxed this way by the IRS – and if they were, virtually no comic book store would still exist. There may be more information which makes the IRS’ position look reasonable, but as far as I can tell, this is genuinely a case of the IRS driving a small businesswoman into bankruptcy for no reason.

Dirk Deppey has more information. He also requests that Washington residents drop a quick, polite note to their senators asking that they intervene – check out his post for more info..

On marijuiana decriminalization, that is.

You can read the entire thing on Kucinich’s official website.

It depresses me, because Kucinich’s position – which I consider common sense, and which is supported by 40% of Americans, according to a Time/CNN poll – could only be taken by an outsider with no chance of winning the election. For most of the American public, decriminalizing pot is a policy option that reasonable people can disagree on; but for our political system, it’s the equivilent of proposing legislation requiring everyone to constuct and wear tin-foil hats to defend America from the forthcoming invasion from Alpha Centori.

(Said in “stoner” voice:) Our system is soooo fucked up..

Okay, it’s time for the second annual Koufax awards! These are the awards for “left-wing blogs” in particular (last year, I won the award for best blog design).

My favorite thing about these awards is that – hopefully – it’s a chance for folks to highlight great posts from 2003 that we’ve all forgotten about. There’s a tendency for the blogoverse to have a very short memory….

Anyhow, head on over there to make nominations, if you want to (note that we’re not voting yet – just making nominations – but not every nomination will make it to the voting ballot, so if you like something that’s already been nominated, re-nominate it yourself). You’re allowed to nominate more than one thing per catagory, if you want to. And if you’re a blogger, you’re encouraged to nominate yourself – in particular, for the “best post,” “best series,” and “best new blog” catagories.

Here are my nominations. I really suggest following the links, if you have time – these posts are really great reads, imo.

Best Blog: Nathan Newman.
Body and Soul

Best Writing: Body and Soul.
Pedantry

Best Single Post (I’ve emphasized posts that are over a few months old here, since I think people may have forgotten about some of these)

Jack Bog has come up with the coolest “trolling for hits” scheme ever. For every click he gets today – up to 1,000 hits – he’ll donate a buck to the Oregon Food Bank.

Now, as it happens Alas usually gets 1,000 visitors here on Wednesdays. So if everyone who reads this post would also try out Jack’s blog (which is, by the way, a top-notch blog – it’s been on my blogroll, in the “Oregon” section, for ages) that would send $1000 to the Oregon Food Bank. Would that be cool or what?.

Ted Rall does a pretty good job of rounding up the facts of what’s going on with the Selective Service System these days in addition to speculating about whether or not the draft will be reinstated and when.

The draft has been on my mind a lot since just before the United States invaded Iraq because I’m in that 18-26 age bracket that the draft applies to and happen to think that the war in Iraq is pointless and morally reprehensible.

I’ve always thought that not having a draft was a good way to keep a nation’s imperial ambitions in check because before they invaded another country it would be necessary to figure out if they have enough troops to make it happen. Apparently that check didn’t work out so well this time, though. Now the U.S. is in a situation in which I think it’s pretty obvious that it doesn’t have the boots on the ground needed to accomplish its objectives, so if things heat up more (or if we invade another country) I don’t think it’s unrealistic to believe that the draft could be reinstated.

There is, undoubtedly, sexual and economic factors that play into the draft. Only men are drafted, and those men tend to be from lower classes because men of higher economic classes can afford the easiest way to get a deferment: college enrollment. This economic underpinning has an inevitable racial impact as minorities generally make less money than whites.

I’ve noticed that there seem to be three schools of thought when it comes to the draft:

• Those who think that the draft is always wrong because nations should not be fighting wars that do not have popular support and a war with true popular support would not, theoretically, need a draft.
• Those who think that a draft is wrong in an “unjust” war–Vietnam is the most common example–but is acceptable in a “just” war–World War II being the most common example.
• Those who think that the draft is always acceptable because if you live in the United States you should be willing to defend the United States in all of its endevors.

If you indulge your fear and pessimism for a moment, it’s not hard to imagine a situation in which the war in Iraq (or potential conflicts in the other places where the United States is at tense odds with another country, like North Korea) could become a “just” war. For example, I think most people would support invading North Korea if they nuked Portland (in which case, come to think of it, many of you wouldn’t have to worry about the draft any more) or letting slip the dogs of war on Syria if a Syrian terrorist let loose some nasty chemical or biological weapons in, say, Washington D.C.

But what if Syria attacked Israel, or North Korea attacked South Korea or Japan? I think more people would call the subsequent invasion a “just” war and wouldn’t have a problem reinstating the draft.

I can’t help but think, though, bitterly, that the people who would most vocally support reinstating the draft (even for the current situation in Iraq, but certainly in the case of a “just” war) are people too old to serve or well-off enough that they, or their children, are safely tucked away in college.

So, Alas readers, male and female, left and right, what do you think of the draft? If it comes up, what will you do? Would a change in the situation in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world change your reaction?

Ted Rall article found via Raznor’s Rants..