9/16/04 - Issue 2 of The End Times has just been published. It
includes some terrific art, two stories, and a collection of poetry.

Today's my birthday. My mother-in-law asked me if I feel like an old
man. I'm not against getting old, it's part of life. Maybe my opinion
will change in twenty years. The younger a person is the harder it is
for them to get respect in the workplace. People ask me why I have a
beard when it makes me look older. I always reply that older is often
better. Unfortunately, there is an age when the attitude reverses. No
company wants to invest in a person who might retire or need to leave
for health reasons.

New draft legislation (bills: S89 and HR 163) is currently being
planned in both the house and senate. This legislation will make
people more eligible to be drafted then ever before. It will also
allow women to be drafted. While it may be fair or equal for women to
be subjected to the draft it's illogical and uncivilized. If we draft
women in a prolonged war of over twenty years we would have a net
population loss. If our opponents did not draft women we would
quickly tip the balance in our opponents favor! This is also a
potentially destructive action against families. If both parents of a
child are drafted then the traditional family structure will be
broken. Being forced to grow up with one parent can be difficult on a
child, being forced to grow up with neither is devastating.

Some people hypothesize that if these bills are passed and Bush is re-
elected the draft will be re-instated as early as 2005. If my son is
at risk of being drafted to fight a war of aggression (like the
current war) I will not hesitate to move to another country.

Bush senior caused 9/11. During his time with the CIA he supplied Al
Quida with weapons so that they would fight the Russians. Giving
weapons to a third world nation is not a humanitarian act. When Bush
senior attacked Iraq for oil in the first Gulf war Osama bin Laden
became angry with the United States. His revenge for Bush senior's
war was the 9/11 attacks. Now Bush senior's shadow of a son has us
fighting again. Our country is not just fighting for terrorism or
Iraqi freedom, the fighting is to make some of us rich. Our Vice
President, Dick Cheney, worked for Halliburton, an oil services
corporation, and stands to make a substantial amount of money from
the war efforts. Some people are quick to point out that our
president's grandfather made money working with Nazis. While it may
not be as drastic, it should be noted that the Kennedy fortune was
made from illegal importation of alcohol. Dr. Condoleezza Rice,
National Security Advisor, served on Chevron's board of directors.

You can write to your senator about the draft legislation via
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
and your congressional representative via
http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.html.