Carl Campanile writing for the New York Post:
"U.S. military recruiters have the authority to demand that education officials turn over the names, addresses and phone numbers of high-school students under a new federal law."
"President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" law orders school bosses from New York and across the country to comply with the new edict – or risk losing federal funds."
Of course, the neocons are in favor of this type of invasive nonsense, and those opposed will be labelled as "anti-American" and "unpatriotic". Whatever the Hell that means.
I did my time in the military (USMC) and yet I oppose mandatory disclosure of student information to any military recruiter. Why? They have no demonstrable RIGHT to that information. The standard neocon argument is of course, that it doesn't hurt anyone for the military to contact kids about military service so everyone should just shut up and conform to their warped sense of entitlement to any data about anyone at anytime. They have yet to explain WHY they have the RIGHT to force schools to turn over that data to military recruiters. Just because they want it, isn't close to being a valid reason. There is no constitutional right giving the military free access to this data.
There are, however, many reasons that they shouldn't have the data. First, it violates an individual's right to privacy. Second, it makes establishing a draft database extremely easy, which is, of course, the real reason that the Administration wants the data in the first place. Third, it's none of their damn business. Fourth, if kids are interested in military service, they know it's out there. They've seen the commercials on television and in movie theaters for years. It's not like kids won't know about this career option without a recruiter calling them at home.
Look, I don't have anything against recruiters. I knew many while I was in the Corps and I have no ambivalence towards my friends in the recruiting MOS. It's a tough job, with demanding quotas and relentless competition from the other services. That said, it is a voluntary MOS, meaning only those who want it get selected. No one is forced into the recruiting field. The best recruiters get out and meet people, walk the streets, go to malls in dress blues and talk to kids in multiple venues, in addition to the old-school methods of going to high school graduations and administering ASVAB tests. Those recruiters who do these things consistently, in addition to using word of mouth through recent recruits, will do well. When I enlisted in October of 1988, I didn't do it as a result of a phone call or a flyer from a recruiter. I went to the recruiting station myself. Why? Two of my uncles had been Marines, in addition to family friends. I'd seen the recruiting commercials and brochures in post offices for years and knew a little bit of what the Corps was about. My recruiter got one more number towards his quota and I got a one-way ticket out of small-town hell.
And no one had to send my principal a court order or violate my privacy. What's so hard about that?