What the heck is this guy talking about?

I'm no fan of the Iraq war, but this is absolutely ridiculous! He claims that the Iraq war is a "Death Tax" because 25% of the Americas killed have been black or hispanic. Strangely enough, that's about exactly the ratio of blacks and hispanics to the general US population.

"This is not a shared sacrifice" Rangel said. Well, it if you want to manipulate numbers, then you better make you can make them say what you want.

He later makes the point that many of the soldiers come from communities with high unemployment, which I have no doubt is true. Many of these soldiers are taking advantage of guaranteed work and bountiful benefits in order to better themselves and their families. That's honorable. I applaud them for that. Many a wayward young man has gone into the military and come out a fine citizen with an array of opportunities in front of him. Now that the military is more open to women, many are finding new skills and new horizons available. Rangel wants to re-instate the draft, which would force those who don't want or need to be in the military into service, while denying those who need the positions access to the best positions and training.

So far, we've proven that a volunteer armed forces can work. Lets leave that alone.