The Star Tribune yesterday ran a piece –and, indeed, had it posted prominently on its website for most of the day- about how there are “rumors” of the return of the military draft, and that lots of young people are scared about it.
Where’d the rumors come from? “Mass e-mails and internet sites.” That’s it. Cited specifically, and debunked, was that meme from a few weeks ago about how a bill was in Congress to reinstate the draft, even though those who spread it apparently were unaware that said bill was 18 months old.
People, you can rest easy- there are no plans for a draft, and it doesn’t appear there will be for the foreseeable future. And since when were “mass e-mails and internet sites” grounds for a front-page story in a major daily newspaper? By that rationale, the Strib should be writing prominent stories, all the time, about Nigerian princes giving away money.
Tell me again why this story wasn’t killed in the planning stages?
Posted by Stephen Silver at June 25, 2004 08:19 AM