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WORD COUNT
315
JANUARY 4, 2006
THE ARMY KNOWS WHERE
YOU LIVE – by Jim Hightower
Hey, youngsters–Uncle
Sam not only wants you, he's got your number!
Not yet sure what you
want to do in life? Why not get paid and see an exotic part of the world
while you're getting it all together? Yes, you could summer in sunny
Iraq...and be a part of our exciting occupation forces there, where
there's never a dull moment!
If you are 16 to 25
years old, chances are you'll soon be receiving such a sales pitch from
the Army. How will recruiters find you? Easy–thanks to a new database
secretly built by the Pentagon, they know where you live. They also know
your phone number. And your social security number, your email address,
your height and weight, your grades in school, your ethnicity...and so
much more.
The Pentagon's "Joint
Advertising Market Research Studies Division" (did you know they had one
of those?) brags that this superdandy database is "arguably the largest
repository of 16-to-25-year-old youth data in the country, containing
roughly 30 million records." It includes the names and personal info on
3.1 million graduating high school seniors and 4.7 million college
students-possibly including you or someone you know. All this is to be
used to target, reach, and recruit young folks to fill the troop quotas
for George W's war in Iraq.
There are, however,
two little glitches with the Pentagon's sweeping new database. First, it
was illegally compiled. Officials began building it three years ago
without giving public notice and allowing public comment-a flagrant
violation of the Federal Privacy Act. Second, (and more alarming to
mothers and fathers) the private data allows military recruiters to
intrude surreptitiously into people's homes and put a sales job on their
children. As one appalled mom says: "It's a direct shot to someone's
child without consent from a parent."
To help shut down
this illegal, intrusive database, call the Electronic Privacy
Information Center: 202-483-1140.
--
Jim Hightower is the best-selling author
of "Thieves In High Places: They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time To
Take It Back," on sale now from Viking Press.
www.jimhightower.com -- A photo of Jim Hightower is available
CLICK HERE
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