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Latest Answers http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/latest/%2A/5/%2A/%2A a view of answers sorted by date en That's a great question. I don't know the answer but I'd like to find out myself. That's a great question. The thing is he may have just been spewing poison and bitterness but it would be interesting to know what he had to say. If he had any remorse for all the people that had been killed and raped and maimed and tortured on his watch. But that would be a good question and I'll try to find that out. That's a good question. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3B%2526%2523039%3Bs-great-question.-i-don%2526%2523039%3Bt-know-answer-i%2526%2523039%3Bd-find-out-myself.-%2526%2523039%3Bs- http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3B%2526%2523039%3Bs-great-question.-i-don%2526%2523039%3Bt-know-answer-i%2526%2523039%3Bd-find-out-myself.-%2526%2523039%3Bs-#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:18:19 -0500 amukherjee 1544 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org First I was secretary of the navy during the period of time that this country laid the foundation, 1973, 74, to eliminate the draft. And I know the reasons why we eliminated the draft. We took the chance as a nation that we could raise sufficient troops on the all volunteer concept and that has worked and worked far better than any of us ever thought. And today wherever we are in the world defending freedom it is people in uniform who are there because they raised their hand and they volunteered. I can not in my judgment see anyone in the foreseeable future coming to the presidency who would want to reinstitute the draft. Period. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/first-i-was-secretary-navy-during-period-time-country-laid-foundation%2C-1973%2C-74%2C-eliminate-d http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/first-i-was-secretary-navy-during-period-time-country-laid-foundation%2C-1973%2C-74%2C-eliminate-d#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:16:37 -0500 1514 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org I think it’s time to bring troops home from Iraq and not institute the draft. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3Bi-think-it%2526amp%3Brsquo%3Bs-time-bring-troops-home-iraq-and-not-institute-draft.%2526lt%3B/p%2526g Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:09:38 -0500 1512 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org They produce a lot of potatoes over there, I know that. There is very little their soil is actually conducive for agriculture. They do have some irrigated ground down in the south around Basra but, you know, most of that was drained or flooded by Saddam Hussein. I don’t know if they’ve ever gotten that infrastructure back yet. Not a whole lot of agriculture takes place in Iraq. There’s a lot of desert there, so they don’t have the water infrastructure either, is the problem. I mean I couldn’t…I’m just not sure. I think they have the starch they have a lot of starch the only thing would be potatoes that I know of at least at this point but they certainly don’t do any corn or soybeans or anything like that or wheat which would be our traditional crops. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3Bthey-produce-lot-potatoes-over-there%2C-i-know-.-there-very-little-their-soil-actuall Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:14:58 -0500 Robin Wright 1386 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org Rep. Cannon: In the first place the problem with classified briefings is that you don’t learn anything. But then you’re stuck with stuff that you’ve heard that you don’t want to say out of context. So I read extensively and I’ve gone to classified briefings half a dozen times – that is, I’ve only skipped two or three of them frankly bc nothing is said there that’s really important. The really important things actually are available to the public if you look and read and so I educate myself extensively on these topics. And some particulars, like the issues that are related to the lawsuits by some trial lawyers against the telephone companies for their participation in some of the data gathering that’s been done in the past. I know a lot about the lawsuits. I know something about how the procedures and practices, methods and practices work there. Uh, because I can infer that and I know what I don’t want done there. But I don’t think I need to know the particulars… when the particulars are not important except to our enemies. And the whole point here is to keep our enemies from knowing those things and to have a system that allows for the government to do these things with the right authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which is the issue that’s really important. It’s allowing our intelligence-gathering agencies to have the war authority they need to gather information. If there was an area where I needed to know something to represent my constituents, I would go. But generally there’s not much info you get about the Iraq War or what’s going on in Afghanistan from a secured, classified briefing. In fact, you get a lot more from the open sources that we have today. Johnson: It’s a striking response because of course that’s entirely counter-intuitive. And isn’t it a little risky to make that judgment a priori? I mean, you haven’t actually- you don’ know what you might hear. Cannon: Well. Remember that the people who go to these hearings are members of Congress. Members of Congress represent the people of the United States, by which I mean not only do we represent but we’re like the people of the United States. Meaning that the presentation by the people who do these classified hearings is geared toward people who are pretty normal. And so not much- I’ve been to enough to make a wise decision that’s based on information that I’m going to get more benefit from my time by reading and looking at the Internet than I’m going to get from someone who’s talking to a whole lot of people who have an IQ of about 100. http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/answers/%2526lt%3Bp%2526gt%3B%2526lt%3Bb%2526gt%3Brep.-cannon%3A%2526lt%3B/b%2526gt%3B-first-place-problem-classified-briefings-you-don%E2%80%99t- Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:25:00 -0500 EW Johnson 1253 at http://www.askyourlawmaker.org