I don't know why I bother, but I occasionally watch The West Wing on NBC. Tonight's episode included a conversation between a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and "Toby Ziegler" about reinstating the draft in order to somehow make the military more racially and economically balanced. They also said that military service was the only choice for some; the other choice would be a McDonalds uniform.

Well, according to this article, it appears that the composition of the military is diverse. It may not match the exact ratios of the racial composition of the nation according to the census. However, everyone enlisted serves by choice. There are no deferments for the elite; no draft dodgers. The level of professionalism of today's force is far greater than the Vietnam era military.

I became a computer programmer while serving in the Air Force from 1975 until 1979. I learned my skills well enough to join EDS, then a company known as Raychem, then Doelz Networks (a data communications startup), Apple Computer, GO Corporation (a pioneer in pen-based computing), and finally Microsoft. I would never have achieved what I did without that founding experience in the Air Force.

I served with all sorts of people during those years. It was tough; Vietnam had just ended, the economy was bad, almost anything was more popular than the military. However, if anything, our isolation had a positive effect. All of us felt a strong bond with one another. It was the closest experience to the feeling that I get from my family that I've ever felt.

NBC doesn't provide e-mail addresses for The West Wing on its web site--at least, that I could find. I'd certainly like to give them a piece of my mind on this issue. Shilling for Charlie Rangel's loony draft reinstatement idea makes no more sense in Bartlett-land than it does in real life.

Perhaps their overt left slant during these times accounts for their ratings decline. Or perhaps it's for this reason href="http://espn.go.com/page2/s/merron/021024.html"