Lawmaker Wants Lower Soldier Drinking Age

From JR ROSS, Associated Press Writer

One Wisconsin lawmaker figures if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.

State Rep. Mark Pettis, a Republican who served in the Navy, is pushing a bill that would drop the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers — but only if the federal government agrees it will not yank an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.

A federal law ties federal highway dollars to compliance by the states with the required drinking age of 21.

"We're treating these young men and women as adults when they're at war. But we treat them like teenagers when they're here in the states," he said.

Pettis admits his proposal will be a tough sell unless Wisconsin gets the federal government's approval — or at least permission to start a pilot program to prove it will not cause more accidents or other problems opponents associate with a younger drinking age.

Wisconsin transportation officials say the federal government has told them there is no process to apply for a waiver from the drinking age requirement, and creating one would likely take an act of Congress.

The bill would create an exemption for 19- and 20-year-old soldiers from Wisconsin — but not for soldiers from out of state. A valid military ID along with a Wisconsin driver's license or identification card would be required.

A committee is expected to send the bill to the full Assembly for consideration next week, and Gov. Jim Doyle has said he supports it — as long as Wisconsin does not lose any federal highway money.

The Wisconsin chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has lobbied against the bill. Its executive director, Kari Kinnard, said statistics show there have been fewer highway fatalities, injuries and other problems associated with alcohol since the mandatory minimum went into effect in the 1980s.

She also said research shows the brain has not fully developed until people reach age 21. "It's for their own protection," Kinnard said.

If thier brains are not fully developed until the age of 21, why is it that we allow them to make other life important decisions such as voting (18), getting married (as young as 14 in some states), and enlisting in the military (17 with parental permission). There are guys here who have DIED for thier country without even having the freedom to have a beer with thier dad before deploying. The federal government strong arms the states (read blackmail) into being politically correct on this one issue but allows less responsible people vote and get married. Something is truly wrong with this picture.

Latest Polls Re: Iraq

This was reported today from AP:

"The majority of America must then be liberals, judging from recent public opinion polls. Iraq tops the list of American concerns in the latest Gallup poll, with three-fourths of those respondents advocating an immediate withdrawal. Sixty-four percent of conservative Democrats in a Pew survey want the troops brought home as soon as possible. And fifty-seven percent of Americans told CNN/USA Today/Gallup that the Iraq war was not worth fighting."

Is America losing patience?

Fallujah Fire and Rescue May 2005

Our Current count is 17 Firefighters and 3 Officers. Our TOE calls for 23 Firefighters and 3 staff officers. We are still shorthanded and we are losing one officer in the next 3 weeks as his contract is expiring and he is not returning.