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… 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. 

(Source)

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. jimhightower.com

This article is provided free of charge by MinuteManMedia.org to progressive media outlets everywhere.