My 80-year old father is a prolific "letter to the editor" writer. Here is his latest. He suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, and although he may not make it to the election, his absentee ballot will further reflect his opinion on the war.

Peter T.

June 6, 2008 Letter to the Editor Lee Lessard, in a guest column on June 4, 2008, decried the lack of a military draft because it puts the burden of fighting the Iraq war on a very small percentage of our population and gives a hall pass to over 90% of us. His observation that we were fighting an ill-conceived war in Iraq was also absolutely on target. The lack of a draft, however, doesn't mean there is no conscription. Grandparents are being conscripted to provide daycare for children as a new widow or widower becomes the sole breadwinner of a smaller family. The parents of a paraplegic are conscripted to become the caregivers for their child. A girl friend is conscripted and gives up a vacation day to drive 150 miles to the nearest VA medical center so a PTSD patient can see his physician. A young husband is conscripted to provide daily assistance to his wife in adapting to her prostheses. We do not lack for conscripts. Each day we 'stay the course' pursuing that will-o'-the-wisp 'victory' we create additional conscripts and consign them to a term of duty known during WW II as the duration. Shouldn't we bring the troops home now? Jim T.