Article Archives by Subject: Service
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Subject: Loyalty Day
According to Wikipedia, Loyalty Day was first observed on May 1st, 1921, as a counter to the growing influences of communism and anarchism on the American labor movement. In 1958 during the second Red Scare, Congress passed Public Law 85-529 declaring this to be a legal holiday — although one which is rarely observed. Wikipedia states:
In keeping with that tradition, on April 30, 2013, President Obama issued his own proclamation, once again declaring May 1st to be "Loyalty Day." Here is what he had to say:
But of course, as with all things Obama, there are interesting passages contained here that, in the name of this country's founding principles, turn those very principles upon their head. For example, Obama states:
Ignoring for the moment his appeal to faith rather than a conscious understanding and explicit agreement with our founding principles, what are some of those core ideas that he identifies?
Contrast this with the Pledge of Allegiance which speaks of "liberty and justice for all. Where did "equality" come from and what does Obama mean by that? When the founding fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence:
it is perfectly clear that they are speaking of individuals who are separate from one another, but all of whom possess equal rights as an inherent aspect of their human nature—rights pertaining to their freedom and independence; rights which grant them the power to direct and control the course of their own lives. But this is not at all what Barack ("I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.") Obama means by equality. He is not promoting equality of opportunity to pursue one's desires in the manner of one's choosing. No, he is speaking of egalitarianism — of guaranteeing equality of outcomes. It is his intention to "level the playing field" by chopping off the legs of those that rise too high and using those severed limbs as a platform upon which others will be allowed to stand. And it the government, with him at the helm, that will be doing the chopping and deciding just how much to amputate. As is the case with all smart totalitarians throughout history, he doesn't plan to go to war with the population in order to extract his pound of flesh. Instead, he navigates the much easier course of simply issuing a call to sacrifice oneself on the altar of altruism, and then stands back as a majority of the sheep lead themselves to slaughter. When Obama speaks here of "our country's core: service and citizenship," or declares that Loyalty Day is "an occasion that asks something of us as a people," he is laying the groundwork to help confuse the latent positive feelings that people retain for the greatness of what remains of this country, and getting them to transpose those feelings towards the act of serving the needs of others at their own expense. And this is not some one-time occurrence, but a concerted effort and core goal of Obama's administration. Already he has declared both 9/11 and Martin Luther King Day to be National Days of Service. His never-ending call to serve can be found buried within most of his speeches, while more and more children of all ages are being forced to perform mandatory community service in our government-run schools as part of the federal Service-Learning initiative. And as I pointed out in my original article on National Service, the annual spending on the Corporation for National and Community Service has been drastically increased during The past five years, with an underlying goal of ultimately making National Service become a mandatory requirement imposed upon all citizens. When Obama declares:
he is counting on most people not being aware of the fundamental Enlightenment principles of individualism upon which our American history rests, and an uncritical acceptance of his replacement of our rights to autonomy and self-directedness with his collectivist notion of egalitarianism. Unfortunately, after many generations of a populace indoctrinated in government schools, he can now apparently get his wish. |
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"To Serve Man" |
Subject: Gee, Is It That Time Again Already?
Repeating what I wrote in my last article on this subject, if you are
a long-time reader of this blog, then you know that fighting against
the imposition of a program of mandatory National Service in the
United States by the Obama Administration is the issue that originally
propelled me to create the
John Galt Pledge
site and then begin writing publically concerning a broader range of
political issues. For those interested in reviewing past articles on
this subject, here is the link to everything on the subject of Service.
And what a convenience this year, having it coincide with the presidential coronation—oh sorry, I meant inauguration. I can think of nothing more appropriately symbolic to represent what another four years of this man's leadership means, and apparently neither can Team Obama, since they have gone to the trouble and expense of creating an official logo.
Now doesn't that makes you think that they just might have bigger plans in store? Obama is strongly suggesting that you give up your holiday and instead devote your time, energy and money to the service of others. Why? Well, as Barack says, because:
And Michelle adds:
Again, why? Apparently because they say so—case closed. In long standing Obama tradition, assertions are made, never with a need to justify them with reasons, or to back them up with facts. Confronted by the January 19th call to service, someone on Facebook wondered why more "service" was required, given just how much the average person was already forced to work in order to maintain the current system? Now that's a good question. According to the Tax Foundation, in 2012, the average worker had to toil a total of 107 days, from January 1st through April 17th, in order to cover their federal, state and local tax bills, a total which amounted to about 30% of all earnings. This year taxes are increasing dramatically and the period of involuntary servitude will extend even further. So given the fact that the government already is the judge, jury and executioner when it comes to deciding just how much of your productive earnings will be confiscated, why make such a big deal about one more day of service here or there? The answer comes straight out of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. As far as the government is concerned, all of those hours spent working in order to pay taxes is your duty! Remember, "we're all in this together," and you are chained to someone—on second thought, why limit it just one!—who must be "pulled up behind you." As with all duties, you have no choice in the matter. And the government is here to insure that you meet your obligations—exactly as they choose to define them. The fact that your earnings are taken from you by force and used for purposes over which you have no say and for which you may not approve is of no importance. What matters is that you are effectively enslaved. But, as Orwell pointed out so clearly in his book, totalitarians are not satisfied with owning and controlling our physical bodies and our material wealth. No, what they truly want is control over our souls—which means control of our minds. And this explains the importance of the "voluntary" day of service. They are not looking to extract additional resources from us. If that were the case, they would take the easy route and simply raise our taxes. Instead, the goal here is to shame people into freely accepting their slave status by choice, and in doing so, blur in their minds the distinction between the freely chosen and the state enforced. Once trained to accept that sacrificing their life to the needs of others is morally good, their soul has been disarmed and rendered as defenseless as their body, once guns have been confiscated. The end goal of Obama and his ilk is to disarm the populace, both physically and spiritually, so that it can offer no resistance against its masters. It is no coincidence that gun control and calls for national service emanate from the same source and at the same time. They are merely two components of one unifying strategy. Whenever I hear Obama, or any other government official, speak about the importance of service to others, I am instantly reminded of the famous Twilight Zone episode titled, To Serve Man, based upon a story by Damon Knight. A group of space aliens arrive on Earth and make efforts to calm the wary humans, informing them that they are there only to offer knowledge, aid, and assistance in dealing with mankinds problems. Over time, as the aliens share their advanced technology and help resolve the problems of hunger, energy and war, the humans slowly begin to trust and consider them as friends. These feelings of benevolence are further reinforced when one of the alien's books is stolen and the title is translated as, To Serve Man. Although difficult, translation of the book's content continues, and at the end of the film it is revealed that instead of being a humanitarian treatise, it is actually a cookbook! Be extremely watchful of the person—or the government—who vows to hold your interests above their own. Chances are that they do not see you as a friend, but as their next meal! And don't simply sit on your hands watching as the dinner table is being set. This government call to service is not benign, but one of the greatest evils being perpetrated by this administration (which is really saying something), and must be loudly denounced and actively thwarted by every means possible. Study your history in order to fully appreciate the dangers here, and don't fall into the trap that Obama is bating with references to "benevolence", "charity" or "volunteerism". Those are actions reserved to individuals and private organizations. Government is force, and the explicit or implicit use of force lies behind every aspect of this initiative. The chains are being dangled before all of us. Recognize them, and then help others to see them for what they are.
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Inspiring a Culture of Service |
Subject: Making "Voluntary" Service Mandatory —
One Step At A Time
It was the Obama Administration's push for the institution of a national service program back in 2009 that was the impetus for my original essay launching the John Galt Pledge, along with this accompanying blog. You can find past articles on the subject in the archives under Service. During the first term, government sponsored organizations like the Corporation for National and Community Service received massive increases in federal funding, with the intent of allowing them to place millions of new workers (improperly called "volunteers") on the federal payroll at taxpayer expense. However, the protracted fights over Obamacare and the budgets diverted attention away from work designed to transition these programs into a mandatory requirement of National Service for every citizen. The reelection of Obama to another four year term portends ominous possibilities in all areas or life including national security, health care, economic stagnation, inflation of the currency, further erosion of the rule of law, and increased intrusion into the private lives of every citizens. And as I have been predicting for quite some time, it will also reactivate the push to dramatically expand programs for national servitude. Well, it didn't take long. An organization called Service Nation, which prides itself in having:
has just published an article which details their renewed commitment to these activities.
As a consequence of the rapidly increasing size and scope of the entitlement state coupled with the very real difficulties of paying for all of these unearned benefits, I predict that during the coming months there will be renewed calls by politicians for the institution of a mandatory national service program, giving the government access to a massive pool of cheap labor to carry out it's programs. All of this will be justified as being only fair that Americans be asked to "give back" something in payment for all the goodies being dolled out to them by their benevolent masters. Once this is accomplished, the Civil War will have been fully undone and the 13 Amendment which reads:
without challenge, will simply have faded out of existence.
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National Service |
Subject: In Orwell's Newspeak: "Isolation" Means Mandatory
Military Service For All
The drumbeat to enslave us never let's up. A few years ago, in my essay, "National Service: A Vicious Concept — And Its Antidote," I wrote about the Obama administration's drive to impose mandatory national service on all Americans. One of the few good thing that you can say about the economic crisis is that it created so many new problems during the past four years that attention was temporarily diverted from this proposal — although it is alive and continues to grow in our government-run educational system. However, the ideological cancer that it is, the call for service is never completely eradicated, and this meme continues to course through our culture, springing to the surface at unpredictable times as a malignant social tumor. In a recent article by New Republic writer Russ Hoyle entitled, "Crisis Ahead for the Volunteer Military", he adds his voice to the call, proposing conscription as the medicine to cure what ails us.
Who are these "defense experts" who remain unnamed and are too afraid to make their worries publically known, only wispering their concerns to true patriots like Hoyle in private? I guess we'll just have to take Hoyle's word for it that they exist and would certainly be worth quoting if they ever chose to come forward. What is the problem needing to be addressed? Troop "bruises" and "isolation". Well, that's certainly clear. And the obvious solution to that "isolation" is the abandonment of a volunteer armed services and its replacement with enslavement of all, for surely there must be companionship, camaraderie and understanding that is fostered by one's shared experience of forced labor.
The volunteer military is a job that some people choose, just as others might decide to be a librarian, an inventor, a lawyer, or work in a factory. What exactly is it that is so special about military service that it results in some unprecedented inability for it to be fathomed? Yes, soldiers face issues that most of us do not fully comprehend, but then again, most people really don't understand the true complexity of an automotive assembly line, nor do they have much idea as to what an architect does in the course of designing a building. So what? That's the nature of a society base upon a division of labor. With so many options available, we end up focusing on certain areas relevant to our own lives at the expense of a deeper understanding of others. This is just a necessary consequence of living in a wonderfully expansive 21st century civilization. If the military faces some sort of unspecified "moral crisis" (whatever that means?) with it's officers, how does this translate to a civilian problem? Instead, it more obviously indicates a defect within the chain of command leading back to the commander-in-chief, and that is where the difficulty must be identified and a solution found. But it turns out that that's not really the "problem" that Hoyle is concerned about.
Hmmm. Did you know that your concern about this county's war efforts and the welfare of our troops was "instinctive"? And were you aware that because you no longer face the draft you have become distracted from your duty to care, and have allowed those "instincts" to atrophy? How could you?! Well, if you are not going to take appropriate responsibility for yourself, there are always others ready and willing to step in.
Whoa Doggy! Did you see the magic happen? Well look again! Hoyle opens his act by waving around "military isolation" in one hand. Then, like any good magician he engages in a lot of misdirection during the middle of the performance. Finally, with a daring feat of prestidigitation, the other hand pulls a "sense of civic responsibility" from out of nowhere for his magnificent conclusion. Bravo! I wonder just how many in the audience noticed the old switcheroo? Hoyle is so sure that his magic is effective that he's even willing to state that a "national service program is not a comprehensive prescription for what ails the U.S. military" and not worry that his readers will catch on. He's already hooked them by their guilt, and all that's left is to reel them in and set them to work at the direction of their government masters. It wasn't that long ago when Rahm Emanuel was saying:
Now, here we are, a few short years later, calling for a "three-year mandatory national service program". Isn't it adorable how soon those little memes grow up! Also, don't miss the call to couple the forced military service with another new "special benefits" entitlement program that further ensures that a larger segment of the populace is even more dependent upon the federal government for their lives — thereby making them much more compliant in following government dictates once released from their slave labor. The progressive's collectivistic mind-set is fully wedded to the total elimination of individualism from the culture. So long as they wield power they will never cease their attack on independence and self-responsibility. As Orwell, Huxley, Levin, Rand and other authors have prophesied, the goal is nothing less than totalitarian control over the thoughts and the actions of every human being. These people are our mortal enemies and it is important that we fight back now, or else we will suffer the disastrous consequences in the very near future!
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William Buckley |
Subject: Still Chipping Away At It ...
"National service, like gravity, is something we could accustom
ourselves to, and grow to love." Well, if you can't rely on a patriot like Bill Buckley to have your back, how about George C. Wilson over at The Huffington Post? In a recent article titled Our Own Foreign Legion, Wilson, a former national defense correspondent for The Washington Post, laments that there is a large gap in understanding between those who actually provide the military defense of our country and the civilian "establishment" who comfortably sit back with no dog in the hunt. Recognizing that "presidents, defense secretaries, generals, admirals, senators, representatives, and journalists can all be wrong about when going to war is justified", here are his thoughts:
And once again, the obvious solution to a perceived problem is to treat American citizens as though they were the property of the state — a slave labor resource to be utilized in any manner deemed necessary. And the irony of Wilson's position appears to be lost on him, as he happily recommends sacrificing the lives of many random youth to a period of involuntary servitude and potential warfare in the name of stopping others from sacrificing the lives of willing volunteers to improper or unjustified warfare. I guess for Wilson, slavery is OK if it is executed by lottery, and wars are ipso facto just, so long as they have the backing of a national referendum. Then we have the Americans for a National Service Act (ANSA), a group of individuals with the mission of seeing some form of mandatory national service imposed on all Americans.* In a section titled Philosophy of Service, Jason Blindauer argues that our rights are contingent upon social stability, which rests upon citizen participation. His entire line of reasoning hinges upon his rejection of the autonomous individual as a practical reality, declaring all humans to be "social creatures by necessity", and thereby elevating society to a higher moral status, firmly grounding his arguments in a species of collectivism. After considering various philosophical perspectives, he sums up his observations with this:
Well, do you punk? I guess even the question of national service is simply too relativistic a topic to be able to form a clear, declarative statement and firmly commit oneself. ANSA is just a part of the broader and more active Service Nation which purports to consolidates over 200 service organization under one coordinated umbrella. And once again, while casting a descriptive veneer of "volunteerism" over their goals, a careful look at their actual programs and activities always shows close ties to governments at the local, state and federal levels, with public funding for the majority of their activities. So, as with the official Corporation for National and Community Service, these so called "volunteer" efforts turn out to be nothing more than make-work jobs for people who are the recipients of wealth redistribution from the very non-volunteering tax payers. It has now been two years since Obama came to power, with his goal of conscripting every American citizen into mandatory government servitude. And while the overt public rhetoric from the administration may have quieted somewhat on this topic, the social indoctrination program behind the scene continues at full speed. As more and more students and adults are drawn into the government fold, they soon become converts to the view that what's good enough for them is certainly good enough for others — even if those others have to be forced to experience the tender goodness of it all. And before you know it, we will have achieved that "national referendum" that George Wilson was seeking, and the last of our rights will be "democratically" legislated away.
Take every opportunity to speak out against the forces who are actively
working to enslave us all. Jason Blindauer is right in one regard: the
preservation of our individual rights do rest upon our actions. Let's
make sure that we do what is necessary to see them safeguarded.
* It is true that ANSA states that they don't necessarily argue for mandatory national service if voluntary national service was sufficient to "gets the job done." And just exactly how many volunteers would be enough? They admit that "that's tough to say." But the answer is unimportant since this line of reasoning is all disingenuous misdirection from their true mission, clearly articulated on their website, which is the creation of a legislative act that extracts from every citizen the duty that they see being owed to their country. |
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Charles Rangel |
Subject: Slavery — It's Back In Fashion!
What Are You Prepared To Do About It?
With the intent of giving this site a major redesign, I have been neglecting it for the past few months in favor of other activities. However, my lack of attention hasn't slowed down our masters in Washington D.C., who continue their relentless march to exert control over every area of our lives. The John Galt Pledge website was originally created in response to Obama's campaign promise, and the administration's subsequent calls, for the imposition of a mandatory national service requirement upon every citizen of the United States, in fulfillment of an obligation that it is claimed we owed to our country as a condition of our simple existence. Over the past year, this blog has chronicled the steady increase in funding of agencies tasked with placing the livelyhood of an ever increasing percentage of the population under direct federal control, as well as the underground movement to impose mandatory "community service" work upon students as a requirement for their obtaining an education. As I predicted, once these politicians were no longer fully preoccupied with the tasks of nationalizing entire industries, ramming socialized health care down our throats, and increasing their regulatory control over all aspects of our personal and business finances, they would soon get back to the fundamental task of fully enslaving us. Well, that day has come. On July 15, 2010, Charles Rangel introduced H.R.5741, the preamble of which reads:
No longer suffering any of the ambiguity that was contained in the language of the previous H.R.1444, this bill spells out all of the details. How long will your period of servitude to the state last? According to section 104:
And what will you be required to do? Well the preamble indicates military service or homeland security work is a possibility, but then there is that always present, all purpose phrase, "and for other purposes". Section 103 states:
So, "community service" "as determined by the President", leaves open the possibility that for two years of your life, you may find yourself directed to read to the elderly, weed gardens, work on some sort of WPA task, or any other function that the president declares is a boon to "the community". How will the legislation be administered? Excerpts from section 105:
The government will decide not only exactly what tasks you will be assigned to execute, but will also determine what level of performance is expected of you. Failure to live up to their standards will subject you to unspecified "penalties". The government will now be assessing the physical and mental fitness of every citizen, as per section 106:
Of course, this should be much easier with the government controlling all medical care in the country and maintaining centralized health records on each of us, thanks to the recent health care legislation. And ladies, just to make sure that there is no gender discrimination, section 201 mandates that the Selective Service Act be amended to fully apply to all females:
Consider the following:
It wasn't long ago that Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel stated
And now, just a short time later, we are contemplating a two-year period of each person's life being totally owned by the federal government and controlled by the whims of the president. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:
If H.R.5741 is not a clear cut form of involuntary servitude, enslaving every citizen to the state, then the concept of constitutionally-protected individual rights is completely meaningless. Rights are absolute moral principles; they do not exist along some sort of sliding or flexible scale of applicability. As can clearly be seen in the examples of Income and Social Security Taxes noted above, once you cede to the government the "right" to take even one cent of your property, then you have totally invalidated the concept of property rights and there is no longer any constraint remaining to halt the taking of 25, 50, 94 or 100 percent of your earnings. By the same token, if you grant the government the power to dictate just one second of your life, then you have fully abandoned the right to your own life and the liberty to do with it as you see fit. The government will consume first that second – then three months – then two years – and finally, any additional amount beyond that it deems useful for its own purposes. You are then nothing more than a literal slave – a human resource owned by the state, to be utilized by political masters as they best see fit. Everything the government has been doing over the past one hundred years has been only a precursor to this ultimate goal — the total enslavement and control of the citizenry. Barack Obama is one of the most consistent advocates for the totalitarian subjugation of the populace, but his ability to act rests firmly on the shoulders of a century's worth of politicians who have steadly chipped away at the constitutional edifice of individual rights. We now stand at the tipping point which will determine the future of freedom in America, and what happens rests upon the decision of every citizen. Will there be enough people who recognize the significance of what is happening with the destruction of their rights? And will a sufficient number be willing to act to defend their life, liberty and property, as our forefathers once did? With each day that passes, the options grow fewer. It's your life. What are you prepared to do about it? For more information on the philosophical ramification of this movement towards mandatory national service, refer to the original essay on the John Galt Pledge page.
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Michael Caine |
Subject: But is it Good Enough for Michael Caine?
In an article in the Chicago Sun Times titled, Mandatory national service would help kids, Michael Caine continues on his push to institute mandatory national service for every youth in Britain, something that I wrote about here, here and here. But even though that proposal has not yet been implemented in the U.K., he has now come to our shores to make sure that the youth of America don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to be indoctrinated into their proper role as servants to the state. In response to the article, I had these comments:
Mr. Caine thinks that forcing people to give up a portion of their lives and requiring them to engage in activities against their will will make them "better" — at least as he defines it. Well, I'm skeptical and would like to put it to the test before rolling it out as a national program. I suggest that if he believes that his ideas are so great, he should be willing to submit to them himself. Let's conscript Mr. Caine and put him to work for the next two years of his life doing something socially redeeming such as reading to the elderly in nursing homes or possibly picking up trash alongside the road. Certainly he can put his acting career on hold for a while, in order to be trained to be a better person. Because in my view, Mr. Caine is seriously deficient in his understanding of what freedom actually means, and I think he would benefit immensely from a couple of years of the old "reeducation" in this subject. I feel certain that a healthy stint of being treated as a slave, ordered around at the direction of others, performing tasks that he did not choose for himself, would help Mr. Caine to open his eyes and reconsider what the right to ones own life actually means. And I am positive that he would come out of this process a better man. Who's with me? Let's help Michael realize the error of his ways and transform him from his current state as a shill for totalitarianism into a shining advocate for liberty for all. It's for his own good! And, according to Michael, that's all the justification that we need. |
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Conscription |
Subject: Will the Conservatives Defend your Rights?
Don't Count On It.
Leading the way for the rest of the unfree world, today, the UK's Telegraph reports that Conservatives plan civilian 'national service' scheme. That's right, not wanting to allow Gordon Brown and the democratic socialist Labor party to get the glory by getting there first, David Cameron and the British Conservatives are "Sowing The Seeds of the Big Society" by proposing plans for a National Citizen Service, where 16 year old children will be offered:
So, it was clear that the desire to make this proposal mandatory on all youth would not immediately fly, but once the program is in place, then the Conservatives will "get all teenagers involved over time" which is Orwellian doublespeak for "they will be forced to participate". Sound familiar? It should. This is similar to what is happening in this country, where, through the Corporation for National and Community Service, the United We Serve website, and programs like "Service-Learning", Barack Obama is slowly transforming what is initially called "voluntarism" into a mandatory requirement, creating a youth army indoctrinated in the fundamental idea that we all owe a duty to the state, which the state has the right to collect upon as, and when it deems appropriate. And don't think that the conservative Republicans are really any different from their British counterparts. The Republicans have been playing a game of me-tooism, dancing to the Democrats ideological themes for decades, simply arguing about which nuts and sugar coating to sprinkle on the statist policies of an ever expanding government intrusion into the economy, the personal lives, and decisions of every citizen. Both Bush Jr. and Sr., along with many other entrenched Republicans, were strong advocates for promoting a citizen's duty to the state through government funded "volunteerism" programs, and it was by way of that support that we have arrived at this point. This species of Republican would have no problem with mandatory labor requirements being imposed upon every citizen, so do not look to them to rescue you from this fate. In the coming elections it is critical that every candidate be vetted on the issue of their actual commitment to personal liberty and individual rights for every citizen. And not just on what they say is their position, but on the specific action that they intend to take in order to uphold these principles. If we fail to toss out the old guard Democrats and Republicans and replace them with an entirely new breed of politician, dedicated to strictly upholding the original intent of the U.S. Constitution, then there will no longer be any hope for freedom left in America. |
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Social Innovation Fund |
Subject: Building Obama's Army
Do you know what a "Social Innovation Fund" is? Do you need one? Did you know you were already paying for it with your tax dollars? Apparently, it's "an entirely new way of doing business." You don't say! Tell me more. According to this press release the fund's new director, Paul Carttar:
The phrase, "youth development and school support", means forced labor in community service projects for school children through the Service-Learning program funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Who knows what the real implications of "economic opportunity" or "healthy futures" will be. Currently, there are 15.5 million federal, 18.8 million state, and 49 million local, civilian government employees, and roughly 3 million active and reserve military personnel, which is a total of 86.3 million, or about 28% of the entire U.S. population, including children. But, according to Barack Obama, this is an insufficient workforce for addressing the problems facing America. So he spends billions of additional dollars which do not exist, to create a private civilian army (civilian national security force) that he called for during his presidential campaign. He budgeted $6 billion on the GIVE Act, which includes the Corporation for National and Community Service which, as stated above, employs over 5 million additional people. The Service-Learning program is forcing an ever increasing percentage of our grade and high-school children into mandatory labor, and the nationalization of the educational loan industry is nothing more than a ploy to allow the government to impose similar requirement upon all college students. Add to this the 50,000 newly hired census workers, all of the people recently employed by the government using the diverted TARP funds and the 18 billion allocated by the recently signed "jobs" bill. And factor in all of those employed in the financial, banking, automotive, housing, insurance, energy and medical fields who are coming under the direct control of the federal government as these industry segments are nationalized. And then we get to the recently passed H.R.3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which includes Title V describing the new government health care workforce. This legislation includes provisions for a new National Health Care Workforce Commission (Sec. 5101), Public Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention (Sec. 5204), Allied Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention (Sec. 5205), National Health Service Corps. (Sec 5207), Nurse-Managed Health Clinics, as well as various, grant, loan and training programs, and possibly an additional 16,500 new IRS employees to monitor citizen compliance (Sec. 6101). But the best part of the bill is Sec. 5210, which authorizes over $62 million for the creation of a Ready Reserve Corps, a new civilian military consisting of commissioned officers appointed by the President and subject to the orders of the Surgeon General. Bit by bit, the administration extends it tentacles over the private sector of the economy and the lives of every citizen, placing more and more aspects of our lives under its direct control. And they still have their sights set on you! Mandatory conscription of every American into similar programs is coming. Work to stop it now, before it is too late! |
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No We Can't! |
Subject: I REFUSE to Serve in Obama and Rahm's "Civilian Service"
Program
If you oppose the Obama administration's plans to create a Civilian Service program where every American will be conscripted into mandatory labor, then one easy form of protest to which you can contribute is to add your name to the Facebook group I REFUSE to Serve in Obama and Rahm's "Civilian Service" Program. Let Obama know where you stand! |
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Jon Bon Jovi |
Subject: Bon Jovi Turns Concerts Into Obama Worship Services
In an article on the Free Republic website entitled: Jon Bon Jovi Takes United We Serve on Tour (Turns Concerts Into Obama Worship Services), the rock singer Jon Bon Jovi will be using his current concert tour as a vehicle to preach to the audience with a prepared video, calling upon them to visit the government's United We Serve website and sign up to volunteer their time, effort and money to the community and the nation. In addition, Bon Jovi created a Public Service Announcement that will be used by the government to further promote this activity. Remember, this is just one more piece of propaganda being produced by the Corporation for National and Community Service, an organization that in just the last two years has received over $2 billion of your taxpayer funds to be used to promote this "volunteer" activity, while Congress works to pass H.R. 1444, which contains provisions for imposing a mandatory national service requirement on every American citizen. |
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The Chronicle of Philanthropy |
Subject: President's Budget Proposes Increase for National Service
As reported by Suzanne Perry in The Chronicle of Philanthropy: It seems like just a short time ago that jaws were dropping over the 2010 budget of $1.15 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Well, our budget-conscious President, who, in his State of the Union address just pledged to freeze non-critical, discretionary spending and work to reduce the federal deficit, announced his shiny new 2011 budget at a mere $3.8+ trillion. And the folks at the Corporation for National and Community Service, who are responsible for implementing mandatory community service (i.e., Service-Learning) requirements on students — and if H.R. 1444 is passed, national service requirements on all the rest of us — managed to get a hefty raise of a quarter of a billion dollars, bringing there total budget to $1.4 billion. Well, that answers one question. For Barack Obama, there is nothing "discretionary" or "non-critical" when it comes to enslaving American citizens — just so long as it is done for the noble purpose of sacrifice and service to state. |
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Atlas Shrugs |
Subject: Obama Continues to Organize his Youth Army!
Got that! Obama is using the public school system as a means to recruit an army of youth organizers specifically focused on the upcoming 2010 elections. And he is proposing that the schools extend classroom credit to the students for their participation! This "internship" is nothing more than a ten-week, socialist, youth army, propaganda, indoctrination program. Let's look at some of the highlights:
Suggested Reading: "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky, and "The New Organizers" by Zack Exley Week 2: What is Organizing?: Building Relationships and Organization
Suggested Reading: "Dreams of my Father" by Barack Obama Week 3: What is Organizing?: The Power of Good Data and Reporting
Week 4: Strategizing for Effective Change
Suggested Reading: "Stir It UP: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy" by Rinku Sen, and "Politics the Wellstone Way: How to Elect Candidates and Win on the Issues" by Wellstone Action Week 5: Developing Leadership
Week 6: Managing Events
Week 7: Building Coalitions
Suggested Reading: "A Strategic Approach to Collective Action: Looking for Agencies in Socialist-Movement Choices" by James M. Jasper Week 8: Working with the Media
Week 9: Utilizing New Media
Week 10: Celebration, Evaluation & the Long Haul of Change
Potential Action: "Have Intern agree to participate in a December conference call with OFA headquarters (and ideally a special guest). During the call, we can unveil our larger strategy for student and youth strategy [sic] in the states. After the call, we will follow up with specific contacts for each participant so that they can get immediately get [sic] plugged in to OFA's efforts within their communities." See Pamela Geller's website for photocopies of the entire document which she obtained from a concerned parent whose son had received it in his government class. As the agenda outline makes clear, the purpose of this "training" is to create a student army that continues the President's push for passage of his health care, energy and education reform legislation. And if you believe that this would only affect students who have already developed a deep commitment to political activism, then you haven't been paying attention. As I have reported here in depth, through its Service-Learning program, the government is imposing mandatory community service requirements upon students of all ages, making this a necessity for them to graduate each year. Faced with meeting this onerous new obligation, every student must waste their time looking for some form of labor that is acceptable to their school. Then their teachers dangle this "opportunity" in their faces, telling them it will not only fulfill their community service requirement, but will earn them class credit as well. Just another masterful example of the government employing the carrot-and-stick approach in order to force people to do its bidding. And who pays for all of this? Why you, the taxpayer. As I reported here and here, for their 2010 budget, the Obama administration has handed over $1.149 billion dollars to the Corporation for National & Community Service, which then uses that money in the form of grants, to entice school districts to impose Service-Learning programs upon their students. So, once again, the government is using your own money against you, to undermine your liberty. Another interesting thing to notice in the OFA Internship document is the proposed reading list, which is nothing less than primer for the progressive left. And notice that, despite a year's worth of serious criticism on this point from many commentators, Obama is still proudly reading from the play book of Saul Alinsky, the radical who wrote, in typical Marxist class-warfare fashion:
Well, there you have it. For Obama, this is nothing less than an all out war for power and control — not just over your health care, or the economy — but control over your very life. With the push for mandatory national service for all Americans currently winding its way through Congress in the form of H.R. 1444, we are rapidly moving towards the fulfillment of Rahm Emanuel's dream of having the government impose its idea of "basic training and understanding" upon each of us, making sure that we learn the "universal sense of service" that will "give Americans, once again, a sense of what they are to be American". Translated: "If you don't agree with Barack, then your simply not an American ... and we plan to fix that!" The final thing to be learned from this document is just how organized these "community organizers" actually are. They have developed a well thought out, highly structured program to implement their agenda and they are following through with their plans. And with Obama in the White House, they now have access to considerable funds — your funds — which they can use to achieve significant results. If they are not stopped, in the long run they will certainly achieve their purpose. Therefore, it is imperative that we act in opposition to end this nightmare. We must continue to attack on every new front, chopping off each tentacle until they have no more to extend. And then we will lop off the head and put an end to this nightmare.
The chickens are all coming home to roost. Everyone who cares about
the future of this country, whether you have children in school or not,
needs to take action agains this abomination. Get in touch with your
local schools and find out where they stand on the matter of
Service-Learning programs and determine whether they have received
these OFA Internship forms, and if so, whether they passing them out
to the students. If you are a parent in the PTA, raise these issues
with other parents and organize protests over the transformation of
our government schools from nominal places of education into socialist
indoctrination camps. And everyone should be loudly protesting against
Obama's totalitarian tactics of attempting to create a youth brigade
to serve his overt political agenda. If this doesn't qualify as
clearly illegal activity, and if people don't rise up in a storm of
protest, then I truly fear for the future of this country.
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Corporation for National & Community Service |
Subject: And this is how it's done ...
Here is an excerpt from today's announcement from the Corporation for National & Community Service, the agency that, on December 16, 2009, received $1.149 billion when Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act:
With over $1 billion of unearned taxpayer dollars, the agency dangles grants in front of various groups and educational institutions, only asking that they engage in a process of indoctrination of their youth in exchange for the funds. Bit by bit our already failing educational system is being transformed into a community work camp, where students are forced to contribute their labor while being trained for "a lifetime of service". Once again I raise the call-to-arms, asking concerned people to vocally protest this form of further intrusion into our educational system which is allowing the Obama administration to sneak in their program for nationwide mandatory service, one student at a time. |
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Jerusalem Post |
Subject: Civic Responsibility Should Not Be Optional - Got That?
The call — no demand — for compulsory national service is a plague sweaping across entire world. Daily there are reports from countries in Africa, Australia, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Russia, and Western Europe. where politicians propose ever increasing draconian legislation that places the lives of average citizens under the control of their governments, to be directed to perform tasks which were not voluntarily chosen. Take, for example, the article written by Danny Ayalon, the deputy minister of foreign affairs in Israel. In a piece titled, Civic responsibility should not be optional, the author, while acknowledging that:
states that in the last election, his party, Israel Beiteinu, called for mandatory service:
Once again we see expressed, the view that the state is the primary civic entity, to which duty and loyalty are to be commanded from each of its subservient citizens. The United State may well be the next country to adopt this program, if the Obama administration has its way. Here is a link to the Americans for a National Service Act, a group with the following mission:
So, National service is "the most important public issue for the United States", and its implementation will make "solutions to all of our other problems possible", by forcing you to make a "decisive change" which will lead you to realize your relative insignificance as you are pushed into "selfless" service for "something greater than YOU". The day that every American citizen has virtually become enslaved to its government will be "the beginning of the end to all of our problems." I repeat my call for everyone who wishes to preserve their freedom, to fight this trend now in whatever way you can.
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Michelle Malkin |
Subject: Community Service Thugs
Michelle Malkin reports on how some of your $6 billion tax dollars are being redistributed to thugs under the guise of "Community Service" work, in her article titled, Meet Philly's community service thugs: "A band of brigands". |
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Michael Ramirez |
Subject: Speaking of Service-Learning....
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The Chronicle of Philanthropy |
Subject: Increased Budget for National-Service Agency
From The Chronicle of Philanthropy comes the following news update:
Just keeping you informed of where your tax dollars are going. And as a reminder, the US National Debt is over $12,102,854,204,873.00, so what's another billion or so dollars? There's plenty more where that came from! |
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Haaretz.com |
Subject: Service As A Social Norm
Israel has always maintained a national defense force by way of mandatory conscription, but even that country is upping the ante with a proposal to extend mandatory service to all citizens in the country. Reuven Gal reports in an article titled, " Service as a social norm", as follows:
The author then makes a stab at arguing against such a program on ethical grounds.
Unfortunately, he has lost the battle before he begins, because he has already ceded the fundamental principle that the State's needs supersede the rights of the individual when he allows that the existence of "an existential security threat" justifies "a system of compulsory conscription". Once that basic relationship between the State and its citizens is established, there is no valid argument remaining to counter the current proposal which claims that Israel's vital social needs should also be met by a new class of conscription. After all, a need is a need, whether stemming from internal or external causes. And here is why Mr. Gal is not able to mount a cogent defense:
He cannot fathom a proper defense based upon the rights of the individual, because he explicitly rejects such a concept. He advocates a social egalitarianism where all citizens are the same — in principle, if not in practice — with none supposed to rise above any other. And how would this unnatural result be achieved? By "impartial nurturing" — whatever that might imply! Maybe the "Service-Learning" programs in the US would fall under that heading? This puts a lot of faith in "social norms". Exactly how long can such a system stand up to "marginal elements" like me, not only refusing to participate, but making a loud vocal argument in opposition and encouraging others to exert their own independence by not participating as well. No, I'm fairly sure that a truly voluntary system will not meet the real goals of those people pushing this proposal. Just as the Obama administration realizes that it is important to pay lip service to the idea of "volunteerism" while funding the push for mandatory national and community service under the nation's radar. |
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Sonia Sodha |
Subject: Think Tank: National Service for 7-Year-Olds
An article by Sonia Sodha in the UK Times titled, Think tank: National service for 7-year-olds, highlights the scope and intent behind the drive to impose a mandatory national service requirement on the citizens of many countries across the globe. Although this story is about Britain, there is nothing here that doesn't apply equally to what is currently transpiring in the United States. Here are a few excerpts:
Just as I have been arguing throughout these many articles, the premise upon which the entire idea of national service rests is the socialistic belief that we are not sovereign individuals possessing an unalienable right to our own lives, but instead are merely components of society; a group to which we "owe something" simply as a consequence of our existence. And in fulfilling that duty, we must strive to make our subservience to the state something more "soulful". Please write to me with an explanation if you have any idea what this actually means. It must be important because it comes from a "think tank"! And just like voters in Chicago, the British plan is to enforce their program early and often. With a bold stroke, they would conscript you at age seven and then keep a guiding hand on your throat throughout the remainder of your life. But there is nothing further to discuss, since the "community benefits would be huge". Any what could be more beneficial that dragging productive citizens away from their selfish "tools or keyboards" and reassigning them to perform valuable community tasks like "picking up litter", "dredging canals" and "reading to the elderly". Actually, it sounds more like a plan for teaching an entire country how to Go Galt! To further demonstrate that words have lost all meaning for a great segment of society, the think tank, Demos, states right at the top of it website:
They are first and foremost promoters of "free and powerful citizens", with the intent of giving "people more power over their lives". Raise both of your hands if you think there is no contradiction between their stated purpose and their proposal for mandatory national service. For the rest of you, use your hands to pour a drink and raise a toast to 1984 - a few years late, but still arriving fully intact. |
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Air Cargo Blog |
Subject: Service-Learning
I thought the following was funny. On AirCargoBlog.com, a desperate high school student is looking around for some "community service" work, apparently in order to fulfill his mandatory requirement for graduation so that he might be allowed to attend college. A couple of the responses were, ahem, interesting. Here is the initial query:
Here is a portion of the first response:
Yes, as I pointed out previously, the function of "community service" does have a bit of an identity problem. It does amaze me that most educators seem oblivious to the fact that mandatory service requirements, imposed upon students, certainly convey the stigma of a punishment, which no amount of verbal whitewashing can conceal. And here is the second response received:
I actually feel sorry for this poor kid. In his struggle to complete this assignment, he has clearly been given no guidance and is, in my opinion, rightfully clueless about what others expect of him. It is difficult to know if he is making a good faith effort to perform real work for his 72 hour sentence, if he thinks that this work would benefit his community, or if he sees the job of cleaning planes as a way to pocket treasures left behind by passengers. But one thing is for sure. These are 72 hours that have nothing to do with education and everything to do with socialization. |
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Slippery Rock University"> |
Subject: New Government Program Pays Students For Community Service
As reported by Mike Madden in the Slippery Rock University's newspaper, The Online Rocket, The government is extending its national service claws into universities by paying college students to perform community service work.
As economics major Matt Ligman comments later in the article:
Even this student can see the folly in this. But no one seems to be asking the really important question. "If this program doesn't teach hard work, then what does it achieve?" The only answer is that it makes more people both wards of and servants to the state, by getting them to rely upon the government to provide for an ever widening sphere of their wants and needs in exchange for a willingness to do the government's bidding. |
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What Did I Do? |
Subject: The UK: Just One Small Step Ahead of Us
In the UK Telegraph, Julie Henry reports on Britain's plan to impose 50 hours of mandatory national service upon all of the country's youth. Apparently Gordon Brown has been listening to Michael Caine and decided that this move is just what the UK needs to help solve its current problems. However, there appear to be some unintended consequences of this measure. Who would have guessed?!!
Fantastic. It's a double play! Not only is every child throughout the country going to be forced into indentured servitude, but the plan will eventually result in a thorough background check of every citizen in the country. Slavery and the complete destruction of individual privacy all in one package. And don't forget the added extra bonus of all those new government jobs created to administer the bureaucracy for these new programs. A few more taxes should cover that. No, I was wrong, it's a triple! If we can just get this distracting health care bill passed, then I feel confident that our president will have the time to focus on a bright and shiny mandatory national service requirement of our own. After all, why should Britain have all the fun, and Gordon Brown get all the glory? |
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Academy of St. Joseph |
Subject: School Requires Parents to Perform Community Service
According to an article by Elizabeth Humphrey titled, School Requires Parents to Perform Community Service, the Academy of St. Joseph in NYC is now requiring family members of its students to perform community service work.
Notice how the article's author slides right into todays double-speak. A "requirement" is called "volunteering" and the mandated program is a "partnership", just like the public/private "partnership" our government now has with many of our fine financial and business institutions. There is no need for the Obama administration to make headlines by imposing a mandatory national service requirement on all Americans from the top down when they are already doing such a fine job of achieving the same results from the bottom up, through our school system! The community service requirement started with seniors and was then extended to all high school students. Junior high students followed, and then the program was expanded throughout grade school. Now the parents are being required to participate. That does a pretty good job of snaring the majority of the populace right there. And it is all happening with hardly a peep of protest from the general public. |
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Joe Galloway |
Subject: Thanksgiving: Learning How to Appreciate Your Rights
Joe Galloway is a combat journalist and author of the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young". On a recent book tour through Lubbock, TX, he offered his views on military conscription, as reported in this article from Texas Tech:
In a video interview attached to the article, Mr. Galloway states:
This got me thinking about the issue of Americans appreciating or failing to appreciate certain aspects of their lives, and I am in agreement with Galloway that many people in the U.S. have no real understanding of the nature of their individual rights, including their liberty, and therefore fail to properly appreciate them. But I cannot agree with Galloway's solution — the same one being proposed by the Obama administration — which is to violate those very rights in an effort to teach people to treasure them! The "right to life" identifies that each person's life is sacrosanct and may not be violated by another, while the "right to liberty" means that each individual may select their own goals and pursuits in accordance with their will, free from external compulsion. I am sure that it is true that if you conscript a person into national service for a few years against their will, command their every move during that period, and place them in combat situations where their very life is in grave danger, if they survive the experience and are once again freed, most people will come away with a deeper appreciation for their life and their liberty. Of course, the same thing can be said for a survivor of a Siberian Gulag, and, in principle, there is no real difference between these two situations, as both are violations of the rights of the individual. I also disagree with Galloway's interpretation of the Founding Father's intentions with regards to our rights. The Declaration of Independence states that we possess:
which means that these rights are absolute and an indivisible part of our human nature. Quoting from unalienable.com:
Clearly, if our rights are inherent, unalienable and exist outside of the Constitution and any formation of government, then they are not something that need to be earned. As the Declaration of Independence clearly states, governments are not formed in order to dispense rights, but instead:
The original purpose of our government's formation was to protect and defend the individual rights of each citizen. It is some twisted form of Orwellian illogic that concludes that those fundamental rights are protected by their violation! And it is the cruelest perversion when this method is applied to young, developing minds as is currently being done in public school civic classes all across the nation. In the name of "service-learning", school children are forced to perform hours of "community service" work while any discussion of the nature of individual rights and the guarantees of those rights in the U.S. Constitution are buried. And this is after these same children have already been conscripted into forced education. People's gaps in knowledge, resulting in a corresponding failure to grasp the true value of a thing, is certainly not limited to the abstract concepts of individual rights. If one believes that it is the government's function to determine what is of value for each of us, and that it is the government's further role to educate us to appreciate those values, even if force must be applied to achieve that goal, then, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, let's consider another program that might be implemented. I suggest that every American be required to live in an isolated log cabin in northern Minnesota for a period of two years: heating their home with wood that must be cut, hauled and split; getting water from a stream which must then be purified by boiling; using candles or open pit fires for light; butchering their own meat; plowing, planting, growing and harvesting their own crops; and maintaining the structure as required, including building an optional outhouse if desired. Of course, everyone would be encouraged to explore sources of alternative energy, sustainable forestry, organic farming, low-impact waste management, and energy conservation in their spare time. I know with absolute certainty that anyone surviving this wonderful experience would have "earned" a much greater respect and honest appreciation for: the hot dog that they purchase at their grocery store; the gallon of gasoline that they pump into their automobile; the flush of a toilet; the flick of a switch that floods the room with light; the push of a button that raises the room temperature by a few degrees; the convenience of picking up the telephone and calling a roofer when a leak is discovered; the simple pleasure of a conversation with another person; and so much more! If forced military, national or community-service are good ideas that are justified due to their beneficial effect upon the conscriptee, then I can see no argument against this proposal which would have considerably more beneficial impact. Impact being the operative word! Of course, I'm kidding. I would never suggest that a program like this was in any way justified in being imposed upon citizens of a free country. I was just making a point about individual rights and why conscription is wrong in principle. However, if someone were to suggest that we make this a requirement for anyone running for political office, then you would have my attention! Happy Thanksgiving! |
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Star Tribune |
Subject: Indoctrinating the Indoctrinators
As the government continues its speedy imposition of forced community service work on the country's students through the Service-Learning initiative, one might wonder just what sort of training do the teachers in these classrooms have for administering these programs, and what type of mentoring can we expect them to provide to their charges. Well, wonder no longer. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, Katherine Kersten does an excellent job of reporting on one answer in her article, At U, future teachers may be reeducated. Did she actually mean to report that teachers were to be educated? No, she really means reeducated! From the article:
And only then will they will be ready to send forth and pass on their
indoctrination to your children.
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Community Service |
Subject: More Mandatory Community Service for Students
In an earlier article, I reported that the Lockport Township, IL School District was considering imposing mandatory community service on all high school students as a requirement for their graduation. Well, as this follow up article indicates, they accomplished their mission.
The kids never had a chance. Once the fundamental principle of an individual's right to their own life was breached, and the government was handed the power to impose mandatory education on our youth, there was no effective argument remaining to protect them from the imposition of any other form of involuntary servitude. And these Illinois children are not alone. In the Arizona Central, a "recent news article" states:
"It is meant to teach students about being active citizens in a democratic society." The obvious lesson to be learned is that an active citizen in a democratic society is one who is commanded into action by an authority. "Having that requirement helps show students that they are a valuable part of the community and when they do good things, the community is a good place to live." This is a load of crap. If something is good to do, then people choose to do it voluntarily. Being forced to perform community service says that the community is good for me, when you are forced to do what I want you to do. The lesson is that others have decided that you owe an obligation to your community and you will be forced into discharging that duty, regardless of what you may think or choose. "Mike Barrera, ... said he wants his students to come away with a feeling of doing something good for people." And there it is. School is not about education, which is an intellectual pursuit. Instead, it is all about socialization, which is mindless emotional indoctrination. "The value of what they're doing now comes in when they're doing it on their own." Because, that's when we know that the indoctrination has taken root and the active, independent mind has been ground out of existence. |
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All Voices |
Subject: One Good Dose of Compulsion Deserves Another
Once you cross over the line by imposing mandatory education on children, you transform schools into prisons, with all of the associated problem that entails. Here is a short article that appeared on the website All Voices which is interesting for some of the selected follow up comments by parents and community members.
Never is it questioned by anyone that schools should not be a detention camp for troubled youth. Of course, if school attendance was not forced upon these kids, then only the ones who wished to get an education would attend and would not have their education disrupted by troublemakers who demonstrate that they refuse to learn. I also like how the school is considering "community service" as a punishment for students who misbehave. I wonder what message that sends to other students who are forced to perform community service as a mandatory requirement for their graduation. Will it be obviously clear that their community service is a "good thing" and not some form of punishment as well? Oh who cares. After the education that they are receiving, I'm sure that few of them will ever think to even ask the question. |
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Prez. BO Speaks |
Subject: Get Off Your Butts and Volunteer
Maybe he listened to Mr. Twentyman from Australia, of maybe all geniuses simply think alike, but Obama is going to solve America's child obesity problem one "volunteer" at a time. As reported in USA Today in an article titled, President tackling kids' obesity, public service on White House lawn:
Of course, once the government controls all aspects of health care, then obesity will no longer be a personal problem, but a "public epidemic" with direct costs being born by the taxpayers. Therefore, the government will have every "justification" to step in and make sure that this problem — and its associated costs — are eliminated. Obesity will become a "crime against the state" and "terrorist eating" will no longer be allowed. Caloric intake might be rationed and monitored. Twinkies might be declared a "biological pollutant" and outlawed. Mandatory national service might consist of "forced labor" for your own health. Whatever the "solution", it is at that point that we will find out what the real definition of "voluntary" was. Of course, by then it will be too late to do anything about it. |
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The Chronicle of Philanthropy |
Subject: When $6 Billion Is Not Enough
You might remember that earlier this year, the Serve America Act was passed, taking an additional six billion taxpayer dollars and transferring them to the Corporation for National and Community Service in support of expanding national service programs of every size and color. Today, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the Center for American Progress issued a report indicating that:
The report continues:
As is typical for a liberal think tank, a few billion dollars spent by the government will produce a wonderful flood of new jobs, while those same funds, spent or invested by the original owners (i.e., you and me) are simply wasted, producing no economic activity at all. Also, notice that if the think tank's projections are correct, then the 100,000 new jobs will all be created at the bargain rate of $15,000 per job. This would be a fantastic result in light of the many reports that the TARP funds have not been ably to achieve quite this ratio. For example, John Boehner, the House Republican leader, lists on his blog a story from the New Hampshire Union-Leader that reports that:
Yes, let's that the kind of program that fills me with hope. By all means, let's dump in another $1.5 billion. What could go wrong? |
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SEIU Lobbyist |
Subject: Unions Come Out Against Volunteerism!
Let's let the news story by Jarrett Renshaw of The Morning Call speak for itself.
Volunteerism is fine ... just don't do it in my back yard! And coincidentally, here is a link to another concurrent article titled SEIU Lobbyist, discussing what SEIU actually does support. |
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Australia |
Subject: Conscription: It's Not Just For Crime Any Longer
Apparently, after listening to Michael Caine spouting off in England this past week, certain people in Australia got the message and decided to up him one. As reported by Steve Lilleubuen in an article titled:
Mr. Twentyman has got Michael Caine beat by a mile! While Caine only wanted to reduce violence, Twentyman isn't about to be stopped by such shallow thinking. He is going to address crime and brushfires too. And he'll clean up the country's graffiti and trash to boot! But wait. That's not all!! If you pick up the legislative gavel and pass the law right now, he is going toss in, at no extra cost, the solution to societies child obesity problem as well! How, you ask? Why "through intensive physical training". But don't worry, because he promises, "It's not like you're going to be punished or be at a boot camp". Whew, I was getting a bit concerned for a moment. There is nothing contained in this Australian proposal that is not being pushed to an even larger degree by the current Obama administration and the entrenched members of Congress. Do what is necessary to put the breaks on this movement before it is too late. And one additional disturbing fact. Mr. Twentyman justifies his call for mandatory nationwide service as follows:
So, honest, friendly, well-behaved, law-abiding children must be enslaved so that we don't stigmatize those who are violent and commit crimes! This is becoming a familiar world-wide theme and is one of Obama's mantras. You need look no further than this single sentence to see with crystal clarity that egalitarianism and self-sacrifice are among the most evil ideas ever perpetrated upon mankind. Under the principle of treating everyone "fairly" and "equatability", all must be reduced to the lowest common denominator. The good is reduced to the bad; the heroic to the craven; the law-abiding are to be treated the same as the criminal; the productive stripped of their earnings so that they may rise no higher than the shiftless. Anyone who supports this view of man and this concept of inverted "justice" is nothing more than a destroyer. |
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Youth Service America |
Subject: I Am AmeriCorps ... Because Obama Says So!
Using federal taxpayer funds, the Youth Service America organization, which is primarily responsible for the implementation of the "service-learning" programs in schools, along with AmeriCorps, VISTA, Online Learning Center, United We Serve, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, has branched out to use YouTube as a recruiting and promotional tool. As they say on their YAS Service Wire website:
Heading over to their YouTube Resource Center, we are greeted with the following introductory promotional video. This consists of a number of AmeriCorps members holding an "I AM AmeriCorps" sign and telling us the reason for their involvement. In many cases you can see them reading their heartfelt "reason" off the back of the sign that they hold. Often, you cannot hear or understand what the speaker is saying. I was particularly impressed with one fellow who, at about 57 seconds into the clip, shows that he is a graduate from the Kutcher/Moore school of total subjugation, by proclaiming:
The lack of quality in the production and content of the majority of these YouTube videos is certainly some indicator of the level of results that can be expected from the remainder of the work projects being conducted by these organizations. It certainly seems to be the case that quantity takes precedence over quality. Is this where you would choose to have your dollars spent? Fortunately, you don't have to make weighty and troublesome decisions like this, since the federal government has taken over your life and is making all of these decisions for you. More soma anyone? |
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Lincoln School |
Subject: Middle school students learn about community service
The Lincoln Journal covers news from the central-eastern Massachusetts
region. The following are excerpts from an article published on
11-12-09 titled,
Middle school
students learn about community service:
Now, the compliant 12-14 year old children have learned to be "better citizens", having been taught that the "needs of others" place a moral claim on their time and energy; a duty which they must discharge through community service. And that's "just the beginning!" Education or indoctrination? |
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Michelle Obama |
Subject: Make Your Entire Life a Tour of Duty
The following excerpts are from an article by Christine Simmons of the Associated Press, titled, "Mrs. Obama says veterans' skills can help at home". Earlier today, in a Veterans' Day speech, Michelle Obama focused on how veterans could continue to serve their community and nation in ways that:
"For many of these folks, service is the air they breathe. They don't just want to serve for a certain number of years of deployment." On a day that is set aside to honor our veterans who have engaged in the difficult and often dangerous task of protecting and defending this country, instead of simply recognizing their work and offering an unqualified statement of thanks, the First Lady leads off with statements designed to cajole those honorable veterans into committing to an entire life of service to their country. Although we have had over a year to witness the President and First Lady in action, it is still breathtaking to see the level of inhumanity exhibited by these two, as they pursue their social agenda for this country, with total disregard for the existence of, or impact upon actual human beings. Here are additional passages from the article showing that the focus was on promoting the idea of national service, and not in honoring the veterans:
"Communities need veterans' knowledge in technical skills such as engineering, logistics and public safety, she said." "'Whether it's running a rural health clinic or rescuing a community struck by a natural disaster, our veterans have what it takes for success,' she said." "President Barack Obama signed into law earlier this year national service legislation that includes a Veterans Corps, designed to engage veterans in service."
And then we finally get to the entire point of this exercise:
The march towards universal conscription in this country continues. And don't think that its going to be a three-month stint either. As you can see from this speech, the plan is really for life-long servitude. |
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Michael Caine |
Subject: Principles? What Principles?
Back in April of this year, Michael Caine spoke out, taking a very strong position against massive tax increases in the UK. He said:
Sir Michael seems to think that he deserves to keep the product of his considerable labors, and decries the mooching "layabouts on benefits" that he is forced to support. I cheered when he made this pronouncement, thinking that it was about time that more public figures stood up for themselves and used their access to the press to make a principled case to the general public in support of individual rights. However, I guess I didn't really understand Mr. Caine's actual position. Today, in response to the level of violence currently being witnessed in the UK, he began to channel Rahm Emanuel, coming out in favor of the British government imposing a national service requirement upon all youth in the UK.
"There should be a great plan to re-educate these youngsters. It's such a waste they all feel society has let them down." Do the youths of Britain have a right to their own lives? No! According to Mr. Caine, their lives are at the disposal of the government, to do with as the government sees fit — just so long as it doesn't "let them down". And it is not just their lives, but in proper Orwellian fashion, their minds as well, which, are available for a dose of that good old-fashion re-education. Where I see the principle of individual rights being applicable in both of these situations, Mr. Caine appears to treat them as unrelated and applies his unique brand of pragmatic problem solving to each. In the case of taking his money, apparently that's wrong because he doesn't like it. In the case of conscripting youths into national service, that's just fine because he thinks it would be good for them. Or stating it another way, it is perfectly fine for the government to control your body and mind in service of achieving societies goals, but keep your @#$%^& hands off of my money, you @#$%^&! Like so many other misguided people, Sir Michael Caine thinks that he is the only clear-headed thinker, surrounded by a sea of idiots. And he knows with unflinching certainty that he has the one-size-fits-all solution to problems which needs to be forced upon everyone else for their own good. Why?
Well, because it's obvious, you snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings!
Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke,
you vacuous, coffee-nosed, maloderous, pervert!!!*
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Subject: Two Interesting Links
Here are two interesting links you may wish to explore.
Scott is very sincere in his writings and concludes his piece by stating:
This all sounds great to me, but I admit I'm wearing blinders. Tell me why I'm wrong, and why compulsory national service is a bad idea."
If you have a couple of spare minutes, you might want to drop by and
share your views with him.
in which he shares his thoughts on having the school impose mandatory community outreach requirements on all students. We are engaged in a polite discussion of the implications of such a requirement. If others have something further to add to the conversation, please contribute your thoughts. |
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Civic Service Act |
Subject: HERE IT COMES!
In my left hand I hold health care reform and cap-and-trade legislation. Pay no attention to my right hand! The gambit for instituting a nationwide national service requirement for all citizens is still swirling around Congress in typical stealth mode. House Resolution 1444 was introduced by Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jim Moran (D-VA), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), back in March, with the intention of creating a:
Don't you just love phrases like, "and for other purposes"? It's so open-ended that the commission could explore anything and everything. You fill in the blank. Calling itself the "Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act", it states such "findings" by Congress as:
(2) A more engaged civic society will strengthen the Nation by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to work on solutions to some of our Nation's major challenges. (3) Despite declines in civic health in the past 30 years, national service and volunteerism among the Nation's youth are increasing, and existing national service and volunteer programs greatly enhance opportunities for youth to engage in civic activity. (4) In addition to the benefits received by nonprofit organizations and society as a whole, volunteering and national service provide a variety of personal benefits and satisfaction and can lead to new paths of civic engagement, responsibility, and upward mobility." Our "civic health" has been declining for the past 30 years, but national service is just the ticket to mend our "social fabric". Does anyone care to know just what these statements actually means? Apparently, it is self evident to the framers of this resolution and the rest of us are simply too stupid to comprehend the obvious. The resolution states that more youth are involved in national service and "volunteerism". Maybe that is because they are being forced to do so as a mandatory requirement for graduating from high school. Just another of the big lies that the government finds so easy to tell with a straight face. The commission has as one of its duties, recommending to Congress how Congress can:
and
As I have said many times before, the people in Congress see us not as autonomous individuals , but instead as a "human resource" to be "managed" by their "trained leaders".
Fight back against this monster before it is too late to act.
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The Student Formerly Known As Prince |
Subject: Any Community Service?
I couldn't let this one pass by. While our schools focus on making
sure that the youth of our country are being properly indoctrinated in
the values of "Service-Learning" to become acceptable citizens,
do you think that they might be neglecting any other types of useful
learning? Let's let one enterprising student answer the question for
us as she searches for a solution to her
community service requirement problem on Yahoo Answers:
Yes, her research skills may be a little rusty, but I don't know what I'm worried about. She's the product of our fine educational system and that should guarantee that she will do just fine. And even if she can't get a job in one of the technical fields, or in the world of high finance, I'm sure she'll find her place in a fine government job. Maybe even teaching English to one of your children or grand kids! |
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Dilbert |
Subject: Volunteer: Because it Feels So Good
Well, I'm back from my trip and hope to get back to posting regularly again. Here is a little cartoon to get the ball rolling.
On an administrative note, I have now added permanent numbered links to each article in the boxes to the left. If you wish to reference a specific article, use these links to insure that your reader is directed to the exact point you wish. |
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Big Brother |
Subject: Obama Controls Your Television Set
I would like a break from reporting on stuff like this, but the bad news on the ever expanding subject of national service just keeps pouring in. Back on September 10th, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) issued a press release which indicated that:
Remember, this primetime TV programming blitzkrieg covering more than 60 different shows, is only the first wave in a multi-year effort! A more detailed list of which network shows are participating, and in exactly what manner, can be found here. On the Big Hollywood website, John Nolte has just submitted an article entitled, LEAKED NETWORK MEMO REVEALS: Obama Controls Your Television Set, which discusses a related industry memo that describes the purpose of this media campaign. Here are some sections from that memo:
So, just as the Obama administration has organized artists, using the National Endowment for the Arts, to push his social agendas, he is now using the broadcast media to accomplish the same goals. And if you think that getting the government run United We Serve website out of the service program hosting business was a victory — it was a very shallow one, because other shill organizations like the EIF simply take over the operation with sites like iParticipate.org. When the government gets called on the carpet for inappropriate or illegal behavior, it simply outsources it dirty work to other quasi-private organizations, which it then funds indirectly with the billions of TARP and Corporation for National & Community Service dollars that are being dispensed by the administration like candy.
If you have been reading all of my previous articles, then you know
that this effort is merely one more prelude to Obama's true agenda
of instituting a program of mandatory national service for every
American citizen. It is critical that we organize a very vocal
opposition to this effort. For if we allow the idea of mandatory
service to continue unchecked, then it will not be long before the
autonomy of the "sovereign individual" will be nothing more
than a memory in this country.
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Involuntary Servitude |
Subject: Involuntary Servitude: The 13th Amendment Ain't What It Used
To Be
Excerpts from a 1997 paper by Jessica Parr titled, Mandatory Community Service:
Say it with me one more time: Mandatory service is not volunteerism!
So, apparently the court ruled that forcing a child to attend school, and then denying that child the possibility of graduating if they did not participate in mandatory service, was not a form of punishment! But if is isn't, I have some serious trouble understanding the rationale operating here. In researching this issue further, I discovered a very interesting 1999 paper by Rodney A. Smolla, a law professor at University of Richmond, entitled: The Constitutionality of Mandatory Public School Community Service Programs. For readers wishing to get a better handle on how today's courts view these issues, I highly recommend taking a careful look at the entire article. Below I will excerpt a few of the sections that help explain the decision in the above case.
So, based upon this line of argument, the Thirteenth Amendment's reference to involuntary servitude is supposed to be read as exactly equivalent to the conditions of African slavery. And any form of servitude which does not rise fully to the level of such slavery is not covered by said Amendment. Again, I suggest reading the entire document in order to get the full gist of these arguments and to see why the author argues that other types of constitutional challenges to mandatory service also fail. I believe that a careful reader of the above excerpts will quickly see, as I do, a number of glaring holes in the arguments being presented. I do not offer these quotes in the belief that they present a cogent case for accepting the legality of mandatory service, nor do I think that they argue from a proper interpretation of the Thirteenth Amendment. However, it is a fact, as the author points out, that the courts have repeatedly upheld most forms of conscription and the "taking" of citizens' labor and property for redistribution under the guise of the welfare state, as constitutional. It certainly gives one pause to contemplate exactly where we currently stand, and what steps would be required to move from our current position towards a more rational reading and application of the text of our Constitution! Please send me your thoughts and ideas on the subject. |
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serve.gov |
Subject: Woo Hoo! This Decision is a Win for the Volunteer
Sector
From a serve.gov (AKA: United We Serve) service brief:
Hmmm... Do you think those "lessons" could have anything to do with the ACORN scandal?
Yea!!! A WIN for the volunteer sector!!!!! Of course, it's so obvious!! This, of course, is the pre-packaged tag line for the Main Stream Media when reporting on this story. And being a good citizen, I knew I was supposed to lead with this for my report as well. But seriously, take a look at the original notice. This statement, in all its enbolded glory, sits on the page like an out of place pimple on the nose tip of your prom date. I guess its true that the people in government do really believe that if they just "say it", then it must be true!
In other words, we got caught with our hands in the cookie jar! We're not sorry we did it. But we are sorry we got caught.
Now isn't that sweet. The government is listening to us after all! And they're smart too!
I'm just so thankful that I got my service project
registered at serve.gov before it was too late!
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Michelle Obama |
Subject: How Much is Michelle Obama Worth?
As reported by Andrew Clark in Politics Daily,
In the article you can read about the controversial give-and-take between various students and groups on the campus over this proposal. But my interest lies elsewhere. Ms. Obama certainly seems to have a high opinion of her own worth. In exchange for a 30-40 minute speech at a university, she expects students to take 100,000 hours of their valuable time away from their studies and invest it in "community service" projects. Once again, using the federal minimum wage of $7.50/hour, this means that she is demanding a minimum of $750,000 of the students' time in exchange for less than one hour of hers! According to Slate's The Big Money, mid-range commencement speakers can command between $30-50,000 per engagement, while big names like Rudy Giuliani are worth up to $75,000. Even the master, Bill Clinton, who, as President, figured out that he could lease out bedrooms at the White House, could get only $350,000 for giving a speech on the most popular topic of all — trashing George Bush! Wait, I have an idea! Why doesn't Ms. Obama lead by example and practice what she preaches. Shouldn't she simply donate her time as a community service, and give the speech at GWU for free, without demanding extra-curricular work from the students? But of course not! That kind of thinking is only for suckers. |
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Slaying Leviathan |
Subject: Involuntary Servitude for All
Reader Leslie Carbone, the author of Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform, brought to my attention an interesting article that she wrote back in November 2008 titled, Emanuel Proposes Slavery. In this piece she discusses Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama's call for the creation of a "Civilian National Security Force" that would conscript every American into a mandatory period of national service for the purpose of:
With terms like "basic training" and "community service", it's duces wild as to what the government could do with – or to you during your period of conscription. Now Rahm is a nice guy, and he is only proposing a three month period of mandatory service. And if you buy that, then you must think that the top income tax rate is 7% and that your Social Security number will never be used as a means of identification. A program like this is always proposed as a small thing, which then quickly expands to feed the bottomless pit that is our federal, state and local governments. There were a few issues raised in the comments section to Leslie's article that I would like to address here. A couple of the readers complained about the use of the term "slavery" being applied to this proposal, when it was simply "temporary compulsory service" and, as one reader put it, "that's all." . Well, this sort of semantic argument is about as interesting as calculating the number of angel dancing on the head of a pin. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution states:
Emanuel's plan certainly qualifies as involuntary servitude, so it is clearly unconstitutional. And as far as I am concerned, every form of involuntary servitude is a form of slavery and vice versa. The duration of the servitude is immaterial because we each possess an unalienable right to our lives - and that is an absolute. And so long as we refrain from violating the rights of others, no entity, whether they be another individual, a group or a government, may morally lay claim to one one moment of your life. Some of Leslie's readers also commented on the fact that we have had compulsory military service in this country, on and off, throughout our history, and what Emanuel is proposing is nothing different. Of course, these arguments were meant to defend this new form of conscription on the grounds of "tradition". But that argument doesn't hold water if you read the 13th Amendment. It contains no exception to the ban on involuntary servitude, other than as punishment for a crime. The truth is that military conscription or a "draft" is unconstitutional as well. As one of the commentators put it: "Compulsory military service IS involuntary servitude, which IS slavery". The use of conscription in this country has been a travesty to our rights and any future attempt to reinstate a draft must be opposed on constitutional grounds. Now, I am a huge supporter of our military as an absolutely essential institution, required to protect our lives, rights and freedom, and I have deep respect for anyone who commits themselves to that job. But the fact that I see this function as important, does not somehow grant me the special privilege of then being able to force someone else to provide that service against their will. The only proper way for a free people to interact with one another is voluntarily, with the initiation of force prohibited. And this is especially true when dealing with the government, which is charged as the repository of retaliatory force, to be used strictly in service of our protection. When the government steps over that bright line, as ours did long ago, and begins to initiate force against its citizens, then it is time to do what our forefathers once proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence:
Whether our current form of government can be salvaged, or whether it has become so corrupted that it must be replaced, is something worth carefully considering. |
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Chris Brown Performing Community Service |
Subject: Community Service's Split Personality
If you monitor the news for mentions of mandatory "community service", it soon becomes apparent that there are two buckets into which these reports fall. The first is the use of "community service" as a punishment for various criminal offenses in lieu of fines or incarceration. In these cases, the convicted criminal is sentenced to perform a specified number of hours of "compulsory unpaid work" at some designated task. When reviewing the literature on the theory behind community service punishment, it is often presented as a cost-effective alternative to incarceration while also providing two forms of deterrent. First, as a form of public humiliation for the offender, shaming them into altering their ways. And second, using this offender as a very visible example to others, warning them to avoid similar behavior. The case of Chris Brown is somewhat typical. After pleading guilty to beating, choking, and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, instead of being jailed, he was ordered to perform 180 days of community service. As the NY Daily News reports:
There are so many things that could be said about this use of "community service" that it is difficult to know where to begin. Start by reading about the cases of George Norris and Krister Evertson in The Washington Times article, Criminalizing everyone, and then try and reconcile what is happening to people like these, while a celebrity who assaults a woman, is expected to do nothing more than pick up trash, wash cars and clean graffiti as his penalty. What form of "justice" accommodates a disparity of this magnitude? And one wonders what standard or principle is being put into practice that leads to the community, and not the victim of the crime, being the beneficiary of the services performed? It is certainly not the concept of victim restitution — or if restitution is being applied, then it is clear that the court judges the actual crime not to have been committed agains the individual involved, but against "society" as a whole, and it is therefore society that should be compensated, while leaving the victim to lick her wounds. The second category of mandatory "community service" is the type of national or community service being implemented by the Corporation for National & Community Service through it sub-organizations and programs including Senior Corps, AmeriCorp, VISTA, National Civilian Community Corps, United We Serve, 9/11 National Day of Service, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, National Service-Learning Partnership, and many others. On the one hand, we have our government using "community service" as punishment and a form of public humiliation for bad behavior. So how is it then possible for the same government to turn around and tell honest citizens, children and adult alike, that having a mandatory service requirement forced upon them should be embraced as a beneficial privilege and an honor? Shouldn't the observant, thinking individual see the contradiction in this and instead react to the mandatory requirement as though it were punishment? And the answers is, yes, of course they should! And the reason they should is not because the service work is similar — although most school children are being required to perform equally menial tasks like collecting trash — the reason is because the service requirement is being forced upon them, exactly as it is being imposed by force upon the criminal! In the case of the criminal, the use of force is justified by the fact that it is retaliatory force in response to the original use of force by the lawbreaker, and applicable because the wrongful actions taken caused the convicted criminal to forfeit their rights. But in the case of honest people, there is absolutely no justification for the government's actions. Here, the mandatory service requirement itself becomes the initiation of force against citizens whose constitutional rights remain in full force. And it is this distinction that makes the latter use of mandatory service equivalent to indentured servitude or slavery. Nevertheless, the folks who currently control our government are incapable of making such fine distinctions between the initiation and the retaliatory use of force, or of seeing a difference between the unalienable individual rights possessed by each citizen and the forfeiture of those rights through criminal acts. They are incapable of seeing these simple facts because they do not recognize the individual as a sovereign entity. Their collective vision of the the world extends no deeper than "society", which is recognized as the sole repository of rights and privileges. People — the citizens of a country — are the raw material of that society — a natural resource to be applied by the collective's whim and will to those societal issues and problems deemed by the controlling elite to be worth addressing. It is from this viewpoint that the two wildly different classes of mandatory community service discussed above, merge into one. There is no fundamental difference between a man who beats a woman and a second grade school child. Both are warm bodies that must be trained to bend to the will of the group. And as George Orwell so clearly identified long ago, it is not just your actions — but your thoughts, that must be bent. So the next time you see someone in a red jersey picking up trash along the side of the road, think of all the sons and daughters being indoctrinated by NEA teachers in the ways of "service-learning", to become just one more generation incapable of thinking their way out of a paper bag, having no idea that, once upon a time, there were people — individuals — who possessed a right to their life, their liberty and their property, and made independent choices in directing the course of their lives without the intervention or necessary approval of their "community". See that road worker — and then get mad enough to do something to stop this insanity! |
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NSLP |
Subject: Be It Resolved ...
Ace Parsi, the Policy Director for the National Service-Learning Partnership, issued an Important Policy Update in which he states:
[...] It's a critical time for service-learning and it is so important to let Congress know that service-learning works and we care. I wonder what those "key relationships in Congress" are that need to be nurtured? Could it have anything to do with taking more money from the pockets of the taxpayers and giving it to these people? On October 7th, various Senators introduced the following resolution:
Recognizing the benefits of service-learning and expressing support for the goals of the National Learn and Serve Challenge. Whereas service-learning is a teaching method that enhances academic learning by integrating classroom content with relevant activities aimed at addressing identified needs in a community or school; Whereas service-learning has been used both in school and community-based settings as a teaching strategy to enhance learning by building on youth experiences, granting youth a voice in learning, and making instructional goals and objectives more relevant to youth; Whereas service-learning addresses the dropout epidemic in the United States by making education more `hands-on' and relevant, and has been especially effective in addressing the dropout epidemic with respect to disadvantaged youth; Whereas service-learning is proven to provide the greatest benefits to disadvantaged and at-risk youth by building self-confidence, which often translates into overall academic and personal success; Whereas service-learning provides not only meaningful experiences, but improves the quantity and quality of interactions between youth and potential mentors in the community; Whereas service-learning empowers youth as actively engaged learners, citizens, and contributors to the community; Whereas youth engaged in service-learning provide critical service to the community by addressing a variety of needs in towns, cities, and States, including needs such as tutoring young children, care of the elderly, community nutrition, disaster relief, environmental stewardship, financial education, and public safety; Whereas far-reaching and diverse research shows that service-learning enhances the academic, career, cognitive, and civic development of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and students at institutions of higher education; Whereas service-learning strengthens and increases the number of partnerships among institutions of higher education, local schools, and communities, which strengthens communities and improves academic learning; Whereas service-learning programs allow a multitude of skilled and enthusiastic college students to serve in the communities surrounding their colleges; Whereas service-learning programs engage students in actively addressing and solving pressing community issues and strengthen the ability of nonprofit organizations to meet community needs; Whereas Learn and Serve America, a program established under subtitle B of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12521 et seq.), is the only federally funded program dedicated to service-learning and engages more than 1,100,000 youth in service-learning each year; Whereas Learn and Serve America is a highly cost-effective program, with an average cost of approximately $25 per participant and leverage of $1 for every Federal dollar invested; Whereas the National Learn and Serve Challenge is an annual event that, in 2009, will take place October 5 through October 11; and Whereas the National Learn and Serve Challenge spotlights the value of service-learning to young people, schools, college campuses, and communities, encourages others to launch service-learning activities, and increases recognition of Learn and Serve America: Now, therefore, be it
(B) engaging youth in positive experiences in the community; and (C) encouraging youth to make more constructive choices with regards to their lives; (2) encourages schools, school districts, college campuses, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and faith-based organizations to provide youth with more service-learning opportunities; and (3) expresses support for the goals of the National Learn and Serve Challenge. I had a few questions about this resolution, and as the primary sponsor, I wrote to my Senator, Patty Murray, asking the following:
I am reading the text of S.CON RES. 46, and I am trying to get a better understanding of the exact nature of service-learning. There are a great many claims made in this resolution regarding social and cognitive benefits to be realized by youth from their participation in this program. Specifically, the resolution states:
I have scoured the NSLP website looking for just this type of research, but have not been able to locate it. As the primary sponsor of the legislation, I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a copy of the research that you used when crafting these statements. Alternately, you could just point me to a location on the internet where I could review the research. The resolution also states:
I was confused by this passage. Could you please explain to me just how this leveraging works? What is the $25 cost/participant and what is the time unit associated with this $25 cost (per student/year, per student/event or something else?) Can you then explain why this is cost effective? In relation to what exactly? Finally, I must plead serious ignorance when it comes to the day-to-day workings of Congress, but I am trying to understand exactly what is the purpose of a resolution such as this? There does not seem to be any legislative component here, and I cannot determine what action or impact this resolution is supposed to produce. Could you please enlighten me. Thank you for your time and help in improving my understanding in this area.
Sincerely, I will report here if I receive any clarification from the Senator. |
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NSLP |
Subject: Service-Learning
While exploring the National Service-Learning Partnership (NSLP) site, I took a look at the page describing the "service-learning" concept. Near the top of the page is the following example:
When I was in school, we were given problems in practical learning that involved real-world exercises that helped us to integrate and apply our abstract knowledge to situations that we might encounter throughout life. There could certainly be a practical learning component to the exercise of examining local water to determine its content. And practical problem-solving certainly meets this aspect of the NSLP's goals:
But that goal could easily be met by thoughtful teachers and standard educational programs just as it was in my day. So why do we need to pump billions of additional taxpayer dollars into a complex organization like NSLP. Well, so that we might achieve their other true objective:
Our schools are being turned into factories used to create a population equipped with "service skills" (conveniently left undefined), "community stewardship" skills (again, I could not locate a definition or discussion of what this entails), and "civic action" skills. The mind reals at what this last is supposed to mean! Standards for conveying the facts embodied in subjects suchs as math, English, history, biology, chemistry and physics can be objectively examined and agreed upon. But what about topics such as what is and is not appropriate activity within the realm of "civic action", or what exactly are the standards one applied to concepts of "kindness" and "caring"? And where is there any discussion and analysis relating to the morality and constitutionality of enforced labor? The answers to questions such as these are clearly dependent upon a broad-based philosophy, and different people will come to different conclusion in these areas depending upon the principles that they hold. After examining case after case where these so called service-learning program are being implemented, it soon becomes clear that the agenda is to indoctrinate the students in an implicit philosophy of altruism, replacing their budding independent and adventurous spirit with a more docile one of self-sacrifice to others. The people implementing these programs administratively, and teaching them is the classrooms, are all Ellsworth Tooheys - but of an even more sinister kind. For, while Toohey plied his craft in the realm of adults who at least had a fighting chance to think for themselves and defend against his methods, these people ambush children, as young a five or six, who have not yet had the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills through practice and life experiences, nor have most yet learned that there are adults in the world who do not deserve their trust. If you are concerned about the rapid invasion of service-learning programs into our schools, supplanting traditional education subjects and methods, I encourage everyone to get in touch with your local school board to determine the status of these programs, and to make your opposition known. There is only one long term solution to this and a myriad of other problems with our schools. We must get the government out of the education business once and for all. Until this is accomplished, schools will continue to be used as indoctrination centers for one bad idea after another. The abysmal state of education today is a direct result of having made it appear to be "free" to one and all. Like any other free product, education has come to hold very little value in the eyes of most students (as witnessed by their lack of initiative and commitment in pursuing their studies) and by most of their parents who are also products of this "free" system. And the resultant apathy leaves the system wide open for the type of massive abuse we are now seeing. When parents are required to pay directly for their childrens' education, they will soon begin to apply some of those critical shopping skills that they currently reserve for the purchase of a new car or major appliance. And when parents begin to evaluate how their valuable education dollars are actually being spent, children will once again begin to learn — and think. |
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Dana Loesch |
Subject: Chipping Away at Big Brother
Here is an interesting tidbit from Andrew Breitbart's Big Government website. According to poster Dana Loesch, the United We Serve website serve.gov has apparently removed all references to the ACORN organization. So it seems as though the actions of the investigators, blog reporters and activist protesters had some direct and measurable effect upon our government. In itself, this is a small victory, but more and more we seem to have the politicians adopting a defensive posture rather than the smug, dismissive, offensive that they were leading with just a few short months ago. Now this is a freedom-loving community service that I can support! |
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Subject: Send in You Sightings
If any reader of this blog runs across a story relating to mandatory community or national service which they believe would be of general interest to others, please send me a note pointing to the article. Thanks for your interest and participation. |
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Subject: Service is the Rent You Pay ...
From an article titled, Service Day at the Meridian School, we learn how children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade are indoctrinated into the idea that service to the community is a duty. Here are some excerpts:
[...] "Service is the rent you pay for living on earth, and it starts in elementary school," according to Ron Waldman, the Head of Meridian School. "By the time they leave 5th grade, we want our kids to feel that this is part of the fabric of who they are. It's not whether I should or shouldn't serve the community, but how. That's just what we do." [Emphasis added] Yes, that's just what they do! Where are all the parent's, protecting their children from this sort of indoctrination? These poor kids have little chance of growing up and developing an ability to think critically and independently. Which, unfortunately, is the entire point of the exercise! |
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Subject: Working on Political Campaigns is "Community Service"
— Sort of ....
A naplesnews.com, we learn that:
[...] "It is not so much the site, but what you do at the site," [Diedra Landrum] said. "A student might clean up after a rally, but not endorse a candidate. They could work at voter registration." [...] But [Chris] Smith told committee members to think carefully about how much work they let a student do for a political or religious organization. If the district officials allowed a student to work for the Democrat or Republican parties, for example, they could be opening themselves up to allowing students to receive credit for working for the Nazi party.
"You could be going down a slippery slope," he said.
Yes, it is a slippery slope, but they teetered over the edge when they first began to consider imposing mandatory service on these children. After that, it's turtles all the way down. It is stunning to consider the level of micro-management exerted over the the nature of the mandatory service requirement, which is necessary to stop a student from engaging in political activity which (by what standard?) is apparently judged to be "offensive" and "wrong". On the other hand, it is equally amazing to consider how there is absolutely no vocal opposition raised in having these same students be forced to attend to menial labor such as "cleaning up after a rally"! This attests to the true reason for institution mandatory service. If the idea was to create opportunities for the betterment of the student, then requiring time-wasting activity such as cleaning would not be part of the equation. But if the idea is to extract free slave labor from our youth, then this easily meets the bill. I hope the pattern is becoming clear. |
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Subject: Update on the National Service Budget
Just to keep you informed about where some of your tax dollars are going, here is an Update on the national service budget from the Corporation for National & Community Service, released on October 1, 2009:
Today marks the beginning of a new federal fiscal year, and I want to update you on recent actions on the Corporation's budget. Earlier today, President Obama signed a continuing resolution which will fund federal agencies and programs at Fiscal 2009 levels through October 31. The continuing resolution, which was attached to the legislative branch appropriations bill, was needed to keep government programs operating after the official end of the fiscal year. As in prior fiscal years, our operations under a continuing resolution are limited and we will be following our normal annual practices for the time we are receiving this interim funding. Also, the continuing resolution will affect the timeline for implementing some of the new program activities authorized by the Serve America Act and proposed in the President's FY 2010 budget. While we cannot allocate funds for new Serve America Act initiatives until we receive our full FY 2010 appropriation, we are laying the groundwork to carry out these exciting new initiatives by developing rules, writing guidelines, issuing funding notices, and taking other steps that don't require final enactment of our appropriation. As you recall, the FY 2010 budget process began last May, when President Obama submitted a budget request of $1.149 billion for the Corporation and its programs, a $259 million or 29 percent increase over the FY 2009 enacted level. The House of Representatives included $1.059 billion for the Corporation in the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill passed on July 24, followed a week later by the Senate Appropriations Committee providing $1.157 billion in its version of the bill. The actions taken by Congress so far reflect strong support for national service during this tough budget year, and we are hopeful the final measure will fully fund the President's request. As community needs continue to grow, and as Americans look for ways to give back, national service is a critical, cost-effective investment that engages citizens in tackling our most serious challenges. Please visit our budget page for more information on the President's request and Congressional actions. We will keep you posted on further developments." [Emphasis added] In the midst of the worst recession in 65 years, with many companies struggling simply to survive while at the same time, facing massive proposed tax increases, this government agency is receiving a 29-31% increase in its budget! This is over $1.1 billion taxpayer dollars being used to promote the activities I have been describing in the previous series of articles. "Government: The Only Growth Industry You Can Count On!" How about writing your Senators, Representative or the local paper and let them know exactly what you think of this. |
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Subject: Volunteerism is not legal unless it is done under the
watchful eye of the government
Here is a story by Gregory S. Hession, J.D., posted on the New American website:
A neighbor reported this activity to the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS), and in a spasm of regulatory over-kill, the agency sent a cease-and-desist letter to Snyder right after the school year started. In it, the DHS demanded that she stop helping her neighbors by providing an "illegal daycare operation," because she was not a licensed day-care center. A Michigan law prohibits persons from caring for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Violation of the law is a criminal misdemeanor and can result in fines and jail time. After getting the letter, Snyder, a stay-at-home mother, contacted the Department of Human Services, but she "got nowhere." Somehow this situation came to the attention of higher-ups in the government, and this week the Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, publicly weighed in on the matter. She instructed the agency Director, Ismael Ahmedm, to work with the State Legislature to try to change the law. Yesterday, Michigan State Rep. Brian Calley (R-Portland) said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day-care regulations. "The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed," Calley said. Ironically, Snyder was threatened with jail for providing a service to her community, a "crime" for which another tax-funded state agency may bestow an award to her. The State of Michigan funds the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC), whose mission is to "build a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism," and "to help individuals get involved in their local communities." Outstanding volunteers are even given special service awards by the Governor. Apparently, volunteerism is not legal unless it is done under the watchful eye of the government. Just as is occurring with health care and student loans — to name just two examples — governments at all levels work relentlessly to eliminate private enterprise in every field of endeavor, including voluntary ones. They remove these active areas of competition so that they may then wield total regulatory control over that aspect of our lives. And as this totalitarian creep marches forward, it eats away, more and more, at our freedom and the ability to pursue our own happiness. |
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Subject: You're An Artist But Can't Find Stable Work??
Here are some excerpts from a job advertisement for a fashion design teacher, posted on the GraphicDesign-Jobs.com web site as well as on craigslist:
YOU ARE: Dedicated to Community Service & Social Change WE ARE: THE RADICAL ARTS VENUE & EDUCATION CENTER THIS POSITION IS PAID THROUGH AMERICORPS! Why go oversees when you can serve your community at home?? ALL POSITIONS ARE PAID A LIVING WAGE ALLOWANCE determined by terms of service. ALL POSITIONS have an ADDITIONAL EDUCATION STIPEND ranging from $1,250 to $2,362.50 depending on terms of service. RESPONSIBILITIES: Engage students in Community Service Activities through your art form QUALIFICATIONS: High school diploma/GED acquired by June 30th QUALIFICATIONS: Experience working with disconnected youth, including foster care or juvenile justice populations a PLUS [Emphasis added] Your tax dollars are now funding after-school fashion design for inner-city children, taught by a high school graduate who is committed to social change, and sponsored by the Radical Arts Venue & Education Center. But remember, don't call this arts training or educational instruction. This is community service. Could someone explain to me the difference between a job and this type of community service? |
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Subject: Hey Kids, I've Got A Message For You ...
From the RFK Record, No Community Immunity by Heather Marie Mendez:
We all know you've heard about it a million times and that you have to complete at least 200 hours to receive a diploma and graduate; well this year it's no joke. Prior to this year, the alumni of Robert F Kennedy Community High School took community service lightly and didn't always complete their hours; the administration was lenient and allowed students to graduate, but the buck stops here. Some students are disgruntled about the recent announcement. "If students from years before were able to graduate and didn't complete all their hours, it's not fair that the same policies do not apply to us," said Hawa Faiq, sophomore. On the contrary, some students seem un-phased by the new enforced policy. "I've always known that I had to do all 200 hours so it's not a big deal to me; community service is a good thing and it looks great on college applications," said junior Daoud Noori. So if you're feeling inspired, it's time to sign up for walks, participate in school activities and talk to Mrs. Henry or Mrs. Lang to make sure you get those hours done and those time sheets filled out. Remember, you won't get your diploma without it. So RFK, it's time to get serious; get inspired, help your community, and complete those 200 hours!" I was particularly taken by the absolutely fantastic "teachable moment" when the clueless student, Hawa Faiq, points out that there is something unfair about selectively enforcing a policy upon him when others are given a free pass, and Ms. Mendez counters with, "On the contrary, some students seem un-phased by the new enforced policy." You simply cannot counter a syllogism like this, and must bend to its powerful logic! So much for Hawa Faiq, who is clearly not representative of the type of student RFK is designed to produce. Maybe he will have learned his lesson and not attempt to question authority in the future by applying the outmoded use of reason. Or more hopefully, as a sophomore, he might escape from RFK's clutches for the remaining two years of his high school education. I am also pretty sure that Ms. Mendez's use of the phrase, "the buck stops here" isn't really apropos to the point she was attempting to make! Here is the response I posted to the article at the RFK site:
Well, according to the Constitution, your "life" is yours, to do with as you see fit. This means that you -- and you alone -- decide the goals you wish to pursue. And your "liberty" is the freedom to act independently, based upon your own judgment. It seems to me that your parents, teachers, school administrators, politicians, and Ms. Mendez may have all forgotten this. Maybe you should remind them, and let them know that you do not delegate to them, the authority to determine the course of your life. And, of course, there is that other pesky amendment #13 which states:
Kids, what do you think slavery and "involuntary servitude" mean in this context? Do you think that forcing every child to complete 200 hours of community service in order for them to pursue their education qualifies? How do you feel about this? It's one thing to allow students to truly volunteer for any activity that they find worthwhile, but to require you to perform these services -- to use force to compel those of you to participate when you would otherwise elect not to do so -- doesn't that seem to qualify as involuntary servitude and violate your individual rights? It certainly does to me. And on a more practical note, if you were not being forced to spend your time on these community service activities, you might instead invest those hours in an after school job. The minimum wage is currently $7.25/hour, so the time that your school forces you to work for the community amounts to a minimum of $1,450.00. Maybe you should send them a bill! Some people think that performing community service will make you a more well rounded person and a better citizen. Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I think that any endeavor you pursue that teaches you to use reason, develop your analytical skills, think for yourself and challenge authority, are activities of considerably more value to your personal development, and would certainly make you be the type of person that I would welcome into my community. Give it some thought. And if you are interested in a more in-depth analysis of this subject, check out my writings at:
So kids, I send each of you my best for a long and successful life. And for those of you reading this who see that there is another side to this issue of mandatory service, I encourage you to stand up for your rights. They are valuable, and if you preserve them, they will serve you well.
Regards, The comment is awaiting approval. What are the chances that they will post it? [PostScript: Well, after sending two follow-up comments regarding the site owner's failure to publish my comments, I was shocked to see the comment finally displayed on 10-09-09, a full week after it was originally submitted. Of course, the delay means that few people will see the comment, but I guess it's better late than never!] |
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Subject: Running the Numbers: Over One Billion Served
Let's do a little math. According to the US Census, in 2007 there were 55 million students enrolled in grades K-12, and 17.6 million college students. Assuming a roughly equal age distribution of students, then there would be 4/13 * 55 million, or about 16.9 million high school students. So 16.9 + 17.6 = 34.5 million high school/college students. From my research, it looks like the annual requirement for mandatory community service in these schools ranges between 20 and 40 hours, so let's assume an average of 30 hours/year. Multiplying this by the available student population yields: 30 * 34.5 million = 1,035,000,000 hours. Yes, that is correct: OVER ONE BILLION HOURS! For 2009, the federal government has set the minimum wage at $7.25/hour. Therefore, the dollar value for the mandatory work being forced from students at the high school and college level each year is potentially worth over $7.25 billion dollars. Year after year after year. Do we need to look any further to understand the real motivation behind this push for mandatory national service? This is nothing more than slave labor being extracted from the nation's children. And it is being done under an indoctrination program designed to make every one of those children believe that they owe their labor to — the state, the community, the school or whatever collective group you care to substitute — but they owe it as a duty — and the group has a right to collect it from them upon demand. Contrary to what the Constitution states, their lives are not theirs, to do with as they choose, but something to be sacrificed in service to a higher cause. So why stop with low-priced school kids. Just think of the value to be had by turning every citizen into a national slave? Let's see, there are 300,000,000 of us, at an average salary of ....... Well, you get the idea. This movement must be stopped! By the way, it took McDonald's around 15 years (1948-1963) of constantly expanding nationwide service in order to serve one billion hamburger patties. That's a lot of hard work to get to a number like that. And every one of their employees, and every one of their customers interacted with McDonald's on a truly voluntary basis. |
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Subject: Community Service: It's Not Just For Your
Community Any Longer!
In the Howard County Times, we find an article describing how a high school student met his mandatory community service requirement by traveling to the Togolese Republic in Africa to install an "internet cafe" for the local villagers. In the truest spirit of altruism, this "mandatory community service" project ranks at the top, because it makes sure that not one iota of impact could be realized by any of the participants. Only when you make the entire world be "your community", do you really have the opportunity of discharging your "duty" in a manner that insures that neither you, nor your family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, or even strangers with whom you might interact, could possibly benefit from your actions. Because, let's face it, if even the smallest drop of benefit finds it's way into your life, it would taint the purity of the sacrifice. Congratulations Padawan! Your proper place in society have you learned well. |
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Subject: Half of Public Schools Require Community Service
According to the Kansas City Star, in an article titled Volunteering is a requirement at Florida high schools:
And as long as we're scanning the article, the author asks and answers the question:
Everything. The three - and almost all other South Florida high school students - have to venture outside of the classroom to earn their diplomas, doing what schools call 'community service.'" The article describes one student, working for the Humane Society, who:
Well it's better than having kids learn about U.S. history or the Constitution. Wouldn't want our schools to be training any more rabble-rousers and stirring up trouble. And in the new make-work "volunteer economy", knowing how to clean a litter box is very likely to be one of the more valuable skills. |
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Subject: Volunteerism ... For Credit and Money!
From Raleigh, NC comes the story: Wake Tech launches effort to promote volunteerism, where:
OK, so the students are volunteering their time right? But wait, there's more:
So let me see if I've got this straight. AmeriCorp personnel who are undoubtedly getting a salary at taxpayer expense from the $6,000,000,000 that the Obama administration just pumped into this sector, are called "volunteers". And college students who participate in "service-learning programs" and receive college credit are also "volunteers", with the entire process being one to "promote volunteerism". Yeah, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it now. This is volunteerism, the same way that the IRS claims that the American tax system is voluntary. As The Future of Freedom Foundation reports:
One can only wonder, of course, how many public-school-trained Americans believe this nonsense." Well, I think the answer to that last question is pretty much resolved by Wake Tech and the in-depth investigative reporting done by The Apex Herald Newspaper reporting on that story. Apparently, just about all of them! |
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Subject: Giving is the New Taking
At the website titled New Paradigm Shift, there is a very pro-service article by Pilar Stella entitled Giving is the New Taking, which begins with the following quote by Price Pritchett:
While the article itself is not particularly noteworthy, I couldn't help be marvel at the irony of the title and the quote, as they apply to the true nature of the call for mandatory service currently being enforced in our schools and proposed for all citizens. Like the Greeks bearing gifts, the service initiative is dressed up in a Trojan horse of altruistic rhetoric designed to convince people that their enslavement by the state is actually in their best interest and something for which they would "volunteer" if only they were not being forced do so so! Yes, "giving" is certainly the "new taking" — the taking of one's freedom! |
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Subject: Lockport Township, IL High School Moves Towards Mandatory
Community Service
As reported today in The Homer Horizon:
Board members voted 5 to 2 to approve the first of two steps that would enact the policy to require community service hours of students, with a final vote on the matter scheduled to take place at the next board meeting on Monday, Oct. 19. Under the policy, the mandated service hours would be phased-in to all classes beginning in the fall of 2010. Seniors (Class of 2011) would be required to complete 10 hours of service, juniors 20 hours, sophomores 30 hours and freshmen 40 hours. [...] Michael Lewandowski and John Lukasik voted against the policy, with Lewandowski speaking out against the proposal during discussion at the Sept. 22 meeting. "Should we encourage our students to help the community? Yes. Should we force them to help the community? No." Lewandowski said. "Doing this voluntary is one thing but forcing them to do it is another. "We shouldn't force our students to do something against their will in order to graduate." Lewandowski worried the policy would provoke "incrementalism." "We've all seen how the government can creep into our lives," he said after reading to the board the 13th Amendment. "I don't want the federal, state or local government to say, 'well, the school district have approved this, so we can, too.'" Board member Angela Kamely responded to Lewandowski's statements. "We're doing this as a graduation requirement, not as a right to live," she said. "I support helping make a more well-rounded student." And with that mere flourish, Ms. Kamely brushes away the 13th Amendment and the rights of the students. Hey, it's only their education, not their lives! And just as a reminder: The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states:
Oh well, it's just a technicality. What's more important is to shape a "more well-rounded student" — in Angela Kamely's image. |
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Subject: Community Service Infects the Montessori Schools
In the article Cultivating Agents of Change, educational consultant Sara Cotner introduces Make A Difference Day, a national day of community service, into the Montessori curriculum. As she states in her article:
What better way indeed! Although, I would quibble with the word teach" and replace it with "indoctrinate". Reading further in the article we see that Ms. Cotner proposes the the entire class pick a single project from all of the proposed ideas and then work as a group to implement it. This sort of social group activity is the opposite of the Montessori educational philosophy which is based upon the understanding that a child is a self-directed learner, advancing their knowledge principally during periods of intense concentration and solo activity. Furthermore, Ms. Cotner has stated clearly that the social agenda she wished to impart to the students is her personal goal, and not a normal aspect of the Montessori course materials. It is crucial that education, at all levels, be removed from government control and influence. The educational activists like Ms. Cotner are breading a new generation of social activists, by brain washing children to treat as normal, a social ideology which they are not yet equipped to properly evaluate. This is nothing less than political indoctrination. |
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Subject: A Request for Help
While I have always been concerned about the advancement of mandatory national service as being a direct form of enslavement and a serious breach of the individual's right to their own life, I have to be honest in saying that until I began to study this subject in depth, I had no idea just how pervasive a movement it had become in our country. Using Google Alerts, I started tracking "community service", "national service", "serve.gov" and "United We Serve", and I typically get between 30-50 new hits per day—sometimes many more. Reading through these links on an ongoing basis starts to give a true picture of just how large and organized a force there is, pushing us ever closer to a commitment of a full blown service requirement to the State for all citizens. And with this being a priority of the Obama administration, efforts have been accelerating at a rapid pace, funded by a huge influx of new tax dollars directed towards the cause. It is important to fight this trend in every way we can, identifying the underlying breach of our rights as the principal reason for our opposition. I would encourage you to write letters to your papers, articles for your blogs, and speak out against mandatory service at every opportunity. You can also promote this site and encourage others to sign up, helping to create a growing list of support to back up all of our efforts. Thanks for your concern and your efforts to behead this monster. |
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Subject: Service Learning's got a hold on you!
In Maryland, community service—or as they like to call it in typical Newspeak terminology, service-learning—is mandatory for all students as a condition of being allowed to graduate from high school. At the link, you can read the history of the slow and steady creep of these programs being imposed, starting back in 1982. In particular, note how in 1983, the MD Maryland Superintendent of Schools is stopped by the State Board of Education from imposing this requirement, and how, through the use of funds provided in 1992 by The Federal Commission on National and Community Service, this trend is reversed and mandatory service is adopted. The individual rights of every child in MD, present and future, was sold for the paltry sum of $523,546. |
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Subject: A Rose by Any Other Name ....
With Barack Obama, we live in a kinder, gentler world. For example:
So when mandatory national service is introduced, I suspect that it will be called something not quite so crass. I'm expecting that the administration will make us all feel really good about getting to participate in the exciting, new, energy-saving, revenue neutral, field of "open source employment"! Coming soon to a selective service office near you. |
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Subject: Can Second Graders Help the Community?
Why yes, according to teacher Hannah Motta's students, they can! Read about it at: 2HM Class Blog. Grace seems to have captured the real spirit of the exercise:
Second graders can give money to them for buying bricks or things they need. 2HM can give them some books to put in their library." Just like our government, this bright young girl recognizes at a very early age that the money, bricks and books you give away do not have to be yours! Now, what about first graders? Kindergarten anyone? |
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Subject: Community Service Is Not What Made America Great
I discovered an excellent article by C. Edmund Wright at American Thinker, entitled "Community Service Is Not What Made America Great, which I would encourage everyone to read. Here are a few excerpts:
[T]he 9-11 attacks had nothing to do with Medicare, the Junior League or Earth Day or working in a soup kitchen, let alone registering voters or pushing for sub prime lending on behalf of ACORN. The 9-11 masterminds understood what it is that makes America great, and it was precisely some obvious icons of that greatness they attacked. It is our government-limiting Constitution -- creating an environment conducive to free enterprise, innovation, opportunity and military might, used for the good of all freedom loving peoples -- that has made America great. In short, it is our freedom. In stark contrast to our president and others, I say what we need now is a lot of self-interested financially motivated pursuits taking place. On the anniversary week of 9-11, it's a good time to champion that which the terrorists were trying to destroy -- that which makes America great. And for the record, they were not trying to destroy candle light vigils for death row inmates or the "Adopt a Highway" program. All of that is fine, but they were trying to destroy free economies and opportunity. They were trying to destroy the brain trust of a military whose history is that of conquering dictators and asking only enough real estate in return to bury their dead. They were trying to destroy our way of life. The American way of life. You know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They were trying to destroy what made us who we were before Obama came to save us from our own greatness. They did not succeed. But if we can't tell the truth about what it is that made this country great, then we will do it to ourselves. Fantastic! Given all the problems we are dealing with these days, it is nice to be reminded of the underlying greatness of the USA which we are struggling to preserve—and I cannot thank Mr. Wright enough for having done this. Mr. Wright also make the following astute observation:
Exactly! It is self-interested, self-responsible adults that get things accomplished and have created the great wealth and standard of living that we enjoy in this country. And you have to create something, whether it be money or free time, before you can "redistribute" or "volunteer" any surplus to causes that reach beyond the requirements of one's own life. This is the simple fact that almost everyone in government fails to understand—or willfully ignores. Capitalism—free enterprise—is an economic system of creation. It allows wealth to be accumulated and leveraged over time, allowing us to continually improve our standing, generation after generation. It is a system that works precisely because it rewards the virtues of productivity, effort, intelligence and risk-taking. In contrast, socialism is a system of redistribution only. It does not understand or acknowledge the creative process. It sees our standard of living as a fixed pie, simply to be recut in a "fairer" manner so that all share equally. It penalizes the very virtues that capitalism rewards, and because of this, it ultimately becomes an engine of destruction as it drives out the good. And that is why Mr. Wright warns that, unchecked, the current administration may yet achieve what the terrorists were unable to do. |
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Indoctrination |
Subject: It's Never Too Early To Indoctrinate
Today we look at how the idea of national service has infiltrated our schools. Soon it will be impossible to get an education anywhere without being forced to submit to a mandatory service requirement. And since education is also mandatory, the requirement for national service will have been imposed through this back door, instead of by a direct legislative act which would have faced scrutiny and vocal opposition by the public. Let's start with a look at our friends at ACORN. Were you aware that some of your tax dollars were being given to this organization so that it could, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, create two (and possibly three) high schools with a "community service" orientation? The first of these is the ACORN Community High School which has the goal of "Developing Tomorrow's Leaders". This is done, in part, with Social Studies programs that "teach them the critical thinking skills necessary to challenge inequity and injustice." Nothing very specific there, but it does get you thinking about just how "inequity and injustice" might be defined by ACORN? While I was unable to locate any detailed descriptions of the various academic courses being offered, there was a very complete overview of the service program and its requirements.
'Give Your Best, Be the Best' The ACORN Community Service Program (ACSP) offers ACORN students experiences that cultivate leadership skills while they contribute services to their communities. Through placement in various agencies and service providers, ACSP encourages students to apply what they learned in and out of the classroom to solve real-life problems. In the process students learn efficient work habits, teamwork and self-confidence. They also learn about democracy, budgets and the benefits of active citizenship. Further, students in ACSP acquire technical and communication skills that are essential in critical thinking for designing and implementing solutions that build proud and prosperous communities. Participation in ACSP instills an ethic of lifelong community service where students are inspired to build proud and prosperous communities." Aah yes, there it is in the last sentence — the real purpose of the program: "instills an ethic of lifelong community service". The community is the social unit of concern, with people as lifelong servants to its needs. And to prepare for this subservient position:
Unfortunately, babysitting will only earn you 0.5 ACSP points per hour. :-( Probably because it take more work to acquire "communication skills" when talking to babies! The second ACORN school let's you know where it's heading right in its title: ACORN High School for Social Justice. From their mission statement:
And what makes this school special? Selecting a few key bullet points:
This mixing of ACORN's political activism with education is appalling, and marks a new level of brazenness in the social indoctrination of children. That the New York City Department of Education engages in and promotes this sort of activity indicates that it is corrupt. But this movement is not confined to ACORN and New York City. This Falls City Herald News article discusses how the Tiverton, RI high school has imposed a mandatory "Community Service-Learning" graduation requirement upon all of its students.
You simply have to admire the audacity of people who can use the word "volunteer" in describing an activity that is being forced upon every student. Community service coordinator Rebecca Elwell acknowledges:
Remember, these students are not actually being asked to volunteer. They are not being persuaded to engage in actions of their own choosing, for reasons that they personally judge to be worthwhile. They are being required to perform these services in order to be allowed to progress with their lives. I wonder if it ever crosses the minds of these "educators" that one source of struggle for some of these high school students might be an internal one. Possibly the demand—the act of being forced—to participate in this, or any other type of activity, is the source of their struggle, as they attempt, as most adolescents do, to assert their independence in thought, action and spirit at this critical phase of their development. The potential psychological damage being done to certain types of individuals is enormous. But is this phenomenon of community service limited to high school students. No! A report, once again from our friends at ACORN, tells us:
"Riverside School's third grade class will hold its third
annual Community Service Day on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The event,
which lasts from 9 to 10:30 a.m., introduces the students to
people who help their community and ties in with the class
civics unit. High school may be too late. By that time, some of these kids may have already developed thoughts of their own that could interfere with our "training", allowing them to rebel against the authority of their masters, The Community or The State. But if we can get them younger, say when they are only eight or nine, then fewer will have a chance to develop that independent, anti-social streak of learning to think for themselves. We must get to them early so that we can insure that they meet the goals that Barack Obama has laid out. They must be made to understand that it is their sacred responsibility to "not let their Country down!" It's enough to make you sick. |
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Subject: Don't Say You Didn't See it Coming!
One of the most pernicious laws on the books is the mandatory automotive seat belt law. What is so wrong about this law is that it steps over the boundary line of establishing laws that protect each of us from the harmful actions of others, and instead acts to protect us from ourselves! When these laws were first being proposed, I argued that they were extremely dangerous to our personal freedom, because they granted to the government the right to decide for us what was in our own best interest. As I argued in my previous post, there is no middle ground when it comes to the principle of deciding who make the decisions about how best to pursue one's own life. Either you have absolute authority over those decisions, or you don't. And if you give over even a small piece of that right to the government, then you have no principle remaining to which you may appeal as the control over your life which you retain is steadily eroded. The seat belt laws were a small breach into our personal autonomy that opened the door the today's call for mandatory national service. I would hope that everyone reading this could see the progression taking place as we march further along the path towards slavery. Still don't believe me? Well, let's take a look at an article published today from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, entitled: "Community service needed for seat belt offenders" Quoting sections from that article:
"For example, seat belt offenders should be asked to do 20 hours of community service before being let off." "[Road Safety Department director, Rano Aylwino Akat] said the majority of drivers and passengers used seat belts out of fear of being summoned and not for their safety." What is the real intent behind all of this? Do you actually thing that people who make these proposals are really benevolent souls with only your best interest at heart, or do you think that it is more likely that the people agitating for these ever increasing laws are really much more interested in exercising power and control over you life? "Yea, but come on, this is Malaysia we're talking about, not the United States!" I say that anyone prepared to make that naive argument deserves everything they get. And you will get it! |
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Subject: Republicans/Democrats: Who Can Tell the Difference?
Just as during the last presidential campaign, there was no fundamental difference between John McCain and Barack Obama in their calls for national service, we now have former president George H.W. Bush joining with President Obama on October 16, 2009 for A Presidential Forum on Service. From their joint announcement:
Both political parties are morally bankrupt. Neither offers an alternative which respects and defends your most basic individual right — the right to your own life. This is very possibly the most important issue that we currently face, because the implications are more fundamental to the preservations of our liberty. The Obama administration is committed to instituting mandatory national service for all citizens. The United We Serve operation at serve.gov is just a prelude to the next step, which if enacted, will mean that the government will have established a claim of ownership over the lives of every US citizen. If you grant them the right to impose control over three months of your life, then you have no grounds for opposing a later increase to six months, two years, or a lifetime of service to the state. You life is either yours to do with as you choose, or it isn't. There is no middle ground. It is important that this push be halted in its tracks. Please do everything you can to oppose this insidious drive for conscription. |
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Subject: The Ideas of the Next Generation
In an opinion piece titled "More From Our Citizens...", and published in The Citizen, the student newspaper of the Harvard Kennedy School, Zachary Kushel writes:
There's that call for mandatory service (conscription) again, and all in the name of fighting terrorism ... oh excuse me, with this administration we don't use those words any longer ... in the name of American security. And we will provide that beefed up security by spending time on such things as community organizing, no doubt being assigned to the nearest Acorn militia group in your neighborhood. But after touting the goal of enhancing American security, the author completely ignores security matters and spends the majority of the article on his real purpose:
So, in the mind of this student, it is an appropriate function of our government to bind us all together by way of a common experience. For what purpose? To "give back" and "be a better nation and a more united people". Exactly why is social unity such a desirable goal? No reason is stated, so apparently it is supposed to be obvious to all of us. And by what authority will this be done? None given and none needed. Again, it is assumed as simply obvious that the government may engage in this activity. This is the depth of analysis we get from someone receiving a Harvard education. I hope he is getting one of those government scholarship and not paying full price! Implicit in every call for public service is the collectivist's assumption that the group, whether it be the community, society, or the state, is of greater importance than the individual, and it is the individual's duty to serve. This is the unstated premis that must be challenged. Always attack the issue of national service at it's core, ignoring the sundry details of each proposal as mere distractions. |
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Subject: Article Recommendation
Here is an article by Don Feder that you might find interesting: "Obama: Fighting Terrorism With Community Service, Kumbaya And Commie Appointments" |
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Subject: Mandating Community Service: The Indirect Method
In reading an article entitled 10 Ways to Get Your Child Involved in Your Community, the author, going only by the first name of Kimberly, writes:
I have not looked into college application requirements for many years, but it wouldn't surprise me if this were true. Where once an individual's dedication to their academic performance was the principal criteria for acceptance into higher education, with the creeping socialization of our culture, other concerns like "commitment" to community may now be large determinants. With government controlling so much of the educational infrastructure already, it gives one pause to contemplate the reason that Barack Obama has made it one of his priorities for the federal government to overhaul the college loan system, eliminating lending institutions from the picture and requiring students seeking aid to apply directly to the federal government? The ostensible reason given is that this would save money because the government would be so much more efficient at distributing the aid, rather than "giving lenders billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies". Yes, we have heard this mantra before, and remain as unconvinced here as we have been with its many other applications. Somehow, I find it hard to take seriously the idea that this administration is interested in saving money! For you old time computer hackers reading this, I would say that this governmental incantation is the equivalent of the command xyzzy. And paraphrasing the Adventure game, I would give respond #50: "GOOD TRY, BUT THAT IS AN OLD WORN-OUT MAGIC IDEA." :-)
Consider Obama's quest to regulate student loans from another
perspective. Let's start by reviewing what happened, less than a
year ago, to the businesses that received federal bailout money.
With no contractual requirements presented to them, and only
retroactively after the funds had been taken, the Obama administration
began imposing draconian levels of control which included capping
salaries and bonuses, forcing mergers and dissolutions on unwilling
parties, invalidating contractual agreements and obligations by fiat,
replacing company leadership, mandating the specific product to be
produced, and so on. Clearly, Obama did not want to simply save the
economy from collapse — he wanted to control it! Now, when the
majority of students seeking higher education are forced to come
directly to the federal government, hat in hand, to obtain their own
personal Does this seem unlikely? A year ago, who would have thought that the president of the United States would be allowed to tell creditors of the automotive companies that their legal claims were to be invalidated and that labor unions, with no legal standing, would be given preferred status? All without benefit of court intervention. In this age we are living by the rule of man—no longer by the rule of law. This is why even the most benign-sounding issue, such as the funding method for student loans, can have disastrous consequences if allowed to proceed unchecked. The game is afoot. Will we be alert enough, agile enough, and care enough to counter their tactics? We will win, only if enough people engage them on the intellectual battlefield, challenging the fundamental principles that lie behind their strategy. |
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Subject: The Battle for National Service is Underway!
Building upon the administration's call for National Service, Mozilla Service Week (09-14-09 through 09-21-09) was recently announced, calling upon software developers to volunteer their services to the community. This project is cosponsored by the Mozilla Foundation, the people behind the Firefox browser, and SourceForge.net, one of the largest repositories of open source software projects in the world. Supporting this effort are three partners organizations: idealist.org and betterplace.org, both clearinghouses for volunteer projects, similar to the government's SERVE.gov site; and OneWebDay, a very loosely defined organization said to be modeled upon Earth Day, and created by Susan Crawford, a "current technology policy advisor to President Obama." As I have said before, there would be nothing wrong with private groups organizing activities and soliciting volunteers to aid in a cause which they supported. But this is nothing of the sort. Just as with SERVE.org, Mozilla Service Week has no specific goal that it wishes to achieve. Its only purpose is to prod others to freely donate their time, energy and/or money to social causes. And any cause at all is just fine, because the end results don't really matters. It's was getting you to agree to volunteer that was the goal all the time! And with the involvement of Susan Crawford, we see the Obama administration's fingerprints all over this effort. The strategy is clear. Start by using peer-pressure to cajole individuals into investing their time in these sorts of voluntary efforts, conditioning them to this sort of activity. This makes it much easier to later transition the country to mandatory national service. As we have seen over and over throughout history, the majority of those who have been convinced to volunteer their efforts will be the first to support legislation that compels everyone to contribute. After all, it is only fair that we all share the burden equally! And that's how we do an end-run around such niggling issues as the constitutional rights of the individual. Because, under an egalitarian philosophy, someone's definition of fair always trumps rights. So the battle is engaged and our opponents are out of the gate. And while the country's attention is focused on other crucial affairs, this administration is receiving very little resistance on this issue. That is why it is so critically important to oppose this insidious maneuver now, before it snowballs and later becomes much more difficult to stop. You can help by adding your name to the others who are supporting the Personal Declaration of Independence, and then promoting this site by writing your own blog entries or articles concerning the issue of national service, and asking others to visit this site and add their names as well. Let's attack this issue with force and preserve the true meaning of the the term: "volunteer". |
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Subject: United We Serve: Service with a Smile :-)
On 09-09-09, a community service project entitled Take the John Galt Pledge was created at the United We Serve (i.e. SERVE.gov) website with the express purpose of:
Tied in with this project, volunteers are encouraged to honor the ideals of the founding fathers by spreading the words of liberty, independence and self-reliance throughout their communities. If you are interested in showing additional support for that type of activity, and want to really, as our President says, "participate in our nation's recovery and renewal", then click here. Note, that in order to be able to sign up as a volunteer, you will need to create and account on that government site. |
