Obama’s National Service Plan= SLAVERY? Oh really?

Jonah Goldberg's at it again.

Today in a LATimes op-ed, he compares Senator Obama's National Service plan to SLAVERY.

There's a weird irony at work when Sen. Barack Obama, the black presidential candidate who will allegedly scrub the stain of racism from the nation, vows to run afoul of the constitutional amendment that abolished slavery.

For those who don't remember, the 13th Amendment says: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime ... shall exist within the United States."

In his speech on national service Wednesday at the University of Colorado, Obama promised that as president he would "set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year."

He would see that these goals are met by, among other things, attaching strings to federal education dollars. If you don't make the kids report for duty, he's essentially telling schools and college kids, you'll lose money you can't afford to lose. In short, he'll make service compulsory by merely compelling schools to make it compulsory.

I love how these clowns believe that they can just throw around SLAVERY as if it's a 'phrase du jour'. No, you can't just throw around SLAVERY like that. Not for something intellectually dishonest, and a comparison that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Obama's plan is based on quite conservative (small c) principles: You want help from your government, then how about helping out your fellow Americans first.

Um, am I the only one hearing echos of 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country' in the Obama proposal?

Am I also the only one who sees the 'social gospel' of Christian teachings in this?

I won't even get into ' each one, teach one' philosphy of this.

Some more thoughts about Goldberg's babbling:

1. Who said that Obama would scrub the stain of racism? Certainly not Obama.

2. A crime to be born? Explain that idiocy to me.

3. A crime to go to college? No, Goldberg, the crime is the capabale student who WANTS to go to college, but can't because they can't AFFORD IT. See, Barack and Michelle Obama understand that they've been afforded the opportunities that they've been able to take advantage of, because the OPPORTUNITY to get an education was POSSIBLE. Something that FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES have cut away for many a QUALIFIED student in today's America.

But, I guess that's not YOUR America, so you could care less about the doors of OPPORTUNITY being shut to present and future generations. That you don't understand that ECONOMIC MOBILITY in this country has been tied to EDUCATION, for those of us not born to trust funds, or Mommys and Daddys that can give us ' the hook up'. Something, once again, from a world that YOU, Goldberg, know nothing about, but 'elitists' Barack and Michelle Obama, both of whom come from families with no silver spoons, understand all too well.

4. Think about a mind that would attack a program that entails teaching youth, who are perenially self-centered, that there is something larger out there than yourselves, and to demand that they reach outside of themselves and participate in the world around them.

The criticism of this says more about Goldberg's mental depravity than Barack Obama's Service Plan.

This is what Senator Obama ACTUALLY said in his speech in Colorado:

As President, I will launch a new Social Investment Fund Network. It's time to get the grass roots, the foundations, the faith-based organizations, the private sector and the government at the table so that we can learn from our own success stories. We'll invest in ideas that work; leverage private sector dollars to encourage innovation; and expand successful programs to scale. Take a program like the Harlem Children's Zone, which helps thousands of kids in New York through after-school activities, mentoring, and family support. We need to make that model work in different cities across America. And just as we support small businesses, I'll start a new Social Entrepreneur Agency to make sure that small non-profits have strong support from Washington.

Finally, we need to integrate service into education, so that young Americans are called upon and prepared to be active citizens.

Just as we teach math and writing, arts and athletics, we need to teach young Americans to take citizenship seriously. Study after study shows that students who serve do better in school, are more likely to go to college, and more likely to maintain that service as adults. So when I'm President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you'll have done 17 weeks of service.

We'll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities. At the community level, we'll develop public-private partnerships so students can serve more outside the classroom.

For college students, I have proposed an annual American Opportunity Tax Credit of $4,000. To receive this credit, we'll require 100 hours of public service. You invest in America, and America invests in you - that's how we're going to make sure that college is affordable for every single American, while preparing our nation to compete in the 21st century.

Bottom line?


And, as another poster put it, " Obama’s college service plan provides $4000 per year for 100 hours of service each year you’re on the plan.

When did $40 per hour become slavery?"