Comments on: Obama’s Service Plan

By: lm

lm — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:39:09 +0000

What a lazy ass — no one should do public service, and no one should support public service, cause there’s no public to be served except for white little libertarians who want to end public transit, end the public school system, and stop giving all that aid to the Katrina victims who deserve what they got.

What a great political platform!

By: jonolan

jonolan — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:50:51 +0000

Welcome,Mike!

Yes, Obama is good at talking, but we will – if he’s elected – have to see if he’s equally good at actions. I don’t know if I hope that he is or if I hope that he isn’t. His platform has always been rooted in the far Left and that more than worries – this post being an example of those worries.

In this specific case, I like the idea of expanding civilian National Service, but I don’t like some of the details of his plan. Sadly, it’s the parts of the plan that I detest that would be the easiest for him to enact.

By: mikeb302000

mikeb302000 — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:37:56 +0000

Yeah, there’s been a lot of that “vile and pernicious assault on both States’ rights and individual liberty” going around lately. The last few weeks I feel myself sliding back into the cynicism that I so reveled in for decades. Obama sure makes a good speech. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can make some good changes too.

By: jonolan

jonolan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:36:46 +0000

in2thefray,

The universities may like this idea, but Obama’s plan also includes effectively mandatory public service quotas for middle schools and high schools. I doubt that those institutions will enjoy being held over a barrel in such a manner.

By: in2thefray

in2thefray — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:56:07 +0000

This will be a CityYear meets Selective Service precedents and clothed in JFK Peace Corps glory. The lemmings will lap this up including many cities and academic entities. The schools especially will roll this into some kind of way to get more $$ from students. I can see the resume building and coop ed ads already in my head.

By: Christy

Christy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:13:47 +0000

Jonolan,

I’m well aware. ;p Just making explicit my appreciation and not simply being a silent consumer.

By: jonolan

jonolan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:33:56 +0000

Christy,

No problem at all – pointing out these things it part of what I do with this blog

Gabriel,

As you can surmise by my rant, I am also not in favor of the Federal government coercing the States into such things. I referenced the 10th Amendment to our Constitution both deliberately and advisedly.

Now, I’m not against the goals of NCLB; it was an attempt to make the States accountable for how the federal education dollars they received were spent. It just was an expectedly poor way of doing it. And of course it was still a case of the Feds overstepping the spirit of the 10th Amendment if not the letter of it.

I’m also not against the stated goals of Obama’s plan. Instilling the idea of national and community service in our youth is a quite laudable. This is just a piss-poor way of trying to do it.

By: Gabrieloneverything

Gabrieloneverything — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:53:04 +0000

I didn’t actually hear the speech. I went to his website and read stuff about it. I don’t like the idea of schools being forced into community service with the looming threat of budget cuts. You are right in the assertion that it is like the NCLB act. Just another similarity to show us that politics are politics no matter what the party.

By: Christy

Christy — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:26:51 +0000

Thanks for highlighting this.