Guess who's calling for a draft?
Hint: it isn't George W. Bush.
"On a page that has been pulled from the official John Kerry site, but stored forever in the Web Archives of the Wayback Machine, details for these plans are clearly outlined. Here's just a sample:
"...John Kerry believes that in these times, we need to bolster these efforts with a nationwide commitment to national service. Whether it is a Summer of Service for our teenagers, helping young people serve their country in return for college, or the Older Americans in Service program, John Kerry's plan will call on every American of every age and every background to serve. John Kerry will set a goal of one million Americans a year in national service within the next decade.
"John Kerry Outlines Plan to Require Service for High School Students
"...As part of his 100 day plan to change America, John Kerry will propose a comprehensive service plan that includes requiring mandatory service for high school students and four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.
"...A Kerry administration will offer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service. If service members decide not to go to college, their award can be used for job training or to help start a business. John Kerry will set a national goal of half a million young people serving their nation every year within ten years.
"As President, John Kerry will defend and strengthen vital programs such as Medicare and Social Security, but he also believes on calling on America's seniors to give their time, experience, and expertise to an America that needs their help. As President, John Kerry would create the Retired Not Tired Program. ... Alternatively, seniors will be able to use these funds to defray their own health care costs. John Kerry plans to engage 100,000 seniors a year in service in the next decade.
"As President, John Kerry will ensure that every high school student in America performs community service as a requirement for graduation [my emphasis]. This service will be a rite of passage for our nation’s youth and will help foster a lifetime of service. States would design service programs that meet their community and educational needs.
"John Kerry believes we must create a new Community Defense Service to be guided by our nation’s first responders. This service would be comprised of hundreds of thousands of Americans in neighborhoods all over the country.
"Thirteen to seventeen year olds are too old for child care and too young for many summer jobs. John Kerry believes we should tap their energy and idealism through a summer of service learning. Supervised by AmeriCorps members, these young people could help out in nursing homes, clean up local areas, or teach seniors computer skills. In turn, they would receive a $500 grant to apply to their college or vocational educations down the road."
Judging by the above, it would seem that Kerry wants to draft everybody for every purpose under the sun except for military service.
Now the merits of all this "indentured service-tude," or lack thereof, could certainly be reasonably debated. But judging by the pulling of this material from his campaign website, Kerry himself doesn't appear to think so. And given the day-glo obvious reason for said pulling, it simply reinforces the reality that reasonable debate is something this man and the creatures that are driving him toward the cliff abandoned a long, long time ago.
"On a page that has been pulled from the official John Kerry site, but stored forever in the Web Archives of the Wayback Machine, details for these plans are clearly outlined. Here's just a sample:
"...John Kerry believes that in these times, we need to bolster these efforts with a nationwide commitment to national service. Whether it is a Summer of Service for our teenagers, helping young people serve their country in return for college, or the Older Americans in Service program, John Kerry's plan will call on every American of every age and every background to serve. John Kerry will set a goal of one million Americans a year in national service within the next decade.
"John Kerry Outlines Plan to Require Service for High School Students
"...As part of his 100 day plan to change America, John Kerry will propose a comprehensive service plan that includes requiring mandatory service for high school students and four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.
"...A Kerry administration will offer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service. If service members decide not to go to college, their award can be used for job training or to help start a business. John Kerry will set a national goal of half a million young people serving their nation every year within ten years.
"As President, John Kerry will defend and strengthen vital programs such as Medicare and Social Security, but he also believes on calling on America's seniors to give their time, experience, and expertise to an America that needs their help. As President, John Kerry would create the Retired Not Tired Program. ... Alternatively, seniors will be able to use these funds to defray their own health care costs. John Kerry plans to engage 100,000 seniors a year in service in the next decade.
"As President, John Kerry will ensure that every high school student in America performs community service as a requirement for graduation [my emphasis]. This service will be a rite of passage for our nation’s youth and will help foster a lifetime of service. States would design service programs that meet their community and educational needs.
"John Kerry believes we must create a new Community Defense Service to be guided by our nation’s first responders. This service would be comprised of hundreds of thousands of Americans in neighborhoods all over the country.
"Thirteen to seventeen year olds are too old for child care and too young for many summer jobs. John Kerry believes we should tap their energy and idealism through a summer of service learning. Supervised by AmeriCorps members, these young people could help out in nursing homes, clean up local areas, or teach seniors computer skills. In turn, they would receive a $500 grant to apply to their college or vocational educations down the road."
Judging by the above, it would seem that Kerry wants to draft everybody for every purpose under the sun except for military service.
Now the merits of all this "indentured service-tude," or lack thereof, could certainly be reasonably debated. But judging by the pulling of this material from his campaign website, Kerry himself doesn't appear to think so. And given the day-glo obvious reason for said pulling, it simply reinforces the reality that reasonable debate is something this man and the creatures that are driving him toward the cliff abandoned a long, long time ago.
posted by JASmius at 9:24 PM
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