Universal Service...not just Rangel's idea.

[madfloridian]

Rangel is also advocating this:

He (Rangel) said having a draft would not necessarily mean everyone called to duty would have to serve. Instead, "young people commit themselves to a couple of years in service to this great republic, whether it's our seaports, our airports, in schools, in hospitals," with a promise of educational benefits at the end of service.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003439204_draft20.html

And here is the original idea of Universal Service, so it is not original with Charlie Rangel. It has been pushed for quite a while.

This is from The Plan by Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254084&kaid=131&subid=192

The Plan features five big but realistic policy goals, and a lot of detail:

1. A New Social Contract: What You Can Do for Your Country, and What Your Country Can Do for You.

Universal Citizen Service. We need a new patriotism that brings out the patriot in all of us by establishing, for the first time, an ethic of universal citizen service. All Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 should be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic civil defense training and community service. This is not a draft -- nor is it military. Young people will be trained not as soldiers, but simply as citizens who understand their responsibilities in the event of natural disaster, epidemic, or terrorist attack. Universal citizen service will bring Americans of every background together to make America safer and more united in common national purpose.

No comment, just saying. One step leads to the next one.

[Jed Dilligan]

1. The people who get behind this shit

are the same ones who bemoan the "lost idealism" of their beloved 60s... Never mind that as soon as the Boomers hit 30, they became yuppies, voted for Reagan and got behind the War on Drugs.

[acmejack]

3. Not all of us.

Wield a broad brush there bucko. The concept of doing something for the Country is abhorrent to everybody it seems. I for one am pretty damned disgusted by that line of thought. But I guess I am just an old fool. I can see pretty plainly what folks like the Jed here thinks of me.

[Jed Dilligan]

8. It is absolutely abhorrent

It's reinstituting slavery to try to fix the government's problems.

Here's an idea: how about actually paying people enough to live on in return for doing the work that needs to be done?

"We fucked up the country, and now the young will fix it at gunpoint."

[The Magistrate]

2. It Is Not Original With Anyone Breathing Today, Ma'am

More years ago than it is comfortable to recall, we debated the idea formally in high school as a regular event, and it was hoary already....

[madfloridian]

4. It just won't go away.

.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Kerry talked about National Service in 2004

Also from the DLC site: http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=115&subid=145&contentid=252791
----
While scaling up support for service in America's communities, the Kerry plan also recognizes that no obligation is more fundamental to citizenship than that of preserving our free institutions by serving in the military. To encourage more citizens to share that burden, Kerry would bring an additional 40,000 Americans into the regular Army, recruit a more representative officer corps by returning the ROTC program to every college and university that receives federal funds, and modernize the GI Bill to increase the educational opportunities of those who serve.

Finally, to assist our overburdened Armed Forces and support the spread of freedom and democracy abroad, Kerry proposes the creation of a Civilian Stability Corps, which would bring civilian volunteers into post-conflict environments overseas, helping to restore roads, renovate schools, open hospitals, and build police forces. Working alongside this Civilian Stability Corps would be a reenergized 25,000-member Peace Corps, up from its current 6,700.

Kerry's ambitious initiatives contrast sharply with the Bush administration's record of challenging citizens to do little more than fly on domestic airlines and spend their tax cuts. By making a "call to service" a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, Kerry is proving that he stands for a broader concept of patriotism that demands active involvement from an engaged citizenry to meet our country's most serious challenges.
----

[itsmesgd]

6. purely selfish response here

I pay my taxes and obey the laws (or conceal my actions). That is the extent of my obligation to this country. This government (country) already intrudes into every aspect of our daily life far beyond the reach that it was given by the founding fathers. What ever happened to the idea of "the government that governs best is the government that governs least"? I don't want to be forced to "volunteer" or serve. I want to do my own thing and as long as I can coexist with this government, everything is groovy, but when they extend their reach into my livingroom, bedroom, and office we begin to have problems. I think that the government's size and scope of power needs to be seriously reduced and reigned in before it does become a complete totalitarian state. Many believe, myself included, that we already live in a totalitarian state with big brother expanding his grasp and control on a daily basis.
So no. You don't get my service. If you need something, pay for it. Pay our military men a decent wage. Support them when they return from the battlefield. Extend the GI Bill to the place it was at the end of WWI and WWII. Treat our military men and women with respect and honor and those who feel a duty to defend will step up, but they will not do so on a larger scale as long as they are treated as dirt by this government and the leaders who did not fight when it was their turn to do so.

[wyldwolf]

7. I believe Wes Clark has a similar plan.

[Jed Dilligan]

9. Just when I was on the verge of supporting him.

Oh well--another one bites the dust.