GIVE 'till it hurts

So, by now we've all seen the footage of His Imperial Majesty Barack Hussein Obama in Colorado Springs, calling for a "a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

(h/t Are We Lumberjacks?)

About which his buddy Rahma-Lama-Ding-Dong said "It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, all Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service."

And so now Con-Gress has passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, originally known as House Resolution 1388, The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act. (Full text here.)

Now, it doesn't actually say "We're forming the Obama Jugend to indoctrinate your kinder." (About which there was a lot of speculation/conspiracy theorizing.)

What it says (out in the open) is "We're going to GIVE Americans even more opportunities to work for the community! Won't that be fun?" (Insert Liberal Fascism symbol here.)

Interestingly, the act seems to be primarily changes to existing legislation. It contains mostly "Change this Federal Law by striking this and adding that."

Donning my tinfoil hat, I note that I could have "insidiously, the act seems to...", because that makes it pretty hard for someone who is not a graduate student doing research to determine exactly what the blasted thing really does say.

For example, this section is causing some concern, due to it's apparent prohibition of certain activities by participants in the any covered program:

‘SEC. 132A. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

‘(a) Prohibited Activities- An approved national service position under this subtitle may not be used for the following activities:

‘(1) Attempting to influence legislation.
‘(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.
‘(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing.
‘(4) Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements.
‘(5) Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to Federal office or the outcome of an election to a State or local public office.
‘(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.
‘(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of proselytization, consistent with section 132.
‘(8) Consistent with section 132, providing a direct benefit to any--

‘(A) business organized for profit;
‘(B) labor union;
‘(C) partisan political organization;
‘(D) nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and
‘(E) organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph (7), unless the position is not used to support those religious activities.

‘(9) Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services.

‘(10) Conducting a voter registration drive or using Corporation funds to conduct a voter registration drive.
‘(11) Carrying out such other activities as the Corporation may prohibit.

My guess is that it's supposed to prohibit performing those activities while 'on duty', or using one's position to encourage or discourage those activities. But wait! It says "An approved national service position"! So, does that mean you can, or you can't? (Military personnel are restricted from pretty much those activities on duty/in uniform; even chaplains are not supposed to use their position to proselytize.)

As noted in one of the above linked articles,

... the people associated through service under the GIVE Act are considered volunteers, still free citizens, yet it will be unlawful for them to take part in any protests against any legislation. This is as close to a sedition act, a violation of 1st Amendment rights, as has been proposed in recent history. A basic right as a part of our natural, inalienable rights, is to resist government. Our founders not only knew it was a right but it was a responsibility. This legislation begins to break that down significantly.

I Am Simon Jester has a pretty good discussion going on what it "apparently" means versus what it will "really" mean.

While reading the Act, I keep having flashbacks to my Army days, when you were served notice that you should "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again", by someone telling you you had "An opportunity to excel"; in other words, "We have a really crappy job for you to handle."

This bill is full of "opportunities" for retirees, veterans, disadvantaged youth, minority youth, any youth, graduate students, undergraduate students, high school students.... It should be noted that they removed any reference to "mandatory" service requirements.

One thing that has always annoyed me is the way people who never came closer to military service than watching Apocalypse Now while stoned just loooove to use military terminology. This thing establishes "Corps". Lots and lots of Corps:

• Education Corps
  
• Healthy Futures Corps
• Clean Energy Corps
• Veterans Corps
• Opportunity Corps
• National Civilian Community Corps (Which includes a Permanent Cadre)
• National Service Reserve Corps (Made up of Veterans. We get two! Whoo-hoo!)
  
• National Senior Service Corps (Recommended slogan: "Teaching kids to get off your lawn!")
  

That latter, by the way, includes the Retired And Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, Senior Companion Program--these two are obviously the .gov's attempt to horn in on that lucrative Big Brother/Big Sister action--as well as the Volunteers For Prosperity Program (Remember, kids, "Work Shall Make You Free!" An international program...)

I also see a lot of talk in here about expenses, "living allowance, stipend, national service educational award, or salary", scholarships, fellowships.... If you get paid, it ain't volunteer service!

Sigh.

The government can't run a brothel and turn a profit, but it now thinks it can dictate to the auto industry how it should be run, AND it thinks it can "fix" America by organizing us all into good little volunteers.

Frankly, I think that this will be a miserable failure, but, being the government, it will continue to drain funds for decades to come.