Change You Can Believe In: Change.Gov Changes Required America Serves Post

Change.gov:
Website Makes Changes in its
"America Serves" Post




Attempts to discredit those reporting on the story Made

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Yesterday, DBKP published a story about the Obama website, Change.gov. [Barack Obama: Compulsory Service REQUIRED of Middle, High School, College Students] The Obama website announced that middle school, high school and college students would be required to perform community service.

The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Stop the ACLU and others also commented on the announcement from the "Office of the President-Elect". (There is no such office officially, but the Obama campaign has had a love affair with officialibilia it just can't seem to break.)

After the change was made at Change.gov, comments appeared below our story which cast aspersions on DBKP's credibility. Of course, these comments may have come from well-meaning people who only saw the second posting at Change.gov--after the original drew unwanted attention.

But, they may not have.

In less than 60 minutes, four comments all appeared which called into question DBKP's credibility and which cited the now-changed wording at Change.gov. We have not checked, but the feeling is that this did not happen by change chance.

For the record, we publish the "before" and "after" screenshots from Change.gov: the original post and the changed post.

Many thanks to Gateway Pundit [Change... Obama Announces Creation Of His Marxist Youth Corps ] for the "before" screenshot of the Change.gov post. GP remembered a cardinal rule from the election: screenshot everything when dealing with the Obama campaign. Things have an unpleasant habit of disappearing from the web, once the public is made aware of them.

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What "America Serves" looked like yesterday at Change.gov.

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What "America Serves" looks like today on Change.gov.

Change.org's post after changes were made:

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This would be less disturbing if the changes were made quietly. That would indicate the Obama campaign is sensitive to public perceptions of its plans.

The fact that a sort of "Internet rapid deployment" force appeared leaving comments seeking to discredit our original post does nothing to comfort those who were inclined to give the new president-elect any benefit of the doubt.

It appears that the Obama Bunch wants to govern in the same manner in which it campaigned. Yesterday, we were inclined to discount that.

Today, we are much less inclined to feel that way.


by Mondo Frazier
image: gecko and fly

Obama: Compulsory Community Service Will Be Required of Students

Obama's Community Service:
Middle School, High School and College Students:
REQUIRED to "Serve"



50 Hours for Middle, High School Students
100 Hours for College Students
Retirees Will Be "Encouraged" to Serve

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The honeymoon might be over.

DBKP had planned on reserving comment on the incoming Obama administration until it had actually taken power. We figured that regardless of differences, Barack Obama deserved the benefit of the doubt and a chance to propose policies before we criticized them.

The Obama president-elect's website changed all that with the announcement--just three days after the 2008 election--that students will be "required" to "serve" and perform "community service".

From Change.gov (emphasis ours):

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in under served schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps.

Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.

Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

We are against any compulsory government programs.

In times of existential national emergency--such as all-out war--we would be in favor of a military draft and other policies necessary for the survival of the USA. But, nothing is different today than three days ago.

It's telling that serving notice that compulsory government service--for middle and high school students, no less--less than three days after the election results were known indicates this is a high priority for the incoming Obama administration.

We will oppose this will all our meager means available.

We also wonder if all of the Internet sites which posted "Bushitler" memorabilia the last eight years will go along with a government-mandated program which incorporates young students against their will-and the will of their parents, possibly.

A honeymoon was much preferred.

Regardless of who was proposing this, we would oppose it.

It's a dangerous precedent, if it becomes reality.

by Mondo Frazier
image: RidesAPaleHorse