Creepy stuff being planned here, rings of facism....

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Expanded-Americorps-has-an-authoritarian-feel-41889742.html

Urban legend stuff. The right loves to quote Obama's original speech out of context.

It does warrant a watchful eye, but the Americorps is responsible for many worthwhile endeavors. All the Americorps groups I have dealt with were well run and very well organized. Service to community would be a fine thing for many youths to learn.

The idea that the US Congress would fund a Hitler Youth-style organization is paranoid ludicrousness.

This is not the "Hitler Youth" This is the "Young Pioneers"...


This was a mandatory organization that all children under 14 had to join.

Children who passed the ideological tests were incorporated into the Kommunisticheskiy Soyuz Molodyozhi



Both groups were under the direct control of the Communist Party and did 'volunteer work'

Their motto was "Always Ready"

Americorps has an interesting pledge -- quote from Wikipedia Bold is mine...

Pledge

The Pledge is taken by all AmeriCorps Members, who promise to uphold the duties of their position, and reads as follows:
I will get things done for America - to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy, I will take action.
Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.[18]

If passed, the 2002 Citizen Service Act (HR 4854), introduced by Representatives Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Tim Roemer (D-IN) on May 24, 2002, would have added references to God and the Constitution to the pledge. AmeriCorps members would be called upon to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States...without any mental reservation...So help me God."[19]
Those who supported changing the pledge argued that taking the new pledge would be voluntary for AmeriCorps members, and that it was similar to the pledge taken by all federal employees. However, the proposal stirred an outcry among current and former participants in the federally supported community service organization, who argued that the proposed pledge was divisive, "militaristic and religious," and might deter recruitment.[20]
Although the Citizen Service Act was approved by both the Subcommittee on Special Education and the Committee on Education and the Workforce in June 2002, the House of Representatives took no further action on the Measure, and the pledge remains unchanged.[21]



"


Where can I get my armband...

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

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Doesn't matter whether it's Hitler youth or Sisters of Mercy. We're paying for it. Yet another boondoggle foisted on the taxpayer.

Tax money spent on getting kids off the streets and into a well run service program....I don't know, I think I would rather give out more bonuses to AIG.

So help me God, with the hand on the bible. Voluntary for the president, voluntary for Americorps.

False choice.

When I grew up there was a well organized group teaching service to community, and love of country. and it was NOT PAID FOR BY THE GOVERNMENT!

It was called the Boy Scouts of America!

why do we need to reinvent the wheel?

Because the ACLU hates the BSA because the 12th boy scout law is Reverence, and as a PRIVET organization it has rules against homosexual scout masters.

So the ACLU works to shut down the boy scouts, and Obama comes up with its replacement, Backed my the Government no less. Why would we need or what this?

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true

Ah... the Boy Scouts Great organization. Loved my time there, from cubs to webelos to BSA. Still friends with many I met in that organization, and retain permission to fish a number of local camps.

Americorps, I think, fills different set of needs.

I grew up in a small town so this may not be the experience of all of you. but when i was a boyscout we did more then just camp and hike and the other outdoor activities. part of getting almost any advancement or merit badge is community service. we use to hold canned food drives, and work with local churches to feed the homeless. The town I grew up in is known for its fireworks, so its a hot spot for 4th of July parties. After the 4th every year we used to walk every street in town and pick up the trash left over from parties and fireworks. we use to put the flags out on main street every year for memorial day, veterans day, and the 4th of July. we use to give away hot coco at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. I don't think there was an Americorps in the county I lived in. If there was they weren't doing much, because we had all the bases covered.

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SirNik, I had very similar experiences. Our troop performed many community service projects, not to mention the Eagle scout projects that came up pretty often. The Americorps probably wasn't around then, I think they were started in early 90's (93 maybe) by Wild Bill Clinton.

That makes sense

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Oh really?

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1983 300D

There is a second companion tin-foil-hat hoax that goes with this garbage, the "FEMA Camps", where I suppose these Obama Red Guards will be placing all the Limbaughians. This is all coming from Glenn Beck, who specializes in energizing the paranoid crowd. A simple trip to FactCheck.org shows:

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/is_obama_planning_a_gestapo-like_civilian_national.html

I dare anyone to find one of the foaming-at-the-mouth freepers or other right wing blog that shows the speech in it's entirety, which any moron could read and figure out he's talking about Americorps and civilian diplomats, you won't, they all take the easiest way to fool a moron by quoting Obama out of context and then supplying their own sinister meaning to it. Read the factcheck article for the entire context of the remark. Then again, I am sure they are just commies who are part of the conspiracy, since they think Obama was born in Hawaii as well.