Open Mouth, Insert Tea Bag

Open Mouth, Insert Tea Bag


by Diane Rufino, Jan. 12, 2010 [ http://forloveofgodandcountry.wordpress.com/ ]

On Saturday, January 8th, the country witnessed a tragic and horrific act of violence. Six innocent individuals were killed at a shopping center in Tucson, Arizona - Christina-Taylor Green (only 9 years old), Judge John Roll (age 63; chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Arizona who was named to the bench by President George H. W. Bush in 1991), Dorothy "Dot" Morris (age 76; a retired secretary), Phyllis Schneck (age 79; homemaker), Dorwan Stoddard (age 76; retired construction worker), and Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman (age 30, community outreach director for Rep. Giffords). Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the shooting, was shot through the head at point-blank range and is thankfully expected to survive. Within hours of the shooting, Sheriff Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik addressed the media for the first time saying that “vitriolic political rhetoric” heard on the radio and TV caused the killer, Jared Loughner, to go on his bloody killing spree that also left 14 wounded. "When the rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates, and to try to inflame the public on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it has impact on people, especially those who are unbalanced personalities," he said.

In his official capacity as a Pima County sheriff, Dupnik had no authority to speculate as to the cause of Loughner's acts. He had, of course, no facts ... and no proof. And he readily admitted this.

It is amazing how politicians never cease to talk out of both sides of their mouths. Just over a week ago, on January 6th, the day the 112th Congress was sworn in, we heard Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress pledge to unify and work together for the good of the American people. But only two days later, on January 8th, as soon as news of the shooting reached political ears, Dick Durbin was out there blaming Sarah Palin and the Tea Party folks. And every left-of-center group has continued to use the Arizona shooting incident to divide the nation once again along political lines. For example, following the shootings, the NY Times wrote "It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge." ¹

And Keith Olbermann made this comment on his MSNBC show on Jan. 8: "If Sarah Palin, whose website put and today scrubbed bulls-eye targets on 20 representatives, including Gabby Giffords, does not repudiate her own part - however tangential - in amplifying violence and violent imagery in American politics, she must be dismissed from politics. She must be repudiated by the members of her own party. And if they fail to do so, each one of them must be judged to have silently defended this tactic that today proved so awfully foretelling."

When it comes to politics, it sounds like they are taking their cue from Rahm Emanuel's playbook - " Never let a serious crisis go to waste."

I, and apparently a growing majority of Americans, are getting more frustrated each day over comments by the news and others that it's because of the tensions caused by the Tea Party movement and by people like Sarah Palin that Jared Lee Loughner went to the shopping center that afternoon to shoot Congresswoman Giffords. I think the left has sunk to a new low.

I think those that hide under the protections of freedom of the press should take the time to research before they report and comment. I think that politicians who have sworn to uphold the Constitution should reflect upon the true meaning of freedom of speech, which is this: the freedom to have a free and robust political discussion where all ideas make it into the marketplace of ideas where they are able to compete. It is a central tenet of the First Amendment that the government must remain neutral in the marketplace of ideas. The "marketplace of ideas" is just like any other free market model - ideas and viewpoints compete against each other in theory, truth, and rationality and the best ideas will prevail.

A cursory look at Loughner would show anyone that he has no allegiance whatsoever to the values that America stands on. He has spent years challenging both conservative principles and religion alike. He praises books like Brave New World, the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf and worships a shrine built of a human skull in the back of his yard. He had been arrested several times for making threats against others at the local college, he made students and teachers uncomfortable, he was registered politically as an Independent, he smoked dope regularly, and he blogged about the government performing "mind control." I hardly see where the likes of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party caused him to become deranged. Sounds like he was already there. It looks as though he took his inspiration from Columbine and the rampant violence promoted on TV, movies, and in computer games rather than the peaceful marches on Washington. Furthermore, to say the Constitutionally-minded, Christian-loving group, the Tea Party, is creating a dangerous climate in this country which is leading to increased violence is simply irresponsible. If he were to suddenly start going to church and reading the Bible, then I could understand the Tea Party being to blame, but not the senseless violence he committed. What about all those years of Bush-bashing? How many times did we hear death threats against Bush (prompted by the hateful and malicious sentiments of the left)? How about the Liberal online journal that called for the death of Sarah Palin? ² Has no one taken the time to listen to a rally headed by the Reverend Al Sharpton? What about the new Black Panthers? They certainly don't foster the Kumbaya sentiment, do they? To them, politics means confrontation.

Sheriff Dupnik himself polarized the political climate in Pima County more than any group could do. He publicly announced that Arizona's new immigration policy was outright "racist." He also publicly commented that the Tea Party "brings out the worst in America." Who is really fueling tempers here ? Who is really fueling hatred and bigotry?

Barack Obama is also no stranger to confrontation. On May 4, in a public forum, he called Tea Party activists "tea baggers," a horribly derogatory term which is associated with oral sex. Everyone knows that Tea Party activists loath the term “tea baggers,” and in fact, most members consider it so offensive that they regard it as the rough equivalent of calling an African American the "N word." As Fellowshipofminds.wordpress wrote: "Barack Obama repeatedly sprinkled his political campaigning with words more appropriate to a street thug than the President of the United States." In June 2008, during his campaign, he was asked how he would counter Republican attacks. He answered: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” Then in September, he said: “I want you to go out and talk to your neighbors. . . . I want you to argue with them, get in their faces.” ³ I could be wrong, but those lines sound like they could have easily come out of Robert DeNiro's mouth in the movie The Untouchables where he played the notorious mobster Al Capone. Not exactly words of respect and understanding. Not exactly the "toned down rhetoric" that Democrats and liberals are now all of a sudden calling for.

In fact, Fellowshipofminds.wordpress lists many instances of frenzied vitriol by the left that leaves one with a new appreciation for the word "hypocrite." In fact, if a member of the Tea Party were to ever issue such public comments, the party itself would openly condemn them before the court of public opinion could even weigh in. The list is quite impressive (for a mobster):

(1) Keith Halloran, a New Hampshire Democratic candidate, wrote on a Facebook thread that he wished Palin had been aboard the Alaska plane that crashed, killing five including Sen. Ted Stevens.

(2) Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy, columnist for the Washington Post, wrote: “I know how the ‘tea party’ people feel.. the anger, venom and bile that many of them showed during the recent House vote on health care reform. I know because I want to spit on them, take one of their ‘Obama Plan White Slavery’ signs and knock every racist and homophobic tooth out of their Cro-Magnon heads.”

(3) In December 2009 during the health care debate, Paul Krugman of the New York Times wrote, “A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy.”

(4) After 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, President Bush suddenly became as unpopular as Bill O'Reilly with most women of The View. The left really came into their own at this time. In fact, the sentiment was so pervasive that it was given a name - the "Bush Derangement Syndrome." Michael Moore was infected with it and so were other celebrities. A movie (TV docudrama), "Death of a President," was made about the fictional assassination of President Bush and allowed to be shown on American TV. As one commentator wrote: "We've seen from early in his presidency the extremes that the political Left are willing to go to vilify him. This takes this vilification to a new and disturbing level."

(5) In 2006, as contempt for President Bush continued to build, New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi introduced Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) at a commencement ceremony at NYC's Queen's College as “the man who, how do I phrase this diplomatically, who will put a bullet between the President’s eyes if he could get away with it.” New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Thursday that a fellow New York Democrat would "put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it."

(6) Michael Feingold of the Village Voice wrote: “Republicans don’t believe in the imagination, partly because so few of them have one, but mostly because it gets in the way of their chosen work, which is to destroy the human race and the planet. Human beings, who have imaginations, can see a recipe for disaster in the making; Republicans, whose goal in life is to profit from disaster and who don’t give a hoot about human beings, either can’t or won’t. Which is why I personally think they should be exterminated before they cause any more harm.”

(7) Liberal talk radio host Mike Malloy suggested someone should hang Internet king Matt Drudge, writing, “Drudge? Aw, Drudge, somebody ought to wrap a strong Republican entrail around his neck and hoist him up about 6 feet in the air and watch him bounce.”

(8) Greenpeace advocated mass civil disobedience last April (2010) with this blog item on its website: “The proper channels have failed. It’s time for mass civil disobedience to cut off the financial oxygen from denial and skepticism. . . . If you’re one of those who have spent their lives undermining progressive climate legislation, bankrolling junk science, fueling spurious debates around false solutions, and cattle-prodding democratically elected governments into submission, then hear this: We know who you are. We know where you live. We know where you work.”

(9) In June 2010, Nathan Tabor, a business owner, head of the Forsyth County Republican Party, Tea Party activist, and a former candidate for public office assembled with 25 others to peacefully protest government bailouts in front of Rep. Mel Watt's (D-NC) Greensboro, NC office. Soon thereafter, a man walked around the corner and intentionally walked into the middle of the crowd saying 'It's all George W. Bush's fault. It's all Dick Cheney's fault." The man then pushed Tabor several times, to which Tabor did not retaliate. Then the man pushed Tabor's wife. When Mr. Tabor told him to keep his hands off his wife, the man punched Tabor in the face. This happened right in front of Mr. Tabor's young daughter. I watched the footage.

(10) In August 2009, members of the Service Employees International Union beat up Kenneth Gladney for distributing “Don’t Tread On Me” flags at a Missouri town hall meeting. 4

Judge John Roll, the federal judge who was killed by Loughner, drew sharp political criticism in 2009 -- and several death threats -- when he ruled on a pre-trial motion in favor of illegal immigrants in a civil case involving an Arizona rancher. At the time, the threats, online and otherwise, were significant and persistent enough to warrant full protective status from the U.S. Marshal's Service for Roll and his family. Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva had to close his office because of so many death threats from racist callers over his opposition to the state's immigration bill, S.B.1070. Congresswoman Giffords herself had the glass door to her office shattered right after she voted for the healthcare bill. And then there was the bullet that was shot through the window of Eric Cantor’s Richmond office.

The fact is that there is a lot of tension and frustration in this country simply as a result of the recent action and policies themselves of our government. The government's position on immigration, as exemplified by the threat to Judge Roll's life, alone is a great source of tension. Although there is an immigration policy, the government refuses to enforce it. Furthermore, the government has spent a year showing blatant disregard for the wishes of the American people. Power is vested in Czars who run the country at the whim of the President and the people have no power to do anything about that... yet. Just as frustration built up in this country after President Bush took the country to war in Iraq and that frustration led to violent outbursts and aggressive confrontations in cities all over the nation, those who have taken the nation down a similar unpopular path can't cry innocence when tensions again come to a boil. It's the spirit that gave birth to our independence and that has managed to keep the pendulum always closer to center rather than to either extreme of left or right.

Doug Rufino wrote an article to the local Greenville, NC paper, The Daily Reflector, in which he criticized those who blame the Tea Party for the shootings in Tucson. He wrote: " The recent change in the Washington landscape is not due to preachers of hate. Our Constitutional right to vote did that. You insult the American people throughout this country that elected the historic new Congress. Maybe you are still wondering how this happened. Look no further than to Americans who decided that government was getting increasingly out of control. It was our Founders who instructed us to be wary of government, not Beck and Rush. Our very Declaration of Independence tells us “…..Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”…

Robust political debate and engagement is the ultimate display of patriotism and democracy. After all, democracy is the first leg of our republicanism. But it is only a "leg" Our nation was set up as a republic by our Founders for one basic reason - to prevent mob rule... to prevent those types of outcomes that result from a hot-headed majority which might unreasonably burden the minority. Robust political debate is what helps us make sure we send the best representatives possible to conduct the nation's business.

Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, the Tea Party - they are the embodiment of patriotism - devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty." They have never advocated for anything other than the peaceful return to the values that our country was founded on. Anyone who has taken the time to attend a Tea Party rally can attest to that.

In speaking about patriotism, Adlai Stevenson wrote: "When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect." He also wrote: "America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality."

While others are so willing to sell out our Founders for notions that history has proven corrupt and destructive, the Tea Party echoes those words of Carrie Latet: "May I never wake up from the American dream!"

You can love your country, but that doesn't necessarily make you a good American. You can love your country, but if you open your mouth to squash someone else's right to speak freely and honestly, you are not a good American. If you use an occasion like the shooting in Tucson to demand further restrictions and regulations over fundamental liberties, you are not a good American.

We should always abhor violence - especially when it targets the innocent. But a "good" American will not try to use an occasion like this - one of random violence - to change the political climate in this country. After all, it was a political climate like this that led a group of Bostonians in the middle of the night on Dec. 16, 1773 to dump the tea on board British ships into the Boston Harbor to prevent it from being unloaded on shore and hence being taxed so that Colonists would be forced to support the King without representation in Parliament. "No taxation without representation" was one of the cries which led to our independence. It was a political climate like this that led to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. And it was a political climate like that that led to the civil rights of African-Americans. Whenever there is a tense political climate, there are critical issues facing the American people at play. It may not be your particular issue involved this time, but next time it might. Robust discourse often creates a charged environment but here in America, we welcome it rather than try to suppress it. That is what being a "good" American is. That is what America stands for. But using guns rather than words and trying to persuade by acts of violence rather than persuasive dialogue is the sign of a civilized nation like the United States. No decent human being supports violence for political gain.

The fact is that Jared Lee Loughner is a social misfit who no doubt sought to vault his stature by associating himself with mass murder and immense personal sadness. It was the ultimate cry for personal attention. He harbored malice in his heart for Congresswoman Giffords. [He met her once in 2007 and called her "stupid and unintelligent." He was also angered when she refused to acknowledge a question he submitted to her]. We've seen his type throughout history - Mark David Chapman, John Hinckley Jr., David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), and Charles Manson.. Loughner is not mentally unstable. We know he meticulously planned his actions. The sad realization is that due to political correctness in this nation and the persistent attitude that we shouldn't make any single person feel uncomfortable, even though Jared Loughner posed a likely threat and fit the profile of a lone looney likely to do something bad (no one seemed surprised that he carried out the killings), no one sought to get him the help he needed. It would have been inconsistent with our current climate of compassion and aversion to profiling for people to have tried to intervene and prevent that final chip in his brain from flipping. And now Christina Green, a 9-yr-old girl who brought joy to those who loved her and who hadn't even lived long enough to have a first kiss, is dead. Now a federal judge, a young, newly-engaged civil servant, and 3 grandparents are dead. Families are left to grieve and wonder what they ever did to deserve to suffer such senseless slaughter. And a Congresswoman is left bandaged in a hospital wondering if she can ever recover from all the scars - physically, emotionally, and socially.

Ronald Reagan, himself a victim of a lone deranged sociopath (John Hinckley Jr.) once said: "We must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his [or her] actions."

So enough of the mudslinging and name-calling; enough of the meritless accusations. Why don't we leave the name-calling to those who at least can be excused for it - our children. Running a country requires adults.

References:

¹ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/10mon1.html?

² http://bigjournalism.com/taylorking/2010/12/20/salon-publishes-call-for-torture-murder-of-sarah-palin/

³ http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/death-threats-made-by-liberals-and-democrats/

4 http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/death-threats-made-by-liberals-and-democrats/

"We don’t need any more restrictions on our society.”

http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/we-dont-need-any-more


Those were the words of John Green, father of nine-year-old Christina Green, who was killed last Saturday by Jared Loughner in Tucson.

Unfortunately for him and for America, liberal politicians are not listening. Carolyn McCarthy (Socialist-NY) and Frank Lautenburg (Socialist-NJ) are both planning to introduce gun control bills.

Lautenburg, who was probably born sometime in the late Jurassic period, wanders the halls of congress, like some zombie from the night of the living dead, seeking to do whatever mayhem he can on the United States Constitution and the rights of the American people.

McCarthy has made her living as a politician based on the death of her husband. In 1993, her husband and son were riding a commuter train in New York, when a lunatic pulled out a gun and started shooting. New York has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country and because of that, none of the passengers on the train were armed.

Someone needs to tell Carolyn McCarthy, had her husband been armed that day, he might have had a chance. Had someone else on that train been armed, her husband might be alive today. Instead, she wants to rip the Constitution apart and strip Americans of their right to self-defense.

Most rational people understand the need to protect themselves. Not liberals.

Liberals use tragedies like this to erode our rights. Rahm Emanuel is famous for his warning, “never let a good crisis go to waste.”

While the left will go into overdrive blaming guns and calling for more restrictions on Americans’ rights to carry weapons, there is one story that I bet will not be talked about during this debate.

In December 2007, a lunatic named Matthew Murray went to a church in Arvada, Colorado and killed two people. Matthew Murray then went to another church in Colorado Springs to kill more.

The difference?

In Colorado Springs, some of the parishioners were armed. One of them, a lady named Jeanne Assam saw him come through the door and begin shooting. She drew her weapon, engaged him and killed him. According to people on the scene that day, she saved between fifty and one hundred lives. Were we living in the world that Frank Lautenburg and Carolyn McCarthy want us to live in, the people at the church in Colorado Springs would have been as defenseless has Carolyn McCarthy’s husband was in 1993 and ended up just as dead.

In the next few days, we will have the funerals for the dead in Tucson. Gabrielle Giffords will continue to recover and hopefully one-day return to a normal life. But we cannot allow liberals to use this tragedy to try and continue to strip our rights.

Posted by Judson Phillips on January 11, 2011

CLASSMATE OF OBAMA SPEAKS OUT (Or How to Destroy America)

CLASSMATE OF OBAMA SPEAKS OUT

Verified by SNOPES as Correctly Attributed -

(http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/overwhelm.asp)

You can also find it on the Las Vegas Journal: http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/obama-s-agenda--overwhelm-the-system-9571676
4.html


Written by: WAYNE ALLYN ROOT - Classmate of Barack Obama.

Rahm Emanuel cynically said, "You never want a crisis to go to waste." It is now becoming clear that the crisis he was referring to is Barack Obama's presidency.

Barack Obama is not incompetent; to the contrary, he is brilliant and knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming our economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos, destroying capitalism and our country from within. Barack Obama is my college classmate (Columbia University - class of '83).

As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University. They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands. Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival and, can be counted on to always vote for bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.

-- Universal health care. The health care bill had very little to do with health care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of hospital and health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new IRS agents (who will join government employee unions). Obama doesn't care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans will add trillions to the national debt. What he does care about is that it cements the dependence of those 30 million voters to Democrats and big government. Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless spending bill in the middle of a depression?

-- Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming. It has everything to do with redistribution of income, government control of the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors. Those powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns NBC, MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama wants. They will kick-back hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power. The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars, bigger homes and businesses helps Obama "spread the wealth around."

-- Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state? Who's asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government entitlement addicts in the middle of a depression? Certainly not American taxpayers. But this has been Obama's plan all along. His goal is to add two new Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.

-- Legalize 12 million illegal immigrants. Just giving these 12 million potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system and bankrupt America . But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat voters who can be counted on to support big government. Add another few trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children, food stamps, free medical, education, tax credits for the poor, and eventually Social Security.

-- Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go? It went to Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees across the country. It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their employees could keep paying union dues. It went to AIG so that Goldman Sachs could be bailed out (after giving Obama almost $1 million in contributions). A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby protecting their union dues). All those public employees will vote loyally Democrat to protect their bloated salaries and pensions that are bankrupting America . The country goes broke, future generations face a bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions grow more powerful. The ends justify the means.

-- Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers, redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama). Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government. Obama wants to dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition. With the acts outlined above, Obama and his regime have created a vast and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big government and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and installing themselves as socialist rulers by overthrowing the system. Add it up and you have the perfect Marxist System of Socialism, as architected by Barack Obama while applying the Cloward and Piven Plan.

Democrat: Let's have mandatory national service

Measure orders U.S. citizens to perform duties under Obama for 2 years

By Chelsea Schilling

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., would reinstate a compulsory military draft during war time and require U.S. citizens not selected for military duty to perform a "national service obligation" – as defined by President Obama – for a minimum of two years.

Rangel introduced the Universal National Service Act, or H.R. 5741 on July 15. The measure was referred to the House Armed Services' Subcommittee on Military Personnel on July 23.

Rangel introduced similar bills in 2003, 2006 and 2007. His current bill does not have a co-sponsor.

Rangel took to the floor of the House to reintroduce HR 5741, stating, "I have introduced legislation to reinstate the draft and to make it permanent during time of war. It is HR 5741, and what this does is to make everyone between the ages of 18 and 42 – whether they're men or women, whether they're straight or gay – to have the opportunity to defend this great country whenever the president truly believes that our national security is threatened."

According to an announcement released by Rangel's office, the bill provides for:
•A national service obligation – either military or civilian – for every citizen and permanent resident, male and female, of the U.S., aged 18 to 42.

•Persons may be inducted to perform military service only if a declaration of war is in effect, or if the president declares a national emergency necessitating the induction of persons to perform military service and immediately informs Congress of the reasons for the declaration.

•Defines "national service" as either military or civilian service as defined by the president that promotes national or homeland security.

•Gives the president the authority to establish the numbers of persons to be selected for military service and the means of selection.

•Requires those not selected for military service to perform their national service obligation in a civilian capacity for a period of two years.

•Directs the president to prescribe the regulations necessary to carry out the act.

•Deferments for education are only permitted through completion of high school, to a maximum age of 20.

•Deferments may be made for physical or mental disability, or under claims of conscientious objector.

"What troubles me most about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the total indifference to the suffering and loss of life among our brave young soldiers on the battlefield," Rep. Rangel said. "The reason is that so few families have a stake in the war which is being fought by other people's children.

"The test for Congress, particularly for those members who support the war, is to require all who enjoy the benefits of our democracy to contribute to the defense of the country. All of America's children should share the risk of being placed in harm's way."

Prison Planet writer Rob Dew referenced the following video posted on YouTube and noted, "This echoes the sentiment of President Obama who asked Congress in February 2009 to send him a bipartisan bill in the spirit of national service." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6cdCcqeTyk&feature=player_embedded

Likewise, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel advocated for similar universal civilian service in a 2006 book, "The Plan: Big Ideas for America," he co-authored with Bruce Reed. The following is an excerpt from Pages 61-62 of that book:

As first reported by WND during Obama's presidential campaign, Obama himself called for a "civilian national security force" July 2, 2008, in Colorado Springs, Colo.


"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," he said. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."