Involuntary Servitude
This is scary:
H.R. 5741: Universal National Service Act
To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.
The bill has no chance of passing but I’m amazed that some bonehead would even introduce it. Said bonehead being Charles Rangel.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Rangel first started introducing it as a political stunt, recall that he kept claiming that the Bush admin wanted to reintroduce the “draft”.
Why it keeps getting put in is a mystery.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Would volunteering to keep his 3 rent-controlled apartments or his caribbean villa clean count? because that might not be so bad. the villa anyway. the apartments are in his district.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:37 am
The Man of the Left care not what you do, as long as it is compulsory.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:22 am
a/k/a “mandatory volunteerism”
July 30th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Heh, I wouldnt say it has no chance. It almost passed last time and when they thought it was gonna fail they stripped the COMPULSORY language out of it. We are coming up on a lame duck congress(more than likly) and they are going to just force feed a whole bunch of crap through congress just to get it passed. This could be one of those things.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Why do you think it is scary? We already have selective service and the possibility of a military draft.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Maybe he’s still pissed about getting drafted into Korea? Gotta admit, I might be a little ornery if I went through what he did, and had to look at the punk kids that live in his congressional district on a daily basis.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:56 am
The language in this is ridiculous. And it’s no surprise it was introduced by Rangel.
However I’ve always been in favor of something like this. My hope in something like this would be that we’d all have a common experience and a population that understand what it takes to keep our freedoms. I think the Israelis have that with their compulsory service. Of course they’re population is such that they need all hands on deck if war comes. But in today’s era of China and her population size, we may need that too.
This is an issue where I have very conflicted feelings.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Really? On what planet is forced service compatible with freedom?
July 30th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Although “it has not chance of passing”, gotta keep stirring up the ant pile.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Can I still volunteer? I like making my own choices
Wait would that mean we would all be part of an Organized militia and end the argument?
July 30th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Even he voted “no” for it last time.
This WOULD help Obama in HIS quest for a “national security force equal to the military.”
July 30th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Obama: “We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.“
July 30th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Would you be willing to disenfranchise every person so opposed to self-defense that they would refuse to even serve as a medic in the local militia (which must remain independent enough to elect it’s own officers)?
The rest of us riflemen would get a vote and perhaps a nice little tax break.
(I’ve seriously weirded out some people IRL for suggesting a little Starship Troopers. Blows their little minds, it does. Can’t imagine of a world where the franchise didn’t come automatically with a pulse)
July 30th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I can’t decide if Rangel just keeps pushing this to stir things up, or if he really REALLY wants that level of control over us.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
The franchise should be limited to those who actually pay into the fisc to support the government’s expenditures.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Standard Mischief, no one argues with the value of service to one’s Nation as a character-building experience.
What there is to argue about is HOW that service originates. In Starship Troopers, it was a CHOICE (albeit a choice to be in the ruling class). Here it wouldn’t be a choice.
Next, one has to examine just what will be forced into the minds of the draftees. Conditioning EVERY draftee to support collectivism as a political idea seems to be a foregone conclusion of the Universal Service dreamers. If we hope to have any shred of individualism left after my generation dies off in 20-30 years, we have to teach individualism, not suppress it.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
So who exactly gets to decide who gets to be shipped over seas and shot at and who rakes leaves in a national park?
I seem to recall that those who used to make the decisions on who does what in the military weren’t always very effective. So how would that be any better with this CF?
July 30th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
If you read the text of this bill, the service period is two years. If you think the economy is bad now, imagine what happens when large numbers of 30-40 year olds are suddenly forced to walk away from their current jobs for two years and have to try and support their families on a fraction of their former pay.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
…should be limited to those who actually pay into the fisc…
fisc?
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court?
I think I’m missing something here.
—
Rivrdog: I agree. But Will was somewhat OK with indentured servitude or had conflicting feelings or something. Instead of holding a gun to everyone head, I was suggesting you would get something for service. I’m for choice too.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Doesn’t Rangel introduce this every session. As far as I know this is not the first time he has done this.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Well that is one (rather stupid and immoral) way to reduce unemployment.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
so what are we going to do with all this manpower?
July 30th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Have you see how the DOJ treats Military voting rights? The New Black Panthers get it instead. Rangel just wants to be able to make everyone unable to vote, and as a bonus court-martial everyone at some point in time.
July 31st, 2010 at 3:32 am
Heh. You’re gonna draft me, train me, hand me a rifle, then tell me which way to point it?
Sure you wanna do that, Charley?
July 31st, 2010 at 9:46 am
Not that most of the legislators care about this or the rest of their oath of office, but:
Neither slavery NOR INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. –13th Amendment
July 31st, 2010 at 11:26 am
BMW on planet Switzerland.
July 31st, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I will never dismiss such proposals as far-fetched.
I am watching my lawyer colleagues clamor repeatedly for its members to be required to give away time–to perform services for nothing. It seems it earns no Brownie points if you work hard and do your clients a good job, but get paid.
These things start first with an admonition, or pleasant urging. Next, they set aspirational hours–your do-gooder quota. Next, they try to get you to report the hours you put in helping “the poor” gain what they call “access to justice.” (I observe that access to court is not the same as access to justice. Many want into court to escape justice.) Next, they pressure whatever governing body controls your livelihood to make it mandatory for you to report.
So, I want to resist all such moves that elevate community service to some sort of high calling. Do the good you want to do but follow Christ’s example: do it quietly and not to win the “I helped the poor the most” award at the banquet at the end of the year.
Do good, resist evil, and savor the adventure along the way,
MJM
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
Odd, that sounds just like what the Germans have been doing for the last 50 years (you either due military service or you clean bedpans in the hospital). Damn socialists.
August 3rd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Yeah, Rangel’s been pushing this for a while. It’s not going anywhere on either side of the aisle, but it is a useful reminder of what some people think about who owns a person, the individual or the state. I’ve always thought that if the US gets desperate enough to draft my short-sighted, asthmatic behind they are welcome to it. But somebody starts talking about a blanket peacetime draft or glorified community service directed by their ideological fellow travelers and I start thinking I’m not just showing up peacefully and voluntarily for induction.