Posted on 01/30/2002 7:07:57 AM PST by TLBSHOW
The generous spirit of the American people has fostered a great and long-standing tradition of service. Across the country groups large and small are mobilizing concerned citizens to improve lives and strengthen the civic fabric that holds our communities together.
The USA Freedom Corps, through its participating agencies and programs-- the newly created Citizen Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps-- will work with local officials and community groups to offer expanded service opportunities for Americans at home and abroad. Find more information and get involved.
Thanks Windmintrel. The first pictures that popped into my head when Dubya started in on the, "more/all americans need to volunteer" speal at der pep rally last night was a picture of the German "volunteer" programs, such as the one KirkeandBurke posted in post #39, and First_Salute posted in #46. I can't believe this (yet have seen it coming). We are repeating history, are we not? First the Fatherland, now the FreeKorps. Incredible.
BTW - This whole war is supposed to be about getting justice from the perpetrators of 911. Was the name Osama Bin Laden mentioned even once during the pep rally? I don't think it was.
Community and Faith-Based Organizations. Additional AmeriCorps members will provide full-time or intensive service in support of small community and faith-based organizations, which often operate with limited resources. In particular, this Administration will expand and reshape AmeriCorps*VISTA, a component of AmeriCorps, for this purpose.
Let's see now. They're going to put a full-time person into our Crisis Pregnancy Center and they are going to pray with and counsel girls to keep their babies rather than getting abortions? They are going to intensively (and anonymously) pray with active drunks and addicts and explain the gospel to them?
Mmmmm, I don't think so. No thanks. Please keep your nose out of my faith based voluntary organizations.
This should definitely NOT be federal. The local sheriff and only the county or parrish sheriff should set up such a training program, and people so trained would not be on call or answerable to federal authorities but only to their sheriff and local elected officials. The sherriff should then deal with organizing between different sheriff's offices in a state and delegating specialty areas like medical issues to a team of local medical workers, and so on. But under no circumstances should any organizing of people be done if it does an end run around the sherriff and state, and federal monies or influence should not dictate to the sheriff what is to be done. Funding should be local if such is needed, but this can be done without tax money even local tax money, if people really want to be serious about this.
What do you mean "like"? This is Slick Willie's "Americorps", renamed and expanded. Check out James Bovard's excellent book, Feeling Your Pain : The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years for a crystal clear picture of the origins of this program.
I don't understand why we need these stupid new names for well-established concepts. Since we keep trying to harken back to the second world war and the greatest generation, why don't we call this what it is: Civil Defense.
Who's paying for it then?
Legislative Changes That Will Strengthen AmeriCorps
In addition to expanding the number of service opportunities, the Administration will propose legislation to strengthen national service. The bill makes a number of changes that are intended to strengthen the roles of states and communities and achieve greater accountability in the use of public funds, including:
Ø Strengthening the role of states consistent with principles of new federalism. This bill will strengthen the role of states and seeks to provide state commissions and other partners within the state with greater flexibility to coordinate the federal, state, and local resources, both public and private, that are available to promote service and volunteerism.
Ø Providing for volunteer generation and mobilization as an explicit criterion for evaluating and funding programs. Federal resources will be targeted to support volunteer efforts within the community.
Ø Assuring accountability for results. Grantees must meet accountability measures established by the Corporation. The Chief Executive Officer is given authority to terminate or reduce funding for those organizations not meeting the standards.
Ø Promoting greater sustainability of programs. The Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation is given authority to take additional measures to assure the sustainability of programs with non-Federal resources.
New Federalism? Volunteer generation and mobilization as an explicit criteria for funding? Authority to take additional measures to assure the sustainability of programs with non-Federal resources? This sounds like a takeover to me.
I smell something nasty. Did someone step in something? Everybody please check their shoes.
Should have been the first thing cut loose, but no, we must add to it.
Ready for service, sir!
Sure it is, we are all paying for it.
Hold on tight - my bet is that lack of Americorps representation in your charity or NPO or faith-based orgranization will result in the loss of your 501c3 certification. No 501c3=$$$ for Americorps!
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