[TommyC1]

This page was recently removed from the Official Kerry Website. Mandatory national service is nothing less than enslaving every high school student. For those who are prone to conspiracy thinking, take a look at his plan for "Community Defense Service." It looks suspiciously like a communist-style neighborhood spy program.

[Lawgvr1955]

I'd be all for it if I only had to serve 4 months.

[taxesareforever]

Talk about dumbing down our military, this plan surely would accomplish that. But then again, that could be Kerry's plan.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Is this legit or a spoof?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Mandatory volunteer service! That'l teach 'em!

[TigersEye]

Alternatively, seniors will be able to use these funds to defray their own health care costs. John Kerry plans to engage 100,000 seniors a year in service in the next decade.

John Kerry says: "How can we afford Universal Health Care? Simple, you old fogies can work off your debt to the state."

[Merry]

This sounds very expensive. Who is going to pay for all those college tuitions. While the grads work who will pay their salaries. Nothing is for free.

[AVNevis]

Speaking as a High School freshman, I have absolutely no problem with this. It is not a draft, but community service. It seems that since the community has been paying for your education for so long, you ought to give something back. Plus it could teach kids to keep volunterring well into adulthood. However, this might be the only thing I actually agree with Kerry about. Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And besides, by election day he might have another position, or two, or three, or four.

[11th_VA]

Flip Floppin Bump

[mugs99]

As President, John Kerry will ensure that every high school student in America performs community service as a requirement for graduation. This service will be a rite of passage for our nation's youth and will help foster a lifetime of service.

Worked great for Germany...Hitler Youth.

[nomad]

And yet the Rats are trying to frame Bush on the draft lie.

[nomad]

I hope GW hammers him in the debate on this one!

[sailor4321]

"Mandatory national service is nothing less than enslaving every high school student."

You're absolutely right! Instead, we should be removing that crap in the US Constitution (and most State Constitutions) about citizens being members of the militia. I mean, the idea of actually owing any duty of any sort to one's community or country is just so hopelessly old fashioned (acutally, 18th centurish)! "Hell no, we won't go --- not until you pay us mo..."

[Calvin Locke]

Mandatory national service is nothing less than enslaving...

More like indentured servitude. But both are prohibited by the Constitution. Not that it matters to Democrats.

[randog]

As President, John Kerry will ensure that every high school student in America performs community service as a requirement for graduation.

Gee, I wonder what type of "community service" he's talking about. Free labor for useless lib'ral social programs? Naaaaah, couldn't be.

[LibFreeOrDie]

More about AmeriCorps:

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ED042497b.cfm

http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/10/10/92042

http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?control=831

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10504-2003Jul31.html

[Petronski]

As President, John Kerry will ensure that every high school student in America performs community service as a requirement for graduation. This service will be a rite of passage for our nation’s youth and will help foster a lifetime of service.

Die Kerry-Jugend.

Unbelievable.

[ofthenight]

interesting indeed. however im for a mandatory draft for those that drop out of highschool for reasons other than supporting a family or disease. i know a lot of drop outs that just sit around and do absolutely nothing but soak up our tax dollars for their needs.

2 years of service equal to a four year degree...shakey on this one right now.

the rest sounds good to me if it were optional. like another poster wrote, it fringes the constitution.

[bad company]

I've been saying this for a while. The dems are the ones in congress pushing the draft. kerry has said that he wants to put more troops in Iraq, but the french bring nothind to the table militarily and the germans cannot deploy militayr troops constitutionally. That leaves a kerry administration bringing back the draft.

[Walkingfeather]

I think the legal argument can be made that slavery was abolished and you can not force someone to work for free.

[Jet Jaguar]

The end of the article states "America's military is having trouble recruiting"

This is not correct. The Army is slightly short of it's goal.

The other services have met their recruiting goals.