http://www.time.com/…

At various times in American history, public service and private effort

went arm in arm. After Pearl Harbor, Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam exhorted people to help the war effort, and Americans responded. But since F.D.R., and especially since J.F.K.’s launching of the Peace Corps, national service has been seen by some as a Democratic or liberal idea. In the ’90s, Newt Gingrich argued that the rise of big government programs robbed people of their initiative to volunteer. After Bill Clinton signed the bill to create AmeriCorps in 1993, then Senator John Ashcroft called it “welfare for the well-to-do.”

But these days there is a growing consensus on Capitol Hill that the private and public spheres can be linked. Democrats understand the need to support programs outside of government; Republicans understand that voluntary programs can be helped by government. In his first State of the Union address after 9/11, President George W. Bush called for Americans to give 4,000 hours of service and established the USA Freedom Corps. One of the early critics of AmeriCorps, John McCain, has since become a devout supporter. “National service is an issue that has been largely identified with the Democratic Party and the left of the political spectrum,” McCain wrote in a 2001 Washington Monthly essay. “That is unfortunate, because duty, honor and country are values that transcend ideology…National service is a crucial means of making our patriotism real, to the benefit of both ourselves and our country.”

THE PLAN

So what would a plan for universal national service look like? It would be voluntary, not mandatory. Americans don’t like to be told what they have to do; many have argued that requiring service drains the gift of its virtue. It would be based on carrots, not sticks — “doing well by doing good,” as Benjamin Franklin, the true father of civic engagement, put it. So here is a 10-point plan for universal national service. The ideas here are a mixture of suggestions already made, revised versions of other proposals and a few new wrinkles.

1. Create a National-Service Baby Bond
2. Make National Service a Cabinet-Level Department
3. Expand Existing National-Service Programs Like AmeriCorps and the National Senior Volunteer Corps
4. Create an Education Corps
5. Institute a Summer of Service
6. Build a Health Corps
7. Launch a Green Corps
8. Recruit a Rapid-Response Reserve Corps
9. Start a National-Service Academy
10. Create a Baby-Boomer Education Bond

Voluntary? Really? How long would that last? How voluntary is the collection of funds to pay for all this proposed government expansion.

Read More…

• Debate started at approximately 9:00PM EST
• Ron Paul, the only doctor on the stage, was ignored when the question of abortion came up
• At 9:32PM Ron Paul is given his first real question after all other candidates were given a question and some more. The question about his comment on how letting the passengers on the 9/11 flights to have guns may have prevented the hijacking.
• 9:45PM 2nd Ron Paul question: about the war in Iraq
• 9:47: Paul mentions taking marching orders from the Constitution which receives a round of heavy booing mixed with applause. The booing while talking about following the Constitution was unnerving.
• 9:51PM still on the Iraq war question Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul go back and forth in the most entergetic moment in some time in any debate. Huckabee says regardless of whether invading was a mistake we must keep our honor and see it through which receives a large applause as does Paul’s reply that it’s just trying to save face and we need to correct the mistake.
• 10:02PM: Romney talking about bugging mosques. “Some people say, but wait, we have civil liberties” and goes on to imply that those liberties aren’t as important as the one he expects the government to protect most and that being life. The second unnerving moment. Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. –Benjamin Franklin
• 10:13PM: Giulani, talking about why he hasn’t and won’t sign the pledge that he won’t raise taxes like 6 others running have, says the only pledge that matters is the one about supporting the Constitution. Article 2, Section 1: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Funny, I heard all kinds of unconstitutional things coming from his mouth.
• 10:18PM Paul gets 3rd question: Talks about getting rid of government programs/bloat. Getting rid of the IRS while Huckabee just advocated the Fair Tax. Approximately adjusted for inflation. We could have the same budget we had in 2000 and completely eliminate the private income tax. At about $1.1T in private income tax subtracted from the nearly $3T for next year’s federal budget with the 2000 budget at $1.8T. It’s definitely the case if we go back to 1995. So while a consumption tax would be better (though the 23% quoted for FairTax is misleading) it’s not as good as a complete removal of the private income tax.
• 10:26PM: 4th Paul question on Iran. Big applause.
• 10:32PM: Huckabee makes similar comment about supporting the Constitution.
• After Debate on H&C: Rudy Guilani makes a smartass comment about Ron Paul not belonging on the stage and how a Paul vs. Gravel debate would be entertaining to watch. “Lots of boos”
• Hannity makes several complaints about Ron Paul’s score in the text message poll Fox is running. Says that the Paulites must be voting multiple times. This however is a lie. You can only vote one per phone and this was confirmed personally. While it is possible Paul supporters could have multiple phones… so could any other candidate supporter and I find it unlikely that people would be hording other’s phones to do this.
• Ron Paul won the text poll with 33% of the votes.