[Tired of Taxes]

This is ridiculous. Do you honestly think that if Obama is elected he is going to institute slavery in this country, and/or lock people up in “re-education camps”, or any of the other silly stuff said around here? It may not be good for the country if he’s elected, but some of these theories are just plain loony.

You addressed your post to someone else, but I want to respond... Yes, some of the theories around here are far-fetched, and I don't appreciate some of the tactics my fellow Republicans are using. It only backfires.

But this theory is a valid concern. The story doesn't start here on this thread. It goes back to a statement Obama made earlier:

QUOTE: when I'm President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you'll have done 17 weeks of service.We'll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities. At the community level, we'll develop public-private partnerships so students can serve more outside the classroom.

I'll tell you, I see nothing wrong with requiring people to do something if they want to receive something "free" from the government from tuition grants to "free" public education. But what about those of us who elect not to receive "free" education? For example, some states have tried to outlaw homeschooling. Suppose they're successful? Then every child will be required to attend school and required to do community service. Once that policy is instituted, how far will it go eventually? We have to ask that question.

FTR, we homeschool our children, and even though we do not receive education nor tuition courtesy of the state or federal government, our children do volunteer their time in community service, without the gov't telling them to.

[Crystal Cove]

My son’s high school required a minimum hours of volunteer work in order to graduate. We didn’t think twice about it since he already volunteered at the animal shelter.

But the statement you reference doesn’t contain any requirements. It sets “goals” and makes federal assistance conditional on developing a program. He talks about setting up programs and giving schools resources to offer oppourtunities to volunteer. I don’t see any requirements for volunteering

[1972BornFree]

The state of Alaska requires public school kids to do community service hours to graduate and the way it works here, I am pretty sure private and home schools are exempt.