Lawmaker warns of Obama's plans for national 'forced servitude'

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/New_Hampshire_lawmaker_seeks_to_reaffirm_0223.html


David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
Published: Monday February 23, 2009

Don't call it slavery.

When New Hampshire state representative Dan Itse went on Fox & Friends Monday morning, it was under the auspices of talking about his co-sponsorship of a bill which seeks to assert the state's sovereignty from federal control under the 10th Amendment.

Fox host Brian Kilmeade interpreted that as meaning his guest wants to "secede from the Union" because of federal encroachment and President Obama's looming "forced servitude" programs.

With each news-hook, fellow host Steve Doocy gave a stony grimace. Rep. Itse, to his credit, immediately contradicted Kilmeade.

After thanking his constituents Itse said, "This is not about secession," as Doocy attempted to speak over him.

"There are 25 states now signed on to this," said Doocy. "You're saying that the federal government is going too far. They're now in the state government ... Department."

"Absolutely," said Itse. "But this is not about secession. It's about drawing the line in the sand and saying we've tolerated usurpations for so long, but we're not going to tolerate you violating the Constitution anymore. We're going to hold you accountable. It's about shifting the burden of responsibility."

One tactic being used to falsely stir up support for the legitimate and growing states rights movement -- a cause célèbre to fans of Congressman Ron Paul, grassroots conservatives and liberty-minded liberals alike -- is the claim that President Obama wishes to institute mandatory public service nation-wide.

Alleging that Obama had pitched this security force of-sorts -- or an "expeditionary workforce," depending on the author -- the line became a point of fear during the campaign and seems to have stuck around. Nevertheless, it remains "a badly distorted version of Obama's call for doubling the Peace Corps, creating volunteer networks and increasing the size of the Foreign Service," says non-profit consumer advocacy group FactCheck.org.

Specifics on the plan to encourage national service may be found on the president's Web site.

"You're talking about young people being made to serve community service?" asked Kilmeade.

"Exactly," said Itse. "I mean, if you are required to do a job against your will with a pay scale not set by you or not agreed to by you, that's involuntary servitude."

"Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California, and Georgia have all introduced bills and resolutions declaring sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment," reported PrisonPlanet.com, which is run by radio host Alex Jones, a vocal proponent of the states sovereignty movement. "Colorado, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Alaska, Kansas, Alabama, Nevada, Maine, and Illinois are considering such measures."

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