Adrienne's Corner

Our Current President to Sign National Service Bill Today

WASHINGTON – The AmeriCorps program started by President Bill Clinton will triple in size over the next eight years, and tens of thousands of other Americans will soon see new opportunities to give back to their communities.

It's all part of a $5.7 billion national service bill President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign Tuesday to foster and fulfill people's desire to make a difference, such as by mentoring children, cleaning up parks or building and weatherizing homes for the poor. source

Volunteer
v.intr.

1. To perform or offer to perform a service of one's own free will.

2. To do charitable or helpful work without pay: Many retirees volunteer in community service and day care centers.

Here's how this works in simple terms:

1. You pay taxes.
   
2. The Feds take those taxes and hand them out in the form of grants (I smell ACORN'S roasting on an open fire).
3. But first the people in charge skim off a considerable amount to run all these programs.
4. People line up to "volunteer" to get what's left of this money.
5. Voila - the government spends billions for some one to pick up trash in your park.

Brilliant!

Meantime:

Obama Cabinet Spending Cuts Ridiculed

*****Yesterday, President Obama ordered his cabinet to identify $100 million in budget cuts. The CBS Evening News reported that "critics say the amounts are so small," that "it's nothing more than a publicity stunt." CBS added that the President "admitted $100 million is a drop in the budget bucket, but insisted there's a lot more cutting to come." The New York Times says "budget analysts promptly burst out laughing. read the rest

While this bit of news:

H/T to Instapundit for this.....

Crimes Suspected in 20 Bailout Cases - for starters

********Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles -- In the first major disclosure of corruption in the $750-billion financial bailout program, federal investigators said Monday they have opened 20 criminal probes into possible securities fraud, tax violations, insider trading and other crimes.

*****The cases represent only the first wave of investigations, and the total fraud could ultimately reach into the tens of billions of dollars, according to Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the bailout program. read the rest



The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act Summary
(H.R. 1388, as of 3-31-2009) read the bill (pdf)