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Following Bush senior, Obama pushes community service
After so much talk from the right about the socialist dangers of Obama's national service initiative, it is clear that it was Bush Sr. who began the trend toward increased community service and programs in his presidency.
Today, he meets with President Obama at Texas' A & M University to extol the virtues of community service in America.
The Texas A&M University in College Station, the home of Bush's presidential library, is scheduled for 4 p.m. today. It will pay tribute to the former president's 20-year-old Points of Light initiative as well as Obama's United We Serve campaign in which the President seeks to expand and extol community service on a national scale.
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President Barack Obama joins forces with former President George H. W. Bush on Friday in a forum on community service at the Texas A&M University. The event marks the 20th anniversary of Bush's call to service, Points of Light, and bolsters Obama's United We Serve campaign, one of several initiatives of the administration urging American to volunteer in their communities.Bush envisioned a "thousand points of light" during his 1989 inaugural address, beginning a two-decade movement for civic engagement that has recognized more than 4,500 individuals who have given significant contributions through service, with the Daily Point of Light Award.
Obama has also made community service central to his agenda, declaring Sept. 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance, and signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
The new law increased the number of annual AmericaCorps volunteers by 175,000 to 250,000, added funding for Corporation for National and Community, which was established by Bush, and provides more scholarship opportunities and creates programs to help reduce school dropouts, including a "Summer of Service" program for middle and high school students.
Obama's addresses the Points of Light forum at the George Bush Presidential Library Center amid acrimonious debate about his healthcare agenda.
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smkovalinsky
New York, New York, United States






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djermanoat 05:59 on October 16th, 2009
This is actually funny to hear the guy who help crash the banks say everyone else has to volunteer. Did he say anything about getting the Iraqi people to volunteer to bury the million innocent people he supported in killing? How about getting junior to stand trial voluntarily for lying and torture, and wrecking the economy? Hey but wow....they can always get the US Military to come and rescue America from it economic woes? Right? Marshall Law?
Funny how the Rich people get everyone else to volunteer.....I volunteer to plant more trees, so you can make paper to make more phoney money....to crash the banks, so rich people can ask poor people to volunteer. How much will it cost. 15 cents, but I only have a dime....well that's life. What's Life? It's Redbook Magazine...How much does it cost? 15 cents..I only have a dime... Well that's life? What' s Life its a magazine as well...
How about not spending so much money by buying all those flags that surround that idiotic library. You know one would do you know.
The Rev