By Al Benson Jr. On August 8, 2010 at 4:22 PM
by Al Benson Jr.
Seems as if I remember, when I attended government schools, that they taught us that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. Actually it didn't quite happen that way but the education establishment didn't let that little fact bother them. It turns out that slavery was not abolished in this country until December of 1865, with the 13th Amendment, awhile after Mr. Lincoln had gone to his eternal reward--whatever that might be.
The 13th Amendment informs us that: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States..."
I have always naively assumed that this mean that the government could not compel or coerce anyone into performing "public service" unless that person wanted to do it. To me that would be the obvious conclusion. In our current political climate, it turns out I was dead wrong. Maybe they will have to amend the 13th Amendment so it states at its conclusion "except where proscribed by law." That's what the old Soviet Constitution did. It enumerated all manner of freedoms "except where proscribed by law."
Of course, in the new congressional attempt to circumvent the 13th Amendment, they don't call it slavery anymore. It's now referred to as "mandatory service." Slavery has been abolished by mandatory service hasn't. And the definition of is is...
I just read an article by Rob Dew on http://www.prisonplanet.com. It was titled "H.R. 5741 Slave Bill now in Committee." According to Mr. Dew "H.R. 5741 will give the president the authority 'To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service either as a member of the uniformed service or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strengths requirements of the uniformed services and for other purposes'." Part of what should bother us is those "other purposes."
Mr. Dew noted that "The slavery bill is currently in debate in the House Committee on Armed Services" chaired by Rep. Skelton, a Democrat from Missouri. You might be tempted to ask the question here "When is slavery not slavery?" And the answer would be "When it's mandatory service."
Over the years I have heard a couple preachers observe that compulsory attendance for children in government schools constitutes involuntary servitude. Now that is an interesting perspective, and not one I totally disagree with. That's a perspective that should be given more attention. But I digress.
The slave bill was introduced into Congress on July 15th by Congressman Charles Rangel of New York. Lest you think that the reputation of a man who was planning on tinkering with the 13th Amendment would be as pure as the driven snow, think again. It seems that Congressman Rangel is facing thirteen ethics charges--and that in a Democratically-controlled Congress!
According to USA Today for July 30th: "In 40-page statement of charges, a bipartisan panel said the New York Democrat had improperly solicited donations for a public center and library bearing his name and that he omitted hundreds of thousands of dollars of income and assets on disclosure statements." Heavens to Abagail!
I'm reminded of socialist Nancy Pelosi's statement that when the Democrats took over Congress she was going to "drain the swamp" of all corruption, back-room dealing, etc. I guess, in her erstwhile cleanup efforts, Ms. Pelosi just missed this part of the swamp. What will Congress end up doing to Mr. Rangel for all this? Probably a slap on the wrist and an admonition that if he's going to keep on doing this kind of stuff he needs to be clever enough not to get caught the next time. That's about what I'd expect from this "transparent" Congress. Unfortunately, the only "transparent" thing about this Congress is its Marxist bent. Anybody who can't see that plainly by now just ain't trying!
What better group to begin to tinker with the 13th Amendment than this current batch of sorry socialists? With the current Marxist regime in Washington slavery is not slavery when they say it isn't.