Web Faux Pas: Plan Leaked for 'Civilian Security Force'?
Before Blogs Caught It, Obama Site Told of Requiring Students to Serve
From WorldNetDaily.com

      The official website of President-Elect Barack Obama, Change.gov, originally announced that Obama would “require” all middle school through college students to participate in community service programs; but after a flurry of blogs protested children being drafted into Obama’s proposed youth corps, the website’s wording was softened.
    Originally, under the tab “America Serves” Change.gov read, “President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in under served schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps.”
    “Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year,” the site announced.
    The language of requiring students to serve and the creation of a “Classroom Corps” sparked a surge of criticism from bloggers for bringing back memories of the much-publicized video of marching Obama youth and Obama’s “civilian national security force,” which the candidate said in July would be just as powerful and well-funded as the U.S. military.
    Gateway Pundit called Obama’s plan the “creation of his Marxist youth corps,” and DBKP commented, “‘Choosing’ to serve should be approved by parents – not required by the government. No amount of good intentions can sugar-coat words like ‘mandatory,’ ‘compulsory’ or ‘required.’”
    Following the furor raised by bloggers, however, the website’s wording was changed. The word “require” was stricken from the website and replaced with the phrase “setting a goal” and now also lists tax credits toward college tuition.
The original wording was as follows:

America Serves
    When you choose to serve – whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood – you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.
    The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

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Christmas in Color Dec. 6th and 7th
By Jim Day

    In a world that seems black and white with doubt, economic questions, challenging job markets and combative elections, it’s important to bring color and joy to life by focusing on the celebration of Christmas.  This year, the St. Louis Concert Choir presents their annual musical celebration of the holiday, Christmas In Color, on Saturday and Sunday, December 6th and 7th, at the Pillsbury Chapel in the Dale Williams Fine Arts Center on the campus of Missouri Baptist University in West St. Louis County.  The production will be a spectacular Christmas celebration for the whole family.
    Employing beautiful choral and solo music, elegant dance, joyful children, creative staging, dramatic storytelling, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting, this year’s Christmas production will warm the hearts of young and old alike by presenting the true meaning of Christmas to all.
    The St. Louis Concert Choir brings together a cast of over 100 of the metro area’s brightest and best singers, dancers, actors and kids to share the familiar songs of Christmas, the carols that we all love, the story of the Jesus in the manger, and the delight that this holiday brings to everyone.  Celebrating their twelfth season together, the Choir, under the direction of veteran conductor, Bob Pickett, is a community choir of Christian musicians from all across the Greater St. Louis area.  Representing nearly 30 different churches, the Choir rehearses monthly at Grace Church – St. Louis in Maryland Heights.  This enthusiastic group of dedicated and talented singers will join forces with the Ekklesia Dance Company and the Ekklesia Kids under the direction of choreographer, Christina McArthur Rongey, to present a concert of favorite Christmas music, old and new.
    Christmas In Color will have something for everyone.  The audience will have a chance to reflect on their favorite Christmas memories, they will laugh and cheer, nod in agreement and perhaps shed a tear, and sing along with the Choir on thrilling arrangements of music that touch the heart.  The program also includes a trip to Bethlehem to meet the eyewitnesses to the birth of Jesus, each one sharing their insights from their encounter with the Savior, as the actors and Choir present the real story of the first Christmas with a live nativity scene.

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