Obama says he will “set a goal” – You say “they are to be forced” – How do you get from one to the other. You don’t except in your feverish imagination.

Oh really? From the mouth of O: “We’ll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs.”

In the real world, that’s coercion. Because school districts are all quite addicted to federal funding. At least private schools may escape this.

And referring to “Hitler Youth” isn’t calling Obama Hitler. It is merely comparing programs. O’s plan strikes me as much the same thing: forcing kids into political indoctrination under the thin guise of something else (Service to the Fatherland, eh?). Sure, sure, he calls it “service,” but in the real world such things are dominated by Left activists and nearly always come along with big fat doses of propaganda.

I didn’t see anything in his speech about parental opt-out. What if I happen to object to my 12 year old being made to work at a homeless shelter or provide services to illegal aliens? Or pimp for Global Warming or other enviro causes? And that’s exactly the kind of thing these “service programs” typically entail.

And even beyond that, even if they would be politically neutral tasks, what the hell business is it of the federal government to threaten local school districts unless they comply? Gimme a break.