Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serve.gov or Serf.dom?
by Patrick CourrielcheNational service and volunteerism is a top priority of both the President and the First Lady. A broad effort has been launched to promote this priority. We’ve seen this in the May 12th White House briefing, the August 10th and 27th art community conference calls, and now in a new effort by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, entitled iParticipate, that is encouraging broadcast media to infuse national service stories into their show plots. The First Lady has even created a video expressing the importance of national service.
All of these efforts are driving would-be volunteers to Serve.gov. The question is, for what purpose?
Buffy Wicks
Encouraging volunteerism is a noble effort undertaken by every US President. However, this Administration’s national service outreach has led on multiple occasions to outright policy advocacy. I’ve shown this throughout my writing on the subject, with a primary focus on the National Endowment for the Arts. However, the Corporation for National and Community Service is playing an even bigger role in this White House effort, and I don’t think general volunteerism is the only goal in mind.
The national service initiative is being led by The Corporation for National and Community Service (The Corporation) and the White House Office of Public Engagement. On the now infamous August 10th conference call, Nell Abernathy of The Corporation introduced Buffy Wicks as the person who championed the art community’s involvement in the Obama election campaign as well as the person spearheading this national service initiative. Wicks, the Deputy Director of the Office of Public Engagement, explained the White House’s rationale for selecting service by stating, “part of my role [at the White House] is working on service, and so when we were thinking about how do we take a lot of this energy that’s out there, how do we translate folks who have just been engaged in electoral politics and engage them in really the process of governing, of being part of this administration in a little bit of a different way because politics is one thing and governing is something totally separate, we really saw service as the platform by which we can do that.”
The White House views service as a good way for those that have just been involved in electoral politics to stay active, and is driving them to Serve.gov to organize and manage them. Buffy Wicks didn’t state that national recovery was the rationale for encouraging partisans to serve. She conveyed that the White House was interested in transitioning partisans from the election cycle into the administration, and using “service” as the mechanism for this transition.
What made candidate Obama’s campaign so successful, in simplistic terms, was his grassroots volunteers and his brand messaging. Of course there was the mainstream media favoritism, the unpopularity of President Bush, his fundraising, and the 2008 Democratic Primary schedule that also played a role. However, these areas were either out of his control or fed by his volunteers and branding.
So it is safe to say that to stay in power, it is vital for his organization to keep these resources organized and active so that the machine retains its potency. There is no better federal agency than The Corporation to serve this purpose. The Corporation’s entire existence is to encourage volunteerism. It is also the nation’s largest grant provider supporting volunteering. And starting sometime this month, Congress will reconcile two bills that fund the Corporation’s expanded role, which includes tripling the number of volunteers to 250,000 and the creation of an ArtistCorps and MusicianCorps.
Volunteers were the backbone of Obama’s grassroots organization and artists were the ones that led his unofficial campaign branding. These two groups were both massive tools used by the Obama campaign. And a pivotal developer of that tool was Buffy Wicks, the same person “spearheading” the White House volunteerism initiative.
Wicks, a former labor movement and anti-Iraq war organizer, helped develop the Obama campaign’s national grassroots field strategy. Her goal was to have as many organizing teams on the ground as possible and to have an infrastructure to support the addition of new volunteers. She expressed this goal in a Camp Obama training session during the election when she stated, “If we had an organizing team in every precinct, we win this campaign. Like that’s it, end of story, we win this campaign.”
You get a feel for her national volunteer strategy through this Camp Obama video. Her grassroots and infrastructure goal is in the 36:45-40:10 segment.
The NEA and White House conference calls and The Corporation’s new iParticipate effort all drive traffic to Serve.gov – a website that provides the infrastructure and mechanism for growth of volunteerism that looks a lot like what Wicks was advocating on the campaign trail. And Wicks, a political activist with a history of organizing people to take political action, is working with The Corporation on this effort.
By itself though, there is nothing nefarious about pushing volunteerism. However, there have been many warning signs that the White House is attempting to politicize national service.
The August 10th conference call is an obvious example. The call was partisan in nature, it led to policy advocacy, the Communications Director of the NEA resigned, the NEA issued a statement acknowledging inappropriate language, and the White House issued conduct guidelines to address the partisan “appearance” issues. The cover-ups and historical revisionism displayed by the White House, The Corporation, the NEA, and the moderator were troubling indicators of the calls intentions. Another example is the May 12th White House briefing, which also led to extreme policy advocating – but that meeting has yet to be fully vetted.
These partisan volunteer efforts along with the expansion of The Corporation are alarming signs. Through expanding the size and power of The Corporation, the Administration is in essence organizing and increasing the pool of resources that helped it acquire power.
But another event, on further review, adds to concern about the use of The Corporation.
On June 11th, President Obama controversially fired Gerald Walpin, Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service. The termination, possibly violating a watchdog protection law, was thought to be due in part to Walpin’s dogged persistence in pursuing the misuse of The Corporation’s funds by grant recipients, one of which was a big supporter of Obama, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. After a brief period, Johnson’s funding suspension by The Corporation was lifted, triggering Walpin to scold the agency’s board of directors for that decision. Walpin was later fired by the President with little explanation.
If Walpin’s funding misuse investigation showed the White House anything, it was that he was actually going to be a watchdog – a good quality in an Inspector General unless you don’t want the dog watching.
It is my hope that the mainstream media, along with Congress, begins to look into these White House volunteerism efforts with a bit more of a critical eye.
This new iParticipate initiative by the Entertainment Industry Foundation and The Corporation appears tame on review of the press release and website. But a memo uncovered by Big Hollywood shows that the TV networks are being encouraged by this initiative to infuse the issues of health, the environment, and energy into their storylines.
Such a close relationship between the government and the networks should leave many to wonder whether the networks are too close to the White House to be critical. And recent comments by Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, attacking a legitimate news network seem designed as a preemptive strike to marginalize critical inquiry.
The free press needs to keep a critical eye, regardless of whether the White House likes a watchdog or not.
Also see:
PART I: LEAKED NETWORK MEMO REVEALS: Obama Controls Your Television Set
PART II: Search and Ye Shall Find…Left-Wing Advocacy
MORE: List of ‘Organically’ Created iParticipate Television Programs
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79 Comments
In your dreams Hollywood! You have proven to the real AMERICAN publis that you are now a bunch of LOSERS!!!
Way to go Hollywood! You have proven once again to the REAL American publis that you are nothing more that a bunch of LOSERS!!!! Sit back and watch your box office $$'s dwindle!!!
When these celebutards try to show us that they are leaders, they prove that they are the ultimate followers. Following a pied piper to our doom.
Heard the song before, didn't like it the first time.
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
So what has Hollywood done to participate for their nursing home that's going to close?
Use next week to spend time with the family, play sports or games or watch movies. We need to show all these bufoons that WE ARE NOT BUYING WHAT THEY ARE SELLING!!!!
2010 and 2012 message to the overlord Dems: http://www.MoveOn.now.
White House Press Corps Struggles to Maintain Objective Distance from President While Sharing His Teleprompter http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-house-p...
[...] here to read the rest: Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serve.gov or Serf.dom? This entry is filed under America – Blogs, Big Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this [...]
would like to see Ashton clean some senior citizen's diaper. Besides his wife that is.
would like to see Ashton clean some senior citizen's diaper. Besides his wife's that is.
Why not co-opt this movement with a call to participate for the stated views on this site. Yes participate in efforts that will truely benifit we the people. Tea party's, tax protests etc.
Thank you for remembering Gerald Walpin.
[...] a Cougar Town story line about reducing the number of yearly abortions. Patrick Courrielche at Big Hollywood states that “Encouraging volunteerism is a noble effort undertaken by every US President. [...]
[...] Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serve.gov or Serf.dom? — Patrick Courrielche National service and volunteerism is a top priority of both the President and the First Lady. A broad effort has been launched to promote this priority. …[A] new effort by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, entitled iParticipate… is encouraging broadcast media to infuse national service stories into their show plots. The First Lady has even created a video expressing the importance of national service. [...]
[...] Encouraging volunteerism is a noble effort undeRead more at http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/10/15/obama-controls-your-television-set-part-ii... [...]
[...] Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set Serve.gov or Serf.dom? [...]
When is Buffy going to be fired? WHEN?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Serve Community and Michael Ozman, Chris Podurgiel. Chris Podurgiel said: Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serve.gov or Serf.dom? http://ow.ly/uCos [...]
[...] there, Patrick Courrielche will describe how this EIF initiative fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the [...]
The Administration’s focus on “service” may have extremely negative consequences for the country. Based on “10,000 hours to mastery”, a statistic commonly cited as how long it takes to ecome really good at something, for every million hours of volunteerism, we could potentially lose 100 “masters” in their field: pilot Sully Sullenberger, entrepreneur Bill Gates, mathematician Ed Witten, geart surgeon Michael DeBakey…which type of master will we lose? We don’t know. But there could be devastating reductions in our potential as a nation.
It's easy to see what's going on here. The White House knows that with a minimum of prodding it can get its nominally nonpartisan allies hard at work persuading everyone to see things their way, and by controlling avenues of information (e.g. serve.gov) they can funnel interested parties to said secret allies without any direct, overt involvement. Hard-line regimes never stand on their own two legs–there's always a 'shadow government' of partisan activists, sympathetic press, spin doctors etc. working behind the scenes to steer the collective subconscious. Show of hands, who thinks the NEA comm. director was acting on his own when he pulled that little stunt? Likewise the press is exhibiting some willful blindness because they see the whole situation as an opportunity to complete their so desired transition from news reporters to news creators.
The folks behind all this, like any good chess player, understand that the best way to win is to use a lot of minor moves to slowly prod your opponent toward checkmate. So the question is, are those who aren't comfortable with this nascent Ministry of Truth going to play chess or checkers? A few blowhard right-wing talking heads trying to channel Howard Beale aren't going to cut it. Meanwhile the GOP seems to be bogged down in the relentless pursuit of voters that don't exist courtesy of MSM stereotyping. What we need is a proper grassroots effort–led by folks who know how to do that sort of thing–promoting true political and economic freedom. Start at the local level, and get some guys in office that can demonstrate by example that smart, hands-off governance is the right path. Leverage that to get some true independents in Congress in 2010, maybe even take the big prize if Republicans run another McCain in 2012. *That's* how you fight the rising tide of institutionalized mediocrity.
Was thinking the same thing. Went to serve.gov to look into how to post volunteer opportunities (just to see if they'd allow a conservative volunteer opportunity) and note they're shifting this off government servers …
"After October 14, 2009, the My Project volunteer registry tool at Serve.gov will no longer allow organizations and individuals to submit volunteer opportunities directly to Serve.gov. However, unexpired projects registered on Serve.gov will continue to be fed to All for Good and be searchable through November 30, 2009, and organizations that posted a volunteer project will be able to access their Serve.gov account, user, and volunteer data through November 30. "
They move fast. Looks like the gubmint is offloading their serf recruiting duties to the craigslist foundation.
I apologize – but there's no getting away from the comparison to the Nazis flooding into positions of power in government after Hitler was elected in 1933. And the first thing they took over was the media. If you control their minds, you control their bodies. Look, I know this comparison has been beaten to death – but that doesn't make it any less true.
Okay, Star Wars geeks (proud member of that club), take a moment to find your old copy of the original Star Wars novel. Read the Prologue and tell me if that doesn't scare the pants off of you: the decaying from within Republic, the rise to power of an ambitious Senator with the help of an internal political machine; the cries of injustice that fell on the new "Emperor's" deaf ears.
I'm not saying . . . I'm just saying.
Lucas may be a liberal and he may have tried to tweak Bush in that last movie, but there is a such thing as PROJECTION and boy oh boy, has he been projecting!
Conservatives need to do what they always have done. Out volunteer the liberals, turn this into a conservative movement. This maybe creepy having the White House lead, I agree. So take over the movement! If they give you tax credit or taxpayer money give it to the church or a charity of your choice. Nothing wrong with volunteering you have probably been doing this all along. Turn this around on those whining Liberals.
And remember, the Nazis were able to come to power because during the era of the Weimar Republic, the court system, academia, parts of the press and the bureaucracy did all they could to undermine the Republic, to reduce people's confidence in its ability to ensure stability, economic growth and safety. The Nazis were allowed to seize power because they promised to undo the actual harm to the country that they had caused but which had been blamed on anti-German elements. All that sound familiar?
I forgot, the Nazis were only following the template used by the Bolsheviks in Russia and the Fascists in Italy. It is a time proven technique to seize power.
[...] and that this “unprecedented block of TV programming is the first wave… [...] Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set — Serv… – October 15th, 2009 at 11:43 [...]
Wow that about sums up what The Obama administration is about. Taking all that is good out of America.
I saw nothing on TV so I thought I'd try the 'new adventures of OldChristine" on CBS – I was not 10 mins into it before I tuned the channel and will never watch it again…..
She was in a scene where she was talking about going to see her doctor and the lady said "You know ther are 45 million that are uninsured … blah blah blah….
Done with that show…..
I noticed something like this last week on "New Adventures of Old Christine" – mentioned Healthcare, lack of insurance, why are so many people uninsured, blah, blah, blah……… I asked my husband to change the channel, because I didn't want to be "beat over the head" with propaganda. It sounds like this is going to be the same kind of full court press.
If they start doing this too much, I'm going to be watching a whole lot more non-network TV…………
To use another movie comparison, this is like "The Matrix". We are Zion. We are awake. But the great majority still sleep, and as such, are tools of the enemy. Until these sheeple awake, they are part of the problem. If they don't, we're screwed. (and Neo's nowhere to be found!)
I noticed something like this last week on "New Adventures of Old Christine" – mentioned Healthcare, lack of insurance, why are so many people uninsured, blah, blah, blah……… I asked my husband to change the channel, because I didn't want to be "beat over the head" with propaganda. It sounds like this is going to be the same kind of full court press.
If they start doing this too much, I'm going to be watching a whole lot more non-network TV…………
Note: Didn't see the comment from elivisP until after I submitted my comment – it's nice to know that I am not the only one who felt that way (and I agree – not watching that one again!)
Right on!!
save up your DVR recordings and watch them. once you have run through those, you can always turn to fox to get some real news – not the liberal govt propaganda the others will be giving you!
Don't bring up matrix comparisons: by the end everyone was turned into agent smith and the remaining humans had to negotiate a deal with the machines. The "sleeping" people still inside the matrix were still asleep, just slightly more aware..I don't think that sounds very optimistic.
Is this Korea? We now live in a banana republic. This is the Soviet Union. This is Nazi Germany. Russia, Castro , Chavez are jealous of our dear leader. Obama is every communist's wet dream. But, they are underestimating the American people. Obama is going to have a lot of fun his last two years in office, when Democrats lose Congress, trying to shove this stuff down our throats. For the left's sake, I hope they don't entirely succeed in shuting down free speech. It only leaves one alternative, which is never pretty.
The best place to practice socialism is Hollywood. Actors and actresses do not deserve to get paid millions by memorizing lines and reading from teleprompter. Hollywood your films sucks!
Poor Buffy. The girl looks like 10 miles of bad WPA road.
Poor Buffy. That girl looks like 10 miles of bad WPA road.
You should also check out the documentary, Star Wars: the Legacy Revealed. It talks about how Lucas borrowed from everything from Bhuddism, to the legend of Camelot to Nazism to sculpt the world of his story.
But it was very chilling how the mythology of Stars Wars and the rise of the Empire parallel what is going on in our world of government and politics today.
You should also check out the documentary, Star Wars: the Legacy Revealed. It talks about how Lucas borrowed from many things including Bhuddism, to the legend of Camelot to Nazism etc. to sculpt the world of his story.
But it was very chilling how the mythology of Stars Wars and the rise of the Empire parallel what is going on in our world of government and politics today.
"The White House views service as a good way for those that have just been involved in electoral politics to stay active, and is driving them to Serve.gov to organize and manage them. Buffy Wicks didn’t state that national recovery was the rationale for encouraging partisans to serve. She conveyed that the White House was interested in transitioning partisans from the election cycle into the administration, and using “service” as the mechanism for this transition."
================
Thanks for this article, Patrick. I've had a hard time putting my finger on just what was wrong with this "call to serve" initiative, after all, encouraging volunteerism is a good thing, right? This paragraph lays it out perfectly. It's not about providing service; it's about keeping your partisans plugged into the system. Creeeeeepy.
Check out the tv show V and see how close it parallels.
It's not necessarily a comparison to Nazis, but it is right out of the facist/statist playbook. It's a subtle method of pushing people into the belief that only government is looking out for them, that it's only government that can provide answers, and that ultimately it's only government that you need. Once people belive that it takes generations to undo that thought process.
Remember also that one of the key elements is not truth but repeating a simple lie often enough that people accept it as such. Then you take those people and use them against the truth-tellers. Sound like a certain WH website/phone back that almost sneaked by?
I always thought SERVICE meant helping others- sandbagging levees, making quilts for fire victims, working in the soup kitchen. Now I find out I was wrong. It means lobbying, advocating and politicking- for FREE. I'll go back to knitting booties now, thank you.
I already saw some parallels just from the commercial!
If I'm not mistaken, the original series V, dealt mostly with themes of race and discrimination. This new show seems to be dealing with the theme of sociological takeover.
If the NEA pushing the administration's agenda isn't illegal, it should be.
And if Bush was squeezing the NEA like this, liberals would be demanding laws to prevent it from happening.
It's so ironic: artists who walk around lecturing the rest of us about not conforming and how money shouldn't matter sure fall in line fast when it's their paycheck that's being threatened.
Folks, this ain't going to be a walk in the park. We're under a full court communist press here. They wouldn't be so bold if they didn't have a plan to win. Start thinking about how you can shut the entire system down. If there is no system they can't win by manipulating the system.
NEO
Sometime after Obama is out of office….
This is absolutely sickening. It is nothing less than a systematic repression of truth. Knowingly or not, they are destroying the nation, and the situation now is critical. If the lies and tyranny can't be turned back soon, the American experiment is over.
Thanks for a great report.
[...] there, Patrick Courrielche will describe how this EIF initiative fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the [...]
That http://www.iparticipate.org/ site is also creepy! Mindless drones!
"We the Sheeple of the 'forced to participate', establish injustice, ensure domestic redistribution, provide no defense, promote mandatory welfare and secure your bank account in order to form no future for this country!"
You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough.
I'm dissappointed. I clicked on this story thinking it was about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and wicca followers.
Pure Marxism! I'll turn my TV off. NO ONE needs to go to a goverment website to volunteer, every town has volunteer opportunities-local food banks, driving the elderly to doctor appointments, visiting/playing music in nursing homes…Or we can simply help our NEIGHBOR BECAUSE WE CHOOSE TO.
Hitler was never elected.
Volunteer for tea Parties.
Here's the (my) title art: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgtkey0811/401511970...
Try this folks………go to the serv.gov site and do a quick search. First try "Democrat", you will see many dozens of Democratic Party affiliated links. Now try searching "Republican"…………………….this should answer any lingering questions about White House motives and methods.
Gee, if I don't register for a government health care plan they will fine me or toss me in jail. If we don't choose to volunteer, (for whatever), will they fine us and toss us in jail for that too? Hmm..I think the prison system will really, really be overcrowded….just a thought…
I wonder if I can get some "obama money" from serve.guv to help with expenses as I volunteer for conservatives???
So now I have my question answered as to why all of a sudden there was a congressional mandate to switch ALL television over to HD. I thought it was Comcast trying to corner the market there for awhile but then the whole "1984" scenario popped into my head. What better way to control media than to have it all on one server. A station fails to follow the party line, they get pulled. CBN, DAYSTAR, GodTV….I'm praying. Fortunately, I think there are enough of us out here in tv land that understand propaganda when we see it. Those who don't have already sipped deeply at the fountain of Koolaid.
[...] there, Patrick Courrielche will describe how this EIF initiative fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the [...]
Begin primary ignition.
Sanmon ; sadi
“This is a perfect movement for the Republican Party to take over. Stop whining and take it over. Do what you have done, volunteer, support our schools. Heck take over the school board. Support our Military families.”
I have heard so many American Patriots asking “What can we do to stop the takeover of our country by the Socialist’s?” Here is your answer! GET INVOLVED VOLUNTEER. Go to the sessions armed with the knowledge to debunk and challenge the propaganda and provide a balanced commentary. Don’t expect to change minds but rather go to plant the seeds for any and all to question the propaganda exposing the motives and agendas of those who are trying to change our Representative Republic to something it was never intended to be.
Go to work folks . . . here is your chance to get involved.
[...] there, Patrick Courrielche will describe how this EIF initiative fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the [...]
I just had to quote this on my facebook name…but & added the Q….hope that is OK with you. I just could not have said it better…..For the first time in my Adult Life …I am ashamed of my Country!!!
Thank you for that Jane…I am flattered. Keep your chin up on our Country! We just need to do some shepherding to reel back in those lost sheep before the wolves devour them!
OMG, yes! I saw the commercials for it and I thought "Did a conservative write this teleplay?" Because the "Vs" (as they call them in the new version) are bringing "hope" and I don't recall if they said "change" as well. And the masses are enthralled with them. And they are the "BAD" guys, right?
The only thing that I hope it doesn't mean is that they are insulting "religious" people who are often portrayed as "brainwashed" and "enthralled".
But yes, the parallels to today seemed kind of clear to me, but I have to wait until I see the actual show.
Plus, the new commercial for the show uses MUSE's new song "The Uprising", which, even coming from an alleged 9/11 Truther, sounds pretty much like a good revolutionary song for us.
[...] Part III: Obama Controls Your Television Set – Serve.gov or Serf.dom? – Big Hollywood [...]
I was talking about the original series(just watched again this past week), but am really interested to see the new one.
[...] there, Patrick Courrielche will describe how this EIF initiative fits into a broader White House plan, including the push to politicize the [...]
As if the MSM and Hollywood didn't do enough to get this jackass elected, they're now coordinating with the White House to push whatever agenda is on Obama's front burner this week.
it's another blatant example of how leftwing activists in the MSM and the entertainment idustry are complicit in subversive advertizing, tailored to fit Obama's socialist policies.
If George W. Bush had done a fraction of what Obama has pulled, especially with regard to censorship, attacking free speech, and squelching dissent, the Left would have crapped their pants.
In spite of the shadow government in Washington consisting of MSM and Hollywood spin doctors trying to influence public opinion and debate through domination of the airwaves, conservative bloggers, pundits, and Fox News, are major thorns in THE ONE's side. That's what infuriates the effetes in the administration. How dare we check their facts and question their motives.
The best disinfectant is sunlight. Obama had better get used to it.
[...] The White House views service as a good way for those that have just been involved in electoral politics to stay active, and is driving them to Serve.gov to organize and manage them. Buffy Wicks didn’t state that national recovery was the rationale for encouraging partisans to serve. She conveyed that the White House was interested in transitioning partisans from the election cycle into the administration, and using “service” as the mechanism for this transition. http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/10/15/obama-controls-your-television-set-part-ii... [...]
There will come a time when Americans consider issues like environmental protection, clean energy, and seeking universal health care to be just about as controversial and "political" as stopping domestic violence and teaching kids to read. These aren't part of a political agenda, they are part of a sincere effort to tackle some of the greatest problems we face as a nation. Don't any of you worry about looking back 20 years from now and realizing you were on the wrong side of history?
[...] Serve.gov or Serf.dom? All of these efforts are driving would-be volunteers … for what purpose? [...]
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