Destination 2012
Remake America
Follow six American families in this critical year
Is "remake" the new focus-group term for "transform"?
It looks and feels like something that we have seen before.
Something that the White House might have had a hand in creating. Or is that what this is intended to be? Campaigning for Obama without REALLY campaigning....
Compare the Remake America site to Barack Obama's website. Or even Whitehouse.gov.
The description for this new project states:
"Remake America" is a key part of Destination 2012, Yahoo ! News' ambitious yearlong elections program, which is engaging millions of citizens in conversation about the political and economic issues facing the nation. Yahoo ! reaches nearly 90 percent of the nation's online voting age adults each month — more than any other media company — and Yahoo ! users will ultimately help determine the outcome of the U.S. elections. Having built a talented network of voices, including a DC bureau team, Yahoo!'s first White House Correspondent, and adding the analytical expertise of Yahoo ! Labs through "The Signal," Yahoo ! is poised to be a key source for original reporting, dynamic video programming, and shared opinions this election season.
It is interesting to note that on February 1, 2012, Yahoo announced their first White House correspondent, Olivier Knox, which was followed 1 month later by the new Yahoo series on "Remaking America."
The company that is producing the Yahoo! series is called Trium Entertainment which began just last year.
Other projects that the Trium Entertainment team have been working on include:
Fresh Takes on Family Time (a partnership between MSN and Subway) - gives parenting ideas to bring the family together in non traditional ways
They have articles about Obama and the White House like
One has to wonder how much money from Obamacare legislation is being used to fund these websites. Also, according to the news report, “Remake America” will also team up with U.S. charities to aid the six families that appear on “Remake America” and others like them. Through these charities, viewers will have an opportunity to find resources and expert advice, as well as support other families in similar situations across the U.S."
What "US charities" are we talking about? The ones funded through Alinsky's IAF "faith-based" organizations?
Jared Tobman, one of the founders of Trium Entertainment said,
Our goal is to use the incredible reach of Yahoo! to
help Americans come together to find real solutions.
This is straight out of the Alinsky playbook.
Communication, Alinsky teaches his organizers how to direct the thinking of his people while letting them think they are making their own decisions. The organizer should develop skills in the manipulative technique of asking "loaded questions designed to elicit particular responses and to steer the organization's decision-making process in the direction which the organizer prefers.
"The organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems," and "organizations must be based on many issues." The organizer "must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community; fan the latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expression. He must search out controversy and issues, rather than avoid them, for unless there is controversy people are not concerned enough to act. . . . An organizer must stir up dissatisfaction and discontent."
The organizer "begins his 'trouble making' by stirring up these angers, frustrations, and resentments, and highlighting specific issues or grievances that heighten controversy." The organizer must remember that "Organizations need action as an individual needs oxygen. The cessation of action brings death to the organization."
The Yahoo! series will focus on the following situations used by the left to garner resentment, anger, fear and frustration over the economy, housing and healthcare, in an effort to build a coalition of common support:
- Bill and Donna; Erin (Calabash, NC; Charleston, SC)
Bill and Donna have always lived “the American dream,” owning two homes, traveling the world and providing for their three children. But all that changed drastically when Bill suffered a stroke. After realizing he could no longer work at the level he did, Bill decided to open his own business which is now on the brink of collapse due to the economy.
Erin G., Bill and Donna’s daughter (and single mom of three-year-old twins), has been struggling to keep her head above water. Erin was facing foreclosure in the past year and has decided to take on a roommate, another single mom with a 4 year old child, to help supplement her mortgage payment.
- Kyle and Krystal (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
Kyle and Krystal are a young couple that has already survived more traumatic events than most families experience in a lifetime. Kyle, now a wounded veteran after losing his right hand, is facing a new chapter in his life both as a father and in a currently undetermined career. Kyle and Krystal’s oldest child suffers from a rare genetic disorder, which makes it difficult for them to work full time since they must provide her with round-the-clock-care.
- Leslie (Phoenix, AZ)
Despite losing her job as a successful real estate agent, Leslie tries to keep a “glass half full” mentality, despite going on more than 100 job interviews with no result and finding herself a victim of job scams. Facing major financial difficulty, Leslie has been forced to live in her guest house while renting out her main home.
- Kirk and LaTosha (Houston, TX)
Kirk and LaTosha were a two-income family until Kirk was laid off from his IT job, the family was forced to drastically change its lifestyle. Now they’re one paycheck away from homelessness. Ironically, LaTosha, who works as a government counselor connecting families with income assistance programs, cannot utilize those programs because her family’s income still falls over the maximum amount to qualify for assistance.
- José and Starlight (Austin, TX)
After moving across the country for a law school program, Starlight became sick and lost her scholarship. Without a strong credit score, she was not eligible for a student loan and has been forced to withdraw from school. Following numerous health concerns for both Starlight and her son, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, the family is on the brink of homelessness with no income to pay for living expenses or health insurance.
