[antiwar-van] Take "Homeland Security USA" OFF the Air!

[Harsha]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------

Hi All,

In an effort to mobilize a group to start a letter-writing campaign to ABC
to stop production of the new reality series "Homeland Security USA" that
is set to air on January 6th, please join and invite others to this
Facebook group.  Facebook has been a highly effective advocacy tool, so
let's see what we can do about this horrible show that is admittedly
biased towards showing the "good" side of DHS.

*Facebook Group "ABC: Take "Homeland Security USA" OFF the Air!"*

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=38289708327

About the show:

ABC Schedules a 'Homeland Security' Series
By Brian Stelter, New York Times

"Homeland Security USA," a reality show produced with the full cooperation
of several agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, will have its
premiere on Jan. 6 on ABC.

In an announcement Thursday, ABC said the production "has been given
unprecedented access to the agencies," including Customs and Border
Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation
Security Administration and the Coast Guard.

The show will spotlight the work of border patrol officials who work on
land, sea and air to keep the United States secure. ABC has ordered 13
episodes of the series; they will be shown on Tuesdays at 8 p.m., opposite
"American Idol" on Fox. While reality shows about harrowing jobs have
prospered on cable — think of "Deadliest Catch" and "Ice Road Truckers" —
they have yet to find an audience on broadcast TV.

When news of the series emerged in May, the show was named "Border
Security USA." Although the name has evolved, the show will still focus on
the border patrol mission. Here's the description of the first episode
from ABC:

The premiere episode, "This is Your Car on Drugs," takes viewers inside
some of the busiest international entry points to the U.S. At Los Angeles
International Airport, a voluptuous 20-year-old woman arrives from
Switzerland with no working papers but a suitcase full of titillating
surprises! In the Pacific Northwest, at the Blaine, Washington border
crossing, smugglers attempt to foil DHS canines by packing narcotics in
baby diapers. Along the border between the U.S. and Mexico in the
scorching heat of the desert outside of Tucson, Border Patrol agents race
the clock to find six undocumented immigrants lost in the barren
wilderness. In one of the most dramatic stories at the San Ysidro,
California border crossing, a fake license plate tips a border officer off
to a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, there are some unusual illegal
items intercepted at the International Mail Center in Carson, California,
including a "delicacy" officers are shocked to discover is actually
barbecued bats.

In May, The Hollywood Reporter said the show was "billed as the first
multi-episode television series to be shot in cooperation with the
Department of Homeland Security." The project elicited complaints from
some Internet users, who labeled it "propaganda."

The executive producer, Arnold Shapiro, acknowledged at the time that the
show was meant to portray Homeland Security in a good light.
"I love investigative journalism, but that's not what we're doing," he
told The Reporter in May. "This show is heartening. It makes you feel good
about these people who are doing their best to protect us."

Tina Shull
Detention Watch Network