03-25-2011, 02:38 AM
|
 |
PW Enlightenment
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: in the natural state
Posts: 41,000
Thanks: 30,606
Thanked 16,949 Times in 11,495 Posts
|
|
Wisconsin GOP demands e-mail records from history prof who criticized Gov. Scott Walk
Quote:
This is a bizarre, ugly turn of events. And for me it's a little weird because of the people involved. I just found out about it from TPM Reader AS.
Bill Cronon -- or William Cronon, as I think of him -- is a Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin. A few days ago he wrote an oped in the Times critical of Gov. Walker and his push to abolish collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin. About a week before that, he wrote a blog post -- the first in a new blog called Scholar as Citizen -- examining just who's behind this big anti-union push. He focused on a group called ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council).
Now, so far, nothing particularly controversial about any of this. But then it took a dark turn. Or perhaps better to say, then the story got into gear with everything else we've seen out of the Walker administration over the last three months.
Less than two days after Cronon published the blog post, the Wisconsin Republican Party filed a state open records request to gain access to Cronon's personal emails to get a look at what communications or discussions or sources or anything else went into writing it.
Now, 'personal' is up for some reasonable debate here. This is his university email. And he's a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, the state university. So he's a state employee. Still, he's not an elected official or someone doing public business in the sense you'd ordinarily understand the term. Nor are they looking at anything tied to the administration of the University, which is legitimately a public matter. In the ordinary sense we tend to understand the word it's his personal email. And the range of requested documents leave no doubt about what they're after.
Here's the request (reprinted from Cronon's blog)...My Worlds Collide | Talking Points Memo
|
What's that line a member here is always quoting?
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.” ?? 
__________________
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power. --P. J. O'Rourke
|
Courtesy of Swissman
Linear Mode
