Anyone been following Professor Bill Cronon's story on ALEC on his blog?

[54anickel]

Looks like he's hit a nerve and the WI GOP are after his e-mails. His blog and the op-ed were done from his personal accounts, but they are still using FOIA to go after his e-mails at UWM. What about the student confidentiality? Isn't there something that protects that?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/03/my_worlds_collide.php

snip>

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.

more...

[Viking12]

1. ..and the attack on scholars will create jobs how?

That should be the standard response to the Rethugs and McCarthyites

[sybylla]

2. Yep, and the little piggies are whining once more about it.

Check it out...Piggies can threaten and intimidate, but don't dare question them on it.

http://www.slate.com/BLOGS/blogs/weigel/archive/2011/03/25/wisconsin-gop-blasts-concerted-effort-to-intimidate-over-request-for-professor-s-e-mails.aspx

Wisconsin GOP Blasts "Concerted Effort to Intimidate" Over Request for Professor's E-mails
Posted Friday, March 25, 2011 12:43 PM | By David Weigel

The Wisconsin GOP responds to today's questions about the request for UW Prof. William Cronon's e-mail with a statement from party executive director Mark Jefferson. The statement is in blockquotes; I break it up to annotate.

Like anyone else who makes an open records request in Wisconsin, the Republican Party of Wisconsin does not have to give a reason for doing so.

<snip>

Further, it is chilling to see that so many members of the media would take up the cause of a professor who seeks to quash a lawful open records request. Taxpayers have a right to accountable government and a right to know if public officials are conducting themselves in an ethical manner. The Left is far more aggressive in this state than the Right in its use of open records requests, yet these rights do extend beyond the liberal left and members of the media.

<snip>

I found it posted elsewhere on DU.

[54anickel]

3. Thanks! Just come across a similar article at the WAPost by Greg Sargent

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/wisconsin-gop-youre-damn-right-we-requested-walker-critics-emails/2011/03/03/AFytRNWB_blog.html

[midnight]

6. I want to know how an Open records law involves this guy

posting about an organization...

[sybylla]

7. That's the thing. The pukes are trying to play a game of gotcha.

Their request is to see if this professor was using his university e-mail account (or if it shows evidence he was using other university resources) for political action. Primarily to smear him, secondarily for more nefarious purposes and, worst case, if he or even his department receives federal money, he could be charged with violating the Hatch Act.

[midnight]

8. Thank you. This is interesting... A judge said his back ground and a

request to write about this topic for a news paper, for historical purposes, gives him more latitude because of his position...

[sybylla]

9. I would hope so, too.

How do you separate someone whose background is social studies from commentary and studies on our current "social" problems.

Seems a ridiculous proposition.

[Viking12]

10. It doesn't matter if Cronon broke the rules or not..the RW will just lie anyway

We only have to look at the so-called Climategate e-mails to see that the rightwingnuts will just make shit up to suit their purposes; it doesn't matter what is actually in the e-mails.

[sybylla]

11. Exactly.

Since Reagan, pukes have lost all ability to feel shame.

[54anickel]

4. A direct link to his blog, as I believe this is far from over. Might be best to go straight to the

source.

http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/

[yourout]

5. The Republicans are helping him out.......I never would have read it and passed it along to....

several other people if they had not filled the request and indirectly caused this thread.