Here's a story told in a way you won't hear it anywhere else. Right-wing politicians and think tanks are basically trying to raid the emails of college professors in a misguided and offensive effort to stifle the progressive arm of American politics and government.
The right-wing Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan has submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act. They want the Labor Relations Departments of 3 Michigan universities to produce all e-mails relating to the Wisconsin labor situation--the one we've been featuring here on The Ed Show for weeks.
Now, it is perfectly legal to make this kind of FOIA request, though it may be litigated. Academics say this FOIA request is unusually broad and nearly without precedent.
One professor who is subject to the FOIA request put it this way:
"[They're] going after folks they don't agree with."
Another professor said:
"I've been an educator since the early 1980s and I've never had a FOIA request."
It's far from an isolated incident. There's a pattern emerging. Last week, history professor at the University of Wisconsin William Cronon, was hit with a FOIA request from the Wisconsin Republican party. They want Cronon's emails relating to labor unions or labor leaders.
Hilary Fey Cronon
Prof. William Cronon
Mr. Cronon had just criticized Wisconsin Republicans, and Gov. Scott Walker, on his blog. Starting to get the picture? These are political operators going after academics who might espouse a liberal or progressive philosophy. These highly unusual FOIA requests are meant to intimidate--pure and simple. These political operatives want to pick the brains of people they see as their philosophical opponents, and that's not all ...
"In 2010, the Mackinac Center published a litany of problems with labor centers, arguing that they were basically taxpayer funded organizing hubs for the Left … When you hear Newt Gingrich talk about "defunding the left", this is one of the things he’s talking about.”
By the way, as we told you last week, the Mackinac Center is funded, in part, by the Koch Foundation a.k.a. the Koch brothers.
Leave a Comment:
Mackinac Center = Big Brother (a.k.a. Orwell's 1984)
This kind of demand is obviously intended to oppress free speech of university professors that have more credibility than most elected politicians.
Reading other people's mail is a tactic that was pioneered by the Nazi party and Joseph Stalin.
One remarkable thing is that Republicans, Tea Party, and Koch brothers have all made statements that they are against socialism that would help homelessness and starving people.
At the same time - every republican action indicates they are promoting dictatorship.
The sad fact is that President Obama is making people with racial-bias so crazy that they are developing verbal incontinence - so the truth is dribbling out.
You just can't have free speech and a dictatorship at the same time - you have to pick one or the other.
I would expect a College Professor to be professional in his correspondence, including emails sent and received on a government computer. Their email accounts, provided by the government are intended for business and as such are subject to a FOIA request. They should be aware of the absence of privacy on their government computers and in all probability sign a letter or formal document acknowledging it. That said, what type of content do they expect to find? Like the Global Warming data manipulation discovered on emails, I imagine some very damaging correspondence have taken place. I personally don’t enjoy government employees that use government property to conduct personal business, after all the government doesn’t give me a computer and internet access to conduct my personal business. I hoe they public some of this stuff so you guys and completely ignore what was written and focus exclusively on the means in which the information was obtained.
If so - then why not a blanket FOIA for all email from all university employees?
Why target specific people that oppose your ideology?
Doesn't that seem like an attempt to limit free speech?
We had also seen this with Cuccinelli and a professor who studied clomate change and spoke against the deniers.
2ez4u2c2...
Having made such a statement, I would fully expect you to have provided some proof that they have indeed used "government email accounts" and "government computers". Hmmm...doesn't seem that you did? Wonder why?
If the professor's blog was written on a personal (read that as non-governmental) account and/or a non-government supplied computer, the FOIA won't have much legal standing as it will be considered as private communications. Then what's the Mackinac Center gonna do? And, of course, the Mackinac Center wants all the information provided for free. Strange request, given who fund$ the Center.
Read the Text of the Mackinac Centers' FOIA.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/in-michigan-conservative-think-tank-seeks-labor-prof-emails.php?ref=fpa
If you believe the above statement, then you probably also believe that Sarah Palin and MIchelle Bachmann are founding members of MENSA.
But by all means, Republicans...dig your graves a little deeper with these all-too-obvious ploys.
Care to re-write this in English?
Well Crackhead
I would say the FOIA requests are looking for something specifically from those identified in the request. A professor has much more influence than a janitor. If it were I would be seeking the email to see if the Professors wrote anything inappropriate, perhaps modifying course curriculum with an emphasis on progressive leanings towards Unions in an attempt to influence the beliefs of students. Or maybe using their government computers and time on the clock to conduct Union business, a generally prohibited activity. If they have done nothing wrong they have nothing to fear, and again they probably signed official documents outlining restrictions that apply to the use of their government computers.
It would be interesting to do the same for all public school teachers. How many hours a day do you think are devoted to personal business, you know searching Craigslist, shopping online, etc... My wife worked as a Teacher Aid for a while. The Teacher she worked with spent a lot of time on the computer trading Baseball Cards and monitoring statistics. I wonder if the Liberals would continue to support Teachers if presented with evidence of such abuse. They probably would.
When one works for a real company in the private world, the company has the absolute right to track every keystroke that is made, and every website that is accessed. Although minor personal use is allowed, primarily during lunch, the campany can, and will, as was done when I worked for GM/DELPHI, shut folks down and demand compliance.
We, the taxpayers of Michigan, are the employers of the state and public university employees. We have an absolute right to know how these folks are using their work (professional) computers for personal reasons, and to set a policiy that denies their ability to abuse our taxpayer dollars.
How these folks use their work computers and E-mail address that they may accessing remotely (i.e. from home, etc.), is consequential and must be professional. How they use their personal computers and personal E-mail addresses is none of our business.
This is is not big brother, this is corporate responsibility, and as a part owner of the state and public universities, I demand that these employees be held accountable for their actions, as every employee must be.
The Mackinac Centers request is reasonable. I would also hope they were not accessing Beck or Hannity while at work or through their work E-mail accounts.
The First Emperor of China under the advice of his Chief Justice, Li Ssu, had all books not pertaining to farming and magic burned and buried scholars alive. Why? Because history is inconvenient.
Eyes
The Forth Amendment requires Probable Cause and the issuance of a Search Warrant to seize personal property, the FOIA request would not apply to private property. The FOIA request would only apply to a University owned (AKA government) computer or government owned database or server. If a privately owned computer using a government email account was used the search would be of the archived email records on a University server. The request would specifically address University Email Accounts. You know an email address ending “.gov” or something similar.
Sorry about the last portion of the post. It was intended to read, “I hope they publish some of this stuff so you guys and completely ignore what was written and focus exclusively on the means in which the information was obtained.”
2ez4u2c2...
Not quite. It's not a matter of ignoring what was written...can't be...for if that only were the case, then exactly WHY would the Mackinac Center be so interested in learning WHAT was written and HOW it was used? It appears they want to see the context of what may have been written and by whom. And, as they can't target private exchanges, they can only go after those communication methods at the university level.
Point of fact, it really doesn't matter if any of the chronicled terms in the FOIA were used or not in any email, "government" account/computer or otherwise, it comes down to the manner in which they may have been used, if they were actually used at all. Simply referencing "Scott Walker", "Wisconsin", "Madison", or "Maddow" in an email, the words themselves does not automatically conclude there was a conspiracy among the professors targeted by this FOIA in any manner. Labor and/or labor laws are their chosen field(s) of academic study, it's what they have in common, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch that those professors would discuss the recent events in WI. It's being talked about all over the country...why shouldn't they be able to discuss it as well?
The first three terms are commonly known from WI's governmental affairs of late...anybody who listens to the news could tell you that. The term "Maddow" may/may not have been used, but even if it was, it could have simply been referencing some point she may have made on her show in regards to this whole mess, possibly the bringing up of a fact not previously known to some of them.
To lynch these professors, the Mackinac Center is going to have to prove there was malicious intent. To do that, they will have to "focus on what was written". If it turns out there's nothing to this facet, then the other facet is meaningless...again, academic colleagues discussing a current event, no more, no less. Last I heard, that's not a crime.
It appears you have already judged them without really knowing any facts other than what what you purport to be the singular instance with your wife.
Eyes
Perhaps I did jump to the conclusion that some of the Professors abused their positions of public trust, I guess time will tell. The interesting thing about FOIA is the request traditionally doesn’t have to provide any justification for the request, only what public records are to be searched and keys words to search for. I expect with all that has gone on in Wisconsin, specifically Madison, there will be thousands of emails containing the search words. The vast majority will in all probability simply discuss the events. Understanding the general Progressive leanings of University Professors, I think it is only reasonable to believe there will be some damming correspondence that may very well result in disciplinary or adverse actions.
As for the High School Teachers, I would wager to say at least 10% would be found to have unauthorized material and correspondence on their computers. That of course is just a guess based on experience with different workforces.
Must be another of your "guesses", eh? You're still judging them without the benefit of supporting facts. Your opinion and only that...and I'm sure you've heard the old verse about opinions.
When did anyone say anything about "high school" teachers? This is aimed at college professors...not high school teachers. At least, for the time being anyway, but who knows, perhaps they will be the next target of the Mackinac Center's abject scrutiny.
Really? Hmmmm...I had the exact same thought about your numbers as you did.
The republicans would rather have a bridge collapse on a bus load of school children than enact President Obama's jobs bill. They have been bought. Their corruption knows no bounds.