[haw-info] HAW Notes: corrected address for comments to Fox News; HAW Steering Committee election results

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

1.  A HAW message earlier today regarding Glenn Beck's attacks on Frances Fox Piven gave an incorrect e-mail address for comments to Fox News.  The correct address is yourcomments@foxnews.com.  (Thanks for Chris Rushlau for the correction; we apologize for the mistake.)  Incidentally, a statement on the Piven case from the leaders of two dozen scholarly societies can be found at

http://www.asanet.org/press/Freedom_to_Conduct_Research_Without_Fear_of_Violence.cfm.

 

3.  The following people have been elected to the HAW Steering Committee for 2011 (names of new members are in italics):  Rosalyn Baxandall, Marc Becker, Matthew Bokovoy, Rusti Eisenberg, John Fitzgerald, Jeri Fogel, Van Gosse, Martin Halpern, Mark Hatlie, Staughton Lynd, Samuel Chi-Yuen Lowe, Edrene McKay, Carl Mirra, Thomas Murphy, Jim O'Brien, Margaret Power, Maia Ramnath, Fran Shor, Luke Stewart, James Swarts.

[haw-info] an appeal for letters in support of Frances Fox Piven

The following appeal was written by Jerise Fogel of the Historians Against the War Steering Committee, on behalf of the committee.

PLEASE WRITE A LETTER to support Frances Fox Piven!

Your words are needed to prevent a repeat of the Arizona shooting.

 

Recently, Glenn Beck of Fox News has been targeting the well known political scientist and sociologist Frances Fox Piven in his broadcasts, and has gone so far as to call her an "enemy of the constitution"; he has compared her to the Hutaree militia broken up by the FBI for threats to violently overthrow the government. In the aftermath of these attacks, Frances Fox Piven has been harassed and received death threats.

 

On Glenn Beck's website, posters have suggested "we should blow up Piven's office and home," and have urged, "... one shot, one kill. The people have to stand up for what's right. A few well placed marksman [sic] with high powered rifles... then there would not be any more violence." One person wrote, "Somebody tell Frances I have 5,000 rounds ready and I will give my life to take our freedom back."

 

Fox Piven, 78 years old, is a distinguished professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Graduate Center of City University of New York and former president of the American Sociological Association. She is known for her advocacy work fighting for the rights of the poor and for encouraging voter registration in poor communities. She has responded publicly to Beck's attacks on several occasions, notably in her recent appearance on Democracy Now! (See http://mediamatters.org/blog/201101140032)

 

We need to show Glenn Beck and Fox News that Frances Fox Piven is not alone, and that her friends and colleagues will not tolerate the possibility of her becoming another victim of right wing violence. The Steering Committee of Historians Against the War would like to recommend, especially but not only to those who have known and worked with Frances Fox Piven, that you send letters to:

 

Fox News Channel 1211 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 301-3000 Fax: (212) 301-4229 comments@foxnews.com

 

To respond directly to Glenn Beck: GlennBeck@foxnews.com

[haw-info] Historians Can Help !

The new Congress is poised to enact some of the worst legislation in decades. While increasing expenditures on the Afghanistan War and the Department of Defense, there are plans to cut scores of valuable domestic programs: Head Start,Community Health Centers, financial assistance for low income college students, low income energy assistance, community service, block grants, housing for the elderly. And its not just Republicans, who are responsible for these skewed priorities.

 

Two simple things we can do this week:

 

Call (switchboard 202-224-3121) or email our Congressional  Representative and ask them to:

 

*Co-sponsor Barbara Lee's bill -the Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act,which would limit funding in Afghanistan to the safe and orderly redeployment of U.S. troops and military contractors. for an updated list on co-sponsors and additional background: http://lee.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=296&sectiontree=38,75,296

 

* Vote in favor of an amendment to be introduced by Congressman Peter Stark, which would require that cuts in the Pentagon budget be part of any effort to reduce the budget deficit.

 

Over the next months, we need a network of historians to respond to developments in Congress. Please consider signing up. This need not involve a lot of time or a flood of emails, but it can have a significant impact.

 

If you can help, please send a return email to : hiscze@aol.com

 

Rusti Eisenberg,

Historians Against the War