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Sender: H-NET Distribution List for News and Announcements <H-ANNOUNCE@H-NET.MSU.EDU> X-Sender: announce@mail.h-net.msu.edu Approved-by: H-Net Announce <announce@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU> To: H-ANNOUNCE@H-NET.MSU.EDU Reply-to: H-NET Distribution List for News and Announcements <H-ANNOUNCE@H-NET.MSU.EDU> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 Delivered-to: h-announce@h-net.msu.edu Original-recipient: rfc822;saillant@vmh.cc.wmich.edu Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 10:19:21 -0500 From: Bruce Craig <rbcraig@historycoalition.org> Subject: NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 9, #3; 23 January 2003) NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 9, #3, 23 January 2003 by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@historycoalition.org> National Coalition for History (NCH) ***************** 1. Operations "Suspended" -- DOD Historical Records Declassification Advisory Panel 2. Historians File Amicus Brief in Texas Sodomy Case 3. Librarian Selected for Superintendent of Documents Post 4. Legislation Introduced: National Slave Memorial; Moccasin Bend National Archeological District; National Aviation Heritage Area 5. Bits and Bytes: Eldred Case Update; Franklin Papers Index Now Online; IMLS Grant Deadlines; Web Based Resources 6. Articles of Interest: Court Decision Posting (FOIA) 1. OPERATIONS "SUSPENDED" -- DOD HISTORICAL RECORDS DECLASSIFICATION ADVISORY PANEL The enormous growth in government classified documents over the years -- especially in the various departments affiliated with the Department of Defense (DOD) -- created complex problems over how to make a maximum number of those records accessible to the public with a minimum of security risk. With the advent of President Bill Clinton's Executive Order 12958 that mandates declassification of records more than 25 years old, the DOD's Historical Records Advisory Panel (HRDAP) -- a 12 member panel consisting of six DOD historians and six others with expertise from outside of the department -- has assisted the DOD in establishing a comprehensive declassification program. For some number of years, the panel has met twice a year to consult with representatives of the DOD and other government agencies on matters relating to declassification. This last week, the National Coalition for History (NCH) learned that the panel has now "suspended operations." According to Dr. Alfred Goldberg, the DOD historian who chairs the panel, the operations of the panel were suspended for several reasons -- first and foremost, funding; second, departmental support for the panel's declassification activities has waned. Sources close to the HRDAP also report that there seems to be some controversy relating to the appointment of the "outside" members of the panel. During the Reagan administration, the White House routinely tried to find places for Republican Party loyalists on various White House sanctioned boards and commissions. Members of the HRDAP who were appointed from academic institutions or elsewhere were carefully screened and their voting registrations were checked. During the Clinton administration, however, this practice continued only for highly visible boards, but not for such innocuous boards as the HRDAP, whose membership was comprised of individuals with professional expertise in a specific field. Under the Bush administration though, that has changed -- at least for the HRDAP. According to Goldberg, three long-serving HRDAP board members whose terms expired last year were not reappointed. Goldberg stated that he has advanced up the chain of command the names of qualified individuals who possess the appropriate expertise to serve on the Board, but whether they will pass muster with the White House has yet to be determined. Sources close to the HRDAP and other boards and commissions sanctioned by the White House report that in the Bush administration board and commission appointees as well as some civil servants must pass a "precinct test" -- in other words, their voter registration is checked before a candidate can be given serious consideration. In one recent Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, the White House was not so much concerned about the candidate's political affiliation, rather personnelists wanted to know whether the individual had voted in the last election; presumably, if not, he would not get appointed. In other instances, candidates are thoroughly screened by the White House Presidential Personnel office and they must pass muster with both a precinct test and what was characterized by one insider as a "a political correctness test." So what is the future of the HRDAP? According to Goldberg, he plans to "give the matter some thought" and perhaps will revive the panel and conduct one meeting a year. 2. HISTORIANS FILE AMICUS BRIEF IN TEXAS SODOMY CASE A group of ten historians led by University of Chicago Professor of History George Chauncey have filed an amici curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of John Lawrence and Tyron Gardner, two men charged under a Texas anti-sodomy law whose case is now pending before the high Court. According to Chauncey, the historians' brief filed in Lawrence and Gardner v. Texas (case no. 2-102) seeks to "correct the misunderstanding of the history of sodomy through the years and places the Texas law in context of anti-gay discrimination in the 20th century." The case goes back some number of years. In 1998, two gay men, John Lawrence and Tyron Gardner, were arrested in a Houston-area apartment by police officers responding to a false report of an armed intruder. After entering the apartment, the officers arrested the two who were having sex. Both men were charged under the Texas' "homosexual conduct" law and fined $200. Lawrence and Gardner sued. After at first being found guilty, their lower court convictions were overturned. In addition, a 3-judge panel of the 14th Court of Appeals struck down the Texas sodomy law they had been charged under, maintaining it violated constitutional equal protection guarantees. However, the 14th Court then reheard the case, found that the existing law "advances a legitimate state interest, namely, preserving public morals," and upheld the statute thereby reinstating the state ban on homosexual sodomy. Lawrence and Gardner appealed the Court of Appeals decision to the highest court in Texas for criminal matters, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which refused to hear the case. As a last resort, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court. On 2 December 2002, the Court agreed to hear the appeal. At issue is the constitutionality of the Texas law that criminalizes "deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex" though the ruling is expected to have broader ramifications. Similar anti-sodomy laws are currently in force in several states. According to Susan Sommer of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the organization handling the case for the plaintiffs, the Court's decision is expected to grapple with the issue of whether sexual conduct between consenting adults should be treated differently whether it is a homosexual or heterosexual sex act, and whether such state laws such as the Texas law are constitutional and should apply to adults in the privacy of their own homes. In past decisions, the Supreme Court has struggled with how much protection the Constitution offers in the bedroom. In one previous 1986 case -- Bowers v. Hardwick -- the Court upheld a Georgia law that criminalized all acts of sodomy, including those engaged in by married couples. According to Chauncey, "the Court misconstrued that law and described it in their opinion as if it only applied to homosexual conduct." The Lawrence case differs in that it actually does apply specifically to homosexual conduct. Chauncey believes that the Court agreed to hear the case in part at least, "to resolve some of the inherent conflicts in the Court's previous decisions." The historians' three-part brief seeks to advance several points: first, that the Bowers v. Hardwick case rests on a fundamental misapprehension of the history of sodomy laws; second, that discrimination on the basis of homosexual status was an unprecedented development of the twentieth century and does not have the endorsement of millennia of moral teaching; and third, that tolerance toward homosexuals has increased, resulting in acceptance by many, but not all, mainstream institutions. The historian's amici briefs also reference additional amici's filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by The Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Arguments are to be heard in late March or early April and a decision is expected by summer. For additional background and key briefs relating to the case (including the historians' brief that is expected to be posted in the next couple of days), tap into: <http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=1190>. 3. LIBRARIAN SELECTED FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS POST Judith Russell, a trained librarian and electronic information expert has been named by the Government Printing Office as the new Superintendent of Documents. Russell is the first woman to be named to the post. Russell was director of the GPO's Office of Electronic Information Services from 1991 to 1996 where she helped establish GPO Access -- one of the governments most heavily used websites. She also led the development of a report to Congress on how to make the transition to a more electronic federal depository library program. Sources inside the library community report that Russell's appointment is generally viewed positively. Russell hold a Masters degree in library science from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. 4. LEGISLATION INTRODUCED The following bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives: National Slave Memorial: On 7 January 2003, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), joined by several other members, introduced the "National Slave Memorial Act" (H.R. 196), legislation designed to acknowledge the fundamental "injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American Colonies" and to honor those individuals "who have gone unrecognized for their undeniable and weighty contribution to the United States." To this end, the bill seeks to authorize the construction of a memorial that would be built on a site recommended by the Secretary of the Interior and the National Capital Memorial Commission. The measure was referred to the House Committee on Resources for action. Moccasin Bend National Archeological District: On 7 January 2003, Congressmen Zach Wamp (R-TN) and John Duncan Jr. (R-TN) introduced legislation (H.R. 216) that seeks to protect an archeological district of approximately 780 acres in the vicinity of Moccasin Bend, Tennessee, by establishing it as a unit of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park The bill was referred to the House Resources Committee for consideration. National Aviation Heritage Area: On 8 January 2003, Rep. David L. Hobson (R-OH) and twelve of his House colleagues introduced the "National Aviation Heritage Area Act" (H.R. 280), legislation designed to establish a new National Heritage Area in Ohio and Indiana that focuses on the story of aviation. On 16 January, Senator Michael DeWine (R-OH) introduced a similar measure (S. 180) in the Senate. Both measures call on the National Park Service is to assist various political entities in developing a management plan, in providing technical and financial assistance (not to exceed $1 million per year for ten years) and in conducting a special resource study designed to assess whether the Wright Company factory should become a unit of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. 5. NEWS BITS AND BYTES Item #1 -- Eldred Case Update: Last week, we reported on the Eldred case decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. The act, passed by Congress in 1998, extends the copyright term for an additional 20 years, so that a commercially-produced work is now governed by the provisions of copyright law for 95 years; for an individual's work, the term is "life of the author" plus 70 years. A number of readers have asked for the links to the decision. The opinions can be found at the following sites: Majority opinion by Justice Ginsburg http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/01-618o.pdf Dissent by Justice Stevens http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/01-618d.pdf Dissent by Justice Breyer http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/01-618d1.pdf Item #2 -- Franklin Papers Index Now Online: The indexes for the 36 volumes of the Yale edition of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin that have been published to date may now be found at: <http://www.yale.edu/franklinpapers>. Item #3 -- IMLS Grant Deadlines: The 1 February 2003 deadline for the Institute of Museum and Library Service's (IMLS) National Leadership Grants are fast approaching. Last year the IMLS awarded over $16 million in National Leadership Grants to museums, libraries, institutions of higher education, and professional museum and library service organizations. For more information, tap into: <http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/120602.htm>. The IMLS has also set aside funds for the National Awards for Museum and Library Service, that are considered to be among the nation's highest honors for the extraordinary public service that these institutions provide. The postmark deadline for receipt of all application materials is 15 February 2003. For additional information, tap into: <http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/112102.htm>. Item #4 -- Web Based Resources: The following websites have come to our attention and may be of interest: "LewisandClark200.gov" is a web portal to information about the famous expedition that set out some 200 years ago to find and map a transcontinental water route to the Pacific Ocean. The site, a partnership among some 32 federal agencies and organizations, provides maps, time lines, suggestions for classroom activities, and other relevant information. Tap into: <http://www.lewisandclark200.org>. "Life in the White House" presents a history of the White House in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the West Wing. A Video tour of the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, Diplomatic Room, and other rooms are narrated by the President, the First Lady, the President's Chief of Staff, the Vice President, and others. Tap into: <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/life/>. "Our Documents" features 100 milestone documents in U.S. history that changed the course of history and helped shape the American national character. Each week the website highlights three documents; images of documents are accompanied by transcriptions and historical interpretations. The website, part of a history and civics initiative announced by President Bush on September 17, 2002, and includes information about competitions for students and workshops for teachers. Teachers are invited to develop and test a classroom lesson on one or several milestone documents. Tap into: <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/>. 6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST One posting this week: In a seemingly rare victory for the embattled Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), last week a federal court blocked an effort by the Bush administration to narrow the class of FOIA requesters who are eligible to have the costs of processing their requests waived. The court ruled that the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-profit educational organization, indeed did meet the necessary criteria and was entitled to a fee waiver. The court rejected the government's position that the organization had to demonstrate that it was "both organized and operated to disseminate information." According to Secrecy News, the newsletter of the Federation of American Scientists, Project on Government Secrecy, "the standards for granting a fee waiver have long been established in case law, however, and with the latest decision in the EPIC case, the Administration's audacious efforts to change them seem to have been stymied." Thanks to Secrecy News, (Vol. 2003, Issue No. 8, 21 January 2003) for the posting of the opinion: <http://www.epic.org/open_gov/foia/fees/EPICvDOD_decision.pdf>. *********************************************************** The National Coalition for History invites you to subscribe to this FREE weekly newsletter! You are also encouraged to redistribute the NCH Washington Updates to colleagues, friends, teachers, students and others who are interested in history and archives issues. A complete backfile of these reports is maintained by H-Net on the NCH's web page (currently under revision) at <http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~nch>. To subscribe to the "NCH Washington Update," send an e-mail message to listserv@h-net.msu.edu according to the following model: SUBSCRIBE H-NCH firstname lastname, institution. To unsubscribe send an e-mail message to listserv@h-net.msu.edu according to the following model: SIGNOFF H-NCH. 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