Fundraising Efforts Continue
The History Commons is beginning to work towards making some dramatic upgrades in the website, including revamping the web application, and adding much more content and information. These changes will, we trust, make the History Commons a much more effective resource for you and your fellow users. (This spiffy new e-mail format is the first of those changes.) While you may not see the results of these changes for some time, they will, when finished, completely transform the site to make it far more usable and comprehensive. To help move this process forward, we need your financial support like never before. We accept donations through PayPal, credit cards, and personal checks. We sincerely appreciate all you do to make the History Commons a viable resource for information and citizen activism.
Please make your tax-deductible donation today.
You can help steer the transformation of the History Commons by making your comments and observations on the History Commons blog. Over the next few weeks, we will begin polling our users to determine what they want to see in the new and improved “History Commons 2.0.” You are a valuable part of the History Commons, and we want to know what you think. You can start posting in this thread. Thanks again.
6 Projects Active
We never sleep at the History Commons…too much information to process! Several of the grant recipients are preparing to release large numbers of entries for their respective projects, Blackmax is still working on a large upload of entries documenting the recent revelations of torture and abuse, and Matt has a group of 9/11 entries in the pipeline.
Iraq Invasion
This week, Blackmax posts two entries documenting Bush and Cheney’s efforts to take the country to war without providing complete information on the intelligence behind the drive to invade, and their assertion that a president can, under the Constitution, take the country to war without Congressional approval. Read more.
Complete 9/11 Timeline
Matt contributes four entries documenting key events of the day of the attacks, including the inability of NEADS technicians to find Flight 11. Read more.
Prisoner Abuse and Torture
Blackmax contributes five entries documenting the use of “reverse-engineered” SERE training techniques against Abu Zubaida and other “high-level” captives. Read more.
Global Financial and Economic Crisis 2007-2009
KJF continues to pore over the fall of AIG, and 99PercentPure writes about the huge vacancy rate in US apartments. Read more.
Civil Liberties
Blackmax documents the turnaround at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under Bush’s political appointees, and the Bush administration’s continued attempts to hold itself above Congressional oversight. Read more.
The Struggle for Kosovar Albanian Self-Determination
Contributor Michael Pollock writes of Kosovar Albanians finding themselves under Yugoslav rule. Read more.
History Commons Blogs
The History Commons has lively discussions among contributors and users at the History Commons Groups Blog. News and information for the site can be found at the History Commons Site Blog, where we’ve posted a big “Conceptual Summary” of the History Commons, and a short post announcing the reordering of the projects on their page. Join the discussions!
Thanks for reading. Belgium celebrates its National Day on July 21, Slovenia celebrates People’s Uprising Day on July 22 (a notable day for fans of the Kosovar Albanian project), and Ecuador and Venezuela celebrate the life and times of Simon Bolivar on July 24. Meanwhile, Americans glut themselves silly on July 23’s National Hot Dog Day — don’t forget the antacids, guys. See you next week!
“Your timeline has been invaluable to me over the years. I’m certainly aware of — and flattered by — your citations from my book.” — Philip Shenon, former New York Times reporter and author of The Commission
History Commons Groups 
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