Talking Points Memo reports that another Michigan based right-wing group has used Michigan’s version of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in an ongoing campaign of political intimidation of teachers and professors.
This time it involves The Mackinac Center For Public Policy. They are funded by the Koch brothers, the Walton Foundation (Wal-Mart) and the Prince family of Blackwater fame.
The targets? According to TPM, they include Labor Studies Center at the University of Michigan and the Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues at Wayne State University. A third FOIA was directed to Michigan State University, which has a School of Human Resources & Labor Relations.
The requests specifically seek emails from all labor studies faculty at each school.
The FOIA requests ask for any email from faculty that contain the words “Walker,” “Wisconsin,” “Madison,” or “Maddow.”
FOIA laws were passed with the intention of shining a light on government misdeeds, not to limit free speech.
There is no excuse for state legislators not to remove public school teachers and public university professors from those included in FOIA laws.
Fred Klonsky 
This came up during a discussion of the Austrian Empire. I mentioned how Metternich felt that universities were sources of revolution and a threat to monarchy. He made rules to censor students. One of my kids asked if they do this today. I mentioned Prof. Cronon and the FOIA request.
It is sad that departments of Labor History are being targeted. It makes not sense. Just about as much sense as Maine removing the moral from the Department of Labor because it was pro union. I hope we make it to 2012. We are going downhill fast.