[AAACE-NLA]free and open discussion

[George E. Demetrion]

David and others,

That is good news indeed.  The NLA archives are the repository to one of
the more important qualitative data bases in the field.  Thanks to you,
others, and also to the NIFL staff who persisted in making this transfer
of information possible.  I don't think I'm alone in having had the
apprehension that this entire documentary resources could have been
destroyed  with just a little bit less critical spotlight on this issue
and the exercise of courageous activity among some.

With you, I hope that NIFL puts back the archives on the NIFL discussion
board.  Issues of public accessibility even of views contrary to the
administration's on their own airwaves, which are owned by the people
rather than any current administration? (that's not a rhetorical
question) are at stake.

On the latter issue of deleting messages from the other lists over HR
1261, ERIC, and matters of war and peace, on the latter, I, as well as
others, placed various messages on the POVRACELIT list.  I did so with
thought and intentionality in the sense that that list has as part of its
descriptor, the topic of social justice as one of its important 
purposes.  A broad array of historical and political science studies
points to the close relationship between domestic and foreign policy, and
that matters of budgetary priorities as well as the broader issues of
national priorities and values were invariably linked to the Iraqi-US
conflict.  I concluded that any comprehensive understanding of the
dynamics of the politics of adult literacy had to be grasped within the
broader issues shaping US political culture.

Even then, I didn't simply begin writing substantive commentary about the
administration's foreign policy.  I led with a procedural question,
encouraging list members to examine whether a discussion about foreign
policy was relevant to this list.  A few comments ensued, where those who
wrote thought the topic was relevant.  No contrary views were expressed,
which I hoped would be posted, which would have served as a means of
discussing the procedural issue, which I maintained was as every bit
substantive as the actual issue of war and peace.

As it did not seem that the procedural issue was going to take place on
the public airwaves, I felt it was appropriate to begin the substantive
discussion.  Accordingly, several others and I posted substantive
commentary about US foreign policy.  Even at that late point, I raised
the procedural issue again, hoping that someone would respond.  I closed
that message by saying that, if someone raises it I will address it, but
if not, I'm going to continue spending my time focusing on the substance
of the war and peace issue.

What I find interesting, was at the time that I raised it, there was no
official commentary addressing the issue of what was and what was not
appropriate.  What I find disturbing is that those messages (and those on
ERIC, etc) were simply arbitrarily removed, along with the substantial
under the table anecdotal information that the source pressuring NIFL
staff was an influential congressional staff member.

Along with others. I hope that:

a)  NIFL will exercise the courage and sensibility to restore those
messages intact
b)  That if an investigation is warranted as to the political forces that
led to the archival deletions, that that investigation should take place.


George Demetrion


On Thu, 15 May 2003 08:09:53 -0400 "David J. Rosen"
<DJRosen at theworld.com> writes:

>
>AAACE-NLA is housed on the literacytent.org.  Its archives are housed 
>there, too. The archives are complete, unexpurgated. They have never 
>been touched.
>
>Beginning today the NLA archives which were hosued on NIFL LINCS (and 
>may, I hope return there) are available -- unexpurgated -- at
>http://lists.literacytent.org/ (bottom of the page.)  The NIFL staff 
>were very helpful in making these archives available to be posted on 
>the >literacytent.
>


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