History Commons

The history commons project has been defunct for some time. There has not been a budget in years for actively developing the app or adding new content. I have kept in online because it's relatively inexpensive to do. The site has a few minor monthly fees. However, the organization's bank account is completely out of funds. How much do we need to keep it online? About $150/mo. That's it. But our donations have come down to a trickle and we will need to pull the plug. If you want to see this remain online and would be willing to part with a few bucks a month via a recurring paypal donation, please send a donation today. http://historycommons.org/donate.jsp

Help spread the word about the History Commons and its need for donations. This page has several different ways to contribute, from Web app widgets to QR codes. Thanks!

http://www.razoo.com/story/Historycommons/share

HistoryCommons Help support HistoryCommons on Razoo! Donate or click "Share" below to spread the word.

This email is going out for tomorrow morning.

Urgent Fundraising Appeal for the History Commons
http://www.historycommons.org/fundraiser.jsp

Our funds have dried up. Please donate today what you can so we can continue our work. We are extremely low on funds, and this call for financial support is urgent. If we do not have funds to meet basic operation costs, we will have to shut down the site. The only financial support we receive is from online fundraisers like this one.

Derek Mitchell founded the History Commons in 2001 after the Bush administration began using the 9/11 attacks as a pretext for using America's military to redraw the Middle East. I came on board in 2007, after Paul Thompson saw my "This Far and No Further" timeline of events in Iraq and invited me to become a contributor.

Since then, the mainstream media has become the playpen of a very small number of corporate interests, and media coverage has been shaped accordingly. The History Commons is one of a small number of organizations trying to push back against corporate control of the media. While other such groups do excellent work, we modestly believe that in our own fashion, we do as good or better than any of our citizen-journalism colleagues in unearthing the truth behind the issues and events of the day. "We," of course, is "us" -- every single one of the thousands of people who have contributed their time, their research, and/or their financial support to pushing the History Commons forward. If you read the History Commons, use its information, contribute entries, spread the word on social media, or make financial donations, you are part of the History Commons. If you are reading this email, you are most definitely part of the Commons.

http://www.razoo.com/story/Turn-Every-One-Into-A-Muckraker/
Derek writes: "Since its founding, contributors have used the HistoryCommons crowdsourcing platform to document and investigate a number of issues -- the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Iraq, privatization of seeds using genetic engineering technology, the ousting of Aristide, the oil-industry funded campaign to discredit global warming research, the Iran-Contra Affair, U.S foreign policy in Latin America, and much more." Recently we have focused on solar technology, the events of September 11, 2001, and the erosion of civil liberties in the US.

The History Commons was created in 2001. It has not been significantly updated until now. A new version of the HC crowdsourcing journalism app is being developed, and a new Web site/user app is being prepared to go with the new, cutting-edge app. Whereas the current app is difficult to use, the new app will make it far easier for people to use our database and collaborate with one another to document their own interests, or extend coverage already in place. It will also contain an API to allow others to create their own apps using the History Commons data and analysis capabilities.

But NONE of this will happen if the History Commons does not raise the funds to complete the project and keep HC online and active. Please donate what you can, not just to keep the History Commons alive, but to help it transform into a cutting-edge tool to retake history from the corporate "owners" and give it back to the citizens of the world, where it belongs.

http://www.razoo.com/story/Historycommons/share
You can also share our fundraising appeal with others, in formats suitable for Facebook, Twitter, mobile platforms, and more.

Thank you so much.

Michael Tuck
Content Administrator, History Commons

Center for Grassroots Oversight Development of the HistoryCommons 2.0 app is well underway and we hope to do a beta release soon. A lot of progress has been made and we are very excited.

We are following this piece for the History Commons's solar project. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/05/1267454/--60-Minutes-About-to-Air-Its-Second-Debacle-in-Under-Two-Months

Daily Kos: “60 Minutes” About to Air Its Second Debacle in Under Two Months? Cross posted from Scaling Green This evening, "60 Minutes" is scheduled to run a segment on the cleantech and renewable energy industries that appears, from

The History Commons needs your support. Learn what your contributions can make possible: http://www.razoo.com/story/Turn-Every-One-Into-A-Muckraker/

Help turn everyone into a Muckracker! Help support HistoryCommons on Razoo! Donate or click "Share" below to spread the word.

Outstanding diary about one MA family's trek to go solar at their home: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/12/1255020/-Going-Solar-A-Massachusetts-Journey

Daily Kos: Going Solar: A Massachusetts Journey ( What follows is a very long, comprehensive post filled to the brim with everything I've learned about going solar as a residential electricity customer in Massachusetts. Our installation is now ...

We are very pleased with our new US Solar Industry project. We are tracing the development of the solar industry in the US, with particular focus on the implementation of solar power generation and the conflicts that arise between the solar industry and conventional power utilities:
http://bit.ly/16MSm05

We are also pleased that a new batch of 9/11 entries are in the pipeline, and will be posted very soon:
http://bit.ly/19ayLqk

History Commons needs your support, both financially and in creating new content, as we continue moving towards the new History Commons 2.0. Please consider the History Commons when giving Christmas bequests. Thank you, and enjoy the new material!

US Solar Industry An ancient Roman bathhouse (thermae). The Baths of Diocletian could hold up to 3,000 bathers. [Source: Crystalinks (.com)]Roman bathhouses use the sun to warm the chambers. In many areas such as Zippori, an ancient Roman city in what is now Israel, the sunlight is usually let in through south-facing...

History Commons The HistoryCommons is an experiment in open-content journalism. It provides a space for people to co

At this point, Monday's Navy Yard shootings seem to be an instance of violence. The History Commons provides extensive coverage of historical , including Andrew Joseph Stack's 2010 su***de attack on the Texas IRS office. http://bit.ly/1dkyjaZ

US Domestic Terrorism Project: US Domestic Terrorism Open-Content project managed by mtuck add event | references [Source: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, more commonly known as the Mormon Church), is murdered in an Ill...

We are proud of our 9/11 coverage. We are not so thrilled how some firms use the anniversary to market their wares: http://bit.ly/1d7cb3K

Five Most Ridiculous 9/11 Tributes Spotted This Year Handing out free muffins probably isn't the best way to commemorate 9/11.

Complete 911 Timeline: Counterterrorism before 9/11 Brian Sheridan. [Source: PBS.org]Counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke briefs Secretary of State Colin Powell about the al-Qaeda threat. He urges decisive and quick action against the organization. Powell meets with the Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG)—made up of senior counterterrorism offici...

Complete 911 Timeline: The Alleged 9/11 Hijackers Ali al-Jarrah. [Source: Lebanese Military/Public Domain]Starting in 1983, a Lebanese man named Ali al-Jarrah, cousin of 9/11 hijacker Ziad Jarrah, allegedly works as a spy for the Israeli government. Living in rural Lebanon as a school administrator, it is claimed he also is a valued spy, sending re...