Beverly Eckert with Pete Seeger at an anti-war rally.

Although this doesn't mention it, Beverly Eckert was also one of the widows who pushed for the formation of the 9/11 Commission - which, faulty as it was, was better than it would have been, thanks to her efforts.

And it also doesn't talk about her dedicated work with September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an anti-war group which works for peaceful solutions around the world.

Rest in peace, Beverly.

On September 11, 2001, Beverly Eckert was talking to her beloved husband on a cell phone as he fought to escape the World Trade Center. When the south tower collapsed, she was still on the phone with him and listened to him die.

In the days, weeks and years after the 9/11 attacks, Eckert was a tireless advocate for the victims' families. She spearheaded protests that led politicians to set aside more land for a memorial at Ground Zero, fought to ensure federal authorities would thoroughly probe the cause of the twin towers' collapse and spoke eloquently again and again about her husband, Sean Rooney, and the many others who died that day.

Today, Eckert's relatives are grieving again. She was one of the 49 people who perished in a plane crash in Buffalo late Thursday. Eckert was traveling upstate to celebrate the 58th birthday of her late husband, who was a native of Buffalo. She was scheduled to deliver an address to Canisius High School, where Sean's legacy was to be honored with a scholarship.

"We know she was on that plane and now she's with him" Eckert’s sister Sue Borque told The Buffalo News at the Buffalo Airport where flight 3047 was scheduled to land at 10:40 p.m.

Eckert, who was a member of the 9/11 Commission's Family Steering Committee, spearheaded a push to have the airlines held liable for the security lapses and other missteps that allowed terrorists to hijack the passenger jets. She told Congress she was suing the airlines because "lawmakers capped the liability of the airlines at the behest of lobbyists who descended on Washington while the September 11 fires still smoldered.”

Eckert also was instrumental in securing a compensation fund for the families of 9/11 victims. Her impassioned plea before the House of Representatives in 2004 contributed to a $7 billion pay-out to more than 5,000 families.

Yesterday kicked off David Horowitz's much-anticipated "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" college tour which, according to his website, was to stop at 200 university and college campuses -- including such prestigious schools and Yale and Princeton. So what happens when these schools are contacted and asked about their participation in this ridiculous event? Turns out they have no idea what Horowitz is talking about. Turns out even Jerry Falwell Liberty University doesn't want anything to do with it.

Josh Marshall has more:

Bogus Intel Used in Fight with Islamofascism

Hmmm. I've never been an advocate of kicking a buffoon when he's down. But it seems our friend David Horowitz may be padding his list of colleges and universities participating in Islamofascism Awareness Week (aka "the biggest conservative campus protest ever"). According to ThinkProgress, Horowitz has already been caught adding names of schools that aren't participating in his mumbojumbo in any way. Indeed, they even got caught listing Liberty University, the school Jerry Falwell founded. But now Liberty has demanded their name be removed.

Do we have any C&L readers from these schools who can confirm or deny?

From the Vault: In case you need another example of how much of a clown David Horowitz is -- you don't -- check out his stirring defense of Coulter's attack on 9/11 widows from Larry King last year.

 Remember June 16th, 2006? That's when Burkman got exposed by a couple of girls on MySpace and posted Crooksandliars graphics of Jack to check him out. Her site is set to private now, but Wonkette still has some info...They called him a "CREEEEP"

Via Citizens for Legitimate Government:

The phone number for GOP political operative/conservative pundit, John (Jack) M. Burkman Jr. - Principal J.M. Burkman & Associates, Arlington, VA - appears in the database of phone records of the 'DC Madam.' From the phone logs: 2006-01-15 18:44 1.00

This is the same Jack Burkman who echoed Ann Coulter's disgusting hate rant about the 9/11 widows on Scarborough Country last year.

More information and video at Media Matters:

Summary: On MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Republican strategist Jack Burkman, echoing right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, whom he was defending, declared that "within hours of those [World Trade Center] towers going down," the wives of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "were ready to make money and exploit this tragedy!"

(h/t Jamie)

Five 9/11 Widows to Endorse Kerry

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer