The part that shouldn’t surprise you:

A textbook distributed to Virginia fourth-graders says that thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil War — a claim rejected by most historians but often made by groups seeking to play down slavery’s role as a cause of the conflict.

The part that should frighten the hell out of you:

When Masoff began work on the textbook, she said she consulted a variety of sources — history books, experts and the Internet. But when it came to one of the Civil War’s most controversial themes — the role of African Americans in the Confederacy — she relied primarily on an Internet search.

The book’s publisher, Five Ponds Press, based in Weston, Conn., sent a Post reporter three of the links Masoff found on the Internet. Each referred to work by Sons of the Confederate Veterans or others who contend that the fight over slavery was not the main cause of the Civil War.

Review Question: When the Northern Hemisphere goes down the toilet, which direction does the idiocy spin?

Virginia 4th-grade textbook criticized over claims on black Confederate soldiers [WaPo]

America’s Losers bumper sticker [Stinqueria]

But note the vague sourcing: “The United States has ruled out a Golden Temple visit [in India], according to an American official involved in planning. Temple officials said that American advance teams had gone to Amritsar, the holy city that is the site of the temple, to discuss a possible visit. But the plan appears to have foundered on the thorny question of how Mr. Obama would cover his head, as Sikh tradition requires, while visiting the temple.” [NYT]

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips keeps the DADT injunction: “The public has an interest in military readiness, unit cohesion, and the preservation of fundamental constitutional rights. While Defendants’ interests in [preserving] the status quo and enforcing its laws are important, these interests are outweighed by the compelling public interest of safeguarding fundamental constitutional rights.” [ThinkProgress]

Our guest columnist this morning is Virginia Thomas, wife of the Supreme Court justice, who has generously provided her own premise, alleviating us of the need to imagine an absurdly comedic situation where she would call Anita Hill at 7:31 a.m. on a Saturday.

Good morning Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband.

So give it some thought. And certainly pray about this and hope that one day you will help us understand why you did what you did. O.K., have a good day.

We now return to 1991, already in progress.

Clarence Thomas’s Wife Asks Anita Hill for Apology [NYT]

“Latinos for Reform” had planned to pay Univision $80,000 to run this ad (it’s also in Spanish) advising Nevada Hispanics that the best way to exercise their franchise is to stay en la casa on Election Day. Latinos for Reform may or may not be funded by — surprise! — the Swift Boat folks.

In the event, Univision said no gracias. But really, if they want to help Sharron Angle, shouldn’t the ads have been in Chinese?

Univision Will Not Air GOP Group’s Ad Telling Latinos Not To Vote [ThinkProgress]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0

Ladies and gentlemen, from Monday night’s New York governor debate, Mr. Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is Too Damn High Party. Enjoy the party website at your peril.

Folks today are twittering about an apparent gaffe by Christine O’Donnell at a morning (yes, morning) debate:

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that “religious doctrine doesn’t belong in our public schools.”

“Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” O’Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O’Donnell asked: “You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment?”

Well, um, yeah.

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