You just had to know there was going to be more to this story.

On Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued a proclamation declaring April to be Confederate History Month (not to be confused with the Emancipation Proclamation).

I'll just let that sink in for a minute. Because it gets better.

Apparently, in his original proclamation, the Republican governor left out what is obviously an insignificant (his own word) detail in this whole Civil War thing: slavery.

Bob McDonnell left slavery out of his proclamation, saying he had included the "most significant" issue. Wait for it, 3...2...1 and BAM, apology.

"The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Confederate History Month contained a major omission. The failure to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed," McDonnell said in a statement.

So it went from being insignificant to "major omission". Here's what he said before his apology, in response to missing slavery:

"There were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."

Alright, you are the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, correct? This is the same state that housed the capitol of said Confederacy. Also, without question, its most famous son was none other than a slave-owning, "All Men Are Created Equal" writing, founding father - who just happened to have a few kids with one of his slaves. So obviously this isn't significant for Virginia. (Full disclosure: I live in Virginia - sort of. I live in Arlington, which might as well be DC.)

I should also add that I did like another part of McDonnell's apology:

"Slavery was an evil, vicious and inhumane practice which degraded human beings to property, and it has left a stain on the soul of this state and nation."

I'll say one thing: this guy has great writers. That's how he got elected to that seat in the first place. But here's the thing, and take this really serious because my readers here know that I very rarely speak serious ill of elected officials: I don't think he really believes that.

No, I am not saying McDonnell is wishing the days of slavery would return. I'm just not sure he thinks Virginia has much of a "stain" from slavery. I'm not sure I do either, but I'm not from here. When you think about slavery though, you think Thomas Jefferson sure, but then attention moves to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. That said, McDonnell had absolutely no business leaving it out.

If you're sitting there thinking, "how in the world did this guy get elected," just stop. Here are the answers: an awful Democratic candidate named Creigh Deeds, who couldn't seem to get off of McDonnell's extremely conservative leanings, which did include a thesis that says working women are hurting America. Second, a toxic health care debate. And third, Virginia's ridiculous need to be "different" from everyone else. You know, like leaving the Union to do whatever it was that was more significant than slavery.

All of this is why I went down to the mall to visit my guy Abe on the way home last night. Engraved into the north wall of the memorial is his second inaugural address, which, despite McDonnell's statements about the insignificance of slavery, says this in its opening lines:

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.

And, with all that is given to the Gettysburg address, about whether a nation so charged could survive, it was the end of that inaugural speech that provided the road map.

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

We would all do well to remember that more often than not. Not, "with malice in our hearts," but, "with malice toward none."

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I really just have a couple of links, because I wanted to leave you with all of that above.

- Mine safety concerns were raised at the same mine in question on the day of the explosion that has so far killed 25, with four missing and likely dead as well. Contrary to the lead in the article, rescue workers have been forced to stay out of the mine due to high levels of toxic gases, namely methane (CH4).

- And presidents of what were once the world's most dominant superpowers signed onto an historic new START treaty this morning in Prague. Despite all that has happened domestically with President Obama, this is yet another sure symbol of his influence abroad.

- This has to be the dumbest person in the world. Seriously.

- Finally, here is the newest Tiger Woods ad from Nike. Almost sickeningly brilliant:

Kicking off this Wednesday, when it is supposed to hit 91 here in the Washington area, with two quick notes.

First, in what can only be considered an American travesty, astronaut Buzz Aldrin was booted off Dancing with the Stars last night. No, I did not watch. I've already seen video of him moonwalking.

Second, a huge congratulations to what may very well be the greatest team in the history of women's college basketball. Topped only by John Wooden's UCLA Bruins teams in the 60's and 70's. The Wizard of Westwood lead seven-straight national championship groups and presided over an 88-game winning streak.

Well, last night, Connecticut and its head coach Geno Auriemma, pushed their streak to a mind-boggling 78 games, while winning their second-consecutive title and capping off back-to-back 39-0 seasons. The Huskies are the first women's program to ever do that. It is the fourth undefeated season for the program, all under Auriemma, and six championship since 2000.

And it wasn't easy. UConn had just 12 points at halftime against Stanford, who finished the season with just two losses - both to the Huskies - and looked completely lost. But a 41-point second half, dominated by superstar Maya Moore, left no doubt. The only question mark was whether the win would be by more than ten, as the previous 77 were. It wasn't, for once.

Let it be recognized that this is the greatest women's team of all time and quite possibly the greatest overall program, given how much harder it is to win so many games in this age of college basketball.

- Staying with the sports tilt - in a rare occurrence, the University of Washington Athletic Department reported a $5.5 million loss last year, something that would raise eyebrows during this economy.

UW is known as one of the less than 20 or so schools that operates in the black on a regular basis. Obviously having a struggling football program does not help. However, AD Scott Woodward said it was mostly based on a couple of one-time occurrences that won't happen again, and cited a couple of upcoming money-making opportunities for the department as reasons he is not overly concerned.

Washington is also one of the few self-sustaining programs in the country, drawing money from the University and state only for tuition wavers and Title IX compliance.

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The search and rescue mission continues for four miners in West Virginia, who are hoped to be locked in an airtight room in the mine, built just for instances such as these. The longer it goes, the more hope wains. Anderson Cooper continues to have great coverage on CNN, with this video providing a great breakdown:


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Moving on to just some other news:

- A story about Glenn Beck is gaining more and more traction. After he admonished congressional leaders, including one Civil Rights leader, for comparing themselves to members of the C.R. movement, Beck appears to compare himself to Rosa Parks in this clip.

The interesting thing about Beck is that I don't think anyone really believes he is some big leader for change. Actually, I know they don't. And even further, because of the channel he is on, many people simply see him is part of the conservative eco-chamber. Now, if you listen what he says, he really does say some different things, all with anti-government tilt. But he even admonishes the church and other hardcore conservative ideals. What he isn't, however, is any sort of leader.

- Bob McDonnell, the governor of Virginia, has brought back a famous pastime in the state: Confederate History Month. One must realize that Virginia was the capitol of the confederacy and I was told yesterday that there is actually a street in Richmond line with statues of famous Civil War heroes. There was even some controversy years ago when the city wanted to add a statue of legendary black tennis player Arthur Ashe, the man for whom the U.S. Open stadium is named. The move was blocked.

Because it is history, and particularly the history of that commonwealth, it should be studied and not forgotten. A month might be in excess, but it absolutely should be state-based textbooks. Someone I know argued that that would be like having a "Hitler history month." Completely disagree. We study WWII in America. We also study the Civil War. And if you live in Virginia, a major part of that war was that you were on the other side of it.

Two other things. One, that same conversation also turned into an argument about the "three-fifths" rule, because the constitution of the confederacy explicitly endorsed slavery. In my opinion, the three-fifths rule may have been the best decision made when writing the document. So many say that it was to appease the South, but I can't believe that. Southern slave owners would had to have know that a) slaves would never vote and b) the larger the slave population, the more representation they get in Congress. Can you imagine if the south had the majority it should've had? I don't want to.

And two, maybe I'm awful for this, but one of my favorite part of the Civil War was William Sherman's march through the South, specifically his stop in what is probably the region's greatest city now: Atlanta.

"Behind us lay Atlanta smoldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in the air and hanging like a ball over the ruined city."

History nerdism right there.

- A Yakima man was arrested yesterday for threatening to kill Washington state Senator Patty Murray. He is believed to be the first person arrested on such a charge since this backlash to health care reform began.

I'm stopping because I need to do work, but if you end up needing a laugh at some point today, you can't wrong with 10 minutes watch Charles Barkley's best moments on television.

World War II started today. Seriously. Germany, Poland, invasion, the whole nine.

Just think about that as you go through the day, realizing the great sacrifice that saw freedom prevail.

And what better transition from that than to talk about a gubernatorial race in Virginia. Haven't talked about this too much, but it is a big one and it seems to be heating up.

Not long ago it looked like the Democratic candidate, Creigh Deeds, was dead in the water. Back in June this race was close. In the middle of August, Bob McDonnell, the Republican, was up 12 points. Then in just the last week or so, some interesting stuff came out. This is like West Wing stuff.

Turns out McDonnell was a forward, or some may say backward, thinking graduate student back in 1989. While studying for his masters in public policy at Regent University (which I've never heard of), McDonnell wrote a thesis that described working women as "detrimental" to the traditional family. This included criticism for federal tax credits for childcare, which of course is the cause of women entering the workforce (his words, not mine). He criticized the legalization of contraception for unmarried couples and showed his dislike of the "purging" of religion in schools. He wanted these schools to teach "Judeo-Christian values."

Of course his explanation is that he has grown considerably since then, though it is hard to believe that someone has grown less conservative in their religious values. If he wants religion taught in schools, that's his view. There are private schools for that, but that is less important, I think, than the contraception issue. Seems that even in 1989 an unplanned pregnancy between unmarried people is worse than one with a married couple. Again, I don't vote in Virginia - yet. But this is interesting stuff.

The winner will follow Tim Kaine, a popular governor who was well liked by the conservative community even as a Democrat. That is common in some places - not in Virginia. Just ask Rep. Tom Perriello.


And, while there are most surely many stories present on this Tuesday before labor day, the other one that is catching my eye is in California. Wildfires are again ravaging the southern part of the state, very near populated areas. Over 120,00 acres have burned. This is a yearly occurrence in California and Washington, as well as other places and yes, partially caused by climate change.

The LA Times is keeping a blog solely devoted to the fires right now.

One of the more interesting questions, past the issues of people's safety (two firefighters have died) and the destruction of homes, is what some of the many planned sporting events do. While it may not seem serious, thousands of people flock to Los Angeles to watch sports each weekend and with it being Labor Day, surely many were planning some activities.

UCLA is still planning to play San Diego State in their football opener on Saturday, despite the fire being just 10 miles from the Rose Bowl.

I remember in San Diego, when some athletes lost homes, the UW men's soccer team was scheduled to play down there during the fire. The game was cancelled.

This isn't at the level of San Diego yet. But pay close attention.

Just a few links:

Remember when I said this was happening a lot? Well...

Yes Southern California and Arizona, there is a hurricane, Cat. 5, coming too.

Lastly, remember that sports blog idea I floated a couple of days ago? Well, look for that, soon.

Things are getting pretty busy around here. Took me about four hours on and off just to get this post done. In and out of the room. Have a meeting about new media later. Setting up a tele-Town Hall (don't ask) and a rally as well. I have become an LTE (Letter to the Editor) machine. At least four a day. Seriously, feels like there should only be so many ways you can say the same thing...My head might explode if I keep trying to remember the rest of my to-do list. Thank goodness for a steno pad.

Comments are always good. I like letters too. Who doesn't like getting mail?

Stay classy.