Monday morning roundup

Japan's xenophobia is shooting Japan's economy in the foot.

Montgomery County's libraries are cutting back.

John Kelly's take on Virginia's history books. An excerpt:

While the turmoil that gripped the country from 1860 to 1865 nearly tore the nation apart, it was a comparatively polite affair, thus earning the name the "Civil" War. No group of people were more civil than the plantation owners. Like Sir Walter Raleigh, they practiced chivalry, standing when a lady entered the room (or tried to enter; the hoop skirts of the day often made it impossible to get through the door).

Plantation owners allowed countless black people to work on their large farms, thus ensuring that they would not have to suffer the hardships of living in Africa.

During the Civil War many of these black Virginians (also known as "slaves," because of their slavish devotion to the plantation owners) fought on the side of the Confederacy. They were worried that they would be out of a job if the North won.

Luckily, it was a tie.

Don't forget to but 'bubble bath day,' among other holidays--like March 3: "What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day"--on your calendar.