Below the Fold for December 15

Let's check out some political stories we found Below the Fold:

Making it Up?

Columbia University has rescinded the 2001 Bancroft Prize, the nation's most prestigious history award.

The university had granted the prize for Michael Bellesiles' work, Arming America, but now has come to the conclusion that the book was flawed.

Bellesiles already has lost his job at Emory University due to allegations he made up evidence to support his contention that early Americans did not generally own firearms and that the Second Amendment was not designed to guarantee a universal right to bear arms.

Even though the author and the book have been generally discredited, Arming America remains influential. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals relied heavily on the book to justify a pro-gun control opinion handed down last month.