Ten years ago, I wrote a book about the censorship of textbooks and tests by groups from every extreme of the political spectrum. Every group had its own political agenda, and the mechanism that made them successful was the state textbook adoption process. When the state board has the power to make publishers rewrite language that someone opposed. Texas and California were the worst offenders, because they had the most active pressure groups.

State textbook adoption is an entree to censorship and political meddling.

A social studies teacher in Indiana writes:

“During the last textbook adoption cycle for Social Studies, Gov Daniels and his State Supt. Tony Bennett originally refused to approve any text for US History except for one book, William J. Bennett’s America: The Last Best Hope. A copy was sent to our school to review and adopt as our new text. One of the reporters who uncovered this story needs to dig a little deeper.”

As Mitch Daniels was leaving the governorship of Indiana, he was named president of Purdue–a major research institution–by a board that he had appointed. Since Daniels was a politician with no scholarly credentials, the appointment must have raised some eyebrows.

The release of emails during Daniels’ governorship shows him to be petty, vindictive, opinionated, and intolerant of views he does not share.

He loathes Howard Zinn and his leftist history of the U.S.

In one email to state education officials, he wrote:

“”This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away,” Daniels wrote, referring to Zinn. “The obits and commentaries mentioned his book ‘A People’s History of the United States’ is the ‘textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.’ It is a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page. Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?”

When he learned that it was indeed used in a university course, he wrote: “”This crap should not be accepted for any credit by the state. No student will be better taught because someone sat through this session. Which board has jurisdiction over what counts and what doesn’t?”

Daniels demanded an audit of a professor who repeatedly criticized his policies.

The story concludes with assurance that Daniels is now a changed man, and all’s well.