close this window
State of Embarrassment — Virginia
How gun laws, Confederate History Month and a statue of Stalin contribute to the citizen embarrassment level in Virginia.
You Probably Heard About: The gun laws. This spring, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation allowing “concealed carry permit holders to bring loaded handguns” into bars — as long as the holders don’t drink. But the gun lobby wants the law to go further, so folks can carry and drink. Also, lawmakers proclaimed April Confederate History Month without mentioning, uh, slavery. McDonnell apologized for the “major omission” and cited the Assembly’s 2007 statement of “profound regret” for slavery. Which should fix everything.
But Did You Know: There’s now a Stalin bust at the National D-Day Memorial! That’s right, boys and girls, while most of Europe has 
been tearing down monuments to the genocidal dictator for decades, the tiny town of Bedford, Va., is just getting around to putting one up. And why not? Stalin signed a pact with Hitler before he joined the Allies; Russians didn’t participate in D-Day; and he killed an estimated 20 million people during his reign. Na Zdorov’ye!
They Said It: “Having Stalin in our backyard, people are really upset about that.” — Karl Altau, managing director at the Joint Baltic American National Committee, which has protested the Stalin bust.
The Silver Lining: During the 2008 presidential campaign, the brother of Republican nominee John McCain, Joe McCain, dismissed Northern Virginia as “Communist Country.” With the Stalin bust now up in Bedford, near the border with West Virginia, Communist Country just got a whole lot bigger …
Citizen Embarrassment Level: Red with shame. Just who the hell is this Stalin character, anyway? There are several Civil War generals who would have looked just fine up there.
word on the street
more in this section
Street Makeovers Put New Spin on the Block
U.S. Planting Seeds of Peace in Afghanistan
Returning Warriors Go to Work, in the Fields
Tattoo Remorse Spawns New Business
Turning Cellphones Into Mobile Microscopes
Work-Life Balance Benefits Low-Wage Workers, Employers
Beyond PTSD: Soldiers Have Injured Souls
Celebrants Offering More Meaningful Funerals
Can Cigarette Butts Be Recycled?
Pol Pot’s Legacy: Cambodian Refugees in Poor Health
also by this author
Matt PalmquistA graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Matt Palmquist, a former Miller-McCune staff writer, began his career at daily ne...
Does This Make My Antenna Look Big?Researchers mix technology with fashion, analyze a pharaoh’s skin condition, measure the smarts of Scrabble players, and more in this edition of Miller-McCune’s “Cocktail Napkin.”
As if Commercials Weren’t Bad Enough AlreadyDo we really need to smell the items featured in TV programming? A materials expert has created a function for your TV or portable device that can generate thousands of odors.
The Exploitation of Muggles in Harry Potter’s WorldIn this edition of The Cocktail Napkin, we look academics’ fixation on the social and economic problems in the world of Harry Potter, and how music festivals impact the psychological and social well-being.
New Dinosaur Gets a Rather Large NameAs if being wiped out by a meteor wasn’t degrading enough, a charismatic dinosaur discovered in Utah gets a less-than-flattering name.
Time for Robin Hood to Make a ComebackResearchers from Nottingham University Business School say their survey proves it’s time for the city to re-embrace its most famous, albeit probably mythical, hero.
Receive 1 year (6 issues) of our print magazine for just $14.95. Miller-McCune features polished, in-depth reports on research and solutions across the policy spectrum — from health care, education and energy to international affairs, poverty and the global economy. It's a must read for well-informed and solutions-driven individuals.
follow us on:
join our newsletter:
from the source
The wage gap between the sexes in America has been closing much faster than anyone realized, but that’s tempered by learning it’s been much wider than measurements had shown.
An effort to identify five performing orcas as slaves failed in part, argues one scholar, because there’s no legal precedent establishing them as persons.
New research finds listeners judge symphonic music differently when they’re told the conductor is a woman.
Transportation used to be one of the few guaranteed areas of agreement when ideology trumped pragmatism in D.C. But that’s no longer the case.
New research suggests less-creative people do more innovative thinking when they are told individualism is the norm, and instructed to conform.
