Early last month, I sent a letter to the International Spy Museum to challenge them on what he saw as inaccuracies concerning Stalin's body count and Joe McCarthy.

The historian for the Spy Museum has officially replied:
http://www.digitalsurvivors.com/archive ... reply1.php

Scott-What did you feel about the response? Did it address the issues you wanted? Was it an honest, satisfactory response?

I feel good about his response concerning Stalin's body count. While I would hope for a more accurate number, I do suppose adding "at least" is definitely a proper change.

As for McCarthy, I'm not too satisfied. For some reason, a lot of historians/professors have no problems with letting misconceptions concerning McCarthy run wild just as long as people leave with a negative impression of him.

What do you think?

Having not seen the display it is hard to say how it came across. He seems to be saying that the display, though associating McCarthy with the HUAC because of popular perception, is clear that he did not establish or chair it (though I am not sure people would pay that much attention to the nuances of the phrasing). It sounds like it could be quite nebulous, and a person scanning the material as the usual museum goer might, would come away, because of the way McCarthy's name is associated with things in the display, and the clip, thinking he was responsible for it all.