Back in the land of the free and the home of the brave...

Ignorance exposed in broad daylight coupled with poor taste can happen anywhere.  It happened in Phoenix earlier this week at a rally staged by the Tea Party in Arizona. Back home again after a couple of weeks in Europe, I listened while a friend told me about what happened and asked if the details of the Tea Party protest had been reported on television in Amsterdam.  After he told me what happened in Phoenix, I was glad no one with whom I talked in Europe mentioned the rally, which means they hadn’t heard it or they didn’t want to embarrass me by asking about it. 

1.  At one point the group in Phoenix sang, “Bye, Bye, Black Sheep.”

2.  Tea Partiers carried signs with messages like “IMPEACH THE HALF-WHITE MUSLIM,” and SEND HIM BACK TO AFRICA WHERE HE CAME FROM. 

3.  Speakers called for Tea Party members of Congress to paralyze Washington by refusing to allow the government to function until the administration’s health care program is withdrawn.  Presidential hopeful Rand Paul and others in Washington joined the chorus calling for a halt to the  Affordable Care Program.