EDIT - on another note, I forgot to mention that Sarah Palin has stepped down as Governor of Alaska, and THIS [link] IS FUCKING BRILLIANT.

There was a little picnic/gathering today at the park my mom volunteers for every weekend.

Mom said she'd been hearing about this "Tea Party" for a while, and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to talk some politics and get to know some people.

Here's how it went;

Mom: "I'll be here in the main building if you need me! Have fun!"

Me: "All right." *steps outside*

THREE MINUTES LATER

Mom: "How is it?"

Me: "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE."

Wrong Tea Party. [link]

What galled me the most were the signs.

"Obama is a Communist!"
"Obama Bin Laden"
"Obama is a Somali Pirate!"
*Obama with Fidel Castro and Nikita Kruschev* "Turds of a Feather should be flushed together."
"No Obamination!"
"Scrub out the B.O.!"

I saw a BLACK woman wearing a shirt that said "100% Anti-Obama," for fuck's sake.

I knew immediately - there would be no discussion of politics here.

You can't discuss anything with someone who actually believes that Obama is a Somali Pirate!

For those of you who are wondering why this is a bad thing -

*I voted for Obama, because I would not have a book burning hockey-mom as president after McBush kicked off.
*I still don't get how we thought attacking Iraq/Iran was a good solution to 9/11 - an attack by a terrorist cell led by an Arab hiding in Afghanistan.
*I think it was a bad idea to elect an OIL TYCOON as President.
*I respect the boys fighting in Iraq, but I think the whole thing is nothing but a farce, and a waste of time, money, and lives.
*I like the idea of free healthcare.

I heard one guy ranting and raving on a megaphone, telling them that they were acting in the interest of "preserving our heritage and culture," and I could only produce one image in my mind - the guy sounded like he was speaking at a Klan rally.

I took a walk on one of the hiking trails, came back to the main building, and stayed the fuck inside for the rest of the day.

Don't get me wrong, I know the South tends to lean right, and I still think Tennessee is a wonderful state, but all the bigots and extremists crawled out of the woodwork for this one.

I just walked into a fucking lion's den, and I'm still amazed I didn't end the afternoon swinging from a tree.