I think very few South Africans are aware as to how radical some elements of the Republican Party in America have become. During a recent holiday, I found myself glued to Fox News and watching Glenn Beck in particular go on and on warning all of the viewers about the threats of socialism and the Socialist Republic that Barack Obama is trying to create in America.

The virulent paranoid criticism of the government is quite incredible and he is one of their current heroes of the Tea Party movement which is driving to get Republican candidates it approves of and remove the democratic power. To quote a New York Times article about how busy the Tea Party members are at the moment, “Their task seems endless, almost overwhelming … there were rallies against illegal immigration to attend. There was a coming lecture about the fraud of global warming. There were shooting classes to schedule, and tips to share about the right survival food.” At that point, I realised just how tame our press is, and our politicians should never complain, and what a bunch of nutters America is filled with!