Laughing Stock

The phrase "laughing stock" originated back in the 16th century and it means the same thing now that it meant then - an object of ridicule.

From time to time I read international newspapers online. Shocking, really. Never once, before moving to Belgium, did I ever do this. Never once did I even wonder what was going on in Libya or Egypt or Turkey. Frankly, I could hardly find them on a map.

But Europeans sure know what's going on in all those countries . . . and more. They know exactly what's going on in the U.S. At first I found that odd, but now, I realize they just like being informed. It's embarrassing when the frituur owner down the street asks me, in perfect English, about something that's happened recently in the States and I realize he knows more about it than I do.

I've got a long way to go, but unlike these gaffes, going back a decade, I do know that Africa is still not a country. Still. Not.

George Bush in 2001 - "Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease".

Sarah Palin in 2008 (McCain staffer said in a debate "prep" session she did not know Africa was not a country - Palin denied it)

astonishingly yet again in 2011,

with Rick Santorum - "Africa was a country on the brink."

and Michele Bachmann - "Now with the President, he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa."

It should be noted that Libya is IN Africa.

Did you know that when George Bush resigned as governor to bewilder us for nearly a decade as President, Rick Perry, as Lieutenant Governor, assumed the role of Governor of Texas in 2000? Okay, you may have known that, but did you know that he was elected in 2002, re-elected in 2006 and again in 2010? Oh, it's true. So, if I'm doing the math right, he's there until 2014.

I must say, after following the campaign for the Republican nomination, mercifully the world will no longer have to endure further mentally deficient quotes from the likes of Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.

Prior to his humanely bowing out of the race and after his bonehead remark about the government of Turkey, even Texas Republicans weren't going to vote for him with many feeling that "Perry's candidacy has hurt Texas' image".

You think?

To his credit, I don't think Rick Perry has mistaken Africa for a country, but he did say . . .

"Juarez is reported to be the most dangerous city in America."

Okay, I know it's on the border, but Juarez is still in Mexico, right?

Click here if you'd like to take a little geography quiz.