I agree with your editorial about former Congressman Tom Tancredo's speech at the National Tea Party Convention ("Tea and insensitivity," Feb. 10). I was just thinking: It would be a good idea to take all of the attendees of the convention, plus Mr. Tancredo and Sarah Palin, and without prior notice have all of them take a civics and literacy test from the 1860s and also a civics test that is currently given to high school students, just to see how many of them would not be able to vote if the standard they want were enforced. I am sure that less than half of those attending the convention would pass those tests. It would be very interesting.

Ron Jones, Berlin