Muda69 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 https://reason.com/2020/01/08/can-we-stop-with-all-the-congressional-grandstanding/ Quote Congressional hearings were created to educate lawmakers so they have knowledge before they pass bills or impeach a president. Not today. Today, hardly any education happens. During the President Trump impeachment "testimony," legislators tried to score points. At least five times, Rep. Adam Schiff (D–Calif.) shut down criticism by shouting, "Gentleman is not recognized!" I get that politicians are eager for "face time" in front of a larger audience, but I assumed they would at least try to learn things. Nope. Maybe they don't want to ask real questions because they fear looking as dumb as then-Sen. Orrin Hatch (R–Utah) did at a hearing on Facebook. He asked Mark Zuckerberg, "How do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?" "We run ads," smirked Zuckerberg. "I see," said Hatch. What's obvious to most people somehow eludes the oblivious "experts" in Congress. At another Facebook hearing, Congress grilled Zuckerberg about his plan to launch an electronic currency called Libra. Zuckerberg said, "I actually don't know if Libra is going to work, but I believe it's important to try new things." He was right. But instead of asking about technological or economic implications of the idea, Rep. Al Green (D–Texas) asked Zuckerberg, of the companies partnering with him, "how many are headed by women?" "Congressman, I do not know the answer," replied Zuckerberg. "How many of them are minorities?" asked Green. "Are there any members of the LGBTQ+ community?" Green doesn't want to learn anything. He wants to sneer and score points. Politicians' sloppy ignorance is extraordinary. Rep. Steve King (R–Iowa) grilled Google CEO Sundar Pichai about iPhones, citing a story about his granddaughter using one, leading Pichai to explain, "Congressman, iPhone is made by a different company." Today's posturing is not what the founders had in mind when they invented hearings in 1789. George Mason said members of Congress "possess inquisitorial powers" to "inspect the Conduct of public offices." Yes! Investigate government. But today, they are more likely to threaten CEOs and bully opponents. "Are you stupid?" then-Rep. Darrell Issa (R–Calif.) said to one witness. They want to showboat, not learn. Often, they ask questions even when they know the answers. "Ms. DeVos, have you ever taken out a student loan?" asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D–Mass.) of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. "Have any of your children had to borrow money?" Warren knows that DeVos is a billionaire, but she wanted to score points with her fans. One of the louder showboaters today is self-proclaimed socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.). She asked Wells Fargo boss Tim Sloan, "Why was the bank involved in the caging of children?" "We weren't," replied Sloan. Some of today's hearings are useful in that we get to see how absurd and ignorant our representatives can be. During a hearing on military personnel being stationed on the island of Guam, Rep. Hank Johnson (D–Georgia) said, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it would tip over and capsize." Really. He said that. Then there was the time Rep. Maxine Waters, (D–Calif.) chair of the House Financial Services Committee, summoned bank CEOs to Washington and demanded, "What are you guys doing to help us with this student loan debt?!" "We stopped making student loans in 2007," Bank of America's Brian Moynihan told her. "We actually ended student lending in 2009," added Citigroup's Michael Corbat. "When the government took over student lending in 2010 … we stopped doing all student lending," explained Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase. The Chair of the Financial Services Committee didn't even know that her own party kicked bankers out of the student loan business, insisting that government take over?! Apparently not. She is so eager to blame business for government's mistakes that she didn't research her own topic. The more I watch politicians, the more I hate them. Let's give them less power. Agreed. The less power government has over our lives the better. And too bad that most congressional hearings are all about sneering and 'scoring points' instead of actual learning the facts. Sound like several posters here on the GID........................ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Muda69 said: https://reason.com/2020/01/08/can-we-stop-with-all-the-congressional-grandstanding/ Agreed. The less power government has over our lives the better. And too bad that most congressional hearings are all about sneering and 'scoring points' instead of actual learning the facts. Sound like several posters here on the GID........................ Last night while the Vice President was notifying the congressional leaders of bother parties of the Iranian missile attacks, Speaker Pelosi told her aide "I'll call him back"...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARRYOSAMA Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 1 hour ago, swordfish said: Last night while the Vice President was notifying the congressional leaders of bother parties of the Iranian missile attacks, Speaker Pelosi told her aide "I'll call him back"...... Since Pence lied about Soleimani's role in 9/11, he has lost credibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 15 minutes ago, BARRYOSAMA said: Since Pence lied about Soleimani's role in 9/11, he has lost credibility. Fake news...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARRYOSAMA Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 6 minutes ago, swordfish said: Fake news...... "Assisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan of 10 of the 12 terrorists who carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States." - Mike Pence This statement is false. Pence is a Liar. Mother needs to punish him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 https://www.foxnews.com/media/pences-office-media-9-11-terrorists-soleimani "Not every media outlet criticized Pence. Writer David Harsanyi argued in National Review, a conservative publication, that Pence was likely referring to figures from the 9/11 commission report. He also criticized journalists for suggesting the "myth" that Shiite forces like Soleimani wouldn't support Sunni terrorists -- pointing specifically to Iran funding Hamas. "Really, it’s remarkable that so many journalists are seemingly unaware that the 9/11 Commission Report found that 8 to 10 hijackers -- of 19, not 12 -- traveled through Iran to Afghanistan with the help of the Islamic Republic. Let’s not forget: Iran still owes the families of victims of 9/11 billions of dollars for its role in the attacks," he said. Harsanyi also addressed the lack of evidence surrounding Iranian involvement in 9/11. "In a report teeming with wrongdoing, this is the one assertion that Iran apologists love to highlight. But we know that before 9/11, Iran had ties to Al Qaeda terrorists, offered them safe passage and helped train them. Perhaps the Iranians never imagined the extremists they were aiding would be as successful as they were on 9/11, but that doesn’t mean they don’t bear any responsibility," he wrote." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARRYOSAMA Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Hamas had nothing to do with 9/11. Soleimani was not even mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report. The Fox article was a complete apology for Pence's LIE and has no facts in it, only speculation. The Real fake news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 https://www.analyzingamerica.org/cardi-b-wants-to-run-for-congress-says-she-has-so-much-ideas-that-make-sense/?utm_source=palin&fbclid=IwAR3wdaX2dP7YQ27BrJpwY9v6gn-GyxuFv2PR1JUZJq7Fb-0TO2LdV_JcHMw Vote for Cardi B.!! She "deadass have so much ideas that make sense".......Now that she isn't going to move to NIgeria and join a tribe.......Nigerians must not be in a position (or have a desire) to buy her music....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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