Borowitz writes: "Beginning this morning, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee devoted four hours to grilling Web-site contractors about site architecture, Web traffic, software, and other I.T. concepts about which their ignorance is nearly complete."
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. (photo: EPA)
Congress Spends Several Hours Pretending to Understand Internet
25 October 13
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n an impressive white-knuckle performance on live television today, members of Congress spent several hours in a hearing room pretending to understand the Internet.
Beginning this morning, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee devoted four hours to grilling Web-site contractors about site architecture, Web traffic, software, and other I.T. concepts about which their ignorance is nearly complete.
"As members of this committee, we are supposed to have a deep understanding of the technology involved in the health-care Web site," said Chairman Fred Upton (R-Michigan). "So it was absolutely imperative for us to fake that we do."
For the duration of the hearings, the Web contractors offered detailed testimony about "end-to-end testing," "enterprise identity management," and other technical concepts to a group of elected officials who can barely use e-mail.
"I would say that, to a man, we did not understand ninety-nine per cent of that computer nonsense they were going on about," Chairman Upton said. "To me it was a whole lot of blahbitty-blahbitty-blah. I hope it wasn't too obvious."
Rep. Upton said that "looking serious and nodding our heads a lot" contributed to the illusion that committee members had even scant comprehension of what was being discussed.
"At the end of the day, a lot of it came down to not asking the questions you really wanted to ask," he said. "Like, �What exactly is a Web site?'"
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The 1%ers must deny anything that hinders their extracting resources from the earth. Fracking, oil exploration in the Arctic, coal mining, or even the vast use of pesticides used by agribusiness to produce huge crops. Whatever! That is where they make their money, and from that wealth, they gain and hold power. Secrecy and denial is their stock in trade.
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Why would they be concerned about killing a resident of America under the next republican president?
I don't understand as easily why he defers to the Israeli/Saudi alliance.
After all, the current president* doesn't appear to have any ideological positions on much of anything, and he certainly doesn't have any loyalty to anyone or anything.
So, what exactly is the hold that the House of Saud has on him?
Of course, maybe he will turn on a dime and welcome his new BFFs, the Ayatollahs in Iran if they build some monuments in his honor, buy up all the remaindered copies of "The Art of the Deal" or put his puffy mug on a series of brightly colored Iranian postage stamps. His fecklessness is boundless ... especially if there's money in it for him.
The Cheney/Bush administration doubled down on cooperation with these, their business partners, and focused on Afghanistan as the object of vengeance, instead.
History repeats itself as farce. There you have the whole meaning of the Trump regime.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/two-numbers-that-explain-why-trump-wont-sanction-saudi-arabia/
It's also 100% clear that trump thinks he's the "ruler" - the "king" and can do whatever he wants.
Look who his friends are, who he hangs with: his new love - Kim Jong-Un, Putin, Duarte, Xi, the guys from Poland,Hungary and any other 2 bit autocrat. His new love is as corrupt and brutal as they come and trump is sucking on his - thumb. The Saudi guy is just the latest trump love.
Trump thinks he's a mob boss, a bully who can push everyone around. In reality he is a small time wanna-be who is just a punk with a lot of $ (given to him by his daddy), and who is the antithesis of a a true leader.
He loves the autocrats while he calls anyone who does not suck up to him 6th grade names - Adam Schiff, Maxine Water, Hillary, Jim Comey, and so many others; he call our Allies silly names and tries to belittle them.
The world is on to him and friends and foe know who this guy is - and they are all laughing at him and us for putting up this imbecile.
So trump hugs the criminals and belittles our friends and leaders.
And the Congressional Repubs are enabling and rewarding this behavior. This will not stand.