Just Answer Yes or No

Consider a pack of jackasses. Now, consider Congress. But then, I repeat myself.

--Mark Twain

Watching C span, the Congressional hearing during which Republican Congressmen pilloried some poor assistant secretary of State , who had the misfortune to be involved with reviewing the Canadian pipeline application, and you get to see how clearly our representative form of government actually represents our people. Well, maybe not our people, but how the Congressman represents whomever is paying him.

His name is tragically lost to me, but a very well groomed, young, handsome Republican Congressman went at the assistant secretary, very self confidently, because he knew he was about to prove to the world just how brilliant he really is.

"Now, secretary, tell me if the highest priority of this administration is jobs: Yes or No."

The secretary, whose job has nothing to do with knowing what the highest priority of the administration may be, started to say something to that effect and the fresh faced Congressman cut her off, "Just yes or no."

And then he continued. "And just tell me, yes or no, whether cutting off this pipeline would cost this country 2,000 jobs. Yes or no?"

The secretary began saying something to the effect of the job of her department was to review what the total effect on relations with Canada, the costs and benefits to the United States might be, but the Congressman closed in for his great triumphant moment, "Just yes or no."

Which made me wonder, where did this "Just yes or no," thing come from?

If you invite someone to testify, are you not always doing so on the premise the person you are interrogating gets to answer the question in his or her own words? Otherwise, why have that person present in the room at all, if you are going to both ask the question and answer the question yourself, in your own words.

Of course, in these circuses called hearings, the Congressmen really are not there to learn anything, but simply to proclaim how individually superior they are, how powerful, what great spokesmen for whomever is paying them to champion their cause. They often dispense with any effort to ask a question simply make grandiose, emotional and ego gratifying speeches.

As this Congressman grew tumescent over his own prowess, the white haired lady from the State Department, leaned back in her chair, away from the microphone and tried to look as if she was listening, smiling faintly at the jackass in front of her, knowing she need not respond because she was not being asked to respond.

She was simply there as a prop.