Offering Testimony

One of the nice things about being out of the classroom is that I no longer have to think about what I say.  Of course, when I was in the classroom I usually shot from the hip without much care about who I might offend.  As one might suspect, I got called to the principal's office a lot over my lack of discipline.  I'm just a sarcastic guy and I will always go for a good joke if given the chance, feelings or political correctness be damned.  I remember I was in my classroom teaching CCB toward the end of my career.  For some reason we were talking about music and assigning certain musicians in the ranks of Fad-Fashion-Style.  If you were ever in any of our classes, you know about the drill.  I remember one girl mentioning that Jimmy Buffet should go under the Style rubric!  Most of the self-ordained musical experts in the room groaned and before I thought better of it I commented that Jimmy Buffet fans were sick and twisted!  Everyone in the class, EXCEPT THE OFFENDING GIRL, laughed at my obviously absurd statement.  I was, after all, just joking around.  But the next day the girl's father was waiting for me in the principal's office looking to get me fired.  It all got resolved.  I apologized for my mouth and assured the man that I would try to be more vigilant (FAT  CHANCE).

Now that I'm not in the classroom any more I can say without fear of contradiction that if you actually enjoy the music of Jimmy Buffet you aren't really sick and twisted; you just have no taste.  There are probably some folks right now (assuming people are actually reading this thing) who are offended.  Good!  Get used to it.  I am no longer giving testimony five times a day to a bunch of teenagers.

Testimony.  That's the word that has given rise to this post.  If you are a public figure, you don't get to make casual statements.  Everything you see is testimony and if it is proven wrong, or considered out of the mainstream, then people start talking impeachment and the blogosphere lights up.

There are three recent examples of this.

The most obvious one is the most recent.  Obama, in an interview with certain members of the media, said that when he was up at Camp David he shot skeet all the time.  Conservatives went crazy!  "All the time"?  Where are the pictures?  If he really shot skeet all the time, how come he's not shooting skeet at this very moment?  The president is obviously making the whole thing up so as to facilitate his planned confiscation of our guns.  The WH even released a photo of our President, looking a little like a terrorist in sunglasses and dark jacket, shooting skeet on his birthday.  Some right wing nut job immediately pointed out that the angle of the rifle was wrong for skeet shooting, thereby proving Obama's mendacity.  Come on you guys.  Maybe he shoots skeet the same way he rolls a bowling ball--badly.

We all use that expression--"All the time"--don't we?    I've told lots of people that Kathie and I eat at Mizuna "all the time."  But everybody I say that to realizes that I don't really eat there ALL THE TIME.  If I did, I would be bankrupt and at least fifty pounds heavier.  Instead of "all the time," I should say that we eat there about once a month.  I also listen to "Morning Joe" all the time, but actually I only listen to it when it is on the air.  But since I'm not under indictment and giving testimony to a grand jury, I let myself exaggerate a little.  Most people would agree that calling me on the accuracy of my "all the time" would be more than a little silly and in fact downright dishonest.

That doesn't stop the lunatics at Fox News or Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck.  The same thing happened with Susan Rice.  She went on the Sunday morning talk shows after Benghazi and casually (SHE THOUGHT) filled her questioners in on what was the current info.  She offered her speculation, never suggesting that it was the whole story, and moved on with no inkling that "Meet The Press" carries the weight of congressional investigations when Democrats are on, and is a forum for talking points whenever John McCain shows up.  The result?  She will continue to be an extremely effective, outspoken and tough UN ambassador and John Kerry will continue in the tradition of Hillary Clinton and be a great Secretary of State.

Finally, the case of Chuck Hagel.  He also said some things on the talk shows that were unfortunate.  He used the phrase "Jewish Lobby" instead of something safer like the "Pro Israel Community."  He said that many people in Congress were intimidated by Israel.  When asked to produce the name of one such intimidated Congressperson, Hagel rightly refused.  He wasn't offering testimony on the Sunday shows; he was just sharing his unfiltered opinions.

It is obvious that public figures in Washington don't get to have unfiltered opinions, or at least they don't get to share them if they know what's good for them.

Thank God for people like Joe Biden.  He tells the truth, or at least he seems to.  His reward?  Until his phenomenal performance as VP, he got excoriated and laughed at for telling the truth.  Telling the truth in Washington!  And John McCain thought that Chuck Hagel was out of the mainstream!