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Oooohhh...
In an extraordinary -- and extraordinarily awkward -- failure of basic situational awareness, a U.S. congressman apparently mistook American government officials for Indian government officials during a congressional hearing.
As first reported by Foreign Policy magazine, freshman Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) spoke to State Department official Nisha Biswal and Commerce Department official Arun Kumar as if they were Indian government officials at a House Foreign Affairs hearing on Thursday.
"I'm familiar with your country. I love your country. And I understand the complications of so many languages and so many cultures and so many histories all rolled up in one," Clawson said. He added: "Anything I can do to make the relationship with India better, I'm willing and enthusiastic about doing so."
When he asked the American officials for cooperation from "your government," Biswal appeared rather confused. "I think your question is to the Indian government," she said, "and we certainly share your sentiments and we certainly will advocate that on behalf of the U.S. government."
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
the chart is high lel but to be fair it does not account for size of company.
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StealthBlue, cleverly unearthing gaffes from freshmen congressmen. For all the rheorical "extraordinarily awkward" and "basic situational awareness" the "reporter" can muster, it doesn't even pass a chuckle or raised eyebrow. Is this news? I should also ask, is it a slow day at the 24/7 Christie scandal watch (judging from your previous links)? I thought TPW or you had a better filter.
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On July 26 2014 11:37 Danglars wrote: StealthBlue, cleverly unearthing gaffes from freshmen congressmen. For all the rheorical "extraordinarily awkward" and "basic situational awareness" the "reporter" can muster, it doesn't even pass a chuckle or raised eyebrow. Is this news? I should also ask, is it a slow day at the 24/7 Christie scandal watch (judging from your previous links)? I thought TPW or you had a better filter.
Because we should never expect our elected officials to be PREPARED for a congressional hearing or know who will be speaking as a witness... Heaven forbid we hold them to high standards of professionalism or competency.
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Stealthblue posts what he pleases. If you don't like it you should post stuff at the same level of consistency and content as he does.
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On July 26 2014 11:51 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +On July 26 2014 11:37 Danglars wrote: StealthBlue, cleverly unearthing gaffes from freshmen congressmen. For all the rheorical "extraordinarily awkward" and "basic situational awareness" the "reporter" can muster, it doesn't even pass a chuckle or raised eyebrow. Is this news? I should also ask, is it a slow day at the 24/7 Christie scandal watch (judging from your previous links)? I thought TPW or you had a better filter. Because we should never expect our elected officials to be PREPARED for a congressional hearing or know who will be speaking as a witness... Heaven forbid we hold them to high standards of professionalism or competency. I would also have hoped a certain Democratic congresswoman from Texas would know we had not planted a flag on Mars. Or maybe a Senator of 30 years not getting lost on the way to his own luncheon. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid nearly every time they open their mouths. But I digress ...
You simply cannot recognize a hatchet job for its own merits. Let me propose a substantive difference between a gaffe where some representative ends up with egg on his face, and some political operative at TPW calling something "extraordinary - and extraordinarily awkward - failure of basic situational awareness." One should get a laugh and diminish prestige or other facets of his contributions. The other is scraping the bottom of the barrel, making Buzzfeed into cutting-edge reporting by comparison, by some political hack with an axe to grind.
StealthBlue, I have seen other articles posted by you that were incisive and to-the-point on political questions of professionalism and competency. They have a slant and selection as befit your politics, but so do mine and any others. This recent source material holds barely concealed glee at one mistake, and a simultaneously implausible heightening of its impact. I hold reporters to the standard of not baring their long knives instead of journalism with their first sentence of their story. I would say the same to a story promising an unheard of escalation of the Hamas-IDF confrontation that climaxes in a Hamas soldier hitting an Israeli soldier with a slingshot and half-pound rock. He mistook two state department officials to be representatives from India. Embarrassing, and please report on it for a laugh and not lay apparent your euphoria (Compare: "intensely awkward" foreignpolicy/HuffPo's repeat)
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The report looks fine to me; and is a good laugh. It doesn't look like a hatchet job. Don't the hearings usually start with statements on who each of the witnesses are? I seem to recall that, either before or during the 5 minute opening statement from each witness.
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On July 26 2014 12:46 Danglars wrote:Show nested quote +On July 26 2014 11:51 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:On July 26 2014 11:37 Danglars wrote: StealthBlue, cleverly unearthing gaffes from freshmen congressmen. For all the rheorical "extraordinarily awkward" and "basic situational awareness" the "reporter" can muster, it doesn't even pass a chuckle or raised eyebrow. Is this news? I should also ask, is it a slow day at the 24/7 Christie scandal watch (judging from your previous links)? I thought TPW or you had a better filter. Because we should never expect our elected officials to be PREPARED for a congressional hearing or know who will be speaking as a witness... Heaven forbid we hold them to high standards of professionalism or competency. I would also have hoped a certain Democratic congresswoman from Texas would know we had not planted a flag on Mars. Or maybe a Senator of 30 years not getting lost on the way to his own luncheon. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid nearly every time they open their mouths. But I digress ... You simply cannot recognize a hatchet job for its own merits. Let me propose a substantive difference between a gaffe where some representative ends up with egg on his face, and some political operative at TPW calling something "extraordinary - and extraordinarily awkward - failure of basic situational awareness." One should get a laugh and diminish prestige or other facets of his contributions. The other is scraping the bottom of the barrel, making Buzzfeed into cutting-edge reporting by comparison, by some political hack with an axe to grind. StealthBlue, I have seen other articles posted by you that were incisive and to-the-point on political questions of professionalism and competency. They have a slant and selection as befit your politics, but so do mine and any others. This recent source material holds barely concealed glee at one mistake, and a simultaneously implausible heightening of its impact. I hold reporters to the standard of not baring their long knives instead of journalism with their first sentence of their story. I would say the same to a story promising an unheard of escalation of the Hamas-IDF confrontation that climaxes in a Hamas soldier hitting an Israeli soldier with a slingshot and half-pound rock. He mistook two state department officials to be representatives from India. Embarrassing, and please report on it for a laugh and not lay apparent your euphoria (Compare: "intensely awkward" foreignpolicy/ HuffPo's repeat)
I suppose in fairness, as contently ignorant as the Republican party is I don't think it would of been reported the same way if he had mistook a white guy with an accent for a representative from that country.
But yeah, it definitely looks incompetent as all hell and fits the republican party pattern of showing up to (and leaving) hearings completely clueless (But not before spouting some random unrelated talking points).
He gets called a moronic bigot in the nicest possible way and he responds with "Okay, I see some progress" totally oblivious to how stupid he sounds... I don't care which party people are, our leaders should just not be so damn incompetent.
But seeing as he replaced a Republican dumb enough to buy his cocaine from an undercover officer, I suppose this guy is actually a step up (competency wise) for that district.
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Norway28262 Posts
I just thought that top article was chuckle-worthy cause it's really awkward and the response is funny. but it doesn't actually mean anything, people make mistakes and I really don't see how assuming that someone with an indian appearance, quite possibly indian accent and an indian name is indian rather than american is all that great of an offense. yeah do your research but I mean it's a small slipup.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
party special appointments are a great source of governance competency.
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On July 26 2014 20:47 Liquid`Drone wrote: I just thought that top article was chuckle-worthy cause it's really awkward and the response is funny. but it doesn't actually mean anything, people make mistakes and I really don't see how assuming that someone with an indian appearance, quite possibly indian accent and an indian name is indian rather than american is all that great of an offense. yeah do your research but I mean it's a small slipup. yeah, mostly it's just funny. It's a bit sloppy in that their names and identities are all covered at the start of the hearing, so the guy probably wasn't paying attention to the hearing (which is kinda the point of a hearing, to listen to witnesses).
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Lol Rep. Clawson went to my school (Purdue) and was apparently a really good basketball player. This confusion of his isn't really a big deal, but funny nonetheless.
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This is a hatchet job, albeit an amusing one. Democrats want to get ahead of the plagiarism scandal involving John Walsh, which is itself a political dirty trick.
Perhaps they also don't want to talk about the US embassy in Libya being evacuated, American journalists detained in Iran, or the fact that ISIS has made gains in Syria and Iraq as well as driven out Christians with threats of violence and begun cracking down on denying women's rights. Secretary of State John Kerry also spent the week negotiating peace terms between Israel and Gaza, a nuclear deal with Iran, a drawing down of tensions in Ukraine, and ending cyberattacks from China. He failed to make progress on every front, which almost none of it is his fault but it's nonetheless nothing but frustration for the US. Trade talks with Europe and Asia are also stalling out and almost definitely there won't be a deal in 2014, especially since the White House has the interesting situation that it is primarily Democrats who oppose them.
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President Barack Obama pledged Friday to sign a bill passed by the House and Senate to legalize cellphone unlocking, in a rare example of tech policy advancing in Washington.
The House passed the legislation just hours earlier, and the Senate approved the measure last week. The bill reverses a Library of Congress decision that made it illegal for cellphone users to unlock their devices to be used on other networks.
“The bill Congress passed today is another step toward giving ordinary Americans more flexibility and choice so that they can find a cellphone carrier that meets their needs and their budget,” Obama said in a statement.
Cellphone unlocking — the act of changing settings on a mobile device so it can be used on a different wireless network — was legal until the Library of Congress declared it copyright infringement in 2012.
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On July 26 2014 21:13 zlefin wrote:Show nested quote +On July 26 2014 20:47 Liquid`Drone wrote: I just thought that top article was chuckle-worthy cause it's really awkward and the response is funny. but it doesn't actually mean anything, people make mistakes and I really don't see how assuming that someone with an indian appearance, quite possibly indian accent and an indian name is indian rather than american is all that great of an offense. yeah do your research but I mean it's a small slipup. yeah, mostly it's just funny. It's a bit sloppy in that their names and identities are all covered at the start of the hearing, so the guy probably wasn't paying attention to the hearing (which is kinda the point of a hearing, to listen to witnesses).
He didn't just mess up thinking they were Indian. She tried to correct him and he thought he had convinced them to talk to their (Indian) government about 'free capital'. After he was done you could see how smugly happy he was that he had done so. It's not just that he missed the part of the hearing where he finds out who he is supposed to be listening to, or that he didn't bother to know who he was going to be listening to by reading the prep info, it's that even after he gets corrected he's oblivious to the fact that he even made a mistake.
So sure he might of been distracted before the hearing, and during the introductions, and during everyone else's questions, but you would think he would at least be paying attention to the answers of his own questions. But no, he left the hearing thinking he was advocating 'free capital' to the Indian government... Really makes one wonder why he was even there if he wasn't going to listen to any of the hearing?
It's not that this particular incident is unusually bad, it's that hearing after hearing Republicans show up uninformed and so close-minded that even simple undeniable facts like what country someone represents can be totally missed for a whole hearing.
Watch a hearing on science or climate if you think this type of ignorance and close-mindedness is just a one off type deal.
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Some good news
A federal judge has declared that one of the District’s principal gun control laws is unconstitutional and ordered that its enforcement be halted.
The ruling by Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr., made public Saturday, orders the city to end its prohibition against carrying a pistol in public.
It was not clear Saturday night what immediate effect the order would have.
The order was addressed to the District of Columbia and Police Chief Cathy Lanier, as well as their employees and officers and others “who receive actual notice” of the ruling. But it could not be determined Saturday night who had received notice. Also unclear was whether the city would appeal and what effect that would have on the enforcement ban.
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WASHINGTON -- Incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) refused on Sunday to take impeaching President Barack Obama off the table if Obama takes executive action to limit deportations.
On "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace asked Scalise, who was recently elected majority whip, if the House would consider impeachment. Scalise repeatedly dodged the question.
"This might be the first White House in history that's trying to start the narrative of impeaching their own president," Scalise said. "Ultimately, what we want to do is see the president follow his own laws."
White House press secretary Josh Earnest warned in a press briefing last week that House Republicans may eventually bring up articles of impeachment against Obama, arguing that conservatives would not be satisfied with the effort from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to merely sue the president over his use of executive orders.
Wallace pressed Scalise on the issue Sunday. "Impeachment is off the table?" he reiterated.
"The White House wants to talk about impeachment and they're trying to fundraise off that, too," Scalise said.
"I'm asking you, sir," Wallace interjected.
"The White House will do anything they can to change the topic away from the president's failed agenda," Scalise said.
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Lol Scalise, business as usual in the Capitol
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The New York Times editorial board on Saturday called on the federal government to legalize marijuana, comparing the ban on weed to Prohibition.
"It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished," the Times wrote in an editorial in the paper's Sunday Review. "It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol."
The paper slammed current drug laws and their social costs.
"Even worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals," the wrote.
The editorial board brought the health concerns surrounding marijuana, but argued that it is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco and said that it should only be legal for those age 21 and older.
"Claims that marijuana is a gateway to more dangerous drugs are as fanciful as the 'Reefer Madness' images of murder, rape and suicide," the Times wrote.
The Times wrote that they considered whether states should lead the way by experimenting with decriminalization and legalization, but the paper argued that this approach "would leave [state] citizens vulnerable to the whims of whoever happens to be in the White House and chooses to enforce or not enforce the federal law."
The editorial board will continue to explore the legalization of marijuana in a series of editorials.
Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor, told Politico's Playbook that the editorial was a long time coming.
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