Althouse: "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."

April 1, 2010

"My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is worried about Guam, and, oh, is he getting mocked for stupidity.

Advice to Johnson: Just say you didn't mean it literally. It's obviously a figure of speech. Guam is a tiny island, and it's a vivid image to picture it tipping and capsizing. If you'd used a more well-worn image — like, I'm afraid the island will be crushed by over population — no one would visualize a crushing. You chose a fresh metaphor, and your listeners couldn't handle the task of digesting it.

111 comments:

AllenS said...: If you watch his hand movements when he's describing the island capsizing, you see that he doesn't mean the island will be crushed. Metaphors have nothing to do with it. This man is an idiot.; 4/1/10, 8:40 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Advice to Johnson: Just say you didn't mean it literally. It's obviously a figure of speech.

That might have been believable had he not been so hung up on the length and width and the square mileage of the island.

Watching the video I was thinking he either just woke up, was on painkillers or was drunk.; 4/1/10, 8:44 AM
Charlie said...: If people could see their congressional representatives speak more often, perhaps there'd be greater turnover. This guy, who I'd never heard of until today, appears to be a flippin' idiot.; 4/1/10, 8:45 AM
Scott said...: I'm not sure why snobbishness is so popular in discussing the issues of the day.; 4/1/10, 8:46 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: This guy, who I'd never heard of until today, appears to be a flippin' idiot.

Just keep in mind, this guy replaced Cynthia McKinney.

That must be some Congressional district.; 4/1/10, 8:47 AM
AllenS said...: He's a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, so he's got that goin' for him.; 4/1/10, 8:48 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: Love the Admiral's response:

"We don't anticipate that."

Deadpan gold.; 4/1/10, 8:48 AM
traditionalguy said...: Thank you LBJ and Democrats for an Eternal Voting Rights Act that created these safe districts in the south where race is the only qualification...therefore his qualifications are impeccable...and his voters will only identify with him more and feel that he is unfairly being made fun of for being like them. Democracy is a facinating show of people's rights down in Georgia.; 4/1/10, 8:50 AM
cryptical said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/10, 8:51 AM
Balfegor said...: The problem -- both with mocking him and attempting to defend him -- is that he seems like he's drunk there in his questioning. Reminds me of that one Japanese minister who showed up to a press conference completely soused.; 4/1/10, 8:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Oh no, if Guam capsizes, what will become of the brown tree snakes?

Peter; 4/1/10, 8:53 AM
bagoh20 said...: You people think you are so smart, but what if he's right? Then you would be the dumb ones wouldn't you. You guys are so uninformed, you probably think Al Gore is an idiot too. Next you'll be saying Sean Penn is crazy for liking Castro and Chavez. You people should try reading something sometime or listen to some rich famous people. Do you really think they would be rich and famous if they were stupid. How does that happen, huh, well?; 4/1/10, 8:57 AM
MadisonMan said...: appears to be a flippin' idiot.

...which is why he thinks an island can be flipped.; 4/1/10, 8:59 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Love the Admiral's response:

"We don't anticipate that."

Deadpan gold.

I'll bet my paycheck he was really wanted to say:

Are you f***ing kidding me?; 4/1/10, 9:00 AM
Charlie said...: ....and Nancy Pelosi is their leader.; 4/1/10, 9:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Doesn't matter if he comes up with a good excuse for being dumb as a bag full o' Democrats.

Saul Alinsky: Ridicule is the one weapon a man cannot defend against.; 4/1/10, 9:10 AM
bagoh20 said...: I love our constitution, but when some of these congressman question our military leader it makes we wish we picked leaders by hand to hand combat. Take a man who has accomplished what most Generals and Admirals have and who have repeatedly risked their lives for us and faced enormous challenges and won, then subject them to this kind of idiot's inquiry or even worse, their criticism, I wonder if we deserve such men defending us. We often don't seem to appreciate the caliber of our best. Only that level of man could control himself under those conditions and remain respectful. I know I couldn't.; 4/1/10, 9:12 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: We often don't seem to appreciate the caliber of our best. Only that level of man could control himself under those conditions and remain respectful. I know I couldn't.

Very well said.; 4/1/10, 9:16 AM
traditionalguy said...: With that performance the next Supreme Court nomination is a sure thing for Representative Johnson. He will not forget the poor people that need decisions made up for them. And he will never ignore a threat to a political base and let Roberts, Scalia, and Alito use old white man's laws to flip over a Marist base for collective power. He will stay a vigilant man.; 4/1/10, 9:20 AM
ricpic said...: If everybody jumped up and down at the same time would the earth wobble? This has always worried me.; 4/1/10, 9:20 AM
Lyle said...: It was a very poor choice words. It happens with politicians. No big deal. This is the same guy that talked about the KKK riding through the countryside after Obama was elected though (or whenever he said it).; 4/1/10, 9:22 AM
Joe said...: Thank you LBJ and Democrats for an Eternal Voting Rights Act that created these safe districts in the south where race is the only qualification...therefore his qualifications are impeccable...
Uh you might want to include REPBLICANS in that rant, dude/dudette.

Republicans, in conjunction with organizations like the NAACP, created these districts. They created super-safe "minority" districts, walling off Democrats into "ghettos", thereby freeing up independents and Republicans for more competitive districts.

It was a DELIBERATE strategy that aided both parties, if not the public at-large.; 4/1/10, 9:25 AM
ThreeSheets said...: That guy is a moron. The real problem with Guam is the number of helium balloons on the island. It's a small island and might float away if we allow too many helium balloons.; 4/1/10, 9:26 AM
AllenS said...: It wouldn't surprise me that the majority of people he represents feel the same way.; 4/1/10, 9:29 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Three Sheets said:

" It's a small island and might float away if we allow too many helium balloons."

LOL. This soundbite could become a regular skit for SNL..helium balloons cause island to float away, fear of capsizing, island floats away and lands on Wicked Witch.; 4/1/10, 9:32 AM
Superdad said...: It was not a figure of speech. He clearly defined his fear:

“My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”

While he said this he made a hand gesture indicating something actually tipping over.; 4/1/10, 9:33 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Somehow, I think this would be a bigger deal if it were Obama instead of McCain claiming that there had been no American service people killed or wounded in Iraq over the past three months.; 4/1/10, 9:35 AM
g2loq said...: I, would like to "gradulate" da congresscritter Johnson.
This:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9Em00A

Bark Obama will be gone someday.
His retinue and his voters will remain among us.; 4/1/10, 9:36 AM
traditionalguy said...: Maybe Johnson knows something we 2012 Mayan calendar ignorant folks don't know.; 4/1/10, 9:37 AM
john said...: It's really only going to be a problem if they all get on one side of the island at the same time. Like at some surise Easter service on the beach.

Oh oh. Coming up.; 4/1/10, 9:44 AM
Rialby said...: Why is nobody talking about Max Baucus? There is something clearly wrong with him - he's had at least 2 appearances where his speech was horribly slurred. Here's the latest.; 4/1/10, 9:45 AM
Anonymous said...: Even if he is mentally ill, What The Hell is he doing in Congress??

No wonder Obamacare passed.; 4/1/10, 9:47 AM
Anonymous said...: This is no time to be FEEBLE-MINDED.; 4/1/10, 9:51 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Love the Admiral's response:

"We don't anticipate that."

LOL. Me too. Just imagine what the Admiral is thinking while this mentally challenged Congress critter is droning on and asking completely stupid questions.

I'm sure that the Admiral had better things to do at that moment.

You think this is funny, wait until Waxman and his band of morons put the CEOs of AT&T, Deere, CAT and other companies on show trial for being able to understand finance, read a balance sheet AND for complying with the laws that Waxman et al actually wrote.

We are being ruled by people that you wouldn't trust to change the oil in your car, rake the leaves on your lawn and certainly wouldn't trust to walk your dog without losing it.; 4/1/10, 9:55 AM
Penny said...: At least he isn't spouting his parties usual talking points...

And I haven't had such a good laugh since Bissage left!; 4/1/10, 10:01 AM
Penny said...: Actually, I saw some footage on TV about this. The adults in Guam who were interviewed were very upset about the potential impact to their tiny island, primarily that it would change the flavor of the culture. The kids who appeared on screen were all excited about that very same prospect.

Kids are cool that way.; 4/1/10, 10:08 AM
kimsch said...: It's a good thing vast portions of our population is on the coasts, otherwise the US could snap together like a book (hinged on the Mississippi).

Happy April Fools Day!

wv: menliali; 4/1/10, 10:10 AM
MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...: He'll have the last laugh on you haters when Manhattan tips over and capsizes.

And what happened to Atlantis, huh? It is obviously another island that tipped over and capsized.; 4/1/10, 10:12 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Actually, I saw some footage on TV about this. The adults in Guam who were interviewed were very upset about the potential impact to their tiny island, primarily that it would change the flavor of the culture.

That's interesting isn't it. Being upset about a potential change of culture I mean.; 4/1/10, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: "They created super-safe "minority" districts, walling off Democrats into "ghettos", thereby freeing up independents and Republicans for more competitive districts."

Are you suggesting that these Democrat "ghettos" as you call them, contain only morons?

"Minority districts" guarantee that there will be at least some black people elected to Congress. Now, personally, I think that's racist. It suggests that the only way anyone will vote for black people is if they are already black and that black people will only vote for someone if they are black.

Nevertheless, black people have a choice. They can elect abject morons who pay them $5 for their vote, or they can intelligent leadership.

That's always been their choice, and I support that choice.

I also think they've chosen poorly.; 4/1/10, 10:19 AM
pst314 said...: The congressman is suffering from dementia caused by Hepatitis C.; 4/1/10, 10:22 AM
Anonymous said...: "The congressman is suffering from dementia caused by Hepatitis C."

No, the congressman is suffering from dementia caused by too many years in Washington D.C.

Fortunately, there's a cure.; 4/1/10, 10:25 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: In all fairness- God, this is difficult- Johnson suffers from hepatitis C, which causes mental confusion.

Johnson is not fit to hold office. He is living proof that we need term limits and a method to resign office holders for handicaps affecting their decision making.

Here are some other Johnson gems:

“Future missions to the moon will cause Earth's satellite to "go all crazy and spin out of orbit"

Drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge will mean "heavy drilling equipment will cause the poles to shift and Kansas City will end up as the new North Pole"

Excessive use of the office microwave will cause "the oxygen in the oven to interact with the atmosphere, making it overheat and burn away."; 4/1/10, 10:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Nasty stuff, that Hepatitis C. This poor guy's so confused he thinks he's Dennis Kucinich.; 4/1/10, 10:28 AM
William said...: He asks how narrow Guam is at its "least widest point". We should start paying more attention to this man. Goldwyn has passed away and Yogi Berra is getting old.; 4/1/10, 10:30 AM
kimsch said...: I'm a Republican, but I actually worked to elect Hank Johnson in 2006 because I live in the district and wanted Cynthia McKinney out.

Is there something in the district?

wv: elynco; 4/1/10, 10:31 AM
bagoh20 said...: Hepatitis C does not cause dementia until it has seriously destroyed your liver to the point that you are near death. The antiviral medications used to fight it can cause some minor mood problems, but the stupidity here is not that. I don't know what else he's taking but, Hep C and it's treatments don't do that.; 4/1/10, 10:34 AM
bagoh20 said...: "Is there something in the district?"

Voters; 4/1/10, 10:35 AM
David said...: I watched. He did mean it literally. No doubt.

He may not be an idiot. He has some sort of disease that can impair mental function. Hard to know.

The Admiral's response ("We don't anticipate that.") shows that he has long experience in answering stupid questions with a straight face.

I am going to follow the Admiral's lead and not make fun of the man.; 4/1/10, 10:44 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Guam is actually more jungle, cycads, and sword grass than houses and cities. The population is mostly clustered along the coast and in villages. And while the population may not enjoy the Feds condemning land, but they love the Feds spending money there.; 4/1/10, 10:46 AM
Anonymous said...: "Johnson is not fit to hold office. He is living proof that we need term limits ..."

We don't require term limits to remove demented officeholders from their offices.

We already have laws that allow us to remove Congressmen who are suffering from actual dementia and get them the help they need.

The Congressmen is either demented, in which case he needs to be committed to a mental institution, or he's not.

Which is it?

I personally believe that an involuntary commitment would ensure that this Congressman gets the much needed medical attention he requires.; 4/1/10, 10:47 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: He may not be an idiot. He has some sort of disease that can impair mental function. Hard to know.

Well assuming its one or the other, I would prefer someone who is not an idiot or unable to function mentally voting on legislation that directly effects my life.

I think that is a reasonable expectation.; 4/1/10, 10:50 AM
Unknown said...: If you believe he is being figurative, you are the idiot.; 4/1/10, 10:51 AM
rhhardin said...: Addressing Adm. Robert Willard, who commands the Navy's Pacific Fleet, Johnson made a tippy motion with his hands and said sternly, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."

The sentence is a Tom Swifty.; 4/1/10, 10:53 AM
Fen said...: The congressman is suffering from dementia caused by Hepatitis C."

Why hasn't he been impeached then? He's not mentaly fit to serve.

Oh my bad. He's black. We have different standards for them.; 4/1/10, 10:55 AM
Fred4Pres said...: The goal is to relocate the Marines from Okinawa to a base accessable to Asia. Guam is the likely best bet. Guam does have a non voting Congressional delegate to Congress who could ask these questions better.

Guam's population is about 175,000. The area of the island is about 200 square miles. The population is about

People from Guam are mostly U.S. Citzens (there is an expatriate community from Asia). The population is about 40% Chammoro, 25% Philipino, 10% Caucasian and African Mainland American, and the balance other Pacific Islanders, Japanese, and other Asians and nationalities.; 4/1/10, 10:56 AM
David said...: "We already have laws that allow us to remove Congressmen who are suffering from actual dementia and get them the help they need."

What? Impeachment? That's the only way I know a Congresscritter can be removed without an election.; 4/1/10, 10:56 AM
AllenS said...: He replaced Cynthia McKinney. Her father, Georgia state legislator Billy McKinney, who said: "Jews have bought everybody. Jews." In case the reporter didn't understand, he spelled the word: "J-E-W-S."

They represent their constituents well.; 4/1/10, 10:57 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: "The real problem with Guam is the number of helium balloons on the island. It's a small island and might float away if we allow too many helium balloons."

Duh!! Who's the idiot here!! You just add or subtract balloons based on the changes in population!! It's not freakin' rocket science!!; 4/1/10, 10:59 AM
Fen said...: The goal is to relocate the Marines from Okinawa to a base accessable to Asia. Guam is the likely best bet

I dont know why we bother. One of China's requirements to continue servicing our debt will be to give up our "imperialist" holdings in "their" sphere of influence. Its BS but it will be used to justify the forceful takeover of the pacific rim.

Maybe the UN will intervene with a resolution or something.; 4/1/10, 11:00 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: In all fairness- God, this is difficult- Johnson suffers from hepatitis C, which causes mental confusion.

There is a big difference between being mentally confused and being terminally STUPID.

People need to quit making excuses for these incompetent nincompoops in government.; 4/1/10, 11:00 AM
Turtledove said...: And they tell us the Tea Party people are stupid and we should let government decide what's good for us.; 4/1/10, 11:01 AM
Robert said...: Hepatic encephalopathy. Adverse medication effects. Exhaustion.

Or combinations thereof.

As much as I would like to take advantage of this for partisan purposes, here I believe it's unfair.

Of course, by that token he shouldn't be representing his district anymore, either.; 4/1/10, 11:04 AM
Unknown said...: The Admiral should have said, "We're fairly sanguine about this, Congressman. When we invaded Guam in 1944, we sent 2 1/2 divisions against a Japanese division. They landed on the same side of the island and nothing happened".

Oy!! We not only let the people who put this guy to office vote, they're allowed to drive and operate heavy machinery, too.; 4/1/10, 11:04 AM
Sofa King said...: Is Guam one of the 57 states?; 4/1/10, 11:06 AM
AllenS said...: After 7 states capsized, we're down to 50.; 4/1/10, 11:09 AM
David said...: Fen said...
The congressman is suffering from dementia caused by Hepatitis C."

Why hasn't he been impeached then? He's not mentaly fit to serve.

Oh my bad. He's black. We have different standards for them.

Fen, you ignorant bigot. Impeachment is a legal procedure that requires proof of a crime. Dementia is not a crime. There is also an unresolved question as to whether Congressmen are "officials of the United States" and thus even subject to impeachment under the law.

I do not believe a member of Congress has ever been impeached. I am quite sure that none has ever been convicted.

Meanwhile there are scores of examples every year of Congressmen using Congressional privilege to avoid minor crimes.

Congress can set the qualifications of its members. Doubtful whether they could use this to oust someone already seated.

Main point is that race has nothing to do with it. White, Black or "Other" they protect their own.; 4/1/10, 11:15 AM
AllenS said...: Sorry, David, but I gotta agree with Fen.; 4/1/10, 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: "As much as I would like to take advantage of this for partisan purposes, here I believe it's unfair.

Of course, by that token he shouldn't be representing his district anymore, either."

This isn't a partisan issue. It's about two things:

1) This Congressman is a sick, sick man. He needs the sort of mental health care that can only be provided by removing him from the Congress and committing him involuntarily to an institution that can provide him with the medical care he provides.

2) This Congressman is demented. Therefore, he is not fit for office and the proper method for removing him from office is for his constituents to recall him and elect a replacement.

Nothing partisan about this at all. He's demented. Commit him, involuntarily if necessary, and replace him.; 4/1/10, 11:16 AM
Pastafarian said...: OK, I hate to be the only one in these comments defending a Democrat, who's almost certainly an idiot, but: I don't think that this particular clip is evidence of his stupidity.

He must have been speaking figuratively here. It's not possible that he's THAT stupid.

Is he an idiot who's unfit for office? Yes. He voted for health care "reform". But it's not possible that he's so unbelievably stupid as to believe that islands float (unless we're talking about continental drift and the fluid motion of the rock beneath them, and even then, they don't actually "float") and can capsize.

I need more proof. And if he is that stupid, then despite the fact that I really feel sorry for him, we need to find some not-to-humiliating way to remove the poor moron from office and have him institutionalized.; 4/1/10, 11:18 AM
Fred4Pres said...: We better be careful or John Locke will turn that wheel and the island will move to a new undisclosed location.

Oh wait, that is not Guam?; 4/1/10, 11:22 AM
Pastafarian said...: Just because he makes a dramatic "tilty" gesture with his hands when he's talking about the island capsizing -- I don't see how that gesture makes it clear that he's being literal.; 4/1/10, 11:25 AM
Pastafarian said...: And this is April 1; and his tilty gesture obscures his mouth when he delivers the key line.

Does anyone know for sure that he actually uttered these words?

But let's assume that he did. Even if he did actually say this, again, his hands obscure his face a little bit, and I can't tell if there's a little bit of a wry smile there when he says it.

The General has just the most fleeting smile just before delivering his perfect, even response; it's possible that the General doesn't know whether this guy is serious or not, and can't take the chance that he's not and expose the man's stupidity, so he answers the only way that he can, in a way that covers both possibilities well.

You have to admire that general's performance.; 4/1/10, 11:33 AM
Rialby said...: Remember how close the vote for reconciliation on the healthcare bill was. This man - who probably did not read the bill - was a critical part of a unilateral effort by Obama and the Democrats to transform the way that the health insurance industry works in the United States.; 4/1/10, 11:35 AM
Fen said...: Libtard: Impeachment is a legal procedure that requires proof of a crime.

Wrong. Educate yourself:

http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Aug/1/130987.html

you ignorant bigot

Blacks are held to lower standards. By bigots who think they are inferior. Nothing bigoted about pointing that out.; 4/1/10, 11:36 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: You have to admire that general's performance.

I think he was an Admiral.; 4/1/10, 11:39 AM
Fen said...: /more

Holders of public office should not be impeached for conduct (even criminal conduct) that is essentially private. That is why scholars and other disinterested observers have consistently framed the test of impeachable offenses in terms of some fundamental attack on our system of government, describing impeachment as being reserved for:

"offenses against the government";38
"political crimes against the state";39
"serious assaults on the integrity of the processes of government";40
"such crimes as would so stain a president as to make his continuance in office dangerous to public order";41
"wrongdoing convincingly established [and] so egregious that [the President's] continuation in office is intolerable";42
"malfeasance or abuse of office,"43 bearing a "functional relationship" to public office;44
"great offense[s] against the federal government";45
"acts which, like treason and bribery, undermine the integrity of government."46

http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/html/clinton10-2b.html; 4/1/10, 11:43 AM
Fen said...: Ignorant David: Fen, you ignorant bigot. Impeachment is a legal procedure that requires proof of a crime

In short, you don't have the first clue what you're talking about.; 4/1/10, 11:45 AM
John Richardson said...: You have to give Admiral Willard a lot of credit for keeping a straight face and not laughing out loud when asked that question. That takes some kind of training!; 4/1/10, 11:52 AM
lemondog said...: That guy is a moron. The real problem with Guam is the number of helium balloons on the island. It's a small island and might float away if we allow too many helium balloons.

Sheeeeesh........you all so quick to judge, ignorant dopes!

It is a well known fact that Guam is precariously situated upon the shell of a very large turtle and tipping constitutes a genuine hazard.; 4/1/10, 11:52 AM
jeff said...: Pastafarian- I watched the clip a few times since I had a hard time believing he would think that also. But it seems clear that is exactly what he was saying, especially in light of some of the other boneheaded things he has said in the past.; 4/1/10, 11:56 AM
Rialby said...: Turtles all the way down...; 4/1/10, 11:57 AM
Pastafarian said...: Hoosier -- oops, my bad, you're right, he's an admiral.

Jeff -- you mean to say that the list given in Peter Bella's comment wasn't just a joke?

I stand corrected. This guy's a full-blown moron. I can't believe that anyone could be this stupid, and still manage to tie his shoes and tie, let alone manage to get elected to the House of Representatives.

But at least he didn't misspell a word on a sign, or put an apostrophe in the wrong place.; 4/1/10, 12:11 PM
Anonymous said...: Whether Johnson is sick (which I don't believe) or stupid (which I do believe), he should be tormented to the same extent that the Democrats mocked George Bush for his unique turns of phrase. Johnson's inability to apply the N-word, NARROW, to describe the shape of Guam (as was noted by William in his earlier comment) is enough to convince me of Johnson's utter stupidity.; 4/1/10, 12:25 PM
Diane Wilson said...: At its least widest point, at the northern end of the island, the land actually does form a point. At unusually low tides, the point is revealed to be hollow, and as the tide rushes in, you can hear the island snap shut.

Actually, at its narrowest point (halfway down the length of the island) you can drive the highway that runs the mountain ridge and see the ocean on both sides of the island. But after living there a while, it begins to seem like a big place, especially when you consider that the next largest land mass is 1500 miles away (Japan, or the Philippines).

wv: hodiess, what people wear on Guam when the temperature drops below 70F; 4/1/10, 12:29 PM
Fen said...: Well, I'd rather have three of him in place of one Cynthia McKinney.

What a sad state our country is in.; 4/1/10, 12:38 PM
bagoh20 said...: "After 7 states capsized, we're down to 50."

Thanks, Allen, This keyboard was brand new. I'm drinking coffee from a baby bottle from now on. Damn you!; 4/1/10, 12:49 PM
Turtledove said...: "After 7 states capsized, we're down to 50."

I hope they were all blue states.; 4/1/10, 12:55 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Okay, Allah says he is suffering from a medical condition.

So why be an active congressman if you are mentally unfit? They take away your driver's license for that.; 4/1/10, 1:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Is there any possibility this could be an April Fool's joke? I can't imagine a politician deliberately setting himself up to look like an idiot, but you never know.; 4/1/10, 1:08 PM
DADvocate said...: If everybody jumped up and down at the same time would the earth wobble?

In pre-Internet days some scientist theorized that if every person in China stood on top of three foot high platforms and jumped off simultaneously that it would create a devastating earthquake. Another scientiist counter proposed that is everyone in the U.S. drove in the same direction at 55 mph and simultaneous slammed on their brakes not only would it cause a devastating earthquake but the force could be aimed.

Moral: We need to be careful out there!!; 4/1/10, 1:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Althouse --

"You chose a fresh metaphor, and your listeners couldn't handle the task of digesting it."

Since you chose that tact: Remember, it is the task of the writer/speaker to be clear, not the task of the audience to 'digest' and interpret 'correctly'. He failed.; 4/1/10, 1:18 PM
Dad Bones said...: I'm trying to decide if I'd want him kicked out of office if I knew in advance Cynthia McKinney would get her seat back.; 4/1/10, 1:37 PM
Der Hahn said...: peter hoh said...
Somehow, I think this would be a bigger deal if it were Obama instead of McCain claiming that there had been no American service people killed or wounded in Iraq over the past three months.

4/1/10 9:35 AM

If you relied on MSM reports of casualities in Iraq would you reach a different conclusion? To be clear, can you point me to specific reports of KIA/WIA figures in Iraq from NYT/CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS?; 4/1/10, 1:51 PM
Cedarford said...: Hoosier Daddy - "Watching the video I was thinking he either just woke up, was on painkillers or was drunk."

Or a very, very dumb black man somehow elected to Congress by the local gerrymandered 80% black, Democrat tribal vote. He replaced Cynthia McKinney, after all.
To be fair, whites have occasionally put an amazingly stupid, drug-addled person in Congress. Look at the case of Rhode Island and Patrick Kennedy.

----------------------
" AllenS said...
He replaced Cynthia McKinney. Her father, Georgia state legislator Billy McKinney, who said: "Jews have bought everybody. Jews." In case the reporter didn't understand, he spelled the word: "J-E-W-S."
They represent their constituents well."

The fun didn't end there. After denouncing Rev McKinney for bringing up the Jews role in his daughter's defeat, AIPAC proudly took credit for putting all the money and IOU chits they had in defeating McKinney. As a lesson to any politician that denounces Israel as strongly as Ms. McKinney did.

Questioned if that sort of proved what Rev McKinney claimed, the AIPAC rep said that both father and daughter were anti-semetic and that is why voters turned her out of office. And the money and politicians they trotted in to support Denise Majette and bring in crossover Republican and independent voters (the churches of Christian Zionists bused their member in in drives) alowed in the Dem Primary "only raised awareness in local voters of the unacceptability of McKinneys "hateful thoughts" and her "crossing God's Israel". (biblical candy to the white CHristian Zionists); 4/1/10, 1:53 PM
AllenS said...: He said this last Thursday. I don't think he's smart enough to crack a joke.; 4/1/10, 1:54 PM
AllenS said...: Cedarford, I read that, but didn't include it in my comment.; 4/1/10, 1:56 PM
Joaquin said...: I fear for Manhattan. It might just roll over and land on Queens!; 4/1/10, 2:15 PM
lemondog said...: We often don't seem to appreciate the caliber of our best. Only that level of man could control himself under those conditions and remain respectful. I know I couldn't.

Very well said.

Credentials

As the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, he is responsible for the world’s largest fleet command, encompassing 100 million square miles and more than 170 ships and submarines, 1,300 aircraft, and 122,000 Sailors, Reservists and civilians.; 4/1/10, 2:40 PM
AllenS said...: Hank Johnson is a lawyer. How would you like him to represent you in a court of law?; 4/1/10, 2:58 PM
John Stodder said...: Since you chose that tact: Remember, it is...

The word is tack, not tact. It's a metaphor from sailing, meaning a direction. Tact, of course, refers to the ability to know what to say in delicate situations.

This bothers me almost as much as "mute point" for "moot point."

Anyway, I think the whole problem with Rep. Johnson is that he watches "Lost" and thinks its based on a true story. I really don't get "Lost" or enjoy it, but I know they made an island disappear in one episode by turning a rusty wheel.; 4/1/10, 3:16 PM
Revenant said...: Watching the video I was thinking he either just woke up, was on painkillers or was drunk.

Yeah, he struck me as being pretty hammered, too. That video is painful to watch!; 4/1/10, 3:31 PM
Revenant said...: I'm trying to decide if I'd want him kicked out of office if I knew in advance Cynthia McKinney would get her seat back.

You really have to wonder about that Congressional district.; 4/1/10, 3:33 PM
traditionalguy said...: A little inside baseball for non-Atlantans: Ga's 4th district has a liberal history from the faculty of Emory University and the nearby Carter Presidential Library/Center. Surprisingly, given the Mckinney's attitude to Jews, it is also includes a high percentage of Jewish residents in neighborhoods around the N. Highland Ave. area and Briarcliff Road. It has nearly zero conservatives, and is a net welfare recipient District. It is one of the two majority black Georgia Districts required by the Voting Rights Law. If the black candidate can appear nice in public, then he gets the liberal vote. The blacks being all the votes that count have in turn split into two factions being one that treats the Jews as equals for their vote and the other that is openly at war with the blacks friendly to Jews. Emory has a great Medical School and a Law School rated 19 or 20 in the national law school rankings. It was Methodist founded and richly endowed by Robert Woodruff and subsequent CocaCola billionaires. It still has a good tradition from the Methodist Church, not that they like to admit it. Emory lies in the center of this district, which is located 20 miles East of Downtown Atlanta in Dekalb County. I spent eight years there as a student.; 4/1/10, 4:51 PM
Rialby said...: Ok, enough of this conversation.

BHO told us to shut up again. So shut up.; 4/1/10, 5:06 PM
MochaLite said...: ricpic said...
If everybody jumped up and down at the same time would the earth wobble? This has always worried me.

Me too!! Or, if we're on the top of the globe, why don't, like, the people in Australia fall off?? I think I'll call Mr. Johnson and ask him.; 4/1/10, 5:21 PM
Anga2010 said...: Bad advice.
Saying, "Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was too stupid to understand my obvious word play." is insulting to every active serviceman and veteran.

Better advice.
Say, "I meant that the island's environment would reach a negative 'tipping point' with the addition of so many marines and their families and that capsize was a malapropism of 'cat sized' which everyone knows is too small."

My father was stationed on Guam in 1955 and my mother reports that were the island to capsize, it would return to complete jungle in 15 weeks.; 4/1/10, 7:10 PM
g2loq said...: NeoNeoCon has the scoop:
http://neoneocon.com/2010/04/01/in-defense-of-hank-johnson/#comments

By now you may have heard of a recent episode involving Congressman Hank Johnson, who represents the Fourth District of Georgia in the House, one of the most Democratic Congressional districts in the US.

Johnson has received a certain amount of ridicule for expressing his concern about what one might call the geographic stability of Guam.

However, I would like to offer a spirited defense of the unjustly-maligned Representative Johnson. First of all, although this is a little-known fact, he and Admiral Willard, the man he is questioning in the video, are old friends. They met in 1986 on the set of the film “Top Gun.” Willard was a consultant and actor in the film (you can look it up), but the telegenic Johnson also played a bit role in the film as one of the other pilots.

Willard and Johnson struck up an acquaintance on the set, finding that they shared a remarkable gift for deadpan humor. They developed a number of routines that had the other “Top Gun” actors and extras in stitches, and were both known for keeping a straight face throughout the silliest exchanges, a skill that served them remarkably well during their recent encounter in Congress...; 4/1/10, 8:22 PM
From Inwood said...: AllenS said...

He replaced Cynthia McKinney. Her father, Georgia state legislator Billy McKinney, who said: "Jews have bought everybody. Jews." In case the reporter didn't understand, he spelled the word: "J-E-W-S."

That's because some, like C4, spell it "neo cons".; 4/1/10, 8:33 PM
Nomadic100 said...: Hepatitis C has nothing to do with his performance unless he is close to death. If he does have hepatic impairment as a result of that disease, he could become easily symptomatic from a variety of drugs or alcohol. The Congressman has said that he has "No idea!" how he might have contracted HepC. I believed he is telling the truth.; 4/1/10, 8:35 PM
From Inwood said...: MaggotAtBroad&Wall

See

The Day They Almost Sawed Off Manhattan (a hoax of a hoax)

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refmanhattan.html

It was reported that Manhattan Island was in the early 1800s "much too heavy on the Battery end because of all the heavy construction that had gone on in recent years. The weight of all these buildings at one end was causing it to tip and eventually would break off into the sea! the saw the island off at the Northern end [then marble Hill, just north of Inwood] at the Kingsbridge, and tow it past both Governor's and Ellis Island and out to sea. There Manhattan would be turned around and brought back into the mainland and reattached. Now the heavy end would be the one attached to the mainland and the opposite end, which had fewer heavy buildings, would be on the free end. Zoning laws could be passed to prevent construction of buildings on this end. Problem solved!"

People (my two grandmas, for instance) were still quoting that story as history while I was growing up.

I'd forgotten it & your post recalled it to my mind. Have sent it to some ex-Inwoodites.

Good to see this again on April Fools day.; 4/1/10, 8:46 PM