Friday, April 2, 2010

Trying Too Hard

I have another teachable moment for you. This video clip is from Representative Hank Johnson talking about Guam tipping over. This is what could happen when you try too hard to be smart about everything. I'm sure Mr. Johnson knows a lot about many things but he should stay away from Geography. Please remember, if you are not sure what you are talking about don't say anything.

6 comments:

swiftone said...

If you watch it in a different light, it does change a bit. Here's a link to a post (on 4/1...) giving a different take.

Clifton said...

If her take is accurate then I commend them both for keeping a straight face.

Anonymous said...

I want to encourage you to dig a little deeper before accepting at face value the derision being heaped on Representative Johnson, fueled by this clip.

This information from an Atlanta newspaper suggests another interpretation of his gaffe than the derision being heaped on him from the right and the left:

"For months, speculation has swirled in both Atlanta and Washington about U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson's health.

The Lithonia Democrat's already-thin frame has shed 30 pounds in the past year. His speech is slower than ever, and he regularly gets lost in thought in the middle of a discussion. He is easily fatigued and often impatient and irritable.

Monday, he revealed why.

In an exclusive interview with the AJC, Johnson disclosed he has been battling hepatitis C, an incurable, blood-borne liver disease, for more than a decade.

He was officially declared free of the virus in January, but it has ravaged his liver, resulted in thyroid problems and other health issues, including depression, for which he's also being treated. To keep the disease in remission, Johnson is going through an experimental treatmen that he said has been the worst part so far.

I am weaker than I ever have been," Johnson, 55 said in his Capitol Hill office."

I have a close friend who had the experimental treatment referred to in the article and it is extraordinarily debilitating.

For a full year--no matter how quickly the virus disappeared she had to continue the devastating weekly chemo. I well believe the congressman was struggling with such fatigue that he could barely think or hold his head up.

If you have ever been around someone too sick to express themselves well, you probably recognize the struggle he is having. He is not stoned, stupid or even especially ignorant. And he made, or began to make, a very good point about overpopulation of islands and damage to coral reefs as well as to the island itself from increased pollution of such a small island. He might even have meant his phrase to be a metaphor for destruction he feared would happen to the island, but was unable to properly present the idea as the figure of speech he attempted. After all, there really are such things as floating islands, although they are smaller than Guam and some actually do have people (fishermen) on them.

Both he and his wife are attorneys. He has been successful in his profession and is genuinely dedicated to doing all the good he can.
I believe this hearing, which is important for Guam's future well-being in that it challenges a controversial decision of the military, occurred at a time when he was most debilitated. He cared a great deal about this issue and if that were not so, I believe Representative Johnson would not have attended.

Since he is virus-free, there is a good possibility he will be just fine after the treatment has ended. He has been an excellent congressman and I, for one, don't want to see him quit.

Clifton said...

I didn't take the clip that serious Anonymous.

Anonymous said...

Cliff, Anonymous, is me, Anita. My computer problems are not over, apparently, because I can't figure out how to comment here the way I always have. I apologize.

I wrote so much because this thing is all over the net today and I think he is being treated unfairly, which is something I would never accuse you of, by the way, I think you are very steady and careful.

Happy Easter to you and yours.

Clifton said...

Even steady and careful people overreact.