From the “you just can’t make this stuff up department“, something so outrageously stupid, you wonder how the Navy Admiral being interviewed by congressman Hank Johnson (D) GA kept himself from busting out laughing.
It should be an April fools joke, but isn’t. Watch the video below.
h/t to Bruce F.
The guy is clearly extremely ill. I’m therefore not too comfortable with him being a congressman, or with us laughing at him.
That was truly scary, especially considering the position of power he holds. I would suspect hepatic encephalopathy as the most likely cause of his absurd statements. While Hank Johnson does gesture a lot with both hands, there are times when he stops moving the hands. At those times he appears to have asterixis (sudden loss of tone in muscles resulting in a flapping motion (liver flap). Every patient I’ve seen with asterixis has had significant cognitive impairment. Any person in a professional capacity with hepatic encephalopathy of that degree would not be allowed to work. The differential diagnosis for his condition involves other neurologic disorders and intoxication with alcohol or drugs. It may also be that he has asterixis-like mannerisms and the only way to sort this out would be to perform a physical examination.
Perhaps the reason that Hank Johnson is still in Washington is the hundreds of millions of dollars he has diverted to his district and his early support of Barack Obama (both statements taken from his web site). Presumably as long as he has sufficient neurologic function to vote “correctly” minor details like cognitive impairment can be overlooked. Unfortunately there are no competency tests required to be a member of congress.
If islands don’t float how do you explained continental drift?
@Walnut: “That is all well and good, but do we deserve to have this idiot (clinically speaking) making decisions for us?”
Certainly not. He should be home with his family. But maybe we should stop ridiculing a person who is suffering from a severe medical condition and clearly has trouble finding the right words (“smallest location”) and gets his ideas all mixed up (floating peat islands in Georgia’s Okefenokee swamp?). Just imagine this happened to you…
I admire that admiral for his self-restraint. Maybe that’s how we should treat the AGW belivers. Trace gas controlling the climate? Glaciers melting by 2035? – We don’t anticipate that!
“why is he still sitting in a lawmaker’s seat?”
He explained it himself in the above-linked article:
“There are literally millions of people walking around with this virus who do not even know they have it,” Johnson said. “And once they do know they have it, the stigma of getting treated is there.
“I’m going to be a public figure who takes the stigma away from having the virus,” he said. ”
So you see, he’s just a public figure with a hepatitis. Nothing else should apparently be expected from him.
He was not kidding.
I am in Hank Johnson’s district and met him once at a neighbors house 4 years ago when he was challenging (and beating) the incumbent in the primary. I asked him a question and I was shocked at his lack of intelligence. At the time there was a proposal to give each student a $3,000 voucher if they attended private school. He was opposed to it because it would “hurt” the schools. I asked him how since we spend about $8,000 per student it would hurt the schools by giving them an extra $5,000 to spend on the remaining students for each one that would opt out of the system. Then he brought up how the War on Iraq was hurting the schools. I thanked him, wrote a check for $100 and voted for him in the primary. If you don’t know why I gave him money I have two words for you “Cynthia McKinney”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_McKinney
I voted against him in the general elections in 2006 and 2008 writing in an opponent each time.
“Representatives” represent. There is a direct coorelation between the quality of representation, intelligence of the representative, integrity of the representative, and the quality, intelligence, and integrity of 51% (or more) of the represented who actually brave the elements (in this life or the next;-) and VOTE as often as they can.
People are “dumber” today than ever before in Human History. As with everything else, this is not entirely true. People are less educated, in general terms of the definition of the word “educated” AND much more distracted. Perhaps it is kinder to say people are more absent minded, or less attuned to their surroundings or have no idea that freedom isn’t free. Remember, too, most people -alive or dead- don’t VOTE. They’re much too distracted.
Location has nothing to do with it. Georgia “4” people are just as smart as folks anywhere else. Indeed, some might offer a great argument in debate that they are generally smarter than their counterparts in many other districts. Johnson maybe a flake but there are those what ARE Bigger Flakes walking the Halls of the United States Congress.
(From what I’ve seen and heard, stupidity is a Global Anthroprogenic Civilization Changing Genetic Problem we must all contend with. Perhaps after the planet cools off a little we’ll get better. Y’think?)
Sean Ogilvie,
are you saying that you had to vote for Hank in order to prevent McKinney from getting elected?
I was watching this while eating my morning bowl of Cheerios and when the man started explaining about the island tipping over and capsizing my body became paralyzed with fear, self-doubt, and confusion. A stream of milk and Cheerios began to dribble down my chin as my mouth fell open and my brain went into “zombie mode” as a sort of mental self-defense mechanism.
It was unpleasant. I think this episode might be one of those things that I would ideally like to be kept ignorant about for the sake of my own mental health, my well being, and my breakfast.
If this idiot is so concerned bout the island tipping over, why isn’t he more concerned about the Earth tipping over due to large population growth? LOL
Next IPCC report. AGW will cause Guam to tip over and capsize into the ocean.
Smokey (18:04:57) :
Too funny! You made my morning!
As for the video: Too sad!
RWS (15:20:49) :
Neo-neocon has an explanation, it is supposed to be an inside joke.
When you read her text, it is pretty funny.
http://neoneocon.com/
Oops. In response to RWS (15:20:49)
I have to believe you’re right about this being an inside joke. No one could be this ignorant.
On the other hand, this sounds about as intelligent as some of the assertions made by the environmentalists about the effects of global warming…
It’s made the political catoons now:
http://blogs.ajc.com/mike-luckovich/?cxntlid=sldr
No one can be this dumb. There must be something wrong mentally with him. It may be Alzheimers, or something of along those lines. Since he is a Democrat I think the Democrats are keeping him in office so they have his vote. But he should be getting care somewhere.
Maybe he will vote ‘Yea’ when he should have voted ‘Nay’ (or vice-versa) some day and mess things up for the Democrats.
Sean Ogilvie (04:59:43) :
Sean, you’ve got to be kidding me—he really is this dumb?
An almost surreal display of inarticulate ineptitude.
Is the Congressman on drugs?
He needs to be hospitalised as a matter of urgency.
-goodhealth
I don’t disagree. However the simple fact that “we” elected this man in the first place is very disturbing. I am not sure that democracy can continue once the IQ of the electorate drops below some crucial threshold. His district in Georgia is apparently already lost.
RWS (15:20:49) :
Neo-neocon has an explanation, it is supposed to be an inside joke.
When you read her text, it is pretty funny.
http://neoneocon.com/
********************************************************
RWS,
Thanks for the link! That is a really great site and I have marked it as one of my “favorites”. I’ve been there and done that and she writes about it much better than I could.
Also my apologies to Hank Johnson. It was all a joke between two friends.
But….the best humor has a grain of truth to it. And, you have to admit that listening to some of our Congresspeople, you have to question their education. And their sanity.
http://neoneocon.com/2010/04/01/heres-another-of-our-fabulous-representatives/
Regards,
Steamboat Jack
I briefed then VADM WIllard in 2004 when he was COMSEVENTHFLT. He gleefully flamesprayed me over the course of an hour because he didn’t like what he was hearing, or perhaps he just didn’t like me — he never said exactly. He is not known in the fleet for restraint, and holding his tongue during this hearing must have been agony for him.
The sad thing is that he is not the exception. This is the level of intelligence of many members of congress.
Bernie (12:22:32) :
“He is a complete idiot. He may be a drunken idiot or a stoned idiot, but without a doubt he is an idiot. The good people of Georgia surely have sufficient grounds to ask that he resign so that they can be represented by someone of at least average intelligence.”
His constituents in Georgia will probably re-elect him. The reason we get morons in government is because the people are morons. This is why America is doomed.
When a representative or a senator or a president is sworn in he must take an oath to uphold the constitution. But once they are in office they forget all about that and do whatever they feel like. The people tolerate that because they are totally ignorant of the constitution. If you don’t believe that try this simple quiz:
How wany articles are in the constitution?
What do any of those articles deal with?
How many amendments are there?
What do any of the amendments deal with?
What does the preamble say?
If you didn’t get many right don’t feel too bad. Most people would score near zero. You might ask well why is the constitution so important? Answers:
It defines our government
It is the supreme law of the land
It protects all of our rights
It limits the power of the federal government to keep it from becoming oppressive.
If we lose the constitution America could become as horrible a tyranny as any that ever existed. And we are in grave danger of losing it.
“A staunch supporter of public education”
And a grand example of public education he is.
I knew it was just a matter of time–a congressperson who makes Barbara Boxer look half-way intelligent.