C-SPAN or Twitter?

Yes, I have two Twitter accounts. One of the accounts is for personal use. The personal one is individuals and organizations I follow for a variety of reasons. An example is authors, writers, and columnists I admire and learn from.  Some are think tanks and other similar organizations that publish very thought provoking studies and analyses.  A number are individuals I find both interesting and humorous (@LordBuckethead).  And finally, I follow several news organizations and journals.  I have 215 followers and I follow 1,372 accounts. Consider it my news feed. I liken it to the old stock market or Western Union ticker tape machines (picture below). 

So after Attorney General Barr testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on July 28th I started reading various accounts. Unfortunately, I am not sure if all the tweeters saw the same hearing. At least I could not tell reading various and numerous tweets.  Was AG Barr frustrated or was he patient with the process?  Were many members asking four minute and 55 second questions and then expecting an answer (know each congressman was allowed five minutes to question AG Barr)?  Were some members asking really intelligent questions?  Were some members asking non-germane questions?  Were some members asking for a yes or no answer to a complex question?  Were some members asking questions to AG Barr and when dissatisfied with the response would say "the right answer is..."?  Were some members asking soft ball questions?  Were some members playing to the camera? Were some members simply made statements and asked a question, but would not let AG Barr answer.  Were some members disrespectful to AG Barr? Did some members ignore the committee rules?  Did we see lots of talking and no listening?

As I read the various and numerous tweets, I could not reach a conclusion about how the hearing went.  It was not so much as some members this or AG General that. Rather it was usually sweeping statements about the entire hearing. 

So what could I do?  C-SPAN to the rescue.  I decided to watch the entire five hour hearing and much to my surprise all the tweets were essentially correct if you zeroed in on one or a few snippets of the hearing. Almost each tweeter had ample snippets to support a somewhat one sided opinion.

If you are interested in government and policy, perhaps C-SPAN is the best vehicle for an unvarnished view of a Congressional hearing. No commentary, no opinions, only the committee members and the individuals testifying. 

My opinion?  I am glad I spent five hours watching the entire hearing.  It was informative, entertaining, and thought provoking.  And it was well worth the time.  You may notice I did not give a qualitative opinion.  And I will not.  I doubt any one is truly interested in my opinion. 

I realize most people do not have five hours to watch and hearing. Frankly, they can be somewhat boring.  So why waste time. In the long run, will it really make much of a difference?

But for me, I should do watch hearings more often.  Basically, I learned that I should watch an entire hearing if I am interested in the topic. From that I can determine my own opinion and conclusion based on the actual event.  At the very least, I can say "at least I watched the entire hearing".  

Finally, if you learn nothing from this, at least follow @LordBuckethead on Twitter.

Clip for the AG Barr hearing:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?473384-1/attorney-general-barr-testifies-justice-department-mission-programs&live&vod&start=9194

Next?  The technology hearing held on July 29th by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. 

Postscript I:  on a personal note, this is my 200th blog post. 

Postscript II:  ON C-SPAN now is NASA/Space X Return to Earth (it is very interesting)