Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Science & Technology

Txtng Rulerz!

Jesse Walker | 2.25.2009 3:05 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Dana Milbank mocks lawmakers for posting pensees to Twitter during Obama's speech last night:

"One doesn't want to sound snarky, but it is nice not to see Cheney up there," Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) announced as Obama entered the chamber.

"I did big wooohoo for Justice Ginsberg," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) broadcast, misspelling the name of the ailing Supreme Court justice. McCaskill could be seen applauding with BlackBerry in one hand.

"Capt Sully is here -- awesome!" announced Rep. John Culberson (R-Tex.), spotting the US Airways pilot in the gallery.

Then there was Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), in whose name this text message was sent at about the time the president spoke of the need to pull the country together: "Aggie basketball game is about to start on espn2 for those of you that aren't going to bother watching pelosi smirk for the next hour." A few minutes later, another message came through: "Disregard that last Tweet from a staffer."

Milbank thinks this makes Congress look like "a support group for adults with attention-deficit disorder." And I suppose that's true, but it does enrich the documentary record, doesn't it? How many historians have a real-time report on the aimless thoughts passing through a legislature's heads? Barton -- sorry, Barton's staffer -- just ensured his immortality.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: The Two Faces of Barack Obama

Jesse Walker is books editor at Reason and the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

Science & TechnologyWeb & Blogs
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (17)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Episiarch   17 years ago

    This could become a source of vast embarrassment for some politicians, which would be a source of vast entertainment for me.

  2. stubby   17 years ago

    I completely concur with Barton's staffer, although I never watch any Presidential speeches, no matter who the President is at the time.

    I just can't f***ing stand the sight of Nancy Pelosi.

  3. Warty   17 years ago

    I can't wait for the first Twitter sex scandal. "yng bois 4 a2m plz"

  4. Episiarch   17 years ago

    "u bring teh live bois i bring teh ded girlz"

  5. Joshua Holmes   17 years ago

    Obama's speech may be even more boring than college basketball. I didn't know that was possible.

  6. Xeones   17 years ago

    Barton should own up to that comment. I'd like to see more overt snark amongst our legislature.

  7. Elemenope   17 years ago

    "u bring teh live bois i bring teh ded girlz"

    ROFL.

    This could become a source of vast embarrassment for some politicians, which would be a source of vast entertainment for me.

    Bonus: No more professional historians bitching about how they would have insight if only they could glimpse what decision-makers were thinking at the time.

  8. R C Dean   17 years ago

    Barton should own up to that comment.

    I agree. It was a genuine constituent service.

  9. Stagman   17 years ago

    It cuts out the middleman in getting news. Of course a reporter would be against this.

  10. Elemenope   17 years ago

    I just realized that my second comment was entirely anticipated by Mr. Walker, and I was in essence dumbly repeating him. That's what I get for not reading the entire post before I post.

    [Sigh.]

  11. Russ 2000   17 years ago

    Milbank thinks this makes Congress look like "a support group for adults with attention-deficit disorder."

    He's just realizing this now?

  12. ed   17 years ago

    Aren't all these betrayals of confidence another reason not to "twitter" in the first place?

  13. Anonymouse   17 years ago

    If you're going to italicize pens?e, at least get the accent mark right.

  14. Jesse Walker   17 years ago

    I dont need no pansy punctuation

  15. alisa   17 years ago

    Ha. Kind of strips them of their gravitas, don't it?

    This is like when I first read the transcripts of Nixon conversations and realized that he swore like a particularly nasty frat boy. I suddenly realized, "Wow ... these people ... aren't serious."

  16. ed   17 years ago

    They also fart, and beneath their clothing, they're naked!

  17. plutosdad   17 years ago

    " can't wait for the first Twitter sex scandal"

    We already had it. Mark Foley. Another one of those "sex scandals" that did not actually involve sex.

    I remember when Clinton was President, once someone booed him during a state of the union speech - it was a freshman Republican congressman, and the scuttlebutt is afterwards the Republican House leadership took him aside and told him in no uncertain terms to never boo a President during the state of the union. Those were the days.

    Soon our decorum will be lowered so much we'll be just like the English Parliament "rabble rabble rabble!"

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley Are Borrowing Joe Biden's Playbook To Regulate AI

Jack Nicastro | 9.10.2025 3:30 PM

The Feds Own Half the Western U.S.—and Can't Take Care of It

John Stossel | 9.10.2025 12:55 PM

Pirate Porn Study Finds No Difference in Sexual Attitudes After Seeing X-Rated Video

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 9.10.2025 12:00 PM

States and Landowners Are Key to Recovering Rare Species. Stop Penalizing Them.

Shawn Regan | 9.10.2025 11:25 AM

Israeli Strike on U.S. Ally

Liz Wolfe | 9.10.2025 9:30 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300