Twits Using Twitter

Before I start, I recognize that since I am not really doing daily blogging, and I'm not focusing on things that happen on the day of my post, that much of what I say is probably going to be considered "old news". That being said, I don't care. Rant, ho!

Last Tuesday, President Obama addressed a join session of Congress. The purpose was to address particular issues, talk about plans to fix them, and how Obama plans to move forward in his Presidency. I am not ashamed to admit that I did not watch his speech. It was largely focused on the economy, and I honestly have no idea how one would fix this situation, so I cannot really weigh in on his plans. All I can say is that I think if bailout money is given that the spending of said money needs to be strictly and unequivocally monitored. No exceptions. Anyway, I didn't watch it, but I don't feel bad about that partially because I am not a member of Congress, nor do I hold any position that requires me to understand the ins and outs of how these things work. Those are things that I expect from, say, my Congresspeople. And that is why I would expect them to be sitting there with their best listening faces on, being as attentive as can be.

Apparently, I thought more highly of our Congresspeople than I should. Numerous members of Congress sat with their heads down, looking at their mobile devices. Fair enough if that happens a few times, especially for important emails. I would NEVER expect to see members of Congress, people that the citizens elected to help run our country, fucking TWITTERING during Obama's speech (and yes, I am well aware of the fact that they call it "tweeting", but I say fuck them, because that is almost as dumb as the word "twitter", but not quite). Apparently Twitter has taken over Congress, as there is even an entire Twitter site dedicated to hosting the twitterings of our Congresspeople.

Let me first address the idea of Congresspeople (and also news anchors) using Twitter. My first response is simply this: Why? Seriously, why are you doing this? What could possibly be accomplished by using Twitter? I thought that Twitter was mostly for self-absorbed teenagers who honestly thought that people needed to know every single thing they did on any given day. But haven't the bases been covered for news shows with forums and blogs? Did they really need to put themselves on Twitter? Are people that desperate for immediate attention? And Congresspeople; what the hell are you doing that requires Twitter? I don't want you to be preoccupied with juvenile antics like this. I want you to do your goddamn jobs. Yeah, it's nice to know that you're doing things like going to a lunch to discuss economic issues, but that's hardly news. You're expected to do these things. You are a member of Congress, for Christ's sake! I'm not going to feel more secure about your activities just because you're telling me you're en route to a meeting. Couldn't you be using that time to call someone important? Email someone? Talk to your family members? This isn't transparency; it's idiocy. It makes you all look foolish. Senator Thomas Allen Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, is twittering links to "Pleasure Beach Pics", which sounds more scandalous than it should. So this is what you are doing during the workday, Coburn? Dreaming about beaches? Thanks for sharing that with me. It was really necessary and helps build confidence in you as a Senator. Good work. You should take the rest of the day off.

Now, back to where this rant started: President Obama's speech. I can't imagine having the balls to even glance at my blackberry while sitting as a member of Congress while being addressed by the President, let alone responding. I'm sure that if I were in that position, it wouldn't seem like as big of a deal. But that is a far cry from twittering throughout the entire damn speech. Who raised you people? How fucking rude can you be? And for WHAT PURPOSE?! Allow me to enlighten you all as to some of what was SO IMPORTANT for all of the citizens at home to read from their Congresspeople during Obama's speech:

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

"Capt Sully is here -- awesome!"
-Rep. John Culberson (R-Tex.)

"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."
-Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) (with a message appearing soon after saying "Disregard that last Tweet from a staffer," which brings up OTHER problems)

Those were quotes pulled from that Twitter site that were featured in a Washington Post article. The article also shows how few people were actively following a number of twittering Congresspeople at about 9:50 PM--looking at three member of Congress a-twitter, less than 50 people were following, combined. It also frightens me to think that some of our Congresspeople do not have sole control of their accounts on Twitter, and that a staff member could easily write whatever insulting message he/she wishes from the voice of a Senator or Representative. I'm sorry, but if that happens to you, then it is still your goddamn fault. I don't care if you didn't type the words yourself; your staff should NEVER be able to do something like that. EVER.

So, why are they twittering? What's the point? The article mentions that some Congresspeople did a decent play-by-play of the points mentioned, but I would much prefer to read reactions from members of our Congress that were well thought-out AFTER all of the information has been laid for them, rather than reading their knee-jerk partisan reactions to hot-topic issues. But with the slew of comments that are no more insightful than a note passed during a 9th grade study hall period, one has to wonder if these people are really just totally bored by their jobs. None of this makes me feel better about our government. None of it makes me have faith in the people who are running the country. In fact, this, to me, marks the beginning of the end of days. When our leaders start acting like bored high school kids--especially while being addressed in an important speech about the future of our country, how certain issues are to be handled and policies are to be created-- constantly sending inane text messages, all I can do is expect the worst. We're in a goddamn crisis right now. Get your fucking heads in the right places and stop wasting ANY amount of time, no matter how small, on this juvenile system that you probably think will help your popularity with the youth of America. I am a part of that youth. I want you to set a fucking example, not just for me, but for all the kids in high school who will one day be in charge of things. It's stuff like this that makes me fear for the future.

Edit: And it just keeps getting worse. Twitter founder Evan Williams was asked to go to the White House for a meeting about the economy, while his site makes no money in the states (it sells some ads in Japan, apparently).