Flamingo’s Lake

When we were little kids my brother and I would blame each other for whatever dumb, destructive thing we got caught doing, such as accidentally breaking a rather valuable antique hurricane lamp my grandmother cherished.

Obviously, with two kids in front of her (and one broken lamp) she had a pretty good idea that there was a 100% probability that one of us was the culprit. There was a 50% chance only one of us was was involved. But, there was zero chance neither of us was responsible. We didn’t get spanked, but there was a corner available for both myself and my brother.

This memory pops up in my mind while reading Bob Geiger over at Huffington Post:

Bob Geiger: Frist Blames Democratic Minority for Do-Nothing Congress, Gets Spanked

[Frist] -”Too often my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have inhibited the fulfillment of our duty,” said Frist, after a stirring reading of the preamble of the Constitution. “They have relied on obstruction and thrown up roadblocks at every opportunity. They have let politics get in the way of sound policy and purpose. That is unacceptable.”

[Reid] -”This Republican Congress has wasted 20 months on horse slaughtering; the Schiavo case, dealing with someone’s personal relationship, which should not even have been before this body; gay marriage; the nuclear option; flag burning; repealing the estate tax,” said Reid. “But they could not find a day for some time to look at the President’s mistakes, missteps, and misconduct, which have hurt American security and plunged Iraq into a civil war — not a day.”

Using my mother’s logic, this “Do Nothing Congress,” is in the zone of zero probability. There is zero chance that the Democrats are alone responsible for the nothingness that is being accomplished.

To use the Congressional Record to prove your point is really quite valuable - I am surprised Frist didn’t see it coming. We do know that Republicans are aware of the Congressional Record. What is amazing, jaw dropping actually, is that plainly, the Senate at least, has had recent experience using the Congressional Record - and got caught messing with it - not in a good way:

Invisible Men
Did Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl mislead the Supreme Court?
By Emily Bazelon
Posted Monday, March 27, 2006, at 6:48 PM ET

…The problem is that Kyl and Graham’s colloquy didn’t actually happen on Dec. 21. It was inserted into the Congressional Record just before the law passed, which means that the colloquy did not alert other members of Congress to the views it contains. Inserting comments into the Record is standard practice in Congress. What’s utterly nonstandard is implying to the Supreme Court that testimony was live when it wasn’t…”

Senators Kyl and Graham’s Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Scam: The Deceptive Amicus Brief They Filed in the Guantanamo Detainee Case
By: John Dean
Wednesday, Jul. 05, 2006

…Those viewing C-Span’s coverage of the Senate, and the Senators on the floor of the Senate, never heard this part, or any of the rest of, this lengthy colloquy between Graham and Kyl. That’s because it never happened. No doubt aides of the Senators wrote this bogus and protracted dialogue, and either Graham or Kyl had it inserted in the record…”

Back to the lamp - I am quite certain it was my brother who was teasing and chasing me through the living room. I grabbed up a pillow from the couch and lobbed it at him - striking the lamp instead. I had to throw something, he was bigger than me.

Obviously, it was all my fault. I wish I had had a record of events to consult to show my mother.