Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo says she believes Johnson was not posing a serious question, telling KUAM News, "He was saying that is jest. I don't know how it was said or when, but I know Congressman Johnson; he's been here. I'm sure it was just a joke."Assumptions, as a Marine Gunny once advised me, are not always good.
But here, judge for yourself. Joke or not? Begins about the 1:18 point.
When I was kid there, we used to run really fast back and forth across the island to get it rocking...
UPDATE: Newly released deep sea photo of Guam as seen from below:
Apparently Congressman Johnson saw this previously classified (WTS*) photo just before the hearing.
UPDATE2: The "official" version of Guam's geology here. The truth is out there.
UPDATE3: You can find a calculator for determining the resistance to capsizing here. You have to first know how much Guam weighs, though.
UPDATE4: Yes, I know he's not a well man. Perhaps he should take medical leave.
*WTS= Way Too Secret
At least for me when I saw the tape he seemed pretty damn serious about the threat of a TIC (Total Island Capsize).
ReplyDeleteIf it was a joke, he needs to work on his delivery because nobody there appears to have taken it for one.
I was embarrassed for the Admiral having to answer these stupid questions. And Congressman Johnson gave one heck of a revealing presentation as to what kind of people we have in the House with the authority to vote TRILLIONS of dollars that we DON'T HAVE, and to set policy that the rest of us are bound to.
ReplyDeleteJoking or not, I found the presentation both revealing and very disturbing, but not surprising.
If this had occurred yesterday (March 31st), then I might believe that it was an attempt at an April Fool joke. However, the hearing occurred on March 25th.
ReplyDeleteI must comment and say that Admiral Willard is fully self-possessed and in possession of a stoic personality. How many of us could have sat there through that interesting statement by Congressmen Johnson and not had our jaw make a loud thud as it struck the tabletop?
Mr Johnson is still a better Representative than Ms McKinney.
ReplyDeleteYes, he defeated Ms McKinney for the seat.
No one caught ADM Willard's comment that "it's the furthest West place that we OWN". Factually it's certainly more true than Johnson's statement but, in a world where perception is reality, it wasn't much brighter.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention I except more of an ADM than a congressmen.
I'm not sure what is the matter with the statement. Guam is as much a part of the U.S. as California or Nebraska and has been for over 100 years.
ReplyDeleteGuamanians are U.S. citizens.