... So Calling a Female General "Ma'am" Would Be Disrespectful?
Monique Chartier
In a hearing room, Tuesday, on Capitol Hill.
Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was testifying on the Louisiana coastal restoration process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He began to answer one of Boxer's questions with "ma'am" when Boxer immediately cut him off.
"You know, do me a favor," an irritated Boxer said. "Could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'"
"Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected.
"It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you," she said.
"Yes, senator," he responded.
There were scattered calls this afternoon for Senator Boxer to apologize to Brigadier General Walsh. It didn't particularly strike me as I heard the exchange that an apology was necessary. It wasn't really about the Brigadier General. It was about the Senator from California, in more ways than one, and a startling look into her character. To be truthful, any apology would have to be phrased along the lines of
"I apologize that I dropped a facade and you had to see the petty, insecure and self obsessed side of my nature."
Paraphrasing Les from Pawtucket, a caller to the Matt Allen Show tonight: some people join an organization to accomplish something. Others join to be someone.
10:08 PM
Barbara Boxer attended the same high school I did in Brooklyn.She graduated the June before the September when I started,so we never met.
She is a total asshat.
The General was answering her in the same way he would answer a higher ranking female officer-it is hardly a patronizing form of address.i am glad Boxer has once again played the fool in public.This is the best 100 people we could get to form the US Senate?Well,I guess scum rises to the top of the vat.
Do you think she has any idea how petty and foolish she looked?
In the immortal words of Robert Burns:
"O would some power the giftie gie us
to see ourselves as others see us."
Heh, try addressing a "Dr. Smith" with Mr. Smith and see what happens.
To quote Dr. Evil, "I didn't go through six years of evil medical school to be called Mr. Evil."
Funny stuff...
Actually, in the Senate I believe that it is customary to refer to Senators as "Mr. McCain," or "Mrs. Clinton," at least when the voting roll is being called.
The General used the honorific "ma'am," which is the equivalent of "sir," and entirely appropriate when addressing a member of the committee from the witness table.
She looked like a complete goof.
Candidly, the appropriate way to address Boxer would be, "you b*tch!"
Having lunch and reading through these comments...almost lost a mouth full of pasta when I got to Mr. Cappelli's.
The left's contempt for the men and women who selflessly serve us and keep us free never ceases to amaze me.
Mike Cappelli-you nailed it!!
According to some contributors to the wbsite for gards from my high school,she was not the sharpest knife in the cabinet back in the day.
Her future sister in law graduated in my class-she might have been the inspiration for "Mrs.Doubtfire".
I know that wasn't nice.Whatever.
I’d suggest that we contact the good Senator to let her know how we feel.
Here is the URL:
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/
With apologies to Mark Twain, this is part of the message I sent her last evening:
“Suppose you were an idiot. And, suppose you were a member of Congress.
But then I repeat myself. “
Please note that I prefaced my comment with “With all due respect Senator…”
Monique
Thanks for posting this,very important
article, i had not heard about this from
the MSM
All they are talking about is Sen. John Ensign's afair with his best friends wife,like it is a big deal.
Jonh McCain did it,Ronald Raygun did it.Newt Gingrich did it dozens of times.Rudy did it.Larry Craig did it with guys and girls.And David Vitter
..........well thats the PARTY OF FAMILY VALUES
Jake, John Edwards did it, Ted Kennedy did it, Bill Clinton did it... (we could keep going) but what does it have to do with Boxer's disrespect and contempt for the military.
The left's contempt for the men and women who selflessly serve us and keep us free never ceases to amaze me.
George
Do you care to comment on the "swiftboating" of presidential candidate Kerry in 2004. Respect for service to the country seemed to end when it came to winning. No?
Phil-that doesn't change what Barbara Boxer did,which was unecessary and crass.
It might have been more about her inflated ego than dislike for the military,although in her wine and cheese milieu,the military probably does not rate highly.
Have you ever noticed that of all the pundits and talking heads on both the right and the left,almost none have served in the military?
Ollie North is an outstanding exception to this rule of thumb.
I'm on the Left as my blog name suggests and I dislike titles. Although several times a father, even "Dad" makes me cringe a bit. I think that all titles should be dropped and while we're at it let's institute uniforms for everyone. How far do we carry this? Let's eliminate sartorial class distinctions and get rid of silly middle class conventional etiquette. And let's make a mountain out of a molehill while Republicans hide behind another artificial curtain thrown out to obscure the real system of injustices that currently prevail in this country.
OldTimeLefty
OTL,
"even "Dad" makes me cringe a bit."???
With statements like this please explain to me just why anybody would take you seriously - about anything.
Perhaps it's the first time I've felt even a twinge of sympathy for left-wingers, because you give them a bad name with screeds of that nature. Lay off the crack pipe, pal.
Ah Mike,
Try to distinguish between literal and figurative. Your remarks betray such ignorance that I feel compelled to spoon feed you what any normal intelligent person would have easily digested and comprehended.
The word "dad", when applied to anyone who has right to the title, implies some wonderful qualities: provider, nourisher, supporter, advisor, friend to name a few. When I hear the word, I am occasionally reminded of times when I fell short of these qualities. I was confessing that I wasn't always up to the job. Are you always up to the job, the perfect dad? Nobody is. Hence the title, like all titles, is tainted.
As to being taken seriously, I am completely indifferent to your opinions and I am always reminded that as the praise of fools is an insult, the insult of fools is praise.
OldTimeLefty
Phil, I'll be able to answer that question for your when Kerry releasees his Military medical records like he promised to do back in 2004. I believe the swift-boaters. I don't believe Kerry. He dissed his fellow servicemen when he returned from Viet Nam. He dissed our soldiers in Iraq calling them terrorists. The swift boat group critized, "attacked" if you will, Kerry. But in no way, shape or form did they show contempt for the entire military. If anything, they attempted to raise the honor of the military and military veterans by highlighting Kerry's hypocrisy, phoney heroics and his overall contempt for them.
OTL,
You really have to be kidding us right. My dad was human, not perfrect and at times fell short of the mark. This in no way "tainted" him as a father. For, you see, your ideal is "tainted". If one is limited to falling short of an ideal by their very nature, I fail to see how that taints them. My dad was not perfect but he was perfect for me.
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Barbara Boxer attended the same high school I did in Brooklyn.She graduated the June before the September when I started,so we never met.
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 18, 2009 10:15 PMShe is a total asshat.
The General was answering her in the same way he would answer a higher ranking female officer-it is hardly a patronizing form of address.i am glad Boxer has once again played the fool in public.This is the best 100 people we could get to form the US Senate?Well,I guess scum rises to the top of the vat.
Do you think she has any idea how petty and foolish she looked?
In the immortal words of Robert Burns:
"O would some power the giftie gie us
Posted by: brassband at June 19, 2009 7:43 AMto see ourselves as others see us."
Heh, try addressing a "Dr. Smith" with Mr. Smith and see what happens.
To quote Dr. Evil, "I didn't go through six years of evil medical school to be called Mr. Evil."
Funny stuff...
Posted by: Patrick at June 19, 2009 8:07 AMActually, in the Senate I believe that it is customary to refer to Senators as "Mr. McCain," or "Mrs. Clinton," at least when the voting roll is being called.
The General used the honorific "ma'am," which is the equivalent of "sir," and entirely appropriate when addressing a member of the committee from the witness table.
She looked like a complete goof.
Posted by: brassband at June 19, 2009 9:48 AMCandidly, the appropriate way to address Boxer would be, "you b*tch!"
Posted by: Mike Cappelli at June 19, 2009 11:30 AMHaving lunch and reading through these comments...almost lost a mouth full of pasta when I got to Mr. Cappelli's.
The left's contempt for the men and women who selflessly serve us and keep us free never ceases to amaze me.
Posted by: George at June 19, 2009 12:51 PMMike Cappelli-you nailed it!!
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 19, 2009 1:18 PMAccording to some contributors to the wbsite for gards from my high school,she was not the sharpest knife in the cabinet back in the day.
Her future sister in law graduated in my class-she might have been the inspiration for "Mrs.Doubtfire".
I know that wasn't nice.Whatever.
I’d suggest that we contact the good Senator to let her know how we feel.
Here is the URL:
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/
With apologies to Mark Twain, this is part of the message I sent her last evening:
“Suppose you were an idiot. And, suppose you were a member of Congress.
But then I repeat myself. “
Please note that I prefaced my comment with “With all due respect Senator…”
Posted by: Aldo at June 19, 2009 6:04 PMMonique
Posted by: Jake at June 19, 2009 8:51 PMThanks for posting this,very important
article, i had not heard about this from
the MSM
All they are talking about is Sen. John Ensign's afair with his best friends wife,like it is a big deal.
Jonh McCain did it,Ronald Raygun did it.Newt Gingrich did it dozens of times.Rudy did it.Larry Craig did it with guys and girls.And David Vitter
..........well thats the PARTY OF FAMILY VALUES
Jake, John Edwards did it, Ted Kennedy did it, Bill Clinton did it... (we could keep going) but what does it have to do with Boxer's disrespect and contempt for the military.
Posted by: George at June 20, 2009 12:16 AMThe left's contempt for the men and women who selflessly serve us and keep us free never ceases to amaze me.
George
Do you care to comment on the "swiftboating" of presidential candidate Kerry in 2004. Respect for service to the country seemed to end when it came to winning. No?
Posted by: Phil at June 20, 2009 8:56 AMPhil-that doesn't change what Barbara Boxer did,which was unecessary and crass.
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 20, 2009 9:16 AMIt might have been more about her inflated ego than dislike for the military,although in her wine and cheese milieu,the military probably does not rate highly.
Have you ever noticed that of all the pundits and talking heads on both the right and the left,almost none have served in the military?
Ollie North is an outstanding exception to this rule of thumb.
I'm on the Left as my blog name suggests and I dislike titles. Although several times a father, even "Dad" makes me cringe a bit. I think that all titles should be dropped and while we're at it let's institute uniforms for everyone. How far do we carry this? Let's eliminate sartorial class distinctions and get rid of silly middle class conventional etiquette. And let's make a mountain out of a molehill while Republicans hide behind another artificial curtain thrown out to obscure the real system of injustices that currently prevail in this country.
Posted by: OldTimeLefty at June 20, 2009 3:24 PMOldTimeLefty
OTL,
Posted by: Mike Cappelli at June 20, 2009 8:02 PM"even "Dad" makes me cringe a bit."???
With statements like this please explain to me just why anybody would take you seriously - about anything.
Perhaps it's the first time I've felt even a twinge of sympathy for left-wingers, because you give them a bad name with screeds of that nature. Lay off the crack pipe, pal.
Ah Mike,
Try to distinguish between literal and figurative. Your remarks betray such ignorance that I feel compelled to spoon feed you what any normal intelligent person would have easily digested and comprehended.
The word "dad", when applied to anyone who has right to the title, implies some wonderful qualities: provider, nourisher, supporter, advisor, friend to name a few. When I hear the word, I am occasionally reminded of times when I fell short of these qualities. I was confessing that I wasn't always up to the job. Are you always up to the job, the perfect dad? Nobody is. Hence the title, like all titles, is tainted.
As to being taken seriously, I am completely indifferent to your opinions and I am always reminded that as the praise of fools is an insult, the insult of fools is praise.
Posted by: OldTimeLefty at June 21, 2009 12:49 AMOldTimeLefty
Phil, I'll be able to answer that question for your when Kerry releasees his Military medical records like he promised to do back in 2004. I believe the swift-boaters. I don't believe Kerry. He dissed his fellow servicemen when he returned from Viet Nam. He dissed our soldiers in Iraq calling them terrorists. The swift boat group critized, "attacked" if you will, Kerry. But in no way, shape or form did they show contempt for the entire military. If anything, they attempted to raise the honor of the military and military veterans by highlighting Kerry's hypocrisy, phoney heroics and his overall contempt for them.
Posted by: George at June 21, 2009 2:28 PMOTL,
Posted by: bobc at June 22, 2009 6:42 AMYou really have to be kidding us right. My dad was human, not perfrect and at times fell short of the mark. This in no way "tainted" him as a father. For, you see, your ideal is "tainted". If one is limited to falling short of an ideal by their very nature, I fail to see how that taints them. My dad was not perfect but he was perfect for me.