Post #4211087
2026-07-29 20:02 UTC
@mattblaze@federate.social During one hearing, a Senator got uppity with me - he was very condescending.
I found a good way to shut him down - essentially using the Crocodile Dundee style of topic expansion to reverse condescend - i.e. by using the ""that's not a knife - *this* is a knife" approach. He got really ticked off. But I didn't mind; he was a jerk anyway and I was glad when he washed out on his bid to be President.
My approach to testifying was to do as much work as possible beforehand with congress-critter staff to make sure we are speaking the same language - which is especially important when the topic is technical (or medical). This same approach works well with journalists. Sometimes this preparation can take months or even years.
(I once got my company's DC lobbyist really angry at me because I was getting better access to various Senators than he did.)
Replies (1)
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@SteveBellovin@infosec.exchange 2026-07-29 20:09
@karlauerbach@sfba.social @mattblaze@federate.social I've only testified once, and my mother got very upset when she heard I was going to—her model for people testifying before a Congressional committee was HUAC or McCarthy's committee, where people were compelled to testify and either abase themselves, incriminate themselves, or take the Fifth. I had to reassure her that this was not that sort of committee, and that testifying was an honor.