Most congressional hearings are ridiculous. They are held to impress the public, to get someone's name in the papers and on television. Up at the front of the room, the commit- tee sits high on a dais behind a mahogany counter and the lowly masses sit out front. Witnesses come in and earnestly testify about something they know and care about, hoping that the committee will be moved. They think if they give Congress the truth, they will get justice in return. Then their testimony is printed in book after book of hearing records, which are piled on shelves to gather dust. When the clamor becomes
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