# Clinton won't be testifying next week. Concussion? Anyone else confused? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146 "2012-12-16T01:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/21 "2012-12-16T05:20:30Z")
Good point. It may take longer to recover from a concussion as you age. I don’t want to find out. 😉 I got injured enough when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/22 "2012-12-16T05:51:29Z")
I love how people who probably cheered on the Republicans for cutting embassy funds (shrinking government and all that ‘drown it in a bathtub’ stuff) are suddenly all wringing their hands over embassy safety. Embassies have never been a safe place to work, no employee takes a job at an embassy under the impression that it is a safe place. They were fortified against car bombs a decade before 9/11. This is not the first time an embassy has been attacked. If you think embassy funding is short changed now, just wait until the mandatory cuts set in. Cuts the Republicans could avoid if they’d quit protecting their 1%er handlers. And yet they keep pi$$ing away more money on this dog and pony show. There is an internal investigation going on into what happened, that will tell them how to improve in the future and I doubt very much that we want the results of that investigation made public (unless you’d like it formatted into a ‘how to breach an embassy’ manual for terrorists?). This is a waste of time to satisfy the FoxNews crowd. I wish FoxNews and their entire audience would just spontaneously explode into the piles of sh\*t that they are. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/23 "2012-12-16T06:04:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I had my bell rung a few times playing basketball in high school and college. Usually an elbow to the face or getting knocked down hard. I still recall the headaches and nausea that lingered for a few days. I still managed to attend school, do my homework, take any scheduled tests, and yes usually attend practice. Back then you were lucky to get a day or two off from practice unless you were badly injured. > > Today, we know how important it is that someone doesn’t get hit too soon after a concussion. They aren’t allowed to practice or play for several weeks. Which is smart. > > All I suggested with Hillary is that she’d probably feel ok after a couple days rest. That’s just based on my own experiences. The first couple days are usually the worst after a pop on the head. Republicans may be partisan but I don’t think they’d inflict any head injuries. 😉 > > \ Anyway, I hope she rests, has a fun Christmas and New Years Holiday. Maybe they can get her rescheduled for January. Any concussion that has a headache a few days later is quite serious and will cause long term damage. You must rest, and longer than you think, for the inflammation to go away. We now this now about head injuries. And we knew it 30 years ago, and longer. Only people ignorant of the facts or with no scruples would allow youngsters to play football or have a boxing match. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/24 "2012-12-16T07:44:46Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > . There is only so much money to go around. > Terrorists hate us. There are terrorists in the middle east. We are in the middle east. If we don’t have security - bad things can happen. > . Ya know something, we have marines, they get paid whether or not they sit in barracks playing quick draw or standing a post in the middle east. I can remember when the sub base here in Groton actually had marines on the gates, not rentacops. How about bringing back marine guards on military and foreign political duty stations … at least _they_ wouldn’t have scarpered off when the actual fighting started. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/25 "2012-12-16T14:20:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Combine this with Rice’s less than forthcoming testimony. :smack: What is the deal with this administration? Testify and get the facts out there. Move on to the next crisis. Is this so hard for them to comprehend? Why should they, when you see so many people are so willing to make excuses for them? I don’t feel that I can assign blame for what happened in Benghazi, but I do think the administration’s lack of transparency is extremely hypocritical and concerning. I definitely think that the people who are trying to make excuses for the Obama administration on this issue would totally be frothing at the mouth with rage over how “BUSHITLER LIED!!!111” if this had happened under Bush’s watch. However, people will see whatever they want to see, and partisan people can never see the flaws in their own politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/26 "2012-12-17T07:44:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Good point. It may take longer to recover from a concussion as you age. I don’t want to find out. 😉 I got injured enough when I was younger. It has nothing to do with age – concussions are a huge issue in sports these days. Sidney Crosby was out for almost a year with a concussion. They’re serious injuries, people. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/27 "2012-12-17T15:25:04Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Ya know something, we have marines, they get paid whether or not they sit in barracks playing quick draw or standing a post in the middle east. I can remember when the sub base here in Groton actually had marines on the gates, not rentacops. > > How about bringing back marine guards on military and foreign political duty stations … at least _they_ wouldn’t have scarpered off when the actual fighting started. The embassy in Iran had Marines. The Marines at embassies have very strict rules of engagement. They point of the embassy is to show America as a nice country. Not a place bristling with gun towers and barbed wire. I think part of this is trying to make Clinton’s exit from being Secretary of State look bad so she won’t turn up again running for President. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/28 "2012-12-17T15:36:11Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Why should they, when you see so many people are so willing to make excuses for them? I don’t feel that I can assign blame for what happened in Benghazi, but I do think the administration’s lack of transparency is extremely hypocritical and concerning. I definitely think that the people who are trying to make excuses for the Obama administration on this issue would totally be frothing at the mouth with rage over how “BUSHITLER LIED!!!111” if this had happened under Bush’s watch. > However, people will see whatever they want to see, and partisan people can never see the flaws in their own politicians. Yes, but I can at least explain what the accusations were against the Bush administration: that they said they had credible intelligence that Iraq had a current WMD developement program and this was not true. And therefore the primary justifications given for invading Iraq were not true. What exactly is the Obama administration being accused of? All I seem to be hearing is they must have done something wrong and we need an investigation to find out what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/29 "2012-12-17T16:13:55Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > However, people will see whatever they want to see, and partisan people can never see the flaws in their own politicians. Obama has plenty of flaws. He’s far too conservative, really, but I consider not knuckling under to idiot republican conspiracy theorists a feature, not a bug. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/30 "2012-12-17T16:24:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Getting a straight answer from them is like pulling hens teeth. Hens don’t have teeth. oooooh, I get it. So in other words, trying to do something that everyone knows ahead of time is a waste of time, money and resources because the thing they’re after never existed and everyone knows never existed, but it makes for a good show to pretend to be accomplishing something when the encounter is just a fictionalized reality made up out of whole cloth? Is that what you mean? Pretty good analogy, **aceplace57**. This entire line of inquiry is like pulling a hen’s teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/31 "2012-12-17T16:29:29Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I definitely think that the people who are trying to make excuses for the Obama administration on this issue would totally be frothing at the mouth with rage over how “BUSHITLER LIED!!!111” if this had happened under Bush’s watch. No they wouldn’t. I have never seen anyone actually use that word to deride Bush. Could you provide an example of people who are posting in this thread having used the word “Bushitler”, since you seem to think that they have done so in the past? ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/32 "2012-12-17T16:41:42Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > Conservatives that complain that Obama fucked up are no different than the Liberals who think 9/11 was totally foreseeable - or those like John Kerry who say we messed up at Tora Bora. It is real nice to do Monday morning quarterbacking. Bzzt. If by “foreseeable” you mean “warned by multiple national intelligence agencies,” or “_even the FBI_ could detect activity ‘consistent with preparations for hijacking’”, then yes, a 9/11-style attack was foreseeable. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/33 "2012-12-17T17:03:42Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Any concussion that has a headache a few days later is quite serious and will cause long term damage. You must rest, and longer than you think, for the inflammation to go away. My old girlfriend suffered a concussion last year, in a bicycle accident. She was 44 at the time, and it took her several months before she could even begin to function at a normal level in everyday activities. She was (and is still) working on her PhD, and had to take six months off from doing any work on it, because she simply could not concentrate on the work. Even now, a year and a half later, she’s still suffering lingering cognitive issues from the injury. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/34 "2012-12-17T17:06:30Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > A hell of a lot harder than you seem to think it is. Ever been cross examined? It isn’t pleasant. In this instance, she can anticipate every sentence she utters to be nit-picked by a team of highly partisan congress critters, many of whom are lawyers or have the benefit of lawyers advising them on exactly how to make her look as bad as possible. Definitely not something you’d want to experience on a normal day, much less on a day when you’re at less than your best. > > And let the record reflect that I just defended Hilary fucking Clinton. I feel dirty. Think I’ll go jump in the shower now. If it makes you feel better, let me point out that you didn’t actually defend Mrs. Clinton. You defended rational thought, common courtesy, and human compassion. You’re on the side of all three of those, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/35 "2012-12-17T17:12:20Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I definitely think that the people who are trying to make excuses for the Obama administration on this issue would totally be frothing at the mouth with rage over how “BUSHITLER LIED!!!111” if this had happened under Bush’s watch. There were [multiple embassy/consulate attacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_attacks_on_U.S._diplomatic_facilities) during the Bush administration, with roughly 60 people killed according to that link. The fact that you are unaware of them suggests that the “same people” did not react in the manner you suggest. > [@](#): > > However, people will see whatever they want to see, and partisan people can never see the flaws in their own politicians. QED. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/36 "2012-12-17T17:25:37Z")
Considering that we already know all we need to know about those attacks and nothing unusual happened nor was there a coverup, I’m completely unfazed by Clinton delaying to testify. Its a non-issue that Republicans want to beat into the ground ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/37 "2012-12-17T20:49:50Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > How hard is it to show up, sit in a chair, and testify for an hour? > > A hell of a lot harder than you seem to think it is. Ever been cross examined? It isn’t pleasant. In this instance, she can anticipate every sentence she utters to be nit-picked by a team of highly partisan congress critters, many of whom are lawyers or have the benefit of lawyers advising them on exactly how to make her look as bad as possible. Definitely not something you’d want to experience on a normal day, much less on a day when you’re at less than your best. I was thinking, too, that it’s probably good if her testimony is less challengeable (“Well, how can we believe her? She had a concussion!”). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/38 "2012-12-17T22:38:17Z")
They haven’t said just how bad of a concussion that Clinton received. I’ve seen a couple articles that said she waited a couple days to see a doctor. I know she wasn’t hospitalized. That sounds more like what athletes call “getting your bell rung” rather than getting knocked out cold. Either way it’s a head injury and today experts say its important not to receive another hit for several weeks or even months. Doctors have to clear athletes to resume practice or play in games. Clinton is unlikely to sustain any further hits unless she falls again. I was lucky that I never got knocked out. They always had a doctor with my team. I never needed to be hospitalized. Getting your bell rung isn’t fun. I still recall the headaches and nausea. Ears ringing. My symptoms seemed to diminish after a couple day but still didn’t feel great for several more days. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/39 "2012-12-18T00:59:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > …I was lucky that I never got knocked out. They always had a doctor with my team. I never needed to be hospitalized. Getting your bell rung isn’t fun. I still recall the headaches and nausea. Ears ringing. My symptoms seemed to diminish after a couple day but still didn’t feel great for several more days. No _lasting_ effects, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146/40 "2012-12-18T01:09:49Z")
Sure hope not. 😃 My wife might suggest otherwise. That old “just shake it off” attitude is scary to think about now. Things have changed a lot in sports medicine since the 70’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-wont-be-testifying-next-week-concussion-anyone-else-confused/644146.md?page=3)