I am going to express one of the many frustrations that have erupted in this Age of Trump in Washington, D.C.

Have you spent any time watching Cabinet officials testifying before a panel of House members or senators? Until I started a boycott of the national news, I admit to spending time trying to learn something from congressional questioners and officials sitting before them.

The frustration with the hearing process has driven me away.

I am going to blame congressional Democrats along with the Trumpkins they have summoned to testify for the confusion and chaos that too damn often dominates these so-called hearings.

Here’s how it goes. The Donald Trump acolyte takes an oath to tell the truth, sits down and begins fielding questions from members of Congress. The acolyte often seeks to preface his or her answer to an explanation. The Democratic questioner has none of it. The member of Congress interrupts. “I don’t need a filibuster,” the questioner might say. “It’s a simple question, requiring a yes or no answer.”

The bickering often escalates into name-calling. In one exchange, a Republican senator actually challenged a Democratic witness to a fistfight. Man, that was a treat!

But I have to tell you that Democratic congressional questioners seem to enter these hearings with little if any patience with the witnesses they summon for testimony. As for the Trumpkins who get the summons, they ought to refrain from speechmaking and stick solely to answering the questions they get. And if the questioner says up front that the question requires only a yes or no answer, well … they ought to stick to the script.

The frustration cuts to the heart of the value of these hearings. They ought to be of immense value. They instead have become sh**shows … and a monumental waste of time and money.