Presidential committee

A story from the book "Good as Gold," by Joseph Heller, who is also the author of Catch-22....

Gold finally achieves his life-long goal of being appointed to a Presidential Commission.

In the first meeting, the chairman of the commission asks everyone to introduce themselves, then opens the floor for motions. Someone moves to adjourn; the motion is seconded, and everyone files out, leaving Gold sitting alone at the table, in shock.

The second meeting begins with the chair asking if there are any motions. It is moved that the commission consider its work to be complete, and the motion is seconded. The chairman agrees, and is about to adjourn the meeting when Gold can no longer contain his disbelief. He blurts out "But we haven't accomplished anything!" and the chairman responds "yes, and it only took us two meeting! Some commissions require years to get to the same result!"