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It's Hillary Clinton Vs. The Fax Machine

by Melissah Yang

The fax machine — an antiquated piece of technology that is still giving people plenty of headaches. Do you hang up? Do you wait for the dial? When do you press send? Well, turns out that Hillary Clinton has the same fax machine problems that plague offices everywhere, according to private emails released by the State Department Tuesday.

The whole Clinton private server scandal has been months and months of speculation and scrutiny, and as the 30,000 emails are slowly rolled out, we get a solid glimpse into the life and work of the former secretary of state. The second batch focused much more on correspondence with her staff, including longtime aide Huma Abedin. In fact, it's an email exchange between Clinton and Abedin that showed how sometimes even the most powerful people in the country can have some serious technical difficulties.

Huma Abedin: (Subject: can you hang up the fax line, they will call again and try fax)Hillary Clinton: I thought it was supposed to be off hook to work?Huma Abedin: Yes but hang up one more time. So they can reestablish the line.Hillary Clinton: I did.Huma Abedin: Just pick up phone and hang it up. And leave it hung up.Hillary Clinton: I've done it twice now.

Politicians, they're just like the rest of us! I mean, how many of us actually learned how to master a fax machine? I, for one, am glad we've gone electronic to help us avoid the whole fax mess. But the whole back and forth, which spans a solid 25 minutes, just reminds you of the frustrations that come with texting your mom directions on how to get her computer started.

At least some Twitter users are in solidarity with Clinton on the fax enigma. Or at least having some fun with it.

Image: FOIA