Just when you thought C-SPAN was boring, Douglas Brinkley shows up to keep things interesting.

Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and a frequently cited expert on CBS and MSNBC, traveled to Washington, D.C., on Friday to testify before the House Natural Resources Committee on the potential impact of drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

All proceeded as normal until Alaska congressman Don Young took the floor, and opened by calling the hearing "an exercise in futility" and Brinkley's testimony "garbage." When the Republican congressman addressed Brinkley as "Dr. Rice," the professor shot back, "Dr. Brinkley. Rice is a university. I know you went to Yuba College and you couldn't graduate."

As expected, this exchange opened up a fruitful and respectful dialogue of ideas and everyone was able to find some common ground. I'm just kidding, that didn't happen.

No, instead Rep. Young yelled at Brinkley to be quiet and Brinkley replied "You don't own me! I pay your salary . . . I work for the private sector, you work for the taxpayers."

The committee chairman scolded Brinkley for interrupting and warned him to follow the rules of the chamber if he wanted to continue testifying, but neither Brinkley nor Young was quite finished throwing shots.

Young described people that go camping in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (including Brinkley) as "elitist" and berated Brinkley for sitting in an "ivory tower." Later in the hearing, after Young had left the panel, Brinkley took the opportunity to refute some of his statements, referencing "the congressman who’s yet again left — doesn’t stay, blows smoke and then leaves.”

It's hard to tell if Brinkley's brief moment of congressional limelight is good for Rice — hey, at least they are talking about where he works! — or bad, considering that as offended as he might have been (and perhaps had a right to be) that Brinkley comes off as petty and unable to stop interrupting everyone on the committee who speaks to him, a major breach of protocol.

“I was hoping for the chance to get into a heated debate with him, but, alas, it’s hard in that forum,” Brinkley told the Washington Post, adding that he would have liked to go "mano-a-mano."

Was Brinkley right to strike back at Young's comments? Should someone teach Rep. Young the difference between "elite" and "elitist"? (Don't get me started at Rep. Hastings' pronunciation of "faux pas.")

And honestly, isn't every subcommittee hearing an exercise in futility? Well, unless it gets you on C-SPAN, that is.

Watch the exchange for yourself: