Every day, we watch the Twitter stream cursing NBC for its tone-deafness.

FORBES: Pressure Builds On NBC To Explain Why It's Ruining The Olympics

The fact that Mr McDonnell had not foreseen a public backlash to the vaginal-ultrasound requirement seems, to some, to illustrate his tone-deafness and inattention to detail.

ECONOMIST: Abortion in Virginia

There was a clear political tone-deafness that came out of the White House, not only over the Dubai ports, but also of the disastrous Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination two events that demoralized and angered conservatives.

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But Google co-founder Sergey Brin's presentation at TED, in which he characterized wearing Google Glass as somehow more macho than pulling your smartphone out of your pocket, underscores the tone-deafness that can envelop Silicon Valley when VIPs get a little too excited about the Next Big Thing.

CNN: Will these guys make Google Glass uncool?