Stupid

November and December have been way too busy for blogging, so we at TWDQ HQ appreciate your patience.

While we've been away we've learned the following things:

• Pete Rose thinks performance-enhancing drugs are "making a mockery" of baseball.
  
• Lynne Spears had been advanced money to write a book on parenting.
• Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge were criticizing someone else 's looks.
• Karl Rove insisted the Democrats pushed the president into war with Iraq.

With those items in mind, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

If the jokes are going to write themselves, who needs the striking TV writers?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Dude, if Charlie Rose had paused to take a sip of coffee at that moment, it would have been the best spit-take ever."

Discuss.

Silent Night

Yeah, it is.

We at TWDQ HQ wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth.

"...we are so far from want..."

Been a busy month at TWDQ HQ, with absolutely no time to blog.

We read this incredible blog post two Thanksgivings ago and revisiting it is becoming an annual tradition. Go.

We at TWDQ wish you a peaceful and want-free Thanksgiving.

I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) hurled the following comment at his GOP colleagues Thursday as the House was debating overturning President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill:

"You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

Republicans and their water toters in the media are, naturally, having yet another case of the vapors and demanding an apology from Rep. Stark.

We at TWDQ also call on Rep. Stark to apologize, but we've gone the extra mile and prepared a free apology that the congressman may use:

I'm sorry for my poor choice of words during Thursday's debate. Instead of "for the president's amusement", I should have said "for the president's illegal and immoral war."

There you go, Pete. Give the people what they want.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question.

Do the Limbo Rock

The conservative blogosphere is gleefully beating up a 12-year-old kid, so we pose This Week's Discussion Question:

At long last, have you no sense of decency?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Boy, talk about burros and excavations..."

Discuss.

What Does it Take?

This and this bring us to This Week's Discussion Question:

What the hell does it take to get a guy impeached around here?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Don't be silly. You know what it takes."

Discuss.

I Thank You

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to offer our thanks to the crews at TBS and TNT for doing an ace job of covering the baseball playoffs. We are well aware that future rounds will be turned over to the clowns at Fox, who cover baseball with the same competence as they do news. That is, a competency somewhere between Lew Ford's baserunning ability and Rush Limbaugh's courage and veracity.

Enjoy it now while you can. Yes, even you Yankees fans who are now down 2 games to zip to the Native Americans. (We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question's Interruption to say: WOO-HOO!)

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question.

A Helpful Tip

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you a very useful tip. At Altercation's "Slacker Friday," Charles Pierce offered up this bit of wisdom on the MoveOn Petraeus ad kabuki:

"...it's pointless to respond every time someone flings poo out of the conservative monkeyhouse. It's what happens in a monkeyhouse. You duck and walk away to go watch the penguins."

So here's This Week's Helpful Tip:

The next time you click through Fox "News" Channel, think to yourself "Hey! Monkeys!"

Then duck and go watch the penguins on Animal Planet. (Or ESPN, since the NHL season's just around the corner.)

It worked like a charm this morning when we happened across Brit Hume and Bill Kristol on Chris Wallace's show.

One of these weeks, This Week's Discussion Question will have to be "How long before JuanWilliams stands up, tosses his lapel mic on the table, and walks off muttering 'I can't work with crazy people anymore...'?"

We also resonated with Mr. Pierce's thoughts on the possibility of another O.J. Simpson trial: "There aren't enough tackhammers in the world to drive enough nails into my eyeballs if this gets rolling again."

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question.

This is not a joke, so please stop smiling...

Speaking of donkeys and apertures:

• The Senate Republicans essentially filibustered (Make them talk, Harry!) amendments to restore habeas corpus and to ensure that our troops are home for the same length of time they've been deployed before they can be redeployed.
  

• The trigger-happy Blackwater USA mercenaries are finally getting some long-overdue scrutiny.

• The president still thinks gittin' warrants is too damn hard.

• George and Dick are busy ginning up another war for somebody else's kids to fight.
  

• Uncle Sam's credit card's maxed out.
  

• The housing market ain't looking good anytime soon.

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

How could there possibly be room on the news for anything as inconsequential as O.J. bleeping Simpson?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Nice votes, Norm. Why do you hate the Constitution and our troops?" or "Hey, that's only the fifth time Uncle Sam's credit card has maxed out under this president's watchful eye."

Discuss.

Well, Well, Well

We had a quirky little incident in TWDQ's home state last week:



Fortunately, the donkey was retrieved safely from the well and is doing, well, well, so This Week's Discussion Question is temporarily transmogrifying into This Week's Make Up Your Own Joke.

Please keep your jokes civil and do not wander off into "Boy, this is the last time I ever tell you your blog's been quiet lately," my dear.

Joke away.

What the World Needs Now (Part #911)

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to tell you to go to the record store.

Go get this.

Well? What are you waiting for? Cheapo's open 'til midnight. Go!

Now!

What She Said

Alex Rodriguez is on a tear right now, but nobody hits 'em out of the park more often or more regularly than Digby does. Today, she wraps up with this:

And then, of course, there are all the dead bodies, American and Iraqi alike. It's sadly true that we may not be able to prevent Iraqi deaths when we withdraw. We don't know the future --- I fervently hope that the Iraq civil war will be short lived. But we do know that we can prevent a bunch of American deaths, deaths which would not happen if not for George W. Bush's need to save face.

There can be no greater waste of life than that. It isn't about national security or self-defense or even national "prestige" whatever that is. This war is being continued so that one man might have an opportunity to avoid embarrassment --- after he's dead. I can think of some things that might be more useless and immoral, but not many.

You can probably see This Week's Discussion Question comin' right down Broadway:

Why isn't this woman on my editorial page regularly?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "9-11, 9-11, 9-11" or "Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein."

Discuss.

You Can't Catch Me

As we approach the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Why isn't this guy in prison?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Because this guy didn't listen to the wisdom of this guy and took his eye off the ball."

Discuss.

Going, Going, Gone

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation this morning and President Bush said--out loud in front of God and everyone, "It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Does the president think we're idiots?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Sorry, George. Alberto had his name dragged through the mud because every time he went up to Congress to testify, he either lied his arse off; parsed his answers finely enough to pass through cheesecloth; or appeared that he couldn't remember a damned thing, including, perhaps, his name or shoe size. That, and he helped get us into the business of torture, tried to strongarm a very sick man into signing off on an unconstitutional domestic spying program, and filled the Department of Justice with political hacks from Pat Robertson's law school so they could fire U.S. Attorneys who were doing their jobs well, but too well for Karl Rove's taste. There isn't enough mud in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to heap onto his name."

Discuss.

Acknowledgement

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to humbly acknowledge our own hypocrisy.

Yesterday afternoon, we were kicking back at TWDQ HQ watching a Little Leaguer from Lubbock, Texas throwing strikeout after strikeout a day after his teammate whiffed 17 kids from Coon Rapids, MN* and we were channeling "Crash" Davis settling down Nuke LaLoosh: "Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring. Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. More democratic."

A couple of hours later, we were cheering as a future Yankee was mowing down batter after batter on his way to a club record 17 strikeouts.

Somewhat dictatorial, yes. Boring, no.

So yeah, we're hypocrites.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question. We apologize for the inconvenience.

*Coon Rapids is the next suburb over from TWDQ HQ. Contrary to the name, it's a typical American suburb, not a hillbilly haven. Honest.

It was 33 years ago today...

...that even Richard Milhous Nixon had enough sense to know that the jig was up, so here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Would you like us to hail you a helicopter, George?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Annie Savoy was right: 'The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self-awareness.'"

Discuss.

Da-da-da-da-da-da!

So we're at the ballgame last night. The organ strikes up those six familiar notes, the crowd yells "Charge!" and we realize that we've just been presented the gift of This Week's Discussion Question:

How the heck do you charge in baseball?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "A farm system full of pitching prospects and Terry Ryan couldn't get a stinkin' bat before the trading deadline?" or "Wow, look at everybody doing 'Y.M.C.A.'! Is this GLBT Night?"

Discuss.

(h/t to the kid...)

Wait

Once again, we interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you another helpful tip.

Over the last couple of days, Stephen F. Hayes has appeared on Meet the Press and The Today Show to promote his forthcoming tome, Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. It sounds like a fascinating read, but here's our tip:

Wait for the paperback edition, which should feature an epilogue describing the stoicism and steely resolve Mr. Cheney displayed throughout his war crimes trial in The Hague.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bonfire of the Inanities

Charles Pierce is a regular contributor to "Slacker Friday" at Eric Alterman's Altercation blog at Media Matters. Yesterday, in taking apart a blogger who contends that what John Edwards spends on a haircut is a legitimate story while Mitt Romney's makeup costs are not, Mr. Pierce concluded with this (but go read the whole thing):

And, were I an editor, and someone brought me a story about John Edwards' hair or Mitt Romney's skin, that person would do it once. The second time, the lazy bastard would find himself typing bowling agate* on Wednesday night.

Thinking back to earlier this week, we present This Week's Discussion Question:

How come Bill Kristol is on my Op/Ed page and Charles Pierce isn't?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "It's unfortunate for Andrea Mitchell and Tim Russert that NBC doesn't run bowling scores" or "Hey! Did you hear Hillary has cleavage!"

Discuss.


*"Agate" being the small type that the bowling scores appear in in your daily newspaper.

What the World Needs Now (Part #717)

Geez. American Idol mercifully wraps up for another year and what pops up on the teevee networks? More Karaoke Shows! NBC's even renewing The Singing Bee for the fall schedule.

While we're pleased to see Joey Fatone off the streets, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Why would you bother with people butchering old pop songs when these guys are back together?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hell, why would you watch karaoke sober?" or "Boy, I hope this won't preempt NBC's new series Law & Order: Voter Fraud."

Discuss.

Always Look on the Bright Side

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to offer a helpful tip to everyone who read Smilin' Bill Kristol's latest Washington Post column, Why Bush Will Be a Winner.

In the column's second paragraph, Mr. Kristol suggests, "Let's step back from the unnecessary mistakes and the self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush administration."

Here's our tip:

To have any hope of seeing past the unnecessary mistakes and self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush Administration, make sure you step back toward the viewfinder of the Hubble Telescope.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question. We apologize for the inconvenience.

(We also swear we had this post's title before we read the WaPo's subhead "On the Bright Side.")

Let's Go

A new American Research Group poll conducted in the wake of the President slipping Scooter Libby a "Get Out of Jail Free" card shows 45% of respondents think the House should begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush. 54% were in favor of the same for Vice President Cheney, so here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Hey! Can we get rolling on these?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Only 40% approved of impeaching Clinton WHILE HE WAS BEING IMPEACHED" or "That's Convicted Felon Scooter Libby."

Discuss.

Patience

Another holiday, another call for patience in Iraq. Nice to see that the president is big on tradition.

Since we're tapped out of patience and since both parties already have presidential campaigns in full swing, here's another installment of This Week's Discussion Question:

Couldn't we just vote this November?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Mmm...Peach!"

Discuss.

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! Today, we Americans celebrated 231 years of freedom from being ruled by the whims of a distant king. (Make up your own joke here.)

The city in which TWDQ is headquartered held its annual Fourth of July parade a week and a half ago* and some festive parade-goers inspired our Independence Day Edition of This Week's Discussion Question:

Do you suppose Betsy Ross ever considered that her work might someday lead to something like this?

And speaking of the rule of kings, here's our bonus Independence Day This Week's Discussion Question:

Could we solve our energy crisis by harnessing the power generated by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as they spin in their crypts?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Now if you had some antennae that shot bottle rockets...whoa!" or "Mmmm...Peach!"

Discuss.

--------
*They figured out you get a better turnout for a Fourth of July parade if you don't have it on the actual Fourth when everyone's blown town. Go figure.

On the Rocks

We swear we had this one the moment the local morning newscast ran footage of the President's boat stuck on the rocks, so after a long absence, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Metaphor, anyone?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Boy, you can't make this stuff up, can ya?" or "I'm only surprised that it wasn't one of Poppy's friends that bailed him out."

Discuss.

I'm Sorry, So Sorry

Former President Jimmy Carter is backing off from a comment he made in a recent interview where he was quoted as saying, "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

The White House dismissed Carter as "increasingly irrelevant" ("Mr. Pot? Mr. Kettle is on line one...") and Faux News went predictably apoplectic, but we'll save "Is Sean Hannity giving Douglas Feith a run for his money?" for another TWDQ.

Carter says he was responding to a question comparing the current administration to Richard Nixon's, but we're not afraid to go the extra couple hundred years and ask This Week's Discussion Question:

What other administration is even close to being worse than this one?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "But Bill Clinton..." or "Hey, these guys are the worst-ever domestically, too!"

Discuss.

Cinco del Este de Los Angeles

The Cinco de Mayo celebration at TWDQ HQ consisted of some chips with salsa and a spin of this during a quick run to the grocery store, but it was enough to jog loose This Week's Discussion Question:

Has America produced a better rock 'n roll band than Los Lobos?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not even consider suggesting The Doors.

Discuss.

I Can't Remember

Today President Bush said that last Thursday's testimony by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales "increased my confidence" in him. Having heard a fair piece of the AG's memorable, so to speak, performance, we pose This Week's Discussion Question:

Is this a definition of "increased" with which the rest of us are unfamiliar?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Cool! It's Opposite Day again!" or "I don't recall."

Discuss.

Crazy

Because they don't want idiots to get the idea that they'll get to be on the teevee if they leap onto a ballfield and run around like, well, idiots, baseball telecasts don't show idiots running around on ballfields. (Well, unless they're wearing Tampa Bay Devil Rays uniforms.) This brings us to This Week's Discussion Question:

Why did the networks broadcast the demented ramblings of a mentally ill man?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Baseball also has the sense to come in out of the rain" or "Legovision rules!"

Discuss.

Why?

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and students at Virginia Tech in the wake of today's unimaginable tragedy. As these students and families begin to deal with the aftermath of this horror, we have several queries as part of This Week's Discussion Questions:

Do you really think arming college students to the teeth is A Good Idea?

Why the hell do semi-automatic handguns even exist?

Why the hell do Brian Williams AND Matt Lauer need to be in Blacksburg?
(Substitute the name of every other network anchor you see on location. We just happened to catch a bit of NBC at TWDQ HQ tonight.)

Please keep the discussion civil and go tell your kids that you love them.

Discuss.

What the World Needs Now (Part #403)

Once again, we must pose the question that's becoming a regular feature of This Week's Discussion Question:

Why does anyone waste their precious time with "American Idol" when these giants walk the earth?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Whoa!" or "American what?"

Discuss.

Money for Nothing

The news that Major League Baseball Commissoner Bud Selig was paid $14.5 million for the 2005 season prompts This Week's Discussion Question:

Fourteen and a half freaking million? Are you kidding me?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Seriously. You are joking, right?" or "Damn! How can I get me one of them commissionerin' jobs?"

Discuss.

Requiem

It is with joyful memories and great sadness that we pose This Week's Discussion Question:

Was there ever a more wonderful sound on a summer afternoon than the voice of Herb Carneal?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Yes," because you'd be wrong.

Requiescat in pace.

So Long, It's Been Good To Know Ya...

The Friday afternoon "Gosh, we totally forgot about these!" document dump turned up this:

WASHINGTON, March 23 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior advisers discussed the plan to remove seven United States attorneys at a meeting last Nov. 27, 10 days before the dismissals were carried out, according to a Justice Department calendar entry disclosed Friday.

The previously undisclosed meeting appeared to contradict Mr. Gonzales’s previous statements about his knowledge of the dismissals. He said at a news conference on March 13 that he had not participated in any discussions about the removals, but knew in general that his aides were working on personnel changes involving United States attorneys.

Tasia Scolinos, a Justice Department spokeswoman, told reporters on Friday evening that Mr. Gonzales’s attendance at the hourlong meeting was not inconsistent with his past remarks.

“He tasked his chief of staff to carry this plan forward,” Ms. Scolinos said. “He did not participate in the selection of the U.S. attorneys to be fired. He did sign off on the final list.”

Ms. Scolinos said the meeting was in Mr. Gonzales’s conference room at the Justice Department. The meeting focused on “rollout” of the dismissals, she said, and from available records was not a meeting in which a final target list was determined.

Another department official said that Mr. Gonzales did not recall the meeting and that his aides had been unable to determine whether he approved the dismissal plan then.

Hokay.

Here's the Alberto Gonzales Memorial This Week's Discussion Question:

Hell, why not just say his staff happened to conduct this particular meeting in Vogon, which, unfortunately, Mr. Gonzales does not speak?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey, Al! Do you need help packing?" or "Y'know, that Bad Memory Defense didn't work too well the last time it got trotted out."

Discuss.

The Name Game

Now that we have this guy at The Barn and this guy looks to be a lock for the rotation, here's a special episode of This Week's Discussion Question:

What other town has two sports figures with better names?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "How would you insult a guy who goes by 'Tubby'?" or "Booooooooof!"

Discuss.

Hammer Time

Former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Jack Abramoff) has been making the rounds on the news shows (and on Fox, too) lately encouraging the President to hang tough on the U.S. Attorney firings scandal.

We'll set aside the Haskellian aspect of someone under a felony indictment gushing about what a great job the Department of Justice is doing and instead pose the larger question, which happens to be This Week's Discussion Question:

What? We're out of wooden stakes?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey, see how we're stocked on garlic cloves" or "We'd better check on the silver bullets, too."

Discuss.

It's the Same Old Song

On the first day of the fifth year of the war in Iraq, President Bush asked for the nation's patience.

Much like he did on:

October 25th, 2006
Conceding Missteps, Bush Urges Patience on Iraq - New York Times

June 14th, 2006
After Iraq Visit, an Upbeat Bush Urges Patience - New York Times

March 13th, 2006
Bush Urges Patience Amid Iraq Violence - CBS News

December 18th, 2005
Asking for Patience, Bush Cites Progress in Iraq - New York Times

November 29th, 2005
Bush: Iraq ‘will take time and patience' - MSNBC.com

June 28th, 2005
Bush urges patience, long view on Iraq war - The Boston Globe

And that's just the first page of Google results for "bush patience iraq", which brings us to This Week's Discussion Question:

How much more patience do you think we have?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! This time for sure! Nothin' up m'sleeve...Presto!" or "How long, how long must we sing this song?"

Discuss.

Again.

Dammit.

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man

Charlie Hustle told Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann that "I bet on my team every night," so here's a bonus edition of This Week's Discussion Question:

Is there a dumber guy on the planet than Pete Rose?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Well, there's..." or "And...".

Discuss.

Rear View Mirror

Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn passed away today at the age of 80.

We at TWDQ HQ thank him for coining the phrase "in the best interests of baseball" and will always fondly remember him sitting umbrella-less in the pouring rain at a prime-time NLCS tilt, trying to a) pretend it wasn't raining and b) decide if he wanted to take the heat from the network if he did the sensible thing and pulled the players off the field.

Mr. Kuhn's tenure takes us back to another much-reviled leader from that era, prompting This Week's Discussion Question:

How frightening is the thought that, compared to the current occupants of their respective offices, the reigns of Bowie Kuhn and Dick Nixon look positively rosy?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey, the guy DID suspend George Steinbrenner" or curling into a fetal position and trembling.

Discuss.

All Apologies

Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby batted 1 for 5 today in court and the reaction of many on the right to Scooter's conviction on four counts of perjury and obstructing justice prompts This Week's Discussion Question:

Considering how many people have forgotten what a big deal perjury was when President Clinton was the perjurer-in-question, might there indeed be something to Scooter's "faulty memory" claim?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Boy, a guy coulda made a bundle selling fainting couches today" or "I wonder if Vice President Cheney can get assigned a room at Walter Reed, Building 18 while he recovers from his blood clot?"

Discuss.

What the World Needs Now...

After a cursory low-volume spin in the office today and a louder sampling of the first handful of songs on this on the drive home, we arrive at This Week's Discussion Question:

Why does anyone bother with "American Idol" when this giant walks the earth?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Whoa!" or "American what?"

Discuss.

Hot in Here

When learning that his daughter's seventh-grade science class would be viewing "An Inconvenient Truth," a Washington-state parent said, "No, you will not teach or show that propagandist Al Gore video to my child, blaming our nation -- the greatest nation ever to exist on this planet -- for global warming."

The story goes on to say "His angry e-mail, along with complaints from a few other parents, stopped the film from being shown" and that the teacher was sent a disciplinary letter for "not following school board rules that require her to seek written permission to present 'controversial' materials in class."

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Should the school board also discipline art teachers for presenting the controversial description of "black" actually being black and "white" being white?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Don't forget that heresy about 'up' and 'down' in physics class" or "Oh, for....Honey? Do we have more vodka?"

Discuss.

I Don't Believe You

They're having a bit of trouble filling the jury box for Scooter Libby's perjury trial, since many potential jurors are being excused "for their strong views on the Bush administration, the Iraq war, or other elements of the case." The story says "Many of the residents of the largely Democratic city (Washington, D.C.) said they would have a hard time finding Libby's former boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, a credible witness if he were called to testify as expected."

So here's another bonus edition of This Week's Discussion Question:

How screwed are you if everyone thinks your star witness is a big, fat liar?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Credible? I'd sneak a peek out the window if he told me it was sunny" or "Three posts in one day, Dave? What's up?"

Discuss.

Who Woulda Thunk It?

Today Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced that she's running for president in 2008, providing fodder for a bonus edition of This Week's Discussion Question:

Wow! Who saw that coming?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Yawn" or "Are you happy now, Russert?"

Discuss.

Neighborhood Bully

Last week we saw this headline at Yahoo News: Bob Dylan bores me to tears -- Simon Cowell. The story cites an interview in the February issue of Playboy, in which Cowell says he never bought a Dylan album and would "plug my ears and run in the other direction" if he were to see a 21-year-old Dylan singing "Blowin' in the Wind."

It makes perfect sense to us here at TWDQ, prompting This Week's Discussion Question:

Could anyone who owned a Dylan album possibly have created American Idol?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Yet you sat there and listened to William Hung?" or "What the world needs now is another pop singer like I need a hole in my head."

Discuss.

Since You Asked

Saturday, in response to critics of his plan to escalate the war in Iraq, the President said, "To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible." Because to propose nothing would be irresponsible, we at TWDQ would like to interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to offer one up:

Resign. Now. You AND the Vice President. Now. Before you send another 20,000 American men and women into the meat grinder to stall for time so you don't go down in history as another president who had to helicopter the last Americans off the rooftops in a war zone. Now. Before you start poking Iran and Syria with sharp sticks to provoke yet another war, though we fear you've already started doing that. Now. Before Congress decides we ought to take a good hard look at getting behind the International Criminal Court.

Resign. Now.

There's your proposal, sir.

Thank you. We now return you to our regular discussion.