Boy with a Problem

We're back at the new TWDQ HQ after the ultimate back-to-school trip and here's your long-awaited episode of This Week's Discussion Question:

Why was this such an egregious character flaw four years ago, but isn't a big deal now?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "How come the Rockies can play a three-game set at home on the eve of the Democratic convention while the Twins have to clear out for two weeks before and during Elephantapalooza?" or "When you make stuff up out of whole cloth, isn't it supposed to get filed under 'fiction'?"

Discuss.

Robbery, Assault and Battery

...are about the only things missing from this interactive chart published by Slate last week and we concur with dday, who writes, "The very fact that you can make a rich media interactive guide is enough to make you vomit."

So cover your mouth and take an enhanced whack at This Week's Discussion Question:

Can we start holding some of these people accountable already?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "The bunch in the pink circle had better have done all the international travel they want to do," or "Why are so many people saying 'presumptuous' when they really mean 'uppity'?"

Discuss.

Movin' Out

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to thank everyone who helped us relocate TWDQ HQ to our new location. It wasn't exceedingly hot out, there were only a few very minor dish or furniture casualties, and everyone's still speaking to us. What more could you ask for?

Despite being ten miles shorter, the first day's commute took about the same time, but only because after about four blocks, we noticed that every house had a garbage can and recycle bin at the end of the driveway, so we went back to put ours out as well. After that false start, it took about 10 minutes.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Pet Sounds

Fresh off learning which candidate we'd rather go to a BBQ with, one of the top three stories leading the AP/Yahoo News page today is "Poll: Pet Owners prefer McCain over Obama" and this brings us to This Week's Discussion Question:

What the...?

We don't care if the discussion's civil or not, we're much too busy weeping for this nation.

Discuss.

Bright Lights, Big City

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question for a little mini-vacation report. We spent the first part of the week in NYC to pay a visit to The House that Ruth Built before they shut it down at the end of this campaign, so here's what we learned during three days in the City that Never Sleeps:

• Boy, oh boy, do we love subways and commuter trains.
• The San Diego Padres are not a very good ballclub.
• Even if we commuted through Grand Central Terminal every day for a couple-three decades, we'd still look around that building in awe every single day.
• Guinness makes a nice beer.
• Transacting real estate business via cell phone while walking down 5th Ave. is kinda cool.
• Transacting real estate business via cell phone while under an elevated track outside Yankee Stadium is difficult to do while there's a train passing overhead.
• A semi driver may not always be aware that his trailer is slightly too tall to clear an elevated train track.
  
• A semi driver's trailer scraping the underside of an elevated train track as one is waiting for a "WALK" signal can scare the hell out of a guy.
  
• It appears that more than one semi driver may have made that miscalculation.
  
• We love seeing couples gently snoozing against each other on the subway.
  
• If you look carefully, you might see a garbageman wearing a Bluetooth headset.
• A guy can get some good eats in Little Italy.
  
• A guy can get some good eats in Chinatown.
• A guy can get some good eats in White Plains.
• The Iron Tomato ought to consider franchising.
• The Twin Cities would be an excellent place for an Iron Tomato franchise.
  
• With all due respect to the legendary Duke Ellington, taking the E train gets you to JFK a lot quicker than taking the A train does.
• It'd do Lou Dobbs's soul some good to ride the E train through Queens every day.
• Touring NYC with a native is the way to go.
• Touring NYC with a native whose brother tends bar at an Irish pub is an even better way to go.
• Mariano Rivera's stuff is so nasty it ought to be illegal.
• The old Yankee Stadium is an impressive ballpark.
• We're glad Monument Park is no longer in the field of play. Like Mickey Rivers, we wouldn't want to "play by those graves" either.
  
• The new Yankee Stadium looks like it will be even better.
  
• One hopes the new Yankee Stadium's seating will be numbered a bit more intuitively.
  
• The Chrysler Building is spectacularly beautiful at night.
• So is the full moon coming up over the upper deck in right field.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Rocket to Russia

At TWDQ HQ we'll have the same This Week's Discussion Question for the next eight weeks:

What's shakin' in St. Petersburg?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "I can't be delivering pizza to the movers" or "Anything new from the realtor?"

Discuss.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to reaffirm the greatness of baseball.

One of the great things is that even if your club gets beaten like a rented mule, there'll be another game tomorrow. You don't spend an entire week rehashing crucial plays, whining about the officiating, or calling for the head coach's head or the offensive coordinator's head or the assistant left inside linebackers coach's head. You shake it off and watch 'em go out and get 'em tomorrow.

Another great thing is that in that fresh start tomorrow, they won't trot the same hurler out there.

We apologize for the interruption and we now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Don't Talk

Blue Texan over at FDL asks a pretty good one today.

Right.

Discuss.

Face Down

Adam Everett just tripled to the gap in left-center and slid in to third base on his belly, raising This Week's Discussion Question:

With two players going on the DL in the first two months of the season because of head-first slides, why isn't Gardy fining guys who do that?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Does Nick Punto make enough to cover that?" or "One run in seven innings off of Sidney freaking Ponson?"

Discuss.

Update: Everett went on the DL today. Probably nothing to do with the slide, but bellyflopping with a bad wing is rarely a good idea.

And Sidney freaking Ponson went the distance, yielding only that one run.

Reason #50108 Why Baseball is Better than Football

This Gomez kid is something else:

Carlos Gomez has done some amazing things for the Twins this season.

Wednesday, he topped the list.

He put manager Ron Gardenhire at a loss for words. In an argument with an umpire.

...

With two outs, Gomez tried stealing third base with a 3-1 count to Joe Mauer.

"That was not a good play," Gardenhire said. "It almost turned into a good play. But it really wasn't a good play."

Gomez would have been out at third, had the ball not bounced away from Joe Crede's glove.

When Gomez sprinted toward home, Crede retrieved the ball in foul territory and threw a strike to catcher Toby Hall, who blocked the plate as Gomez slid.

Gomez did appear to touch home with his left foot before Hall applied the tag, but umpire Tim Timmons called him out.

Gardenhire went to argue, but his heart wasn't in it.

"I wanted to tell Timmy, 'I'm not really mad at you; I'm mad at somebody else right now,'" Gardenhire said.

This ballclub may not be very good, but boy, is it gonna be interesting...

The Phantom

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to mark the passing of E Street Band keyboard player Danny Federici on Thursday, April 17th at the age of 58, after a three-year battle with melanoma.

Springsteen's site has a great video up of Federici's final appearance with the band--playing accordion on the old favorite "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"--just a few weeks before his passing.

Bruce's touching and entertaining eulogy is also there, along with a video montage of Federici.

We're long-time Springsteen fans here at TWDQ. Bought Born to Run the week Bruce was on the covers of Time and Newsweek, without having heard a note of it and we were immediately captivated at the first few bars of "Thunder Road". Springsteen's at the peak of the TWDQ Hierarchy of Recording Artists* and though we've only seen a few E Street Band shows over the years (1980, 1999, 2004), they've all been terrific.

* The TWDQ Hierarchy of Recording Artists:

• You own one of their albums.
• You own several of their albums.
• You own their entire catalog.
• You own their entire catalog and buy their new albums on release day.
• You own their entire catalog and buy their new albums on your lunch break on release day (provided the shop's not running a midnight sale).**

** With the news that Joe Henry is collaborating with Rosanne Cash on her next record, we're contemplating adding a new category:

• You own their entire catalog and bribe one of the record store clerks for the truck delivery schedule and an early copy of the album.

Anyway, go watch the videos, read the eulogy, dig out your copy of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, set the needle down on "Kitty's Back" and the aforementioned "Sandy" and enjoy a couple of Mr. Federici's finest performances.

Rest in peace, Danny.

Black and White

We're glad to hear we've not been alone in our profane sputteriness about this, but we think it may finally be safe to bring you another edition of TWDQ.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the White House today and the President's remarks included this statement:

"In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism."

So here's This Week's Discussion Question:

How much relativism does it take to transmogrify "torture" into "enhanced interrogation techniques"?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Bitter? The President admits he and the Veep are war criminals and we're all abuzz about a presidential candidate thinking some voters might be bitter?" or sputtering profanities.

Discuss.

The Boys Are Back in Town

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you the exciting news that after too long an absence, Fafblog is back!

And they're back to save the universe!

Giblets may be dissatisfied, but we sure aren't.

A Thought for Good Friday

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to direct you to some words of wisdom from Mr. Charles Pierce on this Good Friday:

For those of us of the Papist persuasion, Good Friday services always came as two hours of existential dread. Purple swatches all over the sanctuary. Gloomy hymns. Latin intoned with an extra-special kind of lugubrious Lugosiness. More to the point of the past week, the Good Friday liturgy was a carnival of anti-Semitism, an extended exercise in Jew-bashing so egregious that even the Vatican came to notice it several centuries on. Now, I know I sat through this. I know Russert, and Matthews, and Maureen Dowd, and Pat Buchanan -- and JFK and John Kerry, as well -- also did. This wasn't the improvised rhetoric of one pastor in one church. This was the formalized celebration of Christ's Passion, performed in exactly the same way in front of millions of people in thousands of churches all over the world. So here's the thing, Mo and Tim and Chris. (I leave out Buchanan because, hell, he probably thinks the liturgy was too diverse.) Did sitting through this make you anti-Semitic? And to what degree? And have you ever rejected and renounced 2,000 years of popes -- to say nothing of the church over which they presided -- because they authorized this dangerous thooleramawnery? If you haven't, you should probably lay off Barack Obama and his minister, is all's I'm saying.

While we at TWDQ adhere to a franchise that's a revolution and a divorce removed from Roman Catholicism, we offer a hearty ecumenical "Amen."

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

Reason #32108 Why Baseball is Better than Football

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you yet another reason why baseball is the Best. Game. Ever.

La Velle E. Neal III's Twins Insider blog featured a game note about speedster Carlos Gomez, an outfielder acquired in the Johan Santana trade:

Go-Go Gomez was at it again in the seventh inning. He beat out a slow two-hopper to short - by a step - for an infield hit. With a runner on third, Gomez took off for second and didn’t draw a throw - but he dove into second anyway! The middle infielders never left their positions!

Second base umpire Tim Tschida (what a coincidence) waited until Gomez got up and made eye contact with him before he emphatically signaled him safe. Hilarious…

“He needed to slide into second base or he would have ran into the left fielder,” one pressbox wag said.

Even though it's snowing at the moment, Opening Day's a week from Monday.

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

Deja Vu All Over Again

Today Sen. Clinton released her daily schedules from eight years as First Lady.

Naturally, the press spent the day scrutinizing them to assess the extent of her efforts on universal health care, her involvement in meetings with foreign leaders and other dignitarities, and her extensive charity work, since these may shed insight about her experience with these issues and show her to be a capable, well-qualified candidate for president. Right?

Um, not so much:

Top AP Politics headlines on Yahoo News
- Wednesday, March 19th, 2008, 9:30 p.m . CDT

• First lady Clinton and the intern crisis AP - 1 hour, 3 minutes ago
• Clinton calls on Obama to back primaries AP - Wed Mar 19, 6:51 PM ET
• Obama: Trust me to end the war AP - Wed Mar 19, 7:05 PM ET
• Today on the presidential campaign trail AP - Wed Mar 19, 5:15 PM ET
• Lewinsky and the first lady AP - 2 hours, 41 minutes ago

So here's the black beret and blue dress edition of This Week's Discussion Question:

Can we elect a new media this November, too?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey, what was she doing the day Vince Foster..." or "Excuse me, I hafta go throw up."

Discuss.

Update: On second thought, it's perfectly fine if you hafta go throw up.

Put a Candle in the Window

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you these figures:

five years

3,990 dead U.S. soldiers

175 dead British soldiers

89,322 dead Iraqi citizens

$500 billion to $3 trillion

zero weapons of mass destruction

zero ties between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida

zero impeachments


one candle in the window

Peace.

Just Say No

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to direct you to Washington Monthly's new issue, "No Torture, No Exceptions". The editors introduce this collection of essays with this bold statement:

"In most issues of the Washington Monthly, we favor articles that we hope will launch a debate. In this issue we seek to end one."

Amen.

The next time somebody who's watched too much "24" tries to tell you there are special circumstances that require "enhanced interrogations", direct them to veteran FBI interrogator Jack Cloonan's piece on how interrogations really work.

The next time you question a presidential candidate in a debate--yeah, you Timmy--you might ask them if they'll not only abolish the use of torture but will seek accountability for all those complicit in dreaming it up and signing off on it. (Barack, Hillary, and John: "Yes, and a lifetime gig in a nice, comfortable prison cell will be waiting for each of them," is the correct answer. "Yes, and we'll hand them over to The Hague," is also an acceptable response.)

No torture, no exceptions.

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

Let it Flow

So there's a commercial on for a pharmaceutical that treats male urinary symptoms and voiceover guy warns that if you're going to have eye surgery, let your doctor know that you're taking this medication. From this flows This Week's Discussion Question:

If I'm having an EYE OPERATION, I need to tell the doc that I'm on some drug that's helping me PEE? What the hell is this stuff doing?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "I thought I'd stayed awake in biology class" or "Most of my male urinary symptoms begin after a couple of beers."

Discuss.

I Gotcha

Once again, we interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to simply say this:

What Pierce said.

And TPM's commenter and Bérubé, too.

Again, we apologize for the interruption and we return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

The Name Game

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to say that we happened to catch Cincinnati right-wing radio host Bill Cunningham on National Public Radio this afternoon. Mr. Cunningham, crawling out from under the Straight Talk Express, offered this defense of his multiple utterances of Sen. Obama's full name while warming up a campaign crowd for Sen. McCain on Tuesday:

"Well, uh, number one, Robert, it's his name."

Why yes, it is, you clever "bit of a historian." Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Dwight David Eisenhower. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. William Jefferson Clinton. Using the full name, "Barack Hussein Obama" is simply a nod to this historic and noble tradition.

Okay, Bill, we'll accept that. But just so you're true to history and noble and all--and if you want us to believe this steaming load of an explanation--from here on out for every damned time you say "Barack Hussein Obama", you had better refer to the presumptive GOP nominee as "John Sidney McCain".

Every.

Damned.

Time.

It's kind of like how Satchel Paige ended up calling Buck O'Neil "Nancy" for the rest of his life.

So it's John Sidney McCain.

Every.

Damned.

Time.

We apologize for the interruption and now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Tomorrow the Green Grass

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to tell you to go read Joe Posnanski's latest post, which is a work of absolute brilliance.

We're also only a couple of chapters into his new book and we'll wholeheartedly recommend it. Then again, it's hard to go wrong with the combo platter of a two-time AP Sports Columnist of the Year writing about one of the greatest Americans ever, Mr. Buck O'Neal.

Go. Read. Enjoy.

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

Just a Little Lovin'

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Speaking of understatements, we interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to bring you the first verse of the first song--penned by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil--from the fabulous Dusty in Memphis:

Just a little lovin' / Early in the mornin' / Beats a cup of coffee / For starting off the day.

We apologize for the interruption and the fact that it's gonna take you a while to get your mind back onto whatever you'd been doing, isn't it?

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

Not That Funny

For some time, we've been meaning to pose this as TWDQ:

"Who the hell thinks this is funny?"

We're pretty sure we know now. We'll bet it's this charming bunch.

Which raises this question:

"What the hell is wrong with these people?"

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Family values, eh?" or "What was that line again?"

Discuss.

Ahhhhhhh....

Today, February 9th, is the 44th anniversary of the first appearance of The Beatles on American television. To say that this was a monumental event in the lives of some of us--and six is a very impressionable age--is an understatement on par with "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

To celebrate--and because the Help DVD and a new 12-string arrived at TWDQ HQ a little while back--check out the beginning of the last chorus of this (about 2:45) and consider This Week's Discussion Question:

Is that the coolest "Ahhhhh...." in rock 'n roll, or what?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "How about the different drum fill that follows each 'ri-i-ide'?"or a falsetto "My baby don't care..."

Discuss.

Just Sit Right Back...

We interrupt This Week's Discussion Question to tell you to go read the entirety of this, which magically appears in the middle of a post-Super Bowl Pretentious Roman Numeral Whatever post:

*Pitcher: So it’s an ensemble cast.
Producer: Got it. Ensemble. How many.
Pitcher: Seven.
Producer: Sounds like a lot. We’ll be able to tell them apart?
Pitcher: Not a problem. They’re all lost on a deserted island.
Producer: How’d they get there?
Pitcher: They were on a three-hour tour.
Producer: How’s that?
Pitcher: A three-hour tour.
Producer: Can you get lost on a deserted island an hour and a half from shore?

(snip)

We're fortunate that there wasn't a beverage handy so we won't have to have the next edition of TWDQ ask "What's the best way to clean a mouthful of coffee out of a laptop keyboard?"

Scroll down and enjoy his imagined pitch for "The Flying Nun" or last week's description of assembling a play kitchen for his daughter's birthday:

"Nothing in this world with the possible exception of a heart transplant or building a nuclear device should be complicated enough to demand 27 steps. Heck, you’re supposed to kick alcoholism in 12. Twenty seven steps, man, at the end of that I should be a fully ordained minister or an FBI agent or something."

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

Update: Paul McCartney's rep pitches a song to a music exec. We're not kidding -- do NOT have a beverage in the vicinity when you read this one.

Nothin' But Good Times?

Heard a radio commercial this morning for GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul, in which his record of never having voted for a tax increase is touted. A daily update on his website states:

"A real fiscal conservative always votes for balanced budgets, lower spending and would never, ever raise taxes."

While balanced budgets and lower spending are generally good things, perhaps Dr. Paul has had the excellent fortune and timing to only hold public office during years of very tall cotton. So here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Never, ever raise taxes? Never? EVER?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Perhaps fiscal conservatives lack the wisdom and foresight to consider all possibilities" or "Why, that phony fiscal conservative Ronald Reagan..."

Discuss.

Parade

Had a viewing of the musical "Hairspray" at TWDQ HQ over the weekend. We mightily enjoyed the advice Queen Latifah's character offers to her son and his white girlfriend near the movie's ending: "You two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin’ at you from a never-ending parade of stupid."

So here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Do you suppose that line might come to mind at some point during this election year?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hell, I'm hoping there's one day this year when it won't" or "I can believe John Travolta as a woman, but TV sets coming on instantly in 1962? No way."

Discuss.

Fame

Rich "Goose" Gossage, one of the most feared relievers in baseball history (look up the great Eddie Murray story in Sparky Lyle's "The Bronx Zoo" sometime), was elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The BBWAA does a fine job as HoF gatekeepers, but some mysteries at the bottom of the ballot provide This Week's Discussion Question:

Why would ANYONE cast a Hall of Fame vote for Chuck Knoblauch or Shawon Dunston?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "I can see throwing a vote to David Justice as props merely for having been hitched--however briefly--to Halle Berry" or "Fred's fortunate the primaries don't use a 'five percent minimum to stay on future ballots' rule."

Discuss.

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.

Run For Your Life

In a recent letter to supporters, Rep. Virgil H. Goode (R-VA) warned, "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran" and "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."

We'll give you a second to shake your head, read that again, and shake your head once more before we pose This Week's Discussion Question:

Between this guy and former Senator George "Macaca" Allen, if you were a Virginian, would you admit it?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Forget immigration, how can we get dumbasses like this guy to emigrate?" or "Hey! Don't forget about our 'precious bodily fluids'!"

Discuss.

Crying

Speaking at a leadership forum, former President George H.W. Bush "broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership."

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Wouldn't you think he'd be more likely to weep about the leadership example of another son?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into uncontrollable sobbing your own self.

Discuss.

Courting the Lizard-Brain Vote

Republican strategist Ed Rogers appeared on "Hardball" Tuesday night and said this:

DAVID SHUSTER: Ed, Barack Obama‘s going up to New Hampshire. He‘s somebody I mentioned Republicans should be careful of. He‘s a great speaker...

ROGERS: Please, help me, David. Somebody that underestimates Barack Hussein Obama. Please. I mean, this man is a blank canvas where people project their desires and their ideal candidate because nobody knows anything about him. And he has a deep voice...

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

From this exchange, may we assume that you will be referring to all '08 presidential hopefuls by their full names?

(Here's a helpful list for you, Ed: Joseph Robinette Biden, Samuel Dale Brownback, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rudolph William Louis Giuliani, John Sidney McCain, Willard Mitt Romney, Thomas James Vilsack, and the erstwhile candidacy of William Harrison Frist.)

We mean, you can't be singling out Sen. Obama simply because his middle name happens to be "Hussein," right?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Boy, every time you think these guys have gone as low as they can go, they dig another level" or "He forgot to mention that he was a member of the 'Democrat' party."

Discuss.

Update: How could we have forgotten Newton Leroy Gingrich?

Up, Up, and Away

Yeah, we know it's probably already happened, but the story about a boycott of US Airways as a result of six Muslim imams being removed from a flight prompts This Week's Discussion Question:

Which cable news idiot will be the first to suggest that fewer Muslims flying would be a great idea?

Please keep the discussion civil and remember that Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly are even money on this one.

Discuss.

Gimme a head with hair...

Here's the Congresswoman-elect from my district on a post-election news program.

As a Minnesota State Senator, she was the driving force behind several unsuccessful attempts to get an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment on the ballot, bringing us to This Week's Discussion Question:

Is Michele's coiffure the work of :

a) a hairdresser who is definitely NOT gay,

or

b) a gay hairdresser exacting a delicious bit of revenge?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Doesn't she own a mirror?" or shouting out requests for "Love Shack" or "Rock Lobster."

Discuss.

A New World Record

Jonah Goldberg's op-ed piece in Tuesday's Minneapolis StarTribune prompts This Week's Discussion Question:

What was the previous world record for Stupid per Column Inch?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "I think we're looking at a new Wrong per Column Inch title, too" or "How's about you enlisting, Jonah?"

Discuss.


Update: The Strib link expired, so I changed it to point at the L.A. Times website, from whence this stuff emanates.

Dumb like a FOX

With a week of League Championship Series and a couple of World Series games in the books, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Why does MLB continue to let FOX carry such sacred programming?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into:

• Has that stupid camera in the dirt in front of home plate ever shed new insight on any play?

• Could we skip the ultra close-ups of the hitter and pitcher and maybe see a catcher put down signs?

• Enough with the praying fans already!

• How could Tim McCarver, who once said, "Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I know. He always pitches on the days when the other team doesn't score any runs" be so incredibly dull?

Discuss.

Land of the Free, Home of the Bullies

Today, the President signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, allowing him "to 'interpret the meaning and application' of international standards for prisoner treatment, a provision intended to allow him to authorize aggressive interrogation methods that might otherwise be seen as illegal by international courts."

It also "eliminates some of the rights defendants are usually guaranteed under U.S. law." Like habeus corpus.

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

What happened to America?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into sobbing or Tourette's-like outbursts of profanity.

Discuss.

Requiem

After the Twins were swept by the A's this afternoon in the ALDS, our next TWDQ was going to be "What the hell happened?" but tonight's news elicits a more somber This Week's Discussion Question:

Was there ever a more gracious and classy guy than John "Buck" O'Neil?

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

Requiescat in pace.

This Time It's For Real

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iraqi leaders that "they have limited time to settle their differences," prompting This Week's Discussion Question:

Or what?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Don't make me stop this car!" or "Because The Decider decided, that's why."

Discuss.

Little Piranhas

The Minnesota Twins overtook the Detroit Tigers to snatch the AL Central title in this afternoon's unbelievable conclusion to the regular season. Now that things have calmed down at TWDQ HQ, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Isn't this fun?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Go A's!"

Discuss.