Timmy, Can You Hear Me?

This isn't This Week's Discussion Question, just a simple plea to NBC's Tim Russert, based on the brief snippet of "Meet the Press" that was viewed today at TWDQ HQ:

Tim, would you please, for the love of all that's holy, STOP asking the Clintons if Hillary is running for president? You've been asking this every damn time you've had one or the other on the show ever since Bill left the White House. (Fortunately, the psychological subtext of how you continue to press when a woman tells you "no" is outside the scope of this plea.)

What answer are you expecting anyway, Tim?

"Why yes, Tim, I believe I will! You know, I was going to wait and do a press conference a few months before the Iowa Caucuses, but what the hell, here's your scoop."

"For God's sake, 2008 is still two freaking years away, Tim. Try me again in late '07, huh?"

"Did you see me smackdown that little wuss Chris Wallace over on Fox? Next question."

"Tim, it's the same answer I gave you the last time you asked. And the time before that. And the one before that. And the nine hundred and seventy-two times before that."

Give it a rest, okay Tim? Thank you.


Please accept our apologies for this interruption. We now return to our current discussion.

Free Suggested Amendment!

We at TWDQ have a free amendment for those Congressmen and Congresswomen who still have a conscience and/or vertebrae. If this describes you, Dear Congressman or Congresswoman, please propose the following amendment to the "Contract on Torture" currently being negotiated with the Bush Administration. We think it makes the deal a bit more equitable, plus it should make the statue of Justice stop sobbing into her blindfold:

The Administration will be able to stipulate which interrogation techniques do not constitute "torture" or "outrages against personal dignity" only under the following circumstances:

• The President will be made to stand naked for 48 hours without sleep in a bare, chilly jail cell, and then be splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water. This process will be repeated until the President determines the moment at which the act has become "torture" or an "outrage against personal dignity."

• The Secretary of Defense will have a hood placed on his head and jumper cables clamped to his genitals. The other ends of the jumper cables will be connected to an automobile battery for 30-second intervals until the Secretary determines the moment at which the act has become "torture" or an "outrage against personal dignity."

• The Attorney General will be strapped to a board and subjected to the procedure known as "waterboarding" until the Attorney Generaldetermines the moment at which the act has become "torture" or an "outrage against personal dignity."

• All other interrogation techniques will be performed on the Vice President until the Vice President determines the moment at which each act has become "torture" or an "outrage against personal dignity."

That is, if they want to "clarify" the Geneva Conventions, they'll need to know precisely what they're talking about.

It's all yours, Congressmen and Congresswomen! Amend away!

Loser

So the Bush Administration and the three "maverick" senators have concluded their little dance and reached a "compromise" on torture. The President won't clear his sinuses on the Geneva Convention and nobody will get busted for the torture that's already occurred in our names. The only bright spot is that Sen. Lindsey Graham's insistence that a defendant has the right to see the evidence used against him or her, though the House may put the kibosh on such a wacky idea.

At Firedoglake, Jane asks This Week's Discussion Question:

I’m hearing frustration from a lot of quarters that people feel this subject is not a "winner" for November and therefore should be abandoned. So I feel the need to ask the question — is this important to you? Is this something you feel like your leaders are morally obligated to take a stand on whether it’s a "winner" or not, and do you think that journalists should be pushing harder on? I honestly want to know.

We at TWDQ HQ are just as disgusted as Jane. We'd like to know, too.

Discuss.

Welcome Home

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke out against the Bush Administration's attempt to scribble all over the Geneva Conventions, writing "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," and prompting This Week's Discussion Question:

Where the hell have you been, Colin?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Beginning to doubt? Beginning?!?" or "Thanks again, Ralph."

Discuss.

B, A, and B, respectively?

Tonight on MSNBC's "Countdown", Keith Olbermann yet again channeled Edward R. Murrow and delivered a blistering critique of the Bush Administration's response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Early on, he said this:

"And anyone who claims that I and others like me are 'soft,' or have 'forgotten' the lessons of what happened (at the World Trade Center site) is at best a grasping, opportunistic, dilettante and at worst, an idiot whether he is a commentator, or a Vice President, or a President."

So here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Grasping, opportunistic dilettantes or idiots?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "All of the above?" or "Boy, is Olbermann on fire these days, or what?"

Discuss.

Free Question for Tim Russert

Tim, I know this is really late, but please ask the Vice President the following question on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning:

You've stated on this show that Iraq had ties to al-Qaeda just before the attack on September 11, 2001 and last week the President said Iraq had nothing to do with the attack. Which one of you is lying?

It's all yours, free of charge. We at TWDQ thank you in advance, Tim.

Exhuming McCarthy

Keith Olbermann has offered up a couple of outstanding "Special Comment" pieces in the past week on MSNBC's "Countdown." Read the transcripts here and here and watch the video here and here, respectively. They provide a couple more entries (for Don and George, respectively) for This Week's Discussion Question:

And yet he can stand up, in public, and question the morality and the intellect of those of us who dare ask just for the receipt for the Emperor’s New Clothes?

and

Have you no sense of decency, sir?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into the Ramsey case or sting ray attacks.

Discuss.

Take Him Out, Coach...

From the AP wire, here's another offering for This Week's Discussion Question:

Does this mean he's done pitching for the rest of the season?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "With the junk he was throwin' last week, it's no wonder" or "Isn't his career about over anyway?"

Discuss.

Who Do You Think You're Foolin'?

Last week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld likened critics of the Iraq war to Nazi appeasers, leading to This Week's Discussion Question:

Who are you callin' an appeaser, Don?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Why does this guy still have a job?" or "You do not want to start down the road of arguing about who's 'morally and intellectually' confused, Donnie."

Discuss.

Crazy Train

The great Charles Pierce concludes a post at TAPPED with this: "In short, I have seen me a few theological goat-ropings in my time, but I have never in all my Papist years read anything the likes of this." He then poses what we'll put forth as This Week's Discussion Question:

Why the Christ -- you should pardon the expression -- couldn't that twit Constantine leave us Christians in the catacombs where we belonged instead of taking us public so the crazy people could buy shares?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hell, at least Mel Gibson can claim he was drunk" or "Damn, how can I get me a career in the lucrative field of Talking Out One's Arse?"

Discuss.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

This past week, the three of you who read this (or browse over yet again to see that there are no new posts) have been asking This Week's Discussion Question:

Hey, Dave! Why haven't you blogged lately?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Shouldn't you call it This Year's Discussion Question?" or "How 'bout those Twins?"

Discuss.

Get Off This

This Week's Discussion Question is dedicated to the woman in the white SUV bearing the green "Wellstone's dead, get over it!" bumper sticker (next to "Solve World Hunger - Starve Michael Moore"):

Would you put a "Dale Earnhardt's dead, get over it!" decal on your vehicle?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "...and drive v-e-r-y slowly through the parking lot at Talladega, tough gal."

Discuss.

Used Cars

The pay-per-view show "Juiced" contains a "prank" in which O.J. Simpson pretends to be selling his infamous white Bronco at a used-car lot, which prompts our first multi-part This Week's Discussion Question:

Why would anyone order up "Juiced" on pay-per-view?

What would possess anyone to come up with the idea for "Juiced"?

Where do these people come from?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey, what channel is that on?" or "We really are done as a society, aren't we?"

Discuss.

Just Lookin' for a Hit

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

How long do you stick with a designated hitter that's only hitting a buck-fifty?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "How long before you move him from the 8-hole to ninth?" or "Hey, I'm just happy the centerfielder is finally starting to pound the ball."

Discuss.

Monkey Man

Yahoo News is reporting that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has been hospitalized because he "hurt his head after falling out of a palm tree at an exclusive Fiji resort," prompting another installment of This Week's Discussion Question:

What in the world was Keith Richards doing in a palm tree?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "What the...?" or "What the...?"

Discuss.

Sacrifice

Today, speaking about the war in Iraq, President Bush said, "There will be more tough fighting ahead in Iraq and more days of sacrifice and struggle."

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

What, specifically, has the President sacrificed?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "You mean besides his approval rating and our nation's reputation around the world?" or "Hey, I thought the mission was accomplished!"

Discuss.

Roll Away the Stone

As we conclude a beautiful Sunday, here is This Week's Discussion Question:

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "What does this have to do with bunnies?"

Alleluia.

Don't Do It

Apple (the computer company, not The Beatles' record label) announced today that you will soon be able to run Windows XP on your Mac. Here's This Week's Discussion Question, Part Tres:

Why in hell would you put Windows on a Mac?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Just because Bruce Springsteen could do an album of REO Speedwagon covers, doesn't mean he should."

Discuss.

It's the Real Thing

On NBC's Today Show last Friday there was a story about how Coca-Cola sales are flagging and how they're hoping their new ad campaign will renew the appeal of their sugar water. Apparently the previous two ad campaigns, well, sucked. We at TWDQ HQ watched this with great amusement and asked ourselves This Week's Discussion Question, Part Deux:

Does anybody really think "Man, these new Coke ads are great! I think I'll start drinking Coke again!"?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Is there anybody on the planet who ISN'T aware that they're still making Coca-Cola?" or "How can I get me one of them jobs as a beverage analyst for a brokerage house?"

Discuss.

Momma Don't Allow

Busy, busy, busy here at TWDQ HQ but we've been saving up some ideas, so we'll see if we can make it up to you with a barrage of entries.

So we're out and about last weekend and spot the following decal in the back window of a vehicle: "IF MOMA AIN'T HAPPY NOBODIES HAPPY!" In its honor, here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Why wouldn't the Museum of Modern Art be happy?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "How do you tell if nobodies are happy?" or "Doesn't anyone proof-read anymore?"

Discuss.