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.