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.

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*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.