It surely doesn't "beg" the question, Oscar. Here's the classic example of begging the question: "Have you stopped beating your wife?"
I'm afraid you're right, Jeremy. The other thing that bugs me constantly is the "writers" who don't know the difference between the verbs "to lie" and "to lay." I keep telling them: "The chicken is lying in the straw, laying eggs." But the message just doesn't seem to get across the void.
