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While we transition to a new software platform and fine-tune the future direction of this blog, I'm going to take a hiatus at least through the end of the 2008. If you'd like to comment on a Flashpoint program or contact me about any other matter, I can be reached at bmclaughlin@wfts.com .
Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Brendan
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Long shot democrats, Phyllis Busansky and Kevin Beckner join me for Flashpoint this Sunday morning at 11:00. Busansky defeated incumbent Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Buddy Johnson and Beckner unseated District 6 Hillsborough Commissioner, Brian Blair. What now?
That's what we're talking about on Flashpoint. Let me know what you think.
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A face only a Governor could love
By Brendan McLaughlin
The idea of making a living from harvesting the bounty of field and stream has powerful appeal. Who wouldn't want to make a living gathering exotic mushrooms or fiddlehead ferns from the primordial forest? But when I heard the reports of thousands of fresh-water turtles being scooped out of Florida ponds and taken by the truckload to TIA for shipment overseas, I knew the gig was up.
Environmentalists testified this week that the harvest is harmful while the trappers argued that they're not even putting a dent in the population. The problem is that there are no studies to indicate how many turtles can be taken from the wild without endangering the species or other species dependent on the turtles.With that uncertainty, our Governor decided to err on the side of the amphibians and urge a total ban on turtle collection.
Freshwater turtles are found around the world, so the fact that the Chinese are willing to pay a premium for imported Florida varieties suggest they've decimated their own turtle populations. Texas has already banned turtle hunting which is one reason so many people are now doing it in Florida.
Governor Crist seemed to realize that there's a intrinsic unfairness in taking wild plants or animals from public land and waterways for profit. All those fish and ferns belong to me too. If you want to grow soft-shelled turtles or even manatees in your own backyard pond, that's your business. But I want my critters to stay right where they are.
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Buddy Johnson takes a lickin' but keeps on politickin'. Even though the outgoing Supervisor presided over the most problem plagued election in the state and was simultaneously voted out of office in said election, he's considering a run to re-claim his job in 2012. Catch Sunday's Flashpoint to hear the rest of our interview. Then decide whether Johnson is adequately contrite over the litany of goofs that made Hillsborough voters send in more complaints than any other county in Florida.
Later in the show you'll hear from former Tampa Tribune columnist Daniel Ruth (who, by the way, referred to Buddy Johnson as "dumber than a box of toothpicks" in his last column). Ruth talks about the slow motion shrinkage of the once mighty Tribune and his regret at not being able to write a final column to his loyal readers. Get my take on the Ruth firing here.
See you Sunday Morning at 11:00 for Flashpoint on ABC Action News and let me know what you think.
-Brendan McLaughlin
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St. Petersburg Times
Brian Blair's "Checkers speech" at the County Center Thursday hinted ominously at legal action against his opponent, Commissioner-elect Kevin Beckner. Without taking any personal responsibility for his 50,000 vote loss, Blair blamed "slanderous and libelous" ads and gave credit only to Beckner's campaign manager for outsmarting his campaign manager. Nice. In arguing that Beckner crossed the line of truth and integrity in the campaign, Blair busted out this astonishing analogy about his loss to an openly gay opponent.
"There's got to be rules for everything. I mean how far can you go? Could I say that, you know, that his boyfriend gave him AIDS or something like that? I certainly know that's not true."
There were audible gasps in the room while Blair went on to explain that he would never say that... immediately after just saying that.
It might be reasonable to chalk up such a clumsy gaffe to Blair's frustration and his lack of tact. But it's also a statement that explains Blair's defeat. Blair's support of a ban on gay pride displays in Hillsborough County and his blustery defense of Judeo Christian observances in the public schools no doubt pleased his most conservative supporters, but a majority of county residents apparently decided their public servants should spend more time addressing issues of growth, transportation and environment and less time on moral crusades.
Kevin Beckner reluctantly addressed his sexual orientation during the campaign and only when asked. Some of his ads against Blair were unfair, but his campaign focused on the boring, bread and butter issues most important to the majority of voters. That's why he won.
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The Hermes of the Hillsborough has been had. Columnist Dan Ruth, that basher of buffoons, slayer of sycophants and puncturer of pedagogues got his pink slip from the Tribune Today. Mr. "I've been wearing the same glasses since 9th Grade and I'm not changing them now" happened to be the main reason I subscribed to the Tribune. Not many people can elicit an audible chuckle from me before 1:00 pm. Dan "Ask me how to use alliteration for fun and profit!" Ruth always could.
I'm sure the Tribune management finds no joy in jettisoning Ruth or any of the 80 or so employees who've had to pack up their careers in a cardboard box. Most newspapers, and television stations for that matter, are facing a revenue trend line that angles towards the floor. But the Tribune dropping Ruth is a little like Quiznos getting rid of their toasters. I didn't always agree with him, but Ruth was the crust on what is often a doughy and bland baguette.
The Tribune's hope that they can remain a vibrant news source and connect to their readers after lopping off so many pages and so many people reminds me of Monty Python's Black Knight, who refuses to accept defeat in a sword fight even after losing both arms and both legs. "It's only a flesh wound!".
I haven't talked to Dan yet, but he said to St. Petersburg Times columnist, Eric Deggans, "For the last two years, hardly a day has gone by when I didn't wonder if this would be the day....I've given 36 years of my life to this business...now that day has come."
I have little doubt that Dan Ruth will go on to something creative and fulfilling. The tragedy is that so many of our resident nincompoops will be spared the witty barbs of our own Royko by the Bay.
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This Morning on Flashpoint: Have the Republicans so lost their way that they'll be occupying the tents in the desert vacated by the Democrats on Tuesday night? Democratic strategist, Ana Cruz and Republican consultant Chris Ingram dissect the election and opine on the future of their respective parties in Florida and nationwide,
Also, find out more about Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year old African American woman who was cited at length in Barack Obama's victory speech in Chicago's Grant Park. Turns out the dear thing is columnist, Ernest Hooper's Grandmama! Hoops is in to give us the backstory on how that happened and what the election of an African American means to him and his children.
That's on Flashpoint, this Sunday morning at 11:00 on ABC Action News at 11:00. Tell me what you think.
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By Brendan McLaughlin
I doubt anybody voted for Barack Obama because they thought it would please the Egyptians or the Austrians or (zut alors!) the French. But when you consider that every major problem facing the United States intimately involves the rest of the world, it's nice to know that Tuesday's result absolutely blew the world away. In a good way this time.
This article asks the question:
Is It Cool to Be an American Abroad?
VIENNA, Austria (Nov. 6) - She was a stranger, and she kissed me. Just for being an American.
It happened on the bus on my way to work Wednesday morning, a few hours after compatriots clamoring for change swept Barack Obama to his historic victory. I was on the phone, and the 20-something Austrian woman seated in front of me overheard me speaking English.
Without a word, she turned, pecked me on the cheek and stepped off at the next stop.
Nothing was said, but the message was clear: Today, we are all Americans.
For longtime U.S. expatriates like me — someone far more accustomed to being targeted over unpopular policies, for having my very Americanness publicly assailed — it feels like an extraordinary turnabout.
Like a long journey over a very bumpy road has abruptly come to an end.
And it's not just me.
An American colleague in Egypt says several people came up to her on the streets of Cairo and said: "America, hooray!" Others, including strangers, expressed congratulations with a smile and a hand over their hearts.
Another colleague, in Amman, says Jordanians stopped her on the street and that several women described how they wept with joy.
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It's easy to over prepare for election coverage. Nobody is going to ask me about the Citrus County property appraiser race, but if they do, I'm ready. Election night coverage will go wall to wall from the ABC Action News studio starting at 5:00 pm and continuing until the person of generous proportions sings.
One feature of our coverage I hope you'll check out. We're calling it "Operation Newsroom"- a continuous webcast from 7pm to 11pm that you can view from your computer at abcactionnews.com. TV Stations often promise a "behind the scenes" look, but this really will be behind the scenes. You'll hear from our reporters in the field assigned to the various campaign headquarters as well as political experts here in our studio. Former Congressman, Jim Davis and former State Rep. Sandy Murman will be on hand to interpret the results of races and amendments. We'll also introduce you to the producers and writers as they conduct the improvisational symphony that is election night news coverage.
See you on the web tonight starting at 7:00 pm.
-Brendan McLaughlin
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WFTV Anchor, Barbara West's harangueing interview of VP candidate, Joe Biden has been lighting up the blogosphere. Get my take on the controversy when I compare West's interview with Biden to a chat she has with Republican John McCain a few days later.
You'll also hear from erstwhile Democrat, Senator Joe Lieberman about his future in politics and the odds that Sarah Palin will be our President. Obama's national campaign manager, David Plouffe is also on the show. Check it out and let me know what you think Sunday morning at 11:00 on Flashpoint with me, Brendan McLaughlin
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Somewhere in this crazy country of ours, another Scott Peterson is plotting to do away with his pregnant wife. A copycat Debra Lafave is romancing a middle school student. And a custody battle is brewing over a woman in a persistent vegetative state. (Remember the name, Heather Lavers. You may be hearing it a lot).
I can almost guarantee that these stories, or stories much like them will emerge like winter wheat as soon as the flow of electoral expectorate is cut off November 4th. As ready as I am for the commercials and the polling and the punditry to cease, it won't be two weeks before I'll be grumbling about the wall to wall coverage of tabloid stories that can only gain purchase in a vacuum.
The campaign of 2008 (which really started in 2004) has been an embarrassment of riches. Notwithstanding the recent focus on wardrobe shopping and washed up terrorist William Ayers, this contest has been uncommonly substantive. The time spent debating one candidate's plan to spread the wealth verses another candidates determination to continue the trickle down tax cutting of the last 8 years is time well spent. Still, enough is enough.
The only thing that might spare us a return to the cable network's obsessive coverage of crime and scandal is a worsening of the economic situation. Not a recession, but a full-on soup kitchen, Hooverville, banjo pickin', boxcar riding depression. But by then, we will all have cancelled our cable subscription.
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By Brendan McLaughlin
Some movies are required viewing for me strictly by virtue of the director. Speilberg, Tarantino, Lee, Scorcese. They've all made stinkers, but you dare not miss them. That's what got me to Channelside this weekend to see Oliver Stone's puzzling biopic, "W." . The film's central premise is that George W. Bush's blundering presidency was the result of simplemindedness and a deep sense of inadequacy in the eyes of his father, Bush 41.
The premise of the movie isn't its weakness. It's the execution, specifically Stone's decision to take everything we know about Bush through his speeches and press conferences and work them into long passages of dialogue. Bush may have had daddy issues, but does anybody believe that he actually said, "I'll never get out of Poppy's shadow!"? The script is so obtuse and wordy that the movie seems more like a phony transcript than a drama. Everybody's saying exactly what they've done, what they're thinking and what they're going to do. Even a documentary would have been less obvious in telegraphing motivation and intent.
The characterizations of the Cabinet from the cartoonish Condoleezza to the nutty Rumsfeld are fun to watch, but not enough to carry you through the nearly two hour running time. Plus, movies about events you're intimately familiar with always seem long unless there are dramatic surprises to break up the predictable path. None here.
I suspect most people queueing up to see "W." are expecting a mocking depiction of their least favorite President's foibles and failures. Oliver Stone's treatment is much more sympathetic, but ultimately, unbelievable.
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Jamal Simmons is a Democratic strategist and a familiar face on CNN's political coverage. Simmons has a Florida connection having served as press secretary to Senator Bob Graham. The Obama campaign alerted me that he was coming to the Bay Area, so on Thursday I booked him for Flashpoint and then called the McCain campaign to see if they could provide a counterpoint for Simmons. No callback. No joy. No Republican guest. That has been a pattern this election season. The Obama campaign aggressively seeks out coverage and offers up key players for interviews. The McCain campaign... not so much.
Happily Creative Loafing's local smarty, Wayne Garcia proved to be an able complement to the nationally known Simmons for our Flashpoint discussion of the Presidential race in Florida. Tune in Sunday and you'll get keen insight into how critical the Bay Area will be in determining the next President and by extension, the future of the world. Great.
You'll also get in depth profiles of Republican, Gus Bilirakis and his Democratic challenger in the 9th Congressional district, Bill Mitchell. That's Flashpoint this Sunday Morning at 11:00.
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I can't be the only guy who's had to fake a lifelong interest in baseball amid the excitement over the Tampa Bay Rays. To tell you the truth, I don't have a lifelong interest in any sport. As a kid, the first part of the newspaper I'd seek out was not the sports page. It was the wry musings of columnist, Herb Caen, the San Francisco Chronicle's version of Dan Ruth. Then I'd read the business section. Weird, I know.
So here I find myself without the vocabulary or life experience to intelligently discuss the most electrifying phenomena to grip the Bay Area since the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. (I was pretty ill-equipped to discuss that series, too.) Which is not to say, I'm not enjoying the hell out of all this. When Rookie pitcher, David Price struck out that last batter Sunday night, I let out an involuntary, high-pitched squeal that sounded like it came out of a middle school cheerleader. For the first time in my life, I'm starting to appreciate the chess-like subtleties of a pitching duel, and the monastic dedication to historical record keeping that make baseball a unique enterprise.
So while you may dismiss me as a bandwagoner, I think of myself as a convert to the religoin of baseball and a worshipper at The Church of Maddon of Latter Day Saints- Sternberg, Silverman and Friedman. The Giants are dead to me. I'm a Rays fan, baby.
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Sandra Murman (R) and former Congressman, Jim Davis (D) give their take on the livelier races playing out this year. That would include the presidential contest, Buddy Johnson's bid to hold on to his job as Hillsborough County supervisor of elections and the Vern Buchanan/Christine Jennings show in the 13th Congressional district.
Also, you'll learn more about ballot amendments 1 and 2 that would expand rights for aliens and withhold rights from gays... respectively.
Tune in Sunday Morning on ABC Action News at 11:00 and let me know what you think.
Have a great weekend.
-Brendan
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