Flashpoint

Do or die fatigue

2008-10-06T21:23:00Z

By Brendan McLaughlin

Is anyone else exhausted by the myriad threats facing our Republic- each of which requires immediate, forceful, and targeted action? Global warming, invasive plant species, the war in Afghanistan and the global credit crunch have all been described as imminent, existential threats that supersede all other threats. Really? None of them rise to the level of an approaching asteroid for example. For that, I would skip my spinning class.

The problem with trumpeting each crisis as the crisis to end all crises, is that we become inured to bad news- "inured" being defined as ordering take-out Thai food, sitting on the couch and catching up on past episodes of Dexter. The upside is that these dire predicaments that threaten life on earth including Netflix can also focus the mind. Not my mind, but other minds. In the face of oblivion, Obama's association with former radical bomber, William Ayers and McCain's affection for Phil Graham, one of the architects of our current credit crisis seem charming.

The bottom line is stuff happens, including good stuff. The doomsayers never warn us about those things. They would be lousy doomsayers if they did, mocked by other doomsayers as "joy mongers" or "can you believe our luck?-sayers". What were we talking about?

She's Baaaaack!

2008-10-05T16:15:00Z

Christine Jennings is determined to win the 13th Congressional seat held by bucks up businessman, Vern Buchanan. The democratic former banker lost to Buchanan two years ago by fewer than 400 votes. Because some 18,000 votes registered no choice for congress, Jennings figured she was cheated out of a win. We feature both candidates on this morning's Flashpoint program along with an interview with St. Pete Times business columnist, Robert Trigaux.

Bailout? Michael Moore's a tad skeptical

2008-10-01T02:10:00Z

Michael Moore has always struck me as the Newt Gingrich of the left- intoxicated with his own certitude but always armed with direct, simple arguments that have the ring of truth. Here's Moore's latest screed against the Wall Street bail-out plan.

Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door. (Read the rest here)

Over the top? Maybe. But at least Moore is fairly specific. I'm tiring of the vague doomsday scenarios hinted at by Paulson, Bernanke and others. One insider warned darkly "you wouldn't want to live in a world without this bailout". Ooooh, what does that mean? Once-a-week garbage pick-up or widespread cannibalism? They never say.

This Sunday Morning on Flashpoint

2008-09-27T04:24:00Z

The color of Barack Obama's skin is going to cost him votes. That, no one can deny. The question is, how many? A new AP/Yahoo poll figures it to be about 2 1/2 percentage points and goes further by suggesting a white version of Obama might earn as much as 6 percent more support. The poll was conducted in cooperation with Stanford University and employed sophisticated techniques to screen out people's tendency to say what they think will make them look most noble. One of the most surprising results to me was the finding that 1/3 of white Democrats held negative opinions of black people and that age had very little bearing on those views. This Sunday Morning, I'll talk with St. Petersburg Times writer, Eric Deggans, Creative Loafing political editor, Wayne Garcia and political media consultant Renee Dabbs about the race factor in this presidential election. That's at 11:00 am on ABC Action News this Sunday.

Things to do in the coming recession

2008-09-24T04:53:00Z

-Read every book in your house before buying another one.

-Push ups and sit ups

-Take up whatever instrument you played in high school. Clarinet players are excused

-Make bathtub gin

-Try out for the lead role in a community theater production

-Raise chinchillas for fun and profit

The Blair-ing reaction

2008-09-18T14:12:00Z

Thanks to all of you who watched the Brian Blair interview last Sunday and posted your comments. Wayne Garcia's blog, Political Whore had a lively discussion over Blair's appearance with his Democratic Challenger, Kevin Beckner and Sue Carlton of the St. Petersburg Times made a mention as well.

My only regret was not jumping on Blair's flip assertion that he and Michael Jackson were the only two white guys in his home town of Gary, Indiana. At the time, I wasn't sure I heard him right and didn't want to get sidetracked in the short time we had left. If you missed the show, it's posted here.

I'm on a "staycation" this week so I'll re-run Sunday's Flashpoint this week. The highlight so far was hosting Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay 2008 awards night at the Tampa Theater on Tuesday. It was, without doubt the most enjoyable event I've attended since the 2007 Awards Night. See what you missed and make sure you're there next year.

The Blair Ditch Project

2008-09-12T20:22:00Z

Joseph Garnett Jr./Times

Hillsborough County commissioner, Brian Blair doesn't look scared. Maybe that's because he's faced bigger, rougher challengers as a professional wrestler. But the soft-spoken and polite Kevin Beckner may be the one to end Blair's brief and somewhat turbulent political career. The democratic newcomer and his campaign manager, Mitch Kates have a campaign that harnesses the power of social networking sites like Facebook.

Blair and Beckner face off on Flashpoint this Sunday Morning. Be sure to stick around for the second segment where the issue of gay tolerance animates the discussion considerably.

See you then. Let me know what you think of the show right here.

-Brendan

Palin rape kit controversy emerges

2008-09-12T02:01:00Z

The Associated Press reports that Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin presided over the only city in Alaska that billed rape victims for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations.

Palin had been in office for four years when the practice of charging rape victims got the attention of state lawmakers in 2000, who passed a bill to stop the practice.

Former Democratic Rep. Eric Croft, who sponsored that bill, said he was disappointed that simply asking the Wasilla police department to stop didn't work. Croft said he doubts she was unaware of the practice.

Is foreign policy beyond the Palin?

2008-09-11T16:32:00Z

Quick! Without consulting Google or Wikipedia, name the heads of states of China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Canada and Mexico. Even if you consider yourself a fairly tuned-in consumer of world news, you might have drawn a blank or three. Do you think Sarah Palin's any different? The reason she's been so cloistered from contact with the media or the public is not to prepare her for the witness protection lifestyle of Dick Cheney, but rather to give her time to cram.

The first interview Palin has granted since the convention can be seen on ABC's World News Tonight with Charles Gibson. A lengthier special will air in prime time Thursday. My theory is that Palin has been studying the Cliffs Notes version of geopolitics so as not to get tripped up by Gibson, or worse yet, but some local reporter who asks her the name of Russia's foreign minister. That would be particularly damaging because Russia, if you haven't heard by now, is right next to Alaska!

Facts here! Get your red hot facts!

2008-09-09T20:34:00Z

Having sat through the latest McCain campaign commercial about a thousand times, I thought it time to check with the Annenberg School's fact checking website. Here's their rather harsh judgment of McCain's slam on Obama.

A New Stitch in a Bad Pattern

September 2, 2008

A McCain ad wrongly claims Obama plans "painful tax increases" for working families. And who's talking about deficits?

Summary

McCain's new ad puts another stitch in what we've called his pattern of deceit on Obama's tax plan. This one claims Obama and congressional Democrats plan to push forward "painful tax increases on working American families" and that they will bring about "years of deficits," "no balanced budgets" and "billions in new government spending."

The ad is plain wrong about higher taxes on working families. In fact, Obama's economic plan would produce a tax cut for the majority of American households, with middle-income earners benefiting most. As for "years of deficits," exactly the same claim could be made about McCain's program. It's unlikely either Obama or McCain would balance the budget, and both are projected to increase the debt by trillions.

Analysis

We've already reported on at least three other ads, in both Spanish and English, from Sen. John McCain's campaign that distort his rival's tax policy. The ads claim that, for example, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama would raise taxes "on the sale of your home" and that he has a "history of raising taxes" and that he wanted to raise taxes on "families" making just $42,000 a year.

Claims like these have led us to say that McCain's campaign is engaging in a "pattern of deceit" when it comes to describing Obama's tax plan. This most recent ad fits right into the template. Read the rest here.

Obama's ads aren't exactly a paragon of fairness either. Here's FactCheck.Org's take on the Democrat's recent TV spot.

Distorting McCain's Remarks

August 19, 2008

An Obama ad uses dated and out of context quotes to portray McCain as clueless on the economy.

Summary

Obama's campaign is running a TV ad in Indiana that asks the question: "How can John McCain fix the economy, when he doesn't think it's broken?" But the ad uses quotes from McCain that are old and taken out of context:

The ad shows McCain saying, "I don't believe we're headed into a recession." But McCain said that in January, and he also acknowledged at the time that the American economy was in "a rough patch."

The ad then shows McCain saying in April, "[T]here's been great progress economically." But the quote is lifted from a much longer response; McCain went on to say that the "progress" made during Bush's tenure still wouldn't console American families who are facing "tremendous economic challenges."

The third quote from McCain, "[W]e have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment," also comes from January. In his full response, McCain went on to say "things are tough right now."

The rest here.

Crossover voters: Why do they do it?

2008-09-07T15:05:00Z

Former Senator Lincoln Chafee

This morning on Flashpoint- Party poopers. Former Rhode Island Senator, Lincoln Chafee was a lifelong Republican who never voted for a Democrat, until now. Chafee changed his voter registration to "Independent" and is supporting Barack Obama.

Former Tampa Mayor, Dick Greco is what many would call a DINO, Democrat in name only. He voted for Bill Clinton twice,but also supported George W. Bush twice. This year, he's part of a campaign to lure independents and Democrats to support John McCain for President. The crossovers: That's what we're talking about on Flashpoint this morning at 11:00 on ABC Action News. Both Greco and Chafee are my guests. Plus I sound off on the Palin pregnancy debate. Let me know what you think.

Jerry Reed R.I.P.

2008-09-04T01:40:00Z

One of my guitar heroes passed away this week. Jerry Reed died at age 71. To movie fans, he'll be remembered as Cledus Snow of the Smokey and the Bandit movies, but I remember him as the guy whose effortless looking guitar chops made me simultaneously want to practice the instrument and throw it into the fireplace.

Check out these old clips of Jerry Reed looking like a guitar-picking Steve McQueen who wasn't trying to look cool.

-Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins Breakdown

-Wabash Cannonball

or good God, this...

How cool is that?

Does Sarah Palin's NRA support include shotgun weddings?

2008-09-03T03:38:00Z

By Brendan McLaughlin

It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished `em well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madam have rung the chapel bell
C'est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell
-Chuck Berry

Levi's genes to join VP Family

Sarah Palin's decision to have five kids? Bravo! As the fifth born child in my family, I'm deeply grateful that Mom went full term. Todd Palin's 20 year old DUI charge doesn't phase me a bit. There but for the grace of lenient cops go I. And I don't think Bristol Palin's teenage pregnancy necessarily says anything about her mother's parenting skills, much less about her qualification for high office. But, the planned nuptials between Palin's pregnant 17 year old daughter and the baby's purported father, also 17 years old is another matter.

The photos and deep thoughts that have been made public from young Levi Johnston's MySpace page and other sources portray a fairly typical teenager who probably should not be put in charge of a guinea pig, much less a wife and child. That's not a knock on the boy-just a pretty good assumption based on these accounts of his web postings:

“I’m a f….in’ redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s… and just f…in’ chillin’, I guess. Ya f… with me I’ll kick ass.” He also claims to be “in a relationship” but states, “I don’t want kids.”

The Palin's are being deified for their decision to support their daughter and help the couple raise their child. But why in the world would they countenance holy matrimony (the forever kind) between two kids who are barely prepared to tie their shoes much less "the knot"? I suppose it's possible that Bristol has decided to lay off the Captain Morgan and Levi suddenly grew up over the last several weeks. But does anyone believe that they would have become engaged in the absence of this unvetted little surprise? The odds of a successful marriage are not much better than 50/50, even among willing adults. With teenagers, the outlook is even worse. There's no reason Levi and Bristol shouldn't both be involved with raising little Fletcher or whatever they name it, but nobody's doing this child any favors by creating a family headed up by two unready and possibly unwilling parents.

Sarah Palin is clearly doing what she thinks is best. But that doesn't mean it's right. The Democrats keep harping on the Governor's inexperience when they might be more justified in challenging her judgement.

Palin-Drone- Nobody saw this coming

2008-08-29T19:17:00Z

My first reaction on hearing of John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin for Vice President was, "Just what Alaska needs- more clout in Washington". My second reaction was to be impressed. The stealth pick knocked the pundits off their chairs and guaranteed that the election will result in a historic breakthrough, though Palin's suggestion that her nomination will allow her to shatter the glass ceiling that Hillary merely cracked was a little over the top. You'd be the VICE president, babe.

Putting a maverick hockey mom (you are going hear that expression a billion times) will cost both campaigns something It blunts McCain's criticism of Obama's inexperience which is certainly no less than a first term governor. But it also neutralizes the Democrats' mantra that the McCain ticket represents "more of the same". That is clearly no longer the case.

Did NBC "Out" Charlie Crist?

2008-08-28T01:33:00Z

NBC's political director, Chuck Todd let slip a comment during MSNBC's democratic convention coverage that goes beyond mere innuendo over Charlie Crist's sexual orientation. While discussing the Republican's vice presidential pick, the exchange among Todd, Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory and Joe Scarborough went like this:

SCARBOROUGH: Did he get married? I thought he was engaged. Is he engaged or did he get married?

TODD: After Friday the engagement might be off if he’s not the running mate., right? … I don’t know!

Just watch the panel squirm when that retort sinks in.