Is Flipper Kerry's Campaign Mascot?

0 Comments | Insight on the News, May 11, 2004

Byline: Helen Lee, INSIGHT

Is Flipper Kerry's Campaign Mascot?

Rush Limbaugh, The Excellence in Broadcasting Network, Southern Florida, www.RushLimbaugh.com

[John] Kerry is giving this speech ripping the environment and [George W.] Bush, and a dolphin happens to pop up. He used the dolphin as a prop! Kerry thinks the dolphin is talking to him! Flipper is the perfect name for a dolphin that shows up at a Kerry speech. I tell you, that dolphin was the most exciting thing to happen in the entire Kerry appearance because the dolphin was actually moving! I bet people started waking up in the crowd, elbowing their sleeping friends and saying, "Oooh, look at that energy!"

Ready, Aim, Now Fill Out That Form!

Lars Larson, Westwood One, Portland, Ore., www.LarsLarson.com

Of all the dumb ideas I've heard coming from the office of Portland [Mayor] Vera Katz, this one really takes the cake. Every time a cop has to point his gun, he has to fill out a form and file a report. Now think about this for a moment. We're going to add one more reason for a cop to hesitate to pull out his gun or her gun. What's the benefit to the public? Zero. What's the cost? Dead police officers. Cops will tell you that a lot of these situations are split-second, and anything like this is sure to cause a second's indecision. Do I really need to pull my gun and be second-guessed?

A cop called me yesterday about his experience where police had to break a paper seal every time they jacked a round into their squad car's shotgun. He related one incident where both cops were shot to death in part because one hesitated to load his gun.

These forms will be a gold mine for lawyers suing the cops and Monday-morning quarterbacks and second-guessers. They'll be adding up stats [on] who pulls their guns the most and when, and what color are the people they point guns at the most. It's another way to put police at risk on the street and in courtrooms. The public won't be a bit safer. But armed felons will have a much better chance of getting an officer in their sights.

War in Iraq Is Not A Popularity Contest

Alan Nathan, Radio America Network, Washington, www.radioamerica.org/ Program2003/battleline.htm

Following the recent burst of violence throughout the Iraqi towns of Najaf, Fallujah and Basra in which hundreds have been killed and wounded one reality has become self-evident: The terrorists want their homicidal behavior interpreted as our failure.

These enemies have discovered that the most effective way to diminish our military action is to hit soft targets and kill civilians so as to give the impression of disaster and thus manipulate the lowering of U.S. resolve. They equally wish to further reinforce the ongoing appeasement trend of the war opponents.

Perhaps now we have finally learned the uselessness of negotiating with their quasi representatives. Their purpose to negotiate is not ours. They negotiate to delay, not to compromise; they negotiate to destroy, not to resolve. When do we start fighting to win, not to be popular?

Gas Cartel Gouging The Golden State

Roger Hedgecock, KOGO-AM 600, San Diego, www.RogerHedgecock.com

Gas prices are too high! These prices are caused by a near-monopoly ownership of the whole industry in California. From the oil well to the refinery to your local gas station, five oil companies control 90 percent of California's gas supply. And surprise, surprise! In 2003 gas prices were up 35 percent, and those five oil companies' profits went up 926 percent.

I'm all for profits, but profits like these tell me this monopoly feels no competitive pressure. In a real capitalistic economy, competition between companies produces better-quality products at lower prices. A monopoly produces obscene profits by conspiring to produce a scarce product at a higher and higher price.

The state has antitrust laws designed to give the attorney general the tools to fight this kind of monopoly. Where is our California Attorney General Bill Lockyer? He says he's studying the problem.

Porn Industry Takes A Very Deep Breath

Shmuley Boteach, Liberty Broadcasting, Newark, N.J., www.LibertyBroadcasting.com

The "adult" entertainment industry has temporarily shut itself down because one of its lead actors has been diagnosed with HIV and has infected numerous actresses he's worked with. First of all, I've always loved that euphemism "adult" entertainment, as if lecherous married men salivating over a woman with silicone breasts involves a particular level of maturity. In reporting this story, the New York Times referred to the men and women of the industry with yet another euphemism: "performers." Is that what porn is, a performance?

I guess the biggest tragedy of this story is that they'll shut down the industry when people's lives are put at risk, but not when their very dignity is undermined.

Helen Lee is an associate reporter for Insight magazine.