THIS WEEK ON THE SUNDAY CHAT SHOWS

I'm doing something I normally do not do in this weekly posting. If you are in the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Lakeland viewing area, make a note to watch (or TiVO) WFTS-TV 28 at 11:00 AM Sunday for the local public affairs programme Flashpoint. The subject will be the security --- or lack thereof --- in the voting machines you and I use. Host/lead news anchor Brendan McLaughlin will discuss the issue with Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, who allowed testing of his office's Diebold machines and exposed several security issues. Sancho has been outspoken about spending public money on flawed equipment. Also appearing will be Pam Haengel, president of the nonpartisan group Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay. With questions lingering about this important issue, this is a programme worth watching.

Now, let's see what the networks are doing...

ABC / This Week with George Stephanopoulos: U.S. Senator John Warner (R - VA) and Congressman John Murtha (D - PA) will discuss Iraq and reports of a massacre in Haditha, a town in northern Iraq clearly in the control of Islamist guerrillas according to this British news report. And the roundtable will consist of former Congressman John Kasich (R - OH), E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post, and conservative columnist George Will.

CBS / Face The Nation with Bob Schieffer: U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R - KY / Assistant Majority Leader) and Charles Schumer (D - NY / Chairman, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) will join Elizabeth Bumiller of the New York Times in discussing politics and the upcoming midterm elections.

CNN / Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Can the new Iraqi government assert enough control so that coalition troops can begin coming home? That and immigration issues will be discussed with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, NBC News Senior Vice President/Washington Bureau Chief and "Meet The Press" host Tim Russert, HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

FOX / Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: U.S. Senators Dr. William H. "Bill" Frist (R - TN / Senate Majority Leader) and Richard Durbin (D - IL / Assistant Senate Minority Leader) will discuss a variety of subjects, including immigration, gas prices, and the war on terror.

NBC / Meet the Press with Tim Russert: A debate on immigration will be featured with U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R - NE) and Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R - WI / House Judiciary Committee Chairman). Then a roundtable discussing with David Broder and Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune Executive Editor David Ignatius, and National Review Washington Editor Kate O'Beirne.

Syndicated / The Chris Matthews Show: The marriage of former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D - NY) and it's return to the front pages will be discussed, as well as the question of if President Bush's admission of mistakes in his Iraq policy salvage his legacy. The roundtable will consist of NPR's Michelle Norris, Michael Duffy of Time magazine, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, and Gloria Borger of CBS News and U.S. News and World Report.