The recent flap over Lowe's television advertising decisions, instigated by a holier-than-thou group in Florida and then exacerbated by an apparently well-meaning conglomeration of religious groups from Charlotte and beyond, put Lowe's in the position of explaining and defending itself when it had, it appears, done nothing wrong.

The agency in charge of Lowe's advertising purchased time on a network, not a specific show, and then, as usual, re-distributed its advertising focus. The Florida Family Association — which obviously only supports certain types of families — was appalled that one of the programs aired around Lowe's commercials was "All-American Muslim."

When the ads were re-positioned, more than 200,000 people were convinced that Lowe's gave in to pressure applied by the Florida organization and decided that if any caving was going to be done, it should be done on their terms. As a result, Lowe's officials spent Tuesday explaining that it supports diversity and is well aware that offending anyone is bad for the bottom line.

The primary culprit in the cacophonous few days proved to be various social media outlets that make it way too easy for folks to preach to the choir, share insults, drop accusations and then, move on to other victims.

County squabble

The end of the calendar year signals a new start for local government administrations and Talkers have been impressed with the cooperative attitude exhibited so far, albeit without many controversial topics, by boards in local communities.

But Talkers can't help but take notice — and honestly wallow in a little evil glee — at the barbed and incendiary atmosphere present among the re-aligned Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Harold Cogdell stirred things up by wresting the chair away from long-time board leader and fellow Democrat Jennifer Roberts, and ever since the slings and arrows have been flying.

Seems Cogdell's professional dealings with a certain non-profit that, subsequently or previously — depending on which version of the story you hear — enjoyed a boost in funding from the board, has raised eyebrows and accusations. And while the question about conflict of interest is being pursued, the finger-pointing has expanded to include who knew what when and why they didn't say something before Cogdell ascended to the chairmanship.

At the most recent meeting, temper tantrums over seating arrangements, committee assignments and attendance were added to the mix and the new chairman of the board was forced to ask for simple civility from his fellow commissioners in order to get back to the business of government. In the end, however, all those present did see eye-to-eye and voted unanimously to authorize two separate investigations, with at least $15,000 in taxpayer funds set aside to foot the bill.

So much for getting started on the right foot.