Listen, there is a simple way to settle this.  Bobo has a new corresondent.  His name appeared on two stories on Bobo's site last week.  Our side doesn't trust Bobo, but I'm sure Bobo's corresondent would be fair and impartial since he is new to the scene.  So set up roundtable discussion moderated by Paul Shooter in which both sides of the political aisle debate, and Paul Shooter will no doubt be a good judge.  In summation, Paul Shooter, Paul Shooter, and also, Paul Shooter.

"Tell them why free speech matters in this country" what bothers me in this statement slager made is that it that one is led to believe that the owner dosent understand because they are not from this counrtry... just my opinion..

Rip Dinkle here..high over Atlanta on my way to Disney for a 12 hour vacation. Sources have informed me that there may be an investigation into the Onset Village Market issue. He has every right to carry whichever newspapers he wants and if he makes a decision to no longer carry a newspaper, then anyone who harrasses or threatens him by voice or in print might want to think about it! OOOOPS????? IF you publish someone's phone number and make statements like "Tell him how free speech matters in this country" when in fact, the owner did not violate anyone's free speech, that could be very very bad :) 

The great thing about America is that free speech does matter and the right to choose does matter! You can't force anyone to carry your trash if they don't want to!   The best part, it can be detrimental to you if you do it in a threatening matter:) and make false claims!


Rip Dinkle....over and out....anyone want a tshirt or gator jerky?

When you're in Florida, try the Manatee steak.
It's really quite good. Kind of like a cross between a Florida panther and a bald eagle.

I think Bobo is having a melt down. He seems to be ranting a little more than usual. I saw him  after he left the Village Market Thursday. You could tell he was furious, his minvan loaded with the rag.
I was standing right next to his car as he was trying to pull into traffic. I was going to shout out "hey Bobo are you having a good day" but I was afraid he would hit the car in front of him.

I really hope Bobo is okay. I don't want to see him have a break-down.

I am a compassionate person and while quite willing to mock him here really don't wish him any ill fortune. I just would like Wareham to have a far better weekly paper that covered the range of Wareham news and social doings the way other papers in similar towns do. I also can't stand his mixing of opinion with news reporting, and his seeming to be in the pocket of the rulers of the town.

Businesses need a good paper to advertise in. Kids enjoy to seeing their pictures in the paper. Everything from news about student activities and residents in the service to obituaries should be part of a good local weekly. Residents should be able to express their views in a form that will remain forever archived in the local newspaper of record.

Maybe Tamson Burgess can weigh in on this because that's what the Old Colony Memorial does for Plymouth.

Why can't Wareham have a print weekly like this?

Last edited by urneighbor (2009-08-07 18:18:43)

I was just reading the front page of Slager's site to get quotes of his writing for my next post, and I came across this gem, from one of his edits to the "Fight the boycott" post.

we were prohibitated by the owners from dropping off new papers on Thursday!

Given that "Paul Shooter"'s editorial implied that Slager edits things...what the hell is "prohibitating" something?

Liz, where's that from?  I don't see it on the main page

ahh - well, technically, if it's inaccurate, it's not factual, but why dawdle in the details, right?  :)

np - always happy to point out things that he" says that make no sense whatsoever.  Had he just said "minor inaccuracy" that would've been fine.  Of course a minor inaccuracy is when you say that a baseball player's batting average is .288 when really it's .297.  It's *not* implying that the town's insurance company paid only 40% of the trustees' legal fees when in fact it paid almost the entire amount.  You know...minor details :)

this story in slagers paper written by andrea smith
Breaking News: Onset Village Market lifts boycott

   After a one-week absense, The Onset Village Market will once again carry the Wareham Observer newspaper beginning tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 12.
   The owner of the market told the Observer than many people asked him to resume selling it after a group of individuals pressured him into pulling the paper off the shelf last week.
   "Observer Media is extremely proud of the response of our readers to this politically-motivated boycott," said Publisher Robert Slager. "No business owner in Wareham should have their livlihood threatened because a small group of people disagree with any newspaper's editorial position. We wish to thank the owners of the Onset Village Market for making this brave decision in the face of the intimidation levied against them last week. We encourage all our readers to visit their store and thank them personally. "
    Slager said the boycott attempt was clearly intended to control the flow of information to residents in Onset and Wareham.
    "No one has ever forced anyone to purchase or read the Observer," he said. "If people do not like our newspaper, they have every right not to read it. But when political partisans in Wareham try to limit information to other residents, it's an offense to the very principles on which this country was founded."
    Local resident Bob Brady and his supporters have openly pushed for a boycott of the Observer, which had been highly critical of Brady's recent "community" meeting at the Wareham Middle School. Brady, a strong opponent of the current town leadership, attempted to prevent the media and town officials from attending. Both the Observer and the Wareham Courier opposed Brady's position. Slager, along with two of the selectmen, attended despite the threat of arrest. The Wareham Police Department chose not to enter the auditorium, and the meeting proceeded without further incident.
   The advertisers of the Observer have recently received boycott letters asking them to sever ties with the paper.
   "Again I want to thank the owners of the Onset Village Market for standing up to the bullying tactics displayed by political partisans in Wareham," Slager said. "The Observer has never tried to silence any opposing voice in this community. It is a proud day in Wareham when residents rally like this in support of allowing every voice to be heard."

"Slager, along with two of the selectmen, attended despite the threat of arrest."

--Apparently, she reports the facts as well as Bobo does. There was Bobo, Sweet Brucie, BrocktonBrenda, Sleepy Cruz, And Mizz Donahue at that meeting. I know they can't add one plus one and get two, but that sounds like four uninvited meeting crashers (plus one Bobo) to me.
PShooter(Not Bobo's Buddy)

Last edited by PShooter (2009-08-12 14:57:21)

How his boycott blog post should have read:

    After one week of standing strong in the face of harassment and intimidation from Observer Media and its readers, the Onset Village Market has unfortunately bowed to Robert Slager's pressure and harassment and began stocking the Observer again. 
    Upon discovering the decision to not sell the publication any more, Robert Slager posted a message on his website encouraging readers to call the market owners and feed them misinformation about the contents of the First Amendment.  It's unclear how many readers called, and how much misinformation was spread, but it appears clear that this reckless disregard for truth and honesty in journalism was a clear factor in the decision to begin selling the publication again.
    Slager has not commented on the effect that the boycott he organized by telling readers to "...by all means feel free to do your shopping elsewhere if you so choose."  This writer predicts that Mr. Slager will claim that he was not encouraging anybody to boycott because of the "if you so choose" clause in the statement, but it clear to me what he intended.  Encouraging a boycott against a local business simply because they chose not to stock a particular product is unacceptable, especially when the person encouraging the boycotting the store for stocking it.  The double standard employed here would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
    Slager did comment on his blog that he now encourages his readers to visit the Onset Village Market.  Presumably this is contrary to his previous encouragement to do their shopping elsewhere. 
    In his post, Slager also thanks the OVM for "standing up to the bullying tactics" of others.  It is unclear at this point why he did not comment about the pressure, harassment, and bullying tactics he engaged in, both against the owners of the OVM and the growing group of individuals dedicated to taking back Wareham from the clutches of its current leadership.  Slager has attacked the organizers of this effort so strongly, with such blatant disregard for the truth, and with a decided political bias to the point that town employees were so intimidated that they did not attend Bob Brady's community meeting. 
    This is the sort of vicious attack journalism that is damaging to the good people of Wareham, and all that they are fighting for.  Only when Slager and his bias, misrepresentation, and violations of journalism ethics are exposed to the community as a whole will we finally be able to heal.

also, i just noticed his headline:

Breaking News: Onset Village Market lifts boycott

This just continues to show his ignorance of the real world.  The people boycotting are the ones who "lift" a boycott.  So, a more accurate title would have been "Observer Readers lift Boycott after OVM agrees to sell Observer again".  We'll see how long it takes for a correction.

I feel like I should be getting a paycheck from Slager for all of the fact-checking and proof-reading I'm doing for him....

What Country are these poor owners from?
Is it a Country where they fear the sounds of military boots hitting the deck each night, with flashlights illuminating potential targets?
Where the Police are the ultimate rule?
Where people will tell them to be "good citizens" and not get involved in any controversies or politics of any kind, or they will be forced to watch their family members disappear day by day?
Someone, on this site, go to them. Tell them they are entitled to sell or carry whatever publications they like. Explain to them that they have the CHOICE to do what they want, and that the people on this site and in this Country will protect them from idle threats by a group, albeit small, of idiots that want to threaten their livelihoods and their safety.
Be their friends...they obviously need some.
Soon..when they are educated and you have demonstrated how you will protect them, they will make their own decisions about what publications to carry or not carry, and they will know they have the protection of people who care about them, and not be threatened by those who wish them harm and force them into being pawns in a game that they neither asked to join, not want to be a part of....Help them!

Well, as much as I don't believe in boycotting small business, I will not be making a second trip there this Friday and I will be sure to tell everyone I know who did go that they need to stay away.
Walter Cruz has been silent on the whole issue of race baiting, how can anyone think he is listening? If he truly represented the CV community as he said he would he'd be screaming from roof tops, instead, through his silence he has condoned it. Shame on him.

I hope that someone knows that for a fact. I hope you print out what I said about him in the BIGGEST and BOLDEST lettering you possibly can.
I would love to know that he is listening. To someone.
I am speaking of Cruz, so everyone knows.

Last edited by danoconnell (2009-08-13 15:07:09)

I don't know why this showed up on this post. I actually wrote it on a post that 4dognite contributed to. Sorry!

Bless you, my brother.
Now there is a path to follow for the lost soul.
There is hope for him!
I hope he has access to these brothers and sisters.
Do you have the path for him to follow, brother PShooter?
He needs help and guidance.
The lady with the question mark is doomed!

Dan, I don't see the editorial - is it online?  Can you copy and paste the address into a post?

Larry McDonald wrote:

I think you have to remember he is outnumbered at this point. He may be trying to keep things in check until the proper time. What makes you think he isn't talking about it quietly?

I think you may want to re-read what you wrote. "I think you have to remember he's outnumbered at this point."  Are you referring to his political views or this bull about race baiting?     And, to iliveinazoo, I voted for Mr. Cruz.  I did not vote for Mr. Cruz to ''REPRESENT THE CAPE VERDEAN CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY".  I voted for Mr. Cruz to represent the CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY OF WAREHAM.  Please, let's be careful what we say and not add to Slager's game.  Thank you and if I misunderstood what your were saying, I am sorry, but there are probably a lot more who misunderstood also.

Casual,
I went back to the Courier site and the editorial is no longer there.
I know I wasn't hallucinating (at least not yesterday).
It was a scathing attack on the BOS and ITA.
Go figure!

bornofwareham, I have to ask what planet you were on during the election in April. To say "I voted for Mr. Cruz to represent the CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY OF WAREHAM." is just outrageous. How did you know what Cruz was going to do - he never said anything in the campaign, not one word. In fact he was brought to our illustrious town clerk, weebles, (weebles wobble but they don't fall down) by John Donahue. He said at the OPL that he was going to have a lot of help. Who in God's name did you think was going to help him? If you guessed the other 4 stooges you win! There was no one else to help him except this board of stooges. Where the hell were you?

rukidding wrote:

bornofwareham, I have to ask what planet you were on during the election in April. To say "I voted for Mr. Cruz to represent the CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY OF WAREHAM." is just outrageous. How did you know what Cruz was going to do - he never said anything in the campaign, not one word. In fact he was brought to our illustrious town clerk, weebles, (weebles wobble but they don't fall down) by John Donahue. He said at the OPL that he was going to have a lot of help. Who in God's name did you think was going to help him? If you guessed the other 4 stooges you win! There was no one else to help him except this board of stooges. Where the hell were you?

Actually, I was on the planet earth at that time.  "How did I know what Cruz was going to do?"  I didn't.  As I stated to Larry McDonald, in a reply to him, I knew who he was, where he lived, I spoke to my friends and his neighbors and some of his friends and all agreed that he was a very nice man.  I did not know about the Donahue faction.  I thought that the help he would be , toughgetting would be from the input of the citizens of this town, why would I have thought otherwise - not knowing about the Donahue's?  Did I have any idea that he would be relying on the knowledge (that word being used loosely) of the BOS already in place?  No, we were looking for change.  rukidding - did you vote for any present member on the BOS?  I really don't want you to answer that.  Do you think that anyone who voted for Bruce, Brenda, etc. thought that they would be doing this to our town; that they would be unapproachable; that they would disregard us as peasants or that they would be running this town into the ground.  I really don't think so. 
 
So, you want to know "where the hell was I"?  Well, during the April election, I was standing in line to vote, a privilege afforded to me by my family members and friends who fought in W.W.II, Korea, Viet Nam, Dessert Storm, now in Iraq and Afghanistan, some who came home in flag draped coffins.  So, if my vote, that I am not ashamed to talk about, upset you, too bad!

Bornof: I don't think you were duped by Mr. Cruz, I think he is the one that was duped.
If he knows that two new members are coming on board soon, maybe he will start acing like an interested, knowledgeable, respected elected official.
He needs to stand up and speak out and not sit back waiting to be told what to do.
I hope you have a chance to sit with him and pump him up a little bit and let him know help is on the way.(Assuming he is on the right side of helping the people of Wareham).

danoconnell wrote:

Bornof: I don't think you were duped by Mr. Cruz, I think he is the one that was duped.
If he knows that two new members are coming on board soon, maybe he will start acing like an interested, knowledgeable, respected elected official.
He needs to stand up and speak out and not sit back waiting to be told what to do.
I hope you have a chance to sit with him and pump him up a little bit and let him know help is on the way.(Assuming he is on the right side of helping the people of Wareham).

Thanks.  I am working on that now.  When I hear from him, I will let all know.