#1 2009-10-28 10:38:03
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the voters who showed up at town meeting. If you need proof that Town Meeting works, 500 the first night, and close to 300 the next night. We are starting to see voter apathy replaced by voter awareness. We need to build on the momentum to keep people engaged and working to improve Wareham.
As far as the civility of the meeting, it wasn't the best. Some would say it was hostile! In my opinion, this is a reflection of the leadership of Wareham. I can cite example after example of bully tactics and unprofessional behavior, but the key point is the disrespect that has been shown to citizens. I believe with a change in leadership, you will see a change in the tone of Town Meetings. This message goes directly to the CRC: Too many people, young and old do not want to change the structure of government. Why give up the most pure form of democracy? What I have heard expressed is modifications to the existing charter to address compensation for the Selectmen, and more wording to limit the "intrusion" of the Selectmen on day to day running of the government. Please pay attention to the will of the people instead of pushing an agenda that does not meet with what the citizens want. If you think the people won't stand up and let you know, you can now refer to what just occurred. With the open positions on your committee, I would suggest including applicants that have broad knowledge of the current and former charter as well as municipality laws. I won't mention any names (Cara, Peter B).
To our Selectmen, I think they showed a much different side on Tuesday than they did on Monday. Kudos to Walter Cruz for his vote on BayPointe. This project needs a starting point and that is what the voters did. I think Brenda should resign. Her actions on Monday night were unprofessional and over the top. If you add the motion to "dissolve" the meeting, you certainly have taken your credibility way down. If that is your way of leading by example, you failed miserably.
For whoever was behind the WarehamDems calling their supporters and misinforming them, you now know that these people are not blind followers. I was encouraged by the meetings we had before TM and the questions asked by the citizens of this town. They do care and want to be informed before voting. Shame on those who thought they could hoodwink these fine citizens!
We have much work to do! It's clear the citizens of Wareham want a new direction and they will no longer sit by and let it slip further into despair. Let us demand to be included on committees and boards that have only been exclusive clubs. Let's push to get a comprehensive study of existing and future senior housing so we can attack the problem. This takes everyone, so PLEASE stay engaged and involved!
Oh, did I leave anyone out? hmmmm, oh yes! For the mouthpiece of the Selectmen, it's clear you were a non-factor. If you don't know it by now, you have zero credibilty and your attempts to discredit and destroy the character of those who stand up to the political shenanigans has fallen on deaf ears. It's time to pack your poison pen and move on.
Take Back Wareham!
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#2 2009-10-28 10:57:39
Larry, I totally agree with you. And I just want to remind you, that we, the voters, will have the final say on a new charter or new (mayoral) form of government.
I thank you and Bob Brady for organizing community and neighborhood meetings, getting the flier out, getting people to come to town meeting. I believe when it comes to voting on any changes to the charter, town meeting will see attendance similar to the first night of TM. People DO care about Wareham and want to take it back.
After two years of unnecessary and nasty litigation between the library and the town, and the lack of the BoS management and leadership skills (as in not hiring important positions or loading committees with lackeys, publicly humiliating citizens, fiscal disasters, illegal actions like using money from the housing trust etc.) I am more convinced than ever that we need to change not the form of government but the people who were elected to serve as BoS, Moderator, and Town Clerk.
Let's keep our eyes on April and work together to make changes and TAKE BACK WAREHAM!!!
Last edited by Nora Bicki (2009-10-28 10:58:37)
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#3 2009-10-28 11:09:02
Thank you Nora. I want to say how much I admire what you and others have done to face the bully tactics directed at the Library and all the supporters of the Library.
I appreciate your thoughts, but I can tell you that the meetings and encouragement was truly a team effort. I can honestly say I would be lost with out my dear Gnome! She has poured her heart into this movement! She should have been a detective! So many people have played a part to Take Back Wareham.
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#4 2009-10-28 11:19:27
I agree with you all. It's not over. These people are snakes and will try to circumvent the role of elected officials in government.
This site is your protection.
My good friend said that he was disappointed with the turnout last night. I wasn't. I knew damn well that the opposition gave up and didn't bother to return to get their asses handed to them.
The joke of a Moderator(my opinion) that called for a specific vote on the Bay Pointe issue was disgusting. I watched on the web, and as grainy as it was, a blind man could have seen that the motion was passed. To hand count was arrogant and incompetent. The final results of the hand count proves it.
I think I have to agree that the Town election of April of 2010 can replace at least 4 Selectmen, through the open slots and recall of at least two.
I am not a fan of recall..until Monday night when I watched what the Selectmen did and how they acted, and treated people after the meeting.
I suggest you find 4 or 5 good candidates and we can all plan on how to hold a recall and regular election at the same time.
I've only seen it done once, but it can be done.
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#5 2009-10-28 11:22:10
Larry, you and your Gnome should hold your heads high. You showed threw your efforts that the everyday average citizen can make a difference. That also goes for everyone involved with the Take Back Wareham movement.
The voters are having their blinders removed as they are being educated properly as to what is really going on in town. Keep up the good fight, keep up the information sessions, and a brighter future will evolve.
I don't buy the notion that people only voted to be vindictive toward the BOS. people voted with their conciense. They voted with the knowlege of information that they received.
I agree, the Rag is done. His push for Westfield failed and the Move Wareham Foreward stunt failed. No one is listening to the noise anymore Bobo. Time to find another small town to ruin.
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#6 2009-10-28 11:23:21
Word clarification: We have heard the BOS describe the behavior of the "back-benchers" as "revolting", as if another word for "disgusting". To illustrate their misuse of the word, here is a sentence that will clarify the two ways the word can be employed: " The vocal Wareham citizens in the back row of the Town Meeting were revolting in response to the revolting behavior of town officials." To add some historical credibility to the use of the word , here's another illustration: "King George was revolted by the actions of the colonists who revolted against his unjust laws."
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#7 2009-10-28 12:11:19
This was pointed out to me , so I wanted to share.
In an article yesterday, Robert Slager wrote,
Brenda Eckstrom stood outside the side door of the Wareham High School auditorium Monday night, her hands shaking uncontrollably, tears spilling from her eyes. She had just witnessed the dark shadow of Wareham descend over another Town Meeting like a shroud, choking the life and the hope she has tried so desperately to bring to her community.
“I don’t understand,” she said, over and over again. “I know we’re the good guys. I know we’re just trying to do what’s best for the town
Was this right before or right after she announced that she was angry because of the A$%holes that only turn out every 5 years? Or was this after a voter reminded her that he was one of the a*&holes she was talking about? The gentleman happened to be a senior.
Also, the motion to dissolve the meeting because the votes were going against her agenda shows that her idea of what is best for the town and the voters idea is entirely different.
Is there any wonder one paper has zero credibility????
Enough Said.....
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#8 2009-10-28 12:55:53
I can't stop laughing at the purple prose!!! Dark shadows, descending shrouds, choking the life. It sounds like the product of a 6th grade assignment in a creative writing class. (No offense to 6th graders!)
Since I don't read the rag anymore, I've lost a source of amusement. Such bad writing! Although, as far as the creative writing side, most of his articles were fiction thinly disguised as news anyway.
My comment on Brenda's histrionics? (I have experience with drama clubs and theatre performances and this rivals some of the best stage productions!) If she thinks her behavior, comments and actions are part of doing "what's best for the town" she is sadly mistaken. They should all resign. That would be best for the town.
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#9 2009-10-28 13:08:21
commonsense, ty for the kind words...
"Larry, you and your Gnome should hold your heads high. You showed threw your efforts that the everyday average citizen can make a difference. That also goes for everyone involved with the Take Back Wareham movement."
for me all my actions have been for a better wareham for my daughter.. i know i am at peace with everything i have done and i know i can tuck my daughter in at night and look her in the eyes in the morning knowing i have done what i could do for her future..
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#10 2009-10-28 13:14:14
dick,
As old as I have gotten to be, there is no truth to the rumor that I witnessed the following exchange in France.
Knave: Madame Queen! the peasants are Revolting!
Queen: Yes, I know, some of them don't bathe for weeks! Mon dieu! who picks out their wardrobes? C'est domage.
Knave: Mais non! they are fomenting a revolution!
(about to be former) Queen: Let 'em eat cake!
The Queen quickly calmed down, thinking that there was no need to lose her head over this.
So Brucie...Make mine carrot cake, I like to pretend that I am eating healthy when scarfing down cake. Don't forget the cream cheese frosting. Sacre bleu!
Last edited by notalawyer (2009-10-28 13:15:23)
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#11 2009-10-28 13:36:57
maybe we should enter it in the Bulwer Lytton Fiction contest.
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
Named after the author who wrote this:
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
All we have to pick is one sentence. . .
This one works perfectly!
Brenda Eckstrom stood outside the side door of the Wareham High School auditorium Monday night, her hands shaking uncontrollably, tears spilling from her eyes. She had just witnessed the dark shadow of Wareham descend over another Town Meeting like a shroud, choking the life and the hope she has tried so desperately to bring to her community.
Last edited by not-elite (2009-10-28 13:39:25)
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#12 2009-10-28 13:41:09
and another thing,
Brucie complained about "backbenchers"?
Has anyone ever watched the House of Commons in England, where the term comes from? If Brucie thinks that the Wareham Town Meeting "backbenchers" were loud & unruly, he ought to watch a few minutes of their sessions. Now THOSE are loud & unruly backbenchers, indeed!
You know, it may be the ideal to have Town Meeting be a snoozer, in some senses. but what Brucie and the Gang of Four ought to be celebrating is the exceptional 2-night turn-out, and the passions unleashed at the meetings.
do you think that the various assemblies that took place in the 1770's in colonies from NH to Georgia were models of quiet decorum? Somehow, I doubt it.
Two points Brucie:
1. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
2. No one likes a whining loser; but a gracious loser always wins points.
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#13 2009-10-28 13:48:54
Not-elite,
"It was a dark and stormy night...."
the narrator from: "The Rocky Horror Picture show"!
Yes it is that time of year, time to drag out one of my favorites.
Its just a step to the left
and then a hop to the right
you do the pelvic thrust
which really drives them insane
Lets - do - the Time Warp - again!
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#14 2009-10-28 13:57:32
Right after the Bay Pointe vote, an interesting exchange took place between Jane Donahue and Walter Cruz. The exchange included some very deliberate hand movement. For the record, Walter Cruz voted for Bay Pointe and Jane voted with the rest of the (soon to be former) Selectmen. I am not sure if it was picked up on camera, but it was very animated! It was not done with smiles either!
Are we seeing Walter Cruz finally assert his view and thoughts?
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#15 2009-10-28 14:13:34
Dick Wheeler wrote:
Word clarification: We have heard the BOS describe the behavior of the "back-benchers" as "revolting", as if another word for "disgusting". To illustrate their misuse of the word, here is a sentence that will clarify the two ways the word can be employed: " The vocal Wareham citizens in the back row of the Town Meeting were revolting in response to the revolting behavior of town officials." To add some historical credibility to the use of the word , here's another illustration: "King George was revolted by the actions of the colonists who revolted against his unjust laws."
woo hoo! Go, Mr. Wheeler. The first thought that came into my head was the Boston Tea Party, but your illustration is much better. Much Better! I love your quips, your sense of humor, your dedication to Wareham, but most of all, your support for the rest of us, who may have given up. Thank you.
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#16 2009-10-28 14:14:51
notalawyer
I believe Snoopy used "It was a dark and stormy night too"!
Of course now I can't get the time warp song out of my head. . .
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#17 2009-10-28 14:27:40
Same thing here not-elite. Too many viewings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show....
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#18 2009-10-28 14:39:08
Not-elite
after I posted, there was an angry group of Transylvanians at my door. they insisted that if their big scene in the movie was to be used, that I get it right!
It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
with your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
but it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane
Let's do the Time warp again!
that Riff-raff can be so persuasive, esp. when backed up by Magenta & Columbia.
BTW, that song that persists in your head, I've heard it called an "ear-worm".
whatever, it can be a nuisance. Right now, I've got the Cars "You're All I've Got Tonite".
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