Fall river's contempt for war heros.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:46 pm

ONLY IN FALL RIVER.

The shameless politicians and the dictator Mayor of fall river have dropped to an all time low.

These people are without shame.

They took a small Green dedicated to a WWII hero and rededicated it to a local businessman. They acually annexed the Green pushed the war hero out of the way and placed a new stone almost 8 times bigger then the one which celebrates the veteran's service. The new stone is dedicated to a "nobody", a popular fellow who owned a well known restaurant and friend of a local politician and city council person. Now the new stone over shadows and dominates the Green.

Such stones are placed for service to your community or country beyond the call of duty. Though Mr. McGovern was a nice guy and genorous at Thanksgiving to trump a war hero and take his Green away is just outlandish.

What sort of community does such a thing?

Bizarre, bizarre, bizarre.......

This is just a classic example of the caliber of Sorts that run this city.

This action is disgraceful and nothing short of contemptible..............down right scanlalous.

I am truly ashamed to admitt I live here..........

http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1720683 ... one-square

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:36 am

OMG.

Why usurp one memorial for another? Why not find another space for this "popular" guy?

I don't understand the way some people think.

Stefani · Post by **Stefani** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:45 am

You can read a lot about it here:

http://www.speakupfallriver.blogspot.com/

This blogger exposed the story, which the Herald picked up. Bloggers in Fall River lead the news to the stories. And I think, perhaps, are even more widely read than the newspaper.

On MondoLizzie I have a blogroll on the right hand side. Take a peek at them. There are some really find Fall River bloggers out there. You can really read the Fall River story through these online sources. And they are not beholding to anyone, like corporate media is (advertisers, owners, powers that be, etc.).

I read them daily. Maybe you might find them interesting too.

william · Post by **william** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:20 am

Michael: As American vet I share you pain. Unfortunately this is the way our country is trending.

I opened my newspaper on Sunday, December 7 - There was no mention of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Lest we forget.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:58 am

Here is a great blog for the historic conservation minded...about NYC & surrounding boroughs: http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/

Not Fall River, but it's GREAT & the guy posts at least once a day. I really enjoy it.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:19 pm

Fall river politics is totaly about cronyism and favoritism.

The mis-guided display of community service is based on self serving endeavors by the mayor, city councilors and the business community. It's who you know and how much money you have................and "what can you do for me, wink, wink."

The sad truth is that this is a direct reflection of it's denizens. Though there are many intellectuals here, most are cowards, and when a fight comes down to spending of money, everyone, burghers and poor alike bail out.

Corruption, such as the things above, though despicable, reaches a whole new level low when it comes to the undisputed sanctuary of a war memorial and the violation of it by a community.

What Fall River as a city has done is defile and spit in the face of decorum, a violation of protocol and a direct affront on all things sacred and what is right.

Classless.

At first I thought all these people were EVIL. Now I know that they are just INSANE.

Shame on you fall river. Your mindless poor judgement is a reflection of things to come, and proof that you have a bleak future indeed.

GilC · Post by **GilC** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:29 pm

Well I normally don't stick my neck out but here goes:

Once again what we have here are the supporters of losing candidates in the last Mayoral election trying to play "gotcha". They couldn't care less about the memory of a fallen soldier they are just using it to shamelessly score some political points. To even suggest that the local bloggers are read more than the Herald news or are in any way representative of public opinion in Fall River couldn't be any farther from reality. I think sometimes the people that live in the Lower Highlands/Highlands today fancy themselves as the new elites in Fall River and the fact that Fall River's political power currently resides with us common folks in the South End bugs them to no end.

As much as the bloggers are trying to turn this into a controversy public opinion of people in the South End who actually know what the green looked like before think it is a vast improvement. They see no problem with 2 monuments co-existing. It was overgrown with bushes and an old "Fall River Welcomes You" sign and was one of the city's entrance gardens with the overgrowth creating a traffic hazard for people trying to merge into South Main st. from Shove st.. The fact that people in the area didn't even know there was a monument there or the square was named for anybody tells you how deep people had to dig to find an issue. The notion that this was done deliberately as a slap in the face to a deceased veteran is nonsense!

Stefani · Post by **Stefani** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:37 pm

This man, Corporal Miller, who now has to "share" a memorial space was somebody.

And shouldn't that space his memorial was in been maintained all this time? Why the neglect? Budget? It is cleaned up now, so that can't be it.

From FallRiver-tastic.

http://speakupfallriver.blogspot.com/20 ... ly-19.html

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:54 pm

What was that Stefani?

Who cares about this Miller guy. That was a long time ago.

Can you prove that WWII even happened?

Most people in fall river don't know who he is or that there is a memorial for him. Besides, his Green was overgrown, no one took care of it, not even Mr. Miller.

If you don't shape up, fall river will take it away from you. And rightfully so.

All Miller did was just die for this country. After he was dead he contributed very little to fall river and made very little friends, especially those of political persuasion. So why should we care.

The new stone is for a guy who gave away free turkeys, a great business man who made millions in the restaurant business. How can you compare a dead soilder with a successful restaurant owner.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:13 pm

I live in the Highlands and I do not consider myself elite.

Stefani · Post by **Stefani** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:54 pm

The story is "national" now, as far as the blogosphere is concerned.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/1 ... 142/673130

Stefani · Post by **Stefani** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:05 pm

GilC @ Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:29 pm wrote:To even suggest that the local bloggers are read more than the Herald news or are in any way representative of public opinion in Fall River couldn't be any farther from reality.

GilC, I think I am correct about this. The readership for the Herald has declined greatly in the past few years--as is the case nationwide with print journalism. The blogoshere is the new frontier in journalism and activism, as evidenced by the most recent national election.

I know some young people who read the paper, but only because it is there at work and they have nothing to do at that minute. Mostly, the 18-40 year old crowd go online for their news and information.

I am out of that demographic but I read the news online almost exclusively. I do read the Herald online. But you have to admit, it is a pretty slim paper.

Being from Orlando, I am used to a much bigger daily. And the front page there is almost always national news. In Fall River, on the front page, you get stories about Emma Borden photo finds

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:54 pm

Yes Stefani:

The actions taken by fall river officials regarding Mr. Miller's war monument can only be described as contemptible. They even went as far as "renaming the Green" after the restaurant owner.

The fact that some in the city do not see a problem with this is very disturbing but is it surprising.

You haven't heard the last of this.

I have spoken to a couple of Vietnam vets who are livid about this issue.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:30 am

David Miller was prisoner in one of history's worst war encampments and had a roll in the terrible Bataan Death March.

Weather dying from injuries or executed by the Japanese is something which will never be proven.

Anyone who knows anything about the fall of Bataan during WWII by the Japanese and the cruel march and atrocities inflected upon humankind soon after can understand why we have such memorials and why they are so sacred.

For those who do not, a quick reference and link from Wikipedia is listed below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March

GilC · Post by **GilC** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 3:09 pm

What I find amusing is that the local bloggers are mostly political lefties, that's why I question their sincerity. For them the last city election never ended, there was no honeymoon period for the Mayor who had the audacity to defeat their local treehugger candidates in the last election. Stefani, don't believe everything you read in the local blogs, after all, Faye Muscleman (spelling intentionally incorrect) took a shot at you in one:

[link removed by admin]

Post by **Adminlizzieborden** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:08 pm

This thread is closed.

This thread has evolved/devolved into a political discussion, when it was not one to start.

The Miller memorial was not a political issue. It was an issue. It wasn't a left or right fight.

It was a Fall River story.

Please remember this is not the place for political discourse.

And do not link to comments on other sites that flame members here.