Editor
HARLINGEN, Texas - At the risk of being labeled obsessed interlopers, we once again venture into the white-hot politics of this Mid-Valley community struggling to find a wheel without the proverbial broken spokes. It is that kind of rolling political season here, only the latest imbroglio appears to be boiling in isolated kettles sitting on fires far, far from the mainstream press.
Last night, the Harlingen City Commission considered a variety of issues, one being the annexation of property and another being an up-or-down vote on the creation of a noble Veterans Advisory Board. To some the latter was enough reason to take a seat in the audience on what was a hot & muggy afternoon. And when it came time to vote on the new board, well, some Hell broke loose. Things were said about the need for yet another citizen board in town, things the vets in attendance did not like.
One of the city's five commissioners - Kori Marra - no doubt left feeling like Hamburger Hill must have felt that day in Vietnam - chewed to pieces. Verbal missiles were launched at her and she fired back, to the point that, for many in the crowd, she came off looking like a rabid anti-veterans pol. This morning, the commissioner with barely a year of experience went on the offensive (we almost wrote "Tet Offensive," but that would be too cute, although Vietvets would know what we mean).
Bloggers arriving at MyHarlingenNews.com weren't happy. They lashed her mercilessly in comment after comment that centered on what they perceived was a lack of sympathy for the men and women in uniform. She raced over to the more-sympathetic MyLeaderNews.com, where she posted a lengthy explanation of her role in the City Hall advisory board melee. Marra insisted she had not voted against the veterans board, a contention raised by the many commenters who had waited for dawn to launch their all-out attack. But just as steadfast as is her belief, so is the one being brandished by her opponents, most of whom opine that the politics she practices are the petulant politics of her West Texas hometown.
As the dust became a mushroom cloud in the city's Blogosphere and then settled like an Army blanket hating the winters of Korea, it was the revelation that the local newspaper - The Valley Morning Star - had not one word of the veterans-Marra fray. Not one. The newspaper had a nice explanatory story covering the annexation issue. It also had a story on news that a second Chick-fil-A eatery was coming to town.
The principal question on the minds of the Star's editors was not whether Commissioner Marra had dissed local veterans. No, the poll being taken on the Star's website posed this sentient question: Will you eat at Chick-fil-A?
At noon today, 35% of respondents had voted...No.
And so it goes in the wallowing city adjacent to the growing city known as Mercedes...
- 30 -
11 comments:
The city of harlingen waddles on pipe dreams, it is a city with no future, nothing in forsight, one crazy mayor involved in a banking scheme, and a lady commissioner, that publically admitted she was clueless on city issues. Thank Goodness, there are 4 commissioners, who think logically and without agendas. I applaud, Commissioner Jerry P. Joey Trevino, Guz Ruiz and Robert Leftwich. Good people who think in the interest of the city, and not themselves.
the valley morning star has down graded itself to something similiar to the bargain book. It is just a bad publication.
LOW RIDER: Sad to hear that, on both counts. But it's hard for any politician during his/her first year. As for The Morning Star, well, it never really has been a tree-shaker. Our feeling is that it ought to change its name to The Winter Texan Star... - Editor
Harlingen is a Paradise for Old - Resentful and Bittered Old White Retired Folks...That ENVY the Progress in Other Mexican - American Border Towns !!!
Harlingen, is the paradise of the former kkk retirees, you got it, bro,
You are Rigth, We need to Wake up all these Sleepy and Timid people of RGV.
(Harlingen, is the paradise of the former kkk retirees, you got it, bro,)
It's merely a larger version of the Honeydale trailer park in old Browntown. Although, the trailer park's idea of a kkk meeting is their weekly bingo night.
Josh
JOSH: Brownsville's principal problem is a horrible news media. The mainstream press sleeps while the town rots and the Blogs freely serve as chief contributers to that very rot. It's caught in a trap... - Editor
CORRECTION:...We meant that to read "contributors," not "contributers," which is not a word.... - Editor
Some of the vets at the meeting would not know what TET Offensive is. The two loudest are wannabees. That is Rendon and Maggard. Both are against a VA hospital. They could care less about Veterans.
ANON: How could any self-respecting veteran not know about the Tet Offensive in Vietnam?... - Editor
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