Ric,
Seriously, a Congressman got paid to speak at to a township he represents. Are you sure; sorry to be naive. But you're right; didn't they have to welcome home services in the last year for 2 men that came home from Iraq or Afghanistan? Sad they couldn't relay some of their personal experiences; or a vet from each war time period.

I didn't get that impression from the post. If a speaker is going to be paid for his services it would have been more sensitive to pay a veteran who maybe doesn't have a job or could use the fee and give his/her own personal experience.

Lowell, you are so smart, betcha that your teachers always told you that. Of course I am wrong now that you point out that it is morally wrong to actually have a veteran guest speak for veterans at a veteran event. The proper speaker is, of course, is a congressman failing at the polls in his re-election bid. As you point out, Runyan has absolutely no qualifications to speak out on behalf of veterans but what the hell. Runyan's need to get re-elected trumps the needs of veterans to be seen and understood.

As another pointed out, Cinnaminson consistently fails to honor veterans. So why should anyone expect veterans to be treated on Memorial Day by Cinnaminson. I mean, do the veterans actually think Memorial Day is about them? They should not while there are guys out there like you that kick them down at every opportunity.

Lowell Dorr, as your teachers told you, you are so special, special, and special. Sorry but I still rather honor a veteran than a footballer.

Why was it wrong to invite a veteran to speak at an event in memory of fallen veterans? You would not invite a Mafioso to speak a policeman's funeral. That would not be appropriate. Slighting veterans so Jon Runyan can get favorable publicity which would help his reelection is not appropriate. The closet Jon Runyan got to a battle was watching Tora! Tora! Tora! on his TV.

Ken, we are talking about a Memorial day speech a day in memory of our fallen veterans and not fallen politicians (which in New Jersey means locked up), agree? No one has said why veterans were found to be unacceptable as speakers - yet there certainly are plenty of them out there, agree? Do you know of a valid reason why veterans were slighted?

Jon Runyan is currently fighting for re-election, agree? There is nothing Runyan said that a veteran could not say at least as well, if not better, agree?
Even Stevie Wonder can see that our esteemed Republican township committeepersons selected not a veteran, not a democrat, but a fellow Republican to speak – and one that is fighting a tough fight for re-election.

Are you suggesting that the next time our esteemed Republican township committeeman selects a speaker they will choose a Democrat? Hell no, it will be another Republican that also supports the current slate that is running this town into the ground. When is the last time they choose a Democrat to speak at an event?

Ken, Cinnaminson Memorial Day Event was a Republican political rally paid for by the Cinnaminson property owners.

Why do we as a community not get involved? It's not as simple as we're too busy. It's more than that. So why all the apathy; and I include myself

Thank you, you are so right. Veterans should only be seen and not heard. There is not a veteran in the whole region that could hold a candle to Jon Runyan even though he has never risked his life while so many good veterans in the county have. Do you really believe veterans cannot even speak for themselves?

Of course our Republican mayor does not play politics; he only invites republicans to speak. He is a moderately skilled politician.

By the way, I wanted to attend but I would have to turn my back on Runyan and that would have been disrespectful to the veterans in attendance.

Thanks for your offers to prayers but why do you presume you have the right to pray for me? Are you so tight with God, that in matters about me, he would listen to you over me? I would appreciate if you keep your prayers to yourself unless you are Jesus Christ.

Are you sure you are a Christian. I could not tell from your next to last sentence. You really should hold off on praying unasked. That is just my prayer.

LOLl! Runyan just said some words! According to Patch he was the guest speaker. Was his status reduced to just to just a few words speaker or was he guest speaker as Patch reported? Perhaps somehow Runyan also acquired a military service record? Or were there just no real veterans available to serve as guest speaker?
By the way, Republicans taking to their buddies financially has a long tradition in Burlington County. Perhaps you aren’t familiar with the recent history of the Delaware River or the Tacony Palmyra Bridge commissions?

Ric, you are truly the Cinnaminson Village Idiot! Anytime a politician, celebrity, pro athlete, or VIP talks they are considered a guest speaker. If you were at the ceremony which you weren’t, you would know that Runyan did speak but only after our US military veteran and current mayor gave his speech. And Runyan has been to Afghanistan multiple times to visit our troops so I guess he does have some military experience even if it doesn’t meet your qualifications. I wonder if the Marines turned their backs on him in Kabul when he was attending a service for Marines from their unit that died in battle? Truly an a-hole thing to even suggest.

Ric,
If it's "according" to Patch, I am Patch. I'm the editor. He spoke and mayor Brauckmann spoke. I'm not sure who or what you're trying to nab down here. I really have nothing else to add.
Christina

Hey Christina,
Perhaps you forgot you called runyan the "guest speaker" http://cinnaminson.patch.com/articles/memorial-day-it-s-about-veterans-who-lost-their-lives

"Cinnaminson will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony Sunday morning, with N.J. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3) as the guest speaker."

School House Rock, put a sock in. You act like a hot head just like Committeeperson Minetti.

By the way, going on a sightseeing vacation does not come close to the bravery of a real veteran serving on duty. Only you would equate the bravery of our soldiers in the field of battle to a Jon Runyan/Marie Osmond doing a goodwill USO tour in Kabul.

Yes, Ric, he was a guest. And he spoke. Am I being too literal?

Christina, thank you for finally conforming Runyan was the guest speaker. Now focus on this, the honor of guest speaker should have gone to veteran (or soldier) as it was a Memorial Day event. It is ridiculous that our nation (and township) ignore those who risked their lives for us. As one person noted, Cinnaminson has not given welcome home ceremonies to any recent returning vets.

Jon Runyanis merely a politician (not a soldier or veteran) seeking publicity to help his reelection.

Christina, next focus on this: The honor of being guest speaker should have gone to veteran (or soldier) for it was a day to honor those who served and died for us. As a society we try to forget them. Too many of them are jobless and homeless. We need to hear their voices, not ignore them.

Ric,
I spoke with Mayor Brauckmann and he said he tried to get a veteran to speak to no avail.

And no one mentioned there were no welcome-home ceremonies. Someone said there WAS one. In fact, we covered two of them on Patch. Here are the links:
http://patch.com/A-jR9b
http://patch.com/A-j2nW

I have really nothing else to add so if you would like to send a letter to the editor regarding this topic, feel free to email me one.

Thanks.

Hey Ric, if we all tell you you’re right (even if everyone reading this knows your 100% wrong and you are being a complete and total jackass) will you shut the hell up! You sound like a kid who got shoved in lockers in high school and now you have new found “cojones” running your mouth on Patch.

Steve, my buddy, no, thankfully I did not have a bad childhood like yours. You really did not have to go in depth in describing it to us.You must have suffered. But why did you post about it here?

Ken, I have more than an ounce of brains, thank you, but I asked the question anyway because it seemed unlikely that an elected official would get paid. This could have all been ended if someone had refuted the statement. As usual, the typical Cinnaminson sarcasm crap continues instead of rising above and just not acknowledging it. The state needs to put in anti-bullying laws for adults on public sites not just children in school. One correction, Patch is not one person, it is not owned by that person. If a supervisor of any business left tomorrow the business would still stand (unless the supervisor owned it too). And, sometimes, supervisors should just supervise (unless rules are broken).

Or Jon Runyan with all his connections could contact the top brass at the combined Fort Dix/McGuire AFB and ask for an officer or a serviceman to speak.

Well "Two Cents," perhaps my definition of veteran is wrong. To my knowledge, a veteran is someone who has served in the armed forces. Mayor Brauckmann has served in the armed forces. Now, I'm not sure if he's a "war veteran" by definition. I do not know if he's fought in battle. Maybe he'd like to weigh in or someone else would.

Ric, I think that is a great idea. Not sure about the RT130 spot because of safety issues with 130 and lack of parking for events. But there are other township owned lots that could be used? Or maybe some of the excess space at Memorial Park near pond. You could even add a parade in Memorial using walking paths. If there are that many veterans interred at Lakeview why not get a group to attend to their sites on Memorial Day. Scranton Pa and other small towns use the day to do just that. I'll sign up right now.

.The only veteran who spoke at Cinnaminson's ceremony was also a seasoned Republican township politician. The only other speaker, a guest, was also a Republican Congressional politician.

Memorial Day should be about remembrance of our veterans and not a spotlight for a man campaigning to win re-election to Congress in a couple of months.

I can speak for my father, a veteran of both WWII and Korea, that he would want a Memorial Day ceremony headed by veterans and not politicians. He saw politicians as the reason why we ended up in wars. Dad was very much opposed to the Iraq war. (I was neutral.) He saw the war as a gift from the politicians (Dubya & Cheney) to the military industrial corporations and which the cost was paid for by the lives of many brave men and women in uniform. Ten years ago dad pointed out that they had been fighting in the Middle East for thousands of years and that they would continue fighting for thousands of years. How quite is Iraq today?

I can understand why my father favored veterans over politicians, can you?