Lost Letters to the Editor....

Here are some letters to the editor from CEG that must have gotten lost on the way to the Smithtown News...

Lost Letter 1:

In response to an opinion piece in last week’s Smithtown News, “The Best Dollar Vecchio Did Not Spend” I would like to say this; David Ambro, your reading comprehension skills leave much to be desired.

 The Creighton mail piece “Apples to Oranges” has nothing to do with comparing Smithtown to Islip, it compares the actions of one supervisor who took advantage of a situation to benefit his town to the INACTION of another supervisor who let the pitch go by without even so much as a glance.

 Nowhere in the mail piece does Mr. Creighton (or his “hot shot DC guy”) ever compare Islip’s beaches, neighborhoods and downtowns to Smithtown’s.  And to say so is just an outright lie.  But then again, you, Mr. Ambro, and the truth rarely collide in the same sentence. 

 And since you brought Mr. Creighton’s campaign manager into play I would like to mention a few words about that.  It is quite clear to me why you did what you did.  You wanted to make the Creighton campaign look like they do not care about Smithtown and that they hired a guy that knows nothing about Long Island.  If you had done any research, as you should have done, you would have found out that the “DC Hotshot” grew up 15 minutes from here and has generations of family members from all over Long Island. 

So, what have we learned about you?  We have learned that not only are your reading comprehension skills very poor, but your research skills are even worse.

Lost Letter Two:

Editor, News:

Bullies have no place in society.  Schools have made strides in eliminating bullying in the classroom and the playground.  Celebrities have signed on to create public service announcements that tell young children that ‘it will get better.’  However, many bullies fail to see themselves as bullies, and tell themselves and others that what they are doing is right, good, and there is nothing wrong with their words and actions.  In Smithtown politics, it seems as if David Ambro, and Supervisor Patrick Vecchio fail to look in the mirror and see how their words and actions are both shameful and reprehensible.

In the last issue of the Smithtown News, Mr. Ambro refers to Randy Althshuler as a ‘millionaire carpetbagger’ – terms used to cast negative aspersions on the man.  The use of the term ‘carpetbagger’ was a deliberate attempt to define Mr. Althshuler in a negative light – exactly what Mr. Ambro accused Mr. Robert Creighton’s campaign of doing to Mr. Vecchio. 

Further, Mr. Ambro talks about ‘sullying the good name’ and ‘colluding’, employing ‘the sleaziest of dirty tricks’ and continues to rant against Mr. Creighton.  All terms and words designed to alter the impression of Mr. Creighton while painting Mr. Vecchio as a victim.  Mr. Ambro talks about how ‘the majority of Republicans’ support Mr. Vecchio, but where exactly is the hard evidence that backs up this statement?  Everywhere I go people tell me that Mr. Vecchio has been in office too long, the town of Smithtown looks disgraceful, the town is stagnant and they want someone new leading this town.  This is akin to a gossip saying to someone, “Everyone knows, dear,” when trying to prove a non-existent truth.  Further, Mr. Ambro states that Republican voters are ‘angry’ about the phone calls being received and this has generated a rising tide of support for the incumbent.  No proof is given, just ‘fallacious’ information ‘designed to mislead voters into thinking that their ‘town councilman is corrupt and not to be trusted.

In his concluding paragraph, Mr. Ambro implores voters to sort through the deceit and search for the truth.  Here I agree with him.  In fact, I think every Republican voter should read the grand jury report that covers the investigation of Smithtown, and they should read it while looking at the vacant, decrepit lumber yard on Main Street.  This report, and this site, says more about the town of Smithtown and its leadership than any telephone poll can.

Bullies are nothing more than insecure people desperate to keep control over their perceived level of social importance.  There is no place for bullies in our society, especially in our schools and definitely not in our press and political institutions.  The Smithtown News should aspire to better journalistic practices.