New Face of Nassau GOP?

So have you seen the new GOP ad? They've bought time all over the cable channels. You can't miss it.
If you haven't see it, think of the worst production values possible and the most idiotic script and that is the ad. To top it off, the actor they use is a wild-eyed nut job. The type of person who if he was your co-worker, you'd be afraid he'd show up to work one day with years worth of repressed anger and a high-caliber rifle.
The ad is all a bunch of bull too. The angry, wild-eyed republican goes on and on about taxes forgetting that the only tax increases in the past 3 years have been Town and School taxes. County taxes are only 20% of the total tax bill, so as usual, the republicans are trying to decieve voters. The ad says that Nassau taxes were raised by 42%. Hmm... 2 years ago Schmitt was saying taxes were raised 58% and 60% (a lie we detailed 2 years ago.) Now the number is 42%. And that's still a lie.
The best thing about the whole ad is that they don't mention Greg Peterson once. Not Once.

Your new angry Nassau GOP:


Where did they get this guy? How hard did the casting agent work?
Maybe it's a good thing Peterson kept his name off of this.

Our friends over at Community Alliance have a post up about this ad too.

Oyster Bay Pays and Pays

For the number of lawyers Venditto hires, you'd expect the Town of Oyster Bay would make out a little better. Instead TOBAY has to pay Verizon $3.4million.
According to Newsday "The Town of Oyster Bay has been ordered to repay millions in taxes its garbage districts collected from Verizon Communications in a decision that could balloon the tax burden on homeowners and businesses from Nassau County to upstate New York, observers said."
"The sad thing is the burden will be borne by already overburdened taxpayers, primarily homeowners," said Anthony LaMarca, the Syosset-based attorney representing Oyster Bay."
Yup, the Town screws up and we have to pay. When will Venditto and the republican dominated Town Board get its act together?
The lawsuit is because of garbage taxes. "The court ruled that Verizon did not have to pay garbage taxes because its properties didn't generate any garbage."
"In the narrow 4-3 ruling, the court concluded that taxes collected by Oyster Bay's Garbage District 1 on telephone lines, wires, cables, poles and enclosures for electrical apparatus owned by Verizon should not have been collected."
The Town couldn't get it's act together enough to realize they were taxing poles for garbage pick-up????

A Great Website Covering Town of Hempstead

Check out The Community Alliance blog. They are insightful and funny.
The site is all over the ridiculous and costly sanitation districts and point out the following:

"From what we hear from the Commissioners, the District Managers and the folks at Town Hall (including Town Councilman Anthony Santino), the services provided by the Special Sanitary Districts (as opposed to the TOH Sanitation Department) are sooooo good that we're fortunate to have the privilege to pay double the going rate paid by those serviced directly by the Town.

Interestingly, Levittown, home to TOH Supervisor Kate Murray, and East Meadow, the stomping grounds of former TOH Supervisor and County Exec wannabe Greg Peterson, are both served directly by the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department. Shucks! Kate and Greg miss out on the sheer enjoyment of paying double the tax to have their garbage collected. And what a shame that neither Kate nor Greg have "local control" over their sanitation services. Hey Tony, can we take up a collection for these poor, unfortunate souls?

Truth is, sanitary service in the areas serviced directly by the Town of Hempstead - East Meadow, Levittown, Merrick, Bellmore, Seaford, Wantagh, Lido Beach, Point Lookout and parts of Uniondale - is every bit as good as the trash collection in Sanitary 2 and 6. Geez, it's garbage, stupid. How good can it get? And just how deep do we have to keep digging into our pockets, not only to pay for trash pick-up, but worse, to support an entrenched system of party patronage?

Of course, don't fret for Kate and Greg, for life outside the Sanitary Districts isn't quite as bad as they would have us believe. In fact, in Kate Murray's own words, "The Town of Hempstead Sanitation service is excellent... just as good as Sanitation District number 2."* No wonder Kate and Greg always have those big grins on their faces. They're getting the same sanitation services as those who live in the "special" Districts, and at half the cost!Assuming we use our noggins and count the nickels and dimes, elimination of the Sanitary Districts, with consolidation of services under TOH Sanitation, is a no-brainer. The jobs of the rank-and-file at the Sanitary Districts are safe. Hey, they actually work for a living. Does the Town of Hempstead really need to operate (and don't let them hoodwink you, these are, for all intents and purposes, TOH operations) 5 separate Sanitary Districts (in addition to its own Sanitation Department), each with, give or take, 6 Commissioners, 17 Supervisors and a Manager? Okay, by a show of hands (or a "no-show" of hands, as the case may be), who is in favor of eliminating the "special" Sanitary Districts and consolidating them under the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department? Just as we thought!

Given the crock we are spoon-fed by the Town as to the "benefits" of the Special Districts, is it any wonder Kate Murray is always smiling? After all, you can't possibly put this malarkey over on the public with a straight face!

A Great Letter

We know you just can't please the Nassau republicans. The county is back from the brink of bankruptcy, the formerly bloated county government is being fixed and things are so much better but for Peterson, Schmitt and thier cronies, it just isn't good enough, Consider though that thier party is at fault for screwing up the county in the past but they seem to ignore that. Here is a great letter pointing out how ridiculous they are:

Newsday July 24, 2005

Suozzi has to be the real deal

After reading Newsday's series on Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi ["Big, bold ideas come readily to Suozzi," Editorials, July 19], I can't help but think: What more can an executive do? When one balances the budget, we complain that we are being taxed too much. When one offers a bold visionary plan for Long Island's future, we call him egotistical, and when one recognizes a variety of serious governmental problems and proposes solutions, we call him idealistic and say he is over-reaching. Unfortunately, too many of us have turned our back on politicians who are seeking positive change, assuming they are too good to be true.It seems that Suozzi and the county legislature's reversal of Nassau's deep financial crisis is not enough. It seems that the Suozzi "Fix Albany" campaign, which helped highlight our state government's failings, instigate reform and pass the first on-time budget in 20 years, is not enough. It even seems that three years in a row of no county tax increases and a $19-million budget surplus is not enough. What more do we want?

B.M.
Sea Cliff

EXCLUSIVE!!! Schmitt off of Conservative Line?

According to well-placed sources, the Conservative Party ballots which contained Schmitt's name was walked and witnessed by a Republican Party member not a Conservative Party member as required by election law.
As of now, Schmitt is off of the "C" line.
More to come....

Local Republican is a Jerk

Massapequa resident, registered republican in Nassau, and FOX News anchor Brian Kilmeade stepped waaaaayyyy over the line the day after the July 7th bombings in London.
On his show, Kilmeade said "I think that works to our advantage, in the Western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened."
Should ANYONE have to experience a terrorist attack? Does it really work "to our advantage" for 50 people to die and hundreds injured?
Why do republicans think like this?
Kilmeade's congressman Peter King has the same cavalier attitude just like the Bush administration.

Back from Vacation

Been away for 10 days and we missed alot. We have a backlog of stories to post and we'll be playing catch-up for the rest of the week.

It's the Little Things

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto showed up at the Breakfast in the Park at Brady Park in Massapequa Park this morning. $3 adults and $2 children. Venditto heads through the back way and to the outdoor kitchen where other local republicans are volunteering handing out food and having thier pictures taken.
Venditto couldn't spare the $3?
Why couldn't Venditto PAY the small sum of $3 ?????
Was he not going to eat? Well, he did eat. And he didn't pay.
County Executive Tom Suozzi arrived through the front gate and paid his $3. As did Town Council Woman Mary McCaffery and a host of other Democrats.

Even more amusing than Venditto's cheapskate move, is him trying to help hand out food.
Between CE Suozzi, State Senator Fushillo, Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna, TOBAY Receiver of Taxes Jim Stefanich, Legislator Peter Schmitt and TOBAY Town Clerk Steve Labriola, Venditto had nowhere to stand.
So what does Venditto do? He actually "taps out" Stefanich. A tap on the shoulder and a whisper and Stefanich is handing over his apron and spot at the serving line.
Stefanich learned fast to step aside for the new boss.

What Stefanich still has to get used to is the "call of the camera." Early on, Stefanich was not around for the obligatory photo-op of local republicans serving food. He was across the kitchen area from the photo-op and didn't get into those early pictures. He has to learn that when a camera is present, all republicans MUST run (not walk) to the location of the photo-op and pose.
He'll learn thier ways soon enough.