It was December 19th, 2020.
At the time I served as the Erie County Comptroller, the independently elected financial watchdog who fiercely fought corrupt politicians to protect taxpayers. In Suffolk County, it’s the same seat held by the Hon. John Kennedy.
This was during the height of COVID lockdowns. An overzealous, left-wing County Executive was imposing five-figure fines on businesses that violated his punitive edicts that closed businesses and churches.
To combat this COVID tyranny, I implemented rules that gave “violators” 100 years to pay excessive fines back. It was one smart and small way to beat back ridiculous lockdowns that punished hard-working businesses.
Because of my strong position of battling bureaucrats and standing up for taxpayers during the manufactured COVID crisis, various pro-freedom groups invited me to speak at public rallies.
At one, ANTIFA clowns came to counter-protest us freedom-loving patriots. Things got ugly fast. The second I got out of my car, a group of snowflakes who thought they were tough in their full face masks and helmets quickly surrounded me.
“Fu#$ you Mychajliw. Fu#$ you…” one started shouting at me. I just started laughing at this kid, who looked to be no older than 20. I have socks older than this ANTIFA protestor. He also had on this oversized helmet that resembled the Rick Moranis character in the movie Spaceballs.
My laughter enraged these angry children. Things escalated quickly. A big brawl broke out. Police in riot gear were on hand shortly after these clowns got a good old fashioned rear end kicking, something their parents should have done years ago.
After the ANTIFA protestors licked their wounds, sucked their thumbs in the fetal position, and crawled back to their safe space of their parents’ basement, we held our pro-freedom rally in the presence of police in riot gear.
Some of these defund the police radicals stayed and hid behind the protection of the very same police officers they despised. What I said first shocked them.
“As much as I abhor these freedom-hating clowns, I will always fight for their right to speak freely. The First Amendment gives them the right to assemble and speak, just as we are,” I blasted from my bullhorn, strongly supporting the rights of those who just minutes before got in my face and threatened me.
The true fascists in this great nation of ours are those mostly on the left side of the spectrum who will go to great lengths to fight for free speech, but only if said speech agrees with what they believe and say. All others be damned.
In our struggling Constitutional Republic, the most productive way to shoot down bad ideas is to come up with better ones through open and robust discourse, not shutting down dissenting opinions.
This brings me to former George Santos’s column gracing the pages of the South Shore Press. You may like him or not. You may think one way or another about his personality, or his politics. That’s great.
What you’ll see are the thoughts and insights of a nationally recognized politician who’s seen plenty of ups and downs, and most important: who knows firsthand how the ugly sausage is made within Suffolk County politics and is ready to expose it.
To the entrenched politicians within the political establishment, buckle up. No punches will be pulled.
Those in power may not like hearing about it and may not like reading about it. You may disagree as well.
That’s healthy and expected in a strong democracy, especially within the pages of a newspaper and a free press.
“This” is exactly what a newspaper should do. Inform as well as serve as a catalyst and spark for free and open debate and discussion. To fulfill our mission of being a true community and public service, we should absolutely inform the surrounding Suffolk County community of what newsworthy events are taking place.
That also includes holding government officials accountable, engaging in aggressive investigative journalism, and producing a robust opinion section where the free flow of ideas reigns supreme.
If political party bosses and entrenched politicians feel threatened by this exposure, then good.
That means we’re doing our jobs, and doing it well.