Readers' criticism finally hit home

Of all the responses on Vindy.com to the columns last week and March 11 lambasting the leadership of the Mahoning County Democratic Party, the following one brought tears of shame to this writer's eyes:
"Bertram, You are a horrendous writer. Horrendous. Also, it's GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices). How about a little research. You clearly know not what you speak of. You are a joke.
"Also, Bert, you state '[S]ciortino has a master's degree in public administration and a law degree that is a wall adornment.' I must ask: Where did you get your law degree? I'm guessing you don't have one. Perhaps you should earn one before you opine on them. I know nothing of Mr. Sciortino's quantitative faculties, but I assure you law degrees are not easy to come by. Where did you earn your own degree(s)? Please post your Resume/CV at some point. I'd be interested to take a look. I dare you to do it within the week. You fail at your job daily. You should be fired. And I repeat, you are a horrendous writer. Awful. Terrible. Dreadful. Appalling. Horrific. Atrocious. Bad. You're just plan (sic) no good at what you do. Please resign and seek appropriate training at once."
It was posted by "Former Resident" and was in reaction to the March 11 column in which county Auditor Michael Sciortino and Treasurer Lisa Antonini, chairwoman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party, were cited as examples of unqualified individuals securing public positions purely on the basis of politics.
No mea culpa
(Regarding the poster's reference to GAAP, this writer is well aware that it stands for the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices, but the use of GAP -- General Accounting Principles -- in the column was intentional. It fit perfectly with the slam directed at Sciortino, suggesting that his lack of knowledge of the auditor's office would make him believe that GAP referred to the store in the mall.)
Here's another response that cut to the quick:
"Why can't Bertram ever write anything that is important. This is one of the reasons that I DO NOT subscribe to this 3rd grade paper. Yes, there are 3rd graders who can actually come up with better stories and not have to repeat the same story every other day. Who are you kidding. Maybe the Vindicator should take a look at your qualifications. As the Bull Moose would say, 'Here's a guy who writes the same story every other day and gets paid for it.' How about the [expletive] Tom who thought he was being original by posting a four word sentence. This is your pathetic population of the beloved Vindicator."
It was posted by "CR."
Last week's column about Atty. Mark Belinky, a leader of the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts and a founder of the Dems17 message board, making nice with Antonini and the party leadership, brought this reaction from Mark Meszaros, a political gadfly if ever there was one:
"Your focus should have been how many people have been hired by the county in the past year. Especially from the Dems 17 group."
Meszaros characterized the criticism of Belinky as "beating a dead horse."
And there was this:
"Belinky at least still isn't being referred by you as a Hanni puppet. He's proven his ability and will do a great job at Reardon's @# % & amp; program."
It was submitted by "Sam."
But it wasn't just the attacks that have caused this writer to reassess his career goals.
Stand corrected
There was one post that was on the mark, having to do with this writer's reference to Daniel Yemma, chief deputy to Treasurer Antonini, being a certified public accountant. He isn't. He has a master's in business administration. (The hair shirt will remain on until the end of time.)
Needless to say, the criticism of the columns have triggered several questions: Is it time to call it quits? Does it matter that readers harbor such feelings of resentment? With a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kansas State University and a master's degree in political science from Marquette University, does this writer lack the qualifications to be a columnist for The Vindicator?
The answers, after a great deal of soul-searching, are: Yes, yes and yes.
And so this announcement. After two decades of writing a column, the poison pen is being put away.
POSTSCRIPT: A final message can be found in Classified Ads Section of today's Vindicator. Look in the "Personals" column.