McIntyre staffer responds to Pantano’s postcards

by Pat Gannon StarNewsOnline
August 1, 2011 10:16 am

Dean Mitchell, the chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, blasted Ilario Pantano’s sending of prank postcards poking fun at McIntyre’s recent taxpayer-funded trip to Europe.

WELL, THANKS FOR SPELLING IT OUT -- THIS IS THE ISSUE, ISN'T IT? A TAXPAYER-FUNDED HONEYMOON WITH THE WIFE -- ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY, NO LESS -- TO EXOTIC DESTINATIONS? DURING THE MIDST OF THE WORST FINANCIAL CRISIS THAT NORTH CAROLINA AND THE U.S. HAVE HAD SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION? GOODNESS, MIKE, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Read about the postcards here. (StarNews intro to giddy 'postcard' story)

“All he does is distort, denigrate and distract from the fact that he had an abysmal second quarter of little fundraising, and he now has his hands full with a primary opponent,” Mitchell said in a statement. “The folks of Southeastern North Carolina have rejected his tactics once before, and they will reject it again.”

Mitchell said McIntyre’s trip focused on economic and national security. Read about the trip here.
“The congressman will continue to do his work in a bi-partisan manner, while Mr. Pantano continues his silly antics,” Mitchell said.

Pantano is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. House in the 7^th Congressional District. State Sen. David Rouzer of Johnston County recently announced he would also run for the GOP nod.
McIntyre easily raised more money than Pantano in the second quarter of this year.

LINK TO THE STARNEWS STORY: http://watchdogs.blogs.starnewsonline.com/17768/mcintyre-staffer-responds-to-pantanos-postcards/

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CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MR. GANNON, BUT WHILE YOUR CATCHY INTRO SUGGESTED "READ ABOUT THE POSTCARDS HERE", I DIDN'T SEE ANY MENTION OF THE POSTCARDS AT ALL -- JUST THE EXPECTED DRIVEL ABOUT MR. CLEAN'S PURPORTED HEAVY LIFTING FOR THE STATE WHILE ON A FOUR-STAR VACATION. MR. MITCHELL IS GOING TO USE YOU IF YOU GIVE HIM THE CHANCE, PAT.

BUT THE DODGE WON'T WORK. REP. McMUFFIN DONE WRONG. SORT OF A HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR KIND OF A THING, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. OBVIOUS ENOUGH. HE'S OFF TO A GOOD START AGAIN, ISN'T HE?

HERE'S A FEATURE-LENGTH REPORT ON THE JUNKET, FILED BY HUFFINGTON POST ON JUNE 24, 2011. THERE ARE ENOUGH DETAILS HERE ON THE LAVISH TRIP TO MAKE YOU WANT TO DONATE TO ILARIO PANTANO'S 2012 CAMPAIGN. SO PLEASE DO.

Andrea Stone andrea.stone@huffingtonpost.com

Members Of Congress On Rome Junket Funded By Taxpayers

First Posted: 06/24/11 12:02 PM ET Updated: 06/24/11 12:10 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- Summer is upon us and that means only one thing in the nation's capital: time for Congress to take a holiday at government expense.
Friday evening, a government jet carrying six House members, four of their wives, three congressional staffers and five members of the military, including an Army doctor in case anyone gets sick along the way, will taxi down the runway at Andrews Air Force Base. Over the next 10 days, the group, led by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Europe and Eurasia subcommittee, will visit five capital cities: Rome; Tbilisi, Georgia; Vilnius, Lithuania; Moscow and Lisbon.
Despite a debt crisis at home and an economy that will see many private citizens take 'staycations' this summer, this bipartisan congressional delegation, or CODEL, is hardly unusual. In May, Burton led a CODEL to Dublin, Vienna and Prague.
On board for this European trip are two Republicans and four Democrats -- including the non-voting delegate from Guam: Reps.Tom Marino (R-Penn.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.),Theodore Deutch (D-Fla.), Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) and Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam).
Also along for the ride are the wives of Burton, Deutch, Hinojosa and McIntrye. According to the itinerary, Dee and Mike McIntyre will celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary in Rome.
Burton's latest junket, like all official government trips, has been planned in excruciating detail by military and diplomatic staff, the latter of whom are in the midst of a two-year pay freeze.
While the purpose of the trip is reportedly to "examine the European financial crisis" and the "foreign operations of the U.S. government," a minute-by-minute itinerary of the Rome leg obtained by The Huffington Post makes clear there will be plenty of time for fun this weekend.
Burton's office did not return a request for comment.
After flying overnight to Rome, the coterie will check in Saturday for two nights at a 5-star hotel on the famous and expensive Via Veneto. Lunch follows at a quiet restaurant near the Vatican before the group heads off for a tour. Then it's "evening at leisure."
Sunday begins with breakfast followed by a Latin High Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. An afternoon "cultural tour of Rome" will cost "approx $35/person" so delegation members will need to carry some cash. More personal time follows. The schedule notes: "See Welcome packages for suggested venues."
Monday morning the business begins. The congressmen will have a half-hour meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Italy David Thorne. Then it's off to the Bank of Italy to discuss, presumably, the European debt crisis that, so far, the government in Rome has managed to stave off.
Then it's off to the airport and wheels-up to Tbilisi at noon..
A U.S. government official familiar with the planning for the Rome leg said the weekend alone will cost taxpayers about $70,000. He noted that figure includes extra security, drivers and overtime for embassy staff, including a cashier and two guards for a delegation courtesy room at the hotel where guests can exchange their dollars for Euros, instead of heading to the nearest ATM.
The itinerary offers other delectable details such as:

Luggage call. Members of Congress need only set their bags outside their hotel room door and the bags will magically make their way to the airport.
Meals included. Airline customers may have to bring their own food on cross-country flights in the U.S., but not government officials. Dinner Friday night will be "Pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables, side salad, dinner roll and dessert (*Vegetarian meals will be provided for Rep. and Mrs. Deutch at all meals)." Lunch en route to Georgia: "Pesto Marinated Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Mixed Vegetables, & Dessert."
Per Diems. Those get distributed to the group Saturday morning, according to the printed schedule.
Sartorial advice. For the Vatican, the group is told the attire is "Business Dress (Dark colors please. No white suits/dresses)." At other times, "flat shoes" are recommended, presumably for all the sightseeing the delegation plans to do.

Details were still being finalized late Thursday evening, according to an all-caps footnote in the itinerary addressed to what appears to be an embassy staffer.
"THERE IS A CHARGE FOR COFFEE/TEA SERVICE IN DEL [delegation] ROOM SINCE HOTEL EXPECTS GUESTS TO HAVE BREAKFAST IN THE DINING ROOM. PLEASE ADVISE IF YOU WANT TO PAY FOR COFFEE/TEA SERVICE."

I AM YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT, VERNE.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

John Locke: StarNews misses point on public employee pay raises.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

Posted July 18th, 2011

The overstated line of the year is that the economy is in shambles.

While unemployment languishes in the 9+% range, the REAL unemployment numbers are closer to 20%. There are folks who have run out of time on unemployment. There are those who have accepted far less pay or are now working far from home or both. There are also those who have simply stopped looking for a job. It’s tough, period!

And government jobs have substantial advantages in difficult economies. One, they’re likely to stay employed. Real unemployment amongst government workers in NC at the local and county level approaches 2%. Two, they have stellar retirement and benefit packages, many retire in their early fifties with full benefits.
And three, their performance is rarely questioned from a management perspective. I say that with a family member in their employ.

But the StarNews had the following to say about county employees that might well see a 3% raise this year because the commissioners in New Hanover County were so magnanimous with other people’s money.

For the past two budget years employees not only didn’t get a raise, but those who were fortunate enough to survive layoffs were forced to take pay cuts in the form of unpaid furloughs. In many cases they are being asked to take on more and more responsibilities as jobs are frozen or eliminated.

Copy those sentiments and multiply them, that’s the reality of countless folks in the private sector who are still fortunate enough to have ANY job! I’m not saying that county employees don’t work hard, I’m saying that having a job with benefits and low chance of being unemployed SHOULD suffice in the public employ. The StarNews added insult to injury for questioning anyone so low as to criticize this move.

While budget conditions may necessitate withholding pay raises, doing so does little to help morale. Yes, there’s always someone who can point to a government worker who performed incompetently or abused the public trust. But for every one of them are countless others who give to their taxpayer-funded job the level effort that most private employers expect from their workers.

That little line in there about pay raises and morale. . . yep, but survival trumps morale and most folks would rather have a morale problem than lack a job. Again, I’ll reiterate that the issue here is not against the public sector employees, but against trying to juxtapose their efforts as being more worthy than those of the private sector whose diminished ability to produce income pays those salaries. Those private sector jobs are suffering FAR more than those in the public employ.

In fact, it would take 63,000 additional job losses for state and local employees to match just 9% unemployment, but I didn’t see that in the editorial.