Mike McIntyre staff member calls Democrat candidate Del Pietro "crazy", "not all there".

Verne Strickland Blogmaster
March 29, 2011

WILMINGTON JOBS CREATION EVENT SCENE OF STRANGE ROW INVOLVING CONGRESSMAN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TONY McEWEN, WHO INSULTS McINTYRE'S CHALLENGER.

Seventh District Congressman Mike McIntyre hosted a “Jobs Creation Summit” today at the northern campus of Cape Fear Community College near Castle Hayne.

Reports from the event said it was not well-received, and a number of people left early.

Wilmington resident Del Pietro, Democratic candidate in the 2012 NC Seventh District primary, was in attendance. He said earlier that he was going to be looking for a job – McIntyre’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The most exciting activity took place backstage at the meeting, as reported by WWAY-TV3 News of Wilmington:

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- During Rep. Mike McIntyre's jobs summit today, one of the Congressman's staffers made some interesting comments to us.

After he saw Del Pietro, a Democrat who plans to challenge McIntyre in the primary, talking to our crew, McIntyre's economic development director Tony McEwen pulled them aside.

McEwen told us Pietro is "crazy," "shaky," "schizophrenic" and "not all there."

Pietro says McEwen is trying to destroy his reputation because he knows he is a serious contender to beat the Congressman.

"I think average folks like us should be able to run for public office without having to endure dirty politics," Pietro said.

"Quite frankly this is exactly what the folks in this Congressional district and across America are exhausted by. Our political system can be very dirty, and this is clearly an indication of that."

When asked about McEwen's comments, McIntyre's Chief of Staff said in an e-mail to WWAY, "(A)ny comments Tony McEwen made with regard to the subject manner you referenced were not authorized by, nor reflective of, this office."

When asked if he, the Congressman or McEwen would like a chance to talk on camera or by phone about what was said and Pietro's reaction, Mitchell e-mailed back, "We have no further comment. Thanks."

END OF WWAY-TV3 NEWS CONTINUITY

Verne Strickland, USA DOT COM:

After the incident, we contacted candidate Del Pietro for an exclusive interview. Here is part of what he said.

Pietro: “The slanderous attack that Tony McEwen used against me with a WWAY reporter is just very unfortunate. I fully plan to pursue all legal avenues to put a stop to this. It’s just completely inappropriate.”

VS: How did this happen to erupt like this?

Pietro:“All I did was say hello to the WWAY reporter who was there. And after that the WWAY news director told me the reporter was pulled aside and told of all these slanderous remarks. WWAY called me immediately to get my comments on it, and it was such a serious situation that I was asked to go down to the station and get a face-to-face interview.”

VS: What are you considering in the wake of this incident?

Pietro: “I’m going to be pursuing all avenues in terms of civil litigation against Tony McEwen and the congressman. Tony is a representative of the congressman, and is doing the congressman’s dirty work, and basically the congressman is accountable for Tony’s remarks. They are baseless and it’s saddening that the congressman and his staff would stoop to this level.”

VS: You said that Mr. McEwan has run afoul of federal law?

Pietro: “Yes, he’s a federal employee covered by the Hatch Act, as I understand it, and he is not supposed to be campaigning while he is working in any way, shape or form. That’s the way I understand the law, and he clearly violated that law. When he made those remarks, he is technically campaigning against me. That’s an issue that’s to be reported to the Federal Government."

VS: What does the Democratic Party have to say about all this?

Pietro: “Tony is the State’s third vice chair of the party, and I was just told by a local Democrat that the party is going to put forth a resolution at our convention asking him to resign his office. This will be at either the county or the district level.

“This is just very dirty politics, and it’s uncalled for. They should be able to campaign on substance, but apparently if they don’t feel they can beat me on substance, they will just resort to these types of attacks.

“A call was made to the congressman’s office by the chair of the Democratic Party for the Seventh District, Melvin Williams, making him aware of what transpired, and explaining that I’m looking for a sincere apology from the congressman and Tony McEwan, and also asking for disciplinary action against Tony for slanderous comments.

“I am in consultation with an attorney right now to discuss what my legal options are in terms of filing a civil suit against both Tony and the congressman. This wasn’t typical political rhetoric, this was a direct slanderous attack, and I’m not going to tolerate it.”

Huffington Post Attacks Marine Candidate Ilario Pantano For Service

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

March 29, 2011

Ilario Pantano, GOP candidate for U.S. Congress in the 7th District, has posted a criticism of Huffington Post, propagandist for various and sundry liberal causes. Pantano's specific complaint is HuffPo's tiresome renewal of character assassination linked to the "Fallujah Factor" -- which has become predictable cover from which to mount sniper attacks by the radical left on slow news days. Wilmington resident and family man Pantano speaks to his supporters here, and asks not only for their resistance to these specious verbal assaults, but also for contributions to help counter "the barrage of lies against me."



Dear Fellow Patriot,

It seems like the Huffington Post is heavy on the huff and light on posts these days.

In an editorial, veiled as news, they're at it again distorting the truth about my service in the Marine Corps. Why? Because I stand for the conservative values that you do. But this time, their attacks are so distorted, so distant from reality, it wouldn't have any trouble passing as a fairy tale.

Because I'm not afraid to stand up and fight for our conservative values, I have become a target for the radical left. Accusing me of "premeditated murder", they have tried to twist facts of my service to suit their own need to demonize and discredit the American troops honorably fighting in a very real, very dangerous, and on-going wars. Liberals across the internet are parroting the attacks because they know the kind of change I plan to bring to Washington, and they fear it. They fear that your voice will truly be heard.

As a Marine, I wasn't given the option of picking my wars or choosing where to serve. Any Marine who has gone off to fight knows the cost, risks, and burden it brings to the nation that supports them. We put our hand in the air and ask to "send me." Without reservation, I would have given my life for my country and I had the honor of leading a platoon of Marines that felt the same. That is why I cannot sit by and let our country be taken apart brick by brick with liberal policies designed to weaken us.

I know their attacks on me won't stop. But neither will the work of a nation I swore to defend. America's challenges are growing by the day and I'm eager to return to my country's service – this time defending her in Washington instead of in lands far away. I've put my hand in the air to run for Congress, inspired by my friend Allen West. A proud veteran, Congressman West came up short on his first run, but the American people knew the man he was and fought to get him elected.

With the liberal machine working to tarnish my service, I needed to get an early start this time. We need to get our office open and start spreading the word amongst our activists. My first reporting deadline of the 2012 cycle is just 48 hours away, so now more than ever, I need your help. I need you to stand with against these biased attacks, filled with lies and untruths. With an immediate contribution, you will give my campaign tools we need to fight back and stand up to the lies with the truth.

Just looking at the television reminds us that we live in a dangerous world that requires leaders who understand the type of strong, steady decision making necessary to ensure peace. Our armed forces are now engaged in a third conflict, asking even more from an already stressed military. Having fought two wars myself, I have lived President Reagan's mantra of "Peace Through Strength." I know his conservative ideas work and I want to champion them. Will you help me to do that by making a contribution before the deadline?

We need leaders in Congress that respect the challenges they face in war, and understand the struggle families face at home. I will work to find the solutions we need to build a strong and prosperous future that will recover our economy and keep America strong for future generations.

I'm ready to lead, but I need your help to get there.

Sincerely,

Ilario Pantano
Republican for Congress - NC-7

info@pantanoforcongress.com

Del Pietro: NC Seventh District 'going nowhere' under Mike McIntyre -- after 14 years!

By Verne Strickland
March 28, 2011

"His tenure appears to have fallen flat as far as generating any real progress for the poor, disadvantaged and sick people in his own county," said Wilmington resident Del Pietro of current U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre.

Robeson County is where McIntyre keeps his residence, and Pietro says if he's not taking care of the home folks, he is not taking care of business.

"The first thing you should do in politics and business is benchmark," advises Pietro, 38, an announced candidate to challenge McIntyre in the 2012 Democratic primary.

Redistricting, though, which will be shaped within the coming few weeks, could change a lot of things. It's not clear what the Seventh District will look like after a GOP-dominated redistricting committee finishes its work. Candidate match-ups, district boundaries, and even party switching make the whole scenario fluid and dynamic.

Pietro has long talked of challenging McIntyre. He can do that even if McIntyre's home County of Robeson is carved out of the Seventh District and placed in an adjoining District, such as the Eighth -- which makes sense to many observers.

Robeson is where McIntyre votes, so he has the responsibility -- or blame -- for much of what happens there in terms of opportunity and quality of life. It's not a situation he brags about.

"If you take a look at what the economics and the health statistics were in Robeson County, his home county, when he took office, until now, these benchmarks haven’t improved one bit," Pietro asserts. "We just have to wait until the new census figures come out to prove what is my assumption -- that the situation has probably even worsened on Mr. McIntyre's watch."

According to Democrat challenger Pietro, a family man and resident of Wilmington, McIntyre gets low marks for leadership, low ratings for planning and execution -- both required in order to change the fate of people in his county and district.

"The most astounding thing is that Congressman McIntyre has no plan, and never has had a plan, for the future of his own District. I’ve never seen one and nobody knows of one. So he doesn't have an idea which way to go, and can be accurately described as totally reactionary,"

McIntyre describes himself as a conservative, but Pietro charges that he votes in the conservative column just enough to get re-elected in his District, where this stance plays well.

"We have here an opportunist who does just enough to get elected," Pietro commented. "He knows the liberals in the district are going to vote for him no matter what. So he appeases conservatives every now and then by throwing them a bone, such as his vote to repeal health care. And nobody calls him out. It's shameful."

Congressman McIntyre will host a "Job Creation Summit" on Tuesday, March 29, from 10:00 am to 12 noon at the Cape Fear Community College north campus, 4500 Blue Clay Road in Castle Hayne. The event is free and open to the public.

Candidate Pietro is not impressed.

"It's just another photo op, doesn't stand a chance of accomplishing anything for the unemployed, under-educated, sick and impoverished people in his district. This should have taken place ten years ago," said Pietro.

"Robeson County is right at the top of the heap when it comes to need, and right at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to any hope of eventually climbing out.
That's not going to change under a Congressman whose claim to fame is bringing in a new firetruck or a few loads of sand," Pietro concluded.

Del Pietro said he will attend McIntyre's job creation summit on Tuesday. "I'm looking for a job too -- representing the Seventh District in the U.S. Congress," Pietro said.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Del-Pietro-NC-7th-Congressional-District/131774246836913

http://www.facebook.com/mikemcintyre

U.N.: One Quarter of North Koreans Face Starvation. (It's the system, stupid!)

THANK GOD FOR AMERICA -- AND OUR PRODUCTIVE, EFFICIENT U.S. FARMERS!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster


NEWSMAX.COM March 28, 2011

North Korea’s government food distribution system will run out of supplies in May and place a quarter of the nation’s citizens at risk of starvation, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

Dire reports about food shortages in the communist country are not uncommon, but the current situation is worse than in recent years, the agency warns.

Floods and extreme cold this winter have devastated crops and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has ravaged North Korea’s livestock, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Vulnerable members of society are currently facing increasing shocks to their daily coping strategies, leaving them on a knife edge,” the WFP said in a statement.

Daily rations in the country have reportedly been reduced to 360 grams a day. At one hospital visited by WFP staffers, 136 children were being treated for malnutrition and 11 were in such poor condition that they were able to take only intravenous fluids and high-nutrition biscuits, none of which were available.

The United States and other nations are wary about rushing to North Korea’s aid because previous food donations have been re-directed by dictator Kim Jong Il’s regime away from ordinary citizens to the nation’s military and elite, the Journal noted.

The WFP has proposed sending 297,000 tons of cereal products to North Korea. But that assistance would amount to only about 5 percent of the 5.5 million tons of rice and cereal grains North Korea needs to produce to feed its 24 million residents each year.

Newsmax reported in February that North Korea had ordered its embassies and diplomatic offices around the world to issue new appeals for food aid.

An estimated 1 million North Koreans died in a famine in the early and mid-1990s.

NC district map-makers could be political king-makers -- but GOP vows to play fair.

REPUBLICANS IN CHARGE OF CRITICAL PROCESS, WHICH GETS UNDERWAY THIS WEEK

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

BY JIM MORRILL - CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Saturday, March 26, 2011


It's the mantra of North Carolina's Republican leaders: This year's political redistricting will be "fair and legal."

They don't say it will be non-partisan.

The process that will change voting districts for millions of North Carolinians - and the state's political landscape for at least a decade - starts Wednesday when House and Senate lawmakers charged with redrawing districts meet for the first time. A series of public hearings will start in April.

Republicans drawing lines for the first time since Reconstruction will work from a 2010 census that left current congressional and legislative districts unbalanced a decade after they were last drawn.

Rebalancing the district's populations means that some, such as the 1st District of Democrat G.K. Butterfield in the northeast, must be redrawn to take in more people. Others, such as the Charlotte area's 9th District, represented by Republican Sue Myrick, will have to shrink.

Republicans expect the process not only will solidify their new hold on the General Assembly but help them gain as many as four congressional seats. One publication called North Carolina the GOP's "Golden Goose of redistricting."

"If [Republicans] just draw districts that, in their words are fair and legal, they should do pretty good," says Francis De Luca, president of the conservative Civitas Institute.

Drawing legal districts has never been easy in North Carolina.

Cases challenging N.C. plans have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court at least six times in three decades.

"It's definitely been the epicenter of some of the most landmark redistricting cases in the modern era," says Tim Storey, a senior fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Some of the seminal Supreme Court cases that guide legislators in every state in the country in the redistricting process originated in North Carolina."

Those cases as well as a series of state court rulings have created a legal thicket for map-makers. Virtually every case involved interpretations of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law designed to ensure the rights of minorities.

The court has said the state can consider race in redrawing lines. Just not too much.

Race will play a role

This year, race will be a factor again as lawmakers tweak the state's two "majority-minority" congressional districts - the only two represented by African-Americans - and perhaps try to add a third.

"We're looking at our options," says Sen. Bob Rucho, a Matthews Republican who chairs the Senate Redistricting Committee. "It's all going to be based on where we can find large pockets of population."

To rebalance North Carolina's 13 congressional districts, lawmakers must add nearly 100,000 people - almost the population of Wilmington - to Butterfield's 1st District. They'll have to subtract 3,000 from Charlotte Democrat Mel Watt's 12th District.

They'll have to do both without diluting the influence - what the Supreme Court called the "effective exercise" - of minority voters. Any plan has to win approval of the Democratic-controlled U.S. Justice Department.

African-Americans tend to be concentrated in the state's urban areas and in rural areas in the northeast and south.

One place lawmakers might attempt a third majority-minority district is along the southern tier, through much of what is now Democrat Larry Kissell's 8th District. Such a plan could effectively siphon traditionally Democratic voters from Kissell and Rep. Mike McIntyre of Robeson County who represents the 7th District.

(VS: McIntyre is already challenged by Democrat Del Pietro. Republican Ilario Pantano, who lost to McIntyre in 2010, is an announced candidate for 2012. )


"It's obvious why Republicans would want to create a third minority district," says Democratic Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh. "Their whole goal and purpose is to bring all the black voters in the state together and sort of 'ghettoize' them and reduce their influence in other districts."

Robo-calls target Dems

This week the National Republican Congressional Committee began robo-calls against Kissell and Democratic Reps. Brad Miller and Heath Shuler, blaming them for rising gas prices. Similar calls have targeted McIntyre. All four are among the GOP's top 10 Democratic targets. Redistricting could help unseat them.

Shuler's 11th District must add about 30,000 people. They would likely come from Republican Patrick McHenry's 10th District, making an already conservative district more so.

Rucho has suggested that Kissell's 100,000 Mecklenburg County constituents - most of them Democrats - might be moved to a more compact 12th District.

Miller, a former state senator who in 2001 drew the district he now represents, could lose Democratic voters in Guilford and Wake counties.

Republicans could draw Robeson and Cumberland counties out of McIntyre's 7th District and replace them with Republican-leaning voters along the coast. Republicans could put Kissell and McIntyre, or Miller and Democratic Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill, into the same district.

Working within limits

But map-makers will be constrained by growth patterns, which have seen the state's population shift from rural to urban areas. And every change creates a domino effect on neighboring districts.

"There are just some limits to what they can do, simply because you have to make them fit," says Ferrel Guillory, a UNC-Chapel Hill political analyst.

While federal law will guide congressional maps, a 2002 N.C. Supreme Court ruling sets parameters for state legislative districts.

Chafed by what they consider years of Democratic gerrymanders, Republicans say they can be fair, legal and successful. By changing maps gerrymandered by Democrats, says House Speaker Thom Tillis of Cornelius, "logic would dictate that that favors Republicans."

GOP Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County agrees.

"If we draw the plans fairly, consistent with the law, our folks will win on their merits," he says. "We want to draw maps that allow voters to choose their representatives, as opposed to maps where legislators pick their voters."

jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com or 704-358-5059
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/26/2173064/gop-ready-to-redraw-ncs-political.html


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Royal outing for Michelle Obama in Spain confuses US image of First Lady

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

Already we've admitted that we don't know who or what President Obama is. We don't know where he's from (if Donald Trump wonders, how can we be sure?), we don't know what our Maximum Leader wants to do in Libya, and we don't even know if he eats soul food for breakfast! But now the plot thickens. Who do we think Michelle Obama really is? Is she a modest little lady who likes tending her personal vegetable garden back of the White House? Or is she a flamboyant jet-setter who relishes expensive designer gowns and cavorting with royalty -- with the U.S. taxpayer picking up more than a little of the tab for the glam and glitz? Or a little of both? Well, the real question becomes -- who does she think she is? The next question may be -- do I ask this question because I am a bigot? And the third question is, since I'm not answering that, so whatever do you think? And -- bottom line, who cares? One wag puts us all in our carping place with this: "Michelle Obama is an intelligent, accomplished woman. You, obviously, are not. Maybe you'd prefer the First Lady of the United States spend her vacation time at a monster truck rally!" Good one. Here's the story, and I like it, for those who want some gossip to lighten up the mood in the chaotic arena of public affairs.



By Andrea Tantaros / Torres/AP

Thursday, March 24, 2011

* Michelle Obama's popularity plummets following Spain vacation
* Michelle Obama is a hit with locals on Spain vacation
* State Dept. brushes off travel warning as Michelle Obama visits Spain
* Tantaros: Michelle Obama is modern-day Marie Antoinette on glitzy Spanish vacation


When images of Jean Paul Gaultier-clad First Lady Michelle Obama on a $75,000-a-day Spanish holiday hit the wires, controversy was bound to erupt back home. Her carefully crafted image as "everywoman" was blown.

In addition to the high cost, the evolving justifications for the trip offered by the White House's flack were just as dizzying.

First it was a private, mother-daughter trip that press secretary Robert Gibbs refused to comment on.

Then, the White House said she was paying for most of the trip, but that the taxpayers would pay for some of it because she'd be meeting with the King and Queen of Spain. The East Wing's final justification was that the First Lady traveled to Spain to comfort a friend who'd lost her husband.

The spin revealed that the White House had a public relations problem: After attempting to further the notion that she was just the woman next door, it couldn't help that the First Lady looked positively royal. That only cemented the suspicion that she is far fancier and higher maintenance than she, or her handlers, would like us to believe.

"The First Lady is doing her part - and then some - to be an ambassador of total glam when she travels. Have you ever seen a First Lady looking quite so now?" Glamour magazine asked.

I don't know about Glamour's perception of now, but currently 14.6 million people are unemployed. Now is a time when people are losing their homes. Now should be an era of restraint, a time to spread the wealth around, according to the First Lady's spouse.

The backlash from her vacation also showcased an antithesis to the story line of moderation and humble roots that Michelle Obama has sought to perpetuate.

"We like to joke that the South Side of Chicago is our Kennebunkport," she said to Vogue in 2008. Months later, she stepped out in $540 Lanvin sneakers to volunteer at a food bank. The disconnect was obvious.

In April 2007, she told a crowd that "my life now is not really that much different from many of yours. Every woman that I know, regardless of race, education, income, background, political affiliation, is struggling to keep her head above water."

Staying above water on the luxurious Costa del Sol junket must have been a real challenge. And now, while we eat cake, she eats her words.

Fashion magazines have long displayed two competing theories in their profiles on the First Lady. While they're more than willing to advance the narrative that she's just a down-home gal, some can't help but play up her penchant for the highlife, revealing the persona as fiction.

Andre Leon Talley, an editor for Vogue, wrote after the 2008 election, "She almost seems like any other mom recently relocated to a city because of her husband's new job."

Almost. Until the wardrobe references: Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Jimmy Choo.

Oprah Winfrey has said Obama is "bringing a sense of connection and accessibility to that position that no nation has ever witnessed."

That's what they wanted the country to think. Spain, however, revealed the reality: Obama isn't an average mom and wife, and she doesn't think so of herself, either.

That's why the Marie Antoinette comparison is apt: The trip evokes a similar contempt for the plebeians.

We might expect such detachment from celebrities, but not public servants. A leader shouldn't be living like a monarch when the rest of the country feels like paupers. At least Antoinette was being candid about it. Now it's the First Lady's turn.

"I think that's what's special about Michelle - she maintains a normal life in an extraordinary time," Jill Biden once said.

More like an extraordinary lifestyle in abnormal times.

andrea@andreatantaros.com
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/12/2010-08-12_royal_treatment_for_the_first_lady_obama_claims_working_class_roots_but_her_styl.html?obref=obinsite
rights reserved.

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NC House Panel opposes photo ID cards issued by Mexican consulate. Oh, boy.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

Oh boy -- the Republicans are in Raleigh, and they are doing it up good! They have thrown up a roadblock in the way of liberals who would open the flood gates to state services for illegal immigrants. Stick to your guns. The gravy train is being derailed.


By: The Associated Press 03/23/11 12:46 PM


Photo identification cards issued by the Mexican consulate would no longer be considered valid ID to prove North Carolina residency for state services in legislation going to the House floor.

A judiciary committee agreed Wednesday to remove those cards from a list of documents that can be used to establish residency to get a driver's license, obtain auto insurance or enroll in Medicaid. The change also would apply to similar cards issued by foreign governments.

Illegal immigration opponents say the cards are unreliable to provide identification, pointing to federal law enforcement warnings. Supporters of the cards say they lead to improved relations between governments and Hispanics.

The bill passed on a 7-4 vote. The committee defeated an amendment that would have restored the ID use to get auto insurance.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/03/nc-house-panel-oks-restricting-foreign-id-use#ixzz1HS9jm96N