VOL. 116 - NO. 12 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, MARCH 23, 2012 $.30 A COPY Romney Carries Both Achievement Awards at Italian Consulate Puerto Rico & Illinois Primaries Consul Pastorelli Recognizes Seven Italians and Italian Americans for by Sal Giarratani Their Outstanding Contributions to the Community Former Gov. Mitt Romney ber. However, Romney con- by Nicola Orichuia picked two recent primary tinues to have great diffi- victories. On Saturday, culty winning over voters in March 17, the luck of the Southern states and gets Irish and Puerto Rican bested by Santorum and Gov. Luis Fortuna were with Newt Gingrich. These states Romney. He carried Puerto are also states Republicans Rico with over 80 percent of need to carry against Presi- the vote and won all 20 del- dent Obama on Election Day. egates at stake that day. Mitt Romney’s problem This past Tuesday, Romney seems to be attracting the won again. This time he re- passion of primary voters ceived 47 percent of the vote with his CEO-manager-like to Rick Santorum’s 35 per- approach to the presidency. cent. Romney keeps adding Republican voters are look- to his delegate count but ing for passionate leadership Santorum shows no signs of and it still appears lacking dropping out. Romney re- from the Romney Campaign. mains with his front runner In Santorum’s concession status but has of yet not speech in Illinois, he spoke been able to close the deal. to this issue quite clearly. The primary fight continues As Santorurn said in so on to Louisiana this coming many words, Romney just Saturday where Santorurn isn’t connecting with the From left to right: Antonio Nunziante, Giovanni Abbadessa, Consul General Giuseppe should beat Romney. American people. Adding to Pastorelli, Maria Spacagna, Guido Vittiglio, Emilio Bizzi, Paul Picknelly. Looking at the race to this, I heard Jeff Katz on his (Photo by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography) date, in direct match-ups in morning radio show say that industrial union state like Romney needs to connect to On Tuesday, March 20, the The award for “Art, Culture who continues in his Michigan, Ohio and now the voters by going positive. Italian Consulate General and Entertainment” went grandfather’s entrepreneur- Illinois, Santorum keeps Romney should stop all his in Boston held a ceremony to internationally known ial footsteps. In fact, Peter running second to Romney. negative campaigning and to award seven members of soprano Maria Scapagna. “I Carmine Picknelly founded These are states the Repub- New England’s Italian and am very proud of my heri- the Peter Pan Bus Company licans will need in Novem- (Continued on Page 13) Italian American commu- tage,” she said. “I remember in 1933. Paul Picknelly is nity who have distinguished crying when I put my foot on current president of Mon- themselves in various fields Italian soil for the first arch Enterprises, while his of interest. time.” Scapagna has per- brother Peter runs the bus Consul General Giuseppe formed in the most presti- company, which is still fam- News Briefs Pastorelli handed out the gious opera theaters and ily-owned. During his accep- by Sal Giarratani achievement awards, which concert halls in the world tance speech, Picknelly had been introduced for the and is currently a voice lec- pledged to improve the rela- first time in 2011, during the turer at Boston University. tionship between his home- Romney Still Pandering Away opening ceremony at the The “Business” achieve- town Springfield, Massachu- In the last few days of campaigning down in Massachusetts State House ment award was given to setts, with Italian sister city Mississippi and Alabama there went Romney pan- for the 150th Anniversary of Paul Picknelly, a third gen- dering again. I still remember Michigan when he Italy’s Unification. eration Italian American (Continued on Page 10) was telling anyone in shouting distance how much he loved Minnesota’s small lakes, large lakes, lakes in between both, the trees and cars. It was so pathetic and he seemed unaware of how badly SONS OF ITALY TO HONOR he was sounding. He did it again down South by telling “Y’all” how much he loved grits and catfish U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton why isn’t his campaign staff telling him to stop sounding so phony-baloney? U.S. Secretary of State this award,” said SIF CEO Hillary Rodham Clinton will Philip R. Piccigallo, “which Reading the “American Free Press” be the first woman to receive seeks to recognize her life- The other day I came upon an issue of American the Sons of Italy Founda- time of outstanding service Free Press and I had never seen this newspaper tion’s (SIF) Lifetime Achieve- to her fellow Americans before. This newspaper calls itself “populist and ment Award for Public and human beings.” The SIF independent — not Republican or Democrat.” I as- Service, to be presented at and its parent organization sumed its editorial bias was right of center, it was. the SIF’s 24th annual the Order Sons of Italy in The headline stated “SMEAR JOB” aside it a smil- National Education & Lead- America (OSIA) created this ing photo of Ron Paul. The news story talked about ership Awards (NELA) Gala special award category to “plutocrats” ramping up efforts against Paul and on May 23, 2012, in Wash- underscore its efforts to attacked the NY Times for its December 26 ington, D.C. The award improve human conditions “muddled smear ... hit piece.” According to this was established three years globally, building upon its newspaper’s self-description, this newspaper is ago to offer recognition of long record of relief efforts “populist and nationalist…FOR Life, Liberty and extraordinary public and hu- in Italy, Europe, South AGAINST the New World Order.” manitarian service to indi- America, Mexico, the Carib- There were some interesting items to read. I viduals who are not of and U.S. Senator Jack Reed bean and Asia. didn’t know that Afghanistan had signed a deal this Italian heritage. Clinton fol- (2011). “With Hillary Clinton’s re- (Continued on Page 10) lows previous honorees Vice “We are deeply honored markable record of advocacy President Joe Biden (2009), and pleased that Secretary President Bill Clinton (2010), Clinton has agreed to accept (Continued on Page 15) THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PMPM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, MARCH 23, 2012 Res Publica by David Trumbull What Ails the Republican Party “Gentlemen, what ails the administer this Republic. Republican party is not the Indeed, much of his “pitch” THE SAD RAGS OF OLD ROME fact that it is in the minor- is based on his success in Last week I asked that we trip they changed into the the toga. In pattern, it was ity. It has been in the mi- the investment world. But in not feel sorry for the typical toga, the garment of peace, formed of two large segments nority before. What ails it is selecting a President we are lady of the “olden golden” before entering Rome. Later, of a circle, with the straight a certain sort of yielding to doing more than picking an days of old Rome. Then I the purple paludamentum edges together. The length opportunism, a yielding to investment fund manager. described in detail, her nor- was adopted by the emperors was about three times the that element within the That leaves issues and mal wardrobe. Some alterna- as a token of their imperial wearer's height and the width party clamoring for liberal- character to distinguish the tives were available to the power. As this paludamen- was about two thirds of the ization, clamoring to the contenders. On issues (he’s Roman men but the selec- tum was the cape of the length. Republican party to throw wrong about just about tion was greatly restricted. Roman generals, so was the It was folded and pressed away the birthright of con- everything) and character They wore an “alicula” which “sagnum” the cape of the with special plaits so that servatism and enter the lists (he’s self-absorbed and petu- was a short cloak that only Roman soldier. It was worn when properly worn it was against the radical Demo- lant) the current occupant of came down to the elbows. It over their armor the same thrown over the left shoul- cratic party on the Demo- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was usually worn by young way that the generals wore der, then brought around cratic party’s side.” is deficient. But the Ameri- boys and it derived its name their capes. The sagnum under the right arm, and The quotation above is from can people will not throw out from the resemblance of was a symbol of war as the again thrown over the left J. Fred Essary, Washington a sitting President unless the garment to wings. There toga was the symbol of peace. shoulder. The part across the correspondent of the Balti- they have a pretty good idea was also the “abolla,” a knee The “chlamys” was a long chest was known as the “si- more Sun, speaking in Provi- that they will get someone length cloak made from mantle whose origin is lost nus” or bosom, and it was dence, RI at the 83rd Annual better in his place. coarse material which was in antiquity.