Pantano's new book out: "WARLORD, BROKEN BY WAR -- SAVED BY GRACE" -- Purchase now to support campaign.

 November 4, 2011

Fellow American Patriot,

President Obama is wagering the success we've achieved in Iraq, the sacrifice made by thousands of American troops, and our diplomatic ties in the region on a "Hail Mary Pass" to save his job.

Last month, the president allowed negotiations with the Iraqi government to collapse, forcing our withdrawal from Iraq despite the advice of our generals on the ground. With his poll numbers plummeting as we head into his re-election year, President Obama saw an opportunity to appease the liberal base that elected him and he took it at the expense of our national defense.

As a former Marine Corps officer who served in this war, I am appalled and dismayed by the president's decision. Not only does it compromise the progress we've made in Iraq, it all but hands Iran the keys to the entire Middle East on a silver platter and jeopardizes America's interests at home and abroad.

America must be protected at all costs. That's why I'm running for Congress against an 8-term incumbent who voted to cut and run from Iraq 7 times. But I need you to stand with me against the liberal defeatism that is systematically crippling our national security.

I've written a book, Warlord: Broken by War, Saved by Grace, about my experience in Iraq in 2004 that will be released in just a few weeks. But this story of love of country, duty, honor and sacrifice is timelier than ever right now, so I'd like you to have it right away. That's why I'll rush you an autographed copy of Warlord for  your immediate donation of $40 or more to my campaign. 

Warlord is more than a war story. It's an unapologetic love story with America and her values. It's a story of God's redemptive Grace saving the life of a grief-stricken battle field commander; it's a story of healing through faith after the war; it's a story of why Obama's decision to quit in Iraq will empower terrorists and enemies of the United States. It's also a story that shows why I am uniquely qualified to defend America in the halls of Congress.

Warlord tells of my dramatic experience that became the subject of national news and leftist attacks on the U.S. military. While I was leading men in some of the fiercest fighting of the war outside Fallujah in 2004, I was forced to open fire and kill two insurgents. The liberal media distorted this act of protecting my men into accusations of premeditated murder. So for killing terrorists on the battlefield I faced criminal charges and a possible death sentence!Fortunately justice was on my side, and after a thorough investigation, the truth prevailed and I was cleared of all charges.

My struggle in Iraq strengthened the importance of my faith and family in my life, and prepared me for the most important fight yet: the battle for the soul of our country. We need men and women in Washington who have the courage to stay true to their values and provide desperately needed leadership. I will do both, but I need you to give me that chance.

So will you stand with me as I prepare for this battle by following this link to make a contribution of $40 or more to my campaign to receive an autographed copy of Warlord?

I know better than most how painful the price of defending our liberty can be. But more importantly, I know with every fiber of my being it's worth it. I am proud to have served my country honorably, and I look forward to doing it again as a member of Congress.

Semper fi,

Ilario Pantano Candidate for Congress, NC-7

P.S. My book, Warlord: Broken by War, Saved by Grace, shows why I am uniquely qualified to lead the battle for the soul of our country in Congress. Barack Obama and his cronies on the left are risking our national security for political gain and they must be stopped. That's why I'm asking you to stand with me for our shared conservative values by making a donation of $40 or more to my campaign. In return, I'll rush you a personalized copy of Warlord before it is available to the public. I remain Always Faithful (Semper Fidelis) to God, Corps, and Country.—Ilario 

Pantano HQ to serve as call center for conservative candidates in municipal elections

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / November 3, 2011

Anyone wishing to make volunteer Get Out the Vote Calls on behalf of GOP Candidates for Local Municipal Offices is encouraged to come to the Pantano for Congress HQ this Friday through Election Day.

***********

Wilmington, NC:  Ilario Pantano, the Conservative Republican for North Carolina’s 7^th Congressional District, announced today that he and his staff will be turning the Pantano for Congress Grassroots Headquarters into a Call Center dedicated to turning out the vote for all local GOP municipal candidates starting tomorrow and going through Election Day.

“It’s time for all of us to work together in unity to promote our local Republican candidates,” Pantano said when announcing the Call Center today.  “We must elect Conservative leaders from City Hall to the White House if we want to get our Country back on the right path.   Our victories in the municipal elections next week will lay the ground work for more victories next fall.”

The Call Center located at 8207 Market St Unit H in Wilmington will be open for volunteer calls from 9:00am to 9:00pm on Friday and Saturday, from Noon until 5:00pm on Sunday, from 9:00am to 9:00pm on Monday, and from 9:00am to 3:00pm on Tuesday, Election Day.  

Volunteers wishing to make calls may stop by during any of these times on these days.  Calls will be focused on turning out the vote for  GOP candidates running in Wilmington such as Justin LaNasa, Republican nominee for Mayor, and the Republican nominees for Wilmington City Council, Frank Meares, Josh Fulton, Napier Fuller and Neil Anderson as well as any other GOP municipal candidates from across the 7^th District who would like to use the Center to make calls.

“I would like to encourage everyone to get out and vote in next Tuesday’s municipal elections,” Pantano said.  “We have some great Conservative candidates running here in Wilmington and across the 7^th District and they deserve our support.”

Contact:
Andy Yates
(704) 467-0795
andy@pantanoforcongress.com

###

ACORN officials scramble, firing workers and shredding documents, after exposed as players behind Occupy Wall Street protests.

Published November 03, 2011
By Jana Winter
FoxNews.com

• 
  FOX News
  Nov. 1, 2011: Jonathan Westin, organizing director, New York Communities for Change, sneers as he attends a protest in New York City.
  
  
  Officials with the revamped ACORN office in New York -- operating as New York Communities for Change -- have fired staff, shredded reams of documents and told workers to blame disgruntled ex-employees for leaking information in an effort to explain away a FoxNews.com report last week on the group’s involvement in Occupy Wall Street protests, according to sources.

NYCC also is installing surveillance cameras and recording devices at its Brooklyn offices, removing or packing away supplies bearing the name ACORN and handing out photos of Fox News staff with a stern warning not to talk to the media, the sources said.

“They’re doing serious damage control right now,” said an NYCC source.

NYCC Executive Director Jon Kest has been calling a series of emergency meetings to discuss last week’s report—and taking extreme measures to identify the sources in their office and to prevent further damage, a source within NYCC told FoxNews.com.

Two staffers were fired after NYCC officials suspected them as the source of the leaks, a source told FoxNews.com. “One was fired the day the story came out, the other was fired on Friday. (NYCC senior staff) told everyone that they were fired because they talked to you,” a source said.

NYCC spokesman Scott Levenson denied that anyone was fired for talking to the press.

FoxNews.com’s report identified NYCC as a key organizing force behind the Occupy Wall Street protests. Sources within the group also told FoxNews.com NYCC was hiring people to carry signs and join the protests. NYCC -- a nonprofit organization run almost entirely by former ACORN officials and employees --did not reply for comment prior to the publication of the initial article, but later posted a statement on its website dismissing the article and denying that it pays protesters.

A source said that immediately following publication of the FoxNews.com report staff were called into the Brooklyn office for meetings headed by NYCC’s organizing director, Jonathan Westin. Westin handed out copies of the article and went through it line-by-line, the source said.

Staffers were also given copies of photos of Senior Fox News Correspondent Eric Shawn and three other Fox News staff members, including this reporter.

“They reminded us that we can get fired, sued, arrested for talking to the press,” the source said. “Then they went through the article point-by-point and said that the allegation that we pay people to protest isn’t true. That’s the story that we’re sticking to,’” Westin said, according to the source.

The source said staffers at the meeting contested Westin’s denial:

“It was pretty funny. Jonathan told staff they don’t pay for protesters, but the people in the meeting  who work there objected and said, ‘Wait, you pay us to go to the protests every day?’ Then Jonathan said  ‘No, but that’s your job,’ and staffers were like, ‘Yeah, our job is to protest,’ and Westin said, ‘No your job is to fight for economic and social justice. We just send you to protest.’

“Staff said, ‘Yes, you pay us to carry signs.’ Then Jonathan says, ‘That’s your job.’ It went on like that back and forth for a while.”

During the meetings, NYCC Deputy Director Greg Basta provided Westin with the copied photos of Fox News reporters to hand out to staff members, the source said. Basta told staffers they might be asked about the article when out in communities working on campaigns or when calling people by phone, the source said.

“They told us if people bring up the article, we’re supposed to say the source and all the stuff in there came from a disgruntled ex-employee who’s not working with us anymore.”

NYCC is also monitoring its staff’s behavior, cracking down on phone use and socialization. Officials have ordered all papers -- even scraps -- to be shredded every night, the source said.

“And all the supplies—everything around the office that said ‘ACORN’ -- is now all in storage until this blows over,” the source said. “People literally have to cover up the cameras on the back of their cellphones in the office. Now there’s no texting in the office, no phone calls in the office. They tell us to take our phone calls out into the waiting room where there’s an intercom, and then they turn on the intercom to hear our conversations. They’re installing new cameras and speakers around the building so they can hear everything. It’s almost like working at Fort Knox.”

NYCC officials declined repeated requests to respond to specific questions about the organization’s response to last week’s story. The group on Wednesday instead sent this statement, attributed to NYCC board member Jean Sassine:

"New York Communities for Change participates in protests, direct action, social activism and campaigns that promote social and economic justice.  We see FOX as the enemy to those efforts.

"For the record, this is consistent with Fox attacks on Van Jones, Shirley Sherrod, George Soros, Citizen Action, Planned Parenthood and all those who stand for social justice.  Once again, FOX entertainment poses as FOX News. Once again, FOX makes a series of false, unsubstantiated claims and accusations which have no basis in fact. Once again, through a series of sources FOX structures a story which is nothing but a series of lies."

Westin did respond to some questions a day earlier, when approached by FoxNews.com at an NYCC event in Manhattan."

When asked if a staff member was fired because people thought he’d talked to the press, Westin said, “I have no idea.” When asked about handing out photos of Fox News employees, he said, “I have been? No, I don’t think I have been. That wasn’t me.”

Westin did acknowledge NYCC staff have met to discuss last week’s report. “People talked about it,” he said. “People are interested.”

He also deflected a question about the allegation that staffers were being told to blame the report on disgruntled staffers, telling this reporter to contact him later via email.

Responding to reports of pushback from staffers who said they were being paid to go to the protests, and reports NYCC had recently hired people as canvassers or organizers and then sent them to the protests, Westin replied repeatedly “We don’t pay people to protest.”

Westin later did not reply to two emails asking for follow-up.

Anti-Christian bias in Obama's Health and Human Services? Oh yeah!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / November 3, 2011

Cardinal O'Malley of Boston greets President Obama.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

By William Donohue / SperoForum

 

In September, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ended funding to a program operated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) that helps victims of human trafficking. Their decision followed a lawsuit by the ACLU contesting the right of the USCCB not to refer trafficking victims to abortion and contraceptive services. The USCCB maintains that this entire episode evinces an anti-Catholic bias. The Catholic League agrees.

 Many HHS career staffers recommended that the USCCB program be funded; they cited scores by an independent review board. But in a highly politicized ruling, Obama appointees rejected the advice of these veteran civil servants.

It is imperative that others follow the lead of disgruntled HHS staffers and contact the HHS Inspector General’s office with their complaints [click here].

This comes on the heels of several assaults on religious liberty. The administration said Obamacare wouldn’t threaten religious liberty, yet it wants to mandate that Catholic healthcare providers offer sterilization and contraceptive services. It also showed its stripes when earlier this year it decided it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. And just recently, the administration argued before the Supreme Court that government shouldn’t be barred from policing the hiring policies of any church.

The lust for abortion is so thoroughly ingrained with many in the Obama administration that they will use any means possible to force the pro-life community to accept its radical agenda. They must be resisted. At stake is the right of a world religious body to practice its tenets with impunity. Moreover, the campaign to kill babies in the wombs of women who have already been victimized is doubling down on death.

http://www.speroforum.com/a/APFVLDNKJO43/AntiChristian-bias-in-Obamas-Health-and-Human-Services?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email11-3-2011

http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/index.asp

Filed under christianophobia, usccb, abortion, adoption, politics, barack obama

Tim Wilkes writes: "If I were green!' A very thoughtful and powerful read.

 Verne Strickland / Blogmaster

 

Tim Wilkes, NC/7 Candidate for Congress

By Tim Wilkes on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 10:20pm

 If I were green; it would not change who I am, my character, my work ethic or my value as a person. What would a skin colored green change?

It might change how people treat me, it would indeed make some stare or look at me strange and could even make it hard to get a job but do I really care about someone who would let such a difference affect the way they treat me? Simply, No, I could care less about people who are so small that they cannot see beyond my skin color long enough to find out how hard I work, who I am at the very core of my being or are so short sighted that they will never know how I may have made their life different or even better.

Why would I ask such questions? Many in 2008 voted for our President because of his skin color, many have denied others jobs because of how they look and treated people less than human because they were different. Martin Luther King was right when he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

From a young age growing up, my first time away from home in college and in the Army I did not tolerate prejudice or hateful words spoken by anyone and one of my pet peeves is to hear someone claim “Racism”. Since many of my family and friends call me Captain Obvious- I might as well say the obvious, we are the “Human Race”, skin color is nothing more than ethnicity and does not designate someone non-human.

 It is time we stop with the hyphenated Americans, with the separation of our people by skin color, by wealth class or social class or the gender of a person. If we wish for our communities, our state or our nation to succeed then we must stop the divisions and unite to once again make America great and to dig ourselves out of the ditch and give our children the chance for a successful future.

This is why I am running for congress! To unite those interested in making America great without regard to the next election, my ego or bank account and to make sure those who are hurting our nation through these acts are pointed out and held accountable. If you agree that we can make America great then I ask you to join me or a candidate who will represent you and make our country great by representing your interests and not their own interests.

Your faithful servant,
Tim Wilkes                                                                                                                                                         

GOP launches TV campaign to expose Mike McIntyre for backing federal stimulus, and pondering if he will support Obama's latest jobs plan.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / November 2, 2011

TV ADS CRITICAL OF McINTYRE RECORD HITTING THE AIR -- ABOUT TIME?

By Pat Gannon / StarNews Online

The television advertisements have begun in the 2012 election for North Carolina’s 7^th Congressional District.

Beginning Wednesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee is running ads on Wilmington and Raleigh-area cable networks criticizing Rep. Mike McIntyre’s past votes in favor of federal stimulus packages and questioning whether the incumbent congressman will support President Obama’s latest jobs plan.

The ads, expected to run for two weeks, cost the NRCC $20,720, a spokeswoman said. The NRCC has already conducted a series of robocalls against McIntyre, criticizing him in areas such as federal stimulus spending and Medicare.

McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, plans to run for re-election in 2012. Republicans David Rouzer of Johnston County and Ilario Pantano of Wilmington plan to run for the GOP nomination to challenge McIntyre a year from now.

Watch the ad here.

Here is the full text of the ad, released by the NRCC.

Script: You know the old saying….fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Will Mike McIntyre fool you again? Last time President Obama pushed a wasteful stimulus plan, Mike McIntyre went along with it – and we got burned. The economy got worse. Now President Obama is pushing more wasteful stimulus spending. What will Mike McIntyre do? Tell Mike McIntyre: don’t burn us again. 

DISCLAIMER: The National Republican Congressional Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Former Navy SEAL wows audience at Ronald Reagan tribute at Wrightsville Beach Blockade Runner.

By Verne Strickland / October 30, 2011

Popular Nevada Constitutional conservative Sharron Angle was the headliner at last week’s Reagan Tribute before a packed house at the Wrightsville Beach Blockade Runner hotel. She is the Nevada GOP activist who almost brought liberal Democratic leader Harry Reid to tears in the 2010 election. He hasn’t fully recovered yet. 

But the preliminary to the main event – former Navy SEAL Benjamin Smith – fired up the Republican faithful with his own brand of rock-solid Christian-based patriotism that was exactly what the evening required.

Smith, whose imposing size and bearing shouted “SEAL” before he uttered a word, brought a rapt audience through the personal trials and tribulations that shaped and toughened him for the challenges that members of this elite corps seem to take in stride. 

This man on a mission for God and Country – despite his accomplishments – speaks with an unassuming candor and humility that has endeared him to many an audience.

These are excerpts from his presentation:

I was up in New York City, and got a call from Ilario Pantano. I stood for him last time he ran for office, while serving as national speaker for Tea Party Express and Move America Forward. I came down to stump for him. This happens to be my voting district. This year Ilario’s call came again and I came down to back him because I support his rules of engagement on decisions he makes -- he is not a politician, he is a leader.

I know that everyone in this room believes in the things that have made this country great. You have a belief in this fundamental concept of American exceptionalism, that we are something amazing and rare in this world. You understand that the sacred flame of liberty, when it is threatened, when it is led astray, at those times you may have to stoke the very furnace of liberty itself. It seems we have entered those times now, with Barack Obama in the White House, the strange things we see up on Capitol Hill.

I just have a fire in my gut. I know when something is wrong. I knew that when I saw Obama coming on. I’ve always been conservative. I survived through UNC Chapel Hill, and made it out still a conservative. When I was there I didn’t understand what Jesse Helms meant by wanting to build walls around that campus. But I eventually came to know what that man was talking about. You here in this room understand that now -- our moment in history – will determine whether our cause is won or lost by our actions for future generations, and for millions unborn.

History now is being rewritten and erased within our very lifetime. Most of the values you have grown up with are considered old and antiquated. Or archaic. And you are mocked for them. That is so wrong to me. I think we have all started to look at history for answers. We look to our founders for answers. And to God. I have been that atheist in the foxhole. But no more. Seeing what is threatening our nation now, I am rediscovering that faith in God and confidence in the wisdom of our founding fathers.

When I saw Obama moving toward the White House, I became angry. He has never believed in American exceptionalism or in the America that I know, where you have to earn respect, earn your living, earn everything that is dear and worthwhile. I do thank Obama for one thing – he has brought us together tonight to refocus, and work together to get our America back.

American exceptionalism can be seen in our founding documents, which for the first time in human history brought forth the idea that individual liberty is the best way to achieve prosperity and security. Those documents also assure us that we have the purest form of freedom than any other nation ever, because we believe that man is born to be free, and the master of his own fate – to have free elections and decide who will represent you. It’s a rare privilege, but one we have to earn over and over again.

During my travels around this nation, I have been driven by my heart, and realized why I served in the military, why I fought in Iraq, why we’re facing Islam, why Islam is absolutely wrong for this country – and wrong for the world. I have seen our American society as I traveled, and I can tell you that there is fear across this land.

This threat we feel is part of what brought all of you hear tonight. Use that challenge to fight back, revive our unique spirit, and turn our nation back to God, back to the America we know still exists, and back to the family. These are the things that are worth fighting for, worth any sacrifice, and I challenge you to personally give of yourself heart and soul for this cause.

 ***********

THE RONALD REAGAN TRIBUTE WAS SPONSORED BY THE NEW HANOVER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY, CHAIRED BY WILMINGTON RESIDENT RHONDA AMOROSO. IT WAS ATTENDED BY A WHO'S WHO OF LOCAL, COUNTY, STATE AND NC CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SEVEN GOP LEADERS.

rhonda.gopchair@gmail.com