Saturday, April 21, 2012

Pantano or Rouzer -- Who deserves your trust? Choice looms in May 8 NCGOP primary.

FORMER MARINE COMBAT OFFICER, FORMER CAPITOL HILL LOBBYIST SQUARE OFF IN HOT NORTH CAROLINA CONTEST. WINNER WILL FACE DEMOCRAT McINTYRE.

By Verne Strickland, April 21, 2012
 
So the chips are down. What’s it going to be? Whose story really stands up to the claims of the candidates, and the scrutiny of the voters?
Unlike David Rouzer, Ilario Pantano has not raised eight rows of tobacco. He hasn’t chopped cotton or combined soybeans. But war is a job too. The toughest and most grueling there is. And Pantano has shouldered this awesome task that few in this country have cared to take on  – fewer still in Congress. And, to be sure, no one else running for the Seventh Congressional Seat of North Carolina has gone into mortal combat for the sake of God, family and country. 
David Rouzer may be the patriot he claims. I expect he is. But, as in everything else, there are degrees of patriotism. 
Ilario Pantano has voluntarily gone to war not once but twice for principles he believes in – passionately, unreservedly, unselfishly. This is a personal commitment he has made without hesitation, knowingly putting his own life on the line for America and her citizens. In short, it cannot be denied that Ilario Pantano’s commitment is the greatest act of valor an individual can put forward. We need to think about that. This is a selfless investment he has made for all of us.
And yet I find that his service in uniform is repeatedly marginalized – by area liberals, by pacifists, as well as the media, led by the Wilmington Star-News, which gives the appearance of hoping someone – anyone – other than Pantano will carry the banner of the Seventh District to the U.S. Congress in Washington.
Candidate Pantano’s military service – in not one but two bloody foreign wars – is not marginalized by overt denigration, but by glaring omission. It is mentioned only in passing, if at all. 
This is clearly because the Star-News, while under new ownership, has shown obvious signals that it will slavishly follow the same hide-bound policies of the mainstream Democratic Party, which while in power from the statehouse to the White House to the outhouse, and now the poorhouse, has driven our economy, our individual freedoms, our business vitality, and our national pride to a dismal new low. 
State Senator David Rouzer, while not a Democrat, is the darling of the press in the GOP primary, where his name invariably bobs to the top as the chosen one to take on Mike McIntyre in the general election. It’s a dubious honor.
A case in point is an “editorial” in which the Star-News danced around a thinly disguised endorsement of Rouzer, while injecting negative, polarizing comments about Pantano – by any measure a decent, honest, intelligent gentleman, and a fighter in the real sense of the word. This is the brand of journalistic integrity and courage we have come to expect from this newspaper, whose roots in Democratic politics are deep and demanding. 
No, Ilario Pantano of New York has not raised eight acres of tobacco. That is not the opportunity or the curse of every red-blooded American patriot. But, as much as any who have migrated to our area from the frozen north and chosen to stay and raise a family, he has invested his loyalty and his love in the region, meeting and embracing our good citizens, and becoming a model citizen himself. He has endeared himself to many by his open, engaging attitude – peculiarly Southern – and is ready to represent our area with the same genuine enthusiasm, spirit and effectiveness as one raised here. 
Just as important, he has familiarized himself with the key issues, concerns and opportunities which are the underpinnings and legacy of our area – specifically the coastal region, which is contained within the newly-minted Seventh District, except for one oddly gerrymandered appendage of land which somehow managed to reach deep into agricultural Johnston County, whose most enduring link to the coast may be the week-end and vacation trips by inland boaters and recreational fishermen. It is worthy of note that this convenient happenstance in the district boundaries drew beachfront McGee’s Crossroads officially into the Seventh District. 
In this case, it is David Rouzer who seems the outsider, immersed as he has been in business and culture west of Interstate 95, where the traditional economic base has been the rich farmland and rowcrop agriculture of the Coastal Plains , and where the influences – political and economic – have been tied irreversibly to Raleigh and the N.C. General Assembly.
David Rouzer, it may be noted, has said he has connections to the coastal area from a home in Kure Beach his family has shared with another family – a statement made as he opened his Wilmington campaign office quite recently. 
Rouzer, 40, is not married and lives in the rural community of McGees Crossroads in Johnston County, several miles from where he grew up working on the family farm. First elected in 2008, he is serving his second term in the state Senate, where he represents Johnston and Wayne counties. He lost a bid for state agriculture commissioner in 2000.

Rouzer owns a business consulting firm, with tobacco companies as clients. On the side, he owns a distributorship, marketing a degreaser called Cobra Clean.

His past experience includes stints as a senior staffer for former U.S. senators Jesse Helms and Elizabeth Dole, where he cites work on farm bills, the tobacco quota buyout and the 1999 Hurricane Floyd disaster recovery legislation among the highlights.

He also was appointed by President George W. Bush to a post in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he helped manage a $1.2 billion budget and a rural loan portfolio of $5 billion.

Rouzer also worked as a lobbyist for tobacco companies in Washington, but said he deregistered in 2008. In the heat of campaign debates, Senator Rouzer has been coy about his service as a lobbyist, a point not missed by those keeping score. At times outright evasive, Rouzer seemed aware that his work in support of amnesty for illegal, undocumented workers could generate a particularly cruel backlash. And it has.

Whereas Rouzer worked closely with Jesse Helms at various points in his career, Ilario Pantano never met the iconic five-term Republican U.S. Senator who passed away in 2008 at the age of 86.

But Pantano is an ardent admirer of the late statesman, and an avid student of Jesse’s implacable conservatism, which is legend. More importantly, Pantano has proven by his beliefs and platform that he subscribes wholeheartedly to the Helms Doctrine of fiscal solvency, limited government, law and order, Christian values, Constitutional precepts, American pride and exceptionalism, and freedom, freedom, freedom. 
While Rouzer has had every opportunity to absorb Jesse’s philosophy, he may have fallen short of duplicating the beloved Senator’s unrelenting personal code of honor, for which Senator Helms was respected by friend and foe alike in Washington and around the world. 
Jesse said he never won a public opinion poll, and never lost an election. And he never waffled on a vote, no matter how unpopular. And he never tried to revise his record.
Only on two of these scores will I find fault with Senator Rouzer, who, while habitually vilifying the “ethics” of lobbyists as a whole, was a lobbyist himself, racing back to Washington to cash in his services and inside knowledge of economic powerhouse industries like tobacco production, processing, manufacturing and exports. 
Perhaps more troubling, he obscured his support for granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, and, only under intense questioning from Pantano, finally admitted what he had done. He said that he did this because workers were needed for tobacco and produce harvests in Southeastern North Carolina. But Pantano, a stickler for accuracy, pointed out that only fourteen percent of the illegal workers are employed in commercial agriculture.  
“The rest,” Pantano said in an interview, “are draining the economic lifeblood of our people.  A full 86 per cent of these illegals are taking jobs away from young veterans in food services, construction, hospitality, landscape design – all these things that are good, entry-level jobs, not glamorous, but that are starting points for young men and women to get on their feet – these jobs are being taken by illegals. This is also a tax on the battered incomes of our taxpayers in our classroom, our courtroom, our schoolroom, and our emergency room. 
“It would be one thing if the Senator (Rouzer) had an ubiased view of amnesty and hung his hat on that. But he has tried to dodge and bob and weave until he was finally pinned down the other day. And only then did he confess his role as a paid lobbyist working for something that every poll and statistic shows will create two Obama voters for every GOP voter. So who was he really working for when he got that lobbying check?"
The halting Rouzer admission of his work to secure amnesty for illegal immigrants created a firestorm of derision from conservative leaders like William Gheen, president of ALIPAC.
"David Rouzer's support for Amnesty for illegal aliens may endear him to some of the unscrupulous big business interests that do not want to obey our existing guest worker and immigration laws," said ALIPAC leader Gheen.  "However, his support for Amnesty puts him at odds with over 80 percent of the voters in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District who are paying the price of illegal immigration through lost jobs, depreciated wages, stolen taxpayer resources, and preventable crimes."

Americans for Legal ImmigrationPAC has endorsed David Rouzer's opponent  Ilario Pantano due to Pantano's support for adequate enforcement of America's existing border and immigration laws.

Ilario Pantano has made fighting illegal immigration a top issue in his campaign. He has vowed he will oppose any form of Amnesty for illegal immigrants that would allow them to stay in the United States.
Pantano has attended recent immigration hearings conducted by the NC General Assembly. His opponent David Rouzer has not attended these meetings even though he serves as a state legislator.

"The voters of North Carolina have a clear choice between Ilario Pantano, who will work to deter illegal immigration, and David Rouzer, who is now on the record supporting Amnesty which will only encourage more illegal immigration to our nation and communities," said William Gheen. "Now that David Rouzer has abandoned his earlier denials and admitted his support for Amnesty our job is to make sure every voter knows about his unpopular stance."

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC plans to raise funds to conduct an automated call to GOP voter households in District 7 warning voters that David Rouzer supported Agjobs Amnesty for illegal aliens in the past and has reaffirmed his support for Amnesty during the recent debate on WECT.

For more information about Americans for Legal Immigration PAC or to view ALIPAC's 125 currently endorsed federal candidates, please visit www.alipac.us
Pantano, a Wilmington resident who now works as an author, referred to Rouzer as a career politician and said government needs "principled leadership" and term limits for members of Congress. Rouzer opposes term limits.
"Who's going to go to Washington and reform it, and who's going to go to Washington and conform to it?" Pantano asked.
Since contrasts are the stuff of which campaigns are made, it should be instructive to note which candidate contrasts most dramatically with Democrat incumbent Seventh District Congressman Mike McIntyre – Rouzer, who has shown some inclination to shade the facts about his service and his stands on the issues – or Pantano, who as proven himself to be honest, honorable and straightforward at all times. Which of these candidates, when it comes to candor and truth, or lack of it, is more like Mike McIntyre? 
Raise the issue of term limits, and decide for yourself which candidate – Pantano or Rouzer – fits more into the McIntyre mold. McIntyre ignored his own promise several times to limit his terms in office, but is going for a ninth term as he gears up his 2012 campaign. Rouzer has declined to commit to term limits, whereas Ilario Pantano has signed a pledge to seek no more than three Congressional terms if elected to this office.
"Term limits would be a tremendous step at reforming our culture of corruption in Washington," Ilario Pantano said.
U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national movement to limit terms for elected officials, praised NC-7 candidate Ilario Pantano for promising to support and co-sponsor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting congressional terms. USTL’s Philip Blumel commented on Pantano’s pledge saying, “Ilario Pantano is leading the way for the other candidates for Congress by being an early signer of the term limits pledge.

Pantano’s commitment to returning to citizen government in Washington, D.C. “is a beacon that should be followed by candidates across the nation,” Blumel concluded.

There is more – so much more – that can and should be said about the dramatic differences between Ilario Pantano and David Rouzer – important contrasts that have been obscured or ignored by shabby news reporting or outright subterfuge. 
Those facts will be reported in this column before the May 8 Primary, when the man appointed to take down excessively incumbent Democrat Congressman Mike McIntyre of the Seventh District of North Carolina will be selected. 
Maybe the best yardstick comes down to where voters can comfortably put their trust when selecting the man that might be our next Congessman.
Bottom line — for the Seventh District to be burdened with another professional politician, which Rouzer could well become, would be a bitter pill indeed. Pantano or Rouzer? It’s down to this. You make the call.

Friday, April 20, 2012

ELECTIONS 2012 NC GOP/7: THE BOOK ON ILARIO PANTANO & DAVID ROUZER.



 By Verne Strickland, April 20, 2012

So the chips are down. What’s it going to be? Whose story really stands up to the claims of the candidates, and the scrutiny of the voters?

Unlike David Rouzer, Ilario Pantano has not raised eight rows of tobacco. He hasn’t chopped cotton or combined soybeans. But war is a job too. The toughest and most grueling there is. And Pantano has shouldered this awesome task that few in this country have cared to take on  – fewer still in Congress. And, to be sure, no one else running for the Seventh Congressional Seat of North Carolina has gone into mortal combat for the sake of God, family and country. 

David Rouzer may be the patriot he claims. I expect he is. But, as in everything else, there are degrees of patriotism. 

Ilario Pantano has voluntarily gone to war not once but twice for principles he believes in – passionately, unreservedly, unselfishly. This is a personal commitment he has made without hesitation, knowingly putting his own life on the line for America and her citizens. In short, it cannot be denied that Ilario Pantano’s commitment is the greatest act of valor an individual can put forward. We need to think about that. This is a selfless investment he has made for all of us.

And yet I find that his service in uniform is repeatedly marginalized – by area liberals, by pacifists, as well as the media, led by the Wilmington Star-News, which gives the appearance of hoping someone – anyone – other than Pantano will carry the banner of the Seventh District to the U.S. Congress in Washington.
Candidate Pantano’s military service – in not one but two bloody foreign wars – is not marginalized by overt denigration, but by glaring omission. It is mentioned only in passing, if at all. 

This is clearly because the Star-News, while under new ownership, has shown obvious signals that it will slavishly follow the same hide-bound policies of the mainstream Democratic Party, which while in power from the statehouse to the White House to the outhouse, and now the poorhouse, has driven our economy, our individual freedoms, our business vitality, and our national pride to a dismal new low. 

State Senator David Rouzer, while not a Democrat, is the darling of the press in the GOP primary, where his name invariably bobs to the top as the chosen one to take on Mike McIntyre in the general election. It’s a dubious honor.

A case in point is an “editorial” in which the Star-News danced around a thinly disguised endorsement of Rouzer, while injecting negative, polarizing comments about Pantano – by any measure a decent, honest, intelligent gentleman, and a fighter in the real sense of the word. This is the brand of journalistic integrity and courage we have come to expect from this newspaper, whose roots in Democratic politics are deep and demanding. 

No, Ilario Pantano of New York has not raised eight acres of tobacco. That is not the opportunity or the curse of every red-blooded American patriot. But, as much as any who have migrated to our area from the frozen north and chosen to stay and raise a family, he has invested his loyalty and his love in the region, meeting and embracing our good citizens, and becoming a model citizen himself. He has endeared himself to many by his open, engaging attitude – peculiarly Southern – and is ready to represent our area with the same genuine enthusiasm, spirit and effectiveness as one raised here. 

Just as important, he has familiarized himself with the key issues, concerns and opportunities which are the underpinnings and legacy of our area – specifically the coastal region, which is contained within the newly-minted Seventh District, except for one oddly gerrymandered appendage of land which somehow managed to reach deep into agricultural Johnston County, whose most enduring link to the coast may be the week-end and vacation trips by inland boaters and recreational fishermen. It is worthy of note that this convenient happenstance in the district boundaries drew beachfront McGee’s Crossroads officially into the Seventh District. 

In this case, it is David Rouzer who is the outsider, immersed as he has been in business and culture west of Interstate 95, where the traditional economic base has been the rich farmland and rowcrop agriculture of the Coastal Plains , and where the influences – political and economic – have been tied irreversibly to Raleigh and the N.C. General Assembly.

David Rouzer, it may be noted, has said he has connections to the coastal area from a home in Kure Beach his family has shared with another family – a statement made as he opened his Wilmington campaign office quite recently. 

Rouzer, 40, is not married and lives in the rural community of McGees Crossroads in Johnston County, several miles from where he grew up working on the family farm. First elected in 2008, he is serving his second term in the state Senate, where he represents Johnston and Wayne counties. He lost a bid for state agriculture commissioner in 2000.

Rouzer owns a business consulting firm, with tobacco companies as clients. On the side, he owns a distributorship, marketing a degreaser called Cobra Clean.

His past experience includes stints as a senior staffer for former U.S. senators Jesse Helms and Elizabeth Dole, where he cites work on farm bills, the tobacco quota buyout and the 1999 Hurricane Floyd disaster recovery legislation among the highlights.

He also was appointed by President George W. Bush to a post in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he helped manage a $1.2 billion budget and a rural loan portfolio of $5 billion.

Rouzer also worked as a lobbyist for tobacco companies in Washington, but said he deregistered in 2008. In the heat of campaign debates, Senator Rouzer has been coy about his service as a lobbyist, a point not missed by those keeping score. At times outright evasive, Rouzer seemed aware that his work in support of amnesty for illegal, undocumented workers could generate a particularly cruel backlash. And it has.

Whereas Rouzer worked closely with Jesse Helms at various points in his career, Ilario Pantano never met the iconic five-term Republican U.S. Senator who passed away in 2008 at the age of 86.

But Pantano is an ardent admirer of the late statesman, and an avid student of Jesse’s implacable conservatism, which is legend. More importantly, Pantano has proven by his beliefs and platform that he subscribes wholeheartedly to the Helms Doctrine of fiscal solvency, limited government, law and order, Christian values, Constitutional precepts, American pride and exceptionalism, and freedom, freedom, freedom. 

While Rouzer has had every opportunity to absorb Jesse’s philosophy, he may have fallen short of duplicating the beloved Senator’s unrelenting personal code of honor, for which Senator Helms was respected by friend and foe alike in Washington and around the world. 

Jesse said he never won a public opinion poll, and never lost an election. And he never waffled on a vote, no matter how unpopular. And he never tried to revise his record.

Only on two of these scores will I find fault with Senator Rouzer, who, while habitually vilifying the “ethics” of lobbyists as a whole, was a lobbyist himself, racing back to Washington to cash in his services and inside knowledge of economic powerhouse industries like tobacco production, processing, manufacturing and exports. 

Perhaps more troubling, he obscured his support for granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, and, only under intense questioning from Pantano, finally admitted what he had done. He said that he did this because workers were needed for tobacco and produce harvests in Southeastern North Carolina. But Pantano, a stickler for accuracy, pointed out that only fourteen percent of the illegal workers are employed in commercial agriculture.  

“The rest,” Pantano said in an interview, “are draining the economic lifeblood of our people.  A full 86 per cent of these illegals are taking jobs away from young veterans in food services, construction, hospitality, landscape design – all these things that are good, entry-level jobs, not glamorous, but that are starting points for young men and women to get on their feet – these jobs are being taken by illegals. This is also a tax on the battered incomes of our taxpayers in our classroom, our courtroom, our schoolroom, and our emergency room. 

“It would be one thing if the Senator (Rouzer) had an ubiased view of amnesty and hung his hat on that. But he has tried to dodge and bob and weave until he was finally pinned down the other day. And only then did he confess his role as a paid lobbyist working for something that every poll and statistic shows will create two Obama voters for every GOP voter. So who was he really working for when he got that lobbying check?"

The halting Rouzer admission of his work to secure amnesty for illegal immigrants created a firestorm of derision from conservative leaders like William Gheen, president of ALIPAC.

"David Rouzer's support for Amnesty for illegal aliens may endear him to some of the unscrupulous big business interests that do not want to obey our existing guest worker and immigration laws," said ALIPAC leader Gheen.  "However, his support for Amnesty puts him at odds with over 80 percent of the voters in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District who are paying the price of illegal immigration through lost jobs, depreciated wages, stolen taxpayer resources, and preventable crimes."

Americans for Legal ImmigrationPAC has endorsed David Rouzer's opponent  Ilario Pantano due to Pantano's support for adequate enforcement of America's existing border and immigration laws.

Ilario Pantano has made fighting illegal immigration a top issue in his campaign. He has vowed he will oppose any form of Amnesty for illegal immigrants that would allow them to stay in the United States.
Pantano has attended recent immigration hearings conducted by the NC General Assembly. His opponent David Rouzer has not attended these meetings even though he serves as a state legislator.

"The voters of North Carolina have a clear choice between Ilario Pantano, who will work to deter illegal immigration, and David Rouzer, who is now on the record supporting Amnesty which will only encourage more illegal immigration to our nation and communities," said William Gheen. "Now that David Rouzer has abandoned his earlier denials and admitted his support for Amnesty our job is to make sure every voter knows about his unpopular stance."

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC plans to raise funds to conduct an automated call to GOP voter households in District 7 warning voters that David Rouzer supported Agjobs Amnesty for illegal aliens in the past and has reaffirmed his support for Amnesty during the recent debate on WECT.

For more information about Americans for Legal Immigration PAC or to view ALIPAC's 125 currently endorsed federal candidates, please visit www.alipac.us

Pantano, a Wilmington resident who now works as an author, referred to Rouzer as a career politician and said government needs "principled leadership" and term limits for members of Congress. Rouzer opposes term limits.

"Who's going to go to Washington and reform it, and who's going to go to Washington and conform to it?" Pantano asked.

Since contrasts are the stuff of which campaigns are made, it should be instructive to note which candidate contrasts most dramatically with Democrat incumbent Seventh District Congressman Mike McIntyre – Rouzer, who has shown some inclination to shade the facts about his service and his stands on the issues – or Pantano, who as proven himself to be honest, honorable and straightforward at all times. Which of these candidates, when it comes to candor and truth, or lack of it, is more like Mike McIntyre? 

Raise the issue of term limits, and decide for yourself which candidate – Pantano or Rouzer – fits more into the McIntyre mold. McIntyre ignored his own promise several times to limit his terms in office, but is going for a ninth term as he gears up his 2012 campaign. Rouzer has declined to commit to term limits, whereas Ilario Pantano has signed a pledge to seek no more than three Congressional terms if elected to this office.
"Term limits would be a tremendous step at reforming our culture of corruption in Washington," Ilario Pantano said.

U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national movement to limit terms for elected officials, praised NC-7 candidate Ilario Pantano for promising to support and co-sponsor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting congressional terms. USTL’s Philip Blumel commented on Pantano’s pledge saying, “Ilario Pantano is leading the way for the other candidates for Congress by being an early signer of the term limits pledge.

Pantano’s commitment to returning to citizen government in Washington, D.C. “is a beacon that should be followed by candidates across the nation,” Blumel concluded.

There is more – so much more – that can and should be said about the dramatic differences between Ilario Pantano and David Rouzer – important contrasts that have been obscured or ignored by shabby news reporting or outright subterfuge. 

Those facts will be reported in this column before the May 8 Primary, when the man appointed to take down excessively incumbent Democrat Congressman Mike McIntyre of the Seventh District of North Carolina will be selected.

Maybe the best yardstick comes down to where voters can comfortably put their trust when selecting the man that might be our next Congessman.

Bottom line — for the Seventh District to be burdened with another professional politician, which Rouzer could well become, would be a bitter pill indeed. Pantano or Rouzer? It’s down to this. You make the call.

Interviews

Bubba Watson 'Showing the Light'

Masters Champion Uses Twitter, Popularity to Share Christ

April 18, 2012 - Before Bubba Watson came up with the shot of his life, a 155-yard pitching wedge from the Augusta National woods to win the 2012 Masters in a playoff, the Christian golfer shared how following Jesus has changed his life.

Bubba Watson 'Showing the Light'
"For me, it's just showing the Light. There's people who want to put down Christians. I try to tell them Jesus loves you."
— Bubba Watson, 2012 Masters champion
Bubba Watson 'Showing the Light'
There's something different about Bubba Watson.

And he doesn't care if you know it.

The winner of the 2012 Masters golf championship realizes he's not like most famous athletes.

In fact, he welcomes it.

"People always ask 'Why is Bubba different?'" said Watson during a phone interview from Scottsdale, Ariz. "They're just trying to figure it out."

Watson's identity is not wrapped up in his freakishly long drives from his lanky 6-foot-3, 180-pound left-handed swing — he leads the Tour with a 315-yard average.

Rather, take one look at his Twitter profile and you may figure out what's different about Watson.

@bubbawatson: Christian. Husband. Daddy. Pro Golfer. Owner of General Lee 1.

And pay close attention to the order.

Watson is an outspoken Christian golfer and he uses his Twitter account — along with his platform as one of the PGA Tour's magnetic personalities — to share about his faith in Christ.

"For me, it's just showing the Light," the 33-year-old said. "There's people who want to put down Christians. I try to tell them Jesus loves you. It's just a way to be strong in my faith."
Twitter Outreach
Last April, just before teeing off on the final round of the Masters, Watson took advantage of his social media platform to Tweet out two Bible verses on Sunday morning.

He followed that up talking about his faith, his relationship with God, Tweeting out more verses and the impact of Christian artists on his iPod.

Some started complaining about his 140-character witnessing tactics, but Watson's response was simple: Feel free to unfollow, but the talk about God wasn't going away.

Some 100 people quit following him and in true Bubba style, he reached out and wished them well with goodbye notes.

This past month more Christian haters have tried to derail Watson's testimony — or as he mildly puts it, "write bad stuff."

But Watson doesn't take offense, even when it's the sole intent.
When someone tells him "Your God Tweets are lame," Watson responds with, "I will pray for u and ur family."

Among the 39,000-plus messages he's sent into the Twittersphere, he's sure to spread the Gospel message: God made everything & saved us from our sins & gives us hope and gives us eternal life! #Godisgood

Sometimes he'll Tweet out some of his favorite verses: "Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?"

Or he'll use his PGA platform — like the day after taking the lead with a headline-grabbing 10-under-par 62 at last month's Cadillac Championship — to bring God into the mainstream conversation.

Watson's Tweet before his third round: The most important thing in my life? Answer after I golf 18 holes with @JustinRose99. #Godisgood

Later that day: Most important things in my life- 1. God 2. Wife 3. Family 4. Helping others 5. Golf

"Lecrae said it the best," Watson said of the Christian rapper he listens to on his iPod. "He doesn't want to be a celebrity. He doesn't want to be a superstar. He just wants to be the middle man for you to see God through him."
'Bubba Golf'
As golf's official major season bloomed this week, and Watson winning a major for the first time — only his fourth PGA Tour career victory — Watson seemed like a long shot. His best finish at Augusta National has been a tie for 20th in 2008.

But winning is no longer everything for Watson. There was a time in his life where drives slicing into the thick, 5-inch stuff or birdie putts rimming out would get the best of him and his blood pressure.

Watson will tell you, Angry Bubba was not a good look. Unbecoming, for sure.

"I was so wrapped up in 'Why am I not winning?'" Watson said. "It created frustrations in my head and in my life."

Things got so heated on the golf course, Ted Scott, his caddie since 2006, finally gave him an ultimatum.

"My caddie finally stepped up and said, 'You're going to have to change, or I'm going to quit,'" Watson said.

Watson's temper-laced decorum was replaced with what some call "Bubba Golf," which stresses golf mechanics less and puts a heavy focus on just playing golf and having fun on the course.

And it's working.

Watson won the Travelers Championship in June of 2010, the Farmer's Insurance Open in January of 2011 and the Zurich Classic a few months later.

Last month, Watson led the Cadillac Championship after 54 holes before fading in the final round, missing a 9-foot putt by inches on the final hole that would have forced a playoff.

Old Bubba may have let that one fester for weeks. New Bubba brushed it off with a satisfied smile and slight head-tilt.

Watson credits three strong believers — Scott, along with his trainer Adam Fisher ("Fish") and Watson's wife Angie — as the difference in his attitude.
"I've really got a good team around me trying to help me succeed," said Watson, who has long supported many charities, including the upcoming Bubba's Bash and the infamous "Golf Boys" video project. "Not just in golf, but off the golf course, to be a light for Jesus."
PGA Bible Study
Perhaps the most powerful Christian impact Watson has experienced has been the PGA Tour's weekly Bible study, held every Wednesday night during tournament weeks.

Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Jonathan Byrd and Webb Simpson, along with Watson, are some of the regulars, with attendance ranging from 16 to 50 on a given week.

"For me it's a way to get back connected with the Bible and with God and Jesus," Watson said. "Now you know other people you can talk to, ask questions to, tell them what you're thinking, tell them what's going on in your life."

The one-hour study is something Watson looks forward to regularly: "Getting more in the Word and realizing that golf is just an avenue for Jesus to use me to reach as many people as I can."
Newly-Adopted Son
Watson's journey to Christ isn't uncommon.

He grew up in Bagdad, Fla., as one of the good guys: "Didn't cuss, didn't cheat, didn't steal, didn't lie, didn't drink, didn't do drugs," he said. "I was doing the right things but I didn't know what that meant."

It wasn't until his senior year in high school when two twin neighbor girls, from the house directly behind his, invited Watson to their youth group. He went and found a place where he belonged.

"The girls asked me to go to church," he said. "And after a few times going I realized this is what I wanted to do. This is truth here. And I gave myself to the Lord."

But with all the pressures of college golf, especially on the weekends, it wasn't until 2004 that Watson became serious about his commitment to Christ at the University of Georgia. He began dating Angie Ball (former WNBA player) and the two began living for God as a couple.

"We wanted to be Christ followers," Watson said. "We wanted to do the right thing. We started turning to the Lord for our decisions."

The couple married in September 2004 and were both baptized later that year, the day after Christmas: "I would say 2004 was my true time of becoming a Christian," Watson said, "and shaping me into the man I am today."

And just this week, Bubba the Man has become Bubba the Father. The Watsons began another chapter of their life, adopting a 1-month-old boy (Caleb), a journey that began several years ago.

Fittingly, Watson broke the news on Twitter: Everyone @angieb1433 & I are proud new parents of a 1 month old baby boy name Caleb. Been a parent for 2 days. #amazing
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254 Comments
Marty says 4.18.2012, 11:07 p.m.
I have been a fan of yours for a while, but you have just gone to the head of the line! Great tournament, and may our God continue to bless you and your family for your outspoken faith and testimony!
Faith says 4.17.2012, 11:10 a.m.
I have been reading ur tweets an they encourage my heart continuously! Thx for being such an example to young ppl like me! Its changed my life to see your testimony! I will b praying for u an ur family

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Why is Ilario Pantano our best hope for defeating Mike McIntyre and Barack Obama?




Friend,

We figured we could give you all of our policy positions and white papers and articles, but you have read or seen most of them already.  Because with me, what you see is what you get.  If you send me to Washington, I will do exactly what I have promised you I would:  keep America strong, secure and prosperous. 

We've seen a lot of mudslinging in this race, and as we approach primary day, it's only going to get worse.  I'm writing today to remind you that this is it.  Everything we've worked so hard for over the last 2 years will soon be decided.

So who do you want to stand up to Obama and the tax-and-spend liberals for you?

Mothers, fathers, veterans, lawyers, cops, teachers, doctors, and small business owners have something to say about my candidacy, and they want you to hear them. Please click on the image below or follow the link to hear for yourself.  Then, please commit to either voting for Ilario, sharing this email with friends or making a contribution to his campaign so he can win?



Click on the image or click on this link to hear from Pantano supporters on why they support Ilario: http://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsofPantano?feature=watch

I'm counting on your support, so please act today.
 

Thanks,
Ilario Pantano

P.S.  Go here to learn your early voting location: http://www.pantanoforcongress.com/posts/find-your-early-voting-location-here


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

PANTANO WILL VISIT ALL 12 COUNTIES AT START OF EARLY VOTING

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / USA DOT COM

Pantano Will Vote 4/19 AT 9:00 AM at the Board of Elections (230 Government Center Dr. #39 in Wilmington)

Wilmington, NC: Conservative Republican and 2010 nominee Ilario Pantano will visit early voting locations in all 12 counties in the seventh district to meet with voters as they begin to cast their Republican primary ballots over the coming days. Tomorrow marks the first day of early voting in the primary election. Pantano, an author, businessman, and veteran of two wars, said the following:

“Tomorrow, North Carolinians in the 7th district finally have their long-awaited opportunity to send a leader with their conservative values to Washington.  All of your support, all of your help, and all of your kind words have been wonderful, and Jill and I are grateful for all of them. But tomorrow is the time to make your mark. The time for talk is over. Now is time to act. Remind your friends, and go out and vote.”

Pantano will be at the New Hanover County North East Library polling location (1241 Military Cutoff Rd.) tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. At 10:30 he will be at the Brunswick County Board of Elections polling location (75 Stamp Act Dr. in Bolivia), before he attends the Brunswick Realtor Association Annual Media luncheon at 11:30 AM (101 Stone Chimney Rd. in Supply).

The Pantano Campaign is requesting volunteers to work at polling locations. If you are willing to help the campaign in this or any other way, you can contact the Pantano for Congress Headquarters at 8207 Market St. in Wilmington at (910) 821-0089.

Beginning tomorrow, voters can stop by one of the “One-Stop Voting” locations in their county and vote. They can also register to vote on site, that day. To find your closest voting location, see the list below, or follow this link: http://www.app.sboe.state.nc.us/webapps/OS_sites/

Ilario Pantano is an author whose next book, “God, Guns, and Guts: How the South will save America, Again” is due out summer of 2012.  Pantano and his wife Jill live in Wilmington with their two young boys.

For more information, go to www.PantanoForCongress,
You can also “like” the campaign on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pantanoforcongress.


###




NC-7 EARLY “ONE-STOP VOTING” LOCATIONS

Registered NC voters may show up at one of these locations in their county and vote.

Unregistered voters may show up, register, and vote that day.

You can vote early between April 19 and May 5.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY



NEW HANOVER BOE Early Voting Site

230 GOVERNMENT CENTER DR # 39, WILMINGTON, NC 28403

Name: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 21 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 3:00 pm



NEW HANOVER BOE Early Voting Site

201 CHESTNUT ST, WILMINGTON, NC 28401

Name: MAIN LIBRARY

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 28 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
April 30 - May 5 9:00 am - 3:00 pm



NEW HANOVER BOE Early Voting Site

1241 MILITARY CUTOFF RD, WILMINGTON, NC 28405

Name: NORTHEAST LIBRARY

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 28 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
April 30 - May 5 9:00 am - 3:00 pm



NEW HANOVER BOE Early Voting Site

2222 S COLLEGE RD, WILMINGTON, NC 28403

Name: SENIOR CTR

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 28 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
April 30 - May 5 9:00 am - 3:00 pm





BRUNSWICK COUNTY



BRUNSWICK BOE Early Voting Site

75 STAMP ACT DR NE # H, BOLIVIA, NC 28422

Name: BRUNSWICK COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



BRUNSWICK BOE Early Voting Site

114 SCORPION DR, LELAND, NC 28451

Name: LELAND

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 21 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 28 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 5 10:00 am - 1:00 pm



BRUNSWICK BOE Early Voting Site

5050 MAIN ST, SHALLOTTE, NC 28470

Name: SHALLOTTE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 21 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 28 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 5 10:00 am - 1:00 pm



BRUNSWICK BOE Early Voting Site

1513 N HOWE ST # 2, SOUTHPORT, NC 28461

Name: SOUTHPORT

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 21 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 28 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 5 10:00 am - 1:00 pm



PENDER COUNTY



PENDER BOE Early Voting Site

807 S WALKER ST, BURGAW, NC 28425

Name: PENDER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 5 8:00 am - 1:00 pm



PENDER BOE Early Voting Site

20959 US HWY 17, HAMPSTEAD, NC 28443

Name: ONESTOP EAST

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 5 8:00 am - 1:00 pm



SAMPSON COUNTY



SAMPSON BOE Early Voting Site

335 COUNTY COMPLEX RDS, CLINTON, NC 28328

Name: SAMPSON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 20 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 21 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 23 - April 26 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
April 27 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 30 - May 3 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
May 4 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 10:00 am - 1:00 pm



LENOIR COUNTY



LENOIR BOE Early Voting Site

602 N MCLEWEAN ST # N, KINSTON, NC 28501

Name: MCLEWEAN

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
April 29 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



LENOIR BOE Early Voting Site

305 S CENTRAL AVE, PINK HILL, NC 28572

Name: RESCUE BUILDING

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
April 29 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



LENOIR BOE Early Voting Site

123 RAILROAD ST, LA GRANGE, NC 28551

Name: STATION

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
April 29 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



LENOIR BOE Early Voting Site

834 HARDEE RD # 100, KINSTON, NC 28504

Name: V P MALL

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
April 29 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



COLUMBUS



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

50 LEGION DR # A, WHITEVILLE, NC 28472

Name: COLUMBUS COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

221 9TH ST, BOLTON, NC 28423

Name: BOLTON OFF SITE

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

208 E 1ST AVE, CHADBOURN, NC 28431

Name: CHADBOURN OFF-SITE

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

2694 GENERAL HOWE HWY, RIEGELWOOD, NC 28456

Name: EC SENIOR CENTER

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

653 E RAILROAD ST, FAIR BLUFF, NC 28439

Name: FAIR BLUFF FIRE DEPT

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

12820 NEW BRITTON HWY E, NAKINA, NC 28455

Name: OLD DOCK COMM BLDG

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



COLUMBUS BOE Early Voting Site

110 W FOURTH ST, TABOR CITY, NC 28463

Name: TABOR CITY OFF-SITE

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 25 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 2 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm



BLADEN COUNTY



BLADEN BOE Early Voting Site

111 N CYPRESS ST, ELIZABETHTOWN, NC 28337

Name: LIBRARY

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:30 am - 1:00 pm



BLADEN BOE Early Voting Site

818 S MAIN ST, BLADENBORO, NC 28320

Name: BLADENBORO

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



BLADEN BOE Early Voting Site

120 2ND ST, DUBLIN, NC 28332

Name: DUBLIN

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



BLADEN BOE Early Voting Site

1516 EAST ARCADIA RD, RIEGELWOOD, NC 28456

Name: EAST ARCADIA

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



DUPLIN COUNTY



DUPLIN BOE Early Voting Site

437 N MAIN ST, KENANSVILLE, NC 28349

Name: KENAN AUDITORIUM

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



JOHNSTON COUNTY



JOHNSTON BOE Early Voting Site

801 S THIRD ST, SMITHFIELD, NC 27577

Name: ELECTIONS SATELLITE OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 21 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 28 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



JOHNSTON BOE Early Voting Site

9046 CLEVELAND RD, CLAYTON, NC 27520

Name: CLEVEAND CAMPUS

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 21 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 28 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



JOHNSTON BOE Early Voting Site

11407 US 70 HWY W, CLAYTON, NC 27520

Name: THE CHURCH AT CLAYTON CROSSING

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 21 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 28 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND COUNTY



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

301 E RUSSELL ST, FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28301

Name: CUMBERLAND COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

6404 CLIFFDALE RD, FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28314

Name: CLIFFDALE RECREATION CENTER

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

4809 CLINTON RD, FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28312

Name: EAST REGIONAL LIBRARY

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

5766 ROCKFISH RD, HOPE MILLS, NC 28348

Name: HOPE MILLS RECREATION CENTER

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

855 MCARTHUR RD, FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28311

Name: NORTH REGIONAL LIBRARY

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 23 - April 27 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



CUMBERLAND BOE Early Voting Site

101 LAKETREE BLVD, SPRING LAKE, NC 28390

Name: SPRING LAKE LIBRARY

Site: Opens After 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 30 - May 4 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
May 5 9:00 am - 1:00 pm



HOKE COUNTY



HOKE BOE Early Voting Site

227 N MAIN ST, RAEFORD, NC 28376

Name: HOKE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
April 29 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
May 5 8:00 am - 1:00 pm



HOKE BOE Early Voting Site

373 PITTMAN GROVE CHURCH RD, RAEFORD, NC 28376

Name: MATTHEW ROUSE CENTER

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
April 23 - April 27 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
April 30 - May 4 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
May 5 8:00 am - 1:00 pm



ROBESON COUNTY



ROBESON BOE Early Voting Site

108 W ELIZABETHTOWN RD, LUMBERTON, NC 28358

Name: ROBESON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICE

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
May 5 8:15 am - 1:00 pm



ROBESON BOE Early Voting Site

421 S MAIN ST, FAIRMONT, NC 28340

Name: FAIRMONT FIRE HALL/SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
May 5 8:15 am - 1:00 pm



ROBESON BOE Early Voting Site

413 BLAINE ST, PEMBROKE, NC 28372

Name: PEMBROKE LIBRARY

Site: Opens 04/19/2012

Hours:
April 19 - April 20 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 23 - April 27 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
April 30 - May 4 8:15 am - 5:15 pm
May 5 8:15 am - 1:00 pm




Our mailing address is:
Pantano For Congress
PO Box 11280
Wilmington, NC 28404

Add us to your address book

Copyright (C) 2012 Pantano For Congress All rights reserved.
PAID FOR BY PANTANO FOR NORTH CAROLINA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

GOP hopefuls spar in Smithfield, and in Tuesday night talk-off in Wilmington

Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / USA DOT COM

Three candidates seek Republican nomination for Congress
From left, Republican Congressional hopefuls Ilario Pantano, N.C. Sen. David Rouzer and Randy Crow discuss the issues at a debate Monday in Smithfield.








SMITHFIELD - Republican candidates for the 7th Congressional District touted vastly different credentials Monday night. N.C. Sen. David Rouzer spoke of his legislative experience, especially in cutting budgets, while opponent Ilario Pantano tried to paint Rouzer as a Washington insider.

The comments came during a debate sponsored by the Johnston County Republican Party. The May GOP primary pits Rouzer, a Johnston County resident and former aide to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, against Pantano, a military veteran and businessman from Wilmington. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, an incumbent Democrat from Lumberton, in the November election.

Pantano ran unsuccessfully against McIntyre in 2010, but both men are largely unknown to Johnston County voters. Redistricting recently moved Johnston County into the 7th District with Wilmington and southeastern North Carolina.

Pantano blasted what he described as Rouzer’s 20 years on Capitol Hill, though Rouzer pointed out that he spent only 10 years there.

Pantano said his lack of experience in elected office would make him a better congressman.

“In the past 10 years, I’ve probably spent more time in North Carolina than you have,” he told Rouzer. “I think it’s time for some private-sector experience.

"I’ve worked with different types of businesses that have different needs but real, private-sector budget constraints. Career politicians are drawn into the morass of lobbyists and special-interest money.”
For his part, Rouzer pointed to his work in cutting more than $1 billion from the state budget last year, adding that he has the skills to cut spending in Washington. “It takes courage; it takes political will,” he said. “I know how to say no, and the record proves it.”

A third candidate, perennial office seeker Randy Crow of Bladen County, spent much of his time on the stage railing against “banksters” – a term used to compare bankers to gangsters. He blamed the recession on complex financial practices such as interest-rate swap loans. “If you want a person in Washington who has dealt with banksters and will work to stop them, please vote for me,” Crow said.

While many of Pantano’s campaign ads have focused on illegal immigration, the issue didn’t come up Monday in questions submitted by 7th District Republican voters.

In his opening statement, Pantano briefly mentioned “protecting our borders,” but he didn’t reiterate his claim that Rouzer had lobbied for amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Asked about the issue after the debate, moderator Linwood Parker – the mayor of Four Oaks – said local voters are focused elsewhere this year.

“I think they’re concerned about the economy, about high gas prices,” he said.

Here’s what the candidates had to say about other issues:

On a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages and civil unions: All three candidates said they support the amendment, which goes before voters North Carolina in May.

Rouzer said he co-sponsored the legislation that put the proposed amendment on the ballot, and he added that defining marriage as “between a man and a woman” was one of the most important issues today.

Pantano went further and predicted what might happen if the amendment doesn’t pass. “If we don’t pass it, and marriage is not part of our constitution, (existing laws banning gay marriage) can be overturned in several years,” he said.

If that happens, Pantano said, pastors will be forced to marry gay people or have their church’s assets seized by the government.

(In the states that recognize gay marriage, churches that don’t support such weddings aren’t required to perform them.)

On improving the economy: Rouzer pointed his party’s recent successes in the General Assembly, including regulatory reform, a balanced budget without tax increases and opposition to the national health-care law. The same efforts are needed on the national level, he said.

“If we can do a quarter of those things in Washington, we can turn this economy and this country around very quickly,” Rouzer said.

Pantano said his experience in the private sector gives him the knowledge to help business grow. “It’s a pro-growth agenda,” he said, adding that he also wants to cut corporate tax rates and push the country toward energy independence.

On term limits: Pantano and Rouzer disagreed strongly on whether Congress should be subject to term limits. Pantano said term limits are desperately needed, and he said he has signed numerous pledges not to seek reelection, even bonding the value of his home to prove he’s serious.

“The greatest gift that George Washington ever gave the people was that he stepped down,” Pantano said.
But Rouzer said he opposes term limits after working for years with Helms. Helms, he said, had more power over the “liberal bureaucracy” because he served for so long.

“If you want to hand the keys of power to the liberal bureaucracy, term limits will do it,” Rouzer said. 

Campbell: 919-836-5768
MORE COVERAGE OF THE TUESDAY EVENT AT USA DOT COM ON WEDNESDAY. BUT FOR NOW, IT'S MY BEDTIME. I AIN'T FEELING SO GOOD. THE CHEMO KID.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Carl Venters Jr. shares insight into Obama's cavalier treatment of Keystone XL pipeline.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / April 16, 2012

Carl V. Venters, Jr.

Carl V. Venters, Jr.Carl Venters was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina.  He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and served four years as a Marine Corps officer.  After leaving the Marines, Venters went to work at WUNC-TV as program director.  He left that position to buy his first radio station in Pitt County, and from there he managed and owned radio and televisions stations in North and South Carolina.
In addition to serving on the UNC-TV Board of Trustees, he is a member of the board of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Foundation of North Carolina and chairman of the North Carolina State Emergency Communications Committee.

   
Carl Venters Jr.
   

   

   


FW: Valero Oil Memo to employees

From:
   

carl venters, jr <venterscv@hotmail.com>
vernestrickland@aol.comMon, Apr 16, 2012 2:08 pm

Subject: FW: FW: Valero Oil Memo to employees
From: Carl Venters, Jr., Wilmington, NCFW:       Valero Oil Memo to employee
From:    carl venters, jr <venterscv@hotmail.com>
   
Bcc:      vernestrickland@aol.com
Date:    Mon, Apr 16, 2012 2:08 pm

 Sent: 4/13/2012 4:24:03 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
 Subj: FW: Valero Oil Memo to employees


        For those of you unfamiliar with Valero, it is an independent oil company based in San Antonio , TX . It owns 2 refineries, but no oil fields - it buys all the oil it refines and processes via contract or on the open market.

        Its origin was as a public utility providing natural gas to the city of San Antonio , but it has grown to be a significant gasoline retailer in a good portion of the southeast and southwest, as well as a purveyor of natural gas.

         It is a significant economic force in Texas , even in light of the other majors (Shell, Exxon Mobil, etc.) based in the state. This memo to employees is a realistic insight into the economic importance of the proposed XL pipeline.

        Date: January 24, 2012

        To: Valero Employees

        From: Bill Klesse

        Subject: Keystone XL Pipeline Statement

As you know, the Obama administration decided last week to deny TransCanada's application to ship crude oil via the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast . Valero has planned to be a shipper and purchaser of that oil since 2008, and obviously we were disappointed in the decision.

We issued a statement in response to questions from the media, and I wanted to share it with you in case you get questions from friends or business partners, and so that you would know why Valero supports the Keystone XL pipeline. This is the statement:

Despite the uncertainty and political fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, Valero has continued to invest in its U.S. refining operation. In 2011 we spent nearly $3 billion on projects, and for 2012 our capital expenditure budget is over $3 billion. These expenditures are keeping our employees on the job and putting additional people to work.

To reference two of our refineries, at Port Arthur , Texas , we have 1,600 contractors working on an expansion project, and at St. Charles Parish, Louisiana , we have another 1,000 contractors working on a separate project. We need this kind of economic activity to accelerate to help all Americans.

This illustrates why President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline is so absurd. There are pipelines in every neighborhood all across America . The administration's decision was not about pipelines, it was about the misguided beliefs that Canadian oil sands development should be stopped and that fossil fuel prices should increase to make alternative energy more attractive. Instead, we should be impressed with how well the oil sands engineering and recovery technology has advanced, and the economic benefits this development brings. 
Having more oil available in the marketplace has the potential to lower prices for consumers. As an independent refiner, Valero buys all of the oil we process. Due to the administrations misguided policies, refiners like Valero will have to buy more oil from other sources outside the U.S. and Canada . Consumers will bear the additional shipping cost, not to mention the additional greenhouse gas emissions and political risks.

With all the issues facing our country, it is absolutely unbelievable our federal government says no to a company like TransCanada that is willing to spend over $7 billion and put Americans to work on a pipeline. The administrations decision throws dirt into the face of our closest ally and largest trading partner.
The point above is that it is not about pipelines as many pipelines cross the Ogallala Aquifer, in the Great Plains region, and, in fact, there is already significant oil and gas production in the area covered by the aquifer. This is politics at its worst.

        Thank you for your support

VS: We are grateful to our friend Carl Venters Jr. for sharing this with USA DOT COM.