Diane Ellis leaving Pantano for Congress as Operations manager. We'll miss you, Diane!

New faces at Pantano for Congress & Fireworks
From:  Diane Ellis To:       Benjamin Smith, Gerry Owens
Date:   Thu, Oct 6, 2011 9:17 pm

Greetings everyone!

Due to family health concerns, I am stepping down as Operations Manager for Pantano for Congress. This has been a very tough decision to make. I'm certain all of you understand that God, Country, and Family have been and forever shall be my life. But don't think I'm gone forever....you aren't that fortunate. I will be attending as many events as I possibly can as a volunteer and in the future I plan on returning to Pantano for Congress.

So on that note, it is my pleasure to announce to you that Benjamin Smith is  assuming the duties of Field Operations Manager and Gerry Owens is assuming the duties of Office Operations Manager. Benjamin, Gerry and I have worked together for the past two months and they are awesome! They have great operational backgrounds and I know you will enjoy working with them as well. Feel free to stop by the office to visit them soon!

I am still 100% committed to Ilario and the campaign and will do whatever I can to help. 

My phone number is the same: 919.356.9651 and I can still be reached for the time being at my business email  operations@pantanoforcongress.com .

Thank you all for your continued support to Ilario and the campaign...... this is one Marine that must be in Washington to preserve the moral fiber of this great country, to ensure our economy returns to the prosperity that hard working people deserve, and to make what is wrong RIGHT! With YOUR help God's will be done and Ilario will be the next Congressman from the 7th Congressional District.

The city of Clinton is gearing up for the 25th Annual Court Square Street Fair and 18th Annual Court Square Barbecue Cook-Off, with events to take place in downtown Clinton on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The city and its downtown merchants have perennially hosted the Court Square Street Fair for residents of Sampson and surrounding counties, and have regularly enjoyed a tremendous turnout!

The Sampson County Republican Party will have a booth open for candidates to meet and greet attendees. Please attend the event in you Pantano shirts and bring lots of smiles!!! Share your story of why you support Pantano for Congress....remember make it personal. Your personal story means more to people that anything else you can do! Make it happen!

Riverfest: Come out to Mike McCarley's beautiful riverside garden in Historic Downtown Wilmington this Saturday night, Oct 8, at 7:30pm, to view the "Invasion of the Pirates" Flotilla and Fireworks and get "fired up" for Pantano for Congress! Light refreshments will be served and the attire is "casual coastal". The location is on the Riverfront, 510 Surrey Street, Wilmington, 28401. A minimum contribution of $25 is required to attend. Please RSVP to nbenford1@gmail.com 

Parking is located adjacent to the property on the left.

--
"Prosperity through Freedom. Peace through Strength."

Diane Ellis
919/356-9651

'Unaccountable Congress' author Joe DioGuardi signs copies of his book at Pantano office event.

By Verne Strickland / August 17, 2011

At the grand opening of the Pantano for Congress office at Wilmington this past week-end, Pantano faithful were treated to a full bill of fare, including patriotic speeches and singing, a pig-picking, a celebration of Ilario's fortieth birthday, and a book signing by Joseph J. DioGuardi, author of "Unaccountable Congress: It Doesn't Add Up".

DioGuardi, a former New York Congressman and Certified Public Accountant, served two terms on the House Government Operations Committee and one term on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Audit Committee of several corporation.

I interviewed him during a few spare moments as he signed copies of his new release at the Pantano for Congress event:

One of my claims to fame is that I am the first practicing CPA ever elected to the U.S. Congress. I donated my books to Ilario's campaign for interested people in attendance here, and I was very pleased with the demand for the signed copies.

 

It’s time people understood that there is a phony way we do the books in Washington, so that we don’t really know about the true size of the national debt, and that’s what I came here to speak about. 

I know that Ilario is a conservative, and I wanted to be here with him in order to make the point that we have to stand up to this group in Washington that’s lying about the real size of the national debt. It’s much more than $15 trillion. That’s just the bonded debt. If we used the generally accepted accounting principles as I have, it’s in the neighborhood of $60 trillion.

That’s what’s killing America. Andrew Tyler Frazier in 1790, and here’s what he said about democracy: “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy may be in jeopardy of collapsing due to loose fiscal policy.” 

Does that sound familiar? Well, we have to be careful, because we have a lot of loose fiscal in policy, and I don’t want to see America continue down the road to ruin. 

VS: What are you doing now?

I’m a human rights activist. I made 30 trips to the Balkans to help the Albanian people avoid the same fate of the Bosnians. I testified against Melosovich in The Hague, and we got him indicted as a war criminal. I’m at this time a practicing certified public accountant, so I’m a consultant, have been on the boards of corporations, but I’m not a paid lobbyist, nor do I want to become one. 

And I write, and I speak, and when I see the opportunity to get my message out, I accept that opportunity. 

The bottom line on my message is to stop spending money we don’t have, borrowed from countries we don’t trust, like China, and we could be giving up the American dream that brought my father here as a poor farm boy from Italy in 1929 at the age of fifteen. 

So when I see people like Ilario, whom I met in New York, and he asked me to come down here to this rally, this grand opening of his office, I gladly came. 

I said, “You have values, you have energy, and you have the firm conservative beliefs and core values that the country needs. I’m disappointed you did not win in 2010, but I’m here for you, like so many who believe in you, and you’ll be the last man standing in the 2012 race for Congress from North Carolina’s Seventh District.”

DioGuardi's attack on Congress' clumsy and embarrassing handling of the federal government's books is attracting praise from the likes of William E. Simon, former of the Treasury: "Joe DioGuardi has written a courageous and practical book about the phony budgeting process Congress uses to sustain its financial profligacy. He has both a keen understanding of its accounting gimmickry, and some excellent suggestions about how to straighten out our budgetary tangle."

Unaccountable Congress was originally published in the United States by Regnery Gateway, 1130 17^th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

COMING SOON ON USA DOT COM

At the Pantano for Congress grand opening of its new office, I talked with Jude Eden of Leland, who wore a Pantano campaign tee shirt emblazoned with the words: “I am a cancer surviving, Jewish female, Marine combat veteran for Pantano.” You'll want to get to know this interesting lady. 


Also interviews with Diane Ellis, Pantano for Congress operations manager, and other highlights from this event.

Frank Williams interviewed at Pantano for Congress event: 'Voters want a new congressman'.

By Verne Strickland / August 15, 2011

Frank Williams, retiring chairman of the NCGOP Seventh District, was on hand at the Pantano for Congress office grand opening this past week-end, joining over 300 energized conservatives on hand for the event. 

We interviewed him at the gathering for USA DOT COM:

"I think there was a great crowd, and it shows that people are interested in making a change next year by putting a new congressman in. There were people from as far away as Fayetteville here today, which I think is impressive. 

You know, our conservatives didn’t give up when we didn’t prevail in 2010, and we put the district on the map in that campaign in a race no one thought was winnable at the beginning of the year. We started the job, but it’s not done yet. 

VS: With reconfigured congressional districts, what is Ilario going to face?

He does have a primary, and certainly David Rouzer is a formidable candidate. I’ve known David since college, and I think we have two candidates from different ends of the district with different backgrounds. I think either one of them would make a better congressman than the Democrat.

VS: You have announced that you will not run again for District Seven GOP Chair, and will be spending more time with your Pioneer Strategies business. How is that going?

That’s going well, thanks, and I’ll also be spending plenty of time running for Brunswick County commissioner. 

The Pantano for Congress Volunteer Office is situated at 8207 Market Street in the Porters Neck Shopping Center. Office hours are weekdays from 12-6 pm.

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McIntyre against Brunswick County deep water port. 

Proponents see profit in big storage facility in Robeson. 
 

slideshow

Editorial in robesonian.com  8 days ago.

Robeson County and Lumberton are among more than a dozen local governments in Southeastern North Carolina that are pushing for a state study to determine the pluses and minuses of a deep-water port in Brunswick County.

But this cash-strapped state has not provided the funding for such as study, which has given opponents, including our U.S. representative, an excuse to withhold support.

Economic development officials in this part of the state, including Robeson County’s top guy, Greg Cummings, see a deep-water port delivering thousands of jobs where they are needed, and as far inland as this county, which has land and highway that could do more than hold the Earth together.

Cummings says Robeson County is ideal for large storage facilities where imported goods could be held in preparation for distribution.

But U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, whose District 7 includes Robeson and Brunswick counties, is not a fan of the port. He says the General Assembly’s decision last year to withhold funding for the study amounts to a death knell for the project by making it impossible to secure the required billions of dollars in federal funds. But McIntrye’s own comments betray his true position."

The congressman said: “Several concerns have been raised which have not been fully answered about the location and cost of the proposed terminal, the harm it could pose to our national security interests near our country’s major munitions terminal at Sunny Point and beside a nuclear plant, the lack of necessary infrastructure with roads and rails, and the potential for irreparable harm to the local communities and environment — all of this at a cost to taxpayers of several billion dollars."


All those points are potentially valid, but they only point to a need for the study, and not a scrapping of the project. This nation’s future is increasingly at the mercy of the growing global economy, and economically distressed Southeastern North Carolina needs to scratch for every crumb on the plate. A deep-water port in Brunswick County potentially could lead a renaissance of this region’s economy.

We understand the difficulties of this state’s economy, which led to some hard and unpopular cuts, particularly to education, when the General Assembly crafted the current budget. But we also know that those who don’t carefully plot an economic future will soon enough be living in the past.

There are plenty of questions about the potential of a deep-water port in Brunswick County. Not answering them only ensures they will keep getting asked.

Pantano for Congress announces key events on campaign calendar.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / July 9, 2011

Remembering The Heroes Who Perished This Weekend Please join Ilario and the Pantano Campaign in remembering in your thoughts and prayers the 30 US soliders who were tragically killed in Afghanistan this weekend when their helicopter was shot down.  In rememberance of these brave soliders, Ilario wanted to share the reflections of Debbie Lee, a Gold Star Mom. Ms. Lee is a friend, a patriot and tragically the mother of the First US NAVY SEAL to be killed in Iraq. She has worked tirelessly to restore America. These are her hopes and her prayers in the wake of this weekend's tragedy: "My heart aches with the devastating news this morning of the great loss of life today in Afghanistan as a helicopter went down with 31 Special Forces Operators, the majority of them from Navy SEAL Team 6." "As part of the Naval Special Warfare community and the Mother offallen SEAL Marc Alan Lee this is a very personal and painful  loss." "My heart grieves deeply with the families and the community. I standready to deploy to help these families to provide comfort, strength and help in whatever way I can." "Their sacrifice is a reminder of all who have given their lives fighting the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and the dedication of all of our troops who are serving faithfully. We must never forget the sacrifice our troops and their families have made and continue to make defending America and our freedoms." "I know all Americans want to reach out and I will keep you posted how we can do that but at this point prayer is one of the most powerful things we can be doing for these families and for the community." Please visit Ms. Lee's website, www.americasmightywarriors.org, to learn more about her organization, about her mission of honoring our son's memory by honoring our military, their families, and the families of the fallen, and about how you can help!  Join Us for a Pig Pickin' Celebrating Ilario's 40th birthday party and the Grand Opening of our Volunteer Headquarters! August 13, 2011 - Saturday 11:00 am - 2:00 pm $10 Pig Pickin’ With a Special Book Signing by Congressman Joe DioGuardi Author of “Unaccountable Congress: It Doesn't Add Up” "Joe DioGuardi is one of the real heroes in the War on Waste. In this book Joe reads the riot act over how our lawyer-filled Congress mismanages your money and 'cooks' our national books, using numbers like a drunk uses a lamp post - for support rather than illumination." --J. Peter Grace, Chairman, Citizens Against Public Waste DioGuardi, a CPA for over 20 years, who served two terms in Congress provides an insiders  account that exposes Congress's "grossly inept and deceitful fiscal practices."DioGuaardi shows how " congressional taxing, spending and guaranteeing combine with outrageous personal perks, deals and legal exemptions to endanger 'the very soul of American democracy.'"  In the midst of the current debt crisis and the economic struggles presently facing our country this is a timely message we all need to hear. PANTANO FOR CONGRESS Volunteer Office 8207 Market Street, Unit H -Wilmington Porters Neck Shopping Center, near the Post Office Make our office your conservative headquarters away from home! Come for stickers, signs and T-shirts from all your favorite GOP candidates! Office Hours: Mon-Fri 12-6pm starting 8/15 PS. We’ll be celebrating Ilario’s 40th Birthday too! EVERYONE is invited to celebrate with Ilario and Jill and the boys and… Enjoy a piece of birthday cake – Ilario’s treat for All! Bring the family – fun activities for the kids! Brunswick County Luncheon Reception & Book Signing this Monday, August 15th! Hungry for conservative ideals and principles? Join us for a luncheon reception with: ILARIO PANTANO Local Conservative Republican Congressional Candidate (NC-7) Family man, Businessman, Author and two-time Marine War Veteran Special Guest Book Signing with: AUTHOR AND CONGRESSMAN JOE DIOGUARDI AUTHOR OF: UNACCOUNTABLE CONGRESS: IT DOESN’T ADD UP “Joe DioGuardi is one of the real heroes in the War on Waste. In his book Joe reads the riot act over how our lawyer-filled Congress mismanages your money and ‘cooks’ the books, using numbers like a drunk use a lamppost – for support rather than illumination” – J. Peter Grace, Chairman, Citizens against Public Waster WHEN: Monday, August 15th 2011, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm WHERE: DOCKSIDE SEAFOOD HOUSE, 9955 Nance St, Calabash, NC 28467 WHAT: Your $25.00 Lunch Donation includes Choice of entrée (shrimp, flounder, clam strips or grilled chicken) salad, dessert and sweet tea **************************​**************************​************************** Photo Opportunity with Ilario Pantano and Congressman DioGuardi 11:30 am – Noon ($10.00 Donation) *Special Book Signing Opportunity by Congressman Dio Guardi too! Personally autographed BOOKS will be available for a $20 donation **************************​**************************​**************************​******** PLEASE come dine with Fellow PATRIOTS in support of Ilario Pantano and Congressman DioGuardi as they enlighten and inspire us on the important issues RSVP by 8/14/11 Pantano for North Carolina, PO Box 11280, Wilmington NC 28404 Or email: finance@pantanoforcongress​.com or 910-471-304 Lunch and Learn! Join us as we kick off our educational series on important issues in policy and history. We will start with a lecture series on the constitution taught by an instructor that has generously donated her time. Our first classes wil be 8/16, 8/18, 8/23 and 8/25 from noon until 1:00pm. Bring lunch and a hunger for History! Can’t make ‘em all? No worries. More policy classes will follow. Stay tuned for more information on future classes!

08/09/2011 IN THIS ISSUE Join Us for a Pig Pickin' Celebrating Ilario's 40th birthday party and the Grand Opening of our Volunteer Headquarters! Brunswick County Luncheon Reception & Book Signing this Monday, August 15th! Lunch and Learn! CONNECT & SHARE Building for Victory in 2012! As we open our headquarters this week, and continue to build for victory in 2012 please consider doing your par to help us move forward.  We have a grassroots army that is already working on the ground, and the right message for these perilous times.  Now we just need your help to ensure that we have the resources to make our message heard across the 7th District! You can contribute online or mail contributions to: Pantano for North Carolina P.O. Box 11280 Wilmington, NC 28404. Thank you for your generous contribution and ongoing support! *Please list Employer and Occupation information on checks. QUICK LINKS CONTRIBUTE ONLINE JOIN THE CAMPAIGN VISIT THE WEBSITE READ OUR PRESS CONTACT THE CAMPAIGN Thank you for your continued support!

Mike McMuffin's excellent Italian adventure on your dime. Gratsi, U.S. taxpayers!

June 29, 2011 Dear Pantano Supporter, In case you missed it last Friday the Huffington Post called out Congressman Mike McIntyre for being one of 6 members of Congress taking a "Rome junket funded by tax payers" while Congress is on recess for the next two weeks.   The article noted that McIntyre's wife would be accompanying him on the trip, and the trip's official itinerary noted that McIntyre and his wife would be celebrating their 29th Wedding Anniversary while they were in Rome. I hope Congressman McIntyre is planning to send out a thank you note to all of the taxpayers who footed the bill for his trip to Rome and his anniversary celebration.  Perhaps the McIntyres will even be nice enough to bring back some cheap souvenirs for all us who are making their celebration possible.  And maybe they'll also find time to celebrate North Carolina's 9.7% unemployment rate and our nation's spiraling national debt while they enjoy their taxpayer funded pasta and wine at one of the 5-star hotels where they'll be staying. Happy Trails, Mike! And Happy Honeymoon! Andy Yates, Pantano for Congress

Pantano to host Town Hall Meeting on Nuclear Power and the Brunswick Plant

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

“Nuclear power’s impact on our community and the country: 

The facts and myths.”
 

Ilario Pantano, candidate for US Congress, supports an “all of the above” energy policy approach that includes nuclear power and is increasingly reliant on domestic energy production. 

However Pantano’s support does not come at the expense of accountability and transparency.  As a father, husband and local Wilmington resident, Pantano feels that it is time for some straight talk on the future of the nuclear industry and of the plant right here in Brunswick County that has been operating for over 35 years. Guests from Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties are all invited to participate in this town hall discussion.

Pantano issued the following statement:

“As concerns about the radiological hazards of the Japan tragedy continue to grow, our goal is to have an honest conversation about the benefits and the risks of nuclear power and fuel storage. We will bring the focus close to home with a look at the Brunswick Nuclear facility, its operating practices and safety procedures. Our hope is that experts from both Progress Energy and GE Hitachi will choose to be on hand to speak to the public and answer questions about the issues both here and in Japan.  We are grateful to the brave technicians from our GE community that have gone overseas to help and we hope they will share some insights.  This event should mark the beginning of an ongoing knowledge share with the nuclear community and the public.”

 

Who is invited (confirmed speakers will be announced prior to event):

1) The Public -  Come learn, share and discuss the issues
2) Regional Elected Officials - Hear from the experts and your constituents
3) Public Safety Officials - Outline safety procedures and evacuation plans
3) Industry leaders and experts from Progress Energy, GE, and more

What:  Town hall meeting on the Brunswick Nuclear plant
When:   Thursday, April 14, 2010 at 12:00PM
Where:   North East Regional Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road
               David M. Paynter Assembly Room

For speaking opportunities or press inquiries contact info@PantanoForCongress.com