GOP’s Pantano can help fill need for U.S. Congressmen with real combat experience — a rare breed in 2010.

Published on: 19th August, 2010 |

By Verne Strickland

Most members of the U.S. Congress don’t have a clue how battles and wars are fought. They haven’t been there.

The disconnect shows in muddled decision-making, callous calls on Rules of Engagement, dangerous and naive micromanagment, and — perhaps most vital of all — failure to offer up a prescription on how to win, decisively and honorably.

As a result, America — still the most powerful nation on earth, and the most magnanimous – limps through combat situations with its fighting forces hobbled by naive directives from U.S. Congressmen who project a sanitized mentality of life — and death — in the savagery of desperate combat.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the  enemy wears no uniform, squanders its own “soldiers” behind the cowardice of suicide missions, human shields, and wantonly kills innocents at every opportunity to weaken the resolve of the “government” to resist.

Who could understand this war? Who could deal with it? Lawyers? I don’t think so. But these are the ladies and gentlemen who send our fighting forces into combat, then waste their potential, and safety, by imposing  military impotence.

According to the Congressional Research Service 170 members of the House and 58 Senators have law degrees.

Is that enough? Or way too many? The troops who fight for our freedom are having their say now about this issue.

The choice is crystal clear in the Seventh Congressional District of North Carolina, where seven-term incumbent Mike McIntyre, an attorney who has never been in uniform, is being challenged by former combat-seasoned Marine officer Ilario Pantano.

The crying need in Washington for American patriots who have fought our wars, and who are doing so now, is powerfully expressed in a statement by Kieran Michael Lalor, founder of Iraq Veterans for Congress. These are excerpts of his comments:

White Plains, NY – August 17, 2010: The number of veterans in Congress has been dwindling since the end of the Cold War. In 1980 more than sixty percent of Congress had served but now barely twenty percent of our leaders in Washington DC spent time in uniform.

The number of combat veterans is even smaller. According to a report by the House Armed Services Committee only five percent of House members served in combat zones and even fewer saw actual combat.

Also quite rare is the member of Congress who served as an enlisted man. Only about forty percent of the veterans in Congress were enlisted despite the fact that eighty-five percent of our military are enlisted rather than commissioned officers.

In short, those who actually fight our wars are severely underrepresented in Congress. For a variety of reasons, it is in the national interest to have in Congress a critical mass of enlisted men with trigger time.

While colonels and generals craft the overall strategy of any conflict, the execution is done primarily by privates, corporals and sergeants of the infantry, artillery and cavalry. Because they operate where the metal hits the meat, enlisted men of the combat arms have valuable insights into equipment, tactics and policies.

The debate over the Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan highlights the desperate need for enlisted combat veterans of the War on Terror in Congress. Someone with a worm’s-eye view of the impact restrictive rules have on morale and a small unit’s ability to accomplish the mission would be invaluable when questioning the Pentagon brass about the wisdom of current and future rules.

Voters in North Carolina need look no further than Wilmington, NC, for a shining example of a patriotic young American who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at 17, fought in the First Gulf War as an anti-tank gunner, re-enlisted after 9/11, won his commission at OCS, was deployed to Iraq where he took command of a Infantry Platoon and led them in combat in the “Triangle of Death” Region of Iraq, engaging the enemy in Latayifah, Yusufiyah and Falluja.

That former Marine, Ilario Pantano, was praised today (August 19) by retired Major General James E. Livingston, recipient of the highest military decoration bestowed by the United States – the Medal of Honor — for heroic actions in 1968 during the Vietnam War.

Livingston served on active duty in the Marine Corps over 33 years before retiring on September 1, 1995. He visited Wilmington, NC, Pantano’s hometown, to support the GOP nominee at a campaign news conference.

“Ilario is a true leader, a man of honor and integrity,” said General Livingston. “As a Marine who led men into battle in Vietnam, I understand the challenge of combat leadership, forged in the toughest crucible known to man.

“Ilario has once again decided to heed the call to service, this time to serve as a Congressman to stand up for us in Washington, to return fiscal responsibility to our government, to protect our national security, and preserve our values,” said General Livingston.

He particularly praised Pantano for pledging to limit his service in the U.S. House of Representatives to six terms, or a total of 12 years.

Pantano secured his pledge with a $250,000 personal bond, which will be forfeited to “Step Up for Soldiers”, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, should he fail to honor his commitment.

Meanwhile, Mike McIntyre, seven-term Seventh Congressional District incumbent, a Democrat, is ignoring his own pledge to cap his service at 12 years — a promise he made when first elected in 1996.

“He wasn’t supposed to run for re-election again in 2008. He did it anyway. And, worse than breaking his word, he’s reversed himself and voted sgainst term limits for committee chairmen, thus ensuring a cycle of corruption amongst his peers. Now he’s running again in 2010,” observed GOP candidate Pantano.

Perhaps voters in the conservative Seventh NC District, turned off by McIntyre’s claim of conservatism while voting repeatedly with liberal House Speaker Pelosi, will make the decision for the congressman, to spare him the anguish of retiring voluntarily.

www.IraqVetsForCongress.com

www.bondedtermlimits.org

http://www.pantanoforcongress.com/

Mike’s got your money. Want some? Then go for it!

Published on: 10th July, 2010 |

By Verne Strickland       CTN, Wilmington, NC

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mike McIntyre has announced federal grant money available to “help start, sustain, and grow organizations and businesses in our communities.”

Seems okay. No doubt all this can be helpful for deserving organizations, businesses, research groups, and whole sectors of vital commerce, and society at large.  

But somehow, in this age of government giving us everything, taking care of us, pointing us in the right direction, praising or scolding us, and being generous enough to use our own tax money to do things Washington says we need, this whole exercise appears quite unnecessary and gratuitious.

Another thing is that after our tax money has been collected and sent to Washington — processed, categorized, tabulated, sliced and diced, tamped down and sent back to us — it would be interesting to know how much of it just stays in Washington and whether or not the whole exercise was worthwhile in the first place.

If we just kept it and gave some of it directly to the organizations, foundations, clubs, professional outfits, causes and industries that need and want it, the net available for actual use would be much greater, and we wouldn’t be loading up the federal payroll with a lot of slackers doing mundane stuff for the sake of what — the country? Really couldn’t say on that one.

How much do the feds siphon off to do these nice things? What do they spend the money for? Do the jobs created in government to do all these government things actually qualify as “new jobs”?

It’s the modern WPA of the Obama Administration.

I know Mike means well, but he seems to stay in Washington just by doing this kind of thing. Mike the money man. Bringing home the bacon. For you and you and you.

Is that what it’s all about? Not to my way of thinking. I want a congressman recognized for his character, commitment, accountability, and bona fide conservative credentials – someone who can show on his voting record what he really stands for. And what he may lie down for.

If that record in Mr. McIntyre’s case were really studied and showcased, it would reveal that he votes with Her Heinous, Nancy Pelosi, with astonishing regularity – almost all the time!

Okay, I got off track, but all this evasiveness and mystery about what Mike is really doing in Washington just rose up all of a sudden and got me started.

Anyway, here’s a list of the types of “purposes” for which this real American money is available, according to your Seventh District Congessman. Are there really no other resources than Uncle Sugar for accomplishing these things? I don’t know anything more about it, which is probably just as well.

Agriculture
Arts
Children
Community Development
Economic Development
Education
Environment, Water and Energy
Health
Housing
Law, Justice, Fire and Legal Services
Science, Technology and Research
Social Services
Telecommunications
If you want some of this money – or if you don’t even want it but worry you might hurt the feelings of the federal government grant people by not participating – you might get your hands on some of the cash by going to Mr. McIntyre’s Web site: www.house.gov/mcintyre

Tell ‘em Verne sent you.

GO TO THESE WEBSITES FOR MORE ARTICLES BY VERNE STRICKLAND

http://www.examiner.com/x-42565-NC-7th-Elections-2010-Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-20074-Raleigh-Conservative-Examiner

http://vernestrickland.blogspot.com/

Why the fair tax, why now?

Published on: 10th June, 2010 |

by Patrick Alan Pittman

Who wants to hear (read) about taxation ?…Long…boring…tedious come to mind. Someone needs relay that in simplicity and try to make it interesting enough for the average citizen to digest long enough to understand what a great transformation it can have on our society. Good luck with that, EH?

    Why the fair tax?- So many reasons. The Fair Tax(HR 2525) is a national retail sales tax that replaces the gigantic and cumbersome and punitive income tax that started in America as a result of the Federal reserve legislation in 1913. It proposes to be 23% as a tax on RETAIL sales of all goods in America. When you get a paycheck under the present income tax the government demands that you fill out cumbersome and complex forms (in detai)l to describe much of your private life( and ALL of your financial life) and do so accurately under the penalty of fines and  imprisonment that the IRS would gladly facilitate. That paycheck then becomes a reduced amount based on what size it is or what kind of citizen you are based on other checks or cash you may have earned (tax brackets). The fair tax proposes that you keep the entire check when you earn it and fill out no forms telling the government about your private life. You pay as you buy instead.

    What are the advantages of that?

Equal Protection Under The Law- The super wealthy don’t get more votes when they go to the polls because they make more (and have more that needs protecting). Bill Gates doesn’t get five votes verses a millionaire’s three verses your one. That wouldn’t be right. One CIitizen, One Vote. Equal protection under the law. If wealthy citizens are not entitled to more votes because they make more , then why should they be forced to pay more in taxes for the same reason? The first response many give to this question is that they are more ABLE to afford higher rates. That concept was described by Karl Marx in the communist manifesto : “from each according to his ability to each according to his needs”.  Under examination , it is not consistent with the simple distilled American constitutional principle  :”Equal Protection Under the Law”. Regardless of any wealth envy a citizen may have, no one thinks that the wealthy deserve special privileges in our system of government , and neither should they suffer special burdens not levied on all other citizens.

Reducing the strength of powerful lobbyists- How many times have we heard that the lobbyists in Washington have too much power and command the direction of too much legislation? What if there was one law that could alleviate much of that problem? The fair tax is that law. Look at how many lobbyists are in Washington for the sole purpose of gaining tax exemptions for this or that industry or special interest? With no complex set of income tax exemptions to trudge through and hide in new legislation, an entire branch of the lobby industry …..goes away.

Black Market and foreign contribution-When a tourist comes from Germany or Australia and spends Ten thousand dollars in our economy while seeing our country, none of that money goes toward our social security or Medicare system. When a drug dealer pays for a yacht in cash or buys a home, none of that money is taxed through our income tax system . Many illegal Aliens work for cash and do not report their earnings . What if that didn’t matter? The fair tax alleviates that missing revenue and requires none of the actors to fill out forms. When anyone buys an item on the retail level, the tax is applied by the business selling the item. By placing the collection burden on the business owner (who already has that burden in many states) it eliminates the individual as the declaration instrument for the government. And as the owner of a business will stick around for the next round of customers it is incumbent upon him/her to retain public trust in the community and act within the constructs of the system or risk failing. It is already a part of doing business

Punitive, intrusive,  and costly income tax filing- Why should it be the government’s business what property you have( beyond it being the registrar of land purchases and ownership)? Why should you have to risk your fortune and your freedom every time you fill out a (mandatory) form that requires a decade of college courses to understand ? Why then, should  you be forced (out of necessity) to pay others , accountants and bookkeepers to do it for you because you have not studied that subject while you were preparing yourself to do something else in life? The fair tax relieves that burden and eliminates that risk for the individual citizen.

Reducing the power of the federal government to sneak in taxes under a complex code-The federal government can adjust and tweak the current income tax system and slip in all kinds of penalties and exemptions. And those who can navigate its complexity are capable of finding just the right exemption rules to reduce their burden and increase their competitive advantage. The fair tax levels the playing field and keeps the congress from making” hidden” adjustments to favor this or that lobby. With the fair tax set at 23% retail sales tax, the ability for congress to adjust that one number is out in the open and they would face a much higher scrutiny by “we the people” every time they even considered tweaking that ONE NUMBER.

Forcing the Government to adjust the budget in the spending column instead of the revenue column- The above example shows that with more scrutiny and less ability to grow the bloated government coffers every time they want to add a new pork bill, the congress would be forced (under the fair tax) to adjust their budget just like average citizens do at home: cut spending.

 ThePre-bate equalizes the poverty stricken without eliminating taxes on the bottom tier- Under the proposed fair tax system , the pre-bate is a check written to every household (all of them , regardless of income level) to cover the taxes that will be paid on the basic necessities of life up to the poverty level. This removes the very poor from the taxes that are collected when buying their milk, clothing, paying rent, etc. Right now, under the Income tax almost 40% of our citizens have no tax liability at all. This concept also goes back to : Equal Protection Under the Law. 

Tax cheating- While no system eliminates tax cheating altogether (criminals will always find a way), it reduces their chances of succeeding by removing the gigantic and complex tax code now on the books and removes the IRS from the expensive burden of keeping up with the income of each and every citizen in America (and now abroad as the Obama administration puts pressure on foreign banks to disclose information on their customers). There will be some ways to attempt to exempt oneself from the fair tax system , but compared to the cheating in the income tax the difference will be geometrically apparent..

Making America a tax haven- With the manufacturing base moving overseas, America has experienced a loss of industry for a variety of reasons, one of which is the punitive regulations put on manufacturers by our gigantic tax code. Under the fair tax, our country stands to become a tax haven for business around the world . Businesses operating in countries with a VAT (value added tax , that taxes at every level of sale , including wholesale) or an income tax would flock to America to get out from under that burden (just as they have run from America in the past to escape the income tax here).

    A winning Mission Statement for  a conservative political malaise- The fair tax can become a rallying point for conservatives in America to return our great nation to the constitutional republic proposed by the founders (who forbade the income tax (article 1 section 9 of the original constitution). And it can become an attractive draw for moderates and “middle-of- the –roaders” now disaffected by the Marxist attempts of the extreme  Liberal shift in American politics in the past two decades.

    No system of taxation is perfect, but when compared to the broken and punitive system we have now, the fair tax stands far and away above , and promises to alleviate a multitude of ills now festering in the swamp that Washington and the federal reserve have created to increase their power and assist their “friends” .

Patrick Alan Pittman

Guest Blogger

January 10, 2010

From a loyal listener…..

Published on: 25th May, 2010 |

Whether it be Wilmington, Raleigh or Washington, there are no more ‘band-aids’ to put on this dying corpse unless the “State” continues to permanently take away our true right to “life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. We now live in a Country where we just wait for the Government to tell us (that is those who “produce”) how much they are going to steal from us and our businesses, and how much we have to reduce our “quality of life”, to hand over to others and wasteful, incompetent government operations!

Our Founding Fathers would be so ashamed to see what this Country, and our Government, has become…what we “Americans” allowed to happen over the last 230+ years.

And, we should be ashamed of what we have done to our Country, our children and posterity…..

NoPortSouthPort: News & Observer Speaks Out

Published on: 17th May, 2010 |

Raleigh News & Observer

Published Sunday May 16, 2010

“North Carolina appears ready to submerge into another money sink: the proposed North Carolina International Terminal.” News & Observer, Raleigh, NC

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