Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
(Ephesians 6:12-13)

When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin. You must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith. (Abraham Kuyper, journalist, Calvinist reformer, Dutch prime minister, 1901-05)
Breaking

Sanford resident primaries U.S. Rep. Hudson

U.S. Army veteran, political novice enters District NC-09 race

(Photo: Troy Tarazon, 20-year veteran, 'not a career politician, not establishment')
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction faces 2024 primary

  • Wake County education reformer Morrow files to primary incumbent Truitt
  • Homeschooler Morrow targets schools operating as 'socialism centers'

Vacant Pinehurst council seat attracts 12 applicants

  • Mayor, new council members launch era of regulation, 'protection'

OH Sen. Vance draws ire of NC Sen. Tillis over Ukraine

  • Tillis strongly opposes roll back of endless U.S. funding of Ukraine
  • Sen. J.D. Vance: '(Tillis) is not living in reality'
  • Read more
Developing

Sandhills Community College seeks additional federal funds
  • Dean of campus diversity says state/county budget falls short
  • Calls for 'equitable allocation of resources' during public meeting
  • Warns minority SCC students are lagging behind, especially black males
  • Government grant program offers up to $387,000 for training, tutoring
  • Says 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion' mission is not impeded by new NC law

Daily Haymaker watch

  • Race for N.C. Governor delivers layers of complexity, subplots
  • Tillis political guru runs trial lawyer Graham's well-funded campaign
  • Read more
Campaign 2024
Political novice, veteran files
to challenge House Rep. Hudson

By Steve Woodward

A U.S. Army veteran and communications specialist who resides will oppose six-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, who is seeking re-election in 2024. Primary Election Day is March 5. Early voting begins February 15.

Hudson (photo nearby), who resides in Southern Pines, represents Moore County and U.S. congressional District 9. He is considered the fourth-ranking member of the House. Hudson largely remained out of sight during the months-long effort by House Republican conservatives to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which after 10 months resulted in the emergence of Mike Johnson as speaker.
Hudson’s primary opponent is Troy Tarazon, 45, a retired Signal Regiment Chief Warrant Officer who, across 20 years of service, was deployed abroad twice and was stationed overseas for half of the years he wore the uniform. Tarazon tells Liberty Digest he is motivated to run by an uncomplicated mission to be a “veteran’s voice” in Washington.

“I’m exactly the opposite of Richard Hudson,” said Tarazon, who has been married two decades and is the father of three children. “I’m not a career politician; I’m not establishment. 

“We have a lot of establishment partisanship out there. There are a lot of self-serving interests going on in Washington. I would be NOT a part of that. I would like to be voice for the veterans’ community, and express their specific needs and concerns. I do not feel Richard Hudson has that firsthand empathy I am able to have, that connection, that relationship (with veterans).”

Tarazon has paid close attention to debates about U.S funding of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. While he has unwavering compassion for Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefields, “I really echo” lawmakers who argue that the U.S. should not continue pouring billions of dollars into an endless war.

“Where is that accountability happening?” Tarazon said. “I would want to see exactly where the money is being allocated, not just allowing (Ukraine) to have an open checkbook. We can’t do that. What’s our return on investment?”

Tarazon continues to work as a communications specialist as a contract employee on Fort Bragg with the Army Special Operations Command. His military career does not find him with enormous personal wealth to infuse into a campaign against an entrenched incumbent with access to the D.C. fundraising machine.

“That is going to be a significant hurdle,” he said “However, that is part of what I think will differentiate me from the status quo. I’m not a career politician; I’m not a millionaire. But I love this state, and this country. I don’t owe anybody anything. My plan is to take two months off until the primary and circulate myself through the counties.”

District 9 consists of Union, Chatham, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, and Robeson counties; a southeast portion of Mecklenburg County; and parts of Cumberland, Moore and Bladen counties. 
N.C. education superintendent
Truitt attracts primary opponent

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction incumbent Catherine Truitt (a registered Republican) is seeking another four-year term. That endeavor will begin with Truitt facing primary opponent Michele Morrow, reports NCNewsline.com.

Morrow is the mother of five home-schooled children who was endorsed by the nationally established Moms for Liberty reformist group during her unsuccessful bid in 2022 to join the Wake County School Board.

Morrow (photo below) has been a vocal critic at local school board meetings calling for greater scrutiny of the books in school libraries. She also notably attended the January 6, 2021,‘Stop the Steal’ rally in Washington, D.C., after the controversial outcome of the 2020 Presidential election.

Democrat Maurice “Mo” Green, the former executive director of the "woke" Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, who served previously as the superintendent of the Guilford County Schools, also is seeking the position. Another Democrat, C.R. Katie Eddings, also filed to run in the Superintendent race.

While running for Wake County's school board in 2022, Morrow was criticized for choosing to home school.

According to reporting by WRAL, Morrow described public schools as "necessary for some families."

But she is running because she views public schools as “socialism centers” and “indoctrination centers”.

During a candidate forum in September 2022, she said, “I think the whole plan of the education system from day one has actually been to kind of control the thinking of our young people.”

Truitt has disappointed state Republicans on numerous occasions. Last fall, she joined a chorus of educators who claimed elements of a newly passed Parents' Bill of Rights law -- legislation to stop public schools from engaging in sexualization and radicalization of children absent parental consent -- should be delayed from going into effect. School administrators claimed more time was needed to adapt to the law's requirements.

In 2021, Truitt appointed a special assistant with ties to radical Left state Board of Education member James Ford, an ally of Gov. Roy Cooper (D).

In March 2022, the state General Assembly convened a Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations to examine how more than $5.8 billion in federal funding amid COVID restrictions was spent by Truitt’s DPI.

According to the committee, most of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) allocated to the state was not spent as intended. However, the money the DPI spent went to programs with no academic value, reducing the time teachers can devote to reading, math, and science instruction in the classroom. Read more.
Michele Morrow
Pinehurst council seat vacated
by Pizzella entices 12 applicants

Pat Pizzella's election as Pinehurst's mayor resulted in his seat as a village council member being vacated with two years remaining in the term to which he was elected in 2021. Apparently, numerous citizens took notice.

As of a December 11, 2023, deadline, 12 filed to be considered for appointment to a fully reconstituted, pro-regulation, pro-preservation board. The applicants are:

  • Kirk Adkins, a land-use and former member of the Sandhills Community College Horticulture Board
  • Tom Beddow (photo nearby), chairman since 2017 of the Moore County Republican Party and longtime volunteer on numerous community boards
  • Justin Bramlage, a Pinehurst resident as of 2021 and West Point Academy graduate
  • Steve Drinkwater, a former member of the Burbank (CA) chamber of commerce and former Los Angeles County firefighter
  • Jack Farrell, a 13-year volunteer on various community boards, including the Pinehurst Historic Preservation Commission (vice chair)
  • Kevin Fitzpatrick, healthcare professional and President of the Pinehurst No. 6 Community Association
  • Jeff Gilbert, retired corporate executive, former board member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills, and former president of the Rotary Club of Southern Pines
  • Tom Henie, retired law enforcement officer and interim Pinehurst Village Council member following the death of Jane Hogeman
  • Daniel Logan, U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret (retired) and Pinehurst resident since 2018
  • Richard Riordan, former commercial business and government contractor, and longtime local volunteer (including Habitat for Humanity and U.S. Kids Golf)
  • Peter White, U.S. Army (retired), and former CPA with Deloitte and Touche
  • Frank Zaccherio, local realtor, 20-year volunteer with Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, and former restaurant owner
New Pinehurst council members take charge after ceremony

With platforms upholding neighborhood protection and curtailing growth that would encroach on village tradition and spirit, newly elected Mayor Patrick Pizzella, and Pinehurst Village Council members John Taylor and Barbara Ficklin were administered the oath of office alongside their respective spouses, reported The Pilot in its December 13, 2023, edition.

(Editor's note: Naturally, many Pinehurst residents are concerned about this trio's agenda, specifically open hostility toward property rights and the area's robust tourism industry. Gee, who do these folks bring to mind? See below.)
'Wilie E.' Pat Pizzella
John 'Mr. Burns' Taylor
Barb 'Ursula' Ficklin
News nuggets

Trump lead on GOP field widens in Iowa

Carlson debuts digital media network

Tucker Carlson Network has launched in recent days in response to news coverage in the West that has become a tool of repression and control. Reporters no longer reveal essential information to the public; they work to hide it. Journalists act as censors on behalf of entrenched power. They have contempt for the public. They hate the truth. Read more

Public school enrollment decline continues

Commentary by Kent Misegades

Last September, public schools reported on their enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year. The Pilot has not mentioned this, so I will.

Based on N.C. Department of Public Instruction statistics for public and charter schools, and conservative estimates for private and home schools, Moore County Schools enrollment in terms of the percentage of school-aged students in our county declined again, from 71.4% in 2022-2023 to 69.7% in the current school year. What’s more, the actual number of students dropped by 165, despite a growth in this age group in our county of 209 students.

Thus, non-government schools gained 374 students, a growth rate of more than 7% in one year. County Commissioners have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxation in Moore County. Given its declining enrollment for the past decade, it is time they start cutting the MCS budget and planning for school closures and consolidations.

World Health Organization's maniacal Pandemic Treaty on 2024 agenda

By David Thunder
The Freedom Blog

The Covid pandemic gave the World Health Organization and its partners unprecedented visibility and a tremendous amount of “soft” power to shape public health law and policies across the world.

Over the past year or so, the WHO has been pushing hard to consolidate and expand its power to declare and manage public health emergencies on a global scale. 

The primary instruments for this consolidation are a WHO Pandemic Accord and a series of far-reaching amendments to existing International Health Regulations (IHR). The target date for finalising both the IHR Amendments and the new Pandemic Accord is May 2024. Read more
Quotable

"(Israel) is starting to lose (broad) support by indiscriminate bombing that takes (in Gaza)."
President Joe Biden's choice of words to describe Israel's effective offensive against Hamas left little to the imagination during remarks December 12, 2023. Biden's undermining of Israel (and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) comes as National Security adviser Jake Sullivan says he traveling to Israel to propose "timetables" for ending combat.

"I'm asking you to remember that if the world falls apart, trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people."
Released on Netflix, a new film executive-produced by Barack Obama, follows two families forced to work together amid a nationwide blackout. In one scene, a black parent issues a disturbing warning to a child. The line has created widespread backlash. Read more
Upcoming
Hillsdale College online course
Judeo-Christian Values and the U.S. Constitution
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Weekly, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Moore Republican Party Headquarters
211-E Central Park Avenue, Pinehurst
Carry-in food and beverage is welcome
Christmas parades schedule

(Featuring two stunning Moore County Republican Party floats designed by Miriam Chu, 'Whoville' and Angels, photo nearby, during the Aberdeen parade, December 9)

December

16 Vass
10 a.m. assembly; 11 a.m. parade launch
Featured: The 'Whoville' float
Trusted sources

  • The High Wire: Dynamic reporting that crushes the mainstream narrative, 24/7.


  • The Daily Haymaker: Common Sense Conservative Commentary for the Carolinas by the intrepid Brant Clifton of Pinehurst


  • New Discourses: Pursuing the light of objective truth in subjective darkness


  • Citizen Free Press: A pro-truth, pro-American current events headline aggregator in the spirit of the now discredited Drudge Report.

  • Substack: A platform through which engaged citizens can curate a news feed tailored to personal interests, with content by many opinion leaders in the war on tyranny. Paid subscriptions are required by some.

  • Brownstone Institute: The motivating force behind this emerging research body is the global crisis created by policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.
  • Real America's Voice The streaming home of War Room: Pandemic, hosted by Stephen Bannon. Perhaps the best intel and insight in the digital media universe. Live 10 am and 5 pm daily or via podcast.

  • Revolver.news A comprehensive aggregator of news and analysis, both written and on video.

  • The Epoch Times: A comprehensive print and digital news publication (some content requires a subscription) with roots in opposing human rights abuses in Communist China.