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17 September 2011 TheCatholicThing.org Santorum: In Bush's Shadow. When Rick Santorum took the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA for the Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, it was possible to envision him as a first-tier alternative to the top four candidates in the race. Unlike Governor Rick Perry of Texas, Santorum has never been accused of being a regional candidate. In fact, his home state helps him in a general election. As a U.S. Representative and Senator for sixteen years (1991 to 2007), Santorum represented Pennsylvania, a blue state where President Obama is more and more unpopular. more

July 21, 2011 Washington Times. BRINSON: Aiding our friends in Latin America American foreign policy must not take its eye off Latin America. The sheer economic growth of these emerging markets, with their vast resources and human capital, has caught the attention of the largest markets in the world. Similarly, America’s vital interests have been threatened by the growing intervention in our hemisphere by some of our most dreaded adversaries, namely Islamic fundamentalists and Marxist regimes. We have already seen that those that seek to harm our interests are allied with drug operators and weapons smugglers, who present a clear and present danger to our way of life. The use of oil reserves alone from the waters of Latin America could be used by these despots to threaten our own energy needs and cripple our economy. Unfolding before our eyes right now is an element of this volatile dynamic. more

July 20, 2011 | Fox News Venezuela Political Dissident Released from Prison. A well-known political dissident in Venezuela who’d been jailed for a year was reportedly released from prison on Wednesday. Alejandro Peña Esclusa, a Hugo Chavez foe jailed last year on terrorism charges, was granted parole, said Dr. Randy Brinson, founder and chairman of Redeem the Vote and a close friend of Peña. Pena's wife, Indira Ramirez, told the Venezuelan television channel Globovision on that she expected him home within hours. more:

July 19, 2010 al.com Congressman Mo Brooks won't back off "anything short of shooting them" illegal immigrant threat. Hispanics nationally are stepping up their criticism, but U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks won't apologize for saying he would "do anything short of shooting them" to keep illegal immigrants out of America. "I'm not going to back off because these folks want to resort to name-calling," Brooks said Monday. Brooks spoke after a week in which he was criticized by the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and two groups of Hispanic Republicans. U.S. Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Tex., urged Brooks' Republican colleagues last Wednesday to repudiate his comments. Those comments include Brooks comparing illegal immigrants to house-breakers as he defended Alabama's tough new immigration law. more

July 14, 2011 al.com Christians advocate for poor, powerless (Fear Not blog) A recent caller asked me why I have not featured statements from people of faith who support the recently passed draconian anti-immigration law in Alabama. "Because I haven't heard from any respected religious leader who supports it," I said. Even the Southern Baptist Convention (the denomination to which Governor Bentley belongs) has directed that aid from the church will continue be given without regard to immigration status, an action which will violate the law as it is now written. more
 Castaneed is formed to connect churches and relief organizations more http://castaneed.com

June, 2011 al.com Rick Perry a big draw for Alabama GOP in 2012 presidential election sweepstakes. The hottest ticket in Alabama politics is next month’s Republican Party summer dinner. The annual gathering became a can’t-miss event after the sudden emergence of its featured speaker — Texas Gov. Rick Perry — as a potential candidate for president in 2012. Perry, 61, has yet to announce whether he’ll make a run for the White House but has said he’s giving it “serious consideration.” A decision could come in the next couple of weeks. Interest in Perry is surging as conservatives look for a challenger to take on President Barack Obama next year. While there’s a long line of Republicans applying for the job, none so far has captivated GOP voters. more

June 28, 2011 WashingtonPost Fact-checking Michele Bachmann’s announcement speech and Sunday interviews. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who on Monday formally announced her candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, is a terrific public speaker with a long history of playing fast and loose with the facts. Monday’s address, given in Waterloo, Iowa, was mostly a vision statement, with only a few assertions worth double-checking. We will take a look of those — as well as more dubious statements she made on the Sunday morning news shows in advance of her speech. more

June, 2011 Baptiststandard BJC defends limits on lawsuits against religious organizations. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joined other groups in a legal brief arguing that a teacher fired by a Christian school should not be allowed to sue her former employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Cheryl Perich, a teacher and commissioned minister at Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich., took a medical leave of absence for an undiagnosed illness in the 2004-2005. When doctors diagnosed her with narcolepsy and said it could be controlled by medication, she tried to come back to work in the middle of the school year, even though her position had been filled with a contract teacher and the school didn’t have another job for her. more

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