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When Sen. John Kerry, a pro-choice Catholic, ran for president in 2004, several bishops decided to deny him communion. A poll done at the time by Time magazine showed that 73 percent of American Catholics disagreed with that decision, and 83 percent said the bishops’ move wouldn't change their vote.

For Obama, respectful disagreement and a willingness to recognize differences was the animating spirit of the presidential campaign, and it was central to his Notre Dame speech. That is the kind of politics many Catholics practice. They’re tired of watching the church grasp frantically for control at the expense of truth and love. In America last November, it showed: 54 percent of Catholics voted for Obama.

Dallas Mavericks' owner (and billionaire entrepreneur) Mark Cuban has gotten in trouble with his blogging. Any fears that your blogs might cause you trouble?

Cuban is living proof that even the billionaires' club has an IQ bell curve. Gates defines one end, Cuban the other. I'll let you decide which is which. The only trouble my blogging may cause is that much of it concerns organized crime and its infiltration of Wall Street.

The AFL-CIO is planning one of the largest state rallies in favor of "card check" legislation on Saturday in the home state of one of organized labor's frequent targets: Wal-Mart,

The union is expecting 1,000 attendees at a rally in Little Rock, Ark. on Saturday, in what the AFL-CIO says is one of the biggest non-D.C. events to date in support of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

If I were advising a candidate, I would advise him or her very strongly that this is not someone you want to embrace.

In the course of their cordial exchanges, the conversation turned first of all to questions which are in the interest of all and which constitute a great challenge ... such as the defense and promotion of life and the right to abide by one's conscience.

There is great room for debate over the effectiveness of government stimulus programs, and over how much impact a focused "shovel-ready" spending program would have achieved by now. What is not debatable is that changes in the American economy and workforce are favoring service sectors where women are abundant and that the current severe contraction is centered on sectors where men, especially working-class men, predominate. That an emergency economic recovery program should be designed with gender in mind is itself remarkable. That, in current circumstances, it should be designed to "skew" employment further towards women is disturbing and ominous.

When I turned 11 years old, my father gave me my first hunting rifle with a sling that has “Katie P.” stitched on to it. Three elk, four deer, and two javelina later, this rifle has come in handy over the years during our many successful hunting trips together.

I’m from Arizona, and you have to be 21 years to take the Concealed Weapon Carry Weapon Permit class and to own a pistol. Today is my 21^st birthday, meaning this birthday is my dad’s most anticipated, important and exciting birthday of all (besides when I turned 10 and was eligible to go hunting for the first time), and the gift my father gave me fully supports the second amendment.

He let me know that he put a card in the mail, and that my gift was a certificate for the concealed carry course when I got back home. He also threw in that if I wanted to get a pistol, we’d go pick one of those up too.

Long live the second amendment.