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Irene Cara, the iconic ’80s singer and actress best known for the soundtrack hits to the films “Flashdance” and “Fame” has died. She was 63. Her publicist announced Cara’s death Saturday morning, saying in a statement Cara died in her Florida home. The cause of death is unknown and will be released when more information is available, the spokeswoman added.

ristians throughout the ages have noticed that Paul and James, at the word level, use the verb “to justify” (dikaio ) differently relative to “faith” and “works.” Paul writes, “One is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Rom. 3:28). James writes, “A person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). Since God is the ultimate Author of both Romans and James, this cannot be a concept-level contradiction. But how do we put these two verses together? In the 1500s, portions of the Roman Catholic Church were insisting that the verb “to justify”...

Holding your keys between your knuckles. Rearranging your schedule to squeeze in a daytime workout. Constantly scanning your surroundings. Avoiding running alone in the dark. Ask any female runner and she will tell you that she’s had to take one or more of these precautions at some point when running outside in public spaces like running trails or city streets. It’s not just the fear of assault that keeps women off the streets when night falls, but the tragic murders of young women like Mollie Tibbetts, Wendy Martinez, or Vanessa Marcotte that hit close to home. Because of this, many...

It is a common notion that the number of priests has plummeted in this country. Many speak of the halcyon days when there were four and five priests per parish, and the seminaries were packed. And while some of these memories are accurate, they are drawn from a time in this country that was very brief.The fact is, the number of priests per parish spiked sharply after 1950 and has now leveled back to the levels of 1950 and before.Note the graph at the upper right from the Center for Research in the Apostolate (CARA). It depicts the number of...

The story of the Catholic church in the United States has become a tale of two churches: In the Northeast and upper Midwest, the church is shrinking, and in the South and West, the church is flourishing and membership is increasing, in some cases dramatically. That's the conclusion demographers presented at a conference titled "The Catholic Parish in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities [1]," held at Villanova University in early March. The conference was a joint venture of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University and Villanova's Center for Church Management and Business Ethics....

CARA Reports on Religious Life Confirm TraditionBy: Msgr. Charles Pope On February 2 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops released a report on Religious life. The study was conducted by the very reputable Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).The Bishops’ report is interesting and informative for what it says, but also has puzzling omissions in the topics covered, which seem to amount to ignoring the “elephant in the room.”  The “elephant” is the rather obvious fact that religious communities that preserve traditional elements such as the habit, common prayer, communal life, focused apostolates and strong affirmation of...

It is widely thought that Catholics are terrible in retaining members, and that Catholics are leaving the Church in droves.It is a fact that there are about 22.5 million people in the U.S. who were baptized and raised Catholic, but who no longer self-identify as Catholic. A huge number to be sure.But to be fair, the Catholic Church is huge to start with. There are 68 million Catholics in the US (in 2011), a number that dwarfs the second place finisher, Southern Baptists who report 16 million. Then come Methodists (7.6 million), then Mormons (6.1 million), etc., et al.[1]In other...

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote: newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/nyfo082410.htm Two Additional Arrests Made of Members of Violent International Organized Crime Group Albanian Government Aide Arrested; Newly Unsealed Indictment Charges 17 Defendants with Murder, Kidnapping, and Other Racketeering Offenses PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JANICE K. FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and RAYMOND W. KELLY, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced the arrests of FLORIAN VESHI and ALMIR RRAPO for their roles in a racketeering enterprise that engaged...

Legislation introduced to ban 'czars' By Eric Zimmermann - 09/09/09 10:41 AM ET House Republicans have introduced legislation to stop the proliferation of so-called "czars". Introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), the "Czar Accountability and Reform Act," which you can read here, would prevent funding for any office headed by an "individual who has been inappropriately appointed to such position...without the advice and consent of the Senate." The controversy over appointed czars flared up in recent weeks when Republicans took aim at Van Jones, Obama's "Green Jobs Czar," who had made a number of controversial statements before being appointed to...

Compared with previous generations, the youngest of today's adult Catholics are less likely to have celebrated the sacraments that provide the foundation of the faith. A growing minority of self-identified Catholic adults haven't made their first reconciliation, received their First Communion or been confirmed, according to research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. The sacraments are at the heart of what it means to be Catholic, said Mark Gray, a CARA researcher. If fewer parents are anchoring their children in Catholicism through the sacraments, the result could be a smaller church. "To the...

This letter is in regard to Senate Bill 389, the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act, or CARA, passed by both the Kansas House of Representatives and Senate. This bill was vetoed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on April 21. It would have given women the choice to see the ultrasound of their unborn baby, medical resources for pregnancies threatened with fetal defects, and legal remedies for abortion fraud and damage. It would have reduced forced abortions and predators using clinics to hide statutory rape. It would have enhanced parental rights, state reporting of, and protection for, sexually abused minors and prosecution of...

Who is Air America? Part II And where are they? See Who is Air America? Part I here [gpapa's comments in brackets] Nobody was duped: Sorensen denies allegations surrounding Air America by Ken Wetmore, KUAM News, Thursday, June 24, 2004 [The Guam Connection]Heading the project [Air America] were two men with strong ties to Guam. Rex Sorensen owns Sorensen Pacific Broadcasting, which operates five radio stations on Guam and Saipan (Sorensen says his Guam broadcasting company is in no way connected to Air America). The other man is Evan Cohen who was born on Guam and operated several businesses on...

NOW WE MUST STOP CARA IN THE SENATE! Urgent Action Required - Senate Energy Vote Wednesday, May 25th. Make your Calls, send those faxes and e-mails now, today, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. The big battle in the Senate has arrived. ***Liberal Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will try to amend his giant land grab bill S 964 into the Energy Bill now under consideration in the Senate.  They will be considering options for the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) oil exploration and Lamar wants a big chuck of that money. Votes began this week in the Senate Energy and Natural...

RETURN OF THE CARA MONSTER It seems that some elected officials will stoop to any low to force their schemes on the rest of us. A case in point is Congressman Don Young (R ?AK). For the past five years Don Young has been trying to push through a bill that would establish a massive funding process to lock away millions of acres of private lands across the nation. Property rights advocates have fought a courageous and thus far semi-successful battle to stop those efforts. But Young keeps pushing. First, in 1999 Young introduced the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA)....

www.gunowners.orgMay 2004 "Get Out of Rural America Act" Could Dry Up Hunting/Plinking Lands Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 Thursday, May 6, 2004 Long-time GOA activists will remember CARA, known by gun owners and other opponents as the Condemnation and Relocation [of Hunting and Shooting Lands] Act. Well, CARA is back... but under a new name. The new bill is being dubbed the Get Outdoors (GO) Act, H.R. 4100, although it is more accurately dubbed the "Get Out of Rural America Act." What does H.R. 4100 do? It would allocate $3.125 billion annually...

3 PARTS:Congratulations AmericaCountdown to Socialism in AmericaSatan's Strongest Weapon Congratulations America The following is the first in a three-part series written by our Chairman, Joe Larson. Mr. Larson intents this series to be a wake-up call for America’s Christian Men – men who have long been asleep at the wheel. His words may be bruising, but his message is a blessing. – webmaster Part One of Three - Congratulations America: Today there are over 10,000 openly Marxist professors and thousands of Humanist professors controlling the universities and colleges that produce America’s teachers and other professionals. Varying forms of Marxist-Humanism are...

GRASSROOTS VICTORY !!!!!!!! **** INCREDIBLE WIN FOR GRASSROOTS !!!! **** DARK-OF-NITE ENDANGERED SPECIES LAND GRAB EXPOSED & DEFEATED ! Senate Bill #990, which was a massive expansion of the Endangered Species Act combined with hundreds of millions in new land acquisition, was exposed to the light of day for the first time this week. And thousands of grassroots activists across the country said NO WAY! And the United States Senate heard you LOUD AND CLEAR!!!!!!!! S. 990 could not stand up to public scrutiny this week and was NOT brought up for a vote in the Senate. The Senate just...

Author Topic: ALERT! Last Days for Land Grab!, 11/20 Administrator Administrator Member # 1 posted 11-20-2002 05:18 AM                Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002American Land Rights Association - Land Rights NetworkPO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973Email: alra@landrights.org - http://www.landrights.orgLegislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com #ALERT# Last Days for Land Grab! # ALERT # ALERT # ALERT # The Endangered Species Land Grab bill, S.990, has only one or two more days to make it through the Senate. HOWEVER,...

Legislative Alerts and Updates • Current Legislation • Key Votes • Capitol Hill Basics Action Alert Stop the Lame-Duck Congressional Land Grab!Tell Your Senators to Put a HOLD on S. 990! And you thought that the old Congress couldn't do any more damage? Think again. According to the American Land Rights Association (landrights.org), "just when you thought it was over... the politicians in Washington, DC, at 2:35am, approved a massive new program with NO debate, NO hearings, and NO recorded vote in the House of Representatives. It was approved by 'unanimous consent' with only a handful of members present,...

**CRISIS** Midnight Land Grab!!! EXTREME CRISIS !!!!!!! ***** EXTREME CRISIS !!!!!!! *** YOUR HELP NEEDED !!!!! *** **** WE CAN WIN WITH YOUR HELP !!!!! **** S. 990 - The "Son of CARA" - a version of CARA - the Condemnation and elocation Act - is on the fast track and moving through Congress! This discredited land grab bill had not moved for eleven months, until the dark of nite in the wee hours of Friday morning. ONCE AGAIN, selected members of Congress have moved legislation - S. 990 - in the dead of night that will 1) make the...