While Rick Santorum openly discussed his Christian faith - and said it would not influence his would-be presidential decision-making - voters remain uncertain as to what role Mitt Romney's faith may play should he become president.

Immigration may prove to be the most dramatic religious-political conflict in Mitt Romney's bid for the nation's highest office. His great-grandfather fled across the U.S. border into Mexico in 1885 to escape persecution for his Mormon faith. His father was born in Chihuahua, an American colony in Mexico, in 1907. Both men were denied citizenship there due to the country's statutes.

Romney, who served as bishop over Boston Mormon churches for nearly a decade, compared the plight of his forefathers to that of current immigrants in America during a January speech in New Hampshire.

"He extended a sympathetic hand to Hispanic voters as a candidate," says California attorney Robert P. DesJardins, who studied the Mormon religion and its history for his newest novel, Land of the Saints (http://robertpdesjardins.authorsxpress.com/). "It's also a gesture that is consistent with the Mormon tradition of welcoming immigrants, both into the country and into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The LDS Church has publicly supported the Utah Compact, signed into law in 2010, which advocates policies that "reaffirm our global reputation as a welcoming ... state" and reflect the nation's "history and spirit of inclusion."

But several conservatives, including those in the Minutemen Project, an activist group that patrols the U.S.-Mexican border, say the compact promotes tolerance and amnesty for illegal immigration. Conservatives simply do not know where Romney will side on the issue beyond 2012, which is one reason why the wealthiest Republican presidential candidate has had to endure an extended vetting process, DesJardins says.

"It's clear to most non-Mormons who have studied the religion that this view on immigration is meant to gain members," he says. But the spirit of inclusion has not applied to everyone.

"The earliest publications of the Book of Mormon, in the 1820s, states that dark-skinned people are 'cursed' because they rebelled against God, whereas the 'white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome' colored people were in God's good graces," he says. "Black men were not permitted to hold priesthood until 1978, and women still are not allowed to hold the position."

Conservatives fear Romney will say anything to get elected, he says. It's the same kind of conformity his church followed in relinquishing polygamy, a then-crucial pillar of the church, in order for Utah to gain statehood after 50 years of petitioning during the late 1800s. It's no coincidence black priests were permitted in the church only after the civil rights movement.

"While researching the religion I was surprised to learn about human deification, Kolob (claimed to be an actual planet existing nearest to Heaven), and 'Mormon underwear' - temple garments viewed either literally or symbolically to have powers to repel evil," DesJardins says.

Attempting to predict the future in politics, as a rule, tends to make fools out of pundits, he says. However, as is the case with most individuals, the best predictor of future behavior is the past.

"I hope conservatives have their beachwear ready in August for the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida," DesJardins says, "because I'm pretty sure Romney is bringing his flip-flops."

About Robert P. DesJardins

A successful California lawyer for more than 35 years, DesJardins is now a lecturer, private judge and judge pro tempore for the California Superior Court - in addition to being a novelist. In Land of the Saints, his third book, his main character is an attorney who finds himself drawn into the mysterious and dangerous world of Mormon spirituality after a friend is charged with murder. DesJardins is also the author of The Mistral and A Darker Shade of Orange.

Report examines how many rural Americans benefit from provisions of the Affordable Care Act

Lyons, Nebraska - On Tuesday, May 15, 2012, the Center for Rural Affairs will release a new report entitled, The Affordable Care Act: Real Help for Real Rural People, the report documents findings about how many Americans have used or benefited from particular provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Where possible, the report also estimates how many rural residents and families have used or benefited from Affordable Care Act provisions. These estimates on rural participation are unique to this report, extrapolating rural participation from general public participation data and, thereby, demonstrating the importance of these provisions to America's rural communities.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Since then numerous provisions have gone into effect or been implemented that impact health insurance coverage and provide new health care benefits for millions of Americans.

"As we have documented in a series of reports, many of these provisions are particularly applicable to rural people because of the demographics and unique economic circumstances of rural areas," said Jon Bailey, Director of Rural Research and Analysis at the Center for Rural Affairs and author of the report. "Of course, rural people and families in large numbers have also benefited from the more general provisions of the Affordable Care Act."

A full copy of the embargoed report can be viewed and downloaded at: http://files.cfra.org/pdf/real-help-rural-people.pdf, immediately and will remain available after the embargo is lifted. Center for Rural Affairs contacts are available for interview in advance of the lifting of the embargo.

Key findings in the report include:

Note: Some individuals will qualify for more than one provision

"On March 23rd the Affordable Care Act entered into its third year as the nation's fundamental public health care policy," continued Bailey. "We believe it is crucial at this time to reflect on what the Affordable Care Act really does... what it actually has to offer, especially to rural Americans who have faced stern challenges in finding and accessing quality, affordable health care coverage."

WASHINGTON - After learning that an Iraqi court would release Ali Musa Daqduq, a known Hezbollah figure and orchestrator of a plot that led to the deaths of five American soldiers, all Republican members of the Judiciary Committee asked Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for information about the Obama administration's plans for dealing with the terrorist.

The members wrote, "Now an Iraqi court has cleared Daqduq of any criminal charges under Iraqi law and, as we and many other observers had feared, may be set free without being held to account for his crimes against the United States and its soldiers."

Daqduq was captured on the battlefield in Iraq and was in U.S. custody until December 2011 when the Obama administration turned him over to Iraqi authorities.  Before handing the terrorist over to Iraq, a number of senators sent several letters to the administration urging them to try Daqduq before a military tribunal, instead of releasing him to Iraq, because of concerns that the Iraqi government would free the terrorist and he would be able to rejoin the battlefield and innocent people could be killed.  Those letters can be found here.

Following the turnover of Daqduq to Iraqi custody, the administration charged Daqduq with war crimes, but knowledge of those charges were only made public when the New York Times obtained a copy of the document.  It appears the administration made the charges only after the handover when Daqduq wouldn't be accessible to the U.S. government.

Here's a copy of the letter to Holder and Panetta.  A signed copy of the letter can be found here.

May 10, 2012

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.                            The Honorable Leon Panetta

Attorney General                        Secretary of Defense

U.S. Department of Justice                        Department of Defense

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.                           Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20530                          Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Attorney General Holder and Secretary Panetta:

According to a report in the New York Times on May 7, 2012, an Iraqi court has ordered the release of Ali Musa Daqduq.  Daqduq is a senior Hezbollah field commander who allegedly orchestrated a kidnapping that resulted in the deaths of five U. S. soldiers in Karbala, Iraq in 2007.  He also has close ties with Iran's Qods Force, including training its fighters in the use of improvised explosive devices (IED) and other insurgent tactics employed against U.S. troops.  Daqduq had been in U.S. military custody until the United States turned him over to Iraqi authorities upon exiting Iraq in December 2011.

According to another report in the New York Times earlier this year, Daqduq has been charged with war crimes, including murder, terrorism, and espionage, before a U.S. military commission.  However, those charges were not made public until the New York Times obtained a copy of the charging document.   In fact, it appears that the Administration knew it was going to pursue charges against Daqduq, waited until he was released to Iraq, and then filed the charges, but failed to keep Congress apprised of its plans.

We have expressed a keen interest in Daqduq and in the Administration's plans for him.  In May 2011, Attorney General Holder appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Committee) and was specifically asked about prosecution plans for Daqduq.  We followed up with a letter to Attorney General Holder on May 16, 2011, again expressing concerns about, and interest in, how the Administration was going to prosecute Daqduq.  On July 29, 2011, another letter was sent to Secretary Panetta, seeking information about issues relating to Daqduq held by the Department of Defense.  Finally, on August 8, 2011, the Department of Justice responded through a letter from Ronald Weich that indicated the "ultimate disposition of this matter is under consideration by an interagency process that includes . . . the Department of Justice."

Subsequently, Administration officials briefed Congress about Daqduq's imminent release into Iraqi custody.  Yet, they never mentioned that the Administration was considering charges, which were filed approximately two weeks later.  Eight pages of charges, surely involving classified materials or evidence, would require more than two weeks to review, organize, and approve.  This appears to indicate that either the Administration was purposefully withholding information from Congress or it had not done the due diligence required to file charges in a serious case against a dangerous terrorist.  Furthermore, in the future, when the Administration claims that it is aggressively pursuing Daqduq, it will sound disingenuous since we know that he was only charged after he was released to another country.  If the Administration was serious in pursuing Daqduq, officials had many years when they could have brought charges against him, yet the Administration waited until he was not available to prosecute.

Now an Iraqi court has cleared Daqduq of any criminal charges under Iraqi law and, as we and many other observers had feared, may be set free without being held to account for his crimes against the United States and its soldiers.  As it appears Daqduq is on the verge of escaping justice, we again ask for information about the Administration's plans for dealing with this situation.

Accordingly, provide the following information:

·         A copy of the military commission charging document filed against Daqduq;

·         A list of who was involved in this decision and who was the final decision-maker;

·         An explanation of when, if at all, the families of his U.S. victims were consulted about his prosecution;

·         An explanation of whether Daqduq has been notified of the U.S. charges against him;

·         A description of which components in the Administration have been, currently are, or expect to be involved in the Daqduq matter;

·         A description of efforts to have Daqduq transferred into U.S. custody after he was charged, including whether any formal extradition request was made to the Iraqi government;

·         A description of any conditions (such as transfer to a civilian court) required by the Iraqi government for extraditing Daqduq and the U.S. response to those conditions;

·         An explanation of where Daqduq is expected to be held, if he were transferred into U.S. custody;

·         A description of charges against Daqduq from any other country of which the Administration is aware;

·         A description of whether and how the Administration assisted in Daqduq's prosecution by the Iraqi government;

·         An explanation of why briefers from the Administration failed to indicate that criminal charges were prepared but not presented to a military commission prior to turning Daqduq over to the Iraqi government.

·         An assessment of why the Iraqi prosecution of Daqduq failed, including any problems with the Iraqi court's willingness or capability to consider valid evidence provided by the United States, such as forensic evidence and statements made while in U.S. custody;

·         A description of options the Administration is considering for next steps in the handling of Daqduq's case; and,

·         A description of Administration discussions with the Iraqi government about next steps in the handling of Daqduq's case.

Given the serious consequences that could result from Daqduq's release from Iraqi custody and the important issues raised regarding future decisions to turn over detainees to foreign governments, we appreciate your response no later than May 25, 2012.

Sincerely,