Santorum wants promises from Romney before backing

FILE - In this April 2, 2012, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks in Shawano, Wis. Some of Mitt Romney?s former foes have yet to endorse him as the Republicans? presidential nominee. Santorum campaigned hard against Romney and the health care overhaul he signed into law as Massachusetts governor. Conservatives cast it as a precursor to Democrats? national plan and Romney has vowed to repeal it. Santorum advisers say he will not back Romney until he is convinced that Romney is committed to upending it, as well as ensuring conservatives? views are represented in the party?s platform and in Romney?s campaign. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this April 2, 2012, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks in Shawano, Wis. Some of Mitt Romney?s former foes have yet to endorse him as the Republicans? presidential nominee. Santorum campaigned hard against Romney and the health care overhaul he signed into law as Massachusetts governor. Conservatives cast it as a precursor to Democrats? national plan and Romney has vowed to repeal it. Santorum advisers say he will not back Romney until he is convinced that Romney is committed to upending it, as well as ensuring conservatives? views are represented in the party?s platform and in Romney?s campaign. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Cramerton, N.C., Wednesday, April 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

FILE - In this April 5, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron?Paul, R-Texas, gestures while speaking at the University of California at Berkeley, Calif. Some of Mitt Romney?s former foes have yet to endorse him as the Republicans? presidential nominee. The congressman from Texas is still in the race and hasn?t yet recognized Romney as the party?s nominee. He is pushing a libertarian message of ending the Federal Reserve, returning the country?s currency to the gold standard and reducing the United States? involvement around the globe. Romney disagrees with those positions, likely precluding an endorsement from Paul. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Rick Santorum wants to ensure the GOP's policy platform represents conservatives' interests. Newt Gingrich wants help retiring his campaign debt and repairing his reputation.

Both Republicans are expected to endorse their former rival Mitt Romney ? and signal to their backers to fall in line behind the party's presumptive nominee ? but each wants assurances that Romney will deliver for them. Neither is rushing toward the task.

Meanwhile, it doesn't appear that Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is going to go that way. Paul is still in the race and hasn't yet recognized Romney as the party's nominee. The tea party favorite and former Libertarian presidential nominee seems unlikely to endorse given deep differences with Romney on economic and foreign policy issues.

Romney plans to meet Santorum on Friday and Gingrich plans to endorse him this week, an end-of-primary dance that happens every four years once the party settles on a nominee.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, quit the race April 10 but has stopped short of publicly embracing Romney as the GOP's standard bearer after a bitter primary season that featured Santorum calling Romney "the worst Republican in the country" to run against Obama.

Not long after, Santorum was telling CNN's Piers Morgan about Romney, "It's very clear that he's going to be the Republican nominee and I'm going to be for the Republican nominee and we're going to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama." Morgan could not goad him into a proper endorsement.

Gingrich all but bowed out last week, saying: "It's clear Romney is the nominee and the focus should be on defeating Obama. We should not focus on defeating ourselves."

He plans to officially end his campaign in the coming days and endorse Romney.

Romney, for his part, has been working to bring the party together after a bruising primary season, and nods from Santorum and Gingrich could help mend those wounds. Both Santorum and Gingrich have fervent followings among conservatives who make up the base of the party and who generally view Romney skeptically because of his positions on a host of issues.

Romney has changed his position on bedrock issues such as abortion and gay rights. He supported the 2008 Wall Street bailout that angered conservatives and paved the way for the rise of the tea party. And he signed a health care overhaul as governor that provided the groundwork for Democrats' national law that requires all Americans to buy insurance or face a fine. Romney's health care overhaul in Massachusetts required health care coverage.

That's the primary issue Santorum plans to discuss Friday when he meets privately with Romney.

"We want to make sure he doesn't replace it with any kind of mandate," Santorum adviser Hogan Gidley said. He added, "Rick just wants to have a candid, open conversation about making sure the folks in the 11 states that voted for him, and the conservative movement, have a voice in the Romney campaign."

Advisers caution that an endorsement ? or a public appearance for that matter ? is unlikely to immediately follow Santorum's private meeting with Romney.

Santorum is in no rush to rally to Romney's side. People close to Santorum said deep resentment remains between the men. But he also recognizes he risks looking like a sore loser and is expected to eventually support Romney.

Even so, key members of Santorum's team have rallied behind Romney in recent weeks. Mike Biundo, Santorum's former campaign manager, signed on with the Romney campaign in Boston to lead outreach to conservatives. Foster Friess, the driving force behind a pro-Santorum super PAC that kept his presidential ambitions afloat, has agreed to rejoin Romney's camp.

For Santorum, there are political considerations if he is to keep the door open to a future presidential run. He has tremendous sway among conservatives, and is mindful of his personal political brand. Embracing a candidate whom some conservatives don't trust could backfire in the long run because many of Santorum's supporters voted for him in hopes of preventing Romney from winning.

So, people close to Santorum said, he wants assurances from Romney that the party's platform would represent conservatives' interests, and that Romney would govern as a conservative.

Unlike Gingrich, Santorum also doesn't need Romney's help to retire campaign debt.

Gingrich has reported more than $4.5 million in debt. He is looking for other quick ways to pay off vendors and has rented out his e-mail lists to private businesses.

A better option would be a nod from Romney to his supporters that it's time to help the one-time foe, much as he did for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who bowed out last summer and locked arms with his rival. Romney thanked him with a check for $2,500 ? the maximum personal donation allowed ? as did at least 12 other family members.

Gingrich also leaves the GOP campaign with his reputation battered. He is looking to repair his standing as one of the party's intellectual heavyweights. Romney, now the party's leader, could afford him that platform.

But Gingrich hasn't yet committed to a joint appearance with Romney. He might just do it on his own and be done with it. Understated endorsements have been the norm this year.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced he was backing Romney in a written statement, and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Romney without Romney at his side.

Associated Press

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Dan Savage Clarifies Condemnation of "Pansy Ass" Christians

Dan Savage - the activist responsible for the It Gets Better campaign in response to bullying - stirred up a bit of controversy this week when he gave a speech at the National High School Journalist Conference in Seattle and told those in attendance:

We can learn to “learn to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about gay people.”

Savage went on to compare these passages to those regarding shell fish, menstruation and, especially, slavery, saying the bible is a "pro-slavery document," but we've grown to look past those parts while honoring what's really important within its pages.

Watch video excerpts of the lecture now, as about a dozen attendees get up and walk out in response to Savage's comments:

Dan Savage on the Bible: Ignore Homosexual BS!

“It’s funny, as someone who’s on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible, how pansy-ass some people react when you push back,” he said to students leaving in protest, although Savage apologized for this phrasing in a blog post on Sunday, writing:

I would like to apologize for describing that walk out as a pansy-a---- move. I wasn’t calling the handful of students who left pansies (2800+ students, most of them Christian, stayed and listened), just the walk-out itself. But that’s a distinction without a difference—kinda like when religious conservatives tells their gay friends that they ‘love the sinner, hate the sin.’

They’re often shocked when their gay friends get upset because, hey, they were making a distinction between the person (lovable!) and the person’s actions (not so much!). But gay people feel insulted by ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ because it is insulting. Likewise, my use of ‘pansy-a----’ was insulting, it was name-calling, and it was wrong. And I apologize for saying it.

But is Savage sorry for his analysis of the bible? No.

“I did not attack Christianity. I attacked hypocrisy," he says.

SHOULD Savage apologize? You tell us:

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Helpful Household Tips for Asthma Sufferers | What is Health and ...

If you suffer from asthma there are many helpful household tips that can noticeably improve your symptoms. Puffing, coughing and lack of breath can be triggered by household allergenic substances for example the dust mite. The suggestions listed in this article are what most doctors would suggest, however you need to seek categorical medical advice for your particular situation from a certified medical practitioner.

Is your asthma due to household allergenic substances?

The only way to know for certain is to do a skin prick test. The skin prick test involves injecting a touch of different allergens into your skin and seeing which cause a reaction. This is the definitive test and is generally carried out by an allergy specialist. But you might consider the possibility you?re affected by household allergens if you suffer from the following things: your symptoms deterioriate at night while in bed, your symptoms are exacerbated whilst at home, you are feeling better when outside.

Start off with the bedding

One of the most problematic areas pertaining to household allergens is the bedding. This is due to the fact that dust mites live off shed human epidermis cells and the bed collects most of these. So asthmatics often report a nightly wheeze or cough. In order to treat your bedding you must make certain that your bedding (pillow covers, duvet covers, mattress covers) are made from allergen proof material, often a manmade of some kind. This could forestall the allergenic substances from living in the base mattresses or pillows and they can be simply washed. Dust mites will be killed off in hot washes. The bedding should be replaced and washed once or more per week. Additionally, the blanket should be made from a synthetic material rather than down as these are more easy to wash and less sure to harbour antigens.

When changing the bedding the mattress should additionally be vacuumed using a special HEPA vacuum cleaner that traps the allergenic substances. The asthmatic person should not be the one performing the vacuuming so as to prevent any flare-ups.

Get rid of curtains

Heavy curtains can also harbour dust mites and other allergenic substances such as molds. Wherever possible you need to consider removing curtains and replacing them with blinds or window shutters. In the case of serious allergic asthma you must definitely replace the curtains. In less severe cases you should at least frequently wash the curtains in hot water each fortnight and leave them out to dry completely. The curtains located in the bedroom are the most critical ones to treat.

Carpets and Allergies

While often carpets get held responsible for accumulation of household antigens, this is the less problematic aspect for asthmatics mostly. Again, carpets in the bedroom should be removed if remotely possible and definitely removed in severe cases. Carpet do become very soiled and filthy since often they are neglected. Soil builds up in time and changes the color, appearance and texture of the carpet and can also hold bacteria, molds and dust mites.

If required, you must consider removing carpets and working with other flooring solutions. However frequently householders like the look and feel of carpets and might prefer to keep them. If that?s so it is really critical to care for them properly to stop filth, dirt and dangerous allergenic substances from building up. The minimum care programme advised by professionals like Parramatta Carpet Cleaning is to vacuum at least once a week with a HEPA filter fitted vacuum cleaner and steam clean or dry clean the carpets on a scheduled basis.

These simple household measures will actually help most asthma and allergic people. Going thru these steps will improve their symptoms and lead directly to a better and more fit quality of life. It can be hard to go thru the changes and get used to the new routine, but once you become used to it everyone will be much better off, fitter and more happy.

If you suffer from asthma or other allergic illnesses, it is very important to grasp the link between carpets and allergies. You may read some more about the advantages of carpet cleaning to discover why it is so important to properly care for your carpets.

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500 Characters Or Less: Shortmail Updates Its iPhone App With Offline Mode, ?Let?s Chill? Feature

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