It is essential to cultivate a sense of romance if intimacy is to flourish in a marriage. But romance between a husband and wife is precarious. Like the flame of a lone candle burning in the wind, it can easily flicker and die. Your "flame" must be tended with the greatest of care — on Valentine's Day and every other day of the year.

"My Lover Is Mine and I Am His"

The word romance conjures up different images for each of us, and our expectations of what constitutes a romantic relationship also vary. Women are inclined to describe romance as the things their mate does to make them feel loved, protected, and respected. Wives, especially those married to busy husbands, crave the excitement of romantic encounters. They long for "some enchanted evening, across a crowded room." Flowers, compliments, nonsexual touching, and love notes are all steps in this direction. So is helping out at home. A man who shares in the duties of cooking, cleaning, and picking up the kids after basketball practice is much more likely to win the affection of his wife. Read On

COMMUTE SENTENCES Like every history-conscious president before him, President Bush has spent his final weeks in office shaping what he hopes to be his legacy. In short, he wants to be remembered for advancing America's security. In last night's final primetime national address, he described how after al Qaeda attacked America, "most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before Nine-Eleven. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our Nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe." He's taken this message of protecting Americans to interviews with Mike Wallace, Brit Hume, and Sean Hannity.

He even sat down with Larry King.

Yet there's one thing he's still not done: Commute the sentences of U.S. Border Patrol Agents Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.

As Laura Ingraham Show listeners already know, Ramos & Compean were arrested and jailed after shooting an illegal alien along the El Paso border in 2005. The victim, not that he deserves such a label, was a drug smuggler fleeing for Mexico. Read On

Tiger Woods, who has tried to stay out of politics during his ascent to one of the world's most famous athletes, has accepted an invitation to speak at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday as part of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration festivities.

Woods posted a short statement on his website to say he would speak at "We Are One," a concert and celebration that will be broadcast live on HBO and feature entertainers such as Beyonce, U2, Stevie Wonder and Garth Brooks, along with appearances by Denzel Washington and Martin Luther King III.

"I am honoured that I was invited to this historic event and look forward to participating in Sunday's festivities," Woods said.Read On

Inauguration Day is tomorrow. And, if you are planning to witness the historic events live as President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, you should have left early or you just might not get there. Despite projections of millions of people making the trip to the nation's capital to witness the inauguration festivities first hand, all of the bridges leading into D.C. and numerous roads in the city will be closed that day. If you are planning on taking the metro train, beware, several metro stops will be closed as well."Federal officials have turned the nation's capital into a police state," contends Chris Stirewalt, political editor of The Washington Examiner. "Baghdad would appear to have more freedom on January 20th than people in Virginia & D.C." Will America's next president continue to be granted special treatment beyond that afforded his predecessors after Inauguration Day? If so, how far beyond the president will the exceptions apply and how polarized and politicized will we remain? Recently, Quin Hillyer, senior editor of The American Spectator magazine and associate editor of The Washington Examiner, joined CFIF's Renee Giachino to discuss "inauguration fever" and the importance of keeping government honest, among other issues. CFIF reporting.

Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 'Un-American' Tom Hanks, an Executive Producer for HBO’s controversial polygamist series “Big Love,” made his feelings toward the Mormon Church’s involvement in California's Prop 8 (which prohibits gay marriage) very clear at the show’s premiere party on Wednesday night.“The truth is this takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen,” he told Tarts. “There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them. I do not like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper, any of the 50 states in America, but here's what happens now. A little bit of light can be shed, and people can see who's responsible, and that can motivate the next go around of our self correcting Constitution, and hopefully we can move forward instead of backwards. So let's have faith in not only the American, but Californian, constitutional process.” When informed of the "Forrest Gump" star's comments, Kim Farah, a spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, told Tarts, "Expressing an opinion in a free and democratic society is as American as it gets." Hanks Hits Mormons

GODS LOVES HUNTERS understand it when the idolatrous PETA people who worship jackrabbits over Jesus get their panties in a wad over hunting. I expect it, I like it and—truth be told—I’d really miss it if they did not pop a blood vein in their forehead when smacked with the facts. However, lately I’ve been getting hate mail and weird looks from “Christians” who ardently believe that God, Jesus, Moses, John, Paul, George and Ringo (I know, they get them confused) are, supposedly, vehemently opposed to hunting animals (they’re right about McCartney). I have even had some sassy Christians say that fishing is evil because it hurts the fish. No kidding? I wouldn’t have thought that a hook in the mouth would hurt. They, therefore, conclude that since fish hooks hurt that Jesus would never fish nor be friendly toward those who do. Really? A Theology of Hunting: Why God Loves Hunting & Hunters

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