Free Republic

Deputy Assembly Speaker Neil Cohen is being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography, according to two of his Democratic colleagues who said they brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. In a joint statement, Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (both D-Union) confirmed they alerted authorities to the possibility Cohen (D-Union) had child pornography on his computers. "As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible," Lesniak and Cryan said. "While it was our proactive steps that led to the investigation to this...

A New York City cabbie who operates an extremist Islamic anti-American Web site that features violent images — including mocking the deaths of GIs in Iraq — says he’s doing the country a service by “exposing the truth.” Yousef al-Khattab, who runs RevolutionMuslim.com from his home in Queens, told FOX News that he also wants the U.S. to embrace Islam and Sharia Law, which prohibits alcohol and can include stoning to death or severe flogging for pre-marital sex and adultery. On any given day, log on to al-Khattab's site and a host of startling images appear: — The Statue of...

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen has said he thinks the 9th Congressional District has gotten beyond race in electing its representatives. But independent candidate Jake Ford seemed intent on proving him wrong Thursday. He kicked off the congressional campaign by blasting Cohen, who is white, and saying Tennessee deserves to have at least one black congressman. Still hot from his loss to Cohen in 2006, Ford, younger brother of former congressman Harold Ford Jr., also railed against the news media -- specifically The Commercial Appeal -- for not giving him, or his record, a fair shake in the last election. "This...

According to a report in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, [Nikki] Tinker “declined to answer” questions about the flier, which was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League. The flier reportedly states that “Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen and the JEWS HATE Jesus. So Memphis Christians must united and support ONE Black Christian to represent Memphis in the United States Congress in 2008.” [Memphis Commercial Appeal, 2/13/08 and 2/11/08]

Amsterdam (2 January) - Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen says the authorities have failed in their dealings with problematic youths; so far there has been no decrease in violence. The mayor says co-ordination between the various social services leaves much to be desired. Many low-income families have too many, for-the-most-part ineffective, social workers. Mr Cohen also pointed to the gap between the poorer neighbourhoods on the periphery of Amsterdam and the upscale canal zone in the centre. On New Year's Eve groups of Moroccan youths attacked a police station in Amsterdam, breaking windows and setting fire to several police cars. There...

What could be called "The Huckabee Moment" occurred Sunday morning when ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked the former Arkansas governor, suddenly and ominously the front-runner in Iowa's GOP contest, if Mitt Romney is a Christian. Mike Huckabee knew precisely what was being asked of him and he also knew, because he is a preacher, what the right - not the clever, mind you - answer should be. But Huckabee merely smiled that wonderful smile of his and punted. This, with apologies to George W. Bush, is the soft demagoguery of low expectations. Until just recently, the expectations have indeed been low...

Charges of racism and dirty politics filled the airwaves and jammed phone lines Wednesday after a public showdown between a group of Baptist pastors and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen. The Memphis Democrat's appearance at Tuesday's meeting of the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association was a hot topic on talk radio, said numerous pastors who also said they fielded calls all day on the subject. The discussions followed an excoriation of Cohen by some black ministers for his support for a federal hate crimes bill. But the freshman congressman's endorsement of that bill was eclipsed by charges that Cohen cannot adequately represent...

Upset by Rep. Steve Cohen's support for a recent hate crimes bill, a group of black Baptist pastors criticized the freshman congressman Tuesday and called the bill unnecessary. The Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association, which claims more than 400 members from Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, issued a statement Tuesday that reads in part: "The Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association stands in total opposition to any legislation that will silence or restrict freedom of speech on the part of the churches. It is our belief that the new Hate Crime Bill is a subtle attempt on the part of the gay community to...

WASHINGTON -- Before returning to Memphis on Sunday after a marathon weekend House session, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., signed on as a co-sponsor of bills to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney and to censure both Cheney and President Bush. The impeachment resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, in April and has 18 co-sponsors, including the four it picked up in the last week. Advertisement In a telephone interview from Memphis on Monday, Cohen said he and his staff are working with former Reagan Justice Department lawyer Bruce Fein to draw up articles of impeachment against Atty....

WASHINGTON -- A group of Memphis pastors is encouraging people to call and write the offices of U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., and other supporters of a hate crimes bill they believe restricts their right to preach against homosexuality. The bill, which has already passed the House, provides federal assistance to local law enforcement to prosecute hate crimes. It is expected to come up for a Senate vote this week. "It's a very hot potato," said the Rev. Chester Berryhill of the New Philadelphia Baptist Church near Poplar and Mendenhall. "This thing is bigger than the issue of abortion or...

Recent scientific research and DNA testing have shown that today’s descendents of the biblical priesthood known as Kohanim are genetically related. Although the descendents of Aharon, the brother of Moses, have spread throughout the world over the past 3,300 years, the members of this extended family are being invited to participate in the first “family reunion” held since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Participants from across the world will join tribe members for a stimulating and educational experience at the first-ever international gathering of Kohanim and the tribe of Levi, July 15-19, 2007 in Jerusalem....

<p>A newspaper in Washington state announced yesterday it was dumping the "The Ethicist" column of New York Times writer Randy Cohen after he was fingered for forking over campaign cash to the liberal MoveOn.org.</p> <p>The Spokane Spokesman-Review had planned to start running Cohen's nationally syndicated column today but instead spiked his prose from its pages after learning of the payout.</p>

WASHINGTON -- Two and a half hours into her testimony about U.S. attorney firings before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, former Justice Department liaison to the White House Monica Goodling was questioned by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. Much of his questioning dealt with Goodling's education at the Regent University School of Law founded by television evangelist Pat Robertson. Goodling was counsel to Atty. Gen Alberto Gonzales before resigning in April. She testified after being offered immunity from prosecution for any wrongdoing she might admit. Cohen: The mission of the law school you attended, Regent, is "to bring to bear...

Sen. Sam Brownback wants Congress to apologize to American Indians for the egregious federal actions committed against them, while a freshman House member wants the same courtesy extended to black Americans. Mr. Brownback said he has introduced the legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses, the bill being passed out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs both times, but he has never been able to get the bill to the floor. "The arguments against the bill are always that there were atrocities committed on both sides and that apologies lead to financial remedies, but this bill doesn't deal with...

American Jewish comedian Jerry Seinfeld was ordered by the court to pay a Sabbath-observant realtor her fee, which he withheld due to her not having answered her phone on Saturday. The realtor, Tamara Cohen, was unavailable when Seinfeld tried to reach her on a Saturday in February, 2005, according to the New York Post. The comedian and star of the highly successful sitcom bearing his name wanted to see a luxury apartment on 82nd street but could not get in touch with Cohen. Seinfeld’s estate manager had visited the apartment with Cohen in January 2005, when the listing broker for...

Let's talk about Borat. I finally caught up with it at my local theater here in Rancho Mirage not long ago. It made me laugh a few times, but basically I hated it. Here's why. 1.) The auteur and star of the movie, Sacha Baron Cohen, is a Jew of high degree in England and now in Hollywood. But much of the movie is viciously anti-Semitic. This includes not just some but many "jokes" about killing Jews, about how Jews are the devil, about how Jews will kill for money, about how Jews are like cockroaches (the last a direct...

By Dan Whitcomb | December 14, 2006 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen was "stunned" to learn that a U.S. high school choir had been ordered to stop singing Christmas carols at a holiday show because she is half-Jewish, her mother said on Thursday. Article Tools Printer friendly E-mail to a friend Other sports RSS feed Available RSS feeds Most e-mailed Share on Facebook Save this article powered by Del.icio.us More: Sports section | Latest sports news | Globe front page | Boston.com Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts A city official accompanied...

A "silent night" as carolers told to stop singing at skating show RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern the skater would be offended because she's Jewish. A city staff member, accompanied by a police officer, approached the Rubidoux High School Madrigals at the Riverside Outdoor Ice Skating Rink just as they launched into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" and requested that the troupe stop singing, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Thursday. Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and 2006...

In his upcoming book about the horrors of the 20th century, "The War of the World," the British historian Niall Ferguson has a chapter called "The Pity of Peace." It is about 1938, when World War II loomed, and Britain -- especially and importantly Britain -- did precious little to stop it. The warnings of Churchill -- "believe me, it may be the last chance . . ." -- were ignored, and the government under Neville Chamberlain obstinately pursued a policy that forever after made the word appeasement one of the most odious in history. Somehow, though, it looks like...

A Palestinian activist and former college professor who has been in federal custody in Chicago since September has been indicted on a single criminal contempt charge for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating the terrorist group Hamas. Federal prosecutors in Chicago announced the indictment Friday against Abdelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar, the same day U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Chicago FBI Agent-in-Charge Tom Kneir paid a visit to the heavily Palestinian Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview. Ashqar, 45, a Palestinian native and former adjunct business professor at Howard University, had been granted immunity from prosecution for his testimony by U.S....