Free Republic

ABC News, NPR and PBS journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts has passed away at age 75, according to a network announcement. "Cokie Roberts will be dearly missed," said James Goldston, president of ABC News. "Cokie's kindness, generosity, sharp intellect and thoughtful take on the big issues of the day made ABC a better place and all of us better journalists." From 1996-2002, Roberts co-anchored ABC’s "This Week" with Sam Donaldson. She also served as a political commentator and chief congressional analyst for "This Week" during her tenure at ABC dating back to 1988. SNIP

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Justin G. Liverman, 24, of Morehead City, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today for his role in a harassment scheme that targeted senior U.S. government officials. Liverman’s plea admits guilt to a conspiracy to commit unauthorized computer intrusions, identity theft, and telephone harassment. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, beginning in November 2015, Liverman conspired to attempt to intimidate and harass U.S. officials and their families by gaining unauthorized access to victims’ online accounts, among other things. For example, Liverman publicly posted online documents and personal information unlawfully obtained from a victim’s personal...

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- There are atheists and liberals, some who are both, who believe there is no need for God in order for morality to be maintained in a society. They argue that people can act morally apart from a supreme authority. I agree that people can act morally apart from God's standard. However, the real question is why should they? If there is no supreme authority -- no God -- then why behave morally? If there is no God, there are no objective standards for moral behavior. The logical progression leads to anarchy. Everyone does what is right...

One of President Obama’s most controversial judicial nominees will finally get a hearing Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee considers Michael Boggs for a lifetime appointment to Georgia’s federal bench.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- God once used a donkey to alert a wayward prophet that he was on the wrong track. Could it be the Lord is using a bear, a Russian Bear, to do the same with the nations of the West, in particular the United States? "Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values," Russian President Valdimir Putin said in his state of the nation address in mid-December, The Washington Times reported. Putin continued, "Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in...

Former Rep. Lindy Boggs, a plantation-born Louisianan who used her soft-spoken grace to fight for civil rights during nearly 18 years in Congress after succeeding her late husband in the House, died Saturday. She was 97. Boggs, who later served three years as ambassador to the Vatican during the Clinton administration, died of natural causes at her home in Chevy Chase, Md., according to her daughter, ABC News journalist Cokie Roberts. Boggs' years in Congress started with a special election in 1973 to finish the term of her husband, Thomas Hale Boggs Sr., whose plane disappeared over Alaska six months...

"The right to free speech and the unrealistic expectation to never be offended cannot coexist," rightly observed Philip Sharp. It seems, however, that the "unrealistic expectation" cited by the retired U.S. Army Ranger and author is being viewed increasingly as a right. The belief that individuals have a "right" to not be offended seems to be gaining momentum in the United States. As this concept grows in popularity it is set to challenge one of America's first freedoms -- the freedom of speech. If the "right" against offense ever triumphs, if it is ever enshrined in law, free speech, of...

When Niels Chew is installed next week as the newest honorary alcalde of Sonoma and handed his silver-headed cane as a symbol of authority, he can expect to have an easier time than pioneer John H. Nash, who was elected Sonoma alcalde in 1846 shortly after the California Republic had ceded its existence to American military forces. SNIP When a regiment of New York volunteers headed by Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson arrived in California in March 1847, one of its seven companies (Company C) was ordered to Sonoma under the command of Capt. George E. Brackett, who billeted his men...

Newly elected Hall of Famer Wade Boggs made millions hitting baseballs but now spends tens of thousands killing scores of exotic animals - including some critics charge are ``threatened'' species - as a member of an elite safari club.``He's a pretty vile individual contrary to his deity status in baseball,'' said animal rights activist Bob MacKay. Other SCI members include retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former Seattle Seahawks owner Kenneth Behring and former President George H.W. Bush.

Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. Boggs, a five-time American League batting champion for the Boston Red Sox (news), was selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National League MVP for the Chicago Cubs...

Sports Boggs, Sandberg Elected to Hall of Fame 13 minutes ago By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National...

What did Sen. John Kerry know and when did he know it about a plot to assassinate pro-Vietnam war U.S. Senators hatched at a November 1971 Kansas City meeting of the group Vietnam Veterans Against America? According to presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley, that's the question Sen. Kerry needs to answer. If it turns out that the likely Democratic presidential nominee knew of the treasonous plan, Brinkley says he had an obligation to go to the authorities. "The question is: did Kerry quit [VVAW] before Kansas City or did he quit after Kansas City," Brinkley told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg. "If...

Senate Democratic staffers and a judge appointed by President Carter made extraordinary efforts last year to ensure that a liberal majority sat on the federal appeals court that heard the Michigan affirmative action cases, according to internal Democratic staff memos.

<p>Granted, there is upheaval in the world and there are battles where a great deal is at stake -- life itself. All the more precious, then, the minor skirmishes on the home front that mean a great deal in a small way and remind us of how lucky we are to feel innocent hatreds, from summer to summer, at the ballpark.</p>

Mary Landrieu touts Boggs endorsement Posted on December 4, 2002 NEW ORLEANS - Senate re-election candidate Mary Landrieu spent midday Tuesday eating red beans and rice with dockworkers at the same time her opponent and President George W. Bush were raising $1.3 million at a GOP fund-raiser luncheon. In tow for much of the day was fellow Democrat, Louisiana's senior senator, John Breaux. "We don't have fine china. We have plastic forks, not fancy silverware ... because many people we're talking to can't afford $20 for lunch let alone $2,000 a couple," Breaux said after eating a small plate of...