Free Republic

In many states, extra punishment is meted out to those who commit crimes against others because of their race or religion. Such hate-crime laws elevate the heinousness of crimes in which people are targeted because of their identity, their belonging to a group. While hate-crime laws often refer to ethnicity or disability or gender, Louisiana is about to do something different. The state is poised to become the first in the nation where public-safety personnel will be a protected class under hate-crime law - a move that comes amid a simmering national debate about police shootings and whether that debate...

Say what you want about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the man liked his Hennessy. For two years in the mid-1990s, he was the world's largest buyer of Hennessy Paradis cognac, importing up to $800,000 of the stuff a year, both to quaff himself and to give as gifts, and his death has caused a resurgence in discussion and commentary on his expensive cognac habits. So does Hennessy appreciate all of the free advertising provided by the coveted Dear Leader seal of approval? "There's been no negative feedback, but it hasn't affected sales either," Jennifer Yu, Director of Communications...