National right-to-life figure may want to thank his political opponent

By Diane Silver

Breaking news out of my home state of Kansas is making me wonder if Phill Kline -- a figure much beloved by the national anti-abortion movement -- may just have had his rear saved by a most unlikely source.

That source is Paul Morrison, the man who decimated Kline in the race for Kansas attorney general in November.

Just before Kline left office in December, the Republican filed 30 misdemeanor counts against Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita abortion provider who is much hated by the far right. Tiller is one of the few doctors in the country who does late-term abortions.

At noon, Morrison announced that he has tossed all 30 of Kline's charges, but is filing 19 other counts against Tiller. All of the charges -- both Kline's and Morrison's -- are misdemeanors.

Morrison and his office claim that Kline botched the charges he filed against Tiller. They claim that Kline and his staff did both an unethical and sloppy job.

If Morrison and company are correct, then it's likely that Kline's attempt to prosecute Tiller would have failed. If Kline's purpose is to attack, wound and otherwise keep Tiller from working, then filing a poorly prepared case wouldn't have done that.

It is too early to tell whether Kline, Morrison or neither of them are right or have done a good job. It will, however, be interesting to see the results of Morrison's case against Tiller.

Why is Kline important nationally? Simply put, his national constituency in the anti-abortion movement means that he could one day make the leap from Kansas politics to a truly national stage. Of course, if Morrison is right that Kline seriously botched the Tiller case, then that move might become a difficult one to make.

More details of Morrison's charges against Tiller are at Kansas Voice.
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PHOTO: Phill Kline, current district attorney of Johnson County.

Gitmo's future might be in Kansas

By Diane Silver

There is no sign that the Bushies might ever consider closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. If they do, one likely location for a future "war on terror" prison could be Kansas.

That could be a good thing, or bad thing. Right now, though, it looks like the targeted military prison couldn't handle the influx of new prisoners.

I talk about my experiences at the likely site of a new "Gitmo" and reveal more at Kansas Voice.

What's next for Kansas' new domestic partner registry

Both the mundane and, let's say, the profane are expected in the next few months now that the Lawrence City Commission has passed a domestic partner registry.

The registry is the first in the Sunflower State. Although only residents of Lawrence are allowed to register, the city's action is still significant.

Find out more at Kansas Voice.

BREAKING NEWS: City passes 1st domestic partner registry in Kansas history

By Diane Silver

With no discussion and taking mere minutes to do it, The Lawrence City Commission passed the the domestic partner registry.

This third and final vote made the proposal official. Once again, the vote was 4-1 with the only no vote belonging to Commissioner Mike Amyx.

For the first time in Kansas history, same-sex couples have a means of getting public acknowledgment of their relationships.

The registry goes into effect Aug. 1. Details on the new registry can be found in the approved ordinance.

The vote was a tad anti-climactic. Last week the commission room was packed with opponents. Before it was packed with proponents, who spilled out into the City Hall lobby. This week opponents of the proposal were nowhere to be found.

For full details see Kansas Voice.

Kansas Voice: Gay Kansas and the Greensburg tornado

Wherein Kansas Voice looks at the devastation of Greensburg and neighboring areas, how it has impacted local LGBT people and straight allies, and the incredible respect shown to one gay man who lost the last bits of his life in the tornado.

A Kansas Voice Sampler: 8 wonders, bad Lance Kinzer & help for Greensburg

By Diane Silver

Over at the Kansas Voice, I'm taking on the good, the bad and the helpful of the Sunflower State.

What's So Cool about Kansas? Let Me Count the Ways.
The Eight Wonders of Kansas & a blogger lists the good, bad and ugly of the state.

Kinzer Says He Won't Stop Trying to Ban Domestic Partner Registries
Lawrence moves forward. Lance gets cranky.

Kansas Restaurants Serve Up Food to Help Greensburg
Thursday is the day to eat at select Kansas restaurants that have pledged to give a percentage of their proceeds to help the victims of the Greensburg tornado.
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PHOTO: A slice of Harland Schuster's photo of the Gyp Hills Scenic Drive, one of the candidates for the Eight Wonders of Kansas contest. Visit the Kansas Sampler Foundation web site to see the rest of the photo.

Blog News: A new "Kansas Voice" & a more national focus for In This Moment

By Diane Silver

I'm playing around with something new, and I hope you all will tell me if this is a great idea or a decidedly stupid one.

What I'm going to do is to work to give In This Moment more of a national and international focus, while still maintaining a place for Kansas news and commentary.

I'm doing this because non-Kansas readers tell me that when they sample In This Moment, they sometimes go away for good because it looks we're just Kansas focused. I can see how that can happen given that I have been known to obsess a bit about the Sunflower State. It is my home after all.

But I and my co-bloggers have always meant to give In This Moment a much broader geographic focus. I think that's particularly important as we head into a presidential election year, and we all struggle to figure out who should get our vote.

Bottom line: I've created a new blog called Kansas Voice. I'll put a link to this at the top of In This Moment. I'll also continue to post links to Kansas stories on In This Moment, but the posts will be mere links, and thus, won't edge out news from the greater world outside of the Prairie.

As I said, this is an experiment. Let me know what you think.