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Washday at Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's house

Wichita Eagle cartoonist Richard Crowson says it all. Crowson calls his cartoon "Washday."

Questions, answers & a call for an investigation of Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline

By Diane Silver

More news today on Phill Kline's church fundraising strategy...

* A Washington D.C. watchdog group,Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, called for an IRS investigation of Kline's church fundraising campaign. The head of the group called Kline's actions "egregious conduct."

* One clarification came out in Kline's favor. He spoke in July at the Light of the World Christian Center in Topeka. At that time, the minister at the church asked his congregation to write checks to the church, so that the church could write one check to Kline. The church sent that check to SWT Communications, a company owned by the Klines. SWT donated to Kline's campaign in June, the month before he spoke at Light of the World.

* Kline confirmed to The Kansas City Star that his wife's company often receives money from churches where he speaks.

Kline, who often preaches at churches throughout the state, said that congregations often make what he called "love offerings" to SWT Communications, operated by his wife, Deborah Kline. The company produces radio programs and church events and retreats. Kline's preaching is often featured during the events, he said.

SWT, by the way, is a money-making company, not a religious nonprofit.

Here's a key question: How much money has SWT gotten from these churches? What happened to that money?

The detail on Kline's church fundraising was revealed by former Kansas Attorney General Bob

Stephan said he resigned as a special assistant to Kline because of it. The Star reported:

Stephan said he also was bothered by the offering taken up at churches for the company owned by Kline's wife. He said he asked for a written accounting of the money and was told by Kline's staff that he wouldn't get one.

"And I said 'That's the end of that,'" Stephan said of his decision to quit.

The Topeka Capital-Journal also has an interesting story.

Advance voting has begun in Kansas

Advance voting started Wednesday. If you can't get to the polls on election day, get a ballot now and vote!

The key remaining dates in this election:

Monday, October 23rd * Deadline to register to vote

Friday, November 3rd * Deadline to apply for an advance ballot to be mailed

The most important date of all:

Tuesday, November 7th * General Election day

For more information about the process of voting in the Sunflower State, go to Vote Kansas.

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has descended to "bottom-feeder" politics

By Diane Silver

I didn't write it. The Wichita Eagle editorial board did, declaring that Kline Resorts to Bottom-Feeder Politics.

It was all about Kline's attempt to smear his Democratic opponent, Paul Morrison, and also oddly enough, about weasels.

Since the poor tiny animal was coming in for such an attack, I thought I'd post a photo of a white weasel. It's kind of cute, actually. Oh, and as far as I can tell, weasels aren't bottom feeders.

To steal a line from a wonderful journalist... and so it goes.

Kansas Politics: Bad call by Paul Morrison

By Diane Silver

I like Paul Morrison. I think he'll make a much better attorney general than Phill Kline. Morrison actually has the experience, and the character to do the job.

However, I agree with Rhonda Holman at the Wichita Eagle's blog. Morrison's campaign did go too far in a recent TV commercial.

Holman wrote:

But Paul Morrison, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, overdid it with his television ad about Kline's hiring of Bryan Brown to be the office's consumer protection chief. The ad's mug shot and portentous text would lead many voters to conclude that Brown's 12 arrests were for violent felonies

Brown's arrests were for anti-choice protests.

I think anti-choice protestors are awful, but I also believe in the right to protest. I've never equated getting arrested, for example, for an anti-war protest with being a felon. If I have the right to protest from the left wing and possibly get arrested and not be seen as a dangerous criminal, then the same has to go for the right wing of our lovely country.

There are so many questions one can raise about Kline that a campaign doesn't have to stretch to do that.

I've worked on campaigns, I know the temptation to go a bit far, but it's always a bad idea. At the very least, it undermines your own credibility.

Kansas Transformation: Yet more on the Republican exodus

By Diane Silver

Once again, we got the big story today about how moderate Kansas Republicans are really peeved at the Religious Right wing of their party, and how top GOP leaders have jumped ship to the Democratic Party.

This is a valid and important story that I worry may be getting a bit overblown right now. Don't get me wrong. This is a real change in red-state Kansas, but how much of a change is actually occurring remains to be seen.

I'd be a lot more impressed with The Washington Post if the story hadn't already been reported for months now by everyone from the Kansas media, to bloggers, to Salon.com.

It's fascinating to watch the national media pick up on this story. I hadn't realized before how long it takes for this kind of information to filter out to the mainstream.

This is your brain on drugs

By Nancy Jane Moore

The Society for Neuroscience heard a report on Wednesday about a drug that may ease the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

The drug? Marijuana.

In fact, the study apparently provides data supporting an earlier report that people who smoked a lot of pot in the 1960s and 70s seem to be at lower risk for Alzheimer's than others of the same age.

Apparently marijuana does affect your brain. Only instead of destroying your memory, as all the public interest commercials say, it makes it better. Getting stoned in your youth turns out to be one of the best things you could do for your old age.

Kind of jerks the rug out from under that old joke about those who remember the Sixties weren't there, doesn't it?

According to the story I read on the Reuters news wire on Wednesday (no longer available online), the study was conducted on rats by a professor at Ohio State University. The study showed that marijuana reduces inflammation in the brain.

New Scientist magazine also has a report on the study.

Actually, this is not the first research on the subject. The BBC published information back in 2005 about a Spanish study that was written up in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Here's the thing in the news reports that makes me believe that this is real science and not something from the Onion that got loose accidentally: Researchers are trying to figure out how to make a version of the drug that won't get people high. In fact, the BBC piece includes a comment from one of the Spanish researchers, Dr. Susanne Sorensen:

We would warn the public against taking marijuana as a way of preventing Alzheimer's.

Why? What's wrong with a drug that makes you feel good while making you healthier? Beats the hell out of most drug side effects.

In all seriousness, these studies provide more evidence that marijuana is, in fact, a valuable medical resource. Certainly there is enough evidence of medical value to encourage much more research. Yet our government is still going to war against it -- even prosecuting those who are using it to combat the nausea of chemotherapy.

That doesn't make much sense to me. But then, this is the same government that subsidizes tobacco farming. And tobacco really is bad for you.

The moral of this story? Take all lectures on morality with a grain of salt. It is possible for something to be pleasurable and good for you.

And don't forget to inhale.

Torture is now legal in the United States

By Nancy Jane Moore

The detainee torture bill is now the law of the land. No one doubted that Bush would sign it, and he did so on Tuesday. Once the Senate caved in, there wasn't any way to stop it.

By the way, Bush didn't issue a signing statement with this law. Dan Froomkin reports that a reporter, surprised by the lack of a statement, observed, "This just seems like the kind of bill where there are a lot of things to be interpreted," to which Press Secretary Tony Snow replied, "They did a really good job this time."

That should be enough right there to tell you that Bush didn't compromise on anything. Sens. McCain, Lindsay, & Graham (R-Lapdogs) postured a bit, but they were apparently just putting on a show.

In fact, Froomkin also quotes this exchange from the press briefing:

Q: Do you think -- this has been described as a compromise. The President basically got everything he wanted, didn't he?
MR. SNOW: Pretty much, yes.

The only good news is the amount of criticism the law is getting. A lot of people seem to think it's going to run headlong into the Constitution. David G. Savage writes in the Los Angeles Times:

Many legal scholars predict the law's partial repeal of habeas corpus will be struck down as unconstitutional.

Savage quotes the relevant language from the law:

No court, justice or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined ... to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.

That last phrase is the one that gets me: "awaiting such determination." They don't even have to say you're an enemy combatant; they just have to say they're holding you while they're deciding whether to call you an enemy combatant. That's it. No rights.

The LA Times also piece provides a nice quote from Hofstra University Law Professor Eric M. Freedman, an expert on habeas corpus:

This is an outright slap at the Supreme Court, and it is heading for invalidation. ... This is a core principle of law that was established by the prisoners who were tossed into the Tower of London by the king, and it was preserved in the Constitution. Now, Congress is saying it doesn't apply to this disfavored group of prisoners.

I certainly agree with Professor Freedman's assessment of the law and I sure hope he's right about the Supreme Court. But because of earlier "compromises" on filibuster made by the so-called opposition party (that's D-Lapdogs), the court has moved farther to the extreme right than I would have ever thought possible. I hope they can still cobble together a majority who believe in due process of law.

Juan Cole on Informed Comment says Bush is becoming like the Borg. Any day now, he expects to hear the man say, "Resistance is futile." His explanation of the law gets right to the nub of the matter:

In other words, we have to be confident that George W. Bush is so competent, all-knowing, and inherently just that we can just trust him. If he says someone is an enemy combatant, then he or she is. No need to check with a judge about why he or she is being held. And then Bush can have the suspect tortured to make him confess, and can convict him on the basis of the coerced confession, all in secret.

Professor Jack Balkin on Balkinzation addresses the torture part of the bill. He says the bill doesn't actually make torture legal; it just makes it impossible to prosecute any of the torturers:

The bottom line is simple: The [Military Commissions Act] preserves rights against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, but it severs these rights from any practical remedy.

He goes on to say:

There are many things that are deeply distressing about the Military Commissions Act of 2006. One of the most distressing is its deeply cynical attitude about law. The President has created a new regime in which he is a law unto himself on issues of prisoner interrogations. He decides whether he has violated the laws, and he decides whether to prosecute the people he in turn urges to break the law. And all the while he insists that everything he does is perfectly legal, because, the way the law is designed, there is no one with authority to disagree.

It is a travesty of law under the forms of law. It is the accumulation of executive, judicial, and legislative powers in a single branch and under a single individual.

It is the very essence of tyranny.

I can't say it any better than that.

More detail & questions on Kansas attorney general deal

By Diane Silver

Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal's interview with former Attorney General Bob Stephan -- a Republican and former special assistant to Phill Kline.

Stephan raises troubling questions that shouldn't be lost in funny little headlines, such as the Capital-Journal used, "Kline Bedevils Stephan."

First, look at who is reporting this --> a GOP faithful who is a born-again Christian who was willing to work for Kline, and who just happens to be a former state attorney general.

Second, look at what Stephan is saying and at what Kline's people do NOT deny -->

1. Kline preached at a Topeka church.

2. The church's pastor told the congregation to write checks for Kline and told his congregation to make the checks out to the church.

3. The church wrote a check to a for-profit company owned by Kline's wife (or by both he and his wife. That point isn't clear yet.)

4. That company wrote a check to Kline's campaign.

I am not clear, yet, on the exact time of each event.

Third, this is important, Stephan says, because it makes it hard to tell who gave money to Kline's campaign. So far, no one is saying that laws were broken, but questions need to be asked about the details of these events.

The Capital-Journal reports:

In an interview, Kline said he wasn't required to make a public accounting of money he made while preaching. He also said none of the revenue generated through his for-profit corporation, SWT Communications Inc., had been moved into his re-election campaign. SWT stands for Staying With Truth.

"I can tell you SWT has not contributed to the campaign," Kline said.

However, his campaign spokeswoman later corrected Kline and revealed at least $1,181 from SWT was diverted this year to the campaign. That check was signed by Kline's wife, Deborah, who is president of SWT.

Former Kansas attorney general uncovers church incident & accuses Phill Kline of improper fundraising

A blockbuster story in the Lawrence Journal-World reports today that former Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephan resigned as special assistant to Phill Kline because of what Stephan says is improper fundraising.

Stephan told the Journal-World that he is most troubled by an incident where members of a Topeka congregation wrote checks to their church, which sent money to a for-profit business owned by Kline's wife. That business made a donation to Kline's campaign.

State officials said there is no evidence that a law was broken. Kline's people deny doing anything wrong.

Stephan is a Republican who served as attorney general from 1979 to 1991.

The entire story is worth reading, but I think the key part is buried. Here it is:

But Stephan said he was told by someone that after Kline spoke this summer at Light of the World Christian Center in Topeka, the minister asked congregants to write checks to the church, and then the church would write a check to SWT Communications, which produces radio spots about historical events that are sold across the state. (SWT Communications is owned by Kline's wife, Deborah.)

"That bothers me because the public doesn't know who is giving money to Phill Kline," Stephan said.

Stephan said he spoke with Kline's deputy chief Eric Rucker and former communications director Whitney Watson.

Stephan said they told him there was nothing wrong with the practice and they weren't going to change it, but that they wouldn't put their statements in writing, like he had asked.

At that point, "I said, 'Forget it, I'm off the train,'" Stephan said.

...Carol Williams, executive director of the Kansas Government Ethics Commission, said the state can't tell churches who they can give money to as long as "they're giving to the company, and that's where it stays," she said.

But, she said, it would be illegal for the church to give money to SWT Communications and for the company to then convert that to a donation to Kline's
campaign.

"You cannot give in the name of another," she said.

This is serious stuff. We need a deeper investigation into this to determine if anything illegal occurred.

Kansas Politics: Morrison's huge leap in polls comes from more exposure

Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty says Democrat Paul Morrison has taken a huge lead in the attorney general race simply because voters are getting to know him. (I kid you not.)

A poll just released by Survey USA shows Morrison with a 13-point lead over incumbent Republican Phill Kline. Last month, the same poll showed Kline with a slight lead.

The Lawrence Journal-World quoted Beatty, in part:

What has happened in the last month? First, Kline's campaign was sidetracked for a week defending and talking about the leaked campaign memo (about fundraising in church congregations). Kline also received some criticism for comparing a staffer with abortion protest arrests to Martin Luther King.

But likely the most important factor is that Paul Morrison introduced himself in debates, but more importantly in TV ads, to voters who didn't know who the heck he was. You see this in the geographical poll numbers.

Morrison barely increases his support in Eastern Kansas but his numbers skyrocket in Western Kansas and Wichita. In Eastern Kansas likely voters seem to have made up their minds about Kline and Morrison (and they favor Morrison by 13-16 pts).

But through his TV ads Morrison has been able to "talk" to Kansans outside of Johnson and Shawnee Counties, and according to the poll, some Republicans and moderates, upon seeing who this guy is, shifted their weak support for Kline to support for Morrison.

Note that I added paragraph breaks to make the comments more easy to read and provided some context.

Kansas Politics: 2nd Congressional District & incumbent Republican Jim Ryun are "in play"

By Diane Silver

I'll be honest. I never thought Democrat Nancy Boyda had even a whiff of a chance of taking ultra-conservative Republican Jim Ryun's seat in the 2nd District. But today comes yet another sign that a Boyda victory is at least in the realm of possibility.

The National Journal's Hotline editor in chief, Chuck Todd, has just put the Kansas 2nd in the "in play" list.

Todd expanded his list from 50 seats to 60 and ranked the 2nd District as #59. In writing about the impact of Democrats' new enthusiasm on the entire election, Todd notes:

So, for instance, in a place like Kansas-02, the Democrat already has 41 percent compared to the incumbent Republican's 45 percent. The undecideds are probably too Republican for the Democrat to win, but still, the numbers aren't lying right now.

This is the first sign that independent polling shows Boyda within striking distance. As Todd says, the question now is what the undecideds will do. I'm not as certain of the outcome as Todd is.

Even though the undecideds may include more registered Republicans than registered Democrats, that doesn't mean they're Jim Ryun, Religious Right Republicans. I would suspect -- and this is only a guess -- that if they were in Ryun's religious and political camp, they would already be supporting him.

However, what may well turn this race into a Ryun victory is the fact that his larger campaign war chest will allow him to bury Boyda under negative commercials. Ryun's nasty ads are already appearing on Topeka TV.

Hat tip to Siege Mentality for pointing me to the posting. Ole' Mentality has his own analysis of the situation.

Kansas Politics: Poll shows Paul Morrison with 13-point lead over Phill Kline for attorney general

A new Survey USA poll shows Democrat Paul Morrison surging past Republican Phill Kline in hotly contested race for attorney general.

In a poll taken for The Wichita Eagle and KWCH over the weekend, The Eagle reports:

If the election were held now, 56 percent of those polled said they would vote for Morrison, a Democrat, and 43 percent said they would vote for Kline, a Republican.

The margin of error is plus or minus 4.3 percent. A Survey USA poll last month showed Kline slightly ahead.

The Eagle reports:

Almost all of the momentum for Morrison -- a former Republican -- came from Republican voters, according to Survey USA.

The poll also showed that Morrison had a large lead among women voters.

Kansas Politics: Weekend poll shows Gov. Kathleen Sebelius leading by 13 percent

A new Survey USA poll still shows Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius with a commanding lead over her Republican opopnent, state Sen. Jim Barnett.

The poll, conducted for The Eagle and KWCH 12 Eyewitness News, shows Sebelius leading Barnett 55 percent to 42 percent. A Survey USA poll taken Sept. 14 showed her with a 20 point lead.

A late September poll by Rasmussen Reports put Sebelius' lead at 48 percent to Barnett's 39 percent.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

The results of the poll on the governor's race are near the end of a story on the results of the attorney general poll.

Declaring that he wants to campaign "on the issues," Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline gets personal

By Diane Silver

How do I honestly write about this?

Do I say there were dueling press conferences on Monday between Republican Attorney General Phill Kline and the wife of his Democratic opponent, Paul Morrison? In fact, there were. Both met with reporters at the Topeka Zoo, of all places.

Do I say, as the Topeka Capital-Journal did, that the attacks flung back and forth a sign of the intensity of the race? Oh yeah, that is certainly true.

Do I report, as many in the media did, that Kline declared that he just wanted to campaign on the issues, but that he needed to tell everyone about a sexual harassment lawsuit filed 15 years ago against Morrison?

The lawsuit was dismissed at every level. A witness called to support the accuser's story failed to do so. At one point, a judge stopped a trial as soon as the accuser's case was presented and dismissed the case. (See details from The Kansas City Star below.)

So, what do I report?

All of it, and let you decide.

For what it's worth, my take on this is that if the lawsuit had turned out differently, then we should be concerned about Morrison. If there were a pattern of harassment, then we should be concerned. So far, though, there is no evidence of that.

If anyone has any evidence, or a witness, I urge them to contact me at hopeandpolitics@yahoo.com, or to email any of the reporters who have covered the story. Heck, give your evidence to the Kline campaign. I doubt if they would sit on it.

Instead of a real issue, however, what seems to be happening is the death struggles of a desperate incumbent.

By the way, Kline held his press conference at the zoo to emphasize, he said, that Morrison is "weaseling."

Note to Kline: Zoo officials report that they don't have any weasels at the zoo.

The Kansas City Star has the best information on the lawsuit. Because details are important, I'm putting most of it here.

The lawsuit was filed by Kelly Summerlin, who was head of the district attorney's victim witness assistance program before she was fired in early 1991.

Summerlin alleged in a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later in federal court that Morrison made comments to her of an inappropriate nature at a party in November 1990.

In an affidavit filed by Morrison, the district attorney said he made a comment at the party that Summerlin "looked attractive."

"I immediately recognized that she took the comment to mean much more than I intended and there was little additional discussion," he said in an affidavit, adding that he apologized the next day.

Summerlin was fired early the next year.

Her complaint with the EEOC was dismissed after the agency found that a witness offered by Summerlin "does not corroborate the allegation."

A lawsuit in federal court alleged that she was denied her right to challenge the firing.

Morrison and the Johnson County commissioners, who also were named in the suit, contended that Summerlin was fired for her poor management style and inability to get along with others.

After her attorney presented evidence at the trial, the judge stopped the trial and ruled in favor of Morrison and the commissioners.

Summerlin filed an appeal, but the judge later dismissed the lawsuit at the request of both parties.

Religious leaders protest signing of detainee & torture bill today

The Washington Region Religious Council Against Torture is protesting this morning as our not-so-beloved president signs the Millitary Commissions Act. Among many other dangerous providions, the bill suspends habeas corpus and allows George W. Bush to define what constitutes torture.

Protestors are gathering in front of the White House at 9 a.m.

The Council notes:

Any policies that permit torture, inhumane treatment and indefinite detention are shocking and morally intolerable. Lack of judicial oversight allows torture, abusive treatment and unjustifiable detention to continue without challenge.

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved - policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals.

Among the speakers at the event are:

• Rabbi Gerald Serotta, Temple Shalom, Chevy Chase, Maryland; Rabbis for Human Rights; National Religious Campaign Against Torture
• Rev. Scott Alexander, River Road Unitarian Church, Bethesda, Maryland
• Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ, Arlington, Virginia
• Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center
• Bill Goodman, Center for Constitutional Rights

The signing of his bill marks a very sad day for the United States.

Some of In This Moment's previous coverage of the bill can be found here and here.

Hate Crimes

By Nancy Jane Moore

In the past month, we've had two shootings where a man entered a school and killed young women -- one in an Amish school and another in a Colorado high school. Ten girls were shot and five were killed at the Amish school; one girl died and others were molested in Colorado.

The young women were the targets of these crimes -- the boys were sent away. As Bob Herbert points out in a searing column in today's New York Times, if the killers had targeted the victims by race or religion, we would have labeled these murders for what they were: hate crimes.

But, Herbert points out:

None of that happened because there were just girls, and we have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that violence against females is more or less to be expected. Stories about the rape, murder and mutilation of women and girls are staples of the news, as familiar to us as weather forecasts. ...

The disrespectful, degrading, contemptuous treatment of women is so pervasive and so mainstream that it has just about lost its ability to shock.

Herbert's piece is only available online if you pay for Times Select, unfortunately. (I read the print version.) But if you find a copy of the Monday Times on your newsstand or in your library, I strongly recommend that you read it. He makes the real problem of violence against women in our society crystal clear. As he says:

We're all implicated in this carnage because the relentless violence against women and girls is linked at its core to the wider society's casual willingness to see them first and foremost as sexual vessels -- objects -- and never, ever as the equals of men.

I have seen little else in the news pointing out that women were the targets in these crimes. The one exception was Salon's Broadsheet column, which addressed this issue at the time of the shootings. Page Rockwell suggested that some might even call this terrorism, and observed:

In the context of our contested, combustible cultural debate about the status of women, violence against women and girls serves as a queasy reminder of what true, deranged misogyny looks like. It's shocking to see two targeted killings within a week of each other -- and to be reminded that a small subset of the population is fixated on terrorizing and killing girls they've never met.

I couldn't help but notice that young women were the targets of these crime, but I didn't even think about writing about the hate crime aspect of it. Perhaps it was so obvious to me that women were targeted that I didn't think it was something that needed saying. But it does.

It is very valuable to have a male writer -- particular one with Herbert's power and audience -- make the point that women are still viewed primarily as sex objects and that in twisted minds, such a viewpoint can lead to horrible violence.

Is there an effort to repress minority voting in Kansas?

By Diane Silver

I honestly don't know if this is a coincidence, stupidity or a calculated tactic. However, there are indications that some minorities are having a harder time registering to vote in Kansas, and may have a more difficult time getting into a voting booth on Nov. 7.

Kansas' top election official, Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, is a Republican -- a party that isn't known for getting huge minority support. At the same time, part of the voting process in Kansas is also controlled by local officials.

The problems we're seeing may be simple stupidity or even coincidence, but no matter how they originated, they are still unforgivable. Unfortunately, it appears to be too late to change much before the election. The deadline for registering to vote is Oct. 23, a week away, and the election itself is only a few weeks away.

The Wichita Eagle reported two possible problems this weekend in a fascinating story.

The headline and lead focused on the difficulties of registering Spanish-language citizens to vote. The Spanish-language card produced by Thornburgh's office is so different from the English version, and so confusing, that it's nearly impossible to use, the newspaper said. The Eagle reported:

Adding to the confusion, no one speaks Spanish at the voter-information hotline number printed on the Spanish card....

"Whether it's deliberate or accidental, it has the potential to be disenfranchising to many voters," said Ernestine Krehbiel, co-president of the Wichita-Metro League of Women Voters.

And guess what: Complaints about the card aren't new. The Eagle reported:

State Rep. Delia Garcia, D-Wichita, said she's complained to election officials about them for months.

Thornburgh has said he plans to fix the problems, but even posting a new Spanish-language card on his web site now may be too late to make a difference in this election.

Buried in the story was another problem: Major cuts in the number of polling places in the state's two largest cities of Wichita and Kansas City.

Thornburgh's opponent in the election, state Sen. David Haley of Kansas City, said the problems are "a pattern of actions that dilute minority voting strength."

"Why do we have to always watch this man, after 12 years in office, to make sure he's not out suppressing votes?" Haley said.

Thornburgh has said he thinks polling places have been reduced too much, but those decisions were made at the county level, not by his office.

He said Haley's charges of voter suppression are "completely groundless."

"I've spent my entire career trying to get people to register and vote," he said.

Thornburgh is a moderate Republican. Up to this time, his reputation has always been, well, rather bland, but he has been seen as at least being competent. He doesn't deny any of the problems The Eagle reported.

What is of real concern is why he didn't take any action earlier to fix them. The problem with the voting cards and information line should have been solved at the beginning of this campaign cycle. Even though Thornburgh doesn't control local officials, he could still have worked with them to stop the cuts in polling places.

These problems are simply too convenient for the Republican Party. They come in a year, when there is talk of a Democratic landslide. They come at a time when Kansas' Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, is expected to be re-elected, and Democrat Paul Morrison could well knock the Republican attorney general out of office.

Kansas deserve better than this.

"Best Choice for Kansas Governor:" Kansas City Star endorses Gov. Kathleen Sebelius

Hardly a surprise... The Star is backing Democrat Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for re-election.

The Star noted:

The governor worked adroitly to head off a legislative revolt after the Kansas Supreme Court ordered more money put into education. She and Republican Sandy Praeger, the insurance commissioner, put forth a progressive plan for curbing the costs of health-care delivery, while increasing access to services.

Sebelius and her running mate, Mark Parkinson, are committed to strong, well-funded schools and universities. They're also a strong team to encourage new industries based on alternative fuel sources.

The "Common Sense" Candidate: Kansas City Star endorses Paul Morrison for attorney general

Noting his "impeccable" law-enforcement credentials, The Kansas City Star endorsed Democrat Paul Morrison for Kansas attorney general.

The Star noted:

Democrat Paul Morrison is by far the better choice to serve as the state's top lawyer and public safety advocate.

In sharp contrast to Kline -- who has used the attorney general's office to promote a controversial personal agenda -- Morrison would make sure common sense and good legal principles dictate his decisions. He's operated that way for 17 years as Johnson County's district attorney.
...

Phill Kline has taken Kansas on a wild ride during his four years as attorney general.

But enough already.

Apologies to The Star writers for shuffling the order of some of their fine editorial. I liked the, let's call it, emotional sense of my version.

A few words on marriage

By Nancy Jane Moore

Two articles on marriage in this weekend's New York Times have cheered me up enormously.

The first, published Saturday, says that the right-wing attack on gay marriage is losing steam. Part of the reason is that voters are more interested in other issues -- like the Iraq War and the ethics problems in Congress -- but another reason "is that supporters of same-sex marriage this year are likely to be as mobilized as the opponents."

Despite the state laws and constitutional amendments defining marriage as "between one man and one woman," I think it's only a matter of time before gay marriage is legally recognized in this country. We are moving in a direction where we recognize that there are many ways of setting up a household, and gay marriage is one them.

The other article that pleased me ran in Sunday's Times and proclaimed: "To Be Married Means to Be Outnumbered." The gist of the article?

49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the nation's 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married couples -- with and without children -- just shy of a majority and down from more than 52 percent five years earlier.

Taken together, these stories tell me that more and more of us are recognizing that there are many possible ways of living in the modern world. You no longer need to feel like an outcast if you're not part of a traditional marriage.

I'm single. Since there are a number of ways to be single, let me clarify that: I live alone, I'm not involved in a relationship, and I'm not looking for a spouse or a lover. I am, in fact, a spinster, an old maid, a maiden aunt, though the term I like best is the old one used in law, a feme sole. And I'm happy.

I also have the good fortune to be part of the first generation of women for whom living as a single person is not considered a major liability. Even in my parents' generation, people made fun of unmarried women, and of course, divorce was considered shameful up into the 1960s. Widows were objects of pity.

Today, though, we all have choices. And many of us do choose to live alone.
According to the same Census data The Times used, 27.1 percent of US households consist of single persons.

The decline in the percentage of married households means that more of us are choosing other ways of living -- alone, with roommates, in group households, with other family members, and in non-traditional relationships. In time, I hope, the law will catch up with us.

Bushie, you're doing a heckuva job

By Nancy Jane Moore

Congress actually did something constructive this year: It included a provision in the "Homeland Security" bill requiring that anyone appointed to head the Federal Emergency Management Administration be experienced in disaster relief.

Seems like an obvious thing to do after the debacle of Hurricane Katrina, doesn't it?

But Bush didn't think so. According to the Boston Globe, when he signed the law, he added a signing statement saying it is unconstitutional for Congress to set limits on who he appoints as FEMA administrator.

In other words, he's defending his right to put another hack like Michael Brown in the job. Even if he's right about whether Congress can make requirements for appointed officials -- and I don't think he is -- it's a heckuva of thing to take a stand in favor of the right to appoint incompetents.

According to the Globe, three senators who've tended to go along with Bush most of the time -- Republican moderate Susan Collins of Maine, occasional Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and traitor former Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut -- have sent him a letter criticizing the signing statement. Balkinization has posted a copy of their letter in PDF form here.

The section in question -- Section 503(c)(2) of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007, (H.R.5441) -- provides as follows:

QUALIFICATIONS- The Administrator shall be appointed from among individuals who have --
(A) a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security; and
(B) not less than 5 years of executive leadership and management experience in the public or private sector.

You can find the whole Homeland Security bill by searching on H.R. 5441 on the Library of Congress Thomas site.

"We don't speak to evil."

By Nancy Jane Moore

That's what Larry Wilkerson, former US deputy secretary of state, suspects Dick Cheney said back in 2003 when Iran made a very positive overture to the US.

Iran was offering to help the US deal with Iraq, to be open about its nuclear program, to stop supporting Palestinian militants, and even to reduce support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. And all they wanted in exchange was a working relationship with the US and for Bush to take back his characterization of Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil."

That is, Iran was offering the US pretty much everything we wanted -- and our government refused to talk with them.

I didn't find this information in the US press. I heard it on the BBC program "Assignment," which happens to play at 4 AM on Saturday morning in Washington, D.C. -- not exactly prime time. (I only heard it because I'm in the habit of switching on the radio when I wake up too early.) The specific show is titled "US - Iran Relations" and you can listen to it here. It's a 30-minute show and well worth your time.

Here are a few other facts I gleaned from my second listen (when I was more awake):

1. Iran was very supportive of the US after September 11. The people held vigils and the government sent expressions of sympathy.

2. Iran approved of our invasion of Afghanistan. They had their own problems with the Taliban. At one point they offered to help train Afghani soldiers, but we didn't reply.

3. Despite such shows of support, they were labeled part of the "Axis of Evil." They were shocked. One Iranian official observed, "The US had such short memory and was so ungrateful."

4. The US response to this was classic: "They said worse things about us." How third grade can you get?

5. When they made the offer outlined above, the US was sitting pretty in Iraq and figured we didn't need them. In fact, some US officials wanted to invade Iran -- and still do.

6. The inability of the reformist government in Iran to cut a deal with the US was one of the factors that led to the more hardline regime they have now, meaning that now when we could really use their cooperation, we don't have anyone to talk to.

In other words, the idiots who run our government had an opportunity to turn an enemy into an ally and they blew it. I'm not sure if this was just neocon ideology or if it had something to do with controlling the oil fields, but whatever the reason, we screwed up what could have been a powerful alliance.

We rebuffed the Iranians as evil, even though they had the same enemies we did, yet we bullied Pakistan -- not exactly a democracy either and a country that was much less comfortable about fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda than Iran -- into an alliance. And as for dealing with evil, look at our friendly relationship with Uzbekistan. I think even the pro-torture types in our government might have trouble with boiling people alive, but the Uzbeks are our friends.

Like hell we don't speak to evil.

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline: "So, he's not a criminal; he's just sleazy."

By Diane Silver

My 79-year-old mother doesn't mince words. When I happened to mention the controversy about Attorney General Phill Kline's run-in with the Kansas Open Meetings Act, she summed up her feelings quite nicely: "So, he's not a criminal," she said. "He's just sleazy."

Her comments are important. As a Kansas citizen, she is Kline's boss, just like me and like you if you happen to live in the Sunflower State.

However, we can't have any impact on what Kline or other state officials do if they don't conduct the public's business in public. We can't have an impact if we don't know what they're doing, or even know that they're meeting.

That's why Kline's apparent effort to slip past the Kansas Open Meetings Act in February 2005 is so disturbing. In a nutshell... he asked attorneys in his office about the law. He discovered that it would be a violation for him to meet secretly with four members of the six-member, ultra-conservative majority of the state Board of Education.

To avoid breaking the law, he met twice on the same day -- each time with three members of that radical majority. Note that number. It's important because it's just one short of the number needed to trigger a violation of the law.

Each meeting was behind closed doors. Each meeting was kept secret from the four moderate members of the board. And each meeting was kept secret from the public until it was uncovered in news reports.

You can read this post to get all the details.

I suspect that even Kline knows this is a lousy idea. Perhaps that's why he apparently attempted this week to misrepresent the words of Kansas Press Association attorney Mike Merriam.

In a chat at the Lawrence Journal-World, Kline tried to make it appear as if Merriam approved of his actions. In fact, Merriam was fighting against them.

I can't prove that Kline meant to lie about Merriam's position. Perhaps Kline just forgot that Merriam was his major opponent in the fight about the meetings. Perhaps it was just the heat of the moment. Perhaps it was a slip of the fingers on the computer keyboard during the Journal-World chat.

What's truly bizarre is that -- on the surface -- there is no reason for Kline to have met privately with only those members of the board who shared his religious philosophy. He could have just as easily attended a public meeting of the state board. Of course, that would only be true if he and the anti-evolution board members weren't attempting to hide something from the public and the rest of the board.

So, did Phill Kline break the law?

Nope, not a bit.

Should the citizens of Kansas be worried about his actions?

Oh yeah.

Clarification: Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline accused of violating open meetings act & lying during chat

By Diane Silver

In response to a comment, I'm writing to clarify my Oct. 12 post "Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline accused of violating open meetings act & lying during chat."

This is in response to a comment posted by someone calling himself (herself?) "just the facts." Justthefacts has so far refused to say who he or she is.

But here, in reality, ARE just the facts, based on the links and the information justthefacts provided and on my own research.

1. Everything in my previous post and the AP story it linked to was accurate.

2. The incident referred to in the post occurred in February 2005.

3. That month, and on the same day, Kline had two meetings with what were then members of the six-member ultra-conservative majority on the state Board of Education. Each meeting was held behind closed doors and each included three members of that radical majority. The four moderate board members were not invited.

4. Moderate board member Sue Gamble spoke to reporters and said those meetings violated, at the very least, the "spirit of the law." The law in question is the Kansas Open Meetings Act, which is designed to guarantee that the public's business occurs in public and not behind closed doors.

5. The Lawrence Journal-World reported on Feb. 10, 2005, that "Kline said he met with the conservative board members to discuss the school finance litigation and to mention that he would help them if they wanted to put stickers on science textbooks that said evolution was theory and not a fact."

6. Kline said at the time that he had not broken the law because the law requires that four members be present at a meeting, and only three were present. Kline was correct about the letter of the law.

7. Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht investigated the incident and said in March, 2005, that Kline did not violate the open meetings act.

8. At that time, Kline continued to say that he had not broken the law, but he is quoted in the Topeka Capital-Journal as saying "In hindsight, I wouldn't have done this."

9. In an online chat on Oct. 9, 2006, via the Lawrence Journal-World, Kline was asked about the February 2005 closed-door meetings. Kline replied, in part:

The attorney for the Kansas Press Association stated of these meetings: "it is remarkable the length the Attorney General will go to to comply with the law." I believe that says it all.

Mike Merriam, the attorney for the Kansas Press Association, spoke to the Topeka Capital-Journal this week.

While Merriam said Tuesday that while he couldn't absolutely deny making such a statement, he has no recollection of it.

He said if he had made such a comment, it was either about some other matter or a "sarcastic reference" to Kline's "elaborate preparations to avoid the law."

"My view was, and is, that the serial meetings conducted by the board of education members with Mr. Kline were intentional violations of the Open Meetings Act," Merriam said. "Mr. Kline has no basis to cite me in support of his actions."

655,000

By Nancy Jane Moore.

655,000. That's how many Iraqis have died of war-related causes since the US invaded. 601,000 died directly from violence; the other 54,000 died from illnesses related to the war.

These numbers are from a sophisticated statistical study by epidemiologists at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. Iraqi physicians did the interviews. Their work has been subjected to a thorough peer-review and published in The Lancet, the premier British medical journal. The Lancet thought this article was so important that they published it in full online at no charge (you will need to register).

The numbers are an estimate, of course. And, due to the violence in Iraq, there were constraints on the statistical study that wouldn't happen in calmer venues. Allowing for errors, the researchers said the total war-related deaths could range from 392,979 - 942,636.

These are horrifying numbers, hard to even comprehend, way larger than any others we've seen (the usual figure these days is around 50,000), and considerably in excess of the number of deaths attributed to Saddam Hussein. Numbers like this make denials that Iraq is in a civil war look ludicrous. And you can't look at them without starting to think that prosecutions for war crimes might be in the offing.

So why have the major media downplayed the story? The Washington Post's initial story ran on page A-12 and was hard to find online, though at least the comments on the study were balanced. The Los Angeles Times -- whose online article was also hard to find -- primarily ran comments from critics of the study. The Boston Globe gave it a mostly positive spin, but called it a "disputed study" in the headline.

Predictably, Bush, Tony Blair, and the Iraqi government dismissed the study out of hand -- in fact, Blair said the number was wrong and most deaths were due to "terrorists." Those stories got better play than the initial one about the study.

Here's the difference between the authors of the study and Bush, Blair, and the Iraqi government: The scientists don't have a horse in this race. Unlike Bush and company, who have every incentive to downplay the incredible damage done to Iraqis, the scientists were just looking for information.

And unlike their critics, they've done a real analysis and let other experts -- people who understand how statistics work -- review it in detail. I'm not particularly impressed by top-of-the-head rejections of the work from people who clearly didn't have the time to do a full-scale review of the study. And I'm really not impressed by comments from politicians who are not likely to understand statistical analysis in the first place.

Reputable sources find the numbers all too credible. Juan Cole says:

Ironically enough, the same journalists who will question this study will accept without query the estimates for deaths in Darfur, e.g., which are generated by exactly the same techniques, and which are almost certainly not as solid. ...
I follow the violence in Iraq carefully and daily, and I find the results plausible.

655,000.

It's such a scary number that I'd like to think they're wrong. But I'm very afraid that they're not. Just think of how much suffering those deaths caused, not just to the deceased, but also to their family members and their friends. That's more than 200 times as many people killed as died on September 11, more than 200 times the number of dead US soldiers.

Bush's response wasn't just an ignorant dismissal of the study; he also commented:

I'm amazed that this is a society which so wants to be free that they're willing to -- you know, that there's a level of violence that they tolerate.

Will Umber on Attytood.com posted that quote and used terms like "arrogant" and "clueless" to analyze it. He also made this observation:

But it's amazing what people can tolerate, when it's 11,000 miles away and it's happening to somebody else.

Whatever the number is -- and no matter how many deaths were at the hands of those Blair calls "terrorists" -- these deaths are on our heads. It was the US government that started this unnecessary war, pretending it was payback for September 11 when they knew damn well Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on us.

655,000 people have died in our name.

Crime fighters reverse support & call Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline "irresponsible"

The last time Phill Kline ran for attorney general, Gene and Peggy Schmidt stood at his side. This year, though, the anti-crime foundation they created is slamming Kline for engaging in "the worst example of demagoguery."

Kline is attacking his Democratic opponent, Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison, for serving on a commission that attempted to ease prison overcrowding by changing the post-prison rules for some inmates. Kline's attacks have been condemned by The Kansas City Star and Johnson County Sun.

Now comes word that the Schmidt's foundation is also disgusted.

Hat tip to Dave Helling at the Kansas City Star's Buzz Blog. He reports:

Gene and Peggy Schmidt were parents of Stephanie, who was brutally murdered. They were also big supporters of Phill Kline, campaigning for him, cutting a TV commercial for him, even working (Gene) in Kline's office for a time.

A foundation newsletter this week, though, said this of Kline's SB 323 criticisms: "This irresponsible claim and attempt to instill fear in Kansas Voters is the worst example of demagoguery.

"To insinuate that massive murders, rapes, and general criminal rampage resulted by this bill is not only irresponsible, it is insulting and demeaning to all Kansans. This appeal to the fearful emotions of all Kansans ignores logic, reason, and the genuine intent of outstanding former leaders and defies and debases their efforts for a safer Kansas."

The newsletter column does not mention Kline, or Morrison, by name.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded for effective social change

By Nancy Jane Moore

I'm very pleased to see that the Nobel Peace Prize committee has recognized Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his micro-lending organization, Grameen Bank.

The Grameen system of small loans -- most of them made to women -- is helping to break the vicious cycle of poverty. It's been copied worldwide. And of course, they don't just loan money -- they provide support. They whole system is based on sound principles.

I'm particularly gratified that this program is primarily aimed at women -- 97 percent of the borrowers are women. And as someone who spent years helping tenants become homeowners by buying their apartment buildings and converting them into cooperatives, I firmly believe that programs offering people a chance to develop themselves are the most effective form of social change.

But this year's peace prize is, essentially, an award for positive social change. And while I agree with the Nobel committee that programs such as Grameen's will lead to increased peace and a better world -- and am happy to see them recognized -- I can't help but notice how much violent conflict is now raging throughout the world.

Unfortunately, I don't see anyone doing much to resolve the current violence, and I gather that the Nobel committee couldn't find anyone either.

Democratic landslide may be building

[updated]

By Diane Silver

Chris Bowers at MyDD has just posted a new poll showing that Democrats are currently leading in enough Congressional districts to take a 19-seat majority in the House.

This information comes from a company that does automated telephone polling. Depending on the district, the polls were completed at the end of August, in September or just this week.

Bowers writes:

The new Majority Watch from Constituent Dynamics will be released in a few minutes. Based on 63 polls of 48 districts of 1,000 likely voters each, they will show Democrats currently ahead in the House by 19 seats, 224-205, or the exact, 19-seat margin of the Republican Majority after the 2002 elections. It is also a significant increase from the 219-214 seat lead for Democrats found in the Majority Watch polling from late August and early September.

This 19-seat lead will not even include seven competitive, Republican-held districts that are currently being polled, and six districts that are currently tied. In fact, perhaps most stunningly, the districts with "safe" leads outside the margins of error break 217-198 in favor of Democrats. The previous set of polls actually showed Republicans ahead on safe seats, 205-199. Further, since TX-22 was not polled, that means Democrats already have the magic 218, outside the margin of error, with between 19 and 26 more races in the "toss-up" category. This is a looming landslide.

Combined with the Pew Research Center survey released yesterday this may be good news indeed.

However, I do wonder at the accuracy of automated polls. Were folks who only use cell phones included? How might that skew the results?

Gosh, I think I'm afraid to hope. Could we actually put a check on George W. Bush?

Meanwhile, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo is reporting on the Republican's decision to end their efforts to knock off four Democratic incumbents.

Marshall notes that shifting money at this point in a campaign cycle isn't unusual, but it is a sign that the GOP is focused on playing defense. After looking at these latest poll results, Republicans have every reason to be worried.

Update
Some of the margins are very tight, and some of the polls are a tad old, so take this all with a grain of salt. The key thing, as always, will be the old fashioned get-out-the-vote effort. That's true in the Jim Ryun-Nancy Boyda race in Kansas and in other districts around the nation.

In other words, it's up to us to vote, get our friends to vote, drive our relatives and our neighbors to the polling place and to hook up with groups organizing GOTV efforts.

Buyer's Remorse Strikes Voters: Even Republicans think they should lose

Washington Post columnist David Broder writes today that the voters are drowning in "buyer's remorse" for the decisions they made in 2004. Even Republicans appear upset about how things turned out.

While I disagree with some of Broder's assessment about why voters are unhappy, I certainly agree with his bottom line: Enough is enough. Vote the incompetents and the do nothings (Broder says) and the arrogant and the dangerous (I say) out of office.

It's possible the GOP folks Broder mentions may well be commenting on the political footballs their party has fumbled, but there do seem to be an increasing number who are disgusted with the way their own party is governing. That's a sentiment that many out here in red-state Kansas share.

Broder writes:

What is driving public opinion is an overall impression that those in office -- meaning mainly Republicans -- have let things slide out of control and need to be relieved.

What voters may not know is that the same judgment has been reached by a significant number of people who are part of -- or close to -- the Republican majority. If I have heard it once, I have heard it a dozen times: Major Republican figures, including top officials of several past GOP administrations and Congresses, say, "We deserve to lose this election."

You can find Broder's column at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101596.html

Note: Blogger is being a real pain in the, ah, rear today. It seems to be cutting off some posts when I attempt to create a normal link, so apologies for the awkwardness of this. I can't even seem to get to the page to upload an image.

Pew Research Center provides yet more data that GOP will be ousted Nov. 7

By Diane Silver

Had enough yet of George W. Bush and a Republican Congress? The Pew Research Center reports that voters may just have reached their breaking point.

Conducted Sept. 21 to Oct 4 among 1,503 registered voters, the Pew survey didn't record much of an impact from the Mark Foley sex scandal. However, the survey did show that Democrats are even more energized to vote than Republicans were in 1994 when the GOP took over Congress.

The Pew Center reports:

The comparison between the current campaign and the 1994 midterm election, when Republicans won the majority of House votes and picked up more than 50 seats, is particularly telling. In early October 1994, 50% of Republican voters had already given a lot of thought to the election, compared with 40% of Democratic voters. Today, this margin is nearly reversed, as 59% of Democrats have given a lot of thought to the 2006 midterm, compared with 48% of Republicans.

These indications of Democratic engagement suggest that the turnout advantage the GOP has enjoyed in recent elections may not hold this November. Current estimates suggest that Democratic enthusiasm may compensate for some of the demographic factors that often lead to lower Election Day turnout among Democrats.

On the impact of the Foley scandal... I'm skeptical about these findings. I suspect they may have more to do with the timing of the poll than anything else.

The scandal -- and especially the Republican leadership's apparent interest in protecting the party over protecting children -- may just keep some religious conservatives at home.

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline accused of violating meetings act & lying during chat

The darling of the Religious Right -- Phill Kline -- seems to be stumbling over his tongue.

Associated Press reports today:

Attorney General Phill Kline violated the state's open meetings law by talking privately last year with Kansas State Board of Education members and has misrepresented what a news media attorney said about the issue, that attorney
says.

Mike Merriam, a Topeka attorney who has represented the Kansas Press Association, The Associated Press and The Topeka Capital-Journal, made his comments Tuesday in response to remarks Kline wrote during an Internet chat
session (with the Lawrence Journal-World).

Polls show the race between Republican Kline and Democrat Paul Morrison to be neck and neck.

Note: That for some reason known only to blogger, I can't get this item to post if I include the url in the normal way. So you can find the AP story here: http://www.cjonline.com/stories/101206/leg_kline.shtml

Hi, I'm a lesbian, I live in Kansas, & I don't want anything from you except fairness

By Diane Silver

I decided to celebrate National Coming Out Day by stating what any regular reader of this blog knows -- I am a lesbian.

But I wonder whether many of you, particularly my heterosexual readers, have thought much about what that means.

In some ways that fact is monumental. Because of who I am, my family faces constant discrimination. We are, in fact, second-class citizens. I don't even have the right to visit a spouse in the hospital, let alone the ability to be part of a spouse's health insurance or pension plan.

It doesn't matter what church I belong to or how I live my life. It doesn't matter if I'm thief or a saint. The laws of my country treat me unfairly because I'm gay.

On the other hand, the fact that I'm a lesbian means very little. It certainly doesn't change my day much. I get up, get dressed and go to work. I pay the bills.

I worry that I'm going to have to put way too much money into foundation work soon for my house. I worry that the plumbing needs attention. And I'm tired of pouring money into my 100-year-old home when I'd rather spend those dollars on a vacation.

Thirteen years ago my spouse died of breast cancer. Recently, I fell in love very deeply and sincerely, but right now it doesn't look like that is going to work out. Those losses hurt me just as deeply as they would any straight person. I despair. I bleed, and yes, there have been times when I just wanted to die.

These days, though, life is also a joy. I love writing. It makes me feel alive. I love the crisp air of fall and the smell of the leaves on the ground. I love my son who is a junior at the local university. I delight in our once-a-week dinners.

If I had my way, this country and my home state of Kansas would do nothing more and nothing less than treat me like it does every other citizen. I don't want to take a single thing from you except for what you give to everyone else -- a chance to live and be treated fairly.

May you all have a marvelous Coming Out Day in whatever way makes sense to you.

Kansas Politics: GOP candidate Susan Wagle gets failing grade

By Diane Silver

Republican lieutenant governor candidate Susan Wagle didn't exactly wow them at a Wichita State University political science class yesterday.

Wagle told the class that the answer to rising tuition is packing the state Supreme Court with conservatives who wouldn't require the state to fully fund K-12 education and cutting taxes. The Wichita Eagle reports that one student was pleased with what he heard, but many others weren't.

The Eagle reports:

Afterwards, some students said they weren't really satisfied with Wagle's answers to their questions.

"I didn't get anything except, 'Get us elected,' " said Lizzie Bernhart. And she said she didn't have a problem with the Supreme Court stepping in to settle school funding issues.

"To me, as long as it (the money) gets to the schools where it belongs, I'm happy," she said. "If that's what it comes to because the Legislature won't cooperate, I'm fine with that."

Another student, Matt Goad, said he thought Wagle cares too much about lowering taxes and not enough about tuition.

"Taxes aren't going to be raised $2,500 like my tuition is," he said.

What I want to know is what Wagle was doing talking to a college class. While it is a good idea, in general, for politicians to meet with students, I would think it would be a better use of her time to appear before a larger audience.

Anti-evolution school board & Fred Phelps drag down Kansas

[updated]

This isn't a new idea, but it is interesting to hear Gov. Kathleen Sebelius tell the Topeka Capital-Journal that two of the state's largest economic development problems are anti-gay crusader Fred Phelps and the state's anti-evolution school board.

Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church are based in Topeka. Last year, the Kansas state Board of Education voted to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution and teach intelligent design in Kansas schools.

The Capital-Journal reports:

Calling the Kansas State Board of Education one of the state's worst public relations tools, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday said she would push in a second term for a constitutional amendment to shift the board's powers to the governor's office.

"I think we have a real institutional, structural problem in the state," Sebelius told The Topeka Capital-Journal editorial board. "The elected school board that we have in place doesn't function in this day and age. There's very little accountability."

The Democratic governor said the board has been an embarrassment to the state in the board's efforts to alter how evolution is taught in the classroom. In an interview, Sebelius said she has encountered people outside the state who have heard of the board's decisions -- and little else -- when it comes to Kansas.

"Fred Phelps and the school board are all they know about," she said. "No amount of economic development dollars can cancel that out."

The Kansas City Star's KC Buzz Blog reports that Sebelius said today that she did not link the state school board with Phelps. Personally, I don't think the above quote is implying that the governor thinks the school board is the same as Phelps. She's making the valid point that both are bad PR for the state.

Kansas Politics: Boyda may be surging against GOP Congressman Ryun

By Diane Silver

I've been hesitant to believe that Democrat Nancy Boyda has much chance against Jim Ryun, the ultra-conservative Congressman with a stranglehold on Kansas' 2nd District, but there are definite signs of change in the race.

Boyda keeps reporting private polling saying that she's running neck and neck with Ryun. Normally, I wouldn't believe that, but today Vice President Dick Cheney is out here raising money for Ryun. I can't remember another time when the vp or any other big GOP operative was deemed necessary to help Ryun's campaign.

Meanwhile, we don't have any public, nonpartisan polls, to use to judge the accuracy of Boyda's data. One would have thought, though, that if Ryun's private numbers tell him something different than Boyda's, he would have noted that fact. Could it be that the only thing that will keep us from ousting an awful Congressman is the feeling that we can't win?

Stay tuned.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports:

During a news conference, Boyda, of Topeka, said her underdog campaign remains a
dead heat. She released her campaign poll, which she said shows Ryun at 42.6 percent and Boyda at 40 percent with the rest undecided.

Kansas Evolution Election: Department accused of writing questionable checks

Moderate state School Board member Sue Gamble plans to press for answers today about what appears to be a free-for-all giveaway of grant money to people favoring charter schools -- a favorite project of the Religious Right.

The real kickers are that Education Commissioner Bob Corkins' staff appear to have (1) sent money to folks who don't even live in Kansas and (2) to have already admitted they sent checks to people who didn't qualify.

The $1,995 checks are supposed to be for Kansans who are looking into starting charter schools. Note that the amount of the checks is crucial because at the $2,000 level, grant checks have to be reviewed.

Gamble's plan is to ask for an explanation at today's state Board of Education meeting. The Wichita Eagle writes editorializes:

* Four of the grants went to Topeka charter school advocate Betty Horton and her husband and to her sister and brother-in-law, who have a Georgia mailing address. Most of the other grant recipients are associates of Horton, including several who live in Kansas City, Mo.

* Gamble asked for the names of everyone who received grants, and Deputy Education Commissioner Larry Englebrick gave her a list of 16 people. But the business office at the Department of Education told Gamble that it issued grant checks to 21 individuals and two organizations.

* The business office was told to pay the entire grant amount up front, rather than making a partial payment or waiting to pay until services had been provided, as is its normal policy.
...
Gamble isn't buying the explanations. "This stinks to high heaven," she said.

Gamble doesn't have any confidence in the credibility of the grant recipients. She said it appears as if anyone could have walked off the street and said, "I like charter schools," and gotten a check.

And she is frustrated that she asked Englebrick and Education Commissioner Bob Corkins last month for copies of the applications for everyone who received grants, but has yet to receive them.

Corkins was appointed by the current anti-evolution Board of Education. Many of those radical incumbents are up for election on Nov. 7.

Once again it's time for the Religious Right to campaign on the back of my family

By Diane Silver

Well, here we are again -- the source of all evil. At least that seems to be how the Family Research Council and their Liberty Sunday program want to paint me personally and my family.

As a lesbian I and my child, of course, are destroying civilization. Funny, I thought I was just trying to make a living and pay my bills. My son is busy getting his degree and trying to figure out how to find the money for a rattle-trap, old car to get him to work.

Silly me.

The lengths to which the Religious Right goes to scapegoat lesbians and gays and our children is amazing. It would be funny, if it wasn't so frightening.

What's it like to live with a target on your back? Look here.

Kansas Politics: All attorney general all the time

By Diane Silver

The coverage of the attorney general's race between incumbent Republican Phill Kline and Democrat Paul Morrison is coming fast and furious. Here are the latest bits of news from the mainstream media with a teeny bit of commentary. I hope to have a more in-depth look at the race soon.

From The Wichita Eagle:

The battle for Kansas Attorney General

Profile of Phill Kline

Kline is seeking a second term. He says his approach to the job includes putting safety first and protecting children from sexual predators and rapists, which has led to his pursuit of medical records from abortion clinics.

He contends that his Democratic opponent, Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison, is soft on crime. He points to a Senate bill Morrison supported that Kline says helped reduce the sentences of hundreds of criminals. Morrison disputes that claim.

Note to Kline: Morrison wasn't one of the many Republican lawmakers who voted for this bill. Those folks include the candidate for lieutenant governor, Susan Wagle.

The Kansas City Star also says that Kline -- who never met a tax cut he didn't like while he was a lawmaker -- is being a bit two faced. The Star writes:

The attorney general says now the Legislature should have paid for more prison space. But Kline had been a champion of tax cuts in the 1990s that left the state without enough money to even contemplate a major prison construction program.

If Kline objects to abbreviated probation and parole terms, he's certainly had ample opportunity to do something about them himself. As attorney general, he has a seat on the sentencing commission. But except during campaign season, he can't seem to work up much interest in the commission's activities.

In nearly four years, Kline has never attended one of its meetings. Kline deceptively claims in his campaigns that the Legislature and sentencing commission freed hundreds of criminals to commit violent crimes.

Profile of Paul Morrison

Morrison may still be inexperienced as a politician, but if Democrats had phoned central casting to request a candidate to oppose Kline, Hollywood would have handed them Morrison.

He fits the image of a typical Kansas lawman, intimidating from his bald head down, past the squinting eyes, the mustache, the flat growl of a voice, the habit of pointing an accusing index finger at a foe....

Morrison says he is running because he thinks Kline has the wrong priorities in seeking medical records from abortion clinics rather than focusing on public safety, that Kline has shown lack of judgment in his staff hirings, and that Kline lacks trial experience. Kline contends those assertions are wrong.

Lawrence Journal-World

Ads Refer to Abortion Without Saying It

Chat with Kline

Notice that Kline never refers to Morrison -- a respected district attorney -- by his full name. He's always "Paul" this and "Paul" that. This is an interesting tactic designed to belittle Morrison, and frankly, I think it's a bit childish.

Also notice the detail Kline gives about his law practice. It sounds like he may have done a bit, but certainly not much or at the very least, nothing to match Morrison's 25 years as a district attorney.

Topeka Capital-Journal

The Capital-Journal takes a detailed look at the law Kline claims is all Morrison's fault. This strikes me as an unbalanced piece that does little to look at the context in which the bill was passed, and the fact that Morrison was not the only person involved. His role may well have been very small. Also, the story does note that Kline's claim of "hundreds" of criminals released by the law is far from the truth. No one was released from prison by this law.

The Capital-Journal writes:

In simple terms, the legislation cut in half the period of post-release supervision the offenders were to serve.

What I would like to see is a more in-depth look at the impact of the law. If this bill hadn't become law, what would have been different? Kansas prisons were bursting. Would dangerous felons have been released without this law?

As important is for someone to take a close look at what role Morrison actually played in this. He is being attacked for "passing" a bill, he had no power to pass. He wasn't in the Legislature then. He didn't have vote. What exactly did he do?

"Don't Balance the Hurt with Hate:" What the Amish have to teach us

By Diane Silver

As we start our week and ponder the meaning of North Korea's possible nuclear bomb test and listen to the saber rattling of everyone from the White House to China, I think we should take a moment to consider the Amish.

The Amish community in Pennsylvania just suffered the worst injury anyone can -- the death of children. One gunman, who must certainly have been mentally ill, burst into an Amish school. He killed five girls and seriously wounded five others.

I've already blogged about the fact that half the mourners at his funeral were Amish.

I've also gone back and looked at earlier stories from last week. AP reported Thursday:

As they struggle with the slayings of five of their children in a one-room schoolhouse, the Amish in this Lancaster County village are turning the other cheek, urging forgiveness of the killer and quietly accepting what comes their way as God's will.

"They know their children are going to heaven. They know their children are innocent ... and they know that they will join them in death," said Gertrude Huntington, a Michigan researcher and expert on children in Amish society.

"The hurt is very great," Huntington said. "But they don't balance the hurt with hate."
...

The Amish also have been reaching out to the family of the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, who committed suicide during the attack. Dwight Lefever, a Roberts family spokesman, said an Amish neighbor comforted the Roberts family hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them.

"I hope they stay around here and they'll have a lot of friends and a lot of support," Daniel Esh, a 57-year-old Amish artist and woodworker whose three grandnephews were inside the school during the attack, said of the Robertses.

Huntington, the authority on the Amish, predicted they will be very supportive of the killer and his wife, "because judgment is in God's hands: 'Judge not, that ye be not judged."

I honestly can't say that we should respond to North Korea as the Amish would. I guess I'm too frightened to think about going to such a place with open hands and asking: Why are you so fearful, and how can we as a nation help?

Certainly the Bush Administration would never do that. Of course, the rhetoric of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may be one reason why North Korea's leader thinks he needs the bomb. That rhetoric probably feeds nicely into the paranoia of a dictator and the inner workings of a country that may be as dysfunctional as the gunman who killed those Amish girls.

But I do wonder: What if we stopped rattling our sabers? What if we stopped attempting to balance the hurt of 9/11 with hate, and with further hurt or at least with the threat of it? What kind of world would we live in then?

Some other interesting thoughts on the Amish reaction to the shootings, can be found at:

A Glimpse of Grace

Amish Example

Kansas Evolution Election: School Board accused of fiscal double standard

Red State Rabble has an interesting post this morning. Rabble reports that Democrat Don Weiss is noting that the past board followed a double standard in handing out money.

While the board was supposed to be taking care of public schools, the board, dominated by the Religious Right, seemed more interested in favoring others.

Weiss is running against anti-evolution incumbent John Bacon in the 3rd District.

Rabble writes:

"The board recently gave away almost $40,000 in a series of checks for $1,995 to virtually anyone who lined up and said they wanted to start a charter school," says Weiss. "What controls were on this money? Did it matter if two of the checks went to Alpharetta, GA? What is Kansas going to get for their money? I'd like to know."

For more background on the state School Board and the importance of the Nov. 7 vote, see my post "The Kansas Evolution Election: It Isn't Over Yet."

Wichita, Kansas, opens new gay-themed theatre Wednesday

Applause to the new Ampersand Theatre group for both existing and for launching its first play, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me."

The Wichita Eagle reports that the comic and dramatic monologue opens Wednesday to celebrate national Coming Out Day, and runs through Oct. 22. The work is about growing up gay in America and stars Brad Thomison, who debuted at the Wichita Community Theatre last spring.

The play premiered off-Broadway in 1993.

All performances will be in the 100-seat Fellowship Hall of the First Metropolitan Community Church, 156 S. Kansas in Wichita.

The show starts at 8 p.m. and runs Wednesday-Saturday; 8 p.m. Oct. 19-21 and starts at 2 p.m. on Oct. 22. Tickets are $12, $10 students. Call 316-681-1151. Free opening night for students in GSA.