Eid ul Adha and the Culture of Commericalism

As we are celebrating the last day of Eid ul Adha and still recovering from the Christmas magic/mania, I thought I would post an article I wrote last year about the challenge the ever greater retail hype around Christmas poses to minority communities and the celebration of our holidays. With Christmas displays in some Cincinnati stores area going up before Halloween (an all time record for earliest retail Christmas campaign), the article is as relevant this year as it was last.


Religious Minorities and the Allure of Materialism
By Pamela K. Taylor

With Christmas still fresh in our minds, American Muslims are looking forward to our own holiday, Eid ul-Adha, a three day celebration that marks the successful completion of the Hajj, Islam’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca. For minority communities, Christmas is always a challenge, especially for those of us with kids. The lights, the carols, decorating the tree, candy covered gingerbread houses, Santa, his sleigh and his reindeer, and, most of all, the presents. It’s child heaven. The pressure to compete is fierce and many of us feel an enormous need to prove that our own faith has as much to offer kids, or at the very least that it has its own really good traditions even if they aren’t quite as glamorous as Christmas.

This year the Muslim community was particularly lucky. Christmas was neatly sandwiched between the two major events of the Islamic calendar – Ramadan and Hajj. With Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr falling in October, we had our own special month of fellowship and celebration to buttress the kids’ fortitude just before the November/December deluge. When the kids asked why we don’t celebrate Christmas, Muslim parents could point our own recent time of dinner parties, special foods, holiday sweets, new clothes, and, of course, presents. And if that didn’t quite satisfy their craving, we could remind them that Hajj and Eid ul-Adha was coming just a couple weeks later. More parties, more new clothes… more presents.

And there’s the rub. The push-pull. You want Eid to be just as good as Christmas, but you look at the stress, the holiday rush, the hassle of finding just the right gift for everyone on your list, the self-inflicted pressure to make Christmas perfect for the kids, and shudder to think Eid could become like that. You want it to be as fun and as memorable, but you don’t want it to become a carbon copy. You want to maintain its authenticity, but you’re not sure that authenticity can quite measure up, and you’re not sure you want it to, even if it could.

On the one hand, you’re delighted to find out that Hallmark is now making Eid cards and when you mail them you can pay your postage with a USPS Eid Stamp. You rejoice to find an Indian princess Barbie or building blocks with Arabian arches and domes. In a country where a person’s status is more often than not judged by the strength of his pocketbook, retail acknowledgement of Ramadan, Hajj, and the two Eids talks big to kids. It’s a validation of their identities as American and Muslims. It shows them that we are part and parcel of the fabric of this country, that we belong, we’re accepted.

On the other hand, you dread too much retail attention. You worry that consumerism will gut the spiritual aspects of Eid the way it has gutted much of the meaning of Christmas. When you set out your presents for Eid morning, you hope the kids realize that Eid is more about being grateful to God than getting goodies. You wonder if you would have gotten the kids quite so many presents if the spectacle of Christmas gift giving hadn’t just upped the ante two weeks ago. You wonder if the need to measure up is leading you down the garden path into the waiting arms of Sam’s Club and Kmart. And you wish that the Christian community hadn’t bought quite so fully into market capitalism’s message that more is better.

All along, to make matters worse, you’re second guessing yourself. When you hang lights, as Muslims in many countries do during Ramadan, you wonder if the kids will think you’re trying to copy Christmas, and sometimes you wonder yourself. When you pass out cookies to guests – a time honored Ramadan tradition, although in other cultures the norm may be baklava, date pasties, or sweet puddings, rather than coconut macaroons, powdered teacakes, lemon tarts, and chocolate peanut butter bull’s eyes – you hope the kids don’t think you’re just trying to trump sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles. You look to the American Jewish community and Hannukah, a relatively minor holiday in other Jewish communities which, because of it’s timing, has taken on a much larger role here, and wonder if this is a good thing, or a bad thing. It’s great to be able to say, look we’ve got it just as good as the rest of America, but not if it means you have to distort your own traditions all out of proportion.

It isn’t easy to decide how much rivalry is good and how much is too much, to know where the line lies between unhealthy competition and the kind that, like a longstanding school rivalry, deepens and intensifies loyalty. It’s tough to know whether to buying into American consumerism whole-heartedly, half-way, or not at all will help your kids learn to love their own traditions rather than look on others’ celebrations with envy. Will the glitz of all-out materialism make them love Eid the way Christian kids love Christmas (and do you want them to love it because of that, even if it does?) Or will they appreciate a more even-handed approach that balances fun with spirituality? Or perhaps, will they find the peace and tranquility of a more austere holiday that uplifts and instills a feeling of purity and grace more attractive?

Clearly there is no one answer that fits all children or all families. Sometimes, you feel like you are throwing darts at a board with your eyes closed, hoping you don’t hit anything fragile in the process. Other times, you move forward confidently, assured that you’re making the right choices, and trusting that God has guided you down the right path. But even in the best of times, it’s a balancing act in which you always feel a bit off-kilter.

Former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff says gays should be allowed to serve openly

By Diane Silver

John M. Shalikashvili writes in Tuesday's New York Times that it's time for out lesbians and gays to be welcomed into the military and for don't ask-don't tell to be repealed.

I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the retired Army general thinks Congress should still wait to repeal the current policy.

Shalikashvili chaired the joint chiefs from 1993 to 1997. He opposed President Bill Clinton's effort to allow lesbians and gays to serve openly in 1993.

It's an op-ed worth reading. Registration is required, but the article is free online.

Kansas Moments: Serious questions, Phill Kline, a tainted special prosecutor & the state of the GOP

By Diane Silver

Here are a few Kansas political moments that popped up in news coverage recently.

The Wichita Eagle asks an important question about outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline's Ahab-like pursuit of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller: Has anyone thought about the children mentioned in those medical records Kline got from Tiller's clinic? Apparently the records show that children as young as 10 and 13 received abortions.

I am as pro-choice as you can be, but I also believe that pregnant youngsters are a sign that something is very wrong. Despite Kline's claim that he went after the records to investigate sexual crimes against children, Kline has publicly shown no interest in actually investigating crimes against these kids. Instead, Kline seems to only care about prosecuting Tiller. What gives and what really happened to those kids?

Andy Wollen, chairman of the moderate Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, starts off a recent Kansas City Star op-ed with a bang.

For Johnson County residents wondering who in the world elected the unqualified Phill Kline as our new district attorney, there’s an uncomfortable answer — you did.

Wollen notes that the precinct representatives who elected Kline were themselves elected in the Aug. 1 primary where only 15 percent of county voters participated. His point? Stop complaining and vote in the next primary.

Wollen also noted some important details about Kline's qualifications to be district attorney.

Kline claims to care passionately about the law, but he has allowed his law license to lapse three separate times since he was admitted to the Kansas Bar Association in 1987. He has already started to hire his ideological cronies to fill out the office, and career prosecutors have started finding employment elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor Kline appointed to go after Tiller has filed a motion to have the misdemeanors charges reinstated. A Sedgwick County judge has already thrown them out once and held a hearing where he refused to reinstate them.

Topping off this week's news is a report from Talk To Action that Kline's special prosecutor, Donald McKinney, is linked to, or at least an admirer of, the Army of God, an extremist and allegedly violent anti-abortion group. The tone of the Talk To Action story is so frothing at the mouth that it would be easy to discount it, but the information appears to be valid.

For those looking for perspective on the Kansas Republican Party

By Diane Silver

If you've wandered over from the Political Animal at Washington Monthly, you may well be looking for this post on the state of the Republican Party in Kansas, which ponders the question: Is the state GOP really in tatters as some bloggers claim? Or, to put it more accurately: Has Kansas finally fixed what was wrong with itself?

The quick answer? Not really, but there IS progress.

It's a racist thing. It's time y'all understood.

By Nancy Jane Moore

I'm in the final miles of a trip to Texas for the holidays. In a bad chain restaurant just outside of Memphis, I saw a young man wearing a t-shirt with this flag on it:


Under the flag it said:

It's a southern thang. Y'all wouldn't understand.

Well, I'm a southerner. Several of my ancestors fought for the Confederacy. My daddy sang "Dixie" at a Confederate Veterans' Reunion when he was a small child. When I took history in high school, they taught the civil war as "us" and "them" -- and believe me, "them" meant Yankees. I know all about Southern pride and the evils of reconstruction. And from studying the war in more objective fashion in college, I'm fully aware that slavery wasn't the only issue that divided north and south.

But a person waving that flag or wearing it on a t-shirt in the 21st Century is saying just one thing:

"I'm a racist."

I'm sure that young man would have made some argument about southern pride, but that discussion always seems to devolve into nostalgia for a time when "certain people" knew their place. Regardless of the other issues that drove southerners, you cannot divorce the Civil War from slavery. And slavery was a great evil. You cannot separate the Confederate flag from that evil.

The flag belongs in museums, not on people's backs.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2007 to one and all from the folks at In This Moment. May both you and the world be blessed in in the coming year.

Revenge isn't justice

By Nancy Jane Moore

From all accounts, Saddam Hussein did terrible things over the course of his life. If you subscribe to the principles of karma, he deserved his ignoble end.

But his trial -- judging by the news reports -- was a mockery of legal process. As Juan Cole says, "The trial and execution of Saddam were about revenge, not justice."

The irony is that it would have been easy to convict Saddam of any number of horrible crimes while using even the relatively high standard of due process the US affords criminal defendants. This is not a case -- like those so beloved of TV cop shows -- where the bad guy would get away if we didn't bend the rules.

And the rules are important. Revenge may be a natural emotion -- we all want it when we've been ill-treated -- but civilized societies should not operative on revenge. It's primitive and it usually leads to more killing.

Justice systems were set up to weigh offenses and consequences dispassionately. They are imperfect -- they are created by human beings -- but even at their weakest they beat the hell out of vigilante justice and kangaroo courts. At their best, they deal fairly with those brought before them, convicting the guilty based on honest evidence and letting go those whose crimes cannot be proved.

The trial and execution of Saddam show a failure of the Iraqi justice system -- and a failure of the US, which let it happen. Justice systems should not be judged by how well they handle the easy cases, but what they do when principles are at stake. Here, the justice system failed miserably.

The Iraqi people got revenge for years of bad leadership and crimes against their fellow citizens. The US got revenge, though I'm not certain what we got it for -- the invasion of Kuwait? Plots against G. Bush Sr.? Deaths of our soldiers in Iraq? We'd still like revenge for September 11, but that had nothing to do with Saddam.

That we humans continue to let revenge call the shots in this world is yet another example of how we have not yet become civilized. We had a chance with the trial of Saddam to deal fairly with a man who never dealt fairly. We failed.

The Kansas Republican Party isn't dead yet, despite what national observers say

By Diane Silver

I would love to declare that the November election swept progressives into power in Kansas and left the state GOP in "tatters" on the floor. I would love to shout that story from the rooftops. Unfortunately, it isn't true, at least not in the way people on the coasts appear to believe.

Despite the glee of national observers like AMERICAblog.com, occasional commentators at Daily Kos and today's story in The Washington Post, I am sad to say that reports of the party's demise are a tad premature.

The view from Kansas is of a state where even in a watershed year for Democrats, Republicans held onto 78 seats in the Kansas House of Representatives, and Democrats won only 47. In the Kansas Senate, a mere 10 Democrats hold seats, while 30 are in the hands of Republicans.

It is true that Nov. 7 marked an important turning point in Kansas.

Moderates took over the state Board of Education and threw out the anti-evolution members who turned their back on science. However, moderates only hold a one-seat majority. If the past repeats itself, the majority on the board could swing back to the religious right in the next election.

Democrat Kathleen Sebelius won re-election as governor, and she is a talented politician and a good governor. However, the significance of her election remains to be seen.

Kansas has a history of staying thoroughly Republican while electing Democratic governors. In the last 20 years, Kansas has elected a total of five governors -- three Democrats, including Sebelius, and two Republicans.

The Kansas electorate's disgust at the rightwing antics of Attorney General Phill Kline and the fact that they booted him out of office is good news, as is the election of newly minted Democrat Paul Morrison. It is too early to tell, though, whether this was a vote against the Republican Party as much as a vote for an attorney general who will do the job he was elected to do.

The fact that Morrison and a handful of other Republican politicians switched parties is good news, but the number is still small and only a few of them won their campaigns.

For me the most heartening November victory was Democrat Nancy Boyda's win over Republican incumbent Jim Ryun. That came in a moderate to conservative district.

However, the meaning of the vote remains to be seen. Did voters turn their back on Ryun's social and political conservatism or simply get fed up with a Congressman who did a poor job of constituent service and ran a bad campaign?

The Washington Post story focused on the anger over the Johnson County Republican Party's recent election of Kline as county district attorney. He won the vote 316-291.

Here is the real money quote from the story.

"The moment Phill Kline got the nomination, half the room got up and walked out," said Scott Schwab, the county GOP chairman. "It wasn't so much yelling or cussing. They threw up their arms and said, 'What do we do now?' "

That quote, by the way, is from a Kline supporter, and it clearly shows the divide. But the true meaning of the moderates' anger won't be known until we see what else they do.

Reading tea leaves and telling the future is an uncertain task, but here are some signs that might show when a real change has occurred in Kansas.

• The religious right and ultraconservative Republicans cannot win without the collusion of moderate Republicans. Look for more moderates to either switch parties or to take control of the state Republican Party. That isn't even close to happening yet.
• Watch the next primary where precinct representatives are elected, particularly in Johnson County. If moderates can't take control of the precinct seats after the Kline debacle, then moderates will never have the power to succeed.
• Watch the 2008 legislative elections in Kansas. If Democrats cannot win more seats in the Legislature, then the party will never be revived in this state.
  

Former Kansas attorneys general say Phill Kline's actions are all about politics

By Diane Silver

Nothing but politics prompted outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline to name a special prosecutor in an abortion case. That's the word today from former Kansas Attorneys General Bob Stephan and Carla Stovall Steckline.

To make matters worse, Kline doesn't have a written contract with special prosecutor Donald McKinney. Thus, McKinney's financial arrangement with the state is unclear. Kline has called on McKinney to prosecute Wichita abortion provider George Tiller on misdemeanor charges.

The Wichita Eagle reports:

But former Kansas Attorney General Stephan called McKinney's appointment itself political, saying he could see "no reason at all" for Kline to take such an action.

Stephan, who served as attorney general from 1979 to 1995, and Stovall, who served from 1995 to 2003, said a special prosecutor would be needed only if: the office had a conflict of interest in a case; the office had a manpower issue; or if there was a need for an expert.

For example, both cited the need to hire outside prosecutors when the attorney general's office sued neighboring states over water rights.

In one sense, all of this means nothing because Attorney General-Elect Paul Morrison has already promised that he won't retain McKinney.

However, Kline will soon become the new Johnson County district attorney. Kline's new job puts him in a position to help or hurt the lives of those in the county. It also gives him a platform to continue as an outspoken leader of the religious right in Kansas, or to regroup for a run for another statewide post.

Kline shows little interest in letting go of the Ahab-like obsession that lead Kansas voters to throw him out of office in November. He shows little interest in following basic principles of law or good government.

Kline could do both of those things, fulfill his responsibilities as a public servant and still oppose abortion and everything Tiller does. After a while, one begins to wonder why Kline doesn't do that.

Meanwhile, The Eagle published an interesting editorial on Friday, "Kline's Charges Likely About Ideology."

Kansas: Phill Kline's last gasp special prosecutor will get the boot

By Diane Silver

The state's new attorney general, Paul Morrison, told reporters today that he won't keep the special prosecutor his predecessor appointed to go after abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller.

AP reports:

Attorney General-elect Paul Morrison said in a telephone interview today that he's not inclined to have a special prosecutor handle any investigation into Dr. George Tiller, who operates a Wichita clinic and is one of the few doctors in the nation to perform late-term abortions....

While Morrison, who supports abortion rights, would not completely rule out having a special prosecutor, he added, "It certainly won't be Mr. McKinney."

McKinney is an anti-abortion protestor who wins laurels from Operation Rescue for praying outside of Tiller's Wichita clinic. I agree with Morrison that McKinney can't be seen as being even close to objective (dare we say fair minded?) on the subject of Tiller.

The saga of Kline's frantic "last gasp" effort to get Tiller on misdemeanor charges before leaving office on Jan. 8 continues. This is turning into the Energizer bunny of cases.

Join the Army and become a US citizen

By Nancy Jane Moore

The Boston Globe reports that a recent change in US law allows the Pentagon to bring immigrants from other countries to serve in the military "if it determines it is vital to national security."

Right now the only non-citizens serving in the US military are those who were already legal immigrants living here, but the Globe says the Pentagon is considering setting up recruiting stations in foreign countries.

The incentive? Fast-track to US citizenship.

Now I certainly don't object to giving immigrants who have served in the armed forces extra points toward citizenship. And, in fact, there is a bill pending in Congress that would give permanent resident status to illegal immigrants who moved to the US before they were 16 and then serve in the military. The Arizona Daily Star reports that this bill, called the "DREAM Act," stands a good chance of passing the new Congress. It will also give these immigrants legal residency if they attend college.

But actual recruiting in foreign countries seems extreme. And it raises a big question: Why can't we get enough US citizens to join up?

There are those who would say that Americans are just too selfish to serve -- or, to put it more politely, that most citizens, like Dick Cheney during the Vietnam years, have "other priorities."

But while there are always people like Cheney who put self interest first, most of us are willing to make sacrifices for our country -- especially to keep ourselves and our families and neighbors safe. However, I suspect most of us are unwilling to put our lives on the line for Big Oil and a pigheaded president who can't admit he made a major mistake.

Bush is abusing the idealism of those who joined the armed forces to serve the country and keep it safe by sending them off to die in an unnecessary and unwinnable war. Many people of military age have figured that out, and they're not joining up.

Instead of setting up recruitment stations in foreign countries, the Pentagon needs to recognize that they won't ever get enough people to serve so long as they keep fighting wars that aren't in our country's best interest.

Watergate, Gays & Iraq: Thank You, Gerald Ford, for then and now

By Diane Silver

I was 22 when Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald R. Ford, a Congressman from my original home of Michigan, became president.

Along with everyone else I knew in the college town of East Lansing, I was exuberant about the departure of Tricky Dick. Heck, a restaurant called Beggar's Banquet served free champagne to everyone who walked through the door that day.

If you weren't alive then, I'm not certain you can really understand how it felt when the Watergate scandal finally led to Nixon's departure. It seemed as if we had been suddenly delivered from a terminal disease, at the same time we weren't certain we were going to survive the cure.

And then Ford took the stage as president. Calm. Solid. Honest.

Ford was, well, he was just Jerry, not much of a public speaker and a bit too conservative for my taste. To this day, I'm not certain he did the right thing in pardoning Nixon, but he was everything this country needed then. Above all Ford was a decent and honorable man, something that sometimes seems in short supply these days.

In reading his obituaries yesterday, I was struck by an extraordinary passage in The New York Times. It summed up Ford's decency very simply:

On an early trip as president to South Korea, he called American enlisted men "sir."

Can you imagine some of our recent leaders being that humble?

I entitled this post a thank you for "then and now" because this is more than just a post about the past. Ford carried his decency into the 21st Century.

In 2001, he stated his full support of fair laws for lesbians and gays.

Ford told Detroit News columnist Deb Price in a telephone interview that the provisions should include Social Security, tax and other federal benefits.

"I think they (same-sex couples) should be treated equally. Period," he said.

In addition, he stated support for a federal law banning workplace discrimination against gays: "That is a step in the right direction. I have a longstanding record in favor of legislation to do away with discrimination."

Do you know how extraordinary those statements are? Ford went farther than President Bill Clinton, such an allegedly big supporter of gay rights. Clinton signed the horrendous and misnamed Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex couples from getting any federal benefits among other things.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post has just released a 2004 interview where Ford said that George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq wasn't justified.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.

Decent to the end and full of common sense. Thank you, Jerry. May you rest in peace.

About the Photo: I chose a photo of Ford with his wife, Betty, who seemed then and now to be so much a part of his legacy. Betty showed us how to be honest about our failings and helped many people in the process.

Housekeeping: Labels & posting comments on In This Moment

By Diane Silver

Tuesday I moved the blog from the old Blogger to the new version of Blogger. The good news is that it gives us a bunch of new bells and whistles to play with, including labels as you can see at the end of each post. Click on the label for "gay rights" and see all the posts on gay rights. Soon I'll post an index for folks and add a few other changes to the blog.

Unfortunately, moving the blog also seems to have made it hard for registered Blogger users to post comments, according to emails I've recently received. I'm not certain, yet, how to solve this problem. You might need to create a Google account to comment.

As a transitional measure, though, I'm going to reset the blog and allow anyone, including those who want to remain anonymous, to post.

I'd appreciate it if someone could create a Google account and let me know if that solves the problem. You can reach me directly at hopeandpolitics@yahoo.com.

The New York Times takes a look at lesbian & gay Kansas

By Diane Silver

New York Times reporter Ginia Bellafante does a good job in Thursday's paper of profiling the state's suddenly visible lesbian and gay population.

The 2005 anti-marriage amendment and the ongoing campaigns to paint GLBT citizens as evil sinners have backfired, the story notes. The conservative attacks have lead an increasing number of lesbian, gay and transgendered Kansans to not only come out, but to become politically active.

I met Ginia when she visited our state recently. From what I can tell, she did a good job of fairly portraying the people she met. She even uncovered a few stories I hadn't heard before like this one about a political colleague.

(Cyd) Slayton found that the more she opened herself up, the more she found solace. The day after the marriage amendment passed, her handyman, a Rush Limbaugh fan who came to install her air conditioner, expressed his sympathies. “He came upstairs and said ‘I’m just so sorry, Cyd, I know how hard you worked on this,’ ” she said. “He put his arm around me and it was just about as touching a thing that happened around this whole issue.”

Stories such as Cyd's show the true depth of the quiet revolution in Kansas. Such events won't win elections today, and probably not tomorrow, but the change is coming. Lies and stereotypes can only win for so long.

Kansas: Judge refuses to back Phill Kline, but outgoing attorney general appoints special prosecutor

[updated 12/28/06]

The latest on Phill Kline vs George Tiller with a little mud and politics thrown at Paul Morrison: A Sedgwick County judge ruled that Kline doesn't have jurisdiction to charge the Wichita abortion provider. Meanwhile, Kline appointed a special prosecutor and vowed to go forward despite the judge's ruling.

My question is legal, and I honestly don't have an answer to this one. If the attorney general doesn't have jurisdiction in this case, how can a special prosecutor appointed by the AG have jurisdiction? Anyone?

Update:

* Kline noted that Morrison can abolish the special prosecutor's job when he takes office Jan. 8, but asked Morrison not to do that.

*Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said she would not allow a special prosecutor to file charges against Tiller. "If somebody is going to prosecute, it's going to be this office," she said, noting she has asked Kline for all the documents in the case.

* The Kansas City Star put it all in perspective by writing that Kline is abusing his authority even though the Kansas Supreme Court warned him not to do so. Kline wants to prosecute Tiller for taking the mental health of the patient into account. The Kansas Supreme Court stated:

“Until the United State Supreme Court or the federal Constitution says otherwise, however, the mental health of the pregnant woman remains a consideration necessary to ensure the constitutionality of the Kansas criminal abortion statute.”

12/28 Update:

The Wichita Eagle has the best blow-by-blow coverage of the hearing before Judge Clark and the legal issues involved. One interesting bit of trivia is that Kline did not argue the case before Clark, but instead had an assistant do it.

The Lawrence Journal-World has the best perspective on the anti-abortion activist appointed by Kline as special prosecutor.

Kansas: Phill Kline appoints special prosecutor to go after George Tiller

By Diane Silver

This is getting weirder and weirder. Does outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline really care about pursuing his anti-abortion agenda or is he starting a vendetta against Paul Morrison, the Democrat who defeated him in November?

The news: Just hours before a 2 p.m. hearing on whether he has jurisdiction to file misdemeanor charges against Dr. George Tiller, Kline appointed a special prosecutor whose claim to fame is yelling about Morrison. AP reports:

Kline chose Wichita attorney Don McKinney, a Democrat and brother of House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, as special prosecutor. Kline said
he chose Don McKinney because he's a well-respected attorney and a Democrat.

During Kline's campaign against Morrison, McKinney castigated a newspaper for not aggressively investigating 15-year-old, unproven allegations of sexual harassment against Morrison.

Those allegations were thrown out of court. Kline's mud slinging so angered Kansans that it might have helped defeat him. The choice of McKinney, a Democrat, looks good on the surface, but McKinney endorsed Kline during the campaign. His interest in flinging mud at Morrison makes it look like Kline's choice has more to do with personal anger than prosecuting Tiller.

The Lawrence Journal-World has a statement from Morrison.

10 myths about Iraq

By Diane Silver

Every American should read Juan Cole's "Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2006."

The post by the University of Michigan Middle East expert puts the debate over the future of Iraq policy in sobering perspective. Cole's post completely trashes the idea that more American troops will solve anything.

Hat tip to Americablog.

Kansas: Phill Kline gets one more chance to charge Wichita abortion doctor

By Diane Silver

If you're following outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline's on-again/off-again effort to nail Dr. George Tiller on misdemeanor charges, mark 2 p.m. tomorrow on your calendar.

That's when Sedgwick County District Judge Paul W. Clark has scheduled a hearing to reconsider his decision to dismiss the charges Kline filed against the doctor. The charges were dismissed over a jurisdictional issue. The hearing will be limited to discussing narrow legal issues. It will not deal with the substance the charges Kline filed against Tiller.

AP reports:

Clark said today that he will consider only whether a district court can limit a district attorney's power to dismiss a criminal case and, if there are circumstances allowing a court to intervene, whether they are present in Tiller's case.

In his one-page notice for the hearing, Clark also said an attorney for Tiller and Attorney General-elect Paul Morrison could participate.

Thus, Clark may well have not only set up a hearing to consider legal issues, but may have created a duel between bitter political opponents. Pistols anyone?

Kansas: Politics & a search for vindication push Phill Kline to charge abortion provider

By Diane Silver

AP Bureau Chief John Hanna does a nice job of explaining why outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline filed charges against Dr. George Tiller just before Christmas.

Kline wasn't playing the Grinch. The longtime darling of the Religious Right was seeking vindication and a way to tangle incoming Attorney General Paul Morrison up in abortion politics, Hanna argues.

Kline leaves the attorney general's office on Jan. 8. Through a weird series of events, he takes over as Johnson County district attorney for Morrison -- the Democrat who creamed Kline at the polls in November.

Kline will presumably continue his battle against Planned Parenthood in Johnson County. However, his jurisdiction over Tiller, who works out of Wichita, ends when Kline leaves office as attorney general.

Hanna writes:

Ultimate vindication for Kline would be a successful criminal prosecution of Tiller. But Kline's loss to Morrison meant Kline almost certainly wouldn't finish a case before leaving office.

However, he could begin one, raise questions about Tiller's activities, kick the anti-abortion propaganda apparatus into higher gear and create potential political problems for Morrison. Morrison then would face the choice of angering abortion-rights supporters or generating unending criticism from abortion opponents.

Kline could have forwarded his information to Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston for potential prosecution. However, he would have to take a chance that a Democrat many abortion opponents don't trust would file the case. The only way for him to be certain a case would get filed was to file it himself.

Filing the case himself, of course, lead a judge to dismiss the charges almost as soon as they were filed. The judge said Kline didn't have jurisdiction.

The silence of Christmas Eve

By Diane Silver

Winter sun and snow, so deep among the trees. There is no breeze today.

The cold freezes my nose from the inside out. The snow fills me with its smell and the sense of being home. The sound of every move is muffled.

Christmas is peace, connection, the quiet to hear yourself think, the silence to feel the divine, or at least it should be.

I have just returned from church, and these are just some of my thoughts as I prepare to welcome my son home for Christmas Eve. We will celebrate with my mother who will soon turn 80. We'll graze tonight on a light dinner of cheese, crackers, a bit of fruit and soup. Tomorrow we'll open presents and then pull together a turkey dinner and share it with a friend.

I'm living in snowless Kansas right now, where I've been for more than 20 years. I grew up in Michigan, though, and this photo reminds me of the silence of the forest and the moments from my childhood when I could feel the divine. The peace of it, the sense of there being more in the universe than I could see or touch, would fill every cell of my body.

May you know peace and love in whatever way holds meaning for you.

Happy holidays to all.

Lawrence may become the first city in Kansas to register same-sex partners

[updated 10 a.m. 12/23/06]

By Diane Silver

I knew this was brewing, but I've waited until it became public to post about it. The Lawrence Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition is working to make our town the first city in Kansas to create a domestic partner registry.

If approved, the proposal would add the home of the University of Kansas to Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis; Iowa City, Iowa; and about 72 other governments that have created registries.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports:

City Commissioner Mike Rundle has asked staff members to research an ordinance that would create a domestic partnership registry that would be run by the city.

A constitutional amendment approved by Kansas voters nearly two years ago outlaws gay marriage in the state. The domestic partnership registry would not automatically grant the legal rights that married couples have to gay or lesbian couples. But it would serve as a legal recognition of a couple's relationship.

"It would indicate that the city is welcoming and supportive of its gay community members," said Maggie Childs, who heads the Lawrence chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, which asked Rundle to seek the registry. "In my mind, the primary benefit is symbolic."

The constitutional amendment did more than just outlaw marriage for same-sex couples. It also banned any form of civil union or any kind of individual legal right that might look like marriage. Because a registry would not confer legal rights, though, it should still be constitutional.

The Journal-World provided some examples of how a registry could work and talked to officials in Iowa City, which has had a registry since 1994.

Despite its symbolic nature, a partnership registry is important. As Maggie said, it tells lesbians and gays that they are welcome in Lawrence, but a registry can also help out our families in concrete ways.

When my life partner died of breast cancer in 1993, our son was 7 years old, and I had a ton of bills. Proving that my late partner had actually been my partner was a constant struggle that had both emotional and financial consequences.

I had to argue with the newspaper about being listed as her partner. (The obituary writer asked: How could he know I was telling the truth?)

I had to argue with the state to get more copies of her death certificate when I needed them to settle her estate. (The clerk asked: Could I prove I was her partner?)

I had to argue with the insurance company that didn't want to honor my late partner's wishes. (The company official said: You're just a housekeeper who took care of a dying woman, and now you're trying to get all her money. Prove that you are who you say you are.)

If there is no public record of a relationship, how do you prove what you were to each other?

I was lucky. I was able to win those fights and other battles with the help of a good attorney, a bank manager and a handful of newspaper clippings where we were interviewed as a couple.

You shouldn't have to be in the newspaper or have the money to hire an attorney to prove that a life-long, loving commitment actually existed.

A domestic partner registry would certainly have helped me then, and it would help lesbians and gays now.

If you would like to part of this effort, please join the Lawrence Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition or make a donation online.

Kansas: Judge dismisses charges against Tiller hours after case becomes public

[updated 12:59 p.m. 12/23/06]

By Diane Silver

Talk about faster than a speeding bullet: A Sedgwick County judge has just dismissed the misdemeanor charges outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline filed against Dr. George Tiller.

AP reports:

Judge Paul W. Clark dismissed the case against Tiller after Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said that her office had not been consulted by Kline, a vocal opponent of abortion who recently lost his bid for a second term.

Clark signed his one-page order only hours after Kline's complaint against Tiller was unsealed. Kline filed his complaint Thursday, alleging that Tiller had improperly performed late-term abortions and hadn't properly reported information to the state Department of Health and Environment.

Foulston said in her request to have the case dismissed that while Kline is the state's chief law enforcement official, he doesn't have the legal authority to "unilaterally" pursue criminal charges when a county prosecutor has not asked his office to intervene or granted a request from the attorney general to handle a case.

"The district attorney has not invited or requested, consented or acquiesced, or failed to object to the filing of the complaint," Foulston wrote.

In a news conference Friday afternoon, Kline told reporters he would file an emergency motion asking the judge to reconsider his decision. Kline also talked about his action against Tiller and said that he had met with Foulston before filing charges. Here is the full text of Kline's statement. The article in The Wichita Eagle has the details.

From The Wichita Eagle:

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on the Kline's actions.

District Attorney Nola Foulston's filing.

The Eagle page also includes audio from Tiller's attorneys and now has a pdf of what Kline filed against Tiller. Here is an updated story from The Eagle detailing the sequence of events.

Judge's order dismissing the case.

From the Lawrence Journal-World:

The news release from Tiller's attorneys.

Kansas News: Phill Kline's "last gasp" attack on George Tiller & the new ethics charges filed against Kline

[updated 1 p.m. 12/23/06)

By Diane Silver

I have no intention of turning this into the Phill Kline All The Time blog, but just for the record, there are two new developments in the career of Mr. Kline. The soon-to-be Johnson County district attorney is in the 11th hour of his career as Kansas attorney general.

First, Kline today filed misdeamisdemeanor charges against Dr. George Tiller. A Wichita M.D., Tiller is a perpetual target of anti-choice/pro-life (pick your term) forces because he provides late-term abortions. (By the way, that isn't the only medical service Tiller provides. It's just the one that gets in the headlines.)

"The filing of criminal charges by Phill Kline is the last gasp of a defeated and discredited politician," Lee Thompson, one of Tiller's lawyers, said at a news conference this morning in Wichita. "Rather than exercising his duty as a prosecutor to see that justice is done, he has chosen to engage in a malicious and spiteful prosecution on the eve of Christmas."Tiller found a summons to appear in court on the door of his home.

Allegations include that Tiller has not properly reported information to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the lawyer said.

Dan Monnat, who also represents Tiller, said he expects the charges to be dismissed, either at next week's hearing or after Kline leaves office. "We also intend to explore any and all means of holding Kline personally responsible for his malicious actions," Monnat said.

Meanwhile, neither Kline nor his office are returning reporters phone calls.

[update]

For those jumping to this post directly, please note that a judge has already thrown out the charges against Tiller and Kline has talked to the news media. See the In This Moment post. post.

[end up update]

And to keep matters lively... Yesterday, the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission accused Kline of breaking ethics rules, a problem that could cost him a $5,000 fine. AP reports:

The commission's notice says only that in September, Kline used or authorized the use of state computers to copy and forward e-mail addresses to "expressly advocate" his re-election. Carol Williams, the commission's executive director, declined to provide additional details.

In September, Harris News Service reported that people who signed up for e-mail updates from Kline's office about a new state law allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns also received e-mails from his campaign's Web site.

In This Moment reported on Kline's use of his office to raise money earlier.

And finally...

We're supposed to be slowing down here. Somehow it isn't happening, at least not yet. Let us all now take time for our families.

Take care all!

"Congress shall no make no law respecting an establishment of religion"

By Nancy Jane Moore

A right-wing congressman is attacking Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, for planning to take the oath of office using a Quran instead of a Bible.

Actually, the attack by Virgil Goode, a Republican from Virginia, goes further than that. According to Juan Cole on Informed Comment, he said:

The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran . . .

This is wrong on so many levels that it's almost impossible to count them. First off -- and most obvious -- persons taking an oath who wish to use a holy book in support of that oath should obviously use a book that means something to them.

Secondly, the official oath for members of Congress uses no books at all -- they are sworn in en masse raising their right hands. Many have private ceremonies for family and supporters and use holy books at that point.

Third, Mr. Ellison isn't an immigrant. As I understand it from the NPR report this morning, his people go back in this country to the 1700s.

And most importantly, any requirement that people use a holy book from a specific religion to take an oath for public office -- or that they follow a specific religion to get elected to public office -- violates the First Amendment to the Constitution. I can't think of a more egregious attack on the words "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" than to require use of a Bible for taking public office oaths.

This is a tempest in a teapot, of course. No one is going to stop Mr. Ellison from taking office or swearing his oath as he pleases.

But it does show that there are people in this country who consider Muslims -- all Muslims -- as enemies.

And worse, it is just the kind of behavior -- like Bush's use of the word "crusade" when setting off to war -- that reinforces the idea that the US is attacking Islam.

Wikipedia has a thorough report on this controversy, if you want the facts without searching through rants on the blogosphere.

Me, I agree with Professor Cole:

So Virgil Goode should consider emigrating himself, to someplace where his sort of views might be welcome. They certainly aren't in the United States of America. And they never have been part of this country's values and principles.

Best wishes to all!

By Diane Silver

Happy Holidays to one and all.

Here at In This Moment, we're going to slow down a bit for the holidays. We will still post when the mood strikes us, but we will be going at a slower pace through the end of the year.

Some of us are celebrating Christmas, some are celebrating other holidays. Together, though, we see this as a time of peace and love, a sacred moment to pause and focus on our families.

To those of you who love what we say and agree with us 100 percent...

To those of you who scream and gnash your teeth everytime you read a post...

And, to the many who are in between...

May you all have the the brightest of seasons. May you all know love and light.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius refuses to back Phill Kline as Johnson County DA

By Diane Silver

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius doesn't have the power to stop Phill Kline from becoming Johnson County district attorney, but in an unusual move she has refused to bless his appointment.

Sebelius has refused to sign the paper making his appointment official. However, the appointment, made by the county Republican Committee, still goes into effect.

Kline lost his effort to be re-elected as attorney general in November by a statewide landslide. In Johnson County, 65 percent voted to boot him out of office.

AP quotes Sebelius as saying that she refused to sign the paper "out of a deep and enduring respect for the will of the people."

"I do not believe such a clear majority of Kansans rejected Kline's stewardship as attorney general with the intention of seeing him continue a public career in law enforcement paid for by taxpayers," Sebelius said in a written statement.

I've watched Kansas politics for more than 20 years, and I don't remember ever hearing of a governor refusing to rubber stamp one of these county appointments. Good for you, Sebelius!

Now the question remains: When will Kansas get smart and start using special elections to fill vacated government positions?

Thoughts on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius & her latest love note from the media

By Diane Silver

First it was Time magazine, and now it's Newsweek. All in all, the national news media can't seem to get enough of our fair governor, Kathleen Sebelius.

In calling her a rising star, Newsweek says:

During her first term in office, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius so impressed the former head of the state's Republican Party that he became a Democrat in order to serve as her running mate in 2006. A pro-business, pro-military, pro-choice, fiscal conservative, Sebelius easily won re-election this fall, and has emerged as the dean of a new breed of Democrats taking over what was once reliably red terrain.

Newsweek reports that Sebelius' recent election to head the Democratic Governors Association is "fueling chatter that she would make a good vice presidential running mate in 2008."

Could be. Whatever happens, it does seem clear that unless Sebelius makes a misstep, she is destined for something far beyond Topeka, Kan.

I can't say that I'm a friend of the governor's, but I did know her when she served in the Kansas House, and I covered the Legislature for The Wichita Eagle. I know people who work directly with the governor now.

I can tell you that Sebelius is smart, hardworking and fair. She appoints smart, hardworking and fair people to work for the state.

Even before she was governor, Sebelius had an impact, most importantly as insurance commissioner. She stood up to a private company that was trying to buy Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas. The results of such a sale would have been disastrous for Kansans. Sebelius rejected the company's application and made the rejection stick in court.

Unlike some in the national news media, though, I don't think Sebelius walks on water. At times she is far too timid for my taste, and I've seen her make a stumble or two.

Sebelius is making a positive difference in Kansas, though, and she could have a real impact on the national stage.

Whatever happens now, it will be fascinating to watch.

Memo to Secretary Gates: It's too late to avoid failing in Iraq

By Nancy Jane Moore

On NPR this morning, I heard new Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying that the U.S. cannot afford to fail in Iraq.

Dan Froomkin, the White House Briefing blogger for washingtonpost.com, provides the whole quote:

All of us want to find a way to bring America's sons and daughters home again. But, as the President has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come.

Apparently Secretary Gates doesn't get it. We've already failed in Iraq. It's too late to prevent our mistakes there and throughout the Middle East from haunting our nation, impairing our credibility, and endangering Americans and many others for decades to come.

Mr. Secretary, you weren't hired to head the Defense Department to win the war in Iraq, or even to avoid failing in Iraq. If the people who pushed Bush to bring you in thought the war was winnable, they might have stayed with Rumsfeld.

Your job is to do whatever you can to minimize the effects of our colossal failure in Iraq. It's a virtually impossible job and it will be tough to measure any successes, since incremental improvements on disaster don't look much different from failure.

But it's a necessary job. Someone's got to pick up the pieces and you've taken up the challenge.

Please, please don't kid yourself or the country that you can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That will just waste time and make things worse.

Kansas: Phill Kline's office misreads opinion

By Diane Silver

Today we get news that may well chill the hearts of those of you in Johnson County. This is your soon-to-be district attorney -- good old Phill Kline -- we're talking about.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kline, Kansas' attorney general until January, made "little" goof. It was such a tiny goof that the Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Kay McFarland had to issue an order to set the record straight.

Attorney General Phill Kline declared victory prematurely in the case of three Topekans accused of engaging in the illegal practice of law.

...

No final decision has been rendered by the Supreme Court in the matter of David Martin Price, Rosemary Price and Janice King, all of Topeka. In fact, attorneys representing the trio and their association, Pro Se Advocates, have until Jan. 3 to challenge retired Judge Jack Lively's conclusions and recommendations contained in a report submitted to the Supreme Court.

The miscue surfaced in a statement Kline released Friday claiming the Supreme Court "declared" the three Topekans and Pro Se Advocates engaged in unauthorized legal work. In addition, the statement said, the high court "ordered" the three people and the organization to pay $6,550 in fines, legal expenses and restitution.

The court hasn't issued any such declaration or order.

Jan Lunsford, a spokesman for Kline, said the attorney general's office mistakenly believed Lively's report was final and that the case was "a win for us."

Note that the issue isn't politics, it's competency. Let's hope Kline does better when he takes over as DA for the state's most populous county.

What gay rights has to do with civil rights

By Diane Silver

Thank you, Leonard Pitts. Once again, you've made sense of what many would either obscure or deny.

Today's column really hit home. However, it isn't just because I'm a lesbian, and Pitts is arguing for gay rights. The column also hit home because I am a firm believer that all people deserve fairness and equal treatment under the law, even those who are different than I am, and yes, even those who want to destroy me.

Pitts writes:

(N)o, gay people were not kidnapped from Gay Land and sold into slavery, nor lynched by the thousands. On the other hand, they do know something about housing discrimination, they do know job discrimination, they do know murder for the sin of existence, they do know the denial of civil rights, and they do know what it is like to be used as scapegoat and bogeyman by demagogues and political opportunists.

They know enough of what I know that I can't ignore it. See, I have yet to learn how to segregate my moral concerns. It seems to me if I abhor intolerance, discrimination and hatred when they affect people who look like me, I must also abhor them when they affect people who do not. For that matter, I must abhor them even when they benefit me. Otherwise, what I claim as moral authority is really just self-interest in disguise....

I believe in moral coherence. And Rule No. 1 is: You cannot assert your own humanity, then turn right around and deny someone else's.

Amen to that.

Kansas Congresswoman Nancy Boyda vows to concentrate on service

[updated 7:45 a.m. 12-19]

Newly elected Democrat Nancy Boyda - the woman who beat the seemingly invincible Jim Ryun -- talks about the future, being new in Congress and the meaning of service in a Lawrence Journal-World interview. Here is the full transcript of the interview.

Kansas: Operation Rescue's man of the year is no a surprise

By Diane Silver

It is hardly a surprise that Operation Rescue has named outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline as its Man of the Year.

I'm sure Kline is thrilled by the award.

As for me, well ... no comment.

Kansas: Phill Kline debacle prompts another Republican to switch parties

By Diane Silver

Yet another prominent Republican has said he just can't take it anymore. Lifelong GOPer Rev. Bob Meneilly has told the KC Buzz Blog that he is bolting to the Democratic Party.

The tipping point was the Religious Right's annointing of ousted Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline as Johnson County's new district attorney.

Meneilly told the Buzz Blog that "the way they did it was kind of a slap in the face to the community."

Both Meneilly and his wife are becoming Democrats. Meneilly is in his 80's and is pastor emeritus of Village Presbyterian Church and chairman emeritus of the moderate MAINstream Coalition.

I had a chance to talk with Meneilly during the 2005 campaign to defeat the anti-marriage amendment to the Kansas Constitution. I have a lot of respect for all he has accomplished in his life. He has always stood up for what he believes.

When a couragous, principled and religious person like Meneilly leaves your party, you know you're in trouble.

The mainstream media should have done better by Sen. Johnson

By Nancy Jane Moore

The media reaction to Sen. Tim Johnson's recent health emergency was annoying, inappropriate, and -- for the first several days -- inaccurate.

Every initial story about the South Dakota senator's illness focused more on the fact that a Republican governor would name any replacement than it did on what happened to him and how he was faring. Not only did this rudely reduce Sen. Johnson to a cipher who is more important as one of the people who make up the Democratic majority than he is a human being, but every story left the incorrect impression that he would be replaced immediately if he didn't get well and even that he could be replaced temporarily.

In fact, the governor can only replace him if he dies or if he resigns. And he doesn't have to resign, even if he's too ill to return to his duties when the Senate reconvenes. Senators do not have to step down because of illness, even if they're seriously incapacitated. History is rife with examples of senators who were out for extended periods due to their health and others who were barely able to make it to the floor for a vote.

Further, there are no "temporary" replacements. The Senate does without any members who can't be there.

The only initial report on Sen. Johnson that got it right wasn't in the mainstream press, but on the blog Balkinization. Sandy Levinson, a constitutional scholar who thinks we should address ways of removing disabled senators, explained it clearly:

In any event, so long as Johnson is alive, he remains the Senator from South Dakota and the Democrats will have a 50-49 majority of those present and voting in early January. This means that under no circumstances, whatever the seriousness of his condition, should he be viewed as "resigning" his seat, given the political realities of the situation.

And it took a couple of days before even supposedly politically astute publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post got it right. And they're still more interested in the political ramifications than they are in Sen. Johnson's health, as witnessed by today's Post story, which focuses on the wild and wooly world of South Dakota politics.

I realize that right now most of the news about Sen. Johnson is some variation on "wait and see." But health problems suffered by public figures also provide an opportunity to educate the public. Since Sen. Johnson had stroke-like symptoms, but did not, in fact, have a stroke, articles on the aneurysms and the many other kinds of brain injuries that can occur in seemingly healthy individuals would be much more valuable than all this political speculation.

Ironically, the best words on the subject came from Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, a Republican who is posed to become the minority whip in the new Senate. The Washington Post quotes Lott:

My expectation and hope is that Tim will recover fully and come back and we'll go to work. You know, I'd like to be in the majority, but I don't want to do it that way.

We here on In This Moment also wish Sen. Johnson a speedy recovery.

New Jersey gets civil unions & I'm happy in a sad kind of way

By Diane Silver

The good news this week is that the New Jersey legislature has approved the creation of civil unions and the governor has said he will sign the bill. The bad news is that they approved civil unions and that, yes, the governor will sign this into law.

This weeks' vote came after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that to deny lesbian and gay couples marriage, or something like it, is unconstitutional.

The very good news for New Jersey families headed by same-sex couples is that they will finally get approximately the same legal rights that heterosexuals take for granted. The Washington Post reports:

Among the benefits gay couples would get under New Jersey's civil unions bill are adoption rights, hospital visitation rights and inheritance rights.

This is why I'm jumping for joy for NJ families today. For too long our families have struggled under an unfair legal system that targets our children (no inheritance from one parent, the chance of being torn away from a loving co-parent if the biological parent dies) and ourselves (banned from the hospital room of a dying spouse).

Gaining these rights is far too important to quibble about whether our loving families are joined in unions or marriage.

But I have to admit to also being saddened by this news because what you call something matters. Committed same-sex couples are not just life partners, and they're certainly not unionized. They are, in fact, spouses. They are married.

The laws will not be fair until our relationships are acknowledged as marriage. The time to end our second-class citizenship is long past.

Happy Bill of Rights Day

By Diane Silver

I have to run off to get to work in a minute, so there's not much time to ponder the importance of the 215th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. However, I did want to take a second to put up a link to that important document and to remind readers why the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are such a key part of our society.

I think they are at the core of the American Dream. To me that dream has never been about becoming rich as much as it has been about freedom -- the freedom to simply be who you are and to pursue your dreams. The Bill of Rights preserves that freedom. Thanks, founders, for giving us that gift.

Housekeeping: You must now register to comment on In This Moment

By Diane Silver

I want to continue the lively debate on this blog, and I do value hearing from all of you. Gosh in the last few months, I've made some great contacts through this In This Moment.

However, I also believe that people should show at least a tiny bit of backbone and stand up for their opinions. Otherwise you get folks posting things like the first comment in this discussion of Kansas politics. The issue isn't hurt feelings, certainly not on my part, but I do believe that people should be accountable for their opinions.

Thus, the new rule of the game at In This Moment is that people must first register with Blogger in order to post a comment. Of course, you can all reach me directly with comments, news tips and blasts of indignation at my Hope & Politics address.

We'll see how this goes for a while. I hope you're all (yes, even the folks I disagree with) having a great holiday season.

Housekeeping: Here's a question for you all

By Diane Silver

The brave anonymous has noted that as blog proprietor I can change the settings to only allow registered users to post. Even though I think anonymous' question was irrelevant to the discussion, he/she/it accidentally hit on a valid question: Should I require people to take at least some form of identity before they post comments?

What do you think?

By the way, ole' anonymous was actually attempting to avoid answering the very reasonable question Nancy Jane Moore put to him. Her question to he/she/it was:

And I must ask: why are you so afraid to use your name when you make comments? You know who we are -- why not use your name?

Anonymous answered at the end of a long comment:

This is your blog and you set it up to allow anonymous comments. If you don't like anonymous comments, you can fix that in just a few seconds.

My note to anonymous is: While you've got me thinking and asking folks about the issue of how comments are posted on this blog, you didn't answer Nancy's question. Let me re-phrase it for her. What do you have to hide? Why are you so afraid to be honest?

Kansas: Voting for Phill Kline for DA would have been "unconscionable"

By Diane Silver

Now it's time to hear from the other side of the Johnson County Republican Committee. Let's listen to why one Republican precinct representative - Kansas House Rep. Stephanie Sharp -- voted against making Phill Kline the district attorney.

By the way, note that she fears retaliation for standing by the voters of her precinct. Those voters overwhelmingly rejected Kline when he ran for re-election as attorney general in November.

Sharp writes in an email to interested voters:

For the record: Even though this was a secret ballot, I don't hide my votes from you. I approached the evening, and my vote, scientifically.

I researched the vote totals in every one of my precincts, including my own. Phill Kline lost every precinct and nearly all by a 2-to-1 margin. In my precinct (Lenexa 3-7), the total was 462-205.

In every precinct, that race received the highest total votes, which signaled to me that voters were very adamant about voting in that race, even when they skipped other races. Thus, my vote went to Steve Howe. (Kline's only opponent in the race.)

I'm sure I will face retaliation by many fellow Republicans, but considering the above facts, any other vote would have been unconscionable.

I've heard from many of you upset about this outcome. I understand your frustration with the precinct process and am hopeful this event will encourage primary election participation.

Sharp argues that the outcome of Monday night's vote shows why it's important for voters to get involved in electing their precinct representatives.

Political boundaries are arranged by precincts of voters. Each precinct is represented by a Republican Precinct Committeewoman and Committeeman, and a Democrat Precinct Committeewoman and Committeeman. These people are elected during the August primary. Maybe this will bring attention to the importance of primary elections in Kansas!

...The point the media is missing: Precinct Committee representatives serve as your voice when a vacancy occurs. Just how I am your voice in Topeka, these folks are accountable to you, the voters.

Sharp urges Johnson County Republicans to find out who represents them on the precinct level and get involved. To find your precinct representative either take a look at your voter registration card, or visit the following web sites.

Lenexa Republican Precinct Committee.

Shawnee Republican Precinct Committee

Kansas: Phill Kline's election as Johnson County DA "insults" democracy & voters

By Diane Silver

Are people angry in Johnson County about deposed Attorney General Phill Kline's election to be their district attorney? Oh yeah.

Boo Tyson, executive director of the the Johnson County MAINstream Coalition, explains how her organization feels about Kline being put into office by the votes of 316 ultra-conservative GOP activists.

In a statement, released Wednesday afternoon, Tyson notes:

The MAINstream Coalition is disappointed in and shocked by the vote of the Johnson County Republican Party precinct committee leaders to elect Phill Kline as the new County District Attorney. This decision ignored the will of the moderate voters of Johnson County, who sent an overwhelming message to Kline on November 7th. It is just one more example of the radical right's willingness to ignore the perspectives of anyone who disagrees with them, even if they are members of their own party. As we have seen on a national level, this kind of "stay the course" thinking is both short-sighted and disrespectful.

Mr. Kline was also never officially announced as a candidate prior to this election. While there were rumors of his candidacy, the lack of a formal announcement is yet another reflection of an obvious lack of regard for the electoral process. One of the reasons the MAINstream Coalition was founded was to oppose "stealth candidates" who attempt to fool the electorate. In this case, Mr. Kline apparently wanted to fool his own party members.

The MAINstream Coalition welcomes voters-and potential voters-of any political party or affiliation to join us in our nonpartisan, moderate approach to stand against the "blinders on" approach used so often by the Far Right. We continue to work to protect and defend religious liberty and public education-fighting for democracy and freedom. While this vote may have been legal, it does nothing to promote democracy or honor voters. In fact, it insults both.

A nonpartisan, grassroots organization, the coalition reports that it was founded in Johnson County in 1993 to fight extremist attempts to undermine Constitutional freedoms and the separation of church and state.

In This Moment explains how Kansas' recently ousted attorney general became the new DA of the state's most populous county.

Kansas: Republicans "stuck a finger in the eye of Johnson County"

By Diane Silver

To be precise, 316 ultra-conservative Republicans stuck their fingers in the eyes of 65 percent of Johnson County voters when they elected ousted Attorney General Phill Kline as the county's new district attorney.

Last night's vote by the county Republican committee sets up newly minted Democrat Paul Morrison and Kline to swap jobs. The current Johnson County district attorney, Morrison beat Kline in a landslide in November to win the office of attorney general. In Johnson County, Kansas' most populous county, 65 percent voted to boot Kline from office.

To gage the depth of the anger, even among Republicans, please note that the finger-in-the-eye quote doesn't come from me, but from Andy Wollen. AP reports:

Andy Wollen, chairman of the moderate Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, said GOP conservatives had "stuck a finger in the eye of Johnson County voters."

"The voters sent a clear message to Phill Kline -- 'you're fired,'" Wollen said after Monday night's balloting.

Taking the issue of abortion and the culture war out of the discussion for the moment, Kline's victory is a clear sign that Kansas needs to change the way it fills open seats. Instead of allowing a party committee to fill the seat, isn't it time to bring a little democracy to the situation and begin holding special elections?

There are some jobs in government that, honestly, don't make much difference in people's lives. If you don't believe that, think about the last time you knew of a lieutenant governor who had an impact on your life.

But being a county district attorney isn't one of those. DAs are an important part of the law enforcement team. To put someone with no experience as a prosecutor and little to no experience in criminal law in that prosition is ridiculous.

AP reports the Kline will probably bring his team from the attorney general office with him. That means displacing the proven professionals Morrison has put in place. That can't be a good sign for the county.

AP also gives us an interesting quote from Morrison. It shows that the state's new attorney general understands something Kline may never get: Some things are beyond politics.

Morrison said he was "deeply disappointed" by the vote. But he pledged a smooth transition for Kline into the county office, saying, "public safety should be above politics."

The Kansas City Star has a good look at the vote and the politics of it.

Civil Rights, Civil Unions, Religion and the State from an Muslim Activist's Eyes

By Pamela K. Taylor

I want to point readers to an article written by a Muslim activist who was in Wisconsin recently canvassing against that state's ammendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and denying legal status to civil unions and common law marriages.

The amendment to the state constitution reads:

That marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.

The article is a beautiful explanation of how civil rights must be applied across the board, and how the encroachment of religious traditions into politics must be challenged. It's a sincere and heartfelt demonstration of how an individual can support another human being's right to self-determination in every matter, including marriage, even though that individual believes his religion prohibits same-sex and common law marriages.

To me, it is clear that all human beings should have the right to make their own moral decisions, that freedom of religion should apply even to those whose religious choices you don't agree with.

Of course, the matter is complicated because religious freedom is not absolute. It is tempered by other freedoms and social needs. A society's need for security may justify laws which require those who veil their faces to reveal their identity under certain circumstances. Similarly, religious traditions which inflict bodily harm on their participants (say suicide cults or practices such as fgm) may be outlawed by society.

But in instances where no one is being physically harmed, and security is not endangered, then we have no moral authority to insist that any one religious interpretation can be imposed upon the entirety of society.

Kansas: It's official. Johnson County GOP picks Phill Kline as district attorney

By Diane Silver

This is bizarre, insane and probably the best political present Johnson County Democrats could ever get.

The suburban Kansas City Republican committee has just chosen the recently ousted Kansas attorney general, Phill Kline, to replace the man who creamed him at the polls on Nov. 7. It is true: Kline will take over for Democrat Paul Morrison as the county district attorney.

This is despite the fact that Kline has little to no experience as a prosecutor or in criminal law. Kline will serve out the last two years of Morrison's term as DA, while Morrison takes over as the attorney general of the state. Morrison was elected DA as a Republican and later switched to the Democratic Party to run against Kline.

In the vote that was just completed, Kline "beat the other nominee Steve Howe by 21 votes," KC's Channel 9 TV reports. Kline was put into office by anti-abortion crusaders and the ultra-conservative wing of the county party. The vote was even held at the Westside Family Church.

To show how out of touch the conservatives are in Johnson County, in the race for attorney general, Kline could only dredge up 35 percent of the vote in the county where he will now act as district attorney.

It will be fascinating to see what the voters of Johnson County make of all this. It will be fascinating to see if Kline has even a whisper of a chance of winning the DA's office when he comes up for election in 2008.

Memo to Bush: You're no Harry Truman

By Nancy Jane Moore

It seems that Bush is still planning to "stay the course" in Iraq, despite the findings of the Iraq Study Group.

According to a report from the McClatchy newspapers Washington bureau, Bush has taken to comparing himself to Harry Truman, who was unpopular when he left office but later won praise for his job as president.

However, I suspect it was Truman's basic integrity -- not his handling of the Korean War -- that brought about his rehabilitation. Bush doesn't have integrity to fall back on.

History is not going to be kind to a president who used the excuse of an attack on the United States to start an unnecessary war against a country that wasn't involved. Not only has the U.S. invasion left Iraq in shambles, it has diverted our military from actions that would make our country safer and left us unable to respond effectively to other threats.

The McClatchy article also notes that members of Congress are frustrated with Bush's refusal to face reality on Iraq. It quotes incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Bush:

He is tepid in what he talks about doing. Someone has to get the message to this man that there have to be significant changes.

Over on Balkinization, Marty Lederman has a great response to Reid:

Someone? How about Congress "getting him the message," Senator Reid, by actually requiring him to act?

Lederman suggests that Congress could put some of the Iraq Study Group recommendations into a bill and pass it. Even if Bush vetoes it, and even if Congress doesn't have the votes to override the veto, the issue would be on the table.

Some of the comments to Lederman's post suggest that Congress go for a resolution -- since a resolution can't be vetoed -- showing no confidence in the president because of his Iraq policy.

This idea has lots of merit. It's way past time that Congress asserted itself. If we're going to restore our democracy and improve our relationship with the rest of the world, Congress has to act. Bush is going to "stay the course" no matter how much of our country he destroys in the process.

Watching the zoo surrounding Mary Cheney's pregnancy & (gulp) praising the vice president

By Diane Silver

Hell must have frozen over because I'm going to do something I never thought possible: I'm going to praise Vice President Dick Cheney.

In fact, I come to sing the praises of both Dick and Lynne Cheney who have publicly reacted to the news of their daughter Mary's pregnancy exactly as proud grandparents should. The issue, of course, is that Mary is that most horrible of beast, an "out lesbian."

As the Los Angeles Times reported:

The vice president and his wife issued a statement saying they are "looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild."

It seems bizarre to make such a big deal about grandparents being proud of the impending birth of a grandchild, but such is the reality of life for families headed by same-sex couples. No matter how committed we are to each other, how good we are as parents, we are always attacked. Yes, it IS news when the very conservative vice president does nothing more than say he is proud that a baby will be born to his out-lesbian daughter.

Meanwhile, the media and blogosphere zoo has been clamoring for attention. The Post's Media Notes has a good rundown of the coverage and the blogging.

Best of all, though, Washington Post writer Ruth Marcus has a wonderful column in Friday's paper focusing on real family values and what she very accurately calls the "benign reality of gay families today." Marcus writes:

To be a badly wanted child (one thing that's indisputable about the children of same-sex couples: the parents had to work to make it happen) in a home with two loving parents is no tragedy. If they're worried about "emotional devastation," the (disapproving writers) Crouses and Knights of the world would do better to reserve their lamentations for children in poverty, those who are abused or neglected, or for children in families splintered by divorce.

Well said! Congratulations to Mary and her partner Heather Poe, who have been married in every way except in the eyes of the law for 15 years.

Kansas House Republicans: Electing the old white guy's team

By Diane Silver

I have been around Kansas politics far too long. I can't believe that I missed the fact that the entire leadership team recently elected by Kansas House Republicans is all-male and all-white. And just in case a little diversity might have crept in, House Republicans also made certain that their leaders were all-rural and all 60 or older.

I did notice the conservative slant, but didn't even think about the bland sameness of it all until the Lawrence Journal World pointed it out and noted that Kansas Democrats were "snickering at the makeup of the House Republican leadership team."

I missed the significance because, well, it's not exactly a new thing for the Republicans leading the House to be all white and all male. However, when I was covering the Legislature I don't remember them all being so close to cashing in their Social Security.

By the way, the GOP members of the Kansas House include females as well as males. I haven't looked up the ages, but I'd be willing to bet the voters let a few young folk take the oath of office. Does anyone know if there are any black Republicans among the group?

The Journal-World notes:

The GOP leadership team includes Speaker Melvin Neufeld, 66, a farmer from Ingalls; Majority Leader Ray Merrick, 67, a business owner from Stilwell; Speaker Pro Tem Don Dahl, 61, retired of the Navy from Hillsboro; and caucus chairman Dick Kelsey, 60, of Goddard. The two youngest members of the team are Majority Whip Rob Olson, 37, of Olathe, and assistant Majority Leader Jene Vickrey, 47, of Louisburg.

Those candidates were elected by the 78-member House Republican caucus Monday. The only woman to run for a leadership job was Lana Gordon, of Topeka, and she was defeated by Vickrey, 59-18, with one not voting....

Meanwhile, the 47-member House Democratic caucus returned all of its previous leaders, which includes three men and two women, and one of those women, Lawrence Democrat Barbara Ballard, is black. In addition, a new member of the House Democratic leadership team is Paul Davis, of Lawrence, who was elected unopposed as policy chairman to replace Nancy Kirk, who retired from the Legislature. Geographically, the Democratic leaders hail from Greensburg, Wichita, Hays, Lawrence and Leavenworth.