You mean besides the free Mad Dog 20/20 and prostitutes with poor accounting skills?
A break from Tillermania™.
Happy New Year.
UPDATE: And then reality comes to call: Your Final Fantasy XIII screenshots from the Playstation 3.
UPDATE 2 [00:01 01.01.2007]: Fireworks? Surely that can’t be — they’re banned in Lawrence.
One more domino needs to fall. The Jets have the fifth playoff spot cinched up. The Chiefs needed to beat Jacksonville — which they did, 35-30 — and also needed Tennessee, Denver, and Cincinnati each to lose.
Well — the Titans are losing 33-23 with two minutes remaining against New England. The Bengals have just lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime. And the Broncos are in a scoreless tie with San Francisco midway through the first quarter.
UPDATE: New England has just scored another touchdown to ice it, 40-23. Go 49ers! And not to get too wound up, but the Chiefs’ first-round opponent, should they qualify, would be the run-porous Indianapolis Colts.
UPDATE [20:53]: The San Francisco 49ers oblige, beating Denver 26-23 in overtime. The Chiefs qualify for the playoffs and will play in Indianapolis on Saturday at 3:30.
UPDATE [10:30 01.01.2007]: Bizarre — Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams was apparently killed overnight in a drive-by shooting in Denver.
When I write this poem down pick up this Playstation 2 controller,
I will be thinking of you playing Final Fantasy XII
lovingly and drinking beer.
The Phill Kline/George Tiller situation has become the classical containment scenario: Cut off all means of escape and then clam up.
Governor Sebelius issued her mild comments the other day, and Paul Morrison’s been short-winded on the matter for a while now, although he got in a few more pops yesterday.
Former Attorneys General Carla Stovall and Bob Stephan, who both took shots at Kline during the campaign, each shared their thoughts on the latter’s appointment of a special prosecutor (and ersatz anti-abortion protester):
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.
“There was no one in the attorney general’s office that was an expert in water law,” Stephan said.
And Steckline said she didn’t believe the attorney general’s office has people on staff who lack the expertise to deal with this case. In fact, she said, she hired Senior Assistant Attorney General Stephen Maxwell, who is on Kline’s staff.
“I would think he would be more than capable of handling any criminal action,” she said.
Stephan said that an attorney general can appoint anyone as a special prosecutor, but the selection has little import until responsibilities are detailed.
“In my opinion, it would not be effective until a contract has been entered into, spelling out the responsibilities and the hourly rate.”
Steckline said that even if a contract isn’t in place with a special prosecutor, an attorney general should try to find out some general information about issues such as finances when making such an appointment.
“It would not be a good business practice, obviously, to not have that nailed down ahead of time,” she said.
Some things to note here — both Stovall-Steckline and Stephan are Republicans, and Stephan is a solid conservative. In fact, Stephan worked on Kline’s campaign, until evidence came to his eyes regarding possibly-irregular or unethical fundraising practices.
Morrison may or may not have gone native, and he was on the receiving end of the nastiest stuff in the campaign, so any “lashing out” by him is understandable. Stovall and Stephan, however, are not running for anything and have no “base” or partisan benefactors to placate. When one hears the same criticisms coming from experienced attorneys on all sides, however, there is likely to be something to them. Paul Morrison, whatever his political affiliations may have been or may be now, is a good lawyer. So are Carla Stovall and Bob Stephan. Phill Kline, as I believe the evidence has shown, and as a large majority of Kansans decided, is not. Good, honest lawyers typically police the profession, and I view their comments in that context.
Kline has hurt his pet cause more than he knows. He has now made it politically impossible for a good Attorney General or district attorney to prosecute any legitimate crimes relating to abortion in this state, assuming they exist. The usual suspects come out of the woodwork even then. Neither Morrison nor any other prosecutor in this state is going near any of these charges, whatever their merits. What then when such a case does arise?
UPDATE: For some reason I just can’t get enough of abortion politics: Don McKinney, the special prosecutor, filed a motion in Sedgwick County to have the charges reinstated. This is going nowhere. If Kline — who was elected to his post — didn’t have jurisdiction, then the unelected McKinney is not going to have it either.
And did somebody say something about jeopardizing sex crimes investigations?
I was at my brother’s in Emporia last night and didn’t get back until late, so I thought I’d do an update.
Governor Sebelius put in her two cents’ worth on Thursday:
“The story just continues to get stranger and stranger,” Sebelius said in response to questions from reporters.
On Wednesday, a state district judge rejected for the second time an attempt by Kline to file charges against Tiller, a Wichita doctor who performs abortions.
Kline, an abortion opponent, said he would appoint Don McKinney, also an anti-abortion advocate, as a special prosecutor to take over the case before he leaves office Jan. 8.
Asked if she thought Kline’s actions were appropriate, Sebelius said, “I think what the judge found is that he did not follow the law, he did not abide by the steps that needed to be taken. He looked at it twice, and to me that’s not appropriate to have an attorney general who isn’t following Kansas law.”
Nothing controversial or surprising there. Sebelius has never really taken up sword and shield in “culture war” issues. It’s been a winning strategy for her up to now, and she may have her eyes on a national office, so I expected nothing less. The Governor’s pressers don’t run on C-SPAN though; I still would like to have seen the whole thing.
Then, Paul Morrison announced that he would not retain the services of Kline’s “independent special prosecutor”, Don McKinney, who also happens to be an anti-abortion activist.
This is also as I suspected. This case is going nowhere (what’s the sound of one favor being called in?); it’s all over but the Tillermania.
Because when we want to talk about amoral and/or incompetent assholes, we go all out, baby!
The first part of today’s installment seems only fitting on the day that America woke up to learn that former President Gerald Ford had died at the age of 93. Outgoing Kansas AG Phill Kline appointed an independent special prosecutor — who, by the way, is a Democrat who endorsed Kline over Morrison (that sound you hear is the sound of Nutroots™-licensed copies of Photoshop revving up. Did someone say blackface?).
A commenter on the thread following this J-World story dug up this treasure on a thread at Operation Rescue’s site to remember one of its own. It might explain why a Democrat might endorse Kline over Paul Morrison — he was a… single-issue voter:
Back in 1991, the Wichita Rescue Movement kicked off the Summer of Mercy with some rescues at local clinics, one of which included the arrest of Rich Mulliins. Shortly thereafter, the “first wave” hit Wichita with Joe Scheidler and the PLAN convention. One of the first guys I met was a round, hairy character with a dark beret, carrying a lot of cameras. He told me he was a reporter for “Life Advocate.”‘ He was extremely knowledgeable about the issues and tactics. We hit it off immediately and went to municipal court together to help some Christians who had been arrested.
I am honored to say that Paul was my friend. Over the years, we consulted frequently on legal issues and spiritual concerns. When Wichita’s Lawyers for Life held an event of rallys and seminars, the Jackal came to town and conducted a seminar on do-it-yourself legal tactics. It was probably the most popular seminar we had.
For the ten year reunion of the Summer of Mercy, Paul and Bonnie stayed in our home, and my family was blessed by their spirit, humor, and intelligence. Paul called us last week, just a few days before he departed for his heavenly home. When we heard the news of his parting, we were staggered.
Paul can’t be replaced. He was the best that pro-life has to offer. He was a constant witness for the unborn, and he probably personally witnessed to hundreds of thousands of people, standing outside of conventions, rallies, and events with his posters and costumes. Without him, many favorable court decisions would never have been obtained. We are each going to have to step up our own efforts to fill the gap in the wall left by Paul’s passing.
The commenter: Don “the Dingo” McKinney, Kline’s special prosecutor (and brother of the House Minority Leader, Rep. Dennis McKinney). His anti-abortion bona-fides are on full display. The Eagle also reported (next link) that McKinney slammed a paper for failing to “aggressively investigate” allegations of sexual harrassment against Morrison, which were dealt with 15 years ago.
It may not matter much — because the judge again dismissed the charges, even after Kline’s protestation. And I’d assume that Paul Morrison, once he’s sworn in to the office of Attorney General, will have the power to cut off McKinney’s investigation.
You can bet he will do exactly that. You can also bet that this case, however meritorious or weak it may have been, will go exactly nowhere. He’ll have to pay Democrats back for getting him elected, and his staff have among their number at least one liberal-Democratic operative. I don’t believe right now that this case should necessarily go anywhere, as putting Tiller’s head on a pike at this point serves no purpose. As I said before, this particular social battle is over and the outcome decided.
What it does do, however, is stir up the anti-abortion activists, which have money and are well-organized. Phill Kline used the power and office of the Attorney General to do it, which confirms another thing I told you about him: he cares mostly about himself and winning elections, and he’ll do whatever it takes to do that. The events here show why he was — deservingly, in my opinion — defeated in a landslide.
A Sedgwick County judge has agreed to hear from soon-to-be-ex-Attorney General Phill Kline and Sedgwick County DA Nola Foulston regarding the former’s charges against Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.
The charges against Dr Tiller included charges that he performed illegal late-term abortions. These were dismissed by the judge last week within hours of their having been presented at the request of Foulston, who argued that Kline didn’t have the authority to bring the case, citing Kansas statute that legal precedent seems to require the AG to consult with the several DAs before “unilaterally” bringing charges in their districts. I discussed these charges and their dismissal here.
Foulston’s office maintains that her question is focused solely on the issue of whether Kline has standing to bring the case rather than the merits of Kline’s case. I know next-to-nothing about Nola Foulston. Foulston is a Democrat; however, I have a difficult time believing that this is solely about politics. (If it is, she has a better sense about masking it than does Kline.) As I noted previously, there is a real legal argument here, one which will have effects on DAs across the state. She has been elected five times to the DA’s office, which she first entered in 1989, so it’s reasonable to assume that she’s at least somewhat popular in Wichita — which has always been a highly-polarized political environment.
And few figures in Wichita are more polarizing than George Tiller. Even I have called him “scum of the first order” (a characterization I stand by). Opponents of abortion call him “Tiller the Killer”* and condemn him with great fervor. Foulston has already been called a “crony” of Tiller’s by Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group. Supporters defend Tiller with fervor just as great. Wichita was the scene of near-riots in the early 1990s over the topic of abortion.
In any case, I believe that Kline’s motion will be quashed and that the charges will remain dismissed, unless Kline can make an overwhelming case for the overturning of legal precedent. He’s not that good of a civil/criminal attorney, so I don’t think it’s likely.
*: Removing the dash from the URL in this link gets you to the Web site of Dr Tiller’s clinic. There’s no inflammatory commentary there or anything, but I had to stop clicking around, for reasons that I think would be obvious.
For some reason, I thought of my upstairs neighbors when I saw this story:
TOKYO Dec 26, 2006 (AP)— A Japanese woman charged with inflicting injury on her neighbor by blasting rock music at her house for more than two years was given a 20-month prison term Tuesday, a court official said.
Miyoko Kawahara, 59, was sentenced by the Osaka High Court, revoking an initial ruling that had given her a one-year prison term, court spokesman Takanao Kawasaki said.
Kawahara in Heguri, Nara Prefecture (state) in western Japan, was accused of causing insomnia and headaches to her next-door neighbor by playing loud dance music almost 24 hours a day on a portable stereo she had pointed at her neighbor’s house, 20 feet away.
She was arrested on April 11, 2005. The two women had had a number of disagreements that police did not elaborate on.
Hope springs eternal.
K-State, fresh from running the USC Trojan basketball team out of the gym in Las Vegas, may get a game against Wichita State — the top-ranked program in Kansas — after all:
LAS VEGAS - All season, USC’s strength has been its defense. But in the third round game of the Las Vegas Classic Friday, the Kansas State Wildcats found holes in the second half.
After trailing by seven early in the second, the Wildcats used a 17-point run to defeat USC 68-55.
David Hoskins and Bill Walker scored 19 points apiece for Kansas State (9-3). Hoskins shot 9-of-10 from the free-throw line with six rebounds and four steals.
“In the first half, we shot 22 percent and in the second half, we shot 62 percent. We made it hard on ourselves,” Kansas State coach Bob Huggins said.
“Our half court offense was awful in the first half. Second half, we changed,” he said.
Bill “Sky” Walker also turned a cooler of Gatorade into wine in the second half, and a lady in the ticket office with goldfish on her desk reported that her office was full of bread after the Wildcats left.
UPDATE: Never mind — the Shockers lost to New Mexico 71-68, so K-State will play New Mexico in the final.
UPDATE 2: K-State beat New Mexico in the final, 72-56.
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