Kansas House members weren’t elected to be our state’s top law enforcement officials, and they haven’t reviewed the case against Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller, nor are they qualified to do so. So the last thing they should do is intervene in a criminal investigation and force Attorney General Paul Morrison to refile 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller.
Yet the House Federal and State Affairs Committee approved a resolution Monday that would compel Morrison to file the charges. The measure now goes to the full House — which should reject it.
The resolution is being promoted by some anti-abortion activists and groups. But they don’t speak for the large majority of Kansans who voted for Morrison last November because they trust his judgment.
Morrison has a responsibility to carefully review the Tiller case, which he says his office is doing. And if there is evidence of a crime, he should work with Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston to file the appropriate charges, which he promises he will do.
But he shouldn’t file charges because of pressure from anti-abortion activists. And lawmakers shouldn’t interfere with the investigation because of that pressure. They need to stick to doing their own jobs.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Both the U.S. House and Senate are now on record wanting to set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The House voted last week to end most American military involvement by the end of August 2008. Then the Senate voted Tuesday not to remove a withdrawal date from a military spending bill (which hasn’t passed yet). The public agrees; 59 percent said they support compelling U.S. forces to leave Iraq by August 2008, according to a Pew poll.
"When it comes to the war in Iraq, the American people have spoken, the House and Senate have spoken," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "Now, we hope the president is listening."
President Bush is hearing, but he isn’t listening. He is still vowing to veto any bill that includes a timetable.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sought to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the New York Times reported. The Wichita native argued that the facility had become so tainted abroad that its legal proceedings wouldn’t be viewed as legitimate.
Gates’ effort was supported by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but was opposed by Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who objected to moving detainees to the United States. Guess which side prevailed with President Bush?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A number of Wichita-area GOP lawmakers in the Kansas House strongly objected to our Tuesday editorial, which noted that all but one of them voted against the House-passed bill to give voters in Sedgwick County a chance to decide whether they want a destination casino. The lawmakers disliked how the legislation came to be written and voted on, and variously suggested it was a “garbage bill” that would be bad for the area economy and good only for the casino industry. They criticized its inclusion of Sumner County and exclusion of Harvey County, where voters also have approved a casino, and other nearby counties. Much of their criticism of the process was valid — ideally, such major legislation should not bypass committee hearings and be voted on in the wee hours.
Some understandably wanted credit for having voted instead for a failed constitutional amendment to allow privately owned casinos in Kansas — which would have given all Kansas voters a say on expanded gambling, not just those in four areas of the state. Here is that credit: The Republicans who voted for the constitutional amendment but not the other bill were Reps. Steve Brunk, Brenda Landwehr, Joe McLeland, JoAnn Pottorff and Jason Watkins of Wichita; Rep. Steve Huebert of Valley Center; Rep. Dick Kelsey of Goddard; Rep. Ty Masterson of Andover; and Rep. Ted Powers of Mulvane. It would be great if Kansas voters had the opportunity to fix that constitutional glitch someday.
Until then, though, do these lawmakers really expect local voters to believe that they’d all warmly welcome a Sedgwick County casino, if only the bill was right?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sedgwick County commissioners certainly can make the case that they should go ahead and charge a $3 parking fee at the Kansas Coliseum, because comparable venues elsewhere charge to park and the Coliseum could use the revenue. Maybe the longtime events that are talking about walking are just bluffing. But there is a context for this latest proposed fee — the arena tax, the mill levy increase, the proposed inmate jail fees, higher tax bills because of appraisals — and commissioners need to proceed with caution.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Northern Ireland’s Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams sitting side by side, talking agreeably, was a sight many people thought they would never live to see. Paisley, leader of the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party, and Adams, leader of the Catholic Shinn Fein Party, struck a deal for a new provincial government in which both parties would cooperate.
“Those pictures of Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams will resonate around the world,” Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said. “If after the last 40 years or more they can talk, anything and everything is possible for Northern Ireland.”
The agreement should also give hope to others who strive for peace elsewhere.
Posted by Patrice Hein
