In recusing himself from presiding over the case against abortion provider George Tiller, Sedgwick County District Judge Tony Powell acted in the best interests of the case. As we said in our Tuesday editorial, not only did Powell, as an anti-abortion state legislator, help write the law aimed at Tiller, under which he now is being charged with 19 misdemeanor counts. Before becoming a judge, Powell also made statements critical of Tiller, creating serious doubt now about his impartiality — essential both for any judge and justice. Powell’s recusal safeguards the integrity of the case, which concerns Tiller’s alleged financial ties to a doctor who signed off on late-term abortions at his clinic.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The U.S. military is reporting the highest suicide rate among active-duty enlistees since it began keeping records in 1980 — and critics say the higher rate is due in part to soldiers’ multiple and longer deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to McClatchy Newspapers. The Army report found that soldiers were more likely to commit suicide if they had served more than one tour of duty. Many troops have now served multiple tours since 2001. But it said post-traumatic stress disorder related to combat stress wasn’t accounted for a relatively small percentage of the suicides — a conclusion challenged by some experts and veterans’ families.
April Somdahl, of Trenton, N.C., said her brother, Sgt. Brian Rand, shot himself after serving three deployments to Iraq. After his second tour, he had sought help for depression at a Veterans Affairs clinic and was told he’d receive an honorable discharge. Instead, he was sent to Iraq for a third deployment. He killed himself after returning. Somdahl said he never received proper mental health care.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Columnist Cal Thomas joined other conservatives trumpeting a New York Times op-ed by two “left-of-center” think-tank scholars who recently traveled to Baghdad and concluded that Iraq is a “war we just might win.”
The two reported on progress on several military fronts — and there has been some progress. But have we really turned the corner toward stability? Others don’t see it. Here’s a recent bleak assessment from McClatchy Newspapers:
“U.S. officials say the number of civilian casualties in the Iraqi capital is down 50 percent. But U.S. officials declined to provide specific numbers, and statistics gathered by McClatchy Newspapers don’t support the claim.
“The number of car bombings in July actually was 5 percent higher than the number recorded last December, according to the McClatchy statistics, and the number of civilians killed in explosions is about the same.”
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government, which the surge was meant to bolster, is on the verge of collapse — a fact that the two Brookings scholars said had tempered their optimism.
All in all, the evidence doesn’t seem to warrant a significant change of assessment.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison suspected there would be problems with trying to test the constitutionality of the funeral picketing law by requiring him to file a lawsuit up front — a suspicion confirmed by the Kansas Supreme Court’s perplexed reaction to the lawsuit last month. “But the Legislature was adamant about trying to insulate the state from possible attorneys’ fees” should the Fred Phelps clan successfully challenge the law in court, Morrison told The Eagle editorial board this week.
Morrison is skeptical of such legislative triggers of attorney general action generally, mentioning lawmakers’ failed attempt to force his hand on the Tiller abortion case. “We think it’s a violation of the separation of powers, and that might very well be one of the things that the Supreme Court will look at.”
Even so, once the trigger question plays out, he thinks Kansas’ funeral law will hold up, like those in other states. The requirement that protesters stay 150 feet away from funerals “really isn’t very far back, as those laws go. We feel pretty comfortable that’ll stand.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The “What’s Wrong” guy from the annual Gridiron show is back, and he is taking calls from Donald Trump, Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and others. It’s the latest satirical video produced by The Eagle’s opinion staff and starring Bucky Walters. Enjoy.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
One of the acting Baldwin brothers is endorsing Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., for president. No, it’s not Alec (who broke his promise to move overseas if George W. Bush was elected). It’s Stephen, who told ABC News that he decided to endorse Brownback after listening to all the speeches at Iowa’s GOP straw poll Saturday. He said his decision was “spiritually motivated,” and “I think what America needs more than anything is a leader who’s honest, who’s truly a man of faith, and who allows that faith to make his decisions with his common good sense; and I think that’s Sam Brownback.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Departing White House adviser Karl Rove, on his one regret: “I regret accepting that invitation from CNN and going to that stupid dinner and getting turned into MC Rove.”
To see why, check out his bit at the White House Radio and Television Correspondents’ Dinner in March.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
