Former Attorney General Phill Kline subpoenaed the La Quinta Inn on East Kellogg in 2005 for the names, address and telephone numbers of guests “who received a medical discount.†The subpoena also demanded information on guests who stayed in rooms reserved by George Tiller’s abortion clinic, and records of telephone calls placed to and from those rooms.
Kline’s office then matched this guest information with dates and details in abortion records, according to a document presented in Sedgwick County District Court last week by one of Tiller’s attorney.
Anti-abortion activists say not to worry about the privacy of abortion records because the patient names are blacked out. And not to worry that they have taken photos of women who visit the clinic, because they fuzz up the faces before posting the pictures online.
But given the lengths that Kline and some activists have gone to in pursuing their agenda, there are plenty of reasons for concern.
UPDATE: Brian Burgess, spokesman for Kline, said in an e-mail that the La Quinta records were part of Kline’s effort to identify possible victims of child rape and that Kline “never sought the identities of adult women during his investigation.†He said that “Tiller’s attorneys have attempted to twist the facts and portray the La Quinta investigation as though it happened side by side with the clinic records in hand.”
“Americans are fed up with a divisive brand of politics that is more about scoring points than solving problems,†Gov. Kathleen Sebelius wrote in a commentary today in the Wall Street Journal that supported Barack Obama and was co-authored by Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. “To win in November — and to govern this country — we should not choose to be a party that extends an era of bitter partisanship; we must be the party that ends it.â€
The commentary also pointed out another appeal of Obama for party leaders — his ability to help other Democrats get elected. “His unique ability to draw votes — not just for himself, but for down-ticket Democrats — makes him an obvious choice to lead the Democratic Party to success in the Congress, and in statehouses and state legislatures.â€
In a competing commentary, Hillary Clinton offered her plan for shared prosperity, which included providing greater economic security and opportunity for middle-class families, addressing the root causes of poverty, and restoring a strong climate for investment, innovation and job creation.
Good for state Rep. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita, for seeking to ground the push to pass anti-immigration legislation in some facts. He filed a request last week that the Legislative Division of Post Audit do an analysis of the economic impact of illegal immigration — to look at the taxes they pay, social services they use and related labor costs — so that any bills passed are “based on factual, objective information,†he told the Topeka Capital-Journal.
“If the state Legislature is going to make a serious effort at immigration reform in 2008, then it is time to separate facts from partisan rhetoric,†he said.
He’s right. The questions are whether state auditors can accurately quantify this shadowy population, and whether the anti-immigration activists will care if the numbers don’t fit their plans.
A remarkable commentary in the Washington Times by three conservative women activists uses the choice of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to deliver the Democratic response to the president’s State of the Union address as an excuse to assail Sebelius about abortion and Paul Morrison’s sex scandal, labeling Sebelius another “feminist standing behind a man accused of sexual harassment.â€
Ignoring the fact that the attorney general is not a cabinet post, they wrote: “The Democratic Party’s choice to elevate Mrs. Sebelius to national stature in the midst of a scandal within her administration is both curious and brazen. Either party leaders believe the national media will ignore the story because, after all, it’s just Kansas. Or they believe the media are so fixed on a Democratic victory in November that they just don’t care.â€
Talking to a Topeka crowd last week, Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, sought to gauge the public attitude about the idea of the federal government borrowing money to send Americans tax rebate checks, the premise of Congress’ pending economic-stimulus package. “If you think this should be the policy, if you think this would make a significant difference, let’s see a show of hands,†he said, to no hands.
Then a man called out, “I want it!”
Not much is certain in the investment world at the moment. But state Rep. Kenny Wilk (in photo), R-Lansing, has hit upon an idea that sounds like a no-brainer: letting state university nonprofit endowment foundations also handle the investment of university and tuition funds. Last year, state-invested university funds earned 5.27 percent, while the schools’ endowment foundations saw a 9 percent return on the investment of their private funds. If the change had been in place last year, Wilk said, the universities would have seen $12.5 million more investment income. Wilk is working on details with the universities and foundations, the Kansas City Star reported, but it’s hard to see a downside. “I think you’ve had a good idea,†Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, told Wilk.
Former Attorney General Phill Kline subpoenaed the La Quinta Inn on East Kellogg in 2005 for the names, address and telephone numbers of guests “who received a medical discount.†The subpoena also demanded information on guests who stayed in rooms reserved by George Tiller’s abortion clinic, and records of telephone calls placed to and from those rooms.
