Effort against Dr. Tiller fails
Legislator says move to have abortionist criminally charged appears dead
By James Carlson
The Capital-Journal
Published Thursday, March 29, 2007
The legislative push for the attorney general to charge the state's most prominent abortion doctor appears dead, Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, R-Olathe, said Wednesday.
"To my knowledge you will not see it on the floor this year," he said.
The pronouncement came after a bizarre series of events, including a rarely used law, a rally in the Statehouse and a committee hearing many said broke House rules.
House leaders last week sent a letter to Attorney General Paul Morrison urging him to press charges against Dr. George Tiller, who runs an abortion clinic in Wichita. Tiller is one of a handful of doctors in the nation who performs late-term abortions.
On Monday, social conservatives announced they would invoke a statute allowing the House to direct the attorney general to proceed with a prosecution.
At this point, some Democrats said Siegfreid ran afoul of procedure.
A resolution on Monday was drafted ordering Morrison to charge Tiller. The House Federal and State Affairs Committee, of which Siegfreid is the chairman, then met and voted to send the resolution to the full House, said Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka.
"You just can't do that," she said. "You have to introduce it in the House first."
According to House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, a bill has to be introduced in the committee, then read in to the House, where the speaker of the House then refers it to a committee.
"It's so important that we keep following the rules because that's what makes the process work," McKinney said.
Siegfreid, however, said nothing was done wrong.
"It was read in the same day we took action on it," he said.
According to the legislative journal, the bill was read in Monday, but after the committee had already taken a vote to send it to the House. Siegfreid said the problem arose because a reviser of statutes wasn't at the hearing, and as a result no committee report could initially be read in to the House.
About whether the sequence of events matter, Siegfreid said: "Oh, baloney. That's how it's always done."
At that point, the measure was sent back to the committee and another hearing was held Tuesday, but no action was taken.
Also on Tuesday, Kansans for Life led a group of 100 advocates in a rally calling for Morrison to charge Tiller.
The Tiller case has been in the middle of a bitter debate for years. Most recently, it played a part in the attorney general campaign.
Former Attorney General Phill Kline filed 30 criminal charges against Tiller in December, a month before he left office. Kline alleged in his criminal complaint that Tiller failed to report the details of 15 illegal late-term abortions he performed in 2003 on patients ages 10 to 22.
Those charges were later thrown out by a Sedgwick County District Court judge.
Abortion opponents have since called for Morrison to resurrect those charges.
The statute Republicans hoped to use states that any branch of the Legislature can direct the attorney general to bring charges in state court. The Legislature used the same law in 2002 to direct the attorney general to sue the governor over Medicaid money used on abortions, and it was Kline who acted on that resolution in 2005.
On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Federal and State Affairs Committee said Monday's hearing was only meant to bring attention to the abortion debate.
"I think they just wanted to have something for the rally folks," Mah said. "I think they got all the press they needed and they're done with it."
Rep. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita, said Siegfreid wanted to have "a moment of glory" for the abortion opponents.
"Instead what he got was a big embarrassment," he said.
James Carlson
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOORKKKKKKKKKKK!
Yes I know I have not been posting here lately, but I have been UBER BUSY! And when I am back in front of the computer, I relax by playing popcap games. I AM THE CHUZZLE QUEEN! And I am addicted to Welch's purple grape juice!
Friday, March 16, 2007
LUCK
pick up pennies every time I see them on the ground. One day I found almost twenty of them-along with a ten dollar bill by a trash dumpster at work. I was just carrying the trash to the huge dumpster out back when I happen to look down and see some pennies there. I bend down to pick them up, and then look along the fenceline to see what appeared to be a dollar bill. Actually there were two one dollar bills and a ten spot. JOY! One time, my mother, who is a fabulous antiquester, found a crumpled up fifty dollar bill on the floor of an antique mall years ago. Anyone else had experiences like this?
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Camera
I finally have my camera figured out, and just when I get some pics down loaded to my computer, I cannot seem to get them added here. I can however send them in an attachement via email. So if you want a picture of my sweet baby Zorn, just ask and I will email it to you. Yesterday, he had to stay in a pen with one of the big dogs because if he came into the office, he would just make a mess of things and possibly get hurt because of all of the electrical cords. I let him out often and he just fluttered around my feet he was so excited to be with me.When I put him back in the pen he would whine and cry so loud. Poor guy. He has to get used to it though. He stayed home with mom and dad to day though. Thank GOD. One of the guys that I work with just discovered that he has gout, and does not need to listen to the whining and wailing from the lil guy.Zorn has a great big yard that he plays in when he stays at home with his mom and dad. He is already one spoiled little guy.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
New baby
I am sorry that I have not been keeping up here recently! Been busy with work and the new furbaby..
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Good article, Yahoo!
While I do not completely agree with this Yahoo! Article, I thought it was a good one:
Posted on Thursday, March 1, 2007, 3:00AM
"Maxed Out," a documentary that opens nationwide next week, examines the dark side of America's love affair with debt.
By turns humorous and heartbreaking, "Maxed Out" exposes the targeting techniques of credit card companies (the most profitable customers are broke); the gold rush mentality in the business of debt collection; an influential credit scoring industry riddled with errors; and the power of the credit card lobby at the highest levels of government. (MBNA, the biggest campaign contributor to President Bush, was behind the restrictive bankruptcy legislation of 2005.)
Submerged in Debt
"Maxed Out" is directed by filmmaker James Scurlock, a Wharton business school dropout and entrepreneur. Scurlock also wrote a book based on the film, which is due out next week from Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster.
Scurlock says he started out hoping to do a lighthearted riff on consumer irresponsibility, but was shocked by what he found: College students and housewives committing suicide over their credit card debt, and the nation's biggest banks involved in predatory lending schemes.
In one case, the film shows Citigroup's lending arm foreclosing on a Mississippi shack owned by developmentally impaired woman and her severely retarded 44-year-old son after they were refinanced into a loan they couldn't afford.
"I wanted to know why people are living so close to the edge," says Scurlock. "A lot of people just haven't been able to keep pace with expenses like health care, education, and housing. Credit cards become the life raft that people don't even have to reach for -- they're just there." Scurlock points to new "medical" credit cards, for example, which invite consumers to dive deeper and deeper in debt.
Conservative Consumer Advocacy
This indictment of the industry comes from a 34-year-old who was voted "most conservative" by his business school peers at the University of Pennsylvania, and who worked on the election campaign for George H.W. Bush.
"It's not in anyone's interest to have a financial industry that behaves like a used-car dealership," says Scurlock. "I think it's conservative to expect that credit will be regulated in this country. People need to have to have a strong financial industry that's trusted -- and to the extent that that erodes, that's very bad for the country and the economy."
In the film, Scurlock interviews the two young founders of People First Recoveries, a Minnesota collections and debt purchasing firm, who purport to represent the "kinder, gentler" side of the debt collection business. And yet they describe themselves as "pirates" -- using swashbuckling techniques like calling neighbors and relatives to intimidate debtors into paying.
In another interview, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren recalls a presentation she did for financial services executives in which she discussed how many bankruptcies could be prevented simply by eliminating those customers on the financial edge. A member of the firm informed her that those consumers comprise the most profitable part of the business.
The Personal Accountability Gap
Unfortunately, Scurlock never directly addresses the personal-accountability aspect of debt in his film. I was hoping he would ask at least a few hard questions about the consumption choices that lead people into the red.
"A lot of people we talked to said, Gee looking back at the level of debt, there should be a Mercedes or a Ferrari in my driveway, but I have nothing to show for it,'" Scurlock says. "Most Americans are very optimistic. They think things will always get better from here, they'll make more money, they won't have any emergencies. Credit has become so ingrained in the culture that so many people can't imagine living without it. Once you decide you're never going to be out of debt, you can afford anything."
Other than my mortgage, which is fixed for 30 years at a low interest rate, I don't do debt. No revolving credit card debt, no auto loans, no home equity borrowing. Would I like to bust out the back of my home and create a designer kitchen and family room? You bet. Am I going to sacrifice my children's college savings or retirement goals on the altar of my extreme makeover? No way.
I had the good luck to have wise parents born during the Depression, who drew a very clear line about debt. They taught me that you buy things you can afford -- not things on which you can afford a monthly payment. You don't shop for recreation. And the only thing you should borrow to buy is an appreciating asset that will very likely, over time, pay you back more than you put into it, such as a home.
Anything But Maxed Out
Here's my problem with taking on debt: I have a profound respect for the unknown. For instance, my husband and I work for ourselves. This is an excellent way to avoid ruthless bosses and layoffs. But if one of us were to get injured or become ill, it would be pretty hard to keep business hopping.
Meanwhile, I'm optimistic that if I work hard, my income will continue to rise. On the other hand, I have dozens of friends and acquaintances who, despite their hard work, were downsized or squeezed out after a merger, spent long periods unemployed, and/or returned to jobs that paid less. The rosy scenario of a steadily climbing income that peaks just before retirement is the stuff of economic models -- not the real life of the middle-income Americans I know.
Here's the other irony: Credit card companies market their products by claiming they offer you a world of choices -- take that dream vacation, buy the 60-inch television. But by steering completely clear of credit card debt and saving on a regular basis over time, I found myself with much richer options -- choices about how I would balance work with family, health, and friendship. That satisfaction is more enduring than anything I could have purchased with plastic.
Buying with Blinders On
Why, I asked Scurlock, don't people understand this? Why do so many consumers buy things on credit and then pay double for them over time? Why do they sacrifice what they want most in life for what they want this very second?
It's pretty simple, Scurlock says: "I think there's a lot of denial. Most people can't do the math. There is very little, if any, focus on the balance sheet side of the equation."
Posted on Thursday, March 1, 2007, 3:00AM
"Maxed Out," a documentary that opens nationwide next week, examines the dark side of America's love affair with debt.
By turns humorous and heartbreaking, "Maxed Out" exposes the targeting techniques of credit card companies (the most profitable customers are broke); the gold rush mentality in the business of debt collection; an influential credit scoring industry riddled with errors; and the power of the credit card lobby at the highest levels of government. (MBNA, the biggest campaign contributor to President Bush, was behind the restrictive bankruptcy legislation of 2005.)
Submerged in Debt
"Maxed Out" is directed by filmmaker James Scurlock, a Wharton business school dropout and entrepreneur. Scurlock also wrote a book based on the film, which is due out next week from Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster.
Scurlock says he started out hoping to do a lighthearted riff on consumer irresponsibility, but was shocked by what he found: College students and housewives committing suicide over their credit card debt, and the nation's biggest banks involved in predatory lending schemes.
In one case, the film shows Citigroup's lending arm foreclosing on a Mississippi shack owned by developmentally impaired woman and her severely retarded 44-year-old son after they were refinanced into a loan they couldn't afford.
"I wanted to know why people are living so close to the edge," says Scurlock. "A lot of people just haven't been able to keep pace with expenses like health care, education, and housing. Credit cards become the life raft that people don't even have to reach for -- they're just there." Scurlock points to new "medical" credit cards, for example, which invite consumers to dive deeper and deeper in debt.
Conservative Consumer Advocacy
This indictment of the industry comes from a 34-year-old who was voted "most conservative" by his business school peers at the University of Pennsylvania, and who worked on the election campaign for George H.W. Bush.
"It's not in anyone's interest to have a financial industry that behaves like a used-car dealership," says Scurlock. "I think it's conservative to expect that credit will be regulated in this country. People need to have to have a strong financial industry that's trusted -- and to the extent that that erodes, that's very bad for the country and the economy."
In the film, Scurlock interviews the two young founders of People First Recoveries, a Minnesota collections and debt purchasing firm, who purport to represent the "kinder, gentler" side of the debt collection business. And yet they describe themselves as "pirates" -- using swashbuckling techniques like calling neighbors and relatives to intimidate debtors into paying.
In another interview, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren recalls a presentation she did for financial services executives in which she discussed how many bankruptcies could be prevented simply by eliminating those customers on the financial edge. A member of the firm informed her that those consumers comprise the most profitable part of the business.
The Personal Accountability Gap
Unfortunately, Scurlock never directly addresses the personal-accountability aspect of debt in his film. I was hoping he would ask at least a few hard questions about the consumption choices that lead people into the red.
"A lot of people we talked to said, Gee looking back at the level of debt, there should be a Mercedes or a Ferrari in my driveway, but I have nothing to show for it,'" Scurlock says. "Most Americans are very optimistic. They think things will always get better from here, they'll make more money, they won't have any emergencies. Credit has become so ingrained in the culture that so many people can't imagine living without it. Once you decide you're never going to be out of debt, you can afford anything."
Other than my mortgage, which is fixed for 30 years at a low interest rate, I don't do debt. No revolving credit card debt, no auto loans, no home equity borrowing. Would I like to bust out the back of my home and create a designer kitchen and family room? You bet. Am I going to sacrifice my children's college savings or retirement goals on the altar of my extreme makeover? No way.
I had the good luck to have wise parents born during the Depression, who drew a very clear line about debt. They taught me that you buy things you can afford -- not things on which you can afford a monthly payment. You don't shop for recreation. And the only thing you should borrow to buy is an appreciating asset that will very likely, over time, pay you back more than you put into it, such as a home.
Anything But Maxed Out
Here's my problem with taking on debt: I have a profound respect for the unknown. For instance, my husband and I work for ourselves. This is an excellent way to avoid ruthless bosses and layoffs. But if one of us were to get injured or become ill, it would be pretty hard to keep business hopping.
Meanwhile, I'm optimistic that if I work hard, my income will continue to rise. On the other hand, I have dozens of friends and acquaintances who, despite their hard work, were downsized or squeezed out after a merger, spent long periods unemployed, and/or returned to jobs that paid less. The rosy scenario of a steadily climbing income that peaks just before retirement is the stuff of economic models -- not the real life of the middle-income Americans I know.
Here's the other irony: Credit card companies market their products by claiming they offer you a world of choices -- take that dream vacation, buy the 60-inch television. But by steering completely clear of credit card debt and saving on a regular basis over time, I found myself with much richer options -- choices about how I would balance work with family, health, and friendship. That satisfaction is more enduring than anything I could have purchased with plastic.
Buying with Blinders On
Why, I asked Scurlock, don't people understand this? Why do so many consumers buy things on credit and then pay double for them over time? Why do they sacrifice what they want most in life for what they want this very second?
It's pretty simple, Scurlock says: "I think there's a lot of denial. Most people can't do the math. There is very little, if any, focus on the balance sheet side of the equation."
Thursday, March 01, 2007
My dream
Last night . It was a really, REALLY wierd one. I dreamt that I went on a vacation with my family and we went to some national wetland/marshland place to take pictures of birds. Well, my maternal grandmother,(who in real life has been dead for years) was driving. She was not doing a very good job of it, and she ended up driving us into some sort of pond or marsh. We all somehow got out of the car ok, but I lost all my credit cards and cash at the bottom of that pond! At the end of the dream, The car was being pulled out, and no purse of mine was find. I was fretting on how to get my money back, and then the caymans came into the pond! It was creeeeepy because it seemed so real! Anyone ever had a dream like this?
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