Free Republic

WICHITA, Kansas, September 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A life-threatening abortion complication landed a patient of late-term abortionist George R. Tiller in the hospital last Thursday. The woman has come forward to tell of her harrowing, near-death experience at Tiller's Women's Health Care Services (WHCS). Patient S. has alleged that on Tuesday, September 23, abortionist Shelley Sella may have botched an injection into her abdomen, causing sepsis, a systemic infection that rapidly spreads throughout the body and can cause rapid death. She also accuses Sella of misdiagnosing her pregnancy at 19 weeks, even though previous medical examinations placed her pregnancy at...

. Camping World RV 400 Sunday 2:00 pm on ABC from Kansas Speedway SPEED Pre-race show at 11:00 EasternABC Pre-race show at 1:00 Eastern Green Flag 2:15 Please give your support to the FR Canteen - Dedicated to our troops, veterans, and their families: The FR Canteen God Bless Our Troops Please pray on this day, and every day, for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world in defense of our liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return.

Members and alumni of The Young Conservatives of Texas were pleased to read in today’s Daily Kansan that students at Kansas University are forming The Young Conservatives of Kansas. {Jack Hutsey, Wichita junior, officially founded the Young Conservatives of the University of Kansas on Sept. 4, a week before the group’s first public outreach effort. “Right now, the conservative voice is just a whisper on campus,” Hutsey said. “We just want the liberals to know that we’re going to raise our voice. They can have demonstrations and rallies, and so can we. It’ll take time, obviously, but we’ll have small...

The two candidates for Johnson County district attorney, Rick Guinn and Steve Howe, can boast the most important qualification for the job anyone could ask for. Neither was a crony of Phill Kline. Guinn had left the D.A.’s office long before Kline arrived, to head up the criminal division of the Kansas Attorney General’s office. He had been the deputy D.A. here in Johnson County. Steve Howe was fired by Kline, as part of the purge. That would be purge, not surge. A surge seeks victory. A purge usually ends in defeat. And defeat it is, because the conviction rate...

Just wanted to give you Kansas people a heads up that a very talented lady and homeschooling mom is running for the state legislature.

WICHITA, KS, May 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In early April, 2007, late-term abortionist George R. Tiller and his entire abortion clinic staff was honored by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius at a lavish secret party held at Cedar Crest, the Governor’s mansion.  In response to photographs published by Operation Rescue this week, Gov. Sebelius’ office has released what Operation Rescue is calling a “laughable” defense, saying that the Tiller party depicted in the photographs was a prize in a charity auction in which Sebelius had no control over who would attend.OR obtained the set of 27 photographs from a confidential source that...

With five seats on the State Board of Education up for grabs this year, education advocates say how children learn about evolution hangs in the balance -- and who voters choose could affect Kansas' national reputation. A frequent flip-flop between moderate and conservative majorities on the 10-member board has resulted in the state changing its science standards four times in the past eight years. Conservatives have pushed for standards casting doubt on evolution, and moderates have said intelligent design does not belong in the science classroom. In 2007, a new 6-4 moderate majority removed standards that called evolution into question....

A federal judge ruled Friday that a Wichita Catholic school policy requiring students to speak only English didn't break any civil rights laws.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Email to a Friend Barack Obama has narrowed the gap slightly, but John McCain still leads his Democratic opponent by 15 percentage points 52% to 37% in the reliably red state of Kansas. When “leaners” are included, the Republican presidential candidate is ahead 55% to 41%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Kansas voters. In mid-July, McCain had a 20-point lead over Obama 52% to 32%. Obama was within 10 points of McCain in June just after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Also in Kansas, incumbent...

FORT HAYS, Kan. -- A professor at a Kansas university who dropped his pants and mooned a room full of students and teachers is under investigation after video of the incident was posted on YouTube, school officials said. Bill Shanahan, a professor at Fort Hays State University, was at a debate with the Fort Hays State debate team last March when the incident occurred. School officials said they believe things got out of control when the team got low scores from two of the judges. Shanahan is seen on the video jumping up and down, ranting and then mooning the...

Have we finally seen the last of Kline? We can only pray. "A political newcomer knocked Phill Kline out of the race for Johnson County district attorney Tuesday, defeating the hopes of abortion opponents who had campaigned nationwide. With all of the vote counted, Steve Howe, a former Johnson County prosecutor, trounced Kline with 33,260 votes to Kline’s 22,188, a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent, according to final unofficial returns. Howe will face Democrat Rick Guinn in the Nov. 4 general election."

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Governor Kathleen Sebelius has found herself in the middle of the KU t-shirt turmoil.

A year ago, Steve Howe stood in front of the Johnson County Courthouse to announce his campaign for district attorney. Behind him were about 15 supporters from a broad spectrum of the Republican Party, including his two campaign managers: Charlotte O’Hara, a conservative from Olathe, and Greg Musil of Overland Park, from the party’s moderate wing. In April, they rallied behind him again. It was a stunning show of Kansas GOP unity after many years of divisive intraparty politics. But don’t think the rift between conservative and moderate Republicans has closed. The wound may have scabbed over some, but it...

Kristi Boone of Olathe never planned to file for the Kansas Legislature when this election year began. Neither had Chris Napolitano of Lenexa nor Judy Macy of Overland Park nor Sean Tevis of Olathe. They changed their minds, though, after attending the Democratic Party’s Feb. 5 presidential caucuses in Kansas. Now they are running as Democrats in Republican-rich Johnson County. All were swept along by a tide of enthusiasm for Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, and Democratic successes in Kansas in 2006.

A possible tornado has struck the Litle (spelling from site?) Sioux Scout Camp in Iowa. Very large response is being reported by media. Large number of injuries.

Saying he has a passion for justice, District Attorney Phill Kline announced Monday that he would be a candidate to retain his job as Johnson County’s top law enforcement officer. At an evening news conference, with his wife and daughter at his side, Kline said he would file today to run as a Republican. That means Kline will face former Johnson County prosecutor Steve Howe in the Aug. 5 primary; the winner will take on former Johnson County prosecutor Rick Guinn, a Democrat, in November.

It’s the only way Tory Bowen knows to honestly describe what happened to her. She was raped. But a judge prohibited her from uttering the word “rape” in front of a jury. The term “sexual assault” also was taboo, and Bowen could not refer to herself as a victim or use the word “assailant” to describe the man who allegedly raped her. The defendant’s presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial trumps Bowen’s right of free speech, said the Lincoln, Neb., judge who issued the order.

A cloud-to-ground ligtning strike from a severe thunderstom hit a large gasoline storage tank at the Magellan Petroleum tank farm in Kansas City, igniting 2 million plus gallons of unleaded gasoline, rapidly growing into a huge inferno of flame belching over 200 feet in the air. Local authorities have elected to let the fire burn itself out, which is anticipated to take a day or more. The fire is presently contained to the burning tank. Authorites and company officials feel confident the fire poses no danger to other large storage tanks nearby. Video from local news helicopters shows tank walls...

Machine politics is generally associated with cities, the cynical cronyism that is the prerequisite to wholesale corruption and urban decay. But these days it’s at its worst in, of all places, Kansas, under the governorship of leading Democratic vice-presidential contender, Kathleen Sebelius. Just ask Phill Kline.

...Sebelius would help the Illinois senator in several obvious ways -- she's a woman, a Catholic and a Democratic officeholder who has successfully reached across the aisle to make strong Republican allies in a deeply red state. When she was selected to give her response to President Bush's State of the Union address last January, she began: "In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more: An American response." Sebelius, in other words, is a Democratic politician who not only talks the Obama talk but walks the Obama walk. Recently, however, she has...

... What is beyond debate is that, with Kline, it has been one thing after another. So I can fully understand why Kansas GOP officials are throwing fits over news that Kline may renege on his promise to sit out this year’s election. Imagine their horror upon learning of the draft-Kline movement. And that it’s entirely possible he will run for a full term as Johnson County district attorney. Or at least won’t rule it out. ...

In the western third of the state, meanwhile, timely rains -- on top of the cushion of moisture left behind when more than 30 inches of snow fell in late 2006 -- made for ideal growing conditions. Essentially, the tables were turned last year. In the northwest crop-reporting district, for example, average yields last year amounted to 43 bushels per acre. This year, the forecast is calling for average yields of 38 bushels. That's would still be considered an excellent crop, but it's only 83 percent of last year's bin-buster. The central crop-reporting district, which includes Ellis County, is expected...

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas has been dealing with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius  for a while now regarding her scandalous and unrepentant support, as a Catholic, of abortion. He has now taken further action. The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius should stop taking Communion until she repudiates her support for the “serious moral evil” of abortion, the Catholic archbishop for northeast Kansas says. Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, also criticized the governor Friday for her recent veto of a bill imposing new restrictions on abortion providers. The...

" I was raised by small town folks from Kansas. With Midwestern values. Honesty and hard work and responsibility. And so this notion, somehow, that I'm some sprout-eating, Volvo driving person, when you know, of all the candidates remaining in this race - I probably-- came from-- the toughest circumstances,'' he said. "Not overly tough, I don't want to overstate. But some tough circumstances-- without a father in the house. And you know, raised by people who, you know, come straight out of Central Casting of small Midwestern towns. I think it just doesn't match up with who I...

On April 24, Kansas pro-life U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts issued a press release endorsing Steve Howe for Johnson County district attorney.... Phill Kline is currently the appointed district attorney and has been urged to reconsider his decision not to run to retain his seat in November. Why? Kline is the only DA in the country with a pending criminal case against a Planned Parenthood and is likely the only DA in the country with the intestinal fortitude to stick with such an investigation.... Brownback knows pro-lifers are encouraging Kline to stay. He knows because many influential pro-lifers...

A Kansans for Life spokesperson says the governor of the Sunflower State is so indebted to the abortion industry that she vetoed a very good abortion bill.  Mary Kay Culp of Kansans for Life says Governor Kathleen Sebelius has fought every effort to reduce abortions in the state, and now has vetoed a bill that would have simply given women more information to let them make a decision about the life or death of their child. Culp says Sebelius has vetoed a bill that sought to prevent coerced abortions, especially with underage girls who had suffered sexual abuse. The Comprehensive Abortion...

BALTIMORE - A federal judge in Baltimore ordered Westboro Baptist Church members to post their church building and nearly $500,000 more in cash and property while appealing a judgment for protesting a Marine’s funeral. The Kansas church members had hoped to avoid posting a bond while delaying payments in the $5 million judgment a jury awarded Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who died in Iraq. Westboro church members preach that God kills American soldiers as punishment for the country’s tolerance of homosexuality. They protested Matthew Snyder’s Westminster funeral in March 2006 by waving signs...

In honor of the win by the Kansas men's basketball team last night, I thought I'd post a couple of geological highlights from Kansas. People don't normally think of Kansas as a place with a lot of exciting geology, but it's got its places. Monument Rocks site: Paul Wicks (Nice!) Another Monument Rocks picture Rock City Konza Prairie Butcher Falls (Well, what did you expect?)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A bill allowing individuals to own machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and silencers has cleared the Legislature. The Senate approved it Thursday on a 28-9 vote. The House passed it last week 105-18. The bill goes to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran says the governor will have to review it before deciding whether to sign it. State law limits the possession of silencers, sawed-off shotguns and automatic weapons. In December, the attorney general said part of the law is so restrictive that only law enforcement agencies can possess silencers. That means no dealer can have them...

Topeka — Agreements with Mexico and Canada are setting the stage for construction of a huge highway that will gobble up Kansans’ property and jeopardize U.S. security, representatives from a wide range of groups said Monday. “Through incrementalism, apathy and inattention, our national sovereignty is being sacrificed on a cross of greed, socialism and globalism,� said state Rep. Judy Morrison, R-Shawnee. Morrison has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 5033 urging Congress to withdraw from further participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement and Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. At a hearing before the House Federal and State Affairs...

WICHITA, Kan. -- Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend’s toilet after sitting on it for two years.

NESS CITY, Kan. - Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend's toilet after sitting on it for two years. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital. "We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California processing plant because a video of animal abuse obtained by the Humane Society was splashed all over the news. The video showed workers cruelly using a forklift to move "downer" cattle (cattle that can't stand or walk) to be butchered. There are strict laws about moving non-ambulatory animals, so the former employees are facing five felony counts and three misdemeanors. Federal law prohibits using downer cattle for human consumption, but meat from this plant went to school cafeterias all over the country....

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A Democratic state senator with a history of butting heads with his party has run afoul of party leaders again, this time over what they said he did with sensitive polling data. Several Democrats have accused Sen. Jim Barone, of Frontenac, of trying to leave a December party retreat with the data stuffed down the back of his pants. A fellow senator has proposed removing him as caucus chairman. "This incident is beyond the pale, in my opinion, because the instructions for everybody were the poll wasn't to leave the room," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony...

WICHITA, KAN. -- Buyer’s remorse. That’s what sure-footed dreamers of a Mike Huckabee nomination are banking on. In his swing through Kansas the day before the primary, he’s finding crowds that number over a thousand - people who are looking for a John McCain alternative. McCain is a “Democrat running as a Republican,” one Kansas voter told me today sarcastically pointing out people can vote in the Democrats' caucus if they want to vote for one. “You may be aware some of the chattering class out there on the East Coast is not exactly thrilled about my being here,” Huckabee...

Perhaps you remember in 2006, when Governor Kathleen Sebelius took a stand for gaming legislation that eventually failed to get off the ground, saying "video games and music lyrics promote violence ... Moms and dads shouldn't be alone in their fight to raise children the right way." Perhaps unwilling to learn from mom's example, her 23-year-old son John has created a board game called "Don't Drop the Soap" in which players "fight [their] way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole ... Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss' lasagna in...

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday endorsed Barack Obama for president, a Super Tuesday boost in a GOP-leaning state that Democrats hope to reclaim in the White House campaign.

Johnson County, Kansas DA Phill Kline may become the first to bring down a local Planned Parenthood operation on a host of criminal charges including failures to report sexual abuse of minors, criminal late term abortions and forged records. The legal wars between Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and Kline boil down to two simple points: first, Kline alleges -- and has taken to a grand jury -- evidence that Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri routinely fails to report sexual abuse of children and its doctors perform illegal partial-birth abortions; second, that this particular Planned Parenthood -- which...

A judge ruled against attorneys for local abortion provider Dr. George Tiller Thursday. They wanted to halt a grand jury's request for sensitive clinic documents. Tiller is under investigation for possibly performing illegal late term abortions. The grand jury's findings would determine whether formal charges are filed. A grand jury has looked into alleged wrong-doings by the doctor in the past, and cleared him of any crimes. Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret, but in an open courtroom Thursday, attorneys on both sides argued just how much authority a grand jury should have when it subpoenas evidence. In this...

Seldom will you read anything in a newspaper critical of public education. In small towns, the public school system is the lifeblood of the community, its largest employer and a main source of news and advertising for the local paper. Ball games, concerts and other school functions are often the only live entertainment available. Even churches plan events around the school calendar. When local control was local, this was not a problem, but powerful organizations have wormed the apple. School board members are whisked to Topeka for VIP treatment while the agenda-driven Kansas Association of School Boards instructs them on...

Sixth Presidential Candidate Files for Kansas GOP Caucus Fred Thompson becomes 6th candidate to participate in KS Caucus Topeka, KS—Today, Fred Thompson became the sixth candidate to file for the Kansas GOP Presidential Caucus. Thompson’s campaign filed the official paperwork and paid the filing fee this morning. Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kris Kobach stated, “I’m delighted to see that the Thompson Campaign has decided to devote its resources and attention to the Kansas Republican Caucus. “With the filing of Senator Thompson for the Kansas Republican Caucus, we nearly have a full field. The candidates all recognize that if there is...

In the article by Steve Kraske in the Kansas City Star today, he states that just before Paul Morrison resigned: Then came revelations that another newspaper had reported a series of threatening phone calls from Morrison to Linda Carter, the woman with whom he’s admitted having a two-year affair.

"In order to preserve the public’s confidence in this office, today I am announcing my resignation as Attorney General effective Friday, January 31st, 2008. "After careful thought and deliberation, I have concluded that my resignation is in the best long-term interests of the people of Kansas. "Not because I have ever done anything contrary to the laws of this state or the ethical standards of my profession, but because law enforcement should be the focus of this office, not my personal life.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Another wintry blast was forecast Friday for the nation's midsection, where 355,000 homes and businesses were still without power, while the Northeast dug out from heavy snow before it gets a second hit Saturday. Crews in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri worked overtime to get power back before the second storm hits later Friday. The system could complicate restoration efforts to the some 355,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri still without power after the first storm darkened 1 million customers at its height earlier this week.

TOPEKA, Kan. - Attorney General Paul Morrison announced his resignation Friday, less than a week after he acknowledged having an extramarital affair with a former employee who has accused him of sexual harassment, and of professional misconduct aimed at his predecessor. "I have held others accountable for their actions, and now I must be held accountable for my mistakes," Morrison said in a statement read to reporters. At one point, he paused to gather himself. "Many people feel betrayed by my actions, and they have every right to feel that way." Morrison's resignation is effective Jan. 31, 2008. Gov. Kathleen...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- A sex scandal involving Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison could end up costing Johnson County big bucks. A former staffer and lover of Morrison's filed a sexual harassment claim against him with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. In a statement, Morrison admitted to having an extra-marital affair with Linda Carter, but denied harassment and other accusations.[snip] [snip]According to the Topeka Capital Journal, the relationship began two years ago when Carter was the director of administration for Morrison during his tenure as Johnson County District Attorney. Carter said the two engaged in sexual acts in vacant rooms in...

EL DORADO, Kan. - A missing Kansas college student believed to be the victim of foul play apparently led a double life as an Internet porn star by the name of Zoey Zane. Nude photos of 18-year-old Emily Sander appeared on a Zoey Zane Web site before she vanished, and investigators are looking into whether her modeling had anything to do with her disappearance last Friday. "She enjoyed it. She is a young teenage girl and she wanted to be in the movies and enjoyed movies. She needed the extra money," Nikki Watson, a close friend of Sander's at Butler...

I've never posted a live thread before and I did put it in front page news since it was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal as well as the Kansas City Star and I'm sure papers around the midwest. The fun starts tonight at pep rallys. The gates of the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium open at 9 a.m. tomorrow and as my nephew, who is a reporter for the Lawrence Journal World told us this morning at his grandpa's funeral, the drinking will start then. This is huge in this part of the country.

Sitting at a computer keyboard, posing as 14-year-old girls, law officers have been going after child predators for several years. Now they’re using their high-tech methods with a new target in sight: child pornographers. Authorities say a growing number of people are creating, distributing and possessing pornographic photos of children. Child pornography has become easy to get on the Internet, with children as young as 3 and 4 years old being photographed. “Way back when, you had to know someone who knew someone” to obtain child pornography, said Sgt. Mike Pfannenstiel of the Johnson County sheriff’s office. “And now it’s...

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.