R.I.P. Dr. George Tiller

Today, Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in the church he attended every Sunday with his family.  Dr. Tiller is survived by his wife, his four children and his ten grandchildren.  This is a day that many of us feared was inevitable – but always hoped to be proven wrong.

I wish that I were more eloquent, so that I could adequately convey the outrage, anger, sadness and hopelessness I feel by what has transpired today.  Sadly, I’m not.  My anger clouds my ability to write this in a way that is uplifting.

After his clinic was bombed, he was shot, his name and address was listed on right-wing websites, his clinic vandalized and he was targeted for prosecution – he still came to work everyday and provided a service that women needed, that they requested.

Dr. Tiller trusted women.  He felt they were competent to decide the direction of their lives.  He was compassionate enough to understand that for some women, giving birth to a dead or dying baby was worse than having a late-term abortion.  He was one of only three doctors providing these procedures.

Women came from far and wide for the services that Dr. Tiller courageously provided. 

Tonight they came from far and wide to pay tribute to an assassinated champion of women’s rights.

I think it is important to call this event what it is.  This murder was a political assassination.  Dr. Tiller was gunned down in his house of worship for the beliefs he held, as much as for the services he provided.

While Operation Rescue and other groups scramble to absolve themselves of responsibility for this tragedy, my hope is that they are not allowed to.  Many of them (Randall Terry I’m looking at you!) are just as guilty in this as the shooter. 

I can only hope that this tragedy will end the complacency regarding reproductive rights.  Everyday, every legislative session – the ability for women to control their destiny is under attack.  We must stand, we must fight.

R.I.P. Dr. George Tiller

Department of Redundancy Department

Apparently, the Kansas House has decided that the people need to vote to add an amendment to the state Constitution affirming the right to own guns.

Honestly, what is wrong with our legislature? We have serious problems to address and they debate this, giving breaks to a Christian license plate and more unnecessary restrictions on abortion. It is a blatant case of political pandering.

For all my gun nut readers...no worries, NO ONE is coming to get your guns, unless you're a felon or nuts (by the way, you really don't NEED an AK-47). The NRA just wanted to raise some $$$, I'm sure you'll get a really nice card at Christmas.

Seriously, who sets the agenda for the Legislature? They really need a handler, someone to keep them on track and doing things that actually make a difference (in a good way! Like raising the minimum wage like they did today. Not by trying to defund Planned Parenthood - you tools!). These sort of hot button issues should really be reserved for times when they don't have real work to do (so, yes I mean never).

How do these people keep getting elected?

Department of Redundancy Department

Drug Testing, Really?

Today the Kansas House passed HB 2275, this bill has an amendment that would require that recipients of “cash” assistance submit to random drug testing. Now KansasJackass and Bagyants have covered this issue a bit today, but well I figure my readers may not be the same and I feel like there is more to say. And since, I'm currently on unemployment – it's probably just a matter of time before they come for me.

This type of activity is nothing more than economic profiling. People are poor, obviously they are on dope, right?

According to the Drug War Chronicle, six states (not including Kansas) have taken up this issue. Their justification is the 1996 Welfare Reform Act that authorized these tests. Michigan instituted a drug testing law in 1999 for all Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) applicants. Three and a half years later,the US 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that this type of blanket testing without probable cause violated the 4^th Amendment protection against unlawful searches and seizures.

"This ruling should send a message to the rest of the nation that drug testing programs like these are neither an appropriate or effective use of a state's limited resources," said the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project head Graham Boyd at the time.

According to the ACLU's now-renamed Drug Law Reform Project, which had intervened in the Michigan case, the other 49 states had rejected drug testing for various reasons. At least 21 states concluded that the program "may be unlawful," 17 states cited cost concerns, 11 gave a variety of practical or operational reasons, and 11 said they had not seriously considered drug testing at all (some states cited more than one reason).

Random drug testing of welfare recipients has also been rejected by a broad cross-section of organizations concerned with public health, welfare rights, and drug reform, including the American Public Health Association, National Association of Social Workers, Inc., National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, National Health Law Project, National Association on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability, Inc., National Advocates for Pregnant Women, National Black Women's Health Project, Legal Action Center, National Welfare Rights Union, Youth Law Center, Juvenile Law Center, and National Coalition for Child Protection Reform."

Even considering all this information our “wonderful” elected officials decided to spend even more valuable legislative time on doing stupid things that will probably either be vetoed or struck down by a court later. We should all be proud.

This little jewel in the Fiscal Note on the bill...just makes me realize how insane these people are.

"Federal law prohibits the use of random drug testing in determining eligibility for Food Assistance and Medical Assistance. The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services(SRS), the agency that administers the programs affected by this legislation, states that other public assistance programs to which HB 2275 could be applied are Temporary Assistance for Families, General Assistance, and Child Care Assistance. The agency also states that in Child Care Assistance, federal law stipulates that the primary beneficiary is the child, not the parents. HB 2275 would require these children to submit to random drug testing." (My Emphasis Added)

Drug Testing, Really?