Free Republic

Let's call this particular weekly address, "Obama the Disingenuous". President Obama once again talked about how our economy was built on spending rather than saving. This is true. He also threw out a couple of minor if not decent ideas to help savings. He wants to create a way to automatically allow someone to move their tax refund into a savings bond for instance. That's fine. He wants to allow people to automatically move their unused vacations and sick days into their 401k's. That's fine, though most good savers already max out their 401k's and the others will need that...

As the national health care debate grows more strident, members of Minnesota's congressional delegation say constituents are swamping their switchboards and e-mail in-boxes to weigh in on the issue. Despite a full plate of other issues facing the Obama administration and Congress -- from the still-sickly economy to dual wars overseas -- health care trumps them all. Fully half the calls made to Democratic Sen. Al Franken's office are on health care. It's also Topic One in the office of U.S. Second District Rep. John Kline, where more than 3,000 calls, letters and e-mails have poured in, with most running...

The center of gravity in the U.S. war against Islamic extremism is moving east, from Iraq to Afghanistan, and the first Minnesota congressman to personally chart the new course is Rep. John Kline, a Lakeville Republican who was recently named to the House Intelligence Committee. Kline, just back from a secret trip to Afghanistan, gave a sober assessment Monday of the task ahead. "You've got a tougher opponent in Afghanistan than we had in Iraq," Kline said in an interview with the Star Tribune, his first upon returning from a congressional tour that included Turkey, Israel, the West Bank and...

After years of protest, pleading and petitions, anti-abortion groups today will get what they’ve long sought: the start of a criminal trial against Wichita abortion provider George Tiller. Jury selection begins in Sedgwick County for what’s expected to be two weeks of hearings. Tiller faces 19 misdemeanor charges that he had an illegal financial relationship with a physician who authorized late-term abortions that Tiller performed.

Phill Kline: Whether you support him or oppose him, love him or loathe him, he has the uncanny ability to be the focus of the public's attention and interest. And now that he has been defeated in his bid for Johnson County District Attorney – what comes next? Public speaking circuit? Radio talk show host? Private legal practice? Legal consultant? Professor? Another run at political office? A judgeship? In Kline’s eighth attempt at elective office in 16 years, he was defeated in the Aug. 5 Republican primary election by Calls to Kline and his staff were not returned by press...

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."

A local election contest rarely draws national attention. But the issue of abortion has catapulted the district attorney’s race in Johnson County into that sphere. Phill Kline, who is campaigning to keep the job, is the first prosecutor since Roe v. Wade to file a criminal case against Planned Parenthood. Those who oppose abortion have taken note and are sending manpower and money. “There is no other elected official taking a more principled and courageous stand for the sanctity of human life than Phill Kline,” conservative James Dobson, who heads Focus on the Family, wrote recently in a letter soliciting...

In a surprising twist to a Johnson County murder that gained nationwide attention, Edwin Hall pleaded guilty this afternoon to killing Kelsey Smith. Hall stood before Judge Peter Ruddick as he entered guilty pleas to charges of capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, rape and aggravated criminal sodomy. For the murder charge, he faces life in prison with no chance of parole. For each of the other three counts, the range of punishment is 147 to 653 months.

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.

Abortion opponents got their grand jury investigation. But when no indictments came down last week against Planned Parenthood of Overland Park, they cried foul.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius today is expected to name Douglas County District Judge Stephen N. Six the state’s next attorney general, Democrats told The Kansas City Star on Thursday. The son of a former state Supreme Court justice, Six would succeed disgraced Attorney General Paul Morrison, who announced his resignation Dec. 14 after publicity surrounding an affair with a one-time co-worker.

"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.

WASHINGTON - It's the political equivalent of a hunger strike. As Congress lurches toward a budget showdown before Christmas, Minnesota Rep. John Kline is at the center of an ideological food fight over the role of pork-barrel "earmarks." The Lakeville Republican calls the system of special funding for pet projects a "corrupting" influence in Congress, and says he won't take any.

As much as liberals decry major corporations that act as if they're above the law, there's always quiet when the subject is Planned Parenthood, America's No. 1 corporate provider of abortions. During its 2005-2006 fiscal year, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed a record 264,943 abortions, reported a tidy profit of $55.8 million -- and received a record high in taxpayer funding of $305.3 million. This is one corporation the media hold in the highest regard. They're not "merchants of death." That would be the tobacco companies, or gun manufacturers, or hamburger joints. These are the heroic "providers" of...

Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline has charged the Overland Park Planned Parenthood clinic with more than 100 criminal counts, including performing illegal late-term abortions.

TOPEKA, Kans., July 19 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison filed a motion with the Kansas Supreme Court yesterday in an attempt to intervene in an investigation by the Johnson County District Attorney into possible criminal activity by a Kansas City Planned Parenthood office. "Although the records are sealed, there are numerous indications that this interference from Morrison's office is an attempt to side with Planned Parenthood in their efforts to reclaim possibly incriminating records from the District Attorney," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. Planned Parenthood and George Tiller were under investigation for the concealment of child rape...

Former Johnson County assistant district attorney Rick Guinn announced today that he would be a candidate for the office’s top job in the 2008 election. Guinn, who was first assistant to former district attorney Paul Morrison, made the announcement at noon on the steps of the Johnson County Courthouse. He also announced he had recently switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. Guinn left the district attorney’s office in December after Morrison was elected Kansas attorney general. Guinn now is working in the attorney general’s office. Another former assistant district attorney, Steve Howe, is expected to announce on Thursday...

Phill Kline is tired, and he doesn’t have the patience he once had for election politics. So the Johnson County district attorney said Saturday that he doubted he’d run for the office in 2008. But Kline told around 80 people at a town hall meeting in Mission that he didn’t intend to give up on the causes he believed in. “I think I’ll probably get out of elective office and get involved in advocacy on issues and on the law,” he said. Kline covered around a dozen topics in the two-hour session. The crowd seemed mostly favorable, though a group...

TOPEKA | Former Attorney General Phill Kline’s attempt to prosecute the state’s most visible abortion provider is now officially over. When Kline left office Jan. 8, the Kansas Supreme Court had been asked to reinstate 30 misdemeanor charges Kline had filed against George Tiller, who operates a Wichita clinic. Tiller is among a few doctors in the nation who perform late-term abortions, and Kline alleged he violated restrictions on those procedures. Current Attorney General Paul Morrison asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the request, and the court did so Tuesday. Chief Justice Kay McFarland wrote “granted” on the one-page document...

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52744 Thursday, November 2, 2006 MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATHAbortion records reveal cases of suspected child rape, incestKansas attorney general wins battle over files that may conceal felonies Posted: November 2, 20061:00 a.m. Eastern By Bob Unruh © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Phil Kline The attorney general in Kansas has won his courtroom battle over the medical records for dozens of abortions in his state, and says the documents appear to have concealed cases of child rape, illegal late-term abortion, rape by force or fear, incest,...

In an election for Attorney General of Kansas today, 10/16/06, Democratic challenger Paul Morrison defeats Republican incumbent Phill Kline, 56% to 43%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KCTV-TV Kansas City and KWCH-TV Wichita. Since an identical SurveyUSA poll 9/14/06, Kline has lost 8 points and Morrison has gained 8 points. Morrison had trailed by 3, now leads by 13. All the movement is among Republicans: Kline leads 2:1 among Republicans, down from a 4:1 lead last month. Morrison gets 87% of Democrat votes, down from 89%. 62% of Independents vote for the Democrat Morrison, up 1 point....

Kline (R) 55% Rowley (DFL) 35% Williams (I) 5% Undecided 5% 520 Likely Voters, +/- 4.4%

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker apologized on Tuesday to U.S. Marines under investigation in the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha in a statement his office said spared him from a libel lawsuit. Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, issued a three-paragraph statement under a deal with lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of the Marines under investigation. Wuterich's lawyers filed a libel lawsuit against another congressman, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, on August 2 following his comments on the case.

WASHINGTON - Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., apologized Monday to the Marines under investigation in the killings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November, saying that statements he made about the case were taken out of context and that he did not mean to imply the Marines were guilty of wrongdoing. Kline issued the apology as part of an agreement with lawyers for Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who alleged Kline had damaged Wuterich's reputation. Wuterich has denied any wrongdoing in the Haditha case. None of the Marines involved has been charged. Wuterich took the unusual step earlier this...

WASHINGTON - Rep. John Kline demanded and got an apology Monday from his Democratic rival, Coleen Rowley, for a doctored picture on her campaign website depicting him as Colonel Klink, a bumbling Nazi prison camp commandant in an old TV comedy series.-snip-Rather, she said she focused instead on the message that Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, was "incompetent" like Klink, a Nazi colonel easily fooled by...

As the Democratic Party continues its slide into disrepute, there doesn't seem to be any bottom in sight. Here is the latest smear from the Dems: candidate Coleen Rowley has published a despicable slander of my own Congressman and friend, John Kline, depicting him as a Nazi. Click to enlarge: In a sane world, the pathetic Ms. Rowley would be forced to resign from the race in humiliation. That won't happen, however, as this kind of ridiculous smear is exactly what the Democratic Party is looking for in its candidates. The more outrageous, the better. Here is Congressman Kline's response...

Ronald Reagan has an airport, an aircraft carrier and buildings around the nation named for him, but his admirers aren't through. As the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Reagan Revolution approaches, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., is proposing legislation to put the late president on the $50 bill. "Not all of America uses Ronald Reagan airport, but all of America uses our currency," Kline said. "We have used currency to commemorate great leaders in our past. It seemed to me this was a good way to do it." But Rep. Jim Oberstar, D.-Minn., calls Kline's proposal "a fatuous idea."...

It is now time to try to wrap up these small “lectures” on the history of art. Today is the tough day: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, etc. I have to admit that I did not “get” these works until I was well within graduate school. For Pollock, it took the documentary by Hans Namuth in which I saw him painting. His work is not just a bunch of random splatters; instead, Pollock carefully dances around the canvas, and you can see the evidence of the “dance,” if you will, on the canvas. (This is the same time that Martha Graham...

From Ed Klein's THE TRUTH ABOUT HILLARY -- "My two cents' worth--and I think it is the two cents' worth of everybody who worked for the Clinton Administration health care reform effort of 1993-1994--is that Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to be kept very far away frm the White House for the rest of her life," writes Bradford DeLong, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury during the first Clinton administration. "Heading up health-care reform was the only major adminstrative job she ever tried to do. And she was a complete flop at it. She had neither the grasp of policy substance,...

ST. LOUIS--On March 30, a national veterans’ organization called for the removal of President George W. Bush and Vice-President Richard Cheney for crimes the group charges were committed during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. In a letter sent to each member of the US House and Senate, Veterans For Peace (VFP) stated that “...This administration’s war on Iraq, in addition to being increasingly unpopular among Americans, is an unmistakable violation of our Constitution and federal law which you have sworn to uphold. In our system, the remedy for such high crimes is clear: this administration must be impeached.” David...

For those interested in Kansas, the MSM, Atrios, Kos, etc. are jumpting all over Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline for his seeking records on abortions pursuant to a criminal investigation.

WASHINGTON - Rep. John Kline wants former President Ronald Reagan to adorn $50 bills, where we would replace Ulysses S. Grant, a Civil War general who went on to become president. Kline, who served as a military aide to Reagan, said the former president "was guided by unwavering principles and a steadfast character." Kline introduced the bill Thursday, to mark the week of what would have been Reagan's 94th birthday. Various efforts have emerged to put Reagan on the nation's currency, on the $10 bill or the $20 bill, or possibly the dime. But they've gone nowhere.

A $250 contribution to Democratic congressional candidate Teresa Daly's campaign from the owner of a store specializing in "erotic and risque gifts" was sent back Thursday, her campaign manager said. The discovery came amid Daly television ads suggesting that children are "barraged with porn." Daly, a Burnsville City Council member, is running against GOP U.S. Rep. John Kline

WASHINGTON, DC— Rep. John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement regarding the President’s service to veterans: "Veterans know better than to trust a politician who votes to send our troops to war and then votes against funds to equip them with essential supplies like body armor. John Kerry's political attacks are misleading Americans about the President's strong and steady record of delivering on behalf of those who have laid their lives on the line to keep our nation safe. "While Kerry talks, President Bush takes action. VA funding has increased by over 40 percent since President Bush took office, enabling...

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement regarding John Kerry's impending visit to Minnesota: "John Kerry may bring his rhetoric to our state on Monday, but he cannot hide from his voting record. John Kerry is out of step on every issue important to Minnesotans. "After a career in the Marine Corps, I know the importance of supporting our troops in the field. Senator Kerry voted for the war in Iraq but voted against the $87 billion supplemental to provide our troops with armor, the equipment needed to win and proper funding. Sen. Kerry voted...

OLATHE -- Gov. Bill Graves has jumped into a controversy over a campaign ad attacking the attorney general candidate he has endorsed in the Republican primary. "This ad is dragging Kansas into the politics of personal destruction," Graves told reporters Monday. The ad by the Law Enforcement Alliance of America attacks Sen. David Adkins, of Leawood. It ties Wichita murder suspect Reginald Carr's case to a 2000 law that Adkins supported while a member of the Kansas House. Adkins is opposed in next Tuesday's primary by former state Rep. Phill Kline, of Shawnee, and Topeka attorney Charles McAtee. The winner...

PAC Attack DCCC Plays Hardball Targets Kline in Harsh Letter In an attempt to steer money away from one of this cycle's most vulnerable incumbents, House Democrats last week distributed a memo urging former donors not to contribute to Minnesota GOP candidate John Kline. The harshly worded letter from Leonard Joseph, the director of financial services for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tells political action committees who have contributed to Kline in the past not to "make the same mistake for a second or even third time" by supporting him over Rep. Bill Luther (D-Minn.). This is Kline's third bid...

<p>U.S. Rep. Bill Luther ended a guessing game among Minnesota political junkies Monday when he announced that he will pack his bags and run for reelection in the new Second District, instead of the Sixth, which he has represented for four terms.</p>