Kansas

When it comes to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius's ability to be bipartisan, the diagnosis is mixed. As a Democratic governor of red-state Kansas, President Obama's pick for health and human services secretary has worked with a Republican-led legislature. But when it comes to policy, many conservatives will fight her stances like a deadly virus.

National pro-life groups have already expressed opposition of Sebelius, a choice some say is worse than your run-of-the-mill pro-choice nominee. In April 2007, she held an event with a reported late-term abortion provider and his clinic's staff at the governor's residence. Thus, pro-life advocates view Sebelius as an abortion-rights radical.

Besides abortion, Republicans, at least in Kansas, don't seem to agree with her healthcare plans either. She has failed to convince lawmakers to raise taxes on tobacco for increased coverage. During her two terms as governor, the rate of uninsured Kansans have grown seven times as fast in the sate compared to the national average. Still, Sebelius's healthcare expertise is considered one of her greatest assets.

Do you think Kathleen will have a better time getting bipartisan support for reform than the candidate Obama passed over — Howard Dean?

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Zombies doing pretty much anything makes my day. (Except, of course, coming to get me!) But when they step up their game, step away from all the brains and entrails, and sing a rendition of Kansas's "Dust in the Wind"? I weep a little inside.

Thanks to an 1887 law, pro-life Kansans have circumvented their prosecutors and called a grand jury to investigate a doctor they accuse of providing late-term abortions for three decades.

The dusty state statute only asks ordinary citizens to gather enough signatures, before they call a grand jury to investigate an alleged crime. A 15-member grand jury is now investigating Dr. George Tiller, thanks to the prosecutor-not-needed mechanism.

Active citizens have begun to use the statute, long ignored, to investigate abortion clinics, as well as stores selling explicit videos and magazines. Leaving polarizing issues like abortion aside, I could imagine this law invigorating citizens to get involved in their community and set an agenda that may differ from the prosecutors. Of course, civically active individuals don't always accurately represent the community as a whole.

Should communities reserve this sort of people's justice for only the most necessary cases, like government corruption and abuse of power? What sort of reaction would citizens have if politicians tried to repeal the statute?

• Gaza Blast Kills 5: A large explosion in Gaza yesterday killed at least five Palestinians, including several Hamas militants and a baby girl. Despite the death and destruction of a residential building, responsibility is unclear. Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, first blamed the blast on an Israeli air strike, causing them to fire rockets and mortar rounds at Israeli towns and villages around Gaza. The Israeli military has vehemently denied any involvement in the explosion.



• US/Iraq Talks Stall: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki declared that talks with the US aimed at reaching a long-term agreement allowing US forces to remain in Iraq have "reached an impasse". According to Maliki, the US demands compromised Iraqi sovereignty. President Bush has said he wants an agreement by the end of July, as the UN mandate for US forces to be in Iraq expires at the end of 2008. Maliki said of the proposal, "We cannot allow US forces to have the right to jail Iraqis or assume, alone, the responsibility of fighting against terrorism."
• Midwest Pounded: Iowa's Cedar River broke its banks yesterday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of homes and causing a railroad bridge to collapse. Officials estimated that 100 blocks are underwater in Cedar Rapids, where preparations weren't enough to hold back the water. The sheriff said of the weather crisis, "We're just kind of at God's mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start." Estimates show that 3,200 homes were evacuated and 8,000 residents have been displaced. This news comes after a deadly tornado hit an Iowa Boy Scout camp, and a similarly deadly twister tore through Kansas, leaving residents to dig out of the destruction.

To see an exclusive, first-hand photo account of the Kansas aftermath, read more

Three women, none named Hillary Clinton, are on Politico's short list of potential Barack Obama running mates. They include: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

They all bring red state credentials, have avoided focusing on gender during their campaigns, and are not considered polarizing figures by Republicans in their home states.

For some background info on each potential running mate, read more

A Kansas man who has admitted molesting a boy is under judge's orders to advertise his crime. He's been sentenced to post signs around his house and affix a decal on his car proclaiming that he is a sex offender. The hand-painted signs read, “A Sex Offender Lives Here” and cover all four sides of Leroy Schad's white house in this central Kansas town. The entire population of the town is only about 150 people. His vehicle did not escape the sentence, and has been fitted with a large decal with bold yellow lettering reading “Sex Offender In This Car.”

Schad, 72, original charge was four counts of taking indecent liberties with a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy in 2005. His plea-bargain in March 2007 was to a lesser charge of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child, and the original charges were dismissed. The judge has ordered the signs to remain during Schad's entire sentence, which includes house arrest for five years.

Schad is appealing the sign requirement which replaced about three years behind bars. “I know that I deserve something for that, but I don't think I deserve what I got,” he said, adding, “It's been pure hell.” Schad has lived in the small town since 1971.

Is this exactly what he deserves, or unusually cruel and creative punishment?

Oprah is keen on a woman politician not named Hillary Clinton. The latest issue of O magazine features Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in a piece about the virtues of female executive know-how. Governor Sebelius, an Obama supporter, gave this year's Democratic response after Bush's State of the Union.

Today the New York Times explored Oprah's apparent pick for first female president, along with some other likely candidates. The short list also includes Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor of Arizona, and Condoleezza Rice.

The article explains that Sebelius and Napolitano have Clinton's ambitious appeal without all the baggage. It goes on to praise Napolitano for having bypassed "any of the old-fashioned ways of gaining political prominence: on the coattails of a doting daddy (see Susan Molinari), a dead husband (see Mary Bono), or a politically dead husband (see Elizabeth Dole)."

Do you think Hillary Clinton, with her connections and name recognition, is the female gender's best shot at capturing the White House? Or, are we just beginning to tap a generous supply of able female leaders?

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It's stuff like this that renews my hope in girlkind. (Yes, it's my made-up word.) If girls would stop dressing like hookers and twirling around stripper poles in their bedrooms while filming themselves on webcams so pervy middle-aged men could get off, they could develop some talent. I mean, a teen playing an epic Kansas tune (Wayward Son) on the organ—unironically? I. Heart. Her.