HomeArchive for June, 2009
Those dangerous fundraisers
In stark contrast to the lovefest (or at least awkward smiling) between gays and fundamentalists at John Hagee’s Texas church this past Sunday, a gay-straight exchange in California last weekend turned violent.
The scene was a fundraiser for Democratic congressional hopeful Francine Busby in California’s 50th district, which includes parts of San Diego and a few [...]
Dancing with the devil
As gay pride parades took place across the country yesterday — including one in Wichita — some gay rights activists in Texas decided to show pride in a different way: by attending an infamously anti-gay church. They went en masse to the San Antonio congregation of firebrand pastor John Hagee, sporting buttons that read: The [...]
Right faith, left faith
Although faith may lead the folks profiled in What’s the Matter with Kansas? to support right-wing policies, it’s leading others to demand progressive ones.
On Wedesday, an interfaith coalition gathered at Freedom Plaza in the nation’s capital to hold what they called the Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All. It’s a [...]
The cross of hypocrisy
The Washington Times, of all places, is reporting (in the news section, not an op-ed) that social conservatives have fallen from the moral high ground. The most recent example, of course, is Mark Sanford, the Republican governor of South Carolina who went missing for six days when he was visiting his mistress in Argentina. Last [...]
Evangelicals’ new face
The newly appointed government affairs guy for the the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) seems to have some humanitarian street cred. Galen Carey has spent the last 26 years at World Relief, a respected advocacy and direct service group and that works on behalf of the poor, the hungry, and the sick — a true [...]
New blogger, new posts
We’re excited at “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” to introduce a new blogger to our project. Jesse Lava will be our main contributor in the coming weeks so Laura and Joe can focus on bringing the film to a town near you. By all means, leave your comments and let us know what your thoughts [...]
Dr. Tiller’s controversial neighbor
We’ve posted a Youtube clip of a scene which never made it into “What’s the Matter with Kansas?“ This clip seems germane to the moment at hand, when the abortion issue is being hotly debated and linked to violence.
The video is a mini-portrait of Choices Medical clinic of Wichita – a Pro-Life medical clinic right [...]
Phill Kline’s awkwardly timed appeal
In his column in the Wall Street Journal this morning, Thomas Frank tells the story of how former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline appealed to his supporters for donations to help him cover his debts from his legal battles with the late Dr. George Tiller as Kline repeatedly attempted to prosecute him for performing illegal [...]
Dr. Tiller’s clinic to close permanently
As we suspected, Dr. George Tiller’s abortion clinic, Women’s Health Care Services of Wichita, will close permanently. Once there were four abortion clinics in Wichita, now there are none.
This is part of a national trend. As Frontline covered in a recent documentary, abortion clinics are disappearing across the country. Fewer doctors are entering the practice. [...]
Can’t we all just get along?
Two days after his well-attended but ultimately peaceful funeral in Wichita, an editorial in the Wichita Eagle gives a nod to our movie’s coverage while bemoaning the impact the conflict over abortion has had in Wichita. The cry of anguish reminds us of beaten convict Rodney King’s plea after the L.A. Riots, “can’t we all [...]
The Tiller discussion continues
Reverberations from Dr. Tiller’s murder continue to spread, as the LA Times, Jezebel and Current.TV took notice of Salon.com’s coverage of our movie and its coverage of the Pro-Life movement in Wichita.
Not surprisingly, most of the angst is coming from the Pro-Choicers, who are devastated by the loss of one of the very few late-term [...]