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John Burt, Michael Griffin, Paul Hill, Randall Terry, and Phil Kline: what do these men have in common?

John Burt is currently in prison for sexual assault on a minor. Michael Griffin is serving a life sentence for murder. Paul Hill was executed for multiple murders. Randall Terry is the former head of Operation Rescue having left that organization as the result of lawsuits. Phil Kline is the attorney general of Kansas. They have all proudly proclaimed themselves to be Christians, based on their personal definitions of Christian. They have all proudly proclaimed themselves to be champions of life, based on their personal definitions of life. They have all proudly proclaimed themselves to be champions of public morals, based on their personal definitions of morals.

You have probably read posts recently about Terri Schaivo and Phil Kline’s fishing expedition in Kansas. Steve Bates and Musing Michael have written on Terri Schaivo, while Atrios, Steve Bates, Steve Gilliard, and Tbogg, among others have written on Kline.

Randall Terry is one common factor. He along with Burt, Griffin, and Hill were regulars among the “pro-birth” protesters in Northwest Florida. He was also a regular in Kansas. Having been sued to penury by various groups that faced violence at the hands of his supporters, he started anew with the Society for Truth and Justice [based on his definition of truth and justice], and has been called in by the parents of Terri Schaivo to organize protests and force the Florida legislature to pass another unconstitutional law.

As Terry’s brand of intimidation failed in Kansas, Phil Kline is using his office to try a different form. Kline makes the standard claim of all those who believe the world should accept their values without question: it’s to protect the children.

I was in law enforcement. I have applied for warrants and subpoenas to gather information in furtherance of an investigation. You have to have a crime, and provide probable cause to believe that the requested writ or warrant is relevant to the crime. I find it hard to believe that there is so little crime in the state of Kansas that its attorney general must acquire private medical information to see if he can discover some work for the police and courts in the state.

Based on what he claims he is looking for, he can find most of what he seeks in public vital statistics that record the births in Kansas. That should be sufficient to provide him with decades of statutory rape cases. It is rather obvious that he isn’t interested in those that have been born and are citizens of the state of Kansas. His purpose is to harass medical professionals he, personally, doesn’t like. No one should take the law into their own hands and become a vigilante, especially the attorney general of a state.

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[^TM Kevin Drum]

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C.C.

If you were my friend, you’d cut the rope.
[Edit: Crazy Cat was hand-raised by my Mother and now lives next door. Yes, she’s on a leash.]
Friday Ark

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