Where the weird and the devious play

RHONDA CHRISS LOKEMAN

Kansas is getting a bad reputation, an undeserved one. The Land of Oz is at risk of becoming the Land of Odds. The good people of Kansas must work fast to confront the riffraff.

It used to be that the state next door had just one certified wacko: The Rev. Fred Phelps. You could count on Phelps to travel near and far to picket funerals and hold up signs like “God Hates Fags.” You don't even have to be gay to get on Phelps' gay-dar.

But if you are, death is no escape. After Matthew Shepard was tortured and killed in Wyoming, a picture of the gay man appeared on a Phelps Web site along with the words “Matthew Shepard burns in hell.”

As if that's not bad enough, Kansas was about to become the national base for the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group with a violent history.

The Star reported last week that the neo-Nazis were setting up camp in Kansas City, Kan. Reportedly, the state's central location drew the group's national director, Charles Juba, from Pennsylvania out West. Since the story appeared, Juba purportedly resigned his position.

The group considers Jews “the children of Satan” and African-Americans “beasts of the field.” They have similar terms for Hispanics, gays and immigrants.

Some adhere to the Christian Identity cult, which believes whites are God's chosen people. Officials won't say how many members there are, but prison membership seems to be doing well. Some Aryan members have done time for federal crimes such as counterfeiting, armed robberies, bombings and murders.

Surely you'll remember those frightened children at that Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Calif.?

When Kansans heard that the Aryans were prairie-bound, they pulled up the welcome mat. The next day, The Star reported the good news that the Aryans were moving to Florida instead. Soon they will be Jeb Bush's problem.

But that doesn't mean Kansans should let down their guard. It's likely the Aryans will take their activities underground there until attention dies down.

Either way, state and federal law enforcers in Kansas will have their hands full. As if they haven't already.

Thanks to good law enforcement, Wichita's serial killer, known as BTK, is believed to be the man behind bars in the Sedgwick County Jail after a killing spree that spanned three decades.

Dennis Rader was recently charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of 10 persons in Wichita and Park City, Kan., from 1974 to 1991. Before the BTK arrest, another serial killer made the rounds in Kansas. John Edward Robinson Sr. used the Internet to lure women and then dumped their bodies in 55-gallon barrels. Some women were found in Raymore, Mo., and in La Cygne, Kan. Arrested in June 2000, Robinson was sentenced to death in Kansas.

Now for some law-abiding oddities.

The anti-evolution movement in Kansas has gotten so fierce that some people want to put stickers on science textbooks that mention the E-word, and Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline told some of them in private that he wouldn't mind if they did.

Clearly, some Kansans won't rest until we bring back the Butler Act. Seems the only way to settle this argument is to have high schools perform “Inherit the Wind.”

Kline boasts of being “the first conservative elected to statewide office.” That's nice. But, if you keep company with people who want to ban books or censor, and wouldn't mind “certain” women in burqas marked with a scarlet letter, people will talk.

Kline requested medical records for 90 women and girls who had abortions performed in Kansas in 2003. In court records, clinic officials are resisting, citing medical privacy among other reasons.

Last week Kline told The Star's Editorial Board that he acted out of concern for possible unreported child rape. Regardless of your views on abortion, this apparent invasion of medical privacy and government intrusion into women's reproductive health is another black eye for Kansas.

This legal battle in Kansas warrants national attention. Republican Kline is not the first anti-choice attorney general to meddle in private medical matters. Before he was found out, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft wanted abortion records, too. This smacks of a stealth movement.

Kline says it's not about his personal views but about the laws. He not only will uphold the abortion law, but also go a step further. He told the Editorial Board, “I'll escort women” entering abortion clinics, if need be.

When that happens, check the sky. Not only will pigs be flying, but they'll also be flying backward.

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman's column appears on Sundays. To reach her, call (816) 234-4475, or send e-mail to [email protected].