Sebelius: Iraq War Is Slowing National Guard’s Tornado Response
Sebelius: Iraq War Is Slowing National Guard’s Tornado Response
Over the weekend, tornadoes touched down in six southwest Kansas counties, devastating the small town of Greensburg. At least eight people died and a Greensburg administrator “estimated that 95 percent of the town of 1500 was destroyed by Friday’s tornado.”
This morning on CNN, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) said that the state is missing vital National Guard equipment because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Usually the state has approximately 70-80 percent of its equipment at any given time, but it currently has just 40-50 percent. She added that these shortages “will just make it [recovery] that much slower.” Watch it:
According to a recent report by a congressional commission, nearly “90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated ‘not ready,” largely “as a result of shortfalls in billions of dollars’ worth of equipment.” A January Government Accountability Office analysis found that the Pentagon “does not adequately track National Guard equipment needs for domestic missions” and as a consequence, “state National Guards may be hampered in their ability to plan for responding to large-scale domestic events.”
Transcript:
ROBERTS: We spoke with your (INAUDIBLE) general, Major General Bunting, a little while ago. You have illuminated a problem that you’ve got here in terms of the National Guard’s ability to be able to react to this crisis because of the Iraq war.
What’s going on?
SEBELIUS: Well, states all over the country are not only missing personnel, National Guard troops are — about 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan — but we’re missing the equipment. When the troops get deployed, the equipment goes with them.
So, here in Kansas, about 50 percent of our trucks are gone. We need trucks. We’re missing Humvees, we’re missing all kinds of equipment that can help us respond to this kind of emergency.
ROBERTS: So how is that going to hamper efforts both in the recovery and the rebuilding?
SEBELIUS: Well, as you travel around Greensburg, you’ll see that the city and county trucks were destroyed. They — the storm hit them, as well as anything…
ROBERTS: Fire trucks and everything is gone.
SEBELIUS: So we’re borrowing equipment from around, but National Guard are our first responders. They don’t have the equipment they need to come in. And it will just make it that much slower.
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This can’t be true. The Republicans have been in power and as we all no, no one supports the troops like the Republican Party does. (Sarcasm ought to be obvious.)
May 7th, 2007 at 12:25 pmThis is exactly illustrating why we can’t pull out of Iraq now. If we don’t fight the tornadoes in Iraq, they’re going to follow us home like they did in Kansas. Shame on you Liberals for advocating that we surrender to the tornadoes!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:30 pmBush is withholding the equipment on purpose. It’s part of the Raelians plan to cause chaos so everyone will vote for Hillary!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:31 pm#1 - not only do they “support the troops” but their policies make america safe, secure, and prosperous right?
These people, in my mind, are not bumbling idiots, they’re ruining this country intentionally.
The reality remains, when war is continuously waged, we’re going to run into all kinds of other problems - more people will try to attack us out of anger and self-defense, the economy is destroyed, liberties are restricted, and this - resources are taken away from where they should be, and sent off to foreign conquest…..it’s been the same with tyrants for centuries.
Only when we change direction in this country will we have real peace and prosperity - we need a new foreign policy from top to bottom….where resources aren’t wasted trying to control the world, and instead, kept in the hands of those who need it. us.
A good read on this:
“A foreign policy for America”
May 7th, 2007 at 12:33 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/a_foreign_policy_for_america
Bush will say this is great news because it forces survivors to pick themselves up by their boot straps and not to depend on their government for a handout.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:33 pmAnd once again we see the reality, versus the spin, of the Bush administation’s actual ability to protect the American people. Keep in mind this is a very small town. Imagine a major earthquake in San Francisco, another Cat 5 hurricane..perhaps in Miami this time, or a terrorist attack on the scale of 911…or bigger.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:36 pm“Shame on you Liberals for advocating that we surrender to the tornadoes!”
Somehow I suspect this is connected to increased (or is it decreased) numbers of pirates. ;)
May 7th, 2007 at 12:38 pmToasters in tornados can cause serious head injuries.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:38 pmOh, Toto, Kansas is not in Kansas anymore. Poppy fields in Afghanistan. The fraud Wizard of U.S. The Wicked Witch of the West buying red shoes. Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest of the horses’ a**es of different colors.
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home….
May 7th, 2007 at 12:38 pmCan I open my eyes, yet?
I really feel for the victims here because this will be another long road to recovery, when we should have able-bodied guardsmen (and women) ready to assist. I smell more and more “Katrinas” (both large and small) to come.
But really, this is how the Republicans want it: no “hand-outs.” Not even to victims of natural disasters on large scales. That’s what they feel insurance is for. Nevermind if you can’t afford it or afford enough.
I wonder how long it will take before Rush blames the victims?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:38 pmDon’t understand people who votes for Bush.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pmI think this is he part of their politic.
This is the latest example of what happens when we unnecessarily invade and occupy countries who have not attacked nor threatened us. The resources that should be available for emergencies here at home are not here.
Red State America right in the middle of Tornado Alley - this is a heads-up about what voting for neo-cons gets for you. A government that does not have the resources in place to help you when you are suddenly and unexpectedly in need. I hope folks in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and northern Texas are paying attention.
It would seem that folks from small town Kansas have more in common with folks from New Orleans than they probably ever realized.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pmi guess we can expect Glenn Beck to call these 1500 - 8 = 1492 Kansans “scumbags,” right?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmWe’re fighting them over there, so nature can screw us over here.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:42 pmDon’t worry,everybody. THe town will be built MUCH FASTER than Katrina victims. It’s in a ‘red’ state!!!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:42 pmDo the tornadoes hate our freedoms?
“You don’t fight natural disasters w/ the response teams you wish you had, you fight them w/ the understaffed, worn-out men and equipment you’re stuck w/ because the Blunderer-In-Chief can’t do his job right.”*
*Quote by D Rumsfeld, heard escaping from Donald’s rear end, which is apparently the location of Donald’s head these days.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:44 pmBush has screwed the pooch again.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:44 pmWho cares. Why do you depend on the govt. for everything? Take care of the problem yourselves - get the govt. out of your life!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:45 pmjonny = Patrick1 = Jake
May 7th, 2007 at 12:47 pmI am sure we will be hearing soon that Gov. Sebelius is just making partisan charges against the administration and there is no problem with the amount of National Guard equipment and troops in Kansas. ‘Cuz if she were a Republican she would be saying “oh, the federal government and FEMA are doing such a wonderful job helping us out! Couldn’t ask for more!!”
May 7th, 2007 at 12:50 pmWho cares. Why do you depend on the govt. for everything? Take care of the problem yourselves - get the govt. out of your life!
Comment by jonny — May 7, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Nice “rugged individualist” fantasy, Jonny, but natural disasters on the scale of Katrina, or wars for that matter, are a little beyond the “A Team” mentality, ya know… “a Swiss Army knive, some duct tape, and band aids, and this thing’ll be flyin’ in no time.”
Yes, Americans are getting soft, AND some situations do require more, which is what we pay tax dollars for - response, not platitudes and insults.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:51 pmAnd this is why NO republican should ever hold office in the United States Government. They hate the government. Why would you hire somebody to do something they hate.
If you wanted the best steak house in the world, you wouldn’t hire a bunch of vegans.
So, the same holds true for the federal government.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:52 pmChimpy doesn’t give a rat’s ass about this. But, all eyes will be on his big date with Elizabeth tonight at the White House.
Folks, Rome is burning and Chimpy is hanging out with the have-mores. He doesn’t give a crap.
A lot of stupid people voted for this Moron — of course, we all know he stole both elections.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:54 pmJonny,
can I get them out of my bedroom as well? Perhaps they should stop enforcing child labor laws? Prehaps the government should let helpless people drown in natural disasters? Maybe when a terror attack comes we should tell the government to mind its own business and not worry about it? Perhaps we should sell all our roads, schools, and the Veterans Administration to for profit compnaies do they can jack the cost of everything on us?
When the government of a nation is run by WE THE PEOPLE, what you are saying is that people should ignore the troubles of their neighbor. Luckily for you and the rest of us, we the people have decided that we will not do the business of government in that fashion.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pmDon’t worry, Georgie promised he’s going to help.
I live in New Orleans. Let me tell you what kind of help you can expect from Georgie-boy. First thing you do is bend over and grab the cheeks of you ass …
May 7th, 2007 at 12:59 pmour tax dollars gone to provide private corporations in Iraq with security and muscle while the people who paid them go without, in a time of need.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:01 pmSomehow the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress ignored domestic needs for the past 6 years.
BUT, youall got a $100/year tax break! THANK YOU, REPUBLICAN CONGRESS, 1996 - 2006!
May 7th, 2007 at 1:02 pmI’ve never bought the theory that Jake is PatrickSmall1. They have distinct voices. Jake in his many incarnations is the faux-moderate whose wingnuttia is only revealed after the fog machine that enshrouds his arguments runs out of dry ice. PatrickSmall1, on the other hand, is just a stone idiot from the get-go.
jonny sounds like Patrick to me.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:03 pmGet used to it. The redistributrion of wealth upwards looks just like,….. this.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:04 pmAnd the saddest part of this tragedy is that they will all vote republican again in ‘08.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:07 pm“Shame on you Liberals for advocating that we surrender to the tornadoes!â€
Somehow I suspect this is connected to increased (or is it decreased) numbers of pirates. ;)
Comment by Bernard Quatermass — May 7, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
RAmen, brother!
But seriously - I think I have just uncovered The Vast Left-Wind Conspiracy!
Think about it:
Liberals claim that due to global climate change, there will be more tornadoes and hurricanes
Liberals advocate alternative energy sources, such as wind-power
Liberals want us to surrender to the tornadoes in Iraq
Can’t you see? Liberals WANT more wind in the US, since it will only profit their wind farms and climatologists.
Which is why I’m proposing we solve the immigration, terrorism, and natural disaster problem with The Mother Of All Walls. This is not just a mere guarded chain-link fence along the Rio Grande, but a 62.13-mile-high airtight seal from sea level to low-earth orbit, around the borders and coasts of the United States. No longer will we be affected by undocumented hurricanes from Africa or Nor’easters from Canada, and if any immigrants want to get into our country, they’d better start developing suborbital ballistic rocket capability!
If you support anything less, you obviously hate freedom.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:12 pmwho would have thought….
a Democratic politician, governor, attacking President Bush….
like this is news worthy and like it should be taken seriously.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:14 pmWho would have thought…
valiantthehater making another idiotic, clueless comment…
like this is news worthy and like it should be taken seriously.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:18 pmAnd the saddest part of this tragedy is that they will all vote republican again in ‘08.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — May 7, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
Don’t be so sure, Spudge_Boy. Kansas is the heart of the trend of moderate Republicans abandoning ship for the Democratic Party. Governor Sebellius is a Democrat and several other state elected officials are too.
The Fifty-State strategy depends on inroads in Kansas as well as places like the mountain west.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:18 pmvaliantthehater,
way to dodge the topic of the post completely. “Well if it comes from a Democrat, then it isn’t worth listening to. It must be a lie!”
May 7th, 2007 at 1:22 pmit’s easy.
1. they are christian and delusionally think he is christian.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:22 pm2. they believe in conservative (usually borderlining on libertarian) small government styles of government and delusionally think any republican will always be closer to that ideal than any democrat.
3. they think being liberal is closer to being a member of al qaeda than those that believe the USA needs a theocracy.
4. they think USA should be a christian theocracy.
5. they want to encourage the “end times” to come by getting as many trigger happy leaders as possible into government.
6. they think liberals just want to “tax and spend” (i still hear this one often which is weird considering liberal vs conservative tax policies over the past few decades).
7. they truly believe abortion is akin to murder and see conservatism as the only way to outlaw abortion, all other issues (including quality of life for the fertilized egg and mom) be damned!
8. they think they will be rich someday (or already are) and want to limit taxes as much as possible on the wealthy (the only sensible - albeit greedy - argument there is!)
* regarding my previous post. By “sensible” in #8, i meant sensible if you lean that side of the fence. I personally believe we need to tax the hell outta the uber-wealthy.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:27 pmWhy isn’t the media reporting on how well the National Guard is doing in those areas without natural disasters?
May 7th, 2007 at 1:28 pmI’ve never bought the theory that Jake is PatrickSmall1. They have distinct voices. Jake in his many incarnations is the faux-moderate whose wingnuttia is only revealed after the fog machine that enshrouds his arguments runs out of dry ice. PatrickSmall1, on the other hand, is just a stone idiot from the get-go.
jonny sounds like Patrick to me.
Comment by KRank — May 7, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
funny. applause.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:31 pmWhy isn’t the media reporting on how well the National Guard is doing in those areas without natural disasters?
Comment by AkaDad — May 7, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
They’re too busy focusing on the One Daily Tornado.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:34 pmDemocrats never miss an opportunity to bash Bush. The Kansas Guv has no shame. She’s the perfect DemocRAT.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:37 pmVTH, did you see my post at #20? Thanks for validating! You are so amazingly predictable!
May 7th, 2007 at 1:37 pmWhy isn’t the media reporting on how well the National Guard is doing in those areas without natural disasters?
They are. On Iraqi TV.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:38 pmoh. wait a minute : that is a disaster.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:38 pmWhat the F**K are you talking about. You are an idiot.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:40 pmPartisan and Proud = jonny = Patrick1
May 7th, 2007 at 1:40 pmThis jerk, John Roberts, was just on the Ed Schultz Show saying how he was checking into Sebelius’s “claims” about her National Guard troops and equipment.
A quick search over at MediaMatters.org shows that Roberts is a chronic repeater of unsourced and unbacked claims by Repugs.
Why the big needy-need to attempt to debunk a Dem whose state is being kicked in the groin by Bush’s I-Wreck Folly?
May 7th, 2007 at 1:41 pmHey P&P #41 — Same as for VTH — thanks for vaildating! See #20 if you are confused by this.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:41 pmRe : #41 :
What the F**K are you talking about. You are an idiot.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:43 pmKRank- I agree, there’s too great of a tendency too say “this troll =this troll”. There actually is more than three morons that find there way here.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:48 pmBy underfunding and under-equipping the National Guard, the way is cleared for Blackwater to take over these disaster relief duties. They did real well in New Orleans - keeping the black folks out of the white neighborhoods!
May 7th, 2007 at 1:49 pmMark my words…
“Democrats never miss an opportunity to bash Bush.”
Actually, this is not really true. Bush is _so_ stupid, _so_ vapid, so incompetent and smug that the opportunities to bash him swarm very thick and fast indeed - so much so that Dems simply can’t keep up.
I’m sure you’d join in if you were paid enough.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:53 pm#52 - thank you for proving my point.
The hatred I feel in this blog is scary. You people are really sad. You lost in 2000 and in 2004 - get over it. You now have Congress and can end the war if you want. IT’s just that your party doesn’t want to. They are profiting off this war too.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:57 pmComment by Parrotlover77 — May 7, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
You missed one:
May 7th, 2007 at 2:00 pmThey think that anyone who states something like, “We don’t have enough National Guards to deal with the problem” is obviously bashing Bush, and that therefore what they say is a lie rather than a statement of fact.
Love it when trolls talk about the “hate” on this board. Delicious!
As for the quote above about “ending the war” (aka occupation)… Did I miss the memo that we have the 2/3 majority needed to overturn a veto?
May 7th, 2007 at 2:01 pmThis coming from an a$$wipe gong by Partisan and Proud and uses the term DemocRAT.
Fu*k you jerk off.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:05 pmWe got over it in November of ‘06 and we will really get over it in ‘08. That is unless Bush is impeached, which is looking more and more likely, the longer people like you support him.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:17 pm#57 - with Hillary at the top of the ticket, you can’t lose. I mean, she’s so popular and… oh, wait. She actually is the most disliked of all the candidates scoring negatives in every poll. AND the Clinton thugs will rub out Edwards and Obama so don’t think Hillary won’t be your nominee. She will be.
I wouldn’t go nuts over 2008. Once the GOP has an opponent, alot will change. With the political discourse set so low by the left, we will destroy the Dem candidate.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:27 pmI wouldn’t go nuts over 2008. Once the GOP has an opponent, alot will change. With the political discourse set so low by the left, we will destroy the Dem candidate.
Comment by Partisan and Proud — May 7, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
This tacit admission that all the Republickers have left is the politics of personal destruction is the closest thing you’ll ever get to honesty from a troll.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:43 pmPeePee,
The hatred I feel from your trolling is scary. You people are really sad. You lost in 2006 - get over it.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pmPartisan: “with Hillary at the top of the ticket, you can’t lose. I mean, she’s so popular and… oh, wait. She actually is the most disliked of all the candidates scoring negatives in every poll.”
Not that we want to let any facts get in the way of your argument, but maybe you should check out the latest Newsweek/WaPo poll. The same one which has Bush at 28% has Hillary beating every Republican candidate heads up.
And, don’t be so sure that these personal attack politics are going to continue to work. The public is starting to understand that this is what you do when you can’t win on the issues.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:48 pmPeePee,
Sigh! In my case you are probably correct. I /do/ hate it when the congenitally incompetent are born into money and therefore able to buy power.
I for one find that pretty hate-worthy. So to use the phrase of one of your verminous sibs, toodles!
May 7th, 2007 at 2:49 pmHas anyone noticed that most of the trolls who come around here these days start with a lame, whining lament about the “hate” they see here. If you try to say that Bush is the worst president in history, that’s just “hate.” Of course, 10 years ago, the same trolls thought it was “patriotic” to accuse Clinton of rape.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:55 pmHey, a few of our Founders hated the idea of a corporate aristocracy. There’s a long American tradition in hating aristocracy. And, if Bush isn’t a product of American aristocracy, what the hell else is he? The man was his family’s 17th legacy at Yale in a string that goes back to the 1840’s.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:57 pmKeep in mind that today a survivor was found in the rubble. The implication is that this survivor could have been found and rescued sooner had the Kansas National Guard not had its equipment and resources gutted by the war in Iraq.
May 7th, 2007 at 3:05 pm“The man was his family’s 17th legacy at Yale in a string that goes back to the 1840’s.”
The sad thing is, many of the people who admire this … anthropoid think he got into Yale because he was smart.
May 7th, 2007 at 3:06 pmThis is Kansas:
“The minority leader of the Kansas house is Dennis McKinney, a much-admired conservative Democrat who represents the heavily Republican constituency that includes Greensburg. Until 9:45 last Friday night, McKinney had a house in town, and when the storm hit, he had been in it. I asked him about the miracle of the cleared roads. “We got help,†he told me over an intermittent cell connection. “We live in an area where most of the towns are small, but most of them have volunteer EMT units and volunteer firefighters. After the storm, within minutes, we had several fire companies here, and then more came. We had a huge response from the surrounding communities — all well-trained volunteers. And we have a lot of pick-ups! One of the things about living out here is we all have four-wheel-drive pickups. So for example a few of us cleared my road right away — cut up a tree that was across the road, hooked a chain to it and dragged it away with the pick-up. We just helped each other.†On Main Street and out on the highway, the people who only minutes earlier had been residents of a small Kansas town had been joined by others and together they all spent the whole night hard at work on a dark and unsheltered plain.” (Denis Boyles, 5/7/07)
May 7th, 2007 at 3:28 pmOf course you wouldn’t you are going down. We have heard all of your useless rhetoric here verbatim from trolls who are much better than you are and they were wrong to.
Good luck fu*k head.
May 7th, 2007 at 4:05 pmI wouldn’t go nuts over 2008. Once the GOP has an opponent, alot will change. With the political discourse set so low by the left, we will destroy the Dem candidate.
Comment by Partisan and Proud — May 7, 2007
Sure, and Custer was sure he had a winning battle plan for Little Big Horn, an apt comparison considering the slaughter perpetrated upon the GOP by the electorate in November 2006
But hey, you keep telling yourself that it’s you, not the overwhelming majority of the US public thoroughly sick of W’s policies, who’s closer to US public opinion regarding Iraq, and push that meme as hard as possible, seeing as how it was so successful for Karl Rove the last time he tried the “Dems=Terrorists” bs, November 2006
Good luck to you, lil’ trooper, you’re going to need more than a towel or umbrella, as if the US is still bogged down in Iraq come November 2008, the 2006 anti-GOP tidal wave will look like a light sprinkle compared to the 2008 elections
May 7th, 2007 at 4:12 pmGov. Sebelius has been complaining about the lack of Natl Guard equipment since Bush made his trip to Topeka for the Brown V. Board of Ed anniversary. She wanted the state re-imbursed for equipment that has been deployed and will never be seen by us Kansans again. This is nothing new for her. The problem now is that the citizens of my state desperately need the front loaders, flatbeds, humvees, dump trucks and things that are normal available for state use in the time of disaster. How is it bashing when it’s true? Everyone knows that the Natl Guard is often called upon to help in these sort of situations, but most of the country’s units are either deployed or “not ready”. It is a true consequence of this illegal, ill conceived war. Welcome to reality, I hope it doesn’t bitch slap your state. Now we have floods to deal with too….
May 7th, 2007 at 6:19 pmThis DoD article says that Kansas has 88 percent of its forces available, 60 percent of it’s Army Guard equipment, and more than 85 percent of its Air Guard equipment.
http://www.defenselink.mil/ news/ newsarticle.aspx?id=33080
The official interviewed in that story said that Kansas can call on other states for help effectively giving it 400,000 Guardsmen, but that no one has asked for help yet.
Not that they need help from other states since it’s only a town of 1500 that was affected.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:15 pmDuring the Katrina aftermath, Bush looked to his private sector buddy Erik Prince’s company - Blackwater USA - as the primary source of manpower to make up for the shortage of National Guardsmen in Louisiana.
They were given authorization for the use of lethal force on American citizens as per their rules of engagement, and proceeded with a general disarmament of legal gun owners. Does the term right-wing paramilitary come to mind?
The diminution of the National Guard through prolonged Iraq War deployments opens up endless opportunities for mercenaries to provide a “market solution” to the problem of manpower shortages in domestic disasters. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear about a Blackwater facility opening up in Dodge next week.
Blackwater is in the process of establishing a base in the Portrero Valley, CA with Schwartzenegger’s full support. Futuristic?
May 7th, 2007 at 10:35 pmJust like it neutralized the recovery following Hurricane Katrina.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:43 pmBlanco in Louisiana, Sebelius in Kansas.
Common denominator? Stupid female democratic Governors.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:22 am#21
If the state of Kansas can’t manage something small like this without crying about Daddy Bush, I think they need a new governor.
Someone like Haley Barbour perhaps, after his splendid performance after Katrina.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:27 amI notice all the haters have completely and unanimously ignored post #66. The fact is, in Kansas, people tend to fend for themselves and help their neighbors. In Kansas, we don’t need the federal government to come in and ’save us.’ we are capable people. When the cattle were stranded and freezing in the huge snowstorms this past winter, the help of the guard to drop hay was greatly appreciated, but the farmers and ranchers would have gotten those animals taken care of with or without the guard. The town of Greensburg is replete with hearty Midwesterners that do not require the federal government to fix their problems.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:40 amIt amazes me, with the blundering of government spending, that people still think that private industry will actually raise the cost of things. The cost of private-industry goods falls continuously while improving in quality, whereas government budgets increase continuously without any real advancement. However, the fact that the tax codes aren’t transparent makes liberals believe that these things “paid for by the government” are free to them.
Lack of reliance upon government should not cause a turning of backs upon one’s neighbors, unless, of course, you believe that the government should take care of it all so that you don’t have to. Remember the Tsunamis in the Pacific? U.S. PRIVATE SECTOR aid far outweighed contributions by any nation on the planet.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:03 pm#26
Our tax dollars? I guess you’re not counting the 52% of adults in this nation who don’t pay a cent in income taxes.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pmCurrently, the Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available, 60 percent of its Army Guard dual-use equipment on hand, and more than 85 percent of its Air Guard equipment on hand, said Randal Noller, public affairs officer for the National Guard Bureau. Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during governor or federally declared emergencies, Kansas has more than 400,000 Guardsmen available to it, he pointed out. However, Kansas has not yet requested assistance from other states.
May 9th, 2007 at 12:13 pmHeh….. Even Madam Governor has back-peddled now that the facts have come out. One more totally dishonest and corrupt Democrat exposed…. and look at the name of this website owner and the partisans’ comments that followed if you want more names.
Bob
May 9th, 2007 at 2:07 pmWhat? No comments from the progressive gallery at the good Governor’s misinformation campaign?
You have all been duped.
Again.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:34 pmThese concerns about lack of equipment and troops are not new claims because the national spotlight is on Kansas. Here is a weblink to a local Kansas television station story on the subject in January 2007.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:50 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oozbS7GIdY
As a sensible and clear-thinking liberal, I think that Gov. Sebelius did go overboard in her statistical claims about National Guard readiness for some unnecessary and blatantly political reasons (thoughts/dreams of being VP in 2008?). It also amazes me that people can make unfounded connections between the federal response to Katrina and the tornado in Greensburg. Of course the Bush Admin. screwed up Katrina–and, you must know that they weren’t going to make the same mistake again in Greensburg. But, to my conservative and populist friends on this post, you are exactly correct: Kansans take care of themselves and watch after themselves first and foremost without any thought of federal (or state) help–that spirit of “pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps” is unbelievably engrained in the Midwestern psyche, which stands in stark contrast to the “I’m a victim” image portrayed by many who dealt with the Katrina catastrophe. I have absolutely no doubt that many who experienced Katrina related the situation to racist underpinnings and, in fact, were/have been overtly discriminated against. Still, there is something afoul in the way that people are making these connections in regard to both disasters.
May 10th, 2007 at 1:55 amInteresting how the initial story from Photo-Op Kathy and comments all seem to blame Bush, but as the real facts get out their story looks remarkably weak. Right now in Greensburg, hundreds of volunteer Kansans along with KNG members, local church and civic groups, students, insurance adjustors, police and fire rescue people are covering the area and working their rears off. Pizza Hut (a local Kansas startup) just had a fund raising night yesterday that crammed restaurants statewide. The truth is that we Kansans are proud of being self-reliant and helping our neighbors in times of need. Real Kansans don’t blame Washington for weather. We help.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:26 amHere’s some interesting perspective on this case for those of you who haven’t already made up your minds.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:43 pmhttp://ace.mu.nu/archives/226034.php
Total Air and Army Guard personell in KS at the time was about 6800. Of this, at one point 560 were activated to deal with the problem. That is all they wanted.
There were roughly 83,000 Guard personell available to KS from its neighboring states through something called EMAC. The Emergency Assistance Management Compact which allows Governors to cross level assets in time of emergency. The Guard is just one facet available per this agreement. It includes assets from several other state and federal agencies. No EMAC requests were placed. None were needed. The state’s Adjutant General was confident his resources were adequate for the job.
The 1st Guard assets in place - a Civil Support Team - was in place 6 hours after the tornado went through.
The soldiers caught looting were active duty soldiers from nearby Ft Riley, not KS National Guard.
Yes, even LTG Blum, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau has said that Guard equipment has been depleted by overseas efforts. He has even managed to secure funding for its replacement seperately from the active component’s military funding. Regardless, the governor’s existing assets in KS and those available from neighbors are currently more than adequate to deal with her existing problem.
The kneejerk “don’t believe the White House at any cost†mindset is counterproductive. learn to put things in perspective/context and don’t trust that all the soundbites you hear are the complete story.
May 13th, 2007 at 9:17 am