Sebelius warned Bush last year about Guard shortages.
By on May 8th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Sebelius warned Bush last year about Guard shortages.
Kansas is currently missing approximately 60 percent of its National Guard equipment because of the war in Iraq, hampering its ability to respond to the recent tornadoes. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) said that she has “written the Pentagon twice and spoke about the issue at great length with Bush in January 2006.” “He assured me that he had additional equipment in his budget a year ago. … Meanwhile, it doesn’t get any better. I’m at a loss,” Sebelius said, adding that she will bring up the issue again with the President when he visits Kansas on Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, the party’s on in DC with a huge fete for an irrelevant head of state.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:59 amAnother Governor Blanco.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:00 amThis “President” and this Admin. does not give a rat’s ass about anyone except making themselves and their friend’s (The Have-Mores) — i.e. The Oil Companies, The Drug Companies, Haliburton and other War Profiteers ETC. — RICHER AND RICHER AND RICHER.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:02 amWelcome to the wonderful world of Conservative Compassion.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:05 amI’ve been wondering about this for a bit … how the hell does Kansas have a Democratic governor?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:07 amAnother Governor Blanco.
Yes, another example how Chimpy and Cohorts in Crime have abandoned this country to focus on a $600 M embassy in Baghdad (just as an example)
May 8th, 2007 at 10:07 amI’m a Kansan and a big fan of Kathleen Sebelius.
She’s done more to foster non-partisanship than anyone in the history of this “Red” state.
She’s what’s right about our system. Dubya is the exact opposite of her.
Give ‘em hell, Kate!
May 8th, 2007 at 10:07 amBush listens to absolutely no one – they all represent one huge “father figure” to him and his beligerance mimics that of his teenage and adolescent years vis-a-vis parental (particularly fatherly) authority. This is not surprising in the least. Obviously, Bush has not done the personal work necessary to his own maturation; it’s clear from everything he does and says.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:08 amLadies and Gentlemen……
I say now is the time to march onto Washington and take back our country……
After all….. We don’t have the equipment or manpower in the states to take care of something like this, how in the hell are they going to gather enough troops to stop a million or more people from storming the capital and throwing these sorry bums out on their a$$’s?????
I am soooooo tired of these bastards that I am ready for the revelution to overthrow this criminal, crime ridden people and start fresh!
May 8th, 2007 at 10:09 amThe gov just got uninvited to bush’s photo op.
patthycakes brings up a good, if unintended, good point. Blanco was assured by bush that everything was under control as well.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:10 amGeorge W. Bush = The Boy King! (who never grew up). This will be his legacy. Right now he’s actually seen “pouting” since he didn’t get his way with the war funding. For someone who has done their personal work and views things in a mature fashion, his behavior is appallingly sad. To think that this unfulfilled individual is the “trigger finger” of the future of this country is downright frightening.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:10 amThe Bush Administration is replete with the largest gathering of narcissists and sycophants ever before in the history of this country.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:11 amPatrick1,
May 8th, 2007 at 10:11 amI’m not sure what the reference between the governors you are referring to, but I think it was supposed to be derisive.
Louisiana brought this problem to light 21 months ago after the levees failed and many of the National Guard troops needed in New Orleans were deployed overseas. This administration has failed to learn its lesson from that terrible experience and now other areas of the country are feeling the effects.
The Governors Sebelius and Blanco are not whiners asking for handouts. They are high state officials demanding that the federal government live up to their responsibilities.
This problem surfaced with Katrina. In the words of Rumsfeld this was a known known. Bush and the crusaders have been weakening the National Guard for years.
Where is the legal authority written for the President to use the National Guard and Reserve units.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:14 amI am soooooo tired of these bastards that I am ready for the revelution to overthrow this criminal, crime ridden people and start fresh!
Comment by RemoveBush
I’m there.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:17 amMeanwhile, it doesn’t get any better. I’m at a loss,†Sebelius said, adding that she will bring up the issue again with the President when he visits Kansas on Wednesday.
Please…..ask him publicly.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:18 amNo one could have imagined that the levees would fail…
no wait… that was a different natural disaster…
okay, here it is…
No one could have imagined that Kansas would be hit by a tornado…..
May 8th, 2007 at 10:19 amGood point raynman…except, the failure of the levees was not a “natural disaster”. It was a government made disaster caused by the faulty levees built by the Army Corp of Engineers. This fact was admitted by the ACOE, but yet the government still fails to take responsibility.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:24 amjust wait until there’s another Katrina… it will be like deja vu all over again… a huge mess for which we’re not prepared…
May 8th, 2007 at 10:26 am‘I’d rather take the money than responsibility’.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:29 am-President Bush 6-6-06.
This is what happens when the Rubicon is crossed. The USA is now simply another 3rd World Country. Bush and Congress appear conflicted however over the past many years the legislators have been moving the population to a Feudal System of government. Nobles, barons, and bishops of old all exist today and include corporations.
A close approximation of our situation would in fact be the fall of Rome. At Rome’s end they debated the same issues that we do here and our debate like theirs is to no avail. We simply cannot prevent what is happening nor could we ever prevent it. Our genetics is programmed to fight or flight. We will kill or be killed and those that don’t fight at all will be killed off.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:32 amShe can bring it up with Bushwhack when he comes to Kansas – sad thing is, he doesn’t give a sh*t.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:35 amWhat took 220 years to create, only took 6 years to destroy.
Thanks, Chimpy.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:38 amComment by Art — May 8, 2007 @ 10:11 am
Are you expecting a response from Patrick1inch?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:39 amCongress has a better chance of receiving the President’s time table for troop withdrawal from Iraq, than you have of actually getting a response from him/her.
Governor, meet gwb. If you want to talk to him, we suggest you spend your time talking to this brick wall. It will be more responsive than he will be. Thanks for your time!
May 8th, 2007 at 10:46 amThey are political hacks looking to pass the buck for their own inability to do their jobs. If the Kansas clown is not careful she will go the way of Blanco.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:49 amI feel so much safer now that Puketrick-army of – one is here to defend the sorriest bunch of losers in the history of America.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:50 amParickarmyofone: One of us – one of us – one of us – one of us.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:51 amLights on, no one home.
Why does Patrickarmyofone hate democracy?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:52 amWhy does Patrickarmyofone hate the truth?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:53 amWhy does Patrickarmyofone hate America?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:53 amComment by helenahandbasket — May 8, 2007 @ 10:53 am
Why are you spamming the thread? Please stop!
May 8th, 2007 at 10:57 amSpam spam spam spam spam spam spam ham and spam spam
May 8th, 2007 at 11:00 amPatrick is the voice of the republican. He is resolute. He is clear headed. He is void of any original thinking. He is ignorant. He has complete faith in his leader. He is in denial.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:03 amPatrick defends Bush like a mindless automaton. There is nothing Bush can do that Patrick won’t defend.
Why is that, Patrick?
May 8th, 2007 at 11:12 amBy the way, Patrick-stupidest-troll-of-all, I think that about 72% of Americans are NEVER going to blame this on the governor of Kansas, any more than Americans blame Blanco for New Orleans. So the tack you are taking here is hopeless, a loser’s game. But loser you are, sir, loser you are.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:15 amIf you dare to challenge the president, then you are a “political hack”?
If you have questions about the way the government handles things, then you are a “clown” trying to “pass the buck”?
That is not what I call intelligent discourse.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:25 amThis is simply another reason why articles of impeachment brought by Dennis Kucinich should be leveled against “The President, Vice President and other civil Officers” of this government who have comitted “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
May 8th, 2007 at 11:26 amNo one could have imagined that Kansas would be hit by a tornado…..
Comment by raynman — May 8, 2007 @ 10:19 am
Auntie Em, Auntie Em…there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home …
Really raynman, you don’t expect Bush to get into heavy literature like that do you?
May 8th, 2007 at 11:34 amI’m hoping for an Obama/Sebelius ticket in 2008. I think she’d make a great VP. After Cheney, America needs a VP who can be trusted and doesn’t curdle milk just by looking at it.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:06 pmMe too, david! Only I was hoping for a Sebelius/Obama ticket.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:44 pm;)
#40 I would rather see Sebelius run for the Senate and take down Roberts or Brownback. That is what I am hoping for.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:46 pm#13
Maybe they should worry about themselves and their state administrations.
How pathetic is the state if it cannot handle a small tornado?
May 8th, 2007 at 1:26 pm# 42: We can handle “small” tornadoes just fine… when we have the equipment that is designated to use for emergencies. This was a large tornado that basically removed an entire town from existence, you insensitive clod.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:28 pmCrap… sorry… that was directed to #43, not #42.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:29 pmCalm down, this is part of Shrub’s grand, overall “plan” for all of us.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:31 pm#44
That’s odd, given that they still had about 2/3 of the equipment that they had in 2003 at the start of the war.
I guess Sebelius missed Governing 101 taught by Haley Barbour. who managed to respond to the Katrina devastation just fine.
So much for ‘The Buck Stops Here!’ Maybe she should try crying on national TV.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:49 pmYou are doing a heckuva job, Seby!
May 8th, 2007 at 1:49 pm#36
Interesting theory. Since Blanco has decided not to run for re-election, I guess someone is sticking the blame where it belongs.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:55 pmReally?
Where did you get that stat? Karl Rove?
Here’s the real story from the KC Star:
“The National Guard is one of our first responders. They don’t have the equipment they need to come in, and it just makes it that much slower.â€
Col. Eric Peck of the Kansas National Guard said the most pressing shortage was in tractor-trailers for transporting heavy equipment used to clear debris.
Most of the heavy equipment is based in southeast Kansas, and some is in Wichita and Topeka. Ordinarily, the Guard would have more than 30 big trucks to transport that equipment. It now has fewer than 15, Peck said.
The Guard should have about 600 Humvees, but it has fewer than 400. It would usually have 170 medium tactical vehicles that are used to transport people and supplies, but it has fewer than 30. Because the tactical vehicles are some of the most advanced the Kansas Guard has, “they’re in very high demand overseas,†he said.
Nearly 70 Kansas National Guard troops arrived in Greensburg on Monday to supplement about 40 already there, Watson said, and some Humvees were available to start clearing wreckage.
The Guard is also responding to flooding elsewhere in the state, but Peck said the truck shortage wouldn’t stop the Guard from completing its missions.
But it will take longer, he said, because fewer trucks mean more trips.”
May 8th, 2007 at 2:01 pmActually, I got it from yahoo.com.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070508/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather_guard
Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state’s adjutant general, said the Kansas National Guard was equipped to about 40 percent of its necessary levels, down from the 60 percent it had at the start of the war.
40% is 2/3 of 60%.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:05 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 8th, 2007 at 2:12 pmAnother crime by Bush&Co.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:41 pmRemove the defenses of this nation and send them to fight yhour false war for oil in Iraq.
We are talking about the NATIONAL GUARD — one would think that means it applies to this nation – our country, and its defenses against invasion or disaster — but that thinking is pre-Bush.
As the war has dragged on and more and more soldiers leave for Iraq along with their equipment which never returns, we can easily see that the season of tornadoes, and hurricanes and floods will be met with fewer and fewer resources.
Thanks to Bush not only are we less safe from terrorism, but we are less able to rescue Americans during natural disasters.
Bush should be hanged.
Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and now Kansas. How many more states will the Chimperor boy King God destroy as he tries to build in Iraq his personal version of the United States?
Hey, Chimpy, focus away for a moment from Iraq to THIS COUNTRY. This is the United States of America, not the United States of Iraq.
And stop endangering women politicians with your laziness and trying to flirt with the Queen. She should have smacked your ass down.
May 9th, 2007 at 2:55 am