From: "Mark" 

The thread, and the machinations described within, stands on its own. My
point of view will not be changing Rich.

"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in
message news:46464d89$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> you keep ignoring this government's ( GAO ) own report. of course now we
> can use that "valuable" deployment to look for the billions
of dollars in
> missing oil along with the missing wmd in Iraq
>
> http://www.star-telegram.com/238/story/94581.html
>
> Government Accountability Office report in January found that of 300 types
> of equipment needed in natural disasters, the Guard had fewer in all
> categories than it did in 2001, before the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
>
> Some of the equipment is unavailable for domestic disasters, the GAO
> found, including radios and dump trucks. Only 2 percent of the diesel
> generators needed are available, the study found.
>
> The GAO report estimated that Guard units in the U.S. have only 50 percent
> of the equipment they would need in the event of a disaster. A study by
> the National Guard Association of the United States puts that figure at 40
> percent, according to John Goheen, the group's spokesman.
>
> TEXANS KILLED
>
> Mark wrote:
>> Fair enough Bob. My thoughts are the reduced availability of the National
>> Guard here at home is probably not anywhere near what it is twisted into
>> and/or the implied point of view of inability to respond (this was
>> addressed early on the thread) and even if it were, their deployment over
>> there is more valuable to the future of our country than if they weren't.
>> IMHO.
>>
>>
>> "Robert G Lewis"  wrote in message
>> news:46464769{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> Or you could actually address the points raised and reply with actual
>>> information.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Mark"  wrote in message
>>> news:464639bc$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>> P.S. In a nutshell John, your philosphy is that we should never have
>>>> gone into Iraq, we should get out ASAP and we should work
from a "law
>>>> and order" and defensive posture (a 9/10 mind-set in
other words).
>>>>
>>>> I disagree, I will never agree, so we really shouldn't do these
>>>> arguments any more, cause I doubt you're moving either 
>>>>
>>>> "Mark"  wrote in message
>>>> news:46463765$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>>> Yes, I see that Dem footprint all over the whining:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1) Kansas Governor makes overstated claims about no
help when we can
>>>>> see with our own eyes that the rescue is in progress.
>>>>> 2) Yesterday an AP article in my local paper with a
few more governors
>>>>> (Dem) chiming in about how the United States is in deep trouble
>>>>> because of Bush
>>>>> 3) Some retired general (lots of them out there
undermining their
>>>>> still active duty brethren aren't there?) claiming in
a Saturday radio
>>>>> rebuttal (fancy footwork on that Howard!!! good for you bad for
>>>>> Petraous's mission, bad for the troops in general, and
bad for the
>>>>> USA) that we need a new direction so we can have our
troops back here
>>>>> to protect us. We have a new friggin direction and Petraous is
>>>>> carrying it out -- shut retired general, please, pretty friggin
>>>>> please.
>>>>>
>>>>> What a bunch of hooey -- I am not interested in
cleaning up the brain
>>>>> matter more efficiently on our streets and in our malls after an
>>>>> attack, I'm interested in killing them where they are,
instead of
>>>>> cutting, running and buying new ambulances as they
follow us here (and
>>>>> already are).
>>>>>
>>>>> "John Cuccia" 
wrote in message
>>>>> news:dtpb435svr6fk9gef18m21b6adv5fmf71m{at}4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Mon, 7 May 2007 20:36:39 -0400,
"Mark"  wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The valid point is this Bob: because the Iraq
war is currently
>>>>>>> unpopular in
>>>>>>> national polls, the governor chooses a
disaster for her citizens to
>>>>>>> get a
>>>>>>> cheap shot in at their expense
>>>>>> No.  The real valid point is that the Iraqi
quagmire has depleted
>>>>>> both
>>>>>> the regular Army and the ANG.  All 50 governors
have been trying to
>>>>>> get someones attention for the past several years
(and in case you
>>>>>> are
>>>>>> unaware, that number includes both Republicans and
Democrats):
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070513govs-guard-stor
y,1,3999163.story?coll=chi-news-hed
>>>>>> Not long after that meeting, all 50 U.S.
governors-the commanders in
>>>>>> chief of their states' National Guards-signed a
letter to President
>>>>>> Bush imploring him to immediately begin
reoutfitting their depleted
>>>>>> National Guards. But little changed, and the Guard
now has only 56
>>>>>> percent of its required equipment, the lowest
level in nearly six
>>>>>> years, according to the Government Accountability Office.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> and
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In late 2005, a GAO report found that almost every
state's National
>>>>>> Guard had just a fraction of the equipment it was
supposed to have.
>>>>>> Another GAO report issued just months ago took the
criticism further.
>>>>>> "The high use of the National Guard for
federal overseas missions has
>>>>>> reduced equipment available for its state-led
domestic missions," it
>>>>>> concluded. The top commander of the National
Guard, Lt. Gen. Steven
>>>>>> Blum, testified to Congress last month that the
continuous use of its
>>>>>> forces for overseas missions has "resulted in
a decline of readiness
>>>>>> for units here at home."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Missing equipment-much of which has been shipped
to Iraq or destroyed
>>>>>> there-is a large part of the problem. Certain
states are worse off:
>>>>>> Arizona has just 34 percent of its allotted
equipment; New Jersey and
>>>>>> Idaho 42 percent; and Louisiana, ground zero for
the worst natural
>>>>>> disaster in modern memory, remains at less than 50 percent.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, wrote
in March to the
>>>>>> House Armed Services Committee that her state's
National Guard was
>>>>>> missing the kinds of vehicles it would need to dig
out from a
>>>>>> late-spring northeaster or to evacuate residents
in the wake of a
>>>>>> flood. The California National Guard, routinely
called up in the
>>>>>> event
>>>>>> of earthquakes and any subsequent looting, is
missing 700 Humvees,
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> it has only half the high-water vehicles it should
and less than a
>>>>>> third of its required stockpile of machine guns.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In Illinois, the GAO estimates that the Guard has
just 45 percent of
>>>>>> its authorized equipment on hand and that it is
particularly short of
>>>>>> trucks, earthmovers and other equipment critical
to emergency
>>>>>> response.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5