Very unfortunate. The town of Greensburg, Kansas is just about 100 miles west of my hometown of Wichita, at least it was about 100 miles west of Wichita.

It's now gone. Well, about 95% of it:






It was hit by an F5 tornado, the highest grade of destruction for a tornado. The sucker was about 1 1/2 miles wide with windspeeds peaking at 205 mph:



So far, 10 people have been confirmed dead. Governor Kathleen Sebelius got the ball rolling and called in the National Guard to help with the search and clean-up. Only problem is, much of the Guard just ain't around, nor is there much-needed equipment available. The reason being, of course, is you guessed it:

quote:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 7 (Reuters) - A shortage of trucks, helicopters and other equipment -- all sent to the war in Iraq -- has hampered recovery in a U.S. town obliterated by a tornado, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said on Monday. "There is no doubt at all that this will slow down and hamper the recovery," Sebelius, a Democrat, told Reuters in Kansas where officials said the statewide death toll had risen to 12 on Monday. "Not having this equipment in place all over the state is a huge handicap," Sebelius said. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07358305.htm

Not that hard to believe, really, considering that:

quote:

“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.” http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/fe..._DC_DCF055.html

And to make things worse, in January the nonpartisan GAO found that our 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.":

http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0107/013007cdam1.htm

But not to worry, Chimpy's comin' out for a little PR visit to Greensburg, to reassure his grassroots voters that he really kinda sorta does give a shit, kinda:

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/97430.html

Oh, and of course, right on cue, the lovely anti-gay group shitheads will be out in full force "protesting" the funerals of these victims. I wish I was kidding:

http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/...as-tornados.pdf

Oh goody.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

It's Katrina all over again...is your governor a Democrat by any chance? That may explain it as well. Remember Katrina, when Bush helped Mississippi 's governor who was a male and a Republican, but was so reluctant to do anything about Louisiana, with a female and Democratic governor (and a Democratic mayor in New Orleans). Obviously the war in Iraq has a lot to do with why the National Guard is so ill-prepared for these types of things, but the lax government response may have something to do with politics (it's just speculation though).

quote:

Originally posted by Spirit5 It's Katrina all over again...is your governor a Democrat by any chance? That may explain it as well. Remember Katrina, when Bush helped Mississippi 's governor who was a male and a Republican, but was so reluctant to do anything about Louisiana, with a female and Democratic governor (and a Democratic mayor in New Orleans). Obviously the war in Iraq has a lot to do with why the National Guard is so ill-prepared for these types of things, but the lax government response may have something to do with politics (it's just speculation though).

She thanked the administration for their quick FEMA response today, so your speculation is most likely unfounded.

What she was concerned about was the fact that half of the Kansas national guard equipment is sitting in a desert 12000 miles away and won't be available until at least 2012 and how that would affect any future disaster response.


MrS

___________________
Click the sig to see MrSquirrel

-"Reality" is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.

quote:

Originally posted by MrSquirrel She thanked the administration for their quick FEMA response today, so your speculation is most likely unfounded. What she was concerned about was the fact that half of the Kansas national guard equipment is sitting in a desert 12000 miles away and won't be available until at least 2012 and how that would affect any future disaster response. MrS

Okay that's fine. I was just speculating cause it seemed that way during Katrina.

quote:

Originally posted by Spirit5 Okay that's fine. I was just speculating cause it seemed that way during Katrina.

Yeah, she is a Dem., but she's also won her last two elections pretty decisively in a very Republican state. A healthy number of moderate Republicans have supported her in the past.

And as Squirrel pointed out, it's not so much Bush's response, which was fine and appropriate, but rather the lack of equipment and manpower needed. The town itself had trucks and flatbeds that would have helped out, but those were destroyed in the tornado as well, so the reliance on outside government help is enormous.

BTW, I grew up in Wichita, and saw the 1991 tornado that wiped out McConnell Air Force Base and Andover (outside of Wichita). The tornado went about 1 1/2 miles due south of my house, and I watched the outer skirts of the tornado in my back yard. I helped a couple of friends with cleaning up their completely destroyed houses. The devastation these suckers bring is both breathtaking and horrendous.

And this one in Greensburg was a night-time tornado. Can't even see the thing coming very well. What a nightmare.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

Wow.

I read about it but those pictures say so much more than any print can do justice.
My heart goes out to those affected.

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

quote:

Originally posted by MisterOpus1 And this one in Greensburg was a night-time tornado. Can't even see the thing coming very well. What a nightmare.

This was also one of the largest tornados in decades as well.....they estimate it was almost 2 miles wide when it hit the town.


MrS

___________________
Click the sig to see MrSquirrel

-"Reality" is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.

the latest email making the rounds.....

quote:

Got to love the can-do self reliance of the folks in the American heartland. I was watching coverage of the disaster in Kansas, where a F5 twister wiped out the entire town of Greensburg. The reporter, some east-coast pinhead, was talking to a guy trying to salvage anything he could out of his demolished business. The reporter asked him " what is the one thing you'd like to see the government do for you?" He said " I'd like to see them get the heck out of our way and let us get to work!" A little different attitude from what you heard from victims of other recent well publicized disasters.

quote:

Originally posted by LazFX the latest email making the rounds.....

Awesome!

Like, drop the camera and help out would yea?

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

quote:

Originally posted by MisterOpus1 BTW, I grew up in Wichita, and saw the 1991 tornado that wiped out McConnell Air Force Base and Andover (outside of Wichita). The tornado went about 1 1/2 miles due south of my house, and I watched the outer skirts of the tornado in my back yard. I helped a couple of friends with cleaning up their completely destroyed houses. The devastation these suckers bring is both breathtaking and horrendous.

When a tornado that can wipe out an airforce base passes a mile and a half from your house, its probably a sign that you should move to somewhere a bit safer

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by Moongoose When a tornado that can wipe out an airforce base passes a mile and a half from your house, its probably a sign that you should move to somewhere a bit safer

I was in high-school, and was a much bigger idiot than I am now .

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

that dumbass Governor of yours is backing off of what she carelessly commented earlier on.

there are no issues with the NG. there never was.