Sebelius gets attention but loses soul with this one - IMO

Am I the only one that feels like Kathleen Sebelius (D) is luxuriating in the media attention that the Greensburg tornado has bestowed on her?

From Newsweak: Q&A Gov Sebelius on Disaster relief.

From Dinah Lord: If the state of Kansas cannot clean up a town of 1500 with:

"...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."

There's trouble in Kansas.

But hold up for a minute!

In this Newsweak Q&A piece Kathleen's position changes somewhat. Listen as the reporter hypes 'your nightmare come true' and watch how she slips and slides through the first Q:

NEWSWEEK: You and other governors have been warning for the past couple of years that your National Guard troops are stretched too thin. Was this tragedy in Greensburg your nightmare come true?

Kathleen Sebelius: It is in some sense. We have the assets we need to deal with this situation here on day 5. What’s very worrying is that right after this happened we had torrential rains and some flooding. Our adjutant general told me was that if we have to choose in Topeka, if we had to deploy National Guard and equipment [and choose] between a flood or tornado cleanup (or locusts, or flying saucers, or global warming) we’d be in trouble. It’s a huge concern, and one governors have been talking about for three years.

I have yet to see anything vaguely resembling this comment emanating from the Adjutant General...although I will give the Governor her due. She may just have a point about this and if so I would like to hear about it:

The troops go to Iraq and take equipment, and when they return, they leave the equipment there. There has been no replacement strategy. The Pentagon says the plan is to replace 90 percent of equipment over the next six years. I don’t think there is a governor in the country who thinks that is a safe and sound strategy for managing security at home.

Here at FOB Kitchen Table, I have to admit that I was unaware that the equipment was being left. Is it true? It makes perfect senst to me. If it is true, then it needs to be addressed. Hopefully, the facts will bubble up through the cybersphere.

Here's my problem. Although I understand Kathleen's desire to get the situation resolved, I don't understand her eagerness to have her moment in the spotlight with it.

Funeral services haven't even been held yet.

Seems rather soulless to me.

I don't know if I can even read the rest of it now.

But that's just me.