national guard stretched dangerously thin

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/6/07 at 10:19pm

but somehow manages to meet its congressionally authorized end strength of 350,000 six months ahead of schedule.

national guard terribly broken by dubya's misadventure but somehow ahead of schedule on recruiting

Updated On: 5/6/07 at 10:19 PM

[Yawper]

Posted: 5/6/07 at 10:23pm

1) many people have lost jobs but don't want to join the Federal Armed Forces, or need a second job

2) recent college grads who can't find jobs can get loan payment deferrals

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/6/07 at 10:41pm

yes that horrible job market. what's unemployment at right now? 4.5%? the average for this year? 4.5%. terrible, just terrible. lowest yearly thus far than it's ever been under dubya for any year. lower than all but 2 years of bubba's reign. with experts predicting it'll be under 4 before the year is out. with the dow over 13,000. yeah, it's hard out there to find a job ain't it in this horrible, awful, economic climate where tax revenues, despite dubya's ruthless tax cuts, are expected to set records again this year?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/6/07 at 11:42pm

Only you can find Republican hope in these numbers:

===

The report comes as President Bush has coped with lukewarm ratings from the public for his economic stewardship, according to AP-Ipsos polls. Hoping to tap into that angst, Democrats have championed a boost in the minimum wage and have stiffened their stance against Bush's free-trade policies, which critics contend has contributed over the years to the loss of U.S. factory jobs.

The labor market weakness in April reflected job losses in construction, manufacturing, retailing and financial services. Health care and education, leisure and hospitality, government and various professional and business services were among the sectors adding positions.

The length of workers' job hunt was a bit shorter.

The average time the 6.8 million unemployed people spent in their job searches was 17.1 weeks in April, compared with 17.3 in March.

The economy in the January-to-March quarter grew at a feeble pace of 1.3 percent, the weakest in four years. It's the most up-to-date figure on gross domestic product, the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.

Economists predict the economy did better in the current April-to-June period - in the 2 percent range - which would still be considered sluggish. Growth is expected to pick up in the second half of the year. Still, the unemployment rate is expected to climb and reach close to 5 percent by year end.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke believes the economy will avoid falling into a recession this year, although his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, has put the odds at one in three.
Unemployment rate edges up to 4.5 percent in April, as job growth slows

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/6/07 at 11:47pm

and the national guard numbers?

[Yawper]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 12:16am

FIY, I live in Michigan - those aren't my state's unemployment numbers and I know Michiganders are enlisting, despite being a blue state, because I see the death notices for our soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan (141 as of last Wednesday). If every state lost as many that would be over 7,000 dead.

The Guard's monetary appeal for the shrinking middle class and the lower class: "Bonuses for signing up and staying in have increased significantly. The bonus for non-prior service people, for example, has doubled from $10,000 to $20,000; bonuses for prior-service people and for those who stay in have increased from $5,000 to $15,000; college assistance includes a $20,000 bonus and 100 percent tuition assistance."

And have they lowered acceptance standards to meet their goals like the other serivces have?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 12:33am

perhaps you have a bone to pick with your democratic governor who inherited unemployment rates in the 4-5% range and has consistently run them up.

so you're saying these people are so desperate for money that they're selling their lives for the bonuses? wouldn't it be easier to move to a state where the governor is not destroying the economy?

[Yawper]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 12:57am

The Democratic governor inherited a balanced budget amendment and a Republican controlled legislature that cut $2 billion per year in business taxes without any consideration of how the budget shortfall would be met (and the Republicans *still* haven't presented a plan despite rejecting the governor's proposal). The Republican governor who preceeded the Democratic governor balanced his budget by draining the state's entire rainy day fund, so there is no make-up funding available.

Furthermore the economic decline seen in Michigan is directly related to the country's soaring trade deficit, which has set record highs for five consecutive years due to the Bush administration's non-existant trade policy.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 10:50am

What was that about the National Guard NOT being stretched too thin?

===

The governor said the state's response was limited by the shifting of emergency equipment, such as tents, trucks and semitrailers, to the war in Iraq.
"Not having the National Guard equipment, which used to be positioned in various parts of the state, to bring in immediately is really going to handicap this effort to rebuild," Sebelius said.
AP: Kansas families return to town in ruins

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 10:57am

And this is what we need the National Guard for, not policing other countries' civil wars.


Aerials of Greensburg Tornado Damage

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 11:39am

hmmm, a democratic governor blaming the federal government (and the iraq war) for her state's inability to respond in a timely manner to a crisis. i'm truly shocked by this. if dubya has lost the democratic governors i can guarantee that there's a chance the democratic congress won't be too far behind.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 12:12pm

Where would you rather the National Guard be?

Sadr City or Greensburg?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 12:41pm

by summer the national guard presence in iraq will be roughly 27,000 or 18% of the total forces. that's about 8% of the national guard's 350,000 troops. i think we can spare 8%.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:00pm

I don't.

Since 9/11, more than 210,000 of the Guard's 350,000 soldiers have been called up to active duty, many twice.

211 National Guard soldiers have already died in Iraq, more than twice the number that died in the entire Vietnam War.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:09pm

it's been the same 350,000 since 9/11?

even at that rate it's under 10% of total guard strength over the time period which i find an acceptable use of forces.

comparing the use of guard forces during a time when the draft was in effect to now is apples and oranges.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:24pm

Well, tell Dubya the next time he's gung-ho enough to invade a country on bogus pretexts, he oughta be gung-ho enough to enact a draft!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:39pm

also remember that the size of the army in 1968 was 1.57 million as opposed to the less than 500,000 it now numbers.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:50pm

Perfect! So let's trump up a war against a bogus enemy immediately following an attack by a REAL enemy, whom we will let roam free for the next 6 F*CKing years--dragging out their bogus videotaped threats that them seem more like sock-puppets than an avatar of shirtless boys on BroadwayWorld.

And then let's fight that illegal war with the overworked National Guard and soulless paid mercenaries, under-equip them and provide them with no strategy for winning a war that's proved unwinnable to the British and Soviets.

Smart, heh?

Updated On: 5/7/07 at 01:50 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 1:58pm

that's it! amanda5 is al-zawahiri! oh it explains so much.

...under-equip them and provide them with no strategy for winning that's proved unwinnable to the british and soviets.

ok, i have to go buy my mom a mother's day present. when i get back can you maybe have clarified that?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 2:04pm

That was supposed to be "no strategy for winning A WAR that's proved unwinnable to the British and Soviets."

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 2:07pm

Seems VERY clear to me Papa...

Maybe you just need more time to come up with a smarmy answer?

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 2:22pm

Be careful ladies... this looks like waggin' the dog to me. During Katrina the same thing happened. Guess who got sent in? Black Water.

I think Black Water will be handling this as well.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 2:50pm

Oh and Papa on the subject of employment/unemployment.

- Those numbers DO NOT relfect the fact that our minimum wage is POVERTY. If you work at McDonald's 40 hours a week for one year that is a little under $11,000 per year. These number also do not include people working without insurance or who are underinsured.

It is my opinion that for the most part it is BETTER to live in this country on government aid than actually seek employment. At least you can get health insurance (to some extent).

The unemployment rates for those with a college degree or better are even higher, climbing to 2.1 percent from 1.9 percent in December.

You can spin these numbers anyway you want, but the reality is we have been reduced to a 2 class society. The rich, and the poor... oh... let me not forget the slaves (Mexicans).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/7/07 at 4:54pm

It's more than the "manpower" that's stretched thin.

===

Sebelius said Sunday evening that the state's response will likely be hampered because much of the equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies — including tents, trucks and semitrailers - is now in Iraq.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/8/07 at 2:38pm

Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, Chairman of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves
"Well, right now, we're not prepared. We are not prepared for the threats this nation faces here at home. And because in this business you can't be half-ready or half-prepared, you're either ready or you aren't." [ PBS, NewsHour, March 1, 2007]

Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Head of the Indiana National Guard
"What keeps me up at night is, I think I am able to surge . . . for the normal disaster, but if I needed to deploy every bit of my soldiers and airmen, I know for a fact I do not have enough equipment." [Washington Post, 3/2/07]

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider, Spokesman for the Louisiana National Guard:
"We are really concerned about vehicles...We would have enough for a small-scale issue . . . maybe a Category 1 tropical storm we could handle — an event that doesn't involve massive flooding or massive search and rescue."[ Washington Post, 3/2/07]

Col. Robert Simpson, Director of the Joint Staff for the Virginia National Guard:
In the event of "a very large . . . chemical, biological or nuclear incident in the national capital region, I would need every truck I was authorized, and we don't have that...We are definitely short trucks, all wheeled vehicles," as well as radios, bulldozers and other gear. [ Washington Post, 3/2/07]