Paxety Pages

Just what is going on here?  First, a terrible tornado struck Greenburg, Kansas on the night of May 4th.  This report says 10 people died, although I believe the total may have climbed to 12.  Then the governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, said that she was hampered in her relief efforts because needed National Guardsmen and equipment were off fighting the war in Iraq. It was almost as though Mr. Bush caused the storm.  Here's the report from KCBS.com.   (Illustration by Mahone Dunbar)

Governor Kathleen Sebelius said much of the National Guard equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies is gone. She said not having immediate access to things like tents, trucks and semitrailers will really handicap the rebuilding effort.

Then came a report that only 10% of the state's Guard assets were actually in Iraq, and that President Bush had telephoned the governor and asked her if she needed anything else. The federal government actually supplied FM radios, a mobile command center, and office building and a search and rescue team.  The governor began back peddling, according to the newspaper we affectionately refer to on this site as the Lyin' Atlanta Newspaper.

Her spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said the governor didn't mean to imply that the state was ill-equipped to deal with the storm. Sebelius' comments about National Guard equipment were, instead, meant as a warning about the state's inability to handle additional disasters, such as another tornado or severe flooding, she said.

"We are doing absolutely fine right now," Corcoran said. "What the governor is talking about is down the road."

So far, it appears to be typical blame-game politics.  Here in Florida there are hundreds of forest fires, and the Florida National Guard is instrumental in helping fight them.  The story from Kansas obviously prompted a local Jacksonville TV reporter to ask a Florida National Guard general if the Guard was hindered by sending soldiers and equipment to Iraq.  The general looked stunned by the question, and then answered that he had plenty of what he needed and was sure he could get anything else he needed with a telephone call.

Then the story got even stranger.  On May 10,  radio show called the Quinn and Rose Show posted the following (thanks to Gateway Pundit)

Same Words -- Different Mouth Piece
By Rose
PLEASE NOTE: The following is information we have received from a reliable source. We have never been misinformed by this person in the past.

When will Howard Dean and the rest of that crowd learn that if they are going to write the script for their Democratic team members -- they should probably mix it up a little. They are just so darn predictable. The mantra is always the same; "It's Bush's fault!"

After Mother Nature did a number on the good people of Kansas, Governor Sebilius did a "Mother" of all numbers on the American people -- especially the people in Greenburg, Kansas.

Here's the story according to a very reliable source of ours; Kansas Governor, Kathleen Sebelius made her remarks about Bush sending too many of our National Guard Members and resources to Iraq -- there wasn't enough left to go around in Kansas, she made a phone call to Senator Sam Brownback (R).

Keep in mind that Governor Sebelius has a decent relationship with Senator Brownback and other Kansas Republicans. In fact, she has, for the most part, led as a moderate rather than a liberal in Kansas.

During her phone conversation with the Senator, she offered an excuse for her words to the media. She explained that because everything is so political right now -- she was told not to allow an opportunity like this pass.

She went on to say that "Howard" called her around 5:00 am and told her not to ask the White House for any help, or make any statements until she heard back from him. Then "Dick" (Durbin ?) called her an hour or two later and told her to use the excuse of the Guard being at war.

Denials quickly followed.  Senator Brownback said the telephone call never happened (again from Gateway Pundit).

UPDATE: ** The Senator and Governor Never Spoke. **
I just got off the phone with Brian Hart a spokesman from Senator Brownback's office and he said that the conversation in question between Senator Brownback and Governor Sebelius did not take place. (Friday AM)

Hot Air also followed the story and posted a letter from the Democratic National Committee to XM radio saying the story was false.

The statement made by Mr. Quinn is demonstrable, unequivocally, and absolutely false. Governor Dean had no such conversation with Governor Sebelius, ever.

So there the story seemed to rest.  The Kansas governor backed off her claims, the town of Greenburg, Kansas is recovering from tragedy, and it would appear that a radio program got hoaxed.  Then comes the weekly email from the DNC.  Tom McMahon is making exactly the claims that were attributed to Dean on the radio program.  Read this.