CNN reports WH and Pentagon proposing big cuts to National Guard.

[Swede]

To save money. What happens when the next national disaster hits?

[bryant69]

1. That's crazy

How are they going to coninue invading Iran and Syria and what not without a strong guard to back them up?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[zbdent]

15. They will be

"reassigned" . . .

[Cooley Hurd]

2. "What happens when the next national disaster hits?"

More poor people die. :evilfrown:

[Rosco T.]

30. Halliburton .......... n/m

[Cooley Hurd]

31. The two go hand in hand, it seems, regardless of the order...

:hi:

[Jawja]

36. He gets to send in the

Army. That's what * is just itching to do.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. The Bush administration is nuts. Who will fight their war on the world?

Unreal.

[ewagner]

5. D.R.A.F.T. n/t

[gristy]

4. Do you have a link?

[Swede]

16. No,I just watched it on CNN.

They should be posting it I would think.

[catnhatnh]

6. That's smart....

...by downsizing the Guard he will have an excuse to use regular army when he gets to declare martial law and posse commitatus be damned...

[Coastie for Truth]

23. May be a real factor. NT

[stray cat]

7. Lowering the bar because they can't meet recruitment goals.

This is their way of covering up the fact that they can not recruit NG volunteers anymore because of what they have done to them in Iraq.

They are lowering the bar so they don't look like they can't meet it.

[Zenlitened]

10. Yep.

I agree.

[Coastie for Truth]

24. May be the other factor. NT

[malaise]

8. When are states going to grow some balls

and stand up to these bullies?

[Roland99]

9. Here's an idea...cut space-based lasers. WTF do we need that for?

[cascadiance]

11. Replace them with a state militia...

Which Bush and the Feds CAN'T steal for federal purposes like wars, etc.! And when the time comes when secession is necessary to avoid a fascist crackdown, we'll have an armed force to start with in case the feds try to throw martial law at us from outside!

[Coastie for Truth]

22. It exists

when we're mobilized we will need our rheumatologists and our geriatricians.

Follow the link. But remember - with the exception of California (65 maximum age) we are the E7-8-9's and O-5-6's who are too old (and frequently not physically fit) for the National Guard but still "want to help in an emergency"

We're kind of like my former secretary's dad - 80 plus year old Volunteer Fire Fighter - he was "Chief" of the "Fire Fighter Rehabilitation Battalion" - that's the group that provides lemonade and dough nuts to the fire fighters. He'd be there with his white fire fighter helmet, and his white turn out coat (he had been Chief when he was much younger) - and his walker and his portable oxygen tank (for his emphysema).

[blindpig]

32. Been there, done that.

State militias formed the core of the Army of the Confederacy. That's why we don't have them any more.

[cascadiance]

33. But that's why we might need them if California chooses to secede later.

And if they aren't going to adequately provide us with National Guard resources, then there's a good reason to have them.

[blindpig]

35. Easy for you to say....

If you think that I want a SC state milita you're nuts.}( Those bastards caused enough trouble last time.

[cascadiance]

37. Maybe if enough of them secede first...

You can leave and join what's left over here and we'll have a better country left over if the south decides they want out. This time around tell them not to let the door hit them on their way out! In either case, if the God squadders have their own territory and we have ours, then perhaps we can have a better life here. The big thing is to prevent them from start getting wild and militaristic (as their neo-Jesus would tell them to do).

[blindpig]

38. Appreciate the offer but

if I leave this place I'm leaving the country, period. Unlike the average person I LIKE humidity. As it is I'm fighting for this land, not the people or institutions, but the landscape and its' non-human inhabitants. It's really too beautiful and funky to let these shitheads ruin it all.

[Karmageddon]

12. covering their asses, consolidating power, and screwing the states.

Here's my take on it - they know they can't meet recruiting levels, and that they're f**king up left and right, so they're "saying" that they're cutting back on the N.G. so that they can say "see, we're meeting our goals."
Also, the National Guard is a state militia (each state has it's own), not a federal one, so all the republican claims of "state's right" aside, why would the federal govt want to pay for state militias? They've been robbing and raping the states on everything else, why should they stop at the military?

[bigtree]

13. this is yet another example of Bush's bullshit

he doesn't have a clue about how to do what he says, much less do the right thing. How he thinks he can maintain the level of committments he has created for our forces without a massive infusion of more bodies shows how he bankrupts everything he touches. He has no concern for cost or sacrifice. He's never had to pay for or sacrifice anything. No surprise that he has no clue about the cost of his imperialism, either the monetary or the physical cost.

[w8liftinglady]

14. some corroborating sources

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/NEWS/601130324/1001

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33146&dcn=todaysnews

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/113533324840710.xml&coll=1

http://www.blackenterprise.com/yb/ybopen.asp?section=ybng&story_id=87338969&ID=blackenterprise

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/13064

[gristy]

17. More evidence of the enemy from within.

The neo-cons intent might not be to economically and militarily weaken our country, but I see no evidence of this.

[Historic NY]

18. They have used them up and ground them down........

to the point they need all new equipment and re-fitting. The NG always got hand-me-downs as it was now all that stuff is rotting in Iraq. Thank you for your service.....there goes our well-regulated militia.

[rucky]

19. Blackwater n/t

[electron_blue]

20. You've got to be kidding me - we already know what will happen when the

next disaster hits. Nothing from the govt. People die & do the best they can on their own. The rich survive, the poor die. The middle class become poor.

[Coastie for Truth]

27. Be Prepared

1. Take your local Red Cross "Surving A (Type of Disaster expected in your area)" Course.

Put together a "Family Survival Kit"

2. Take FEMA's from your local Fire Department.

Put together a "Family Survival Kit" - Same as Red Cross

3. Get a Ham Radio License - the cell phones will be dead. And join your local

4. Get active in your civilian emergency response organization - Red Cross, Salvation Army, Community Emergncy Response Team, FD Auxiliary, Radio Amateur Civil Eergency Service.

[Coastie for Truth]

21. We are going to rely on the NGO's for Disaster Response

1. Red Cross

Lot of Progressives seem to be down on the Red Cross - Marti Evans, Elizabeth Dole, Big and Bureacratic, attitude towards gay blood donors. They suggest the Salvation Army.

Just search on Red Cross here on DU

2. Salvation Army

Doctrines:

1. We Believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that only they constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
2. We Believe that there is only one God who is infinitely Perfect - the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things - and who is the only proper object of religious worship.
3. We Believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost - undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.
4. We Believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the divine and human natures are united, so that he is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.
5. We Believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocence, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
6. We Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has, by his suffering and death, made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved.
7. We Believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration (being born again) by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation.
8. We Believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believes has the witness in himself.
9. We Believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.
10. We Believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
11. We Believe in the immortality of the soul; in the resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and in the endless punishment of the wicked.

Often classified within the taxonomy of Christian denominations as a Methodist faith community, The Salvation Army has always seen itself primarily as a Christian church, but this has been eroded in the public's perceptions over the years. It is now seen externally to be mainly a social services charity and/or thrift shop. Some members of The Salvation Army are keen to re-emphasise their role as a Christian church.

The Salvation Army has come under attack for what some people see as discrimination in hiring and for its requirements on how employees should behave. Despite the tax breaks it receives as a registered charity, and its government funding (about 11 percent of total revenues, in the form of grants and payments for services), it has a stated policy of "discrimination" against applicants and employees whose faith or sexual orientation are not acceptable to The Salvation Army. The Army's position is that because it is a church, Section VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 explicitly guarantees its rights to discriminate in hiring.

In a recent case, the New York Federal Court ruled that organization could use religious criteria in its hiring; that ruling is being appealed by the New York Civil Liberties Union. Other issues in the lawsuit by 19 current and former employees are still under consideration by the trial court.

The State of New York has proposed legislation that requires businesses to offer health benefits to same-sex partners of employees. The Salvation Army opposes this policy and has threatened to close its soup kitchens and shelters across New York.

3. State Defense Forces

These are the "Old Geezers" - too old for the National Guard, not eligible for Federal Mobilization. They are the 65 year old E9's and O6's in the Disaster "Emergency Operations Centers."

You're on your own.

[rucky]

25. and Blackwater. n/t

[Coastie for Truth]

26. I'm not sure Blackwater can do it.

Three jobs - at least:

1. People Stuff - Housing (until the FEMA mobile homes arrive), mass feeding, some "walking around" money (groceries, clothes), social service, post-traumatic stress counseling. This is NGO stuff.
If the local "faith based organizations" have the resources - they can do it


2. Infrastructure - utilities, transportation, telecommunications, water and sewage treatment, debris removal - this is what the Guard does.
Blackwater can't do it - Halliburton probably could


3. Pubic safety - this is what the Guard does. Blackwater does this like an occupying army. Hopefully local police and fire can handle in anything but another Katrina.

[w8liftinglady]

28. kick for 1 more nom

[SoCalDem]

29. Of course they will have to do this..

Most of their expensive equipment is thrashed, and the units will be asking for new stuff..There have been many guardsmen/women killed or maimed, and they will need to spend a lot for recruiting and training more.

It's all about the money, folks...

about national disasters?..

Our government now considers them "local" or "personal" responsibilities:(

[Nothing Without Hope]

34. ***PLEASE READ THESE LINKS!!! I see this as unsurprising and sinister:

The Bushies were unsuccessful in their effort to blackmail Gov. Blanco into allowing them to federalize the Louisiana National Guard:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5518358
Besides, they have been using the Guard as cannon fodder in the MidEast - didn't even want to waste body armor on them - while "saving" the NorthCom military troops for their REAL concerns. I believe they TRIED to destroy the National Guard so that the federal military, commanded by the president, would be ready when the Bush cabal makes its move to grab total power. Besides, if Bush can't completely control it, it's of no value to him and is even a potential obstacle to his plans, which are not lawful and will be resisted when he makes his move.

And so now they want to get rid of the National Guard and move to military forces that would be more likely to uphold future declaration of martial law. It's why they set up NorthCom in 2002:
(Don't be put off by the title of this article - it was written by a Canadian, and after you read it you will understand why he chose it.)
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO411C.html

One of the stated missions of NorthCom is to administer martial law if it is declared by the President in the US. Its first chief, General Eberhard, was the head of NORAD during the 9/11 attacks, when multiple hijacked planes flew their long, long flights through the most highly protected airspace on the planet without being stopped by fighter jets. You'd think he would be court-martialled for such a massive "error" as allowing the hijacked planes to reach their destinations - which, by the way, has never been explained or investigated - but instead, the grateful Bushies promoted him.

National Guard troops live in their home states and are less likely to follow orders involving locking up or even shooting local "protestors," whom many of them would view as neighbors, members of their community. That's how they handled the big student uprisings in China - local-based troops wouldn't open fire on their own neighbors, so they brough in troops from distant provinces. It's also my speculation that something similar is the REAL reason why the Bushies want to move and "consolidate" military bases - mostly from blue state areas into red state areas:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1782877&mesg_id=1782877
The STATED reason, saving a modest amount of money over 2 decades, was quickly proven false.

Think it couldn't happen here? Think again.

As for your question about the next natural disaster, here's my answer: people will die in the aftermath, the poor and Democrats will lose their homes, and most deaths will take place AFTER the storm/earthquake/whatever and will have been preventable, as has been shown in a study of the Katrina fatalities:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5632930
and the event will be used to enable further presidential power grabs just like Katrina was:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4790112

I URGE YOU TO READ THESE LINKS AND THEN ONE MORE:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4519574