To Rebuild or Not to Rebuild?
Kansas SpotlightI wanted to submit todays post as a question rather than an opinion. There has been a growing sentiment over the last week that is...while not a cause for concern...maybe "out of character". Several people, including a KSU professor quoted in USA Today have started talking about NOT rebuilding Greensburg.
Populations in rural Kansas have been on the decline for decades. The majority of the people who live in Greensburg are elderly and no longer contributing to the economic development of the town. Most, if not all, of the businesses were destroyed leaving many people without the means to a stable income AND leaving many people without a job.
I've actually spoken with a few of the Air National Guardsmen who've been out there helping with the clean up and (by the sounds of it) most of the people they talk with have nothing left, had no savings, have no car, have no job because their job or business is completely gone. Many of those people were just going to get on a bus and head to the nearest city to start over.
So really, that begs the question, does Greenburg need to be rebuilt? SHOULD we rebuild Greensburg if it means syphoning a LOT of insurance and state money into a community that has little hope of fully recovering?
From Wikipedia:
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The population of the town from just 2000 was down almost 10% in 2007 (from 1572 to 1452) BEFORE the tornado.
~Dubya
The Fight over Greensburg
Kansas SpotlightSebelius and Bush were arguing back and forth via proxy yesterday and this morning regarding the resource gap created by the extended duration of the National Guard deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sebelius complained of the State's inability to support the mission while the White House claimed Kansas had not made any requests for National support outside of radio equipment.
Later in the day yesterday, Sebelius' spokesman backpeddled by saying the Governor was not claiming they couldn't support THIS mission, only that any further problems would be unsupportable by current inventory in the Guard.
The White House backed down by acknowledging that Kansas had, in fact, asked for considerably more than radio equipment.
This country has gone beyond the point of reason; finger-pointing is almost expected in any given situation. A terrorist attack happens, By God, you better find out who is to blame..who is to crucify. An untrackable, unexpected CAT5 tornado with 205mph winds destroys a town in the blink of an eye and just 10 people lose their lives (when it could have been MUCH worse, is all I mean by "just")...damn it, someone is at fault because we haven't been able to get it cleaned up in a week.
Bush is actually in Kansas right now, and should be making a speech from Greensburg at around 10am CST. What good does that do? The money they've spent on getting the president out to Greensburg could have been spent on more emergency crews. Is there a morale boost associated with the President being on site?
~Dubya
"Adjustment Disorder" in Abortion Patients
Kansas Spotlight- Marked distress that is in excess of what would be expected from exposure to the stressor
- Significant impairment in social, occupational or educational functioning
Illegal Immigration in Kansas
Kansas SpotlightRecently the House approved a law denying benefits to illegal immigrants. Benefits such as welfare, health care, etc. This is a good thing, in my opinion. You and I are paying for these people each and every time they utilize these resources with no contribution whatsoever from the person receiving the benefit....this law also increases the sanctions and penalties the State can apply to businesses who hire illegal immigrants.
Yesterday, reportedly, the State House and Senate also approved a bill requiring businesses who DO hire illegal immigrants to pay them minimum wages? I guess I can see the idea behind this; by paying them minimum wage, it decreases the incentive for businesses to hire illegal immigrants because they would (in theory) have to pay them the same as a regular citizen.
I say "in theory" because what is this law REALLY going to accomplish? The aliens are there working ILLEGALLY. So what if I don't pay them minimum wage...if they want to continue to work, are they really going to say anything to anyone?
It just seems like more fluff or garnish on top of a growing problem. It's going to take more than just unenforceable laws to stem the tide of illegal immigration. If the number are correct, some immigration watch-dogs estimate some 70,000 illegal immigrants in Kansas. That's 2% of the total population!
It's going to take added pressure from non-partisan, independent organizations like "We Hire Aliens" http://www.wehirealiens.com to bring added pressure against these companies who hire illegal immigrants.
~Dubya
Don't Call Me!!
Kansas Spotlight
Everyone get ready....if you haven't signed up yet on the "Don't Call List" for Kansas, you had better be prepared for those dinner-time phone calls again starting around July.
The 2002 Kansas Don't Call List is set to end its 5-year limit this summer and people who are unaware of that limitation will mostly likely be a little annoyed when the phones start ringing again.
Sign up at http://www.donotcall.gov
According to the Wichita Eagle, there were more than 7,000 complaints resulting in more than $200,000 in fines over the last 5 years.
You seriously must hate yourself and be a glutton for punishment to take a job like this. How can you possibly expect to leave work feeling as though you accomplished something when all you hear is the *Click* of the phone hanging up 1,000 times each day. And if you've ever SEEN one of these call centers...you couldn't ask for a more hostile work environment. 250-500 people crammed in one large bull-pen, all trying to talk over each other....all of them miserable and hoping one of their deskmates doesn't pull out a shotgun and go-to-town as a result...brutal.
Maybe you could just try what I do and shut off the land-line, going strictly with the cell phone. We haven't used a house phone for years. The last phone in our house was simply because the phone company (who we had our internet through) required a phone line in order for the DSL to work....it's a conspiracy!!
Anyway, not having a telephone in your house not only saves money but that Chad guy is also fun to hang out with... hehe
~Dubya
The Horn of Africa and Derby
Kansas SpotlightDid you know there were 1800 US troops in the "Horn of Africa"? Where is the "Horn", you ask? Think Somalia and you're in the right area. You don't hear about it any more because troops aren't dying there. They are working with the local governments that include Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Eritria, etc. in an attempt to peacefully weed out the subversive Al Qaeda influence in the area.
You might have actually heard in recent news that "peaceful" to the military doesn't always mean "without arms", as a AC-130 gunship was spotted assisting Ethiopian troops in Mogudishu last week. To give you an idea of what we're talking about here, the SPECTRE AC-130 gunship has enough firepower to fill every square inch of a football field inside of 60 seconds. Every single square inch. So there is still SOME fighting going on there, but by and large, it's a peaceful mission.
OK, so why am I talking about it? Because Chief Master Sgt. John Harris, a graduate of Derby, KS, is basically number two in charge of the operation reporting as an advisor to Rear Admiral Rich Hunt.
This is important because its Kansans helping people; helping people on the other side of the world. Harris has been in the AF since 1980 and is helping lead this troup of 1800 men that cover an area roughly 2/3 the size of the continental United States. 1800 men.
It is spectacular. It is amazing and Kansans should count themselves lucky to have a hero of this caliber representing us on the other side of the planet.
The Combined Joint Task Force MUST be doing a terrific job, because everyone knows the media would be on it like flies on horse**** if there was any human suffering to be broadcast. Good news on TV? The ratings would suck!! :)
"A lot of people try to paint this as a religious war, but it's not that at all," Harris said. "It's about making sure that extremism that fosters terrorism doesn't prevail."
If you know the Harris family, give them a thumbs-up and a gracious thank you from yours truly.
~Dubya
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