A shortage of trucks, helicopters and other equipment -- all sent to the war in Iraq -- has hampered recovery in a U.S. town obliterated by a tornado, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said on Monday.
"There is no doubt at all that this will slow down and hamper the recovery," Sebelius, a Democrat, told Reuters in Kansas, where officials said the statewide death toll had risen to 12 on Monday.
"Not having this equipment in place all over the state is a huge handicap," Sebelius said.......
The governor said Kansas lacks about half the large equipment it could use for recovery efforts and debris removal, including dump trucks and front loaders.
While this is an amusing attempt by someone who is obviously aspiring for higher office, it forgets one thing; those of us who grew up in Kansas are more than aware of the fact that, spread across the numerous hills, dales, and road systems of the Sunflower State are a series of large Quonset huts, usually distinguished by a large pile of gravel or salt nearby.
They're called KDOT spots -- Kansas Department of Transportation storage points. They have, at minimum, dump trucks and front-end loaders, both of which are used in the process of maintaining roads and, in winter, putting down traction-enhancing materials.
None of them have been sent to Iraq.
All of them are under the governor's control, and can be deployed immediately as she needs them. Indeed, the major KDOT locations in Wichita and Hutchinson, which are stuffed to the gills with equipment, are barely two hours away.
Does she really think we're this dumb? Or does she, like all Democrats, really believe that she can lie, spin, and pander with impunity because it helps her own ambitions?
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