ITEMS IN THE NEWS

Kansas U.S. Senator Sam Brownback is disputing statements by Governor Kathleen Sebelius that the deployment of Kansas National Guard troops in Iraq has depleted the state's ability to respond to current natural disasters.
"That's what really got me, is her saying that," Brownback told MSNBC.
"So I asked, privately and publicly, the adjutant general, do you have the equipment you need?" he said. "Because if you don't, we're going to hit Fort Riley and McConnell (Air Force Base) and other places to make sure we have all the equipment we need to respond to disasters. Everybody there said no, we have the equipment we needed."
The report went on to quote Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting as saying the Kansas National Guard was equipped to about 40 percent of its necessary levels, down from the 60 percent it had at the start of the war. About 850 soldiers have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It just leaves you pretty tight," he said. "We're fine for now."
Good save for a guy who's been put in a tough spot by the state's biggest political heavyweights.
--R.J. Dickens