The National Guard is a part-time outfit, intended as an emergency force of last resort.

They are not trained for riot control, frontline fighting, fire control or oil spill cleanup.

Most members go to meetings one weekend a month and attend two weeks at summer camp. After six years they are free of their main military obligation.

Our gutless politicians are trying to save money by activating Guard units and sending them to do the primary fighting in foreign wars.

Obama just authorized 1200 Guardsmen to be sent to the Mexican border and fight drug cartels and other criminals. These guys will be pulled from jobs such as driving a bus or selling car parts. Putting them on the border to stop drug smugglers who are armed with machine guns is a cruel joke.

Government's ball-less wonders have trillions of dollars for every vote-buying scheme and feel-good program they can think up, but no money to train a proper fighting for our foreign wars or to control various disasters that happen every year, like fires and hurricanes.