Check out this diary at DailyKos; it has the largest collection of information I've seen yet.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/28/221529/32

Are there any other sites you'd recommend?

 

  12:38:04 PM    comment []

Killed on 9/11 by terror attacks:	2917
Killed on 12/26 by tsunami:	76,700 and counting
U.S. annual defense budget:	USD 375.2 billion (2004)  (number of defense dept. employees: 700,000 civilian, 2.3 million military)
U.S. annual non-military foreign aid budget:	USD 15.7 billion (2003)
Foreign aid as percentage of U.S. GDP:	0.14% (2003) (smallest among developed countries)
Emergency aid allocated for tsunami disaster relief by U.S. as of 12/29:	USD 35 million

  12:03:34 PM    comment []

 

I was going to post something else, but the post-tsunami disaster has taken possession of my consciousness.  Whatever else I was going to say can wait, being nothing but mere trivia in comparison.

 

A commenter writes in response to my post yesterday:

You make a good point about the small amount of money for aid (so far). But, we may be comparing apples to oranges. I think the inauguration money is mostly from private sources, RNC, donors, party fat cats, etc., whereas the aid being offered is from tax payers money. Doesn't Congress control, allocate and budget those funds, at least in broad categories, with federal agencies allowed to make some decisions as to where it should be directed. We did just go through four hurricanes in Florida. I'm not saying we shouldn't do more - we need to do a lot more. I'd like to see both political parties step up to the plate with some major contributions for tsunami aid. Do you think that will happen, or do we need to recognize that most of the aid will (and perhaps should) come from private disaster relief charities, and faith based charities? Also, don't many of those countries already get millions in foreign aid from us independent of disaster relief?

 

I can understand this perspective, but I can’t agree with it.

 

Read Josh Marshall’s post about Bush’s response to the disaster.

 

This is the heart and soul of the matter.  Claiming that deeds are more important than words requires real action.

 

Every day of our lives, every minute, we are tested.  We are called to be something greater than we are in the previous moment.  As a people we are called, an aggregate response indicating who and what we are; our true leaders are those who will rally us, guide toward that which we truly seek to be through the direction of our attention and our resources.  This calling cuts across party lines, across faiths and ethnicities.  This is the calling of humanity; we are called as a single, unified people, as a nation.

 

What is most important in the minutes, hours and days that follow an enormous tragedy?

 

What have we as Americans appreciated most from our global neighbors during our darkest hours?

 

What would we as human beings expect as a minimum from our fellow humans?

 

This is the very, very least we should give; giving only the minimum is not answering the call to greater being.

 

15 million dollars is a fly-speck to this nation.  But infinitely worse than this pittance offered is the emotional and psychic response of our leadership.

 

What does it matter what some other leader did in response to past tragedies?  How would we have felt in the calamity post-9/11 had the leaders of other nations manifested the same response our president gave to this week’s disaster?

 

30 to 40 million dollars may have come out of private pockets to fund the festivities of the inauguration.  Would it have been more humane for a leader to say to these donors, Look, cut back on something, anything, donate monies instead to the aid of disaster victims…?  Why not ask the attendees to wear casual clothing and donate funds they would have used on glamorous apparel towards those who no longer have homes?

 

Let’s be cynical for a moment.  Let’s not answer the call to a greater being and instead look at this from a marketing perspective.

 

Would it not make sense for the leader of this country to step up to a microphone and say:

We send our heartfelt condolences to the peoples of the Indian Ocean; we will make an initial contribution of 15 million dollars towards immediate relief aid.  We will monitor the situation closely and provide more aid as the scale and magnitude of the disaster are clarified.  I call on Congress to work to appropriate additional funding as relief efforts move forward; I call on American citizens with adequate resources to help those in their hour of need. 

What would this cost a real leader?  What would it cost us, the American people?

 

Is this not the absolute minimum that should be given?

 

Continuing our cynicism, it might be well to point out that Bill Clinton – whose response to tragedies Bush despises – is highly respected, treated like a rock star when visiting overseas.

 

How did he earn that respect?  Did it come from the disbursement of tax dollars on foreign aid alone?

 

This morning's news programs report that the U.S. will provide more aid monies; we have been shamed into giving an additional 20 million dollars.  Colin Powell has been tasked once again with a face-saving mission, making the rounds of news shows to explain that we Americans are generous people.

 

We wouldn't have to issue wordy mea culpas to ourselves and the world if we actually did the right thing.

 

Words don’t bury bodies, provide clean water and temporary shelter, rebuild homes. 

 

Real generosity does.

 

What is it that real generosity of spirit can do?

 

  11:04:06 AM    comment []