Right, we're the stingy ones.

Normally, I do my best not to throw egg in the face of those that would prefer to burn an effigy of our current President. Today is an exception to that rule. This is a direct effort to rub salt in the wound, to kick them when they are down, to urinate in their morning cereal, to rip of their heads and defecate down their necks.

I'm sure you've seen them, so eager to back up anything any dumbass from the UN says. So rabid for any juicy tidbit that will cast shame on the president, even if it casts shame on the whole country. They missed to boat with their 15 million bit. They were still pissy about the 35 million. They were near rabid when Bush didn't talk about the Tsunami publicly until last Wednesday. Well, Bush has made another speech on Friday and has included 350 million as the installment to be made shortly....and they call ME knee jerk.

If you're wondering what else we're doing that is so great, here's a piece from Bush's
Radio Address to the Nation:

Earlier this week, I spoke with the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. I offered them the condolences of our nation and I praised their steadfast leadership. The task they face is difficult. Their relief resources are stretched nearly to the limit. Communications, roads and medical facilities have been badly damaged; disease has become a very real threat.

Americans are a compassionate people and we are already hard at work helping those nations meet these challenges. The United States has pledged $350 million in relief assistance, with $15 million already in the hands of relief organizations in the affected countries. To help coordinate this massive relief effort, disaster response officials are on the ground and have established a support center in Thailand that is manned and operational; more than 20 patrol and cargo aircraft have been made available to assess the disaster and deliver relief supplies -- many of those aircraft are already on the scene. We have dispatched the aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln, the Maritime pre-positioning squadron from Guam, and an amphibious ship carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit -- they will soon be in position to support relief efforts, to include the generation of clean water.

Tomorrow, I will send a delegation to the area to meet with regional leaders and international organizations to assess what additional aid can be provided by the United States. The delegation will be led by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Governor Jeb Bush, who has extensive experience in the state of Florida with relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts following natural disasters. Secretary Powell has already spoken with many of his counterparts in the region, and with officials from the United Nations, and other governments that are helping with the response. Together, we are leading an international coalition to help with immediate humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and long-term construction efforts. India, Japan and Australia have already pledged to help us coordinate these relief efforts, and I'm confident many more nations will join this core group in short order.

Not that it matters at this point, but France, Germany and Russia were absent from the list of coordinators. I know it's not a complete list, as Israel has sent their three top search and rescue teams and over 80 tons of medical supplies.

As far as money goes, it's turned into a bidding war in Europe, trying to top the U.S. Here's a clipping from an article that could have been made at Sotheby's:

PARIS - One-upping the United States, France nearly doubled its aid pledge for tsunami victims to $57 million yesterday and briefly claimed the role as leading donor nation, following barbs from Washington about French generosity.

But Britain quickly topped France by more than tripling its donation to $95 million and Sweden promised $75.5 million. Spain's cabinet, meanwhile, approved a $68 million package, although about a fifth was in loans rather than outright grants.

Since Sunday's huge earthquake off Indonesia and ensuing giant waves around the Indian Ocean, the United States has announced an initial $35 million aid package. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said yesterday that was "just a beginning."

And it was just the beginning. Not only are we sending 350 million, but we've got both a Battle Group (BG) and a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) either en-route or already on the ground. We're also going to have so many politicians over there that we could start are own working government. Of course, the 350 million was only the start. That was pledged after the advanced assessment team had reported back on the extent of the damage.

350 Million is just the beginning you say? Yes, it's just the beginning. Sen. Richard Lugar has admitted that our funding could go into the billions if need be. Of course, that would be nothing too big for the U.S. of A. Considering last year's domestic disaster relief package totalled 13.6 billion. But remember, we're stingy!

Note: The only country to give more in cash (but not total value, a BG and MEU cost a big chunk of change) is Japan with 500 million.

Everyone around the world is pouring everything they can into this effort. A total of $2 billion dollars have been pledged from various countries around the world. No one is being stingy. Especially not the United States, and definitely not Jesusland!