Follow the money

From Wampum:

US Aid promised for tsunami disaster relief: $15,000,000.00
Cost of US war operations in Iraq, per day: $177,000,000.00

So just how stingy is the Bush and the World's policeman (but obviously not the World's caregiver)?

Japan pledges $30 million.
European Union pledges $40.5 million (30 million Euros).
Australia pledges $10 million.
Canada pledges $4 million. (note: Canada's population is just under 32 million, barely one tenth of the US's 295+ million.)

'Tis the season of giving. Unless you're the US Grinch-in-Chief.

Post-pub note: Bush pledged $50 million to investigate the loss of seven astronauts.

And the last number to add is the $40 million to be spent on the inauguration per Eschaton.

Obscene. So it goes that Dubya deserves every bit of criticism for his lack of gracious response to this last horrible natural disaster.

Update: To be fair, it'll be more aid promised than what was written above: $35 million for starters. But Senator Leahy is certainly a brave soul:

"I would recommend rescinding some of the many billions of dollars for Iraq, which remain unspent, in order to help finance the relief operations in South Asia," offered Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., a frequent Bush critic.

I'd also rather see the balance of those billions spent to help rebuild Iraq.