Prodded toward decency: A day after September 11, 2001, the world rallied around the US, sending money and prayers. So why has it taken the Bush administration so long to react to the tsunami disaster? OK, OK, Bush did act, eventually, by offering an embarrassing $15 million in aid (a figure that rose to $35 million, after some prodding, although reading the US press you'd hardly remember that piddly "stingy" figure; for example, here's Forbes erroneously referring to that "initial $35 million pledge"). Now the US is pitching in a sum a bit more appropriate for its wealth--$350 million. Given the exorbitant pricetag of Bush's war-whim in Iraq, perhaps America can do better (sign this petition to urge a US donation of $1 billion dollars.) As John Nichols writes, Bush failed this global test.

Politicizing tragedy: Hats off to Mr. Doug Patton who on the GOPUSA website uses the death of 150,000 people to promote the cause of American conservatism and radical Republicanism. In response to a UN official's suggestion that the US promise of $15 million was a little on the lean side (what UN emergency relief coordinator Jan Egelund said was "...Christmastime should remind many Western countries how rich we have become, and if actually the foreign assistance of many countries now is 0.1 or 0.2% of their gross national income, I think that is stingy, really.), Patton excoriated Egelund: "[T]his whining, petty, ungrateful little bureaucrat is trying to tell us we don't pay enough in taxes. In fact, he is saying that we actually want to pay more!" But Doug's not the first to seek political gain from the destruction: Jeb Bush, not the American president, is taking his photo ops in the disaster zone, a move some say is a way to jockey for his future candidacy for national office.

Stingy: Via Tom Tomorrow, a link to Mark C, who takes on a caller to Rush Limbaugh's show who complained that foreign aid didn't help out Florida's hurricaine victims:

OK all you Limbaugh listeners, try to follow along at home as I walk you through this. No matter what you've heard, the US is a very, very wealthy nation. The per capita income in the US is about $35,000. Hurricane Charley hit on Friday, August 13th. By Tuesday, August 17th, FEMA had already issued more than $2 million in checks for disaster relief. Ten days later President Bush asked Congress for $2 billion dollars for aid (he wasn't on vacation then, and its possible that the election had something to do with the amount). Since then the Small Business Administration alone has provided more than $1 billion to Florida businesses to fix hurricane damage.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's per capita income is $3,550, Thailand's is $2,000, Sri Lanka's is $850, India's is $450. The US poverty level for an individual with no children is just over $9,000.