How much is enough?

The recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean was tragic. You'll get no argument from me there. But I have to wonder how much money will satisfy the pain being felt by people thousands of miles away. How much will it take to make the Liberals in the U.S.A. stop criticizing the President? Well, obviously the answer to that is "infinite". Nothing could make the Liberals stop bashing George Bush. But when you look only at the tsunami, how much will it take?

The United States has pledged $350,000,000. Got that? THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS. Your tax dollars at work. Well, you say, Japan has pledged $500,000,000. Congratulations to them. Did they also send the Navy and the Air Force over there to help? No. Add in the cost of the ships, airplanes, and members of the armed services, and you're certainly going to come up with a figure well over the amount Japan has pledged.

Now, add in the amount that will be pledged by average Americans. Actress Sandra Bullock gave $1,000,000 herself. (And I love her for it). Michael Moore? Zip. Of course. He made MILLIONS off of a lie called Fahrenheit 9/11, and has yet to give one red cent to the relief effort in the Indian Ocean. But that's another story. The point is that Americans will surely give another $500,000,000. Bringing the total U.S. contribution to over a BILLION dollars. But it won't be enough to satisfy the critics.

Now what will money do? Well for one, it won't replace human life. I'm not trying to belittle the loss of life, but money is not the answer to someone's death. And don't miss the point. Most people are giving money based on reports of loss of human lives. No other reason. And that's just not the answer.

My guess is that when its all over, the total financial contributions to this disaster will equal or exceed the actual annual economic output of the areas hit by the tsunami. And several people will get stinking filthy rich from this exercise in human compassion. And that is just plain sad. Already people are trying to profit (read: rip off donators) from the tragedy. Take for example,

And how about the stories now being circulated about children being kidnapped for the child sex trade. First off, that's not a confirmed story. One child disappeared from a hospital, and suddenly there's this monster sex trade kidnapping thing going on. I hate the media.

And another perfect example is Petra Nemkova. Ever hear of her before the big wave hit? Nope! But now she's a SUPER MODEL who survived the tsunami. And she's gonna get crazy rich off of this, because she has a really good publicist. She's now allowed her photo taken in the hospital to be used for disaster fund raising. Did you see this picture? I'm not going to post it here, because I think it is bullshit to publicize it. But she looked HOT! In a hospital bed. Imagine the career she's now gonna have. I'm betting she's in a Hollywood movie by summer.

Jet Li was also a survivor, but he's not as hot, so no fundraising pictures for him.

Look, I have as much compassion as the next person. But enough is enough. Write the Red Cross a check for $20 and move on with your lives.

Why is it?

Why is it that people always seem to grow a big set of brass balls when sitting behind the keyboard away from reality. I know, we call them flamers, but in truth they are just small people with even smaller egos. They go on a message board and just spread all sorts of vial crap about every topic. And the worst part is you can tell by their writing that they don't have the slightest clue what they are talking about.

The biggest offender I've found for this issue is the college student. You can always tell what subject a college student is learning that week by the subjects they discuss on a message board. But hey, they link to all sorts of support documentation, so they must be intelligent. But usually, its some website that is completely opposed to anything concerning the topic at hand. For example, if the flamer is against George Bush, they'll always link to an article in the New York Times or some British newspaper. And if you make the terrible error of pointing out THEIR error, then they just blast back with a personal attack, rather than defending their point.

Look, I'm all for the internet. I'm using it here. But try a little honesty. I saw a post once about sexual identity changes, and the quote used was from the Vice President of the National Organization for Women. Sounds good, huh? Until you find out that the Vice President of the National Organization for Women is a former saleswoman who then had a career in motivational speaking. So why use her as a source for a medical procedure discussion? Probably because the legitimate sources did not defend this person's point of view.

Another officer for the National Organization of Women, Karen Johnson, is a former medical professional. Wonder why she didn't have any quotes supporting the argument. Probably because she knows the truth.

Just on a personal note: Did you ever wonder why most of the leadership of the National Organization for Women are lesbians? Now I have nothing against lesbians or gays in general. More power to ya. But wouldn't it be better to be up front about your organization? Shouldn't you call it the National Organization for Lesbian Women? I can't imagine they speak for ALL women. I did notice that the new President, Kim Gandy, is happily married (to a man!) with children. Here's hoping that trend continues. Maybe then their membership numbers will climb again. They currently report 500,000 members. There's what? 150,000,000 women in the USA? OK, make it 100,000,000 when you take out the children. Meaning that the entire female population is supposedly represented by an organization whose membership totals 1/2 of 1 percent of the population. And surprisingly enough, most estimates say that around 7% of the female population are lesbians. Funny how those two numbers are almost IDENTICAL.

OK, so I'm wandering. I've got the time. My point is still: If you want to argue on the internet, get an education on the subject you are discussing. Use relevant facts. SOUND intelligent, at least.

A Tsunami Tale

Look, by now EVERYONE in the world knows a tsunami hit several countries. Really, we all know. And everyone knows it in just under a week. Pretty speedy spreading of the news, if you ask me. And after a week, governments and people all over the world are digging deep into their pockets to help in the relief effort. And every dime is going to be greatly appreciated by those in need.

But there's just one thing that is bothering me. Why the hell are Liberals all over the place complaining about the amount or speed of the U.S. Government response? How quickly should the President have reacted? How much money is "enough"? Why do idiots have to make this a political issue? It is a humanitarian issue, period.

I'm all for helping. And I hope every American donates a few bucks to the effort. Just $10 per person would raise over $2 BILLION dollars. Think about that figure. TEN DOLLARS each equals TWO BILLION dollars. Dig deep. Any amount helps.

And please make sure you know where your money is going. There will be many people and companies focusing on profit in this disaster. Its sickening.

If you want to help, the best place to send your money is The American Red Cross. You can by clicking on the link, or call 1-800-HELP NOW.