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.