We are a terribly stingy people! So tight we squeak. When it comes to invading soveriegn countries we are “da shizzle” but when it comes to helping people who desperately need it…forget it. Or at least that’s what the UN has to say.
Why just look at the stingy nature of Americans:
Sandra Bullock, an American Citizen, gave $1 Million to the American Red Cross for Tsunami relief.
And she’s just one of millions of other Americans who have donated to private organizations like the Red Cross and MercyCorps. This whole bit about how we Americans are stingy really crawled under my skin until I realized that the people doing the crowing seem to think that only the American Government can help the poor souls in south asia. We Americans know better but apparently the UN and France (sorry for the redundancy) seem to think differently. Let’s have a look at what America has done. All of the following is from USAID briefing on 12-29:
Within 2 days of the event USAID had assessment teams on the ground.
I’m Andrew Natsios, the Administrator of USAID. We have stood up the Response Management Team, the RMT, which is the AID 24-hour/7-day-a-week disaster response center here in Washington. We did that on Sunday, Sunday morning. We deployed a DART team, a Disaster Assistance Response Team, of technical disaster relief specialists from AID. There are 44 people on the teams; 22 are now in site in the countries. They are doing assessments, working with local officials, nongovernmental organizations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and local officials.
We landed a C-130 transport(5 more on the way) aircraft with emergency aid(food, water, etc) in Indonesia
In Dubai, we have four regional warehouses around the world and the Dubai one has been — has the largest stocks available. We moved a C-130 in. I think it’s landing now in Indonesia.
With that C130 we also included shelter and portable water bladders.
Plastic sheeting that will house about 10,000 people are being distributed. Water bladders that will keep clean water, and also jerricans for people to transport the water to their shelter areas.
And Administrator Natsios finished with this warning:
During the Kurdish emergency in 1991, a major newspaper, on the front page, reported a meningitis epidemic, and they insisted people were dying from meningitis. My doctors in the field said, no, there is not one case of meningitis; there is a cholera epidemic. I was called by members of Congress and ordered to send in vaccines. And we didn’t do it, fortunately, we sent soap in because that’s what you do when there’s a cholera epidemic.
We must respond to the needs assessed by technical experts on the ground or we’re going to kill people. Rumors do not help us provide assistance to people. Only reports from technical specialists will be used to make these judgments.
which makes some sense…Congress and Press be hanged, USAID did the right thing then and they are doing the right thing now. They didn’t wait for the President to make a public statement because they already knew what to do. They just did it. Your tax dollars at work ladies and gentlemen.
That was the State Department’s reaction. Now, the Defense Department…and no, there was no attempt to take over Indonesia even though it is the largest Muslim population on the planet. Here’s what they did, again referencing the 12-29 Briefing:
- six C-130 aircraft for airlift support
- Lincoln Carrier Strike Group – 12 helicopters
- Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group – carries 25 helicopters, four Cobras, 2,100 Marines(15th MEU), 1,400 sailors
- five ships have freshwater-producing capability. Each ship can produce 90,000 gallons of fresh water a day,
Now then, let’s turn to the pictures coming from the region today:
More Navy Pics from Navy.mil
There ya go. American Sailors/stick jocks rendering aid to needful people. [Hat tip: SMASH for the last link]Where’s the UN? Perhaps they are still at the UN Sheraton.
You see, it doesn’t matter what the bureaucrats in the UN want to think, the US the most giving nation on the planet. Over the years the US has given well over a THIRD of the relief/charity monies for the planet…with 1/6th the population.
Matthew 6:2-4
2 “So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 3 But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. 4 Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you
Luke 12:48
12:48But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
