Can we not wait and see what happens before we decide the US is a bunch of uncaring assholes?
thank you! Now look - I'm not a huge fan of the government and their priorities but let's wait two tics before deciding the government can't be bothered.
A $15 million dollar commitment out of the starting gate is more than the E.U. opened with and the U.S. commitment went up as more information came back from ongoing needs assessment. It's frankly more ka-ching than everyone but Japan started out offering and it does not include the immediate cash (yes, cash) turned over the governments of the effected countries from the U.S. embassy budgets by the end of THAT DAY. It does not include many of the resources and equipment throughout the Pacific theater being moved immediately into place to assist when the massive influx of materials arrive from all over. Sure, the ships are military but in many cases, that's the only way a lot of this stuff is gonna get moved around.
You don't just throw money at people and governments dazed by chaos and confusion and say, "here's a blank check. deal." You also try to assist in other ways. And in some cases the flyovers already being done (some by these resources we moved) are the only way they can get a rough assessment of areas they cannot reach so they have some idea - any idea of what to expect when they DO get there.
There IS an assessment going on and the U.S. contribution to their needs will change as more information comes to light.
Is the U.S. government spending more money on other - far less worthy - things? Yes. Could the U.S. government give more to places and people who need it as a matter of routine? Of course they could and they should and maybe one day enough people will demand it of their government that the government will listen. But at least for right now for this single situation, I think they are on the right course. Will they STAY in my good graces in this regard? I don't know. That depends on whether they continue to provide assistance, materials, expertise after the news cameras focus on something else.
And whether they attempt to use this tragedy to distract the American public from their ongoing clusterf*ck in Iraq.
no subject
thank you! Now look - I'm not a huge fan of the government and their priorities but let's wait two tics before deciding the government can't be bothered.
A $15 million dollar commitment out of the starting gate is more than the E.U. opened with and the U.S. commitment went up as more information came back from ongoing needs assessment. It's frankly more ka-ching than everyone but Japan started out offering and it does not include the immediate cash (yes, cash) turned over the governments of the effected countries from the U.S. embassy budgets by the end of THAT DAY. It does not include many of the resources and equipment throughout the Pacific theater being moved immediately into place to assist when the massive influx of materials arrive from all over. Sure, the ships are military but in many cases, that's the only way a lot of this stuff is gonna get moved around.
You don't just throw money at people and governments dazed by chaos and confusion and say, "here's a blank check. deal." You also try to assist in other ways. And in some cases the flyovers already being done (some by these resources we moved) are the only way they can get a rough assessment of areas they cannot reach so they have some idea - any idea of what to expect when they DO get there.
There IS an assessment going on and the U.S. contribution to their needs will change as more information comes to light.
Is the U.S. government spending more money on other - far less worthy - things? Yes. Could the U.S. government give more to places and people who need it as a matter of routine? Of course they could and they should and maybe one day enough people will demand it of their government that the government will listen. But at least for right now for this single situation, I think they are on the right course. Will they STAY in my good graces in this regard? I don't know. That depends on whether they continue to provide assistance, materials, expertise after the news cameras focus on something else.
And whether they attempt to use this tragedy to distract the American public from their ongoing clusterf*ck in Iraq.
Cynical? Me?