Proud

In the Oakland Tribune's lead editorial today it reported U.S. private donations to the tsuanmi relief effort to be $200 million. This is in addition to the $350 million pledged by our government and does not include the cost of equipment and manpower for a major military rescue mission. As generous as this is, the private effort is just getting started. We should be proud.

Of course the Tribune couldn't resist ranking countries by how much each has pledged, something that has become incredibly tiresome and counterproductive. The news media have goaded countries into making pledges they will not keep. A year ago, according to the Tribune, more than $1 billion was pledged after the earthquake in Iran. Only $17.5 million has been received.

The Tribune also couldn't resist saying how our donations to the tsunami relief effort is "dwarfed" by what was given to victims of 9/11. What a rediculous comparison! We take care of our own first.