Making Sense of Numbers

In [my Vancouver, B.C. homegirl] Sarah McLachlin's new video, World On Fire, she takes the standard budget for a music video, $150,000, and invests it in providing critical services to 1,000,000 people. Click here to see the video, and here for a list of the organizations McLachlin donated the money to (minus $15, her scaled-down video production cost). If you can get through the video dry-eyed, you're made of sterner stuff than I am.

In the meantime, George "they hate us for our freedom" Bush, who is bankrupting the federal government (and through unfunded federal mandates, state and local government by extension) to pay for his fool's war in Iraq, slashing social programs, and advocating that private citizens shoulder the burden of social welfare in their communities, raised $260,565,424 for his relection campaign as of August 31--and that's not counting soft money, RNC donations, or front groups like the Swift Boats.

That $260,565,424 could have brought the same essential services to 1,737,275,340 people all over the world: that's one BILLION seven hundred and thirty seven MILLION two hundred and seventy five THOUSAND three hundred and fourty people, or better than 1 out of ever 4 people on earth.

Compassionate Conservative my ass.

Hat tip to Cyndy at Mouse Musings for the video link.