I'm a little peeved about Bono and this $1bil he wants from the US government

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-12-20/#celeb3

Bono Urges US Politicians To Donate AIDS Funds


Campaigning rocker Bono has criticized US politicians for failing to commit $1 billion to the fight against the spread of AIDS. will hand over the funds next year. However, he emerged from the meetings disappointed, writes the New York Post. Bono says, "I'm alarmed we could not get a commitment from the Democratic leadership to prevent the loss of $1 billion in the continuing resolution to fight AIDS, malaria and extreme poverty. I don't know who's to blame. Democrats are blaming Republicans, Republicans are blaming Democrats."

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I know there is a major need for help in Africa. But right now there is a major need for help here in the US but the current white house regime with a rubber stamp from the republican congress have spent our surplus into a major deficit. Now I read this article found on the DU Home page (see link below) about how hundreds of children & their families affected by Katrina are still living in what basically can be described as a modern day 'Hooverville'. If we had a billion dollars we need to help get these people back on their feet and we need to safe guard our coasts for future hits from powerful hurricanes.

I want to help out Bono, but if he wants to do something good, why not host a concert benefit to help raise money for all of these families still without a home eighteen months after Katrina? You can't blame the democrats for hesitating a bit. I know they want to help out but there are some many people here at home who need help too

The US could spend easily 200 billion devoted to alleviating the economic blight that's taken over Michigan and rebuilding what's left of the levees and New Orleans and the remnants of the Mississippi coast with easily 10 billion for fighting AIDS in Africa. We've spent more than 210 billion bombing Iraq back into the Stone Age.

But if we're giving away all of our money to the war and corporate give-aways it leaves very little left for the average Jane & Joe next door. I guess for me is until we clean up this system we have to get the money to our own people who are in most critical need (ie - Katrina folks). Hopefully when the budget is back in control we can easily spend much more than a billion helping out africa

Summary of Iraq War Cost Estimates
CBO estimated the following costs for an Iraq war:

Initial deployment of troops: $9 billion to $13 billion
Conducting the war: $6 billion to $9 billion per month
Returning forces to US: $5 billion to $7 billion
Temporary occupation of Iraq: $1 billion to $4 billion per month
Unknown Factors Involved
In arriving at their estimates, CBO acknowledged that exact costs would depend on several "unknown factors" including:

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aairaqwarcost.htm

is asking for less than one week's funding. Sounds reasonable to me.

BOTH should be accomplished. Or should we cut funding for programs for the blind until every Katrina victim is a homeowner? Should we close down national parks until we're out of Iraq? Or maybe cut hours at public libraries until there's a cure for autism?

Trying to prioritize these things is a waste of time. Instead, be glad that there's someone out there who cares and fights for every issue.

I have a feeling if the GOP were still in power and they were the ones primarily being attacked, we'd have no problem with Bono's criticism.

We should be doing everything in our power to help combat AIDS in Africa. It's not a Democrat thing or a Republican thing, it's a human thing.

The article cites the New York Post, whose interpretation of reality can be somewhat dizzying (like calling the Iraq Study Group "surrender monkeys".}

HIV and AIDS are alive and well in the US, it would be a serious mistake to characterize this as an illness which only affects third world nations.

-a katrina survivor

and I think it's an amazing cause, I don't want anyone to ever doubt that. I was just peeved that he was critical of 'who to blame' when Dems technically do not control congress yet AND we have a massive deficit and plenty of people back here in the states that have practically been abandon for many reasons because our government wants to give our money to the corporations