'Stingy' is the right word

IN SPITE OF Secretary Colin Powell's "bristling" at the remarks of the UN spokesman regarding the inadequate US contribution to earthquake relief, which now stands at $35 million, this response is stingy. The Bush administration is about to ask for another $90 billion to carry on the occupation of Iraq. Do you know how many $35 million increments there are in $90 billion? the answer is 2,571. Put another way, $35 million is roughly 0.04 percent of $90 billion.

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Maybe if the administration were a little less stingy with humanitarian aid, it would not need to ask for so much funding for military purposes.

ROBERT M. COQUILLETTE
Lexington