A Little Perspective By Michael Moore

If you can't get through this list without wanting to throw up, I'll
understand. But pass it around anyway. This is the nail in the Iraq War's
coffin for any sane, thinking individual, regardless of their political
stripe. (Thanks to Tom Paine.com and the Center for American Progress.)

To get some perspective, here are some real-life comparisons about what $87billion (some of the money allocated for Iraq control) means:

$87 Billion is more than the combined total of all State budget deficits in
the United States. The Bush administration proposed absolutely zero
funds to help states deal with these deficits, despite the fact that their
tax cuts drove down state revenues. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities].

$87 Billion is enough to pay the 3.3 million people who have lost jobs
under George W. Bush $26,363.00 each! The unemployment benefits extension passed by Congress at the beginning of this year provides zero benefits to workers who exhausted their regular, state unemployment benefits and cannot find work [Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities].

$87 Billion is more than double the total amount the government spends on
Homeland Security. The U.S. spends about $36 billion on homeland security.
Yet, Sen. Warren Rudman (R- N.H.) wrote, America will fall approximately $98.4 billion short of meeting critical emergency responder needs for homeland security without a funding increase. [Source: Council on Foreign Relations].

$87 Billion is 87 times the amount the Federal Government spends on After
School Programs. George W. Bush proposed a budget that reduces the $1
billion for after-school programs to $600 million cutting off about 475,000
children from the program. [Source: The Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee].

$87 Billion is more than 10 times what the Government spends on all
environmental Protection. The Bush administration requested just $7.6
billion for the entire Environmental Protection Agency. This included a 32
percent cut to water quality grants, a 6 percent reduction in enforcement
staff, and a 50 percent cut to land acquisition and conservation. [Source:
Natural Resources Defense Council].

There you go. In black and white. A few million of you will receive this
letter. Please share the above with at least a half-dozen people today
and tomorrow. I, like you, do not want to see another approval rating over
50 percent.