I just finished reading an article on Bush's plea to congress for $950 million in Tsunami aid, more than doubling the previous pledge of $350 million. I can't help but wonder what motivated this increase... was it out of the kindness and goodness of our "beloved commander in chief's" heart? Or was it that Australia alone had set aside $810 million, that Germany had promised $660 million, that the EU was giving $624 million and finally Japan was contributing $540 million? Is this an act of generosity or a government-pissing-contest?

Then, for whatever reason, I was curious as to how much $950 million really is - in terms of government spending - after all, that's a lot of money to me, and kind of hard number to put it in context. So I thought I would compare it to say, what the US spends on Iraq per day, now keep in mind, this is just the war - excuse me - operation enduring freedom - not the overall military budget. And the answer is *drumroll*... 5.3 days, that's how long $950 million would get you in Iraq.

Does anyone know how much we spend on defense per day? I tried to find a solid number, but I'm running out of time to get ready for work.