Has anyone else noticed that the U.S. government recently pledged $1 billion in aid to Georgia (the country, not the state), but has only offered $100,000 in post-hurricane aid to Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica? ($100,000 to each of these countries.) And only $50,000 to the Dominican Republic? I know Cuba is our enemy because we hate their very old President and their commie way of life. And that Haiti is easy to ignore because the country seems like it's in perpetual crisis. And because everyone there is poor anyway. And black.

But don't these pledges of aid seem kind of cheap for the richest country in the world?

I mean, that $50,000 we offered to the Dominican Republic--where Hurricane Ike alone damaged 2,383 houses and destroyed 34--won't even pay off the mortgage on my little house here in Tallahassee. If my house was destroyed by a hurricane, I'd be very grateful to be offered $50,000 to rebuild. But if I was a Dominican--or Haitian or Cuban or Jamaican--whose whole country had been hit hard by one or more hurricanes recently, the tiny offer of aid from my rich neighbor to the north would leave me feeling insulted.

This weekend, while rain was ruining the football spectacle at Doak Campbell, at least 58 Haitians died in floods caused by Hurricane Ike. The death toll in Haiti over the last three weeks is now over 600. Hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti are homeless and without adequate food or water. Even the Dominican Republic, notorious for its disdain of and even genocidal tendencies toward Haitians, pledged almost $300,000 in aid to Haiti.

I'm all for the U.S. government handing out aid where it's needed, including to Georgians. I care about what the Georgians have been through, and I don't mind seeing my tax dollars spent to help people who need help.

But why are we being so cheap with our neighbors in the Caribbean when they could really use our help? Aren't they're lives, homes and countries worth just as much as ours?