Inauguration by the numbers

Like many others I saw on the streets of Philadelphia this morning, I'm dressed in black today. What futility, but it feels appropriate. I want to send every negative vibration I can to Bushco today.

Here are some interesting numbers I found while reading Salon.com:

• $40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
• $20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
• 200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
• $10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
• 22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
• 1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
• $15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
• 2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office.
• 26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.