Cuban: Cancel inaugural excess

[vinnieponte]

Mavericks owner calls on Bush to donate funds to tsunami relief


10:20 PM CST on Thursday, January 6, 2005


By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON / The Dallas Morning News



Dear Mr. President: Please cancel your inaugural festivities and give the money to tsunami victims. Sincerely, Mark Cuban.

The Dallas Mavericks owner is urging readers of his Web log ( blogmaverick.com) to contact politicians and tell them to get their priorities straight. In an emphatic missive on his Web site, Mr. Cuban criticizes Congress for making what he calls frivolous expenditures and chastises everyone involved with elaborate inaugural events.


AP
Security is tight around the Capitol where the inauguration will take place Jan 20. "Mr. President, it's time to show that leadership. It's time to set an example," wrote Mr. Cuban, who declined to comment further on the subject. "Cancel all but the most basic inauguration requirements."

President Bush will be inaugurated Jan. 20. That week, he will be feted with the customary black-tie balls, a parade and an assortment of star-powered events. The price tag: about $40 million.

The days-long celebration is paid for with private donations – not public dollars.

Even before tsunamis struck Southeast Asia, inaugural organizers said they would be mindful of world events, and they planned to pay tribute to the nation's military.

Tracey Schmitt, spokeswoman for the presidential inaugural committee, said the event recognizes the country's history.

"A week celebrating the ideals that make our nation unique will not detract from the outpouring of relief President Bush has called for for the victims of this disaster," she said. "The inauguration celebrates the best things about our country."

Mr. Cuban writes that $40 million "can go a long way. Instead of shaking hands all night and being driven from party to party, send them a thank you card letting them know that the corporate and individual donations that had been earmarked for fun was now going to help more people than they could ever imagine."

Some readers of his blog noted that Mr. Cuban has made some pricey purchases and has outfitted his NBA team with top-of-the-line amenities.

Still, Mr. Cuban is not the only person who has suggested that lavish balls could appear unseemly right now. So far, such complaints have been limited to a low-grade rumble, as newspapers across the country have published letters to the editor, and bloggers on both sides of the issue have debated the merits of inaugural fanfare.

Critics said that Mr. Bush was slow to respond to the tsunamis and that he initially offered a contribution that some deemed stingy. He has now pledged $350 million in federal aid.

The president's father, former President George Bush, has dismissed questions about a scaled-down celebration, saying, "I don't think it will help anything in Sri Lanka if the balls were, you know, peeled back in terms of the inauguration."