From Holden:

Can Nicholas Kristof read? If he can, does he read his own paper? In his column in today’s New York Times Kristof praises the right, particularly the neanderthal Christian right represented by the likes of Sen. Sam Brownback, for their humanitarian concerns for the less fortunate peoples of the world.

Meanwhile, his paper publishes this.

In one of the first signs of the effects of the ever tightening federal budget, in the past two months the Bush administration has reduced its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping millions of people climb out of poverty.

With the budget deficit growing and President Bush promising to reduce spending, the administration has told representatives of several charities that it was unable to honor some earlier promises and would have money to pay for food only in emergency crises like that in Darfur, in western Sudan. The cutbacks, estimated by some charities at up to $100 million, come at a time when the number of hungry in the world is rising for the first time in years and all food programs are being stretched.

As a result, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services and other charities have suspended or eliminated programs that were intended to help the poor feed themselves through improvements in farming, education and health.