tax dollars for minarets? Yes ! They are just a drop in the bucket …

On the news:  American tax dollars are used to restore Islamic minarets. So what?

Keep a perspective: the Iraq war over 8 years cost about 100 billion less that the first, original stimulus by Obama.

The following is all about only about a few millions.

Of the three largest expenditures by the State Department in 2010, one is for the Church of Holy Redeemer (625 K), another is for a Mongolian monastery ($575 K) and the third is for a citadel in Afghanistan ($450 K)

A quick run through the 2010 list shows restoration of a Nigerian minaret ($15 K), a grand mosque ($76 K) and a minaret in Mauritania ($62 K). Those three add up to roughly $133 K.

In the big scheme of things $133 thousand tax dollars is not much.

If America is going to pay for restoration of so many world-wide treasures the least the State Department could do is provide a map with addresses, emails and telephone numbers.

If we are going to pay — we should have a say — i.e., to easily go see them.

All those people upset with spending on 3 Islamic treasures:

See the foll lowing:
Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

“Since its creation by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has provided financial support to more than 640 cultural preservation projects in more than 100 countries.

This accomplishment, now 10 years in the making, represents a contribution of nearly $26 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. More importantly, it shows the depth of our nation’s respect for the cultural heritage of other countries.

The Fund supports a wide range of projects to preserve cultural heritage, such as the restoration of historic buildings, assessment and conservation of museum collections, archaeological site preservation, documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques, improved storage conditions for archives and manuscripts, and documentation of indigenous languages.

“In 2010, U.S. ambassadors in more than 90 countries around the globe applied to the Fund on behalf of partner institutions and organizations for support in meeting pressing cultural preservation needs.

OK — so who are those “partners” and what did they do other than put their hand out?

Among those receiving grants in 2010 are the Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National, for the documentation and assessment of buildings and sites in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, affected by the January 2010 earthquake; the Petra National Trust, for the rehabilitation of the Nabataean-era Flash Flood Protection System at the Petra World Heritage Site in Jordan; and the National Museum of Namibia, for the conservation of the Oranjemund shipwreck collection.

In Pakistan, the Department of Archaeology and Museums received a grant for the restoration of the early 17th-century Sheikhupura Fort. An impressive red brick fort built by the Mughal emperor Jahangir as part of the royal hunting estate of Hiran Minar, Sheikhupura Fort was an important rest stop for the royal entourage as it traversed the empire between Kashmir and Kabul. In the early 19th century, the fort passed into the hands of the Sikh Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and his queen, who built inside the fort a majestic four-story palace revered for its extraordinary wall paintings. This project will support the restoration of the fort and the palace interiors, and contribute to the economic development of the surrounding are