Kelly Clarkson's back

After the break a bunch of stars talk about how many funerals they've gone to--Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, all the rest mention anywhere from like 2 to 5. Then, a man from Africa comes on the screen... he's been to 290 funerals.

A lot of the deaths are children who had malaria; Ryan says a pack of tablets that costs less than $2 can save 4 children. A lot of what Columbia Professor Jeffrey Sachs talks about in his book is how truly simple and cheap things, like the tablets and mosquito netting, can make such a big difference, essentially allowing people to have a fighting chance at life.

Back to Ellen, who introduces Kelly Clarkson, doing Up to the Mountain. If you watched American Idol's first season or caught it on Idol Rewind, you'll know how far she's come--she always had talent, but now she's got presentation and confidence.

If you're inspired by tonight's show and want to do more than make a donation, Professor Sachs has some tips. Not surprisingly, none of them are quick or easy:

The single most important thing you can do is to make sure that your government is following through on its existing commitments to support the Millennium Development Goals. At the Monterrey conference on Financing for Development, the industrialized country governments committed themselves to providing official development assistance equivalent to 0.7% of their gross national income. To date, only five countries have achieved this goal, though six others have set out timetables to reach 0.7% by 2015.

Meeting 0.7% is critically important because only governments are capable of mobilizing the resources needed to achieve the MDGs. The Millennium Project has shown that the MDGs can be met using resources already promised – from 0.45% to 0.55% of gross national income. As a concerned citizen, the best thing you can do is to help convince your government to meet its promises on aid.

What to do:

Write your political representatives: Tell them that you support the Millennium Development Goals and the Millennium Project's recommendations for achieving them. Feel free to use our facts, figures, and ideas from our talking points to help support your arguments. Click here for sample letters you can use.

Organize letter-writing campaigns: More is always better – you can amplify your voice by enlisting other people in the campaign to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Reach out through personal networks and community groups.

Write letters to local newspapers: Send a letter to the editor to help you reach a larger audience of people. The web site of RESULTS.org has a number of useful tools that can be adapted to help you target both politicians and media outlets in your own country.

Join existing networks, such as the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, which has national chapters in many countries that are mobilizing around the Millennium Development Goals.

If you want to write a letter to Newsday, here are the guidelines.

You can also send an email to letters@newsday.com.