Our taxes at work

Thoreau refused to pay his taxes because he didn't agree with the proposed expenditures of his government. Not having Thoreau's courage, speaking engagements, or pond, I paid my taxes months ago, although I know that my money is funding big oil, an illegal war, and right wing ideology. I know that it will not be spent on the environment, public education, Head Start, or any program or service that advocates for the indigent, social justice, or peace.

Here's an example of what my taxes AREN'T going to fund: Today, I learned that federal funding for healthcare clinics for urban Native Americans has been eliminated from Bush's proposed budget, even though Native Americans have a contract that promises them healthcare (and other benefits) in exchange for their land. According to Bush (who clearly doesn't understand that health care is rather a meager reparation for centuries of oppression the only "true" Americans have endured) urban Native Americans haven't given up any land, as they don't live on reservations. He proposes that, instead of the guaranteed health care they were promised, they are welcome to apply for Medicaid or go to the overcrowded, understaffed free clinics that already struggle to serve the general urban population.