Taxing

Personally, I would rather see my tax dollars going to universal health care than to unnecessary and illegal wars.

From National Priorities Project Tallies Cost of War:

These new appropriations bring total war-related spending for Iraq to $747.3 billion and for Afghanistan to $299 billion, with total war costs of $1.05 trillion.

It’s also upsetting to me to learn of another useless and illegal use of tax dollars.

From When prayers fly at Capitol, someone gets mad by Marc Hansen:

Those pesky atheists are at it again. First, they put ads on metro buses telling nonbelievers, "You are not alone."



Now, according to a letter sent to Iowa legislators, they want our elected officials to stop inviting clergy to begin each day of the 2010 session with an official prayer.



Besides violating the separation of church and state, the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers say, it costs too much. Clergy members receive $10 per prayer and mileage from the home district and back.

The group's president — quoting the House Financial Office — says the state spends $2,606 per session on the prayers. If it seems like walking-around money, even walking-around money is scarce these days.



What's more, during the prayers, the doors to the House and Senate close, meaning clerks, pages, and legislative staff members are held captive.