St Valentine image from Wikimedia Commons

Robert Randall, a long time war tax resister (WTR) was remembered on Valentine’s Day by some of the communities that he was instrumental in being a part of in recent decades. The memorial was organized by members of the King’s Bay Plowshares action that took place near Robert’s home in Brunswick, Georgia. Robert rose to the occasion of supporting the nuclear disarmament action at the King’s Bay Naval Base near St. Marys, Georgia. For years, Robert had been a part of a community resisting the nuclear Trident submarines that were docked there.  

Anne Barron and Robert Randall November 2019 in Oregon. Photo by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

Ruth Benn shared from her reflection for NWTRCC,  Robert Randall Presente/ Always Present, in which she spoke of how Robert identified as a “war tax converter” in his words; how he was a Conscientious Objector at age 18, “thinking that at that age one should be thinking about going to war and also paying for war.” Ruth highlighted what many of us in the NWTRCC network experienced, Robert’s warm welcome to newcomers and old friends alike and awareness of what was happening locally; contagious energy to get involved. Ruth states “More than anything Robert knew that the primary reason people come together is to share stories and fears and ideas to sustain our resistance and survive the economic challenges.”

The memorial was on Valentine’s Day because it was Robert’s favorite holiday. (You can watch the memorial here.) While Robert must have enjoyed celebrating love on this day, I can’t believe that his devotion to this day was removed from the history of St. Valentine, being a Conscientious Objector to war as well. In an Empire far, far away, traditinoally St. Valentine resisted conscription to the Roman army by marrying men of military age. Robert was clear in his prinicples of not killing and not having others kill in his name. 

Golden Rule from Peace and Planet News

On Valentine’s Day, the Golden Rule was docked near Kings Bay during Robert’s memorial. In 1958, the Golden Rule attempted to sail to the Marshall Islands to interrupt the atomic testing on the Marshall Islands. Four Quakers were arrested for their attempts. Veteran for Peace has restored the boat as well as the mission for nuclear disarmament. In recent years the Golden Rule has been traveling throughout the U.S. spreading the message of nuclear disarmament as well as the history of those in the U.S. who have been resisting nuclear weapons since the dawn of the atomic era. Find out when the Golden Rule is coming to your community and check out the schedule of events and past stories here as well as a tribute to Robert’s commitment to nuclear disarmament with the Kings Bay Plowshares and the Golden Rule.

There was recent news about another pivotal actor in nuclear deescalation and antiwar activism. Daniel Ellsberg wrote a letter to friends and colleagues about his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In an eloquently written letter he states:

As I look back on the last sixty years of my life, I think there is no greater cause to which I could have dedicated my efforts. For the last forty years we have known that nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia would mean nuclear winter: more than a hundred million tons of smoke and soot from firestorms in cities set ablaze by either side, striking either first or second, would be lofted into the stratosphere where it would not rain out and would envelope the globe within days. That pall would block up to 70% of sunlight for years, destroying all harvests worldwide and causing death by starvation for most of the humans and other vertebrates on earth.

So far as I can find out, this scientific near-consensus has had virtually no effect on the Pentagon’s nuclear war plans or U.S./NATO (or Russian) nuclear threats. (In a like case of disastrous willful denial by many officials, corporations and other Americans, scientists have known for over three decades that the catastrophic climate change now underway–mainly but not only from burning fossil fuels–is fully comparable to U.S.-Russian nuclear war as another existential risk.) I’m happy to know that millions of people–including all those friends and comrades to whom I address this message!–have the wisdom, the dedication and the moral courage to carry on with these causes, and to work unceasingly for the survival of our planet and its creatures.

I’m enormously grateful to have had the privilege of knowing and working with such people, past and present. That’s among the most treasured aspects of my very privileged and very lucky life. I want to thank you all for the love and support you have given me in so many ways. Your dedication, courage, and determination to act have inspired and sustained my own efforts. My wish for you is that at the end of your days you will feel as much joy and gratitude as I do now.

I encourage you to read the full letter here. 

Also of note is that WTR Randy Kehler influenced Daniel Ellsberg‘s role in releasing the Pentagon Papers.

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Yes Love, No War first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Yes Love, No War appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

While borders may give an impression of collective agreements, conflicts illuminate the deep fissures that exist when arbitrary lines in the sand are drawn and nationalists tensions are manipulated.  While one could easily spend their days reading the most recent headlines and following stings of articles on the internet to have a better grasp of what is occurring and the histories that have led us here, there often seems to be a sense of disconnect or what some have identified as psychic numbing.

Photo by Ed Hedemann, 2017.

For the past year there has been a dark cloud of potential nuclear war hanging over the conflict.  Now with Russia suspending the New START Treaty and threatening the possibility of resuming nuclear testing. While both the US and Russia have been withdrawing from nuclear arms control agreements, in January 2021 the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force making nuclear weapons illegal under international law.

In The Madness of Nuclear Warfare is Alive and Well in America, the author quotes Dorothy Day “Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system.” as a testimony of the power that we have as citizens that led Dorothy and many others to war tax refusal and other tactics that promote life and strive for peace and justice. 

London 2/15/03 photo by Paul Mattsson

Recently there were remembrances of the largest global anti-war day of protest to prevent the escalation of war in Iraq 20 years ago. It seems essential to take pause and mourn what was lost in not pursuing that path towards peace including 1.5 million lives lost and $21 trillion of taxpayer dollars stolen in the war on Terror according to CODEPINK and you can also read a blog post by Sam about the Iraq War Tribunal. It also seems vital to celebrate the communities that were created in coming together to dream another world into being and to broadcast those seeds throughout the lands. 

Dorothy Day also wrote about the need to take a break from the daily news and suggested immersing oneself in the arts. It seemed particularly important to see the issues of our day in a wider context and the universal themes of the human experience. She was particularly fond of Russian authors on war and peace. Any suggestions of favorites would be welcomed.  Poetry seems to be a great way to chase the headlines away.

From The Dragon Who Never Sleeps  By Robert Aitken

When nations take their revenge

I vow with all beings 

to suggest that revenge springs from anguish-

perhaps we created the pain.

Then the army holds a parade

I vow with all beings 

to sing pacifist songs with the children 

of Minsk, Tel Aviv, and Fort Bragg.

When federal taxes are due

I vow with all beings 

to refuse any role in the killing 

of Sesshu, Dostoevsky and Bach. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Beauty Will Save The World first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

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Last week NWTRCC hosted a War Tax Resistance/Refusal/Redirection (WTR) 101 online. It was an interactive, engaging conversation. We have been hearing from practitioners of WTR who have been living under the taxable income who anticipate that changing or do not see that path as sustainable. It is encouraging to be engaged with people who are making intentional decisions about how our collective resources are being used. 

NWTRCC  will be hosting a WTR 101 on Facebook Live this coming Thurday Feburary 2 (2pm eastern/ 1pm central/ 11am pacific). Coordinator Lincoln Rice will be sharing an overview of WTR including history, motivations, practical concerns such as to file or not to file, W-4 forms, self employment and so much more. Join us and share with your networks, those who may be interested. You can also find a  recording of the WTR 101 later on our YouTube Channel.

Also there will be a  Counselor’s Training this coming Saturday Feburary 4 that you can register for here as well as  information about our upcoming NWTRCC National gathering in May in North Manchester, Indiana May 5-7. 

Motivations of WTR in the Modern Era M.E./ Atomic Age

Image of Wei Wei exhibit featuring bombs “Little Boy,” “Fat Man” and B83 the largest nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. Photo by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

At the start of each year, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists issues their assessment about the risks to life on Earth through human actions and inactions. After the nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaski, the international group was formed and began issuing it’s annual state of the world in the form of the Doomsday Clock. The extinction of humanity is represented as midnight on the clock and how close we are to that has been measured by minutes to midnight. The clock was first set at 7 minutes to midnight in 1947; has moved backwards 8 times and forward 17 times. 

In 2020 the clock moved to a mere 100 seconds to midnight with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists citing the threats of nuclear war and climate chaos had a multipying effect when incorporating cyber enabled info warfare. After 3 years at a standstill, the Doomsday Clock was moved forward last week by the Bullitin of Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board to a mere 90 seconds till midnight, closer to anytime during the Cold War when a nuclear winter loomed on the horizon. 

During the reveal of the Doomsday Clock status last week there were many international voices and members of the Elders Council who were encouraging world-wide action to prevent a collective human annilihation which can be accessed here.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (I-CAN)  issued a statement in response to the Doomsday Clock stating “So this year’s Clock announcement must not be followed by the usual hand wringing, resignation and excuses, but urgent action to avoid nuclear war.”  I-CAN lays out some plans to follow up on the Doomsday Clock dislosure just 2 years and 2 days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into legal force. 

At the online WTR 101 session, it was framed that the  most recent era of WTR reached back to the resisters of WWII who emerged from that war deeply opposed to nuclear weapons. It seems like such an obvious lineage but one would hope as I am certain that they must have imagined that we would not still be engaged in a game of roulette with all of humanity all these years later. Upon reflecting upon Nuclear Winter, all those who have been resisting it and thinking about the Doomsday Clock moving up 10 seconds closer, the words of Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day came to mind:

“Tell me what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Post by Chrissy Kirchhofer

The post Take Action Before the Clock Stikes Midnight first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Take Action Before the Clock Stikes Midnight appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

More recently he’s worked with a friend’s archeology company on some digs in the east, and in June he joined a survey in New Hampshire. Arriving at the site, he was surprised to discover that it was on a US Space Force base near Manchester. I, for one, had put that previous president’s space force out of my mind, so I was amazed to hear it is alive and well (I fear) in New Hampshire. Every day when the dig team got to the gates they were screened by fully armed, ready-for-combat guards who deployed bomb detectors to scan the underside of their cars, raising the question “what the heck is going on here?”

That base is called the New Boston Space Force Station, which took over an air force base in the summer of 2020. It is one of about 14 space force bases or stations around the country — plus one in Greenland. Presumably the funding for this archeology survey came right from the space force budget. We could hope the dig turned up something to stop the station’s development.

Photo: Global Network website. Watch the website for October’s “Keep Space for Peace Week” of actions. http://space4peace.org/

Feeling bad about having put the space force out of my mind, it reminded me to check out the website for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, that excellent organization coordinated by Bruce Gagnon. The Global Network’s website is packed with important (and frightening) articles and information about the militarization and exploitation of space. I also happened on an August blog celebrating their 30^th anniversary, so here’s a big shout out of congratulations to Bruce and everyone who has been part of their work over the years.

Photo by Ed Hedemann, Aug. 2, 2022.

Recently I participated in a few demonstrations calling for nuclear abolition — weapons and power. On August 2, we were at the UN, which is hosting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and took our demands to “stop talking and start disarming!” to the US Mission. On the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki there were more vigils and press conferences. The Japanese and alternative press attended; the US mainstream media was nowhere to be seen.

Our anti-nuclear actions were grounded on saving life on earth, but between my brother’s story and the Global Network’s website I was given a wake-up call to what is happening in space. Karl Grossman’s article, “The Space Race is Going Nuclear” was especially enlightening, and he has also written a book on the topic. In addition, he is the author of a Beyond Nuclear handbook, The U.S. Space Force and the dangers of nuclear power and nuclear war in space (PDF). I appreciated the section headed “Why do we need a Space Force?” with the answer: “We don’t.”

My war tax resistance was inspired by hearing Dr. Helen Caldicott speak about the dangers of nuclear weapons. More than 40 years later the dangers are greater and the powers that be are constantly scheming and scanning for their next frontier to fight over. In this case, if they have their way, it really could be the “final frontier.” We have no choice but to keep up our resistance to militarism in all its forms and from the depths of the ocean to the moon and beyond.

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post It’s Up to Us to Make Space for Peace first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post It’s Up to Us to Make Space for Peace appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Many of the speakers  on the webinar reflected on the pressing issues of the day and the context in which the June 12, 1982 events occurred. The four main issues that galvanized people to attend were the elimination of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, honoring Native American Treaties and full employment for all. You can watch one of the webinars, Defuse Nuclear War, commemorating the event here.  

The issues seem prescient and many were issues that were brought up later in the week at the Poor People’s Campaign on June 18th in Washington D.C. which you can watch here. The Campaign has centered what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the triplets of evil—racism, militarism, excessive consumerism—and then added the climate crisis that we find interwoven in all of these issues. Rev. Barber, one of the organizers, brought up one of the key components of the original Poor People’s Campaign, utilizing nonviolent direct action to put pressure on decision makers when he declared “If we need to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience—then we will engage!”

There was some mentions at the June 12 Legacy webinar of the mass civil disobedience campaign that was organized by War Resisters League among other organizations. The words toward the end of the webinar were quite striking, “If we don’t risk doing what seems impossible then we face an unthinkable future,” It was that spirit of risk taking that inspired over 3,500 people to  shut down the United Nations missions of the 7 major known nuclear armed countries on June 14. There were over 1,700 arrests with some folks having multiple arrests on that day.  

There will be a webinar Saying No to Nuclear War through Nonviolent Direct Action Wednesday June 22nd at 7pm Eastern (4p Pacific) to share about the Blockade the Bombmakers campaign of that day and discuss upcoming events around nuclear disarmament at the UN in August. You can find out more information and register here.

I look forward to joining the webinar to learn more about that time. The role of civil disobedience in pushing for “freezing” the use of nuclear weapons likely played a part in not having escalated wars to a nuclear confrontation. I am particularly curious to learn from those who embraced war tax resistance in their attempt to prevent nuclear war worldwide. One of the organizers of the upcoming webinar, Ruth Benn, wrote, “A Good Reason to Refuse to Pay War Taxes” about how the issue of nuclear weapons motivated her war tax resistance. 

While looking through NWTRCC’s archive on nuclear issues (that you can access here) I discovered the answer to a question of how long have war tax resisters been opposing nuclear weapons. Some months after the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima, Ammon Hennacy and other war tax resisters held public actions on Tax Day, March 15, 1946 and cited nuclear weapons as a good reason to refuse to pay war. I imagine their witness encouraged a new generation of war tax resisters. 

And for some  big news: NWTRCC is turning 40 this year! We will be celebrating this milestone with a weekend of events at our conference November 4-6, 2022.  Save the date and stay tuned for more details! We will be reaching out in months leading up to learn more of your journey with war tax resistance. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Reflecting on the Last 40 Years first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Reflecting on the Last 40 Years appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Image from Kings Bay Plowshares nuclear disarmament action

Some who have taken that threat seriously in the U.S. include members of the Plowshares movement. One of the participants, Dan Berrigan explained that we do not have peace because we do not have people who are willing to take similar risks as those who take up arms and kill. Dan’s words at the trial of the nuclear disarmament action still resonate: “The only message I have to the world is: We are not allowed to kill innocent people. We are not allowed to be complicit in murder. We are not allowed to be silent while preparations for mass murder proceed in our name, with our money, secretly, It’s terrible for me to live in a time where I have nothing to say to human beings except ‘Stop Killing.’ There are other beautiful things that I would love to be saying to people.” 

Image from flickr of the seventh seal

War devalues all life. It attempts to make some lives seem dispensable and others elevated. It has been challenging to witness images coming out of Ukraine and Russia and not feel one’s own life cheapened. Or to wonder about bombings elsewhere in the world that are not given attention. While it has long been said that truth is the first casualty in war, it is difficult to get reliable information especially with social media and the possibility of misinformation.  

In recent years and with the rise of social media there has emerged the notion of the attention economy. It looks at what we can perceive and what actions we can take; sometimes “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” The stories that we tell have great power and those in positions of power know that. The big lie that underlies war is the myth of scarcity; that people must compete. 

One of the images that stood out over the past week were of Ukrainian men who were at a train station. The men were prevented from leaving, only women and children were allowed on the train. There was so much desperation and weariness expressed in the faces. They were informed they must remain and take up arms that were largely provided by U.S. taxpayer money.  

Sometimes it is necessary to simplify the message in order to take action. The definition of economy simply means care of our home. It is about being responsible with the resources in our care. Some call into question the right of nuclear weapons to exist let alone to build a newer generation of more usable nuclear weapons. We have not even figured out how to clean up the first of the nuclear weapons waste that lies in landfill that is on fire near the confluence of the largest rivers in the U.S. Now there is news of a fire at the largest nuclear facility in Europe and sending the world economy into a more volatile position.

I was thinking about war tax resisters who attempt to live in a world of their deepest imaginings. Those who realize that insatiable is not sustainable an who state that war is a racquet and nuclear weapons are insane. Who try to create the world in which we want to live and not allow the devaluing of life. Who realize as was expressed in the last line in the movie Don’t Look Up: “We really had everything, didn’t we?”

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Keep it Simple – Stop Killing first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Keep it Simple – Stop Killing appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Back in 1988, just before the sudden breakup of the Soviet Union, I was fortunate to be part of the American delegation to a peace conference that spent the first week in Moscow. We then took a train to Kyiv and spent two weeks in Ukraine — a few days in Kyiv (which is beautiful – I toured a 1000-year-old Eastern Orthodox cathedral there) and then a cruise down the Dnieper River that divides Ukraine, to the Black Sea and on to Odessa, which is also beautiful. I remember slipping away and saw the barren shelves of an Odessa supermarket, which told the story of the USSR’s tenuous economy that our hosts weren’t telling us as they plied us with vodka…

Change was in the air. Where possible, in Moscow, Kiev, Zaporizhye and Odessa, I slipped off and met with underground draft resisters. They were uniformly hopeful for the future. A man I met in Zaporizhye took me to his home, in the 10th floor of a butt-ugly, Soviet-built concrete apartment tower. After the trip, I was penpals with him for a while, as well as with a group of conference attendees from all sorts of countries who were fellow music aficionados. We bonded at 4 AM one night, slipping past Moscow hotel security guards with pillows to head to a nearly birch forest in the dim, summer solstice light to share songs.

My heart is breaking for all the Ukrainians I met from that trip, and the historic, densely populated cities of Ukraine. I hope they’re safe.

NYC, January 21, 2022. Photo by Ellen Davidson.

There is so much beauty and wonder in the world, and we see all around us that humans are so much smarter than this.

There are experts to listen to and read for perspectives on this war. Follow Democracy Now!’s coverage. As I write, Amy Goodman just read a tweet about antiwar protests in Russia. Arrests were immediate but all honor and kudos to those activists. Once again the fact that the world has not abolished nuclear weapons brings added danger. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has a statement on their website (a topic that reminds me of a Nobel Peace Prize winning president’s empty words — but a chance to reinvigorate work on the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons).

War Resisters’ International has a statement on their website and keeps contact with peace groups in the region, including the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement. I hope they post a link to an online forum they held recently on the current crisis (mentioned in this post).

War tax resisters at No to NATO march. Chicago, May 2012. Photo by Ruth Benn

With its arms sales to and military bases in countries bordering Russia, the U.S. government is not an innocent party in this conflict. I think back to our NWTRCC meeting in Chicago in May 2012 when we joined thousands for a “No to NATO” march and rally. We were right then. We’re right now. Stop funding war. Stop the arms trade. Disband all military networks, especially NATO. Use our resources to confront the real issues we face: hunger, poverty, climate change, jobs, health care.

It’s hard to know what we can do to stop Putin and this invasion, but the least we can do is demand the United States immediately stop the saber-rattling, which only exacerbates the conflict. Which makes today an excellent day to add your name to NWTRCC’s Refuse to Pay for War public sign on statement.

— Post by Ruth Benn

* Geov is based in Seattle and posts interesting stuff on Facebook along with being an active writer and a radio host with Eat the Airwaves on KODX in Seattle.

The post WAR, ENDLESS WAR first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

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Image from Free SVG

In recent decades, the focus on nuclear weapons has largely been on the countries attempting to acquire nuclear weapons and the sanctions imposed upon those countries by the countries that possess nuclear weapons. Now it appears that the oldest and potentially most devastating war in this country’s history, the Cold War, is heating up and bringing the issue of nuclear weapons to the front burner.  The likelihood of nuclear war happening from an accident, misunderstanding or posturing appears to be increasing to a level not seen before; military strategists are questioning if a non-nuclear war is even possible. 

There were two articles side by side last week that attempted to make the case for nuclear war. In one article Jeffery Edmonds, former National Security Council director, states referring to Russia “For them, nuclear weapons are not above this weird glass ceiling the way they are in the United States.”  Underneath was an article titled Years Ago, Kyiv Gave Up A Huge Nuclear Arsenal. Today, There is Regret. The article looks at Ukraine’s inheritance of over 5,000 nuclear warheads with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 that were decommissioned. 

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany suggested that Ukraine might look at  rearming with nuclear weapons, questioning if Ukraine could not join NATO asking “How else can we guarantee our defense?”  The article goes on elevate the opinions of those crafting this brinkmanship “More widely, experts fear that the current crisis could turn Ukraine from an example of arms-control benefits to one of atomic-disarmament risks, and drive the Irans and Saudi Arabias of the world to pursue their own nuclear arms programs.”

Image from Mass Peace Action

The only citizens who have experienced the horrors of nuclear bombing are the Hibakusha, the survivors of the nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who are becoming fewer in number. Many survivors have lived their lives never sharing the trauma that they encountered in witnessing the pain of the worst weaponry unleashed upon humanity. As many Hibakusha are entering the final years of their lives, an increasing number have been sharing in detail to younger Japanese students the horrors they witnessed of people wailing out and jumping to their deaths for first time. They shared their stories secret because of the stigma that they faced in employment, marriage and misinformation about radioactive poisoning and the myth of contagion associated with it.

Japan, the only country to be bombed by another nation, now lies under the ‘nuclear umbrella’ by the very country that unleashed nuclear bombs upon it. Originally the notion of MAD-Mutually Assured Destruction was at the heart of the nuclear armed nations to keep the actual use of the weapons at bay.  The ‘duck and cover’ drills of the past have faded as has much of the horrors of nuclear weapons from public consciousness. 

Image from Flickr from National Cold War Museum in Cosford, England

Sometimes it feels as if our role as war tax resisters is that of counselors,  conspiring with like minds who are willing to see beyond the insanity that a way to ‘resolve conflicts’ is to bomb the earth into oblivion.  Together we hold onto our core beliefs and breath new life into a world coming into existence. Our role as counselor allows us to be with others who are willing to break through fear and center hope of the possibility of the world with less destruction. 

Consider joining us for our counselor’s training on Saturday February 19th 8am-1:45pm Pacific (for more info) to learn new skills to assist others to stop paying into this insanity. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Can We Turn Back the Doomsday Clock? first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

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World Beyond War #NoWar2021 Virtual Conference

World Beyond War is hosting their annual conference beginning on Friday, June 4th. NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice will be presenting on war tax resistance. At this international conference Lincoln will be joined by colleagues at Conscience and Peace Tax International/ Conscience UK as well as Conscience Canada. The session on War Tax Resistance will be held at 18:00 EDT.  You can register for the conference From Weapons Fairs to War Zones: Unraveling the War Machine by following the link. 

Some of the other sessions include How to Shut down a Military Base, Corporate Research for Taking Action Against Wars and Militarism and a panel discussion The Shadow World-Inside the Global Arms Trade. I look forward to hearing from war tax resisters outside of the US as well as other US war tax resisters including Kathy Kelly and Bruce Gagnon.  You can find a full list of the schedule here.

Image of Kathy Kelly by Robert Shetterly with Americans Who Tell the Truth

I recently encountered a detailed report from war tax resister Robert Randall on a presentation from Bruce Gagnon at Conscience and Peace Tax International around 2000. Robert’s report Return of Star Wars refreshed my memory about “Vision 2020, a Space Command document, is clear in stating its intention to continue Western colonialism by protecting US military and commercial interests in space.” I recall reading that document and some by DARPA nearly 20 years ago; how pivotal it was to my life trajectory as well as solidifying my commitment to war tax resistance.  

Yet it was really getting to know other resisters and their motivations and experiences that inspired me. I recall Bruce Gagnon talking about how he learned about the US military plans to put nuclear weapons and power in space when he attended the largest anti-nuke gathering in New York City  and how it guided his strategy with the creation of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. He spoke of trying to cut them off at the pass of not putting nuclear weapons in space.

Image of Bruce Gagnon by Robert Shetterly with Americans Who Tell the Truth

It seems as though we are at a similar crossroads in terms of creating a more peaceful world and preventing a new generation of nuclear weapons. Recently the US has spoken about investing $634 Billion in US taxpayer monies to the Department of Energy nuclear weapons laboratories and production facilities over the next 10 years. “In addition to the modernizing the nuclear weapons warheads, which is done under the purview of the Energy Department, the Defense Department is planning to replace each of the three “legs” of the nuclear triad- the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, the Air Force long-range nuclear bombers, and the Minutemen 3 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs.” 

We are learning new ways to resist militarism that has been encroaching more within our communities. We are adapting together and learning from each other in ways to resist and hopefully allowing the stories we learn from each other to move us in such ways to transform the trajectories of our life and therefore the course of history. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post A New Path: Dare, Risk and Dream first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post A New Path: Dare, Risk and Dream appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Saturday featured two panels. The first was a “Panel on the New Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons & Paths Forward for Resistance,” featuring Mari Inoue (attorney and cofounder of the Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World), Dr. Linda Richards (historian of science and a grassroots activist since the 1986 Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament who represented the WILPF Disarm Committee in international meetings), and Jack Cohen Joppa (cofounder of the Nuclear Resister newsletter in 1980, which continues to provide information and support for imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists).

The second was a “Panel on Organizing with Younger War Tax Resisters,” featuring Lindsey Britt (Vermont), Jerry Maynard (Texas) and Allison McGillivray (Oregon). The younger war tax resisters shared stories about how they each came to WTR and their suggestions for spreading WTR among younger activists. Both panels featured a lively, Q&A which is included on the YouTube recordings. Saturday concluded with concurrent WTR 101 & 201 sessions.

The Sunday business meeting began with reports from both NWTRCC consultants (Coordinator & Outreach consultant), a review of our objectives, and a financial update (which included news about our upcoming charity auction and push for more church donations [www.nwtrcc.org/church]).

Next, we unanimously approved the nominations of Lindsey Britt and Erica Leigh to begin serving three-year terms on NWTRCC’s Administrative Committee. (A huge thank you to both DeCourcy Squire and Sam Leuschner, who finished their three year terms!)

There were two proposals on our agenda. The first was an update to our statement of purpose, which simplified our previous statement and made it more succinct. We reached consensus on adopting the new statement, which can be found here: https://nwtrcc.org/about-nwtrcc/statement-of-purpose/

The second proposal was to choose a new logo from among three options. No consensus was reached on this item. If you have any ideas for a new NWTRCC logo, please contact the NWTRCC office. Minutes from NWTRCC’s business meeting will be posted in the near future at https://nwtrcc.org/nwtrcc-business/.

Overall, it was wonderful conference that featured attendees from Alaska, Hawaii, both Portlands, and everywhere in between. It was also great to host such great panels with panelists from all over the country. It would be better meeting in person, but I am glad we were able to make the best of what technology has to offer.

~Lincoln Rice

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Book published by Global Association for Banning Depleted Uranium Weapons

I was reminded that with the 30th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Iraq recently. The anniversary did not register for me at the time of the bombing. I was still in elementary school and my exposure to the war was having a classmate’s sister who was in the Army visit our school as if for show and tell equipped with MREs; later we would be assigned soldier pen pals. I was unaware that there were people throughout the world expressing their opposition to the war following in a long tradition of conscientious objection. It would be the next intensified bombing campaign of that war with Operation Desert Fox in December of 1998 that I would meet these life long committed pacifists.

I was inspired by the stories of the people of Iraq shared by a member of the Catholic Worker who had traveled to Iraq that was followed by an action in the White House calling for the end of the bombing and economic sanctions. It was as if a whole new way of life opened up and I moved into the community that largely hospitality to veterans—some of whom struggled with mental health and substance use issues.  As I was wrapping up my formal studies my awareness of war in its multitude of forms and wide ranging effects expanded. 

Roots Action Vieques Flyer

The line between conventional and nuclear weapons began to blur when the U.S. began using guided bombs and missiles containing depleted uranium (DU)—a waste product from nuclear reactors—in Iraq in 1991. An article, How the U.S. Made Dropping Radioactive Bombs Routine states: “Within one or two years, grotesque birth defects spiraled—such as babies with two heads. Or missing eyes, hands and legs. Or stomachs and brains inside out.”  Soon the U.S. began expanding not only the weapons from DU to undepleted and slightly enriched uranium weapons, but also the scope of countries in which these weapons were used: Kosovo, Afghanistan and Vieques in Puerto Rico. The navy had begun bombing the U.S. territory in 1941 and had dumped so many contaminants on the island that they were unable to detect the origins of the island inhabitants’ sickness. One resident stated, “People aren’t hearing the bombing everyday but the consequences are felt.”

That statement could be said of any of the places that the U.S. has engaged in military operations or the close to 900 military bases the world over as well as within the U.S. The testing of nuclear bombs continues to poison the original inhabitants of this land. From 1944 until 1986, 30 million tons of uranium ore was extracted on Navajo lands. At present, there are more than 520 abandoned uranium mines, which for the Diné represents both their nuclear past as well as their radioactive present in the form of elevated levels of radiation in nearby homes and water sources. 

Sole of a Shoe on the Highway of Death in Iraq. Photo by Christiaan Biggs from Wikimedia Commons.

There has been growing concern in the Diné and other indigenous communities not only of the loss of the lives of revered elders, but also their role as holders of traditional knowledge. The people of Japan shared similar concerns and have created a 3-year denshona program to be the official memory keeper of a Hibakusha to learn and keep their tale of atomic nuclear bomb survival alive. 

The amorphous war that was in the background of my upbringing of nuclear weapons and the bombings of Iraq came together when visiting the al-Amiriyah nuclear bomb shelter in Baghdad prior to the Shock and Awe campaign. Our delegation visited the site where women and children would gather at night to sleep, eat, and watch TV, but on the night of  February 13, 1991 took the lives of over 400 people. I was chilled to my bones upon seeing what had once been a living, breathing, laughing, crying human incinerated by the heat of the “smart bomb” upon the wall. It was reminiscent of the images of Hiroshima.

Amiriyah-Shelter photo by Shane Claiborne

I am grateful that the only strategic arms control agreement, the New Start, has been renewed. I imagine that many of you were involved in nuclear disarmament over the years and maybe it was that issue that furthered your commitment to refuse to pay for the mechanisms of war. Or it may have been one of many other issues of U.S. warmaking at home and abroad. It seems important to recall what inspired us to go against this nationalistic religion of warmaking as we claim and share our stories. I would love to hear your story of what got you involved in war resistance and refusing to pay for it and how you are still working on decolonization. Maybe you would be willing to share your story for tax day this year?

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post A ‘War Story’ and a ‘New Start’: How I learned to Oppose War and Stop Paying for the Bomb first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post A ‘War Story’ and a ‘New Start’: How I learned to Oppose War and Stop Paying for the Bomb appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

My own journey towards justice began in Georgia and the grassroots organizing efforts of the School of the America Watch. Founder Fr. Roy Bourgeois’s words often come to mind that most  of the problems of the world boil down to “men with guns.”  It was at this place that I first met people who refused to pay for the plethora of weapons at the heart of the U.S. Empire. I picked up Why and How to Refuse to Pay for War as well as other NWTRCC resources. It was in Georgia where I was first exposed to the interconnections of the U.S. empire and the community committed to anti-militarism and anti-oppression work. 

It was some decades into my war tax resistance that I met longterm resister Robert Randall who informed me that he was from Brunswick, Georgia “where nothing ever happens.” The  King’s Bay Plowshares trial last November brought me to Brunswick where Robert was helping coordinate the Festival of Hope to celebrate the work of disarmament. Throughout their testimonies, the activists spoke about drawing inspiration from those working against systems of oppression around what Dr. Martin King Jr. named the “triplets” of  militarism, racism, and excessive materialism. They brought their concern for life on this planet to the shores of Georgia where some of the Trident nuclear submarines are housed and have the potential to  destroy the Earth many times over. Their message was simple: “The ultimate logic of trident is Omnicide.”

Many point to the dawn of the nuclear age—the splitting of the atom—as the beginning of the unraveling of this country and a turning point for humanity. It has been difficult to envision the extent of the destruction that these weapons can cause as well as the death they are currently bringing about in the contamination of the lands, waters, and the beings inhabiting them. The trial those who had acted at the King’s Bay facility testified to the insanity of nuclear weapons and how the mere existence of these weapons are an act of and tool of terrorism.

I found myself reflecting on my own and our collective journey in this country as I studied “The Baptism of Pocahontas” in the hall outside the Glynn County courtroom. The painting displayed both white supremacy and forced christianity that would plague this country. The scene from 1613 Jamestown, Virginia was a precursor to crimes against the forced transport of the enslaved to this very place a few years later. Over the years, those in power repeated a narrative about this country’s history and created institutions rooted in these false stories.  

A few weeks after departing Georgia, 2 white men with guns felt validated in gunning down Ahmaud Arbery. It was months later before video was released and still longer before the men were arrested in the racially motivated murder.  

After months of delays due to the pandemic, some members of the King’s Bay Plowshares were sentenced remotely this past November and some have begun their many months in prison. During the same days they were testifying of their love of humanity that motivated them to take action that risked prison time, the courts were hearing a request from the father and son who killed Mr. Arbery to be released from detention prior to their trial. 

The killers of Mr. Arbery were to remain at the Glynn County jail where Fr. Steve Kelly has been held since the day of the plowshares action on April 4, 2018, 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At his trial, Fr. Kelly did not testify, in line with his conviction to not participate in the system which has often led to solitary confinement. I have wondered if he has had any conversations with the men who gunned down Ahmaud, who found refuge from the stress of life as a Black man by running past Robert Randall’s house in Brunswick, Georgia. I wonder what epiphanies could be discovered if they were able to listen to each other? Would they be transformed if instead of trying to defend their beliefs they simply shared stories of their life journies? 

The Mutually Assured Destruction era is coming to a close. On January 22nd people throughout the world will be recognizing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Entry Into Force Action Day as a result of over 50 countries as signatories.  While many reasons for the elimination of nuclear weapons can and have been made, it appears that one day’s events can sum up the insanity of one person having access to thousands of nuclear weapons.  The events on January 6 led to the president being banned from social media to curtail harm, yet he still has the nuclear launch codes.

White domestic terrorists invading the U.S. capital spurred by a defeated president who can not imagine not being in the limelight should not overshadow the organizing work that had been happening on the ground in Georgia for years mostly by Black women. Their work has propelled Reverend Raphael Warnock, who inherited Dr. Martin Luther King’s church and will bring the collective vision of the Beloved Community to the halls of power in D.C.  I hope those whose eyes were opened by the violence built into the fabric of this country will be able to listen to those whose voices have been too long in coming to the table. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Georgia Still On My Mind first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Georgia Still On My Mind appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.