Among the slogans projected above the stage at the concert.

Pink Floyd was not a group I followed lo these many years, although a few of their songs are familiar. Ed made a CD mix of music to accompany our trips to view total eclipses of the sun, so of course Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” made the cut. “Money” was a hit single in the U.S. back in the 70s so it did get into my memory bank, although I didn’t give it enough of a listen to respond with a comment like this one on the song’s YouTube page:

Kids thinking of joining the military: Take a copy of the Wall Street Journal, any high tech weapons trade magazines, and this song playing through your earbuds. Sitting in the closest legal parking area, facing Raytheon Technologies, Northrup Grumman, Beretta, Westinghouse, etc business parks, factories, airplane hangars… check out the prices of these bad boys’ stocks. …Tell me we went to ‘war’ (against) Afghanistan, Iraq, dozens of known & unnamed countries & entire regions to ‘defend our country’, to ‘keep us free’….

Now it’s thanks to Veterans For Peace (VFP) that I’ve had a full introduction through Roger Waters’ “This Is Not A Drill” concert tour. He’s had a solo career for years, but does a lot of Pink Floyd songs and throws some history of the group into this otherwise massively political show. VFP was invited to have a literature table and received a block of tickets to various shows around the country. Happily for Ed and me, our VFP friends here in NYC allowed us to join them for a Madison Square Garden concert. And kudos to Roger Waters for giving them and other activists this outreach opportunity.

You can find all kinds of video and reviews of This Is Not A Drill on the internet, like this pretty thorough review from the Boston concert mentioning his support of VFP. This review from The Times of Israel is interesting because Waters support of Palestinians inspires protests from some pro-Israel activists.

If you have seen or read about the concert you’ll find a lot to agree with, although if you don’t see the concert live you do miss out on the technological spectacle that goes along with it. What war tax resister would not appreciate seeing the huge projected images of Reagan and all following presidents tagged with “War Criminal” for the thousands that were killed on their orders during their respective administrations, with Biden “War Criminal just getting started”.

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

I might not agree with everything Waters says, but I was especially impressed with his adamant speech about the insanity of nuclear weapons as he introduced the first encore, “Two Suns in the Sunset.” With his platform, he informs thousands about the Doomsday Clock, now set frighteningly at 100 seconds to midnight. Included on the YouTube page with a solo version of “Two Suns in the Sunset”, he says:

That we allow Nuclear Weapons to exist in a world controlled by deranged sociopaths is, in itself, a deranged arrangement.
We are many they are few.
We could just say no, to the whole MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) insanity.
It makes zero sense and is potentially omnicidal.

While Waters sings “Two Suns in the Sunset” a video projects images of nuclear destruction. Members of the New York City government and Emergency Management Office need tickets to a Waters concert. In July 2022 they released a public service announcement telling us how to survive a nuclear attack. The PSA has gotten thousands of views, mostly because it has been mocked from start to finish. The New York Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons posted a “correction” video in response.

Waters says, “We are many they are few”. There are thousands attending This Is Not A Drill concerts. How many of them turn their cheers for his plea against nuclear weapons into action? Somehow this reminds me of a headline in The Onion years ago to the effect of “If one more person had come to the demonstration, the war would have ended.” Perhaps if one more person openly resisted war taxes….

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post This Is Not A Drill first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post This Is Not A Drill 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.

Photos by Sue Barnhart

We drove our Prius from Eugene, Oregon to these outstanding national treasures. We passed through some unbelievably scenic countryside and I often thought about how many more of the wonders of our country could be protected and restored if we weren’t supporting wars.

As most of you know, our country spends more on war than any other country in the world. In fact, our military budget is larger than the combination of the next seven largest military budgets! I began resisting paying taxes back in the 70’s when I learned it was possible to do, because I was against killing people. I’m still resisting for that reason, and also because I want my tax dollars to go to life affirming projects, not to war.

Climate and the U.S. Military

Everyday we hiked lovely trails, and often saw wildlife and plants that are threatened with extinction. In fact, we are all threatened with extinction and the U.S. military is the biggest carbon emitter in the world. So in my mind, they one of the biggest contributors to our extinction in two ways: (1) by always being involved in wars which threaten our extinction by nuclear bombs and (2) being the biggest contributor to the climate catastrophe.

Lowering the U.S. military budget would go a long way in lowering carbon emissions from our country. Giving more money to our national parks, reserves, and monuments and less to the military could be used to protect more trees and plants. And that in turn would help to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slow the effects of global warming.

The Army & Yellowstone

We learned while we were at Yellowstone that the park was established in 1872. In its early years the 2.2 million acres of park was managed by just a handful of people. The government allocated very little resources to protect the park and it was hard to stop the defacing of the geysers, the chopping down of trees, and the poaching of the animals. Many acres were destroyed by fires intentionally set by settlers annoyed that the park was established.

In 1886, the U.S. Army was tasked with managing Yellowstone National Park until 1916 when the National Park Service was established. The troops withdrew from the park by 1918. The military administration of Yellowstone was a model for the management of Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. If you look at  the park rangers uniforms today, they are similar to the uniforms the Army wore at that time.

Eventually hundreds of officers and enlisted men were stationed at Yellowstone. After a first winter in tents, the Army built some beautiful buildings still used today including a post office, a courthouse, some houses, barracks used for more housing, a museum, and administrative buildings. The Army Corps of Engineers built many of the roads and bridges that were still in use until they were flooded and destroyed a few weeks after we left the park.

We were able to drive on all those bridges and roads, enjoying the beautiful nature of the park, and they will take years to replace. The flooding was another example of our climate catastrophe–lots of snow extremely late in the season that melted during unusually high amounts of rain.

Photos by Sue Barnhart who stated “We saw many animals- baby bison and bears, coyote, wolf and fox cubs”

Let’s Preserve Life

If only the funds and personnel in the Defense Department could be transferred to preserving life instead of destroying life. Funds could be used to maintain trails and build more trails. Many of the trails we were on needed maintenance. Money could be put towards building an outhouse in front of each trailhead. It could be used to restore buildings that were built by people out of work during the Great Depression who found work in the Civil Conservation Corps. 

Money could also be used to hire more rangers and biologists to study climate change and the threatened extinction of so many animals and plants and to work toward preserving them. It could be used to purchase electric buses to transport tourists so that there would be less cars on the park road and less congestion. More informational displays could be built. More National Parks could be created. The National Parks budget gets cut every year, while the military’s budget  gets more funds than it asks for.

I’ll keep resisting taxes for war until none of our tax dollars go towards war. And I’ll keep dreaming of what those tax dollars could be going towards if they were not paying for war.

Post by Sue Barnhart

The post Let Us Imagine Investing in Preserving Our Natural Wonders first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Let Us Imagine Investing in Preserving Our Natural Wonders appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Tax Day April 18, 2022, NYC. Photo by Ed Hedemann

War tax resistance is a quarterly, paycheck-to-paycheck or even daily act of resistance to war, depending on your method, but it can be quite solitary. If nothing else, the annual tax day (thanks, IRS!) gives us a chance to act together.

This year our NYC WRL group decided to vigil at the IRS, which is in lower Manhattan, and add a short march down Broadway to Wall Street to take our protest to the corporate war profiteers. Then a friend with a foot in the antiwar movement and NYC Extinction Rebellion helped connect the peace movement tax day action to XR’s Spring Uprising week of actions.

XR tripod-sitter blocking road in NYC financial district. Tax day 2022. Photo by Ed Hedemann

It was a lively affair this year, with a performance by a new street theatre group, Rising Together Guerilla Theater, and the louder demanding voices of more youthful XR activists leading the march chants. NYC WRL activist Mike Levinson spoke well for war tax resistance. The march ended at the Charging Bull statue where XR’s activists were blocking the road with tripods featuring “NO WAR” and “NO WARMING” banners.

Hopefully this will be the start of building an ongoing coalition that more strongly connects the crises of war and climate change.

But that coalition is still too limited. A week before our tax day march, the Poor People’s Campaign held a march on Wall Street as part of their Mobilization Tour for the Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 18, 2022.

Poor People’s Campaign march on Wall Street, April 11, 2022. Photo by Ed Hedemann

Many usual suspects from local peace groups were in the crowd, and the Rising Together Guerilla Theater did a trial run of their skits before the PPC rally started. But we are still working too separately on compatible but parallel paths at times.

Perhaps the fact that organizers of these two marches both chose Wall Street as a destination for protest is a sign that we are destined to pull together more closely and go after the corporations that steal from the poor and fuel war to increase their profits.

— Ruth Benn

Activist Hideko Otake is a prolific chronicler of all kinds of protests in NYC. She has photos and video from tax day and also from the Poor People’s Campaign rally and march.

The post No War, No Warming: Fund Our Future first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post No War, No Warming: Fund Our Future 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.

Blue Angels Flying in San Francisco (2019). Photo by Jonathan Saleh on Unsplash.

You were deafened. The sound was intolerable; it violated your sense of decency, your love of quiet, and your yearning for solitude. Why, on the top of this rather small green hill in southeast Vermont, was there this unholy din? It was drowning out the songs of scarlet tanagers and dark-eyed juncos, the scurrying of chipmunks, and the impressive (and gravity defying) hum of insect wings in flight. As the volume crescendoed it crushed your thoughts until all that was left was the urge to scream “Shut up!” You imagined this is what a tornado sounded like before it touched down and that the vortex of sound might suddenly pick you up. You’d be launched swirling up- wards, completely consumed by the sound.

Even though it felt and sounded like the two circling jets were right on top of you they were in fact probably thousands of feet above the granite boulder where you were sitting in the midst of green and copper colored shrubbery. Against a blue backdrop they were putting on a show— swooping, diving, chasing—you hadn’t paid to see. Except, well, you’d paid taxes for years, so this interruption to the day (and to peace and to the climate) was your fault in some small, but ongoing, way. You undeniably had a hand in this effrontery.

Scarlet Tanager in a Tree. Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash.

A hiker told you the jets were coming by every morning for weeks. It was better, he said, to come later in the day. You couldn’t focus on what he was saying, because all the space in your mind where listening could take place was filled with sound and consumed by outrage, frustration, and indignation at the illogic of the scene. You tried to catch glimpses of the jets, but, because they were so fast and small against the expanse of sky, it was almost impossible to do except for the briefest of moments; it left you with the disorienting feeling they were everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Eventually the planes sped off to the west to torment other unsuspecting hikers. As soon as they left you saw three birds of prey crest the hilltop. Swooping, diving, chasing. Though thousands of feet closer to you than their mechanical imitators had been, you couldn’t hear their show, but you could feel their celebration at the air being theirs again and the contrast was mesmerizing.

— Post by Lindsey Britt

Lindsey Britt is the founder of Taxes for Peace New England and is currently serving a term on NWTRCC’s Administrative Committee, Lindsey is also a baker, an organizer of people and things, and an amateur ethicist. Her work has been published in Waging Nonviolence and The Commons. She lives in Vermont.

The post In Flight first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post In Flight appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Within the last week, many of the departments of defense and intelligence have released statements about what they are doing to respond to the climate crisis. The reports they have shared state how they are addressing the issue for the first time yet they have been saying this for some years. Some 20 years ago, Donald Rumsfeld issued a statement about “Full Spectrum Dominance,” detailing how the U.S. was planning to extend their military domination of air, land, and sea into space with the creation of  a “Space Force,” a new branch of the military. All of this was detailed in a document, Joint Vision 2020, which also laid out some of the threats of the climate crisis including forced migration and conflicts over food and water.

Despite this earlier document crafted 20-plus years ago, the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security and Defense, the Department of Defense, and the Office of Director of National Intelligence said it was the first time they have collectively communicated the climate risks they face when they issued their separate reports. According to the New York Times, the documents contain three key judgments: Global tensions will rise as countries argue about how to accelerate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will exacerbate cross-border flash points and amplify strategic competition in the Arctic, and the effects of climate change will be felt most acutely in developing countries that are least equipped to adapt.

Sr Megan Rice at a 2011 NWTRCC gathering at construction of Kansas City National Security Campus.

The same day that they issued their reports, top financial regulators reported for the first time how climate change was resulting in increased wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding that threaten the U.S. economy with significant changes in the way that real estate and other assets are valued. According to the New York Times “as of Oct. 8, there have been 18 ‘weather/climate disaster events’ in 2021 costing more than $1 billion each, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” That NOAA was linked to the defense department reports may help illuminate a quandary of why a new NOAA facility was built next to the new nuclear weapons manufacturing facility, or as it is sometimes referred to as the Kansas City National Security Campus run by Honeywell.

The front page article in the New York Times detailed regarding the military and the climate crisis. Their research weaved a narrative of despair, perpetuating a notion of inevitability which will only lead to more destruction which we know happens largely as a result of the military. I am grateful to see people pushing back against that narrative especially those who are in who Europe currently strengthening alliances with other activists as they make their way to Glasgow. Some of the campaigns that they have been uniting on are anti-fossil fuel industries and anti-NATO war game exercises that include nuclear weapons and drones.

Photo by Susan Miller, Kansas City bomb plant (2011).

Direct action, hunger strikes, civil disobedience and withdrawing funding are all viable tactics that are being employed worldwide. Extinction Rebellion states, “Organizing is the antidote to despair. Fight for what you Love.”  Join NWTRCC next weekend as we explore collaborations in tax resistance with our European allies and find ways to explore how to support each other in addressing these times.

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post On the Brink first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post On the Brink appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Over the past year, the Extinction Rebellion has experimented with withholding taxes as a way to exert pressure on governments to implement changes to address the climate crisis. The Antimilitarist Tortuga Grup has been in existence since 1999 and has been advocating for people to utilize the personal income tax declaration to expose the immorality of war and withhold 1 Euro to protest spending on the military. It is reminiscent of some war tax resisters in the U.S. stating that it would be more powerful for 1,000 people to resist $1 than one individual resisting $1,000 for military spending.

Henry David Thoreau expressed a similar sentiment in On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, “If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood.”  Thoreau wrote the pamphlet after giving an impassioned speech in 1848 motivated by his disgust of slavery and U.S. imperialism, especially related to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).

Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas

Image of Fort Jefferson by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

In 1846, the U.S. military embarked upon building the largest fort in the Western Hemisphere, Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas. The outpost on Garden Key, west of Key West, Florida, was under construction for over 30 years and was never completed. Enslaved people, Irish indentured servants, and soldiers laid over 16 million bricks of walls 8 feet deep and surrounded by a moat. The outpost in the Gulf of Mexico held prisoners of war and war resisters during the U.S. Civil War. The most famous person to reside on the island was Dr. Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth and later was pardoned after saving many lives during the pandemic of the day.

Moat surrounding Fort Jefferson

The seemingly remoteness of the island served as a pivotal point of access for the early colonizers of the Americas with Ponce de Leon’s arrival in 1513. The abundance of tortugas, or sea turtles, allowed for many voyages across the sea with the turtles kept alive on the ship providing sustenance to the crews. The fort was established to protect and safeguard U.S. shipping routes and defend the Gulf of Mexico. 

After the Civil War, construction continued at Fort Jefferson, but hurricanes and yellow fever finally led to a halt in pouring more resources into the structure. In 1888, it was a national quarantine station for many years as well as a coaling station. In 1908, it was designated a wildlife refuge and became Dry Tortugas National Park in the early 1990s. Unlike many former military bases that become SuperFund sites, the keys around Fort Jefferson are abundant with life including dolphins, man of wars, stingrays, and tortugas. It also hosts the last known living coral reefs in the U.S. 

The Beauty of Turtle Island

There have been many paths that have brought people to Turtle Island, as it is known by the people indigenous to these lands.  Some came here out of economic necessity, some to avoid wars, and some against their will. While it is often difficult to acknowledge all of the harm caused on these living lands and our culpability in these harms, it is in seeing the beauty that abounds that we can truly claim these lands and our role in mitigating further harm.

Photo of Tortugas by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

It is difficult to look upon any military structure, and this one in particular, and not wonder and lament what could have been created from all of these resources and human labor that could benefit authentic human needs and ensuring a livable planet. I think of war tax resisters as the brick layers of a brighter future. One brick at a time.

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

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

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

The cessation of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan has brought to light the obvious futility of war as Ruth Benn wrote last week.  We are all responsible for the harm done as U.S. taxpayers. The tension that has been brewing for 20 years has shifted from “boots on the ground” to drones in the air, U.S. military evacuations to economic sanctions in a matter of days. 

While there are many reasons I have not signed up for a job that has as a requirement of training to kill or maim others, I would be deceiving myself if I did not  acknowledge the role that we all have had in the harm done by the United States the world over. Perhaps we can learn to relate to the moral injury caused by our war on terrorism as it expands and scorches our collective home, Earth.

World War III Countryballs from Wikimedia Commons

While there are many reasons to engage in War Tax Resistance, for me it  weaves both the personal and collective together to bind what is disconnected. While I can acknowledge that I still am complicit in the harms committed in my name; while it may seem like a drop in  the bucket, I refuse to freely put into the pot that which goes against life. It is also an act of empowerment to remember that the majority of people share in this desire to invest our resources into that which supports life. NWTRCC will again be sharing an INTRODUCTION TO WAR TAX RESISTANCE (WTR 101) ONLINE on Tuesday September 21st at 8:30 Eastern and 5:30 Pacific  as part of Campaign Nonviolence’s National Week of Action. 

It has been some years since Pope Francis was speaking at a World War I memorial stating that World War III had begun “spread out in small pockets everywhere… fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres and destruction.” He continued: “these plotters of terrorism, these schemers of conflicts just like arms dealers, have engraved in their hearts, ‘What does it matter to me?’”

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

The climate emergency and the new generation of nuclear weapons puts Albert Einstein’s quote  “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones,” in perspective. When I approached the CEO of Boeing’s weapons production that has been producing the “smart bombs” which had been raining down upon the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and told him of a tale of the devastation that one of the bombs caused a whole community, he replied, “I sleep well at night.”

It seems important to remind one another that as we observe those who pass through the revolving door of politicians, lobbyists, military officials that though they may be a loud, they are still the minority. If the main language they speak is money then we need to stop paying them. As we collectively take stock of the role of the U.S. military, we need to point out the reality that the majority of people are sick of war. We can choose to stop paying for it and  encourage others to do the same. 

Mark Twain brought to light the questioning of war in the Mysterious Stranger over a century ago:

There has never been a just [war], never an honorable one—on the part of the instigator of the war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never change in so many as half a dozen instances. The loud little handful–as usual–will shout for the war. The pulpit will–warily and cautiously–object–at first; the great, big, dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, “It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it.” Then the handful will shout louder. A few fair men on the other side will argue and reason against the war with speech and pen, and at first will have a hearing and be applauded; but it will not last long; those others will outshout them, and presently the anti-war audiences will thin out and lose popularity. Before long you will see this curious thing: the speakers stoned from the platform, and free speech strangled by hordes of furious men who in their secret hearts are still at one with those stoned speakers–as earlier–but do not dare say so. And now the whole nation–pulpit and all–will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open. Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Moral Injury – It’s Not Just For Soldiers first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Moral Injury – It’s Not Just For Soldiers appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Addressing the Harms in Our Neighborhoods

Long time war tax resister Robert Randall  introduced me to his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia by saying it was mostly known as a port town for automobile transportation; quickly followed by saying “not much happens there.”  On April 4, 2018, 7 people entered the King’s Bay naval submarine base, home to one of the largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the U.S., as part of a Plowshares nuclear disarmament action down the shore from Robert’s home. In September 2019, the Golden Ray cargo ship full of 4,200 cars keeled over outside of Brunswick after it was loaded improperly and was lacking in water in the ballast to balance the ship.

Image of Golden Ray from Wikimedia Commons

It would have been difficult to appreciate the tragedy of the capsized ship without seeing the tar balls and oil come ashore while visiting the beach during the King’s Bay trial a month later; the warnings to not go in the water. It also would have been difficult to appreciate the beauty existing on the wide, tree-lined streets where Ahmaud Arbery was tragically gunned down while running in his neighborhood in February of 2020 if not having traveled to Brunswick. It may have been easier to only see tragedy. 

Alarm Bells Going Off

Last week a report came out with details of what  transpired on the Golden Ray with the captain of the ship stating “The only thing that worked on that ship after the capsizing were alarms.”  Then there were alarms that went off when some of the sections of the ship that still contain cars and oil began spreading into the sea. Those responsible for the removal of the ship said that there was no reason for concern. This was after part of the ship had been engulfed with flames at sea when it was suspected that a torch had come into contact with some of the oil while cutting the ship into sections for removal almost two years after it fell to its side. Month earlier there was another warning The ship, with its belly full of oil and other pollutants, is now about to weather a third hurricane season that lasts until November.  

Robert recently shared a petition “Polluters Pay Tax” to address the 4 Super Fund sited in Glynn County where he resides. Just as we all have aspects of the military industrial complex in our backyards, we also inherit the messes they inevitably cause. Some of the impetus of the petition can be summed up:  “Your taxes, my taxes, are going to pay for Exxon’s excesses… We are essentially footing the bill for the cleanup of the messes that these trillion-dollar corporations helped create.”

Part II

Earth-Water-Fire image by Pixabay

Waters on Fire

Yesterday, Jessica Reznicek reported to prison to begin her 8-year sentence. She had been facing 110 years for her attempts to protect water from the harm caused by oil extraction.  The title of an article sums up the hierocracy:  “Climate activist gets eight-year sentence while Capital rioters, Big Oil execs go free.”  She was able to self report even though the judge had deemed her a domestic terrorist. At her sentencing she spoke of her love of rivers around her and her concern not only of the health of the rivers but the dwindling water supply around her home in Des Moines. 

The day of her sentencing there was a fire in the Gulf of Mexico after an underwater pipeline caught on fire even though the oil company said there was no spill or damage done. The New York Times reported “The footage is pretty alarming: It looks like the gates of hell are opening up… As long as we’re drilling for oil and natural gas, these kinds of accidents, unfortunately, are going to continue to occur.” 

Oil Water Don’t Mix

Image of Water and Oil from Stockvault

A widespread, global movement has been gaining momentum to take a proactive stance against creating new superfund sites especially related to pipeline construction. The No DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) movement that emerged largely at Standing Rock Reservation in 2016 also had other sites of opposition including the Mississippi Stand in Iowa near the Missouri border.

The encampment was started when Jessica Reznicek started a solo encampment when she learned of the plans to burrow a pipeline under the largest waterway in North America to transport a material extracted from the Earth and potentially contaminate the most necessary element for life on Earth.   

The Mississippi Stand caravan employed various tactics in their direct action campaign including climbing into the DAPL pipeline and shutting down construction for 17 hours as well as going to places where the pipeline was crossing waterways. They had hoped to bleed the corporations through monkeywrenching tactics that would stop the profit motive of the extractive industries. 

Our Inheritances; Paying Our Dues

Jessica and Ruby Montoya openly took responsibility for actions that began on election night 2016 and continued into the summer of 2017 on the DAPL pipeline throughout Iowa despite not facing charges. They were inspired by the Plowshares movement who have been taking actions to prevent nuclear holocaust and only faced charges after holding a press conference at the Iowa Utilities Board taking responsibility for their destruction of property. For that they face years in prison followed by probation and a debt of $3.2 million in fines to Energy Transfer Limited Liability Company that operates many pipelines throughout the U.S. Rolling Stone and Grist collaborated on an extensive article about the actions that you can find here. 

Image from Upslash.

Prior to reporting to prison, Reznicek shared her feelings about going to prison and noted “I was indicted on malicious use of fire while the whole world is burning.”  She stated that her greatest fear was the potential of losing loved elders and mentors. She was wearing a shirt that said Love > Fear. At Claire Grady’s trial for the Kings Bay Plowshares action, her message was Love More, Fear Less. We joked of making t-shirts with that message. Claire was released from prison on the 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. 

At the beginning of the week, between the time of Claire’s release and Jessica’s entrance to prison, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a comprehensive study. Secretary General Antonio Guterres of the United Nations stated it was a Code Red for Humanity and the window for change is closing fast. Others found in the study that it gave Humanity a Clear Directive to Act Boldly and Urgently.

Fortunately we do not have to travel to find places to act; we can catch inspiration from war tax refusers like Jessica and Claire who have been taking bold actions for years. We can support these actions by sharing their stories, signing a petition that challenges terrorist charges meant to intimidate and gathering with others to share in devising more bold actions. We can allow our love for all around us to overcome our fear. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Righting the Ship first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Righting the Ship 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

The post Report from NWTRCC’s Third Online Conference first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Report from NWTRCC’s Third Online Conference appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Photo taken by Sue Barnhart with Michael along one of her favorite trails near Eugene OR

We woke up to black smoky air the day after Labor Day 2020.  It was challenging to breathe outside, even with a N95 mask. We could not see the sun. The air quality index was over 500, in the extremely hazardous range. Our beautiful Oregon was burning up. The trails we love hiking and the places we love camping in and many families’ homes were burning. All over the state fires were burning out of control, including along a major highway following the McKenzie River, only 10 miles from Eugene, Oregon, where I live. In some cases folks had less than a 15-minute warning to abandon their homes.

Photo of forest trail by Sue Barnhart

Up until the wildfires happened, though we were in the COVID shutdown, we were able to enjoy hanging out in our yard and taking walks. Suddenly we were confined to our homes. We had to keep all the windows and doors shut and were sharing air filters with friends to keep the air quality livable inside our homes. People without homes were not as lucky as us. Due to the pandemic they weren’t allowed inside public buildings to breathe fresh air, and though a few shelters were open, there was not enough room for everyone who needed shelter from the bad air. We were all scared and glued to the news. We learned the fires might keep burning until the fall rains and winter snow started, and due to global warming the rains might not start for months.

We all packed go bags and had them near our doors or in our cars. We took pictures of family pictures, because there isn’t much room in a car for all the things you might want to save if the fires continued to spread. And we wondered, if we had to evacuate, where would we go? There were traffic jams everywhere as people fled the poor air quality.

We thought of escaping to the coast, where the ocean breeze normally keeps the air clean, but a fire on the coast meant that the air quality wasn’t much better there. Friends who were camping there had to leave.

View from highway by Oregon Department of Transportation on Flickr

One friend who lives in the forest woke up to his house surrounded by flames. Knowing he was on an evacuation alert, he had put things near the door that he planned to take if the fire came close to his house. Sure enough, as he slept the winds whipped up the fires. All he was able to do was rush out the door past his collected belongings, jump in his car and drive through raging bright orange and yellow flames and large darting embers from both sides of the road. He made it out.  One of the lucky ones,  eleven others did not.

Low humidity and unusually high winds from the east fanned fires already started by lightning, campfires and electrical wires blown down by the winds. But the major culprit in this historic wildfire season on the west coast was climate change.

The summer of 2020, an extremely hot, dry one, was precipitated by decades of drought caused by rising world temperatures. The result was massive, sobering destruction in rural Oregon.  And what might be the world’s largest emitter of CO2 and therefore the largest driver of climate change? The US military.

Though firefighters worked bravely to put out fires in our beautiful forests and proud rural communities, a bloated military budget funneled off tax money that could have been better spent to hire more firefighters. Many small town fire departments are run by volunteers. Firefighters stationed in every town who are paid a living wage would be a much better use of our taxes.

Eugene, Oregon Tax Day Actions 2021

Now the fires are out and eventually the forests will recover, but many magical hiking trails and camping areas have been destroyed.  4,000 homes were lost in the fires last fall, and Oregon’s homeless population, which is already very large, grew by the thousands. Whole towns burned down all over western Oregon.

Debris from Oregon wildfire 2020 image from Flickr

Federal and state funds to help people rebuild or relocate are stretched thin. Wouldn’t funds to help all people have a home be a better use of our tax dollars than more funds to the military? But just today I learned that Biden is asking for more than a  6% increase to the military budget.

Spring has come to Oregon, and my yard is green and full of colorful flowers. The fruit trees are blooming and the sky is a brilliant blue. But due to the climate crisis we again did not get enough rain and snow this winter and so far this spring we have had very little rain. I have had to begin watering my garden, something that I never had to do in previous Aprils. We worry when fire season will start this year and how much more of Oregon will be destroyed.

I have been a war tax resister since the 1970’s, since I do not want my money supporting murder. Now I am also a war tax resister because I don’t want my money supporting the biggest contributor to the burning of our planet – the U.S. military. I want my tax dollars to provide for food and homes for all, comprehensive health care that includes dental, hearing, vision and mental health care for all who need it.  Free, excellent childcare and education should be provided for all who need it, children and adults. Finally, I want my tax dollars going towards ensuring a sustainable future for our planet, towards real solutions to the climate crisis.

Penny Poll conducted in Eugene OR

Post by Sue Barnhart

The post Funding A Livable Future first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Funding A Livable Future appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.