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.

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

Below is our press release for Tax Day 2021. We now that Tax Day has been officially delayed until May 17, but many groups are still hosting actions or Zoom events around the original April 15 day. Feel free to adjust the press release below for your own use. If you are having a tax day action, but have not alerted the NWTRCC office, please email the details to nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, or use the online form. As stated in the press release, we are asking war tax resisters to make their presence felt on the streets (if possible) and online. Please take pictures and video of your tax day actions and send us a copy. When posting online, please use the hashtags, #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC. Writing these “hashtags” with your message will mean that anyone can find your post on Facebook or Twitter by searching “#NoTaxes4War” or “#NWTRCC.” When posting a picture or graphic, also let folks know they can find out more info about WTR at nwtrcc.org.

In Resistance,

Lincoln

Press Release 2021

Tax Day 2021

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2021
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC)
Contact: Lincoln Rice, Coordinator
800-269-7464 (262-399-8217) or nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org

Refusing to Pay for 4 More Years of U.S. Militarism

“War Tax Resisters” Protest with Their Money

War tax resisters are taking to the streets to call for an end to endless war on people and the environment. They are not under any delusions that the Biden presidency will rein in military spending.

U.S. weaponry is used to not only kill people in places like Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but it is also employed to harm and intimidate—and sometimes kill—Black and Brown citizens in the United States. Since 9/11, over $1.6 billion of military equipment has been transferred to police departments under the 1033 program. Additionally, funding for the militarized Custom and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorizes our immigrant communities with raids and inhumanely separating families. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed misplaced priorities and the gross misuse of federal tax funds. Despite 550,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. and a lack of resources to help Americans weather this crisis, government payments to military contractors have not skipped a beat. And on top of all this, the U.S. military is the largest institutional user of oil in the world—burning 240,000 barrels of oil each day—and no plan to halt climate change is adequate that does not address the military budget.

Thousands of people across the United States—from San Diego to Manhattan—will be protesting the U.S. military budget on the days surrounding traditional Tax Day (April 15) and the date on which taxes are due this year (May 17). They will promote war tax resistance and highlight the deep flaws of our current budget.

Local actions will feature protests at the San Diego-Tijuana border, “Burma shave” sign displays during rush hour, vigils outside federal buildings and military installations, online Zoom sessions, and redirection ceremonies where activists redirect their withheld federal taxes dollars to underfunded organizations. Activists will post pictures and videos from their events on social media using the hashtags, #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC.

The proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2022 continues to take our country in the wrong direction. This massive proposed budget would continue to keep military spending at 48% of the current federal spending with $1.7 trillion being dedicated to past and present military expenses.

Not waiting for the government to act, activists will openly refuse to pay their taxes to the IRS and will instead redirect those funds to humanitarian programs. Erica Leigh of Seattle, Washington, says, “I want to live in accordance with my values and paying for militarism does not fit into that.” Maria Smith of Cleveland, Ohio states that she is “totally transparent on her tax form,” she just refuses to pay for killing at home and abroad. Her war tax resistance “embraces the full amount of my commitment to nonviolence.”

In Berkeley, California, members of Northern California People’s Life Fund will redirect $60,000 in resisted war taxes. They received grant applications earlier this spring and will announce the names of the groups receiving $2,500 grants during an online ceremony on April 15. They will prioritize “essential day-to day human services which the government is not adequately furnishing, together with educational or other work that identifies and seeks to change the root causes of the problem.” The group was founded by war tax resisters in 1971 to pool their resisted war taxes. People’s Life Fund member Susan Quinlan says, “There are so many excellent groups that are working to protect families, communities, and the natural environment, and we are delighted to support these efforts. With U.S. military spending surpassing $1 trillion, we invite others to imagine what good could come from redirecting these military funds on a grand scale.”

The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) has coordinated tax day actions since 1983. NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional, and national groups providing information and support to people who are conscientious objectors to paying taxes for war. NWTRCC partners with the Global Days of Action on Military Spending coordinated from Barcelona, Spain to join protests of war spending in the U.S. with a demand for global disarmament and a shift in priorities to sustainable development.

– 30 –

Resources:

War tax resisters are available for interviews. Please contact NWTRCC, 1-800-269-7464, nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, for contacts in your area.

Up-to-date list of Tax Day actions, https://nwtrcc.org/tax-day-actions-2021/

“Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” — War Resisters League pie chart, https://www.warresisters.org/resources/wrl-pie-chart-flyers-where-your-income-tax-money-really-goes

Global Day of Action on Military Spending, http://demilitarize.org/

Militarization of the Police, https://nwtrcc.org/police/

Climate Crisis, Taxes, & War, https://nwtrcc.org/war-tax-resistance-resources/readings/environment-taxes-and-war/

The post Tax Day Press Release – April 2021 first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Tax Day Press Release – April 2021 appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Below is our press release for Tax Day, 15 July 2020. Feel free to adjust it for your own use. If you are having a tax day action, but have not alerted the NWTRCC office, please email the details to nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, or use the online form. As stated in the press release, we are asking war tax resisters to make their presence felt on the streets (if possible) and online on July 15^th. When posting online, please use the hashtags, #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC. Writing these “hashtags” with your message will mean that anyone can find your post on Facebook or Twitter by searching “#NoTaxes4War” or “#NWTRCC.” When posting a picture or graphic, also let folks know they can find out more info about WTR at nwtrcc.org.

In Resistance,

Lincoln

Press Release 2020

Tax Day 2020

For Immediate Release: July 9, 2020
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC)
Contact: Lincoln Rice, Coordinator
800-269-7464 (262-399-8217) or nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org

Tax Day Protests Demand End to the War on People of Color
Both Beyond and Within the Borders of the United States

Thousands of people across the United States—from San Diego to Manhattan—are organizing protest campaigns on or near Wednesday, July 15, calling for an end to endless war on people of color both inside and beyond the borders of the United States. In this past, local actions featured public hearings on an immoral budget, flying kites instead of drones, and “Burma shave” sign displays during rush hour. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many activists will adjust their plans. This year, plans include traditional protests at post offices and street corners, joining with Black Lives Matters protests to defund racist mechanisms of so-called security, and making their presence felt online by posting the call: “Don’t Pay for War!”—using the hashtags #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC.

War Tax Resisters will post this graphic online for Tax Day (July 15).

Or take a picture of themselves from protesting outside. Nydia Leaf in front of Post Office in New York City on 15 April 2020.

Many have been taking to the streets to call for Defunding the Police and redirecting those funds towards vital human needs. Since 1997, the Department of Defense has transferred more than $7 billion worth of military equipment to more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies around the country through what is known as the 1033 Program. The National Priorities Project has proposed a local resolution to end the transfer of military equipment to police. Additionally, since the mid-1990s, the Department of Justice has granted $14 billion to local police departments. NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice states, “The refusal to pay federal income taxes is a tangible way to protest the racist practices of local police departments and defund the police.”

“Where You Income Tax Money Really Goes” War Resister League Pie Chart

This is all in addition to increased funding for the militarized Custom and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which terrorize our immigrant communities with raids and inhumanely separate families.

The proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2021 aims to take our country in the wrong direction. Noticeably missing in Trump’s $3.5 trillion proposed budget is any mention of funding to combat climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency would face a 26% decrease in funding with 50 programs facing elimination. This is worsened by the fact the U.S. military is the number one institutional user of oil in the world, burning about 240,000 barrels of oil each day. The U.S. military can afford to exert this environmental harm because approximately 50% of federal income taxes are directed to past, present, and future military spending.

This massive proposed budget also includes about $2 trillion in cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid, student loan programs, federal housing assistance, food stamps, and federal disability insurance.

Often forgotten is the growing use of drone warfare. According the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there were 1,878 drone strikes during Obama’s eight years in office. During Trump’s first three years in office, there have been 11,760 drone strikes. Since 2002, there have been 8,850 to 16,800 drone deaths, including 900 to 2,200 civilian deaths.

The explicit focus of federal income taxes being utilized for the killing of human beings and the destruction of the environment while programs to address human needs face steep cuts is unacceptable.

Not waiting for the government to act, many activists will openly refuse to pay their taxes to the IRS and will instead redirect those funds to humanitarian programs. Bill Glassmire of Corvallis, Oregon, says, “I am resisting war taxes in order to redirect resources away from U.S. militarism and routine violence and toward building a peaceful and healthy earth.”

In Berkeley, California this past April, members of Northern California People’s Life Fund redirected $21,850 in resisted war taxes to eleven local social justice organizations that are providing human services that the government is not adequately supplying. On July 15, they will be granting an additional $12,000 to community based groups and individuals who are leading the movement for racial justice and divesting from police violence, as well as those who are addressing the COVID crisis through powerful mutual aid projects. The group was founded by war tax resisters in 1971 to pool their resisted war taxes. People’s Life Fund member Susan Quinlan says, “There are so many excellent groups that are working to protect families, communities, and the natural environment, and we are delighted to support these efforts. With U.S. military spending surpassing $1 trillion, we invite others to imagine what good could come from redirecting these military funds on a grand scale.”

On Saturday July 11, the Cleveland Nonviolence Network will be hosting an online event, The Deadly Sonic Boom of the U.S. Military Budget, featuring war tax resister Kathy Kelly from Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Kelly will share from her life experiences traveling to areas impacted by war, conveying the personal impacts of war, and discussing our collective responsibility in terms of U.S. military spending.

The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) has coordinated tax day actions since 1983. NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional and national groups providing information and support to people who are conscientious objectors to paying taxes for war. NWTRCC partners with the Global Days of Action on Military Spending coordinated from Barcelona, Spain to join protests of war spending in the U.S. with a demand for global disarmament and a shift in priorities to sustainable development.

– 30 –

Resources:

War tax resisters are available for interviews. Please contact NWTRCC, 1-800-269-7464, nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, for contacts in your area.

“Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” — War Resisters League pie chart, https://www.warresisters.org/resources/wrl-pie-chart-flyers-where-your-income-tax-money-really-goes

“The Financial Priorities of Local Governments Mirror the Federal Government” — NWTRCC article on the dominance of “security funding” in the federal budget and municipal budgets, https://nwtrcc.org/2020/06/04/the-financial-priorities-of-local-governments-mirror-the-federal-government/

Global Day of Action on Military Spending, http://demilitarize.org/

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism — Drone Warfare
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war

Tax Day Report of 2019: https://nwtrcc.org/tax-day-2019/

The post Tax Day Press Release July 2020 first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Tax Day Press Release July 2020 appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis from commons.wikimedia

Trump began Monday by undermining existing global bodies when he called Vladamir Putin to invite Russia to join the summit that would expand the G-7 to be held in the U.S. later in the year.  Yet it was not until later in the day that some, including those from the military,  speculate that Trump finally crossed the line by using violence against  protesters outside the White House with chemical agents, sound grenades, and numerous armed agents in riot gear to disperse the crowd exercising their 1st Amendment right to assemble, so he could cross the street to have his photo taken with a bible. Retired Army General Douglas Lute said “There is a thin line between the tolerance we have witnessed from the military for three years and the point where it becomes intolerable…as the team walked across Lafayette Park with the president, they crossed that line.”  The team he was referring to included  Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, General Mark Milley chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and Attorney General William Barr.

Shortly before crossing the street, Trump urged governors to use the National Guard to “dominate the streets” or he would send active military throughout the U.S. with the 1807 Insurrection Act. Later, the head of the Department of Defense told reporters, “I did not know where I was going.”  The New York Times explained, “he did not understand that he was symbolically embracing the use of American military forces…to suppress peaceful protest.”   Earlier in the day Esper, a former lobbyist for Raytheon, stated that the mission was to “dominate the battle space” and as the day was coming to close the White House was reminiscent of the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Trump was able to make it home with the assistance of a heavily armed entourage before the curfew went into effect in the nation’s capital. 

After the sun had set, the National Guard, often used to respond to natural disasters, was sent to enforce the curfew and disperse the crowd. A Black Hawk and Lakota helicopter with a cross indicating it was a medical response and violating the Geneva conventions were sent in by the national guard to disperse the crowd. The pilots, who did not have experience flying the military equipment in a crowded metropolitan area, terrorized the crowd while flying low, stirring up debris and breaking trees.  This was part of the arsenal of the National Guards which included reconnaissance planes, armored vehicles, tens of thousands of pistol rounds, rifles and other weapons that were placed in storage at the DC Armory.      

Almost all of the militarized factions of the US apparatus were present in DC including the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security (ICE and CBP), the Bureau of Prisons (specifically the ‘riot control’ sector who had been deputized to arrest protesters by AG Barr) and other unidentified federal agencies. The actions were unprecedented for the numerous agencies and led to confusion with different internal policies to guide their actions. 

Trump has often boasted about the amount of taxpayer money he has allocated (more than was requested) to these very agencies which now was being seen more as a bribe, leading the top military officials across a line into a political position. Former Secretary of Defense Mattis broke with tradition and spoke out against the current military command, “We must reject any thinking of our cities as a ‘battle space’ that our uniformed military is called to dominate.”  

Line of protesters and military police in Lafayette Square commons.wikimedia

The line between the police and military have been blurring in recent years especially when approximately 20% of police departments consist of former members of the military.  A former sergeant states “The purpose of the military is to train soldiers to treat the enemy as inferior human beings or not human at all because that makes them easier to kill.”  Rosa Brooks writes in an article, “Stop Training Police Like They’re Joining the Military,” that she recognized that she was joining a paramilitary organization when training at the police academy in DC.

It has been important to hear from those in the military including someone who spoke on the condition of anonymity that “he was hoping to make it through another day without having to cite his constitutional obligations to decline an illegal order… although he would not be surprised if he faced such a dilemma in the coming weeks.” Family members of the military were joining the protest to “Condemn the use of military forces within the United States and described being stunned- and horrified- by the images from Lafayette Square.”  In 2016 Trump campaigned on the promise of bringing the troops home; little did know that in 2020 he would intend on using those very troops on US citizens.  He also promised to build a wall. We are witnessing that wall emerge in the isolationist US policies and literal fortification of the White House. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Bringing the Troops Home to Use on US Citizens first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Bringing the Troops Home to Use on US Citizens appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

For many anti-war folks, Tax Day has been a day to raise awareness that close to half of the US federal budget is spent on the military. Some have created penny polls around Tax Day to ask people how they would like to see their tax money spent. For those who resist paying taxes for war, Tax Day extends to all of the days of the year, but Tax Day often serves as a moment in time to assess what actions we are taking to create more equitable systems. Since the new Tax Day has been extended to July 15th, NWTRCC’s work organizing around Tax Day 2020 has required adaptability and offered more creative opportunities in this extended tax season.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause tremendous pain and suffering around the globe and in the United States. In early February when leadership at the federal level could have mitigated some of the loss of life and decreased suffering, the Trump administration was putting together a wish list.  NWTRCC wrote a blog Time is up for Business as Usual that gave insight into the priorities of the Trump administration’s proposed 2021 budget. One universal theme is cutting the safety net for people who lack the basic necessities of life as well as protections for the environment.

While so much has changed with Tax Day 2020, much has not for war tax redirectors. We will not be able to take the War Resisters League’s Pie Chart to the streets as in years past but we are well equipped in educating others of how money is currently spent and how we are redirecting our money and resources into our communities.  Here are some suggestions of actions you can take starting on April 15th, the day formerly known as Tax Day.

• Print out NWTRCC’s Tax Day 2020 sign found here take a selfie and post to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #Notaxes4war and #NWTRCC 
• Take a selfie of you with a sign that says “I’ll pay for ____not war” and share on your social media as well as with NWTRCC @WarTaxResister on both Twitter and Instagram 
• Recruit someone new maybe the one who took your photo- to  join you in your WTR by taking their photo with how they would like their tax money spent
• Utilize NWTRCC’s  virtual “penny poll” via  survey monkey or google survey to share on social media
• Email your friends and associates the penny poll found above as an opportunity to check in with them to see how they are doing
• Put up a sign in your yard or window about how your would like your tax dollars spent
• Revive those old bumper stickers and put one on your car while it sits there-if you have one sitting there- or another visible place
• Change your profile picture if you are one social media with a message that brings up war tax resistance or raises the message of where our tax money goes
• Wear a button about war tax resistance by wearing a button about that in virtual meetings, on walks or other times you interact with others
• Prepare with others who are concerned about military spending of how we will use the next 3 months to organize around “tax day” actions 
• Check out War Resisters League NYC banners that include comparisons of military equipment with health care resources
• Write a letter to the editor
• Attend NWTRCC’s May Gathering on line May 2nd and 3rd
• Check out NWTRCC’s online auction.Consider donating an item, purchasing an item and sharing the link with others
• Tend to our grief for the world and those who are displaced and suffering
  

  Peace activist Byron Clemens holding NWTRCC Tax Day 2020 sign

The beauty is that many of these actions can take place everyday. NWTRCC was established as a network to lend support to others who were redirecting their taxes away from war.  It is a good time to celebrate those that we catch courage from as Kathy Kelly often says. I think of the “one man revolution”that Ammon Hennacy lived. I think of Claire Grady who is scheduled to be sentenced for the Kings Bay Plowshare 7 in late May who stated at her trial- “Fear Less. Love More.” 

In these extraordinary times it may seem that we are called to do extraordinary things. And we are. Fortunately for those who have chosen to live a simple life we know the richness of having networks of support. I recently came across notes from my first NWTRCC gathering and there was a quote from Dan Berrigan “a good peace movement starts small and gets smaller.”  It may seem like our efforts are like a drop in the ocean or a drop in the penny poll but our message is rippling out to those who hunger for hope and empowerment. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Tax Day 2020- Let the Actions Begin! first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Tax Day 2020- Let the Actions Begin! appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Many have heard of Extinction Rebellion (XR) now, which started with large actions in London, blocking bridges to demand decisive action from governments on the environmental crisis. The UK group describes XR as an international apolitical network using non-violent direct action to persuade governments to act on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

XR NYC has a list of specific demands for the media.

In the U.S., XR has added a fourth demand: “We demand a just transition that prioritizes the most vulnerable people and indigenous sovereignty; establishes reparations and remediation led by and for Black people, Indigenous people, people of color and poor communities for years of environmental injustice, establishes legal rights for ecosystems to thrive and regenerate in perpetuity, and repairs the effects of ongoing ecocide to prevent extinction of human and all species, in order to maintain a livable, just planet for all.”

I’ve been interested in XR because of its explicit call for nonviolent direct action, which the New York City group has put into action a few times since January 2019. Organizers tend to be creative — and agile climbers — so the actions are colorful and serious at the same time.

Climbers hung this banner on the bus terminal directly across the street from The New York Times.

The effort to hang a headline banner, “Climate Emergency = Mass Murder”, directly under the newspaper’s name wasn’t entirely successful.

Seventy people were arrested blocking traffic on 8th Avenue between 40th and 41st streets, where The New York Times‘ headquarters is located.

Lots of antiwar activists have been joining these actions, whether as supporters or risking arrest. While many of us find XR a little too focused on its own brand, we also find that most of the individuals who turn out make the connections between many issues. In my small group one young activist got into a well-received rant about the need to stop buying bombs with our money and use Pentagon funding to save the planet instead.

This is probably an appropriate moment to remind readers to mark their calendars for the November NWTRCC gathering, which is being planned with a focus on collaboration between war tax resisters and environmental activists. There should be a lot to share!

— Photos and post by Ruth Benn

The post On the Streets with XR first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post On the Streets with XR appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

On Memorial Day, a story was released about Atomic Soldiers who, for many spoke about their exposure to atomic weapons after 50 years earlier.   The Atlantic shared a short documentary, The Atomic Soldiers which contains some of the interviews with 100 veterans exposed to ionizing radiation from tests conducted by the US military.  The video’s creator, Morgan Knibbe wanted to share the story of the 400,000 troops who were exposed to over 1,000 nuclear tests between 1942-1992 and the impacts upon them.  For many it was the first time that they spoke about their experiences. In the video it mentions that after the tests, the soldiers, many of whom were traumatized, were sworn to an oath of secrecy. Breaking it even to talk among themselves was considered treason, punishable by a $10,000 fine and 10 or more years in prison.

Many in the video spoke about the orders they received about never being able to speak about their experience of witnessing atomic explosions not even with each other and the fear of  a charge of treason that could lead to their execution.  The conditioning of soldiers to not speak about their experiences led many to take their stories to their grave. Much of the information around the nuclear tests remains classified including the human and environmental impacts of the testing. The ban prohibiting veterans from speaking about their experiences with radiation exposure was lifted in 1994 yet many we unaware that it was lifted.

The pattern of not speaking about military experiences hopefully has now become a thing of the past.  The social stigma associated with speaking about the personal impact of war on military members and their loved ones has been decreasing over the years for many.  We are becoming more aware of the benefits of people being able to talk about and publicly share their stories especially with more platforms available.  There are more resources for mental health services for veterans compared with 50 years ago. Yet the personal impact of war has also seemed to have increased in recent years with over 6,000 veterans who have died from suicide from 2008-2016 and close to 25% of women in the military reporting sexual assaults.  USA Today reports that only half of veterans receive Veterans Affairs benefits or services. 

After sharing a short video of one soldier of his experiences in the the military, the Army asked people to share on Twitter how the military has affected them. The response was unexpected and became for many a platform to share their heartbreaking tales of how people they loved were affected by their participation in war. It was a sober look at war.  Many of the response were brutally frank. 

The media reported on the the stories over the holiday weekend; with 10,000 responses it seemed people were eager to speak. The New York Times reported Instead, the call-out provided what some felt was a rare platform to spotlight the darker consequences of military service for soldiers and their families, as tweet after tweet described lifelong health complications, grief over loved ones lost, sexual assaults gone unpunished and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression

One Soldier, Brandon Neely, stated that he knew more soldiers that had committed suicide in his unit than had died in combat. He also believed that many who were speaking on the Twitter thread had never shared their stories before.  Through social media many were able to share their stories  and those they had witnessed in real time. David Swanson with Win Without War was even calculating a win-US Army 0 and Internet 1 in his article about the twitter storm.  His article highlights some of the 10,000 tweets shared over the weekend and concludes with a questionnaire for those considering military service.

    Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Military Members Speak Out On Memorial Day first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Military Members Speak Out On Memorial Day appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Last week, Trump met with Chinese representatives to reach a new trade agreement. The current tariff list is almost 200 pages long, consisting of over 4,000 items. If an agreement is not reached by March 1st, the tariffs are supposed to go from 10% on many Chinese goods to 25%. If these higher tariffs are put in place, the generated revenue would replace almost half of the $130 billion tax cut that was implemented by the Trump administration. Even without the increase, war tax resisters might be unintentionally fueling the military budget by the purchasing of most Chinese goods.

Photo by Public Domain Photography from Pexels

Though the two sides have not even agreed to a basic framework for the agreement, Trump is confident that an agreement will be reached. Even if an agreement is reached, Trump has indicated that he would like to keep some tariffs in place. As he told the New York Times, “Without the tariffs, we wouldn’t be talking.”

Although Trump may be optimistic, others are not. Fortune reports warehouses in southern California are “full to bursting with Chinese goods rushed across the Pacific ahead of President Donald Trump’s March 1 tariff deadlines.” American businesses were already rushing Chinese orders in anticipation of the original deadline at the end of the 2018. And the trend continues in anticipation of the March 1 deadline.

When the dust finally settles and we have a better idea of what which tariffs are staying in place and what is not, NWTRCC will produce a resource to aid WTRs in making informed decisions in what purchases support the war economy. Though this page needs use some minor updates, we already have a webpage dedicated to “Other Taxes” that support the war economy.

I have always tried to focus on purchasing locally grown and locally made goods. I believe it’s better for communities and for the environment to be more economically self-sufficient. These tariffs simply give me another reason to conform my life to the one I would like to be living.

Post by Lincoln Rice

The post Chinese Tariffs for War Continue… first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

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Some highlights:

“In 1969, I was giving a talk at an international conference of war resisters from around the world. And I had turned in my draft card, I had refused to cooperate with the Vietnam draft, and I knew I’d be heading to prison soon, and I said that in the talk. And unbeknownst to me, this guy named Daniel Ellsberg [was there], who was a combat marine officer who’d been in Vietnam, and he’d been fighting in the trenches in Vietnam and worked for the Pentagon and the Rand Corporation and high up in all this stuff. I didn’t know he was listening. And when I said to everyone in the audience – very soon I expect to be in prison because I won’t cooperate in this war, he cracked up… he burst out crying… because he had been trying to think, what can I do to stop this war? …[Daniel Ellsberg said,] the question I’d never asked myself until I’d heard [Randy Kehler] speak, was what would I be willing to do or to risk if I, like Randy or other men like him, were willing to go to prison for doing that?”

Of course, Randy Kehler had no idea that his speaking at this conference would inspire Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers. Randy says, “Never feel like doing the right thing is futile. It’s never futile. You just don’t know what the repercussions will be.”

Randy also speaks of his long-time war tax resistance:

“Paying taxes for war, for example, knowing that the tax money will buy bombs that will kill families and children and grandparents and destroy hospitals and homes and the environment… I reached a point, back during the Vietnam War, where I thought, not only can I not lend my body to the war machine, and that’s what it is, a war machine, the biggest, most gigantic war machine the world has ever known, but I can’t lend my money to support it either…

“All I can say is, my conscience doesn’t let me do certain things. And I’m not perfect and I do a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t do, believe me, but there are certain places where I draw the line. I always remember that wonderful line, I think it was by E.E. Cummings, who said, ‘there is some shit that I will not eat.’“

Marian Kelner also asks, “Where do you find joy in your life?”

“I find joy in little things. Right now in my life, my two little grandchildren, and my friends. And I find inspiration from people who often times have been a lot more courageous than I’ve ever been, who speak out, who risk arrest, who go to prison for what is right. And I’m inspired by them. That keeps me going… There is joy in doing what you think is right.”

Read more about Randy Kehler’s life of resistance here.

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The post Doing the Right Thing is Never Futile appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

I don’t expect war tax resistance gets mentioned, though it was a strong part of the antiwar movement of the time. This led me to grab a little book off the shelf, Ain’t Gonna Pay for War No More by Robert Calvert, one of the earliest, bound guides to war tax resistance. Published in October 1971 — 46 years ago, and still 4 years before the war ended — it included a preface by radical pacifist leader and war tax resister David Dellinger. (Dellinger died in 2004, but is there any sign of footage of him in the Burns/Novick production?)

I’m happy to remember Dellinger at this time, so here’s a germane section from his preface:

Dave Dellinger in the 1960s, courtesy of War Resisters League

There are two kinds of people who don’t pay income taxes. On the one hand, there are the Ronald Reagans*, the oil millionaires and other wealthy profiteers who manage to manipulate their assets and their tax returns to take advantage of the loopholes for the wealthy that have been created by an upper-class-oriented Congress and I.R.S. Their way of life is the pursuit and protection of private wealth and privilege at the expense of their fellows. Although they may not like to think of it in quite so direct terms, they endorse the napalming of Indochinese peasants and the violent overthrow of governments that seek to put an end to the exploitation of their natural and human resources by American corporations. They support America’s Phoenix plan for assassinating 80,000 Vietnamese villagers who are thought to form the “infrastructure” of the Vietnamese Independence movement — assassinations organized and carried out by methods already perfected by American assassination teams in Latin America. At home, they demand a repressive F.B.I. and Justice Department, a heavily armed and conscience-less National Guard, a system of courts, police and prisons that protect the present extremes of wealth and poverty from the thrust of the poor, the non-white and the believers in a classless society. Their main concern is to avoid paying their share of the costs of the policies they advocate and benefit form financially.

And then there are the Bob Calverts and the people he has written for and about in this little book. They refuse to pay for the instruments of murder and repression, not because they are interested in self-aggrandizement but because they are opposed to murder and repression.

…this book shows how the negative act of tax refusal can be combined with positive acts of promoting and financing alternative projects that become the seedbed of new institutions and relationships. The power to tax is the power to destroy-twice-over. It destroys the bodies of those who fall victim to American firepower and repression. Less dramatically but nonetheless surely, it mercilessly destroys the consciences and humanity of those who willingly surrender their taxes to the government. Alternatively, the power to refuse is the power to preserve life and create hope.

To quote a famous antiwar song, “When will they ever learn….”**

— Ruth Benn

Also see:

Veterans for Peace Full Disclosure in response to The Vietnam War on PBS

Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee – critiques of the series and info on the Oct 20-21 events on the 50th Anniversary of the March on the Pentagon

The Vietnam Legacy of War Tax Resistance by Erica Weiland, Fifth Estate #395, Winter 2016

NWTRCC’s History pages covering the Vietnam era with lots of great stories and graphics: 1960s and 1970s

* At that time still governor of California — and another rich person we never expected to be president….
** “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” by Pete Seeger, Wikipedia – YouTube (Pete Seeger, Sweden, 1968)

The post Lifting Up Dellinger and Antiwar Activists first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Lifting Up Dellinger and Antiwar Activists appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

War tax resister Larry Bassett created this meme of himself.

Do you need a laugh these days? I definitely do. A lot of times, I rely on humor that’s based on things happening in real life. Here are some things that have made me laugh, even if I’m laughing ruefully.

• The Onion – Military-Industrial Complex Recalls Coming Together After 9/11
• this article and video from CBS featuring clips of the comedian and activist Dick Gregory, who passed away in August (potentially NSFW, strong language bleeped)
• this editorial cartoon on US-funded Israeli occupation by Stephanie McMillan
• the podcast Politically Reactive with comedians W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu
• George Carlin’s standup bit, “We like war” (definitely NSFW – language, sexual references!)
• The Onion – Peaceful Protest Interrupted by Swarm of Aggressive Black-Clad Militants
• Aparna Nancherla on Twitter. For example:

Putting Trump in charge of diplomacy is like getting a face-eating virus to do a makeup tutorial. Best case scenario: it does nothing.

— Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) September 3, 2017

• a song from Team America World Police – Freedom Isn’t Free (NSFW, language)
• Eddie Izzard on flags (one of my favorites for completely laying bare the exploitative logic of imperialism and settler colonialism):

“We [Britain] stole countries with the cunning use of flags. Just sail around the world and stick a flag in. “I claim India for Britain!”

They go, “You can’t claim us, we live here. Five hundred million of us!”

[Britain:] “Do you have a flag?”

[India:] “We don’t need a bloody flag, this is our country, you bastard.”

[Britain:] “No flag, no country, you can’t have one. That’s the rules… that I’ve just made up.” “

Check out our page of memes for a few more humorous (and simply informative) images that you can share on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or elsewhere.

Anything else making you laugh lately? Share the humor or a link in the comments!

Post by Erica Leigh

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The post Finding humor in the struggle appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.