War tax resisters, supporters, and friends gathered for the 30th time in 30 years — an impressive record in our circles. A persistent if changing group of war tax resisters has planned gatherings large and small over a fall weekend each year since 1985. To many the themes, topics, and discussions will sound repetitive —… Continue reading
The Snowden Model and Finding Our Power
I finally watched the film Citizenfour, about the release of the NSA documents by Edward Snowden. The whole film is impressive, but I was struck by this section where journalist Glenn Greenwald is asking Snowden about whether to release his name and ID him as the source of the documents. Greenwald wanted to make sure… Continue reading
After Roseburg: On guns big and bigger
To the Editor: There has been another mass murder shooting in Roseburg, Oregon. A question stares us in the face. Can we expect to endorse mass homicide on the wholesale level and successfully forbid or prevent it on the retail level? As a thought experiment or moral reflection consider this. Since World War II our… Continue reading
Driving Ms. Frances
By Ralph Dolan I runs this high-end chauffeur service, see, and gets this call. Lady on the other end of the line wants a ride across the border into Vermont. Can’t get much of an idea what kind of meeting she could possibly be attending up there in the back woods. I pick her up… Continue reading
Longest Jail Time for a War Tax Resister
People unfamiliar with war tax resistance assume that if you do it, you go straight to jail, or at least wind up there eventually. “Why aren’t you in jail?” Years ago when I was in the ready-room before appearing on a TV interview program, the host asked me “Why aren’t you in jail?” Similarly, a… Continue reading
Professor Yang Yoon-Mo on Taxes and Jeju Naval Base
At one time, Professor Yang Yoon-Mo was the most influential film critic in Korea. His influence was felt in film festivals, academia, and media spanning the political spectrum. Since that time, he has changed course and devoted his life to the struggle against the nominally Korean naval base being constructed in Gangjeong village on the… Continue reading
Greetings from Jeju Island, South Korea
The Korean Navy is destroying Gangjeong Village (current population around 2,000) and the surrounding area by building a base here. In terms of population, 7-8,000 soldiers and their families are expected in the community. Additionally, bartenders, tattoo artists, prostitutes, and others will be drawn to the area The base itself will accommodate U.S. warships such… Continue reading
Inspired / Inspiring: Julian Bond
On hearing of Julian Bond’s death, I remembered we ran something in the NWTRCC newsletter ages ago where he mentioned a memory of tax resistance. So I looked it up: “Rick Gaumer of WRL New England receives the alumni magazine from the University of Virginia. The Spring 2007 issue surprised him with this story from… Continue reading
Health Care, Inheritance, and Miscellaneous Questions
Recent questions to the war tax resistance hotline (aka, the NWTRCC office, 800-269-7464) have been about inheritance and health care. It just so happens that we have updated the booklet in our Practical War Tax Resistance Series that deals with these topics. Look for #7, Health Care and Income Security for War Tax Resisters. As… Continue reading
U.S. Social Forum II – Philadelphia Musings
As Erica reported in the last post, NWTRCC was present at two sites of the 2015 U.S. Social Forum. She reported from San Jose. I was at the Philadelphia convergence, where our war tax resistance presence was somewhat limited by a lack of volunteers and scheduling conflicts, but a few of us were there Thursday,… Continue reading
Is it ever right to refuse, on principle, to pay taxes?
Mentor, friend, farmer, war tax refuser Juanita Nelson died on March 9, 2015, and the memorial for her was May 30. Below is a sample of Juanita’s thinking from a point/counterpoint op-ed in the Sunday Republican, Springfield, Mass, April 4, 1993. The article turned up in a folder of miscellaneous documents from Pioneer Valley War… Continue reading
The Mysterious Ways of the IRS
“The Mysterious Ways of the IRS” was a topic of conversation during a recent war tax resistance (WTR) workshop. Many of the questions from resisters —whether new or longtime — related to “what might happen when.” If I file, when will the first IRS collection letter arrive? How long will it take them to seize… Continue reading
