Bringing the Troops Home to Use on US Citizens
The president had a very isolating weekend, beginning with descending into an underground bunker at the White House and concluding with global leaders stating they would not be traveling to DC for the G-7 summit. Also, with the highest number of fatalities and cases of COVID-19, the U.S. was pulling out of the World Health… Continue reading
The Financial Priorities of Local Governments Mirror the Federal Government
In 2017, I attended a retreat at the Su Casa Catholic Worker in Chicago where the black-led #LetUsBreathe Collective guided a mostly white gathering of Catholic Workers through various anti-racism exercises and candidly related the harsh racist reality of policing in the City of Chicago. They noted that approximately 50% of Chicago’s budget was dedicated… Continue reading
Looking for Hope In A Time of Crisis
“The Status & Future of War Tax Resistance.” That’s the tag on an old folder floating around my office. When I finished my years as NWTRCC Coordinator a few people asked if I was going to write about the WTR movement, as had previous coordinators*, but I never got to it. Actually I never had… Continue reading
Grounded…or flying by the seat of our pants?
In recent days, an increased number of military planes have been flying over the US and targeting cities often in clusters to show appreciation to ‘front line workers.’ The Pentagon cooked up the scheme of ‘Operation America Strong’ to mobilize the military in what some refer to as the ‘war on the corona virus.’ The… Continue reading
NWTRCC’s May 2020 Conference Report
Originally, our May 2020 conference was going to take place in Chicago. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we made the decision to meet online using Zoom instead. (Though I would like to thank the following groups and individuals who had put time and energy into the original Chicago meeting: Su Casa Catholic Worker, #LetUsBreathe Collective, Kathy… Continue reading
Origins of Mother’s Day
150 years ago, Julia Ward Howe wrote what later came to be known as the “Mother’s Day Proclamation.” Ward wrote this proclamation as her push to establish a Mother’s Day for Peace following the US Civil War. Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We… Continue reading
May Day
There is a call for a General Strike beginning on May 1, 2020. ‘We are the Shutdown’ is a network of organizations calling for an ongoing strike against the increasingly lethal economy. The general strike encourages the use of various tactics like sick outs, rent strikes and certain workers not fulfilling part of their job… Continue reading
Virtually Conflicted
There’s something to be said for holding a meeting online. Our NYC War Resisters League group usually meets in Manhattan every month or so. We’re a small group with meetings ranging from 6 to 12 people, but at our virtual meeting to plan a virtual April 15th action, 15 people joined, most by video and… Continue reading
Tax Day 2020- Let the Actions Begin!
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… Continue reading
Tax Day Press Release 2020
Hi NWTRCC friends and supporters, Below is our press release for tax day. 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… Continue reading
Time is Up for Business as Usual
The trickle of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis reveals the perverse influence of the military industrial complex. As humanity faces a global pandemic of unprecedented threat, the .01% of wealth holders struggle to maintain the status quo that will reveal itself to be unsustainable. As the bleak situation unfolds, it may become apparent… Continue reading
Protest in the Time of Coronavirus
On March 19 — just last week before the state really shut down — our NYC War Resisters League group held vigils in three areas of the city. A few of us walked to the busy traffic circle at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and stood with our signs to mark the 17th anniversary of… Continue reading