Loving the Hell out of People
Congressman and peace, justice and civil rights activist John Lewis was a longtime sponsor in the House of the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill. With his death on July 17 tributes abound and interviews with him can be found online (Democracy Now has a good one). Short of personal stories about Lewis (please add… Continue reading
David Hartsough 2020
Dear Friends, This year Tax Day is July 15. Thought you would be interested in this letter my wife and I have written the IRS refusing to pay for wars and preparations for wars. We find it very difficult to pray and work for peace and then pay for wars. We would welcome your… Continue reading
Tax Day Press Release July 2020
NWTRCC friends and supporters, 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… Continue reading
Tax Day 2020- As Movements Converge
The longest tax season is coming to a close on July 15th. The 3 month extension has allowed for more opportunities to share information about the bloated military budget during a time of growing human needs in the US. A couple of articles (Meet the People Who Refuse to Pay Their Taxes & Meet a… Continue reading
Examining My Good Intentions
Tax day is nearly here! I do find that a funny thing to say in June as I keep reminding myself that I should sit down and fill out the forms. My motto seems to be “put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Still, as someone who files and refuses to pay, I… Continue reading
Instead of War- Art and Beauty
Time is running out… If you haven’t placed a bid or checked on your bid now is the time to respond. Carlos Stewart has offered Flood Gallery to host the auction which is now exclusively online. Carlos is a former Ad Comm member of NWTRCC and currently serves on the Fundraising committee. You can… Continue reading
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