One thing about being out in the streets of NYC, it is never dull. Our annual tax day presence at the IRS was a lively affair this year thanks to musical accompaniment of the Raging Grannies and Filthy Rotten System, and an array of passers-by who offered support or challenged our message — some more… Continue reading
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“Yes, Please”
Sometimes you read something you wrote years ago and think “hey, that’s a pretty good article.” Back in 2005, Ed and I wrote an article for The Catholic Worker covering some reasons for maintaining our war tax resistance (WTR) over the years. At the time we had a combined total of 51 years of refusing… Continue reading
Easing Into War Tax Resistance
There’s something of a learning curve to tax refusal. Maybe for some it’s easier than others, but a lot of us started small, increased our resistance over the years, adjusted our lifestyles, or changed methods as needed or desired. A war tax resistance workshop can hit you with a lot of information. NWTRCC and WRL’s… Continue reading
Finding Hope In Action
I’m working at finding hope in dark times. It helps to be in a city full of activists of one stripe or another — ceasefire, save Gaza, antiwar in one place or another, stop mass incarceration, shut down Rikers, end solitary confinement, house the unhoused, close Guantanamo, Black Lives Matter, etc. And in the midst… Continue reading
The Other September 11th
As September 11 approaches, New York City slides into mourning for the 2,977 lives lost in the city, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC in 2001, plus the lives of first responders who have since died from 9/11-related illnesses. It was a terrible, unforgettable day — for those who lost family and friends and all of us… Continue reading
Positive Responses to WTR
This string came off the war tax resistance listserve, which you can sign up for here. Ask questions, start a discussion topic, like Angie did, or ask for feedback about an issue related to war tax resistance. Angie got it started: I’m starting this thread to see if anyone has any stories they’d like to… Continue reading
Change Is Hard, Change Is Possible
An article about how climate change is going to impact federal spending caught my eye today. Mostly it got me vaguely thinking about how difficult it is to change — especially on the national scale. The article is about the Biden administration’s warning that climate change is going to cost the federal government a lot… Continue reading
This Is Not A Drill
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…. Continue reading
It’s Up to Us to Make Space for Peace
My older brother’s career and expertise is in the fields (literally) of anthropology and archeology. He has done digs mostly in the Midwest, and funding for this work often comes from the civilian (presumably) budget of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is required to have land surveys done before they shift rivers, manage a… Continue reading
“Problems Were Encountered”
It will take 16 more weeks to overcome a “problem encountered” by the IRS in processing my 2020 tax return, which they received 14 months ago. As previously reported, IRS reports indicate I didn’t file a 2020 return. Without that my social security statement does not include my income or social security payments for that… Continue reading
Pentagon Spending: Efficient at Destroying but Inoperable for Healing Our World
The revolving doors of the Pentagon opened up this week to the 8 largest U.S. weapons manufacturers and the war strategists to come to the table. They were making plans for a war in Ukraine that may continue for years. It was as if a dream that had been brewing for years appeared to be… Continue reading
Keep it Simple – Stop Killing
In the tragicomedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the question emerges of when one first learned of death. The two attempt to recall when they first learned of their mortality; how one could hold such a heavy concept. It is difficult to contemplate and understand one’s own death but then to attempt to comprehend what… Continue reading