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
History
Pi Day 2015: Getting Our Peace of the Pie
For math lovers, 3-14-15 holds special significance. It’s the annual Pi Day, but not just any Pi Day: “In the year 2015, Pi Day will have special significance on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. and p.m., with the date and time representing the first 10 digits of π. That same second will also contain a precise… Continue reading
Today in History: Adams v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Sixteen years ago, the 3rd Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruled against Priscilla Adams. She asserted that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) should accommodate her refusal to pay taxes that would go to war. However, the court maintained that mandating universal compliance with the tax law was the “least restrictive means” under… Continue reading
A Good Reason to Refuse to Pay War Taxes
Many of us got involved in war tax resistance because of nuclear weapons. For myself, I heard Dr. Helen Caldicott speak sometime back around 1980. She was passionate — and scary — about the dangers of nukes. The disaster at Three Mile Island led her to leave her medical career, become president of Physicians for… Continue reading
Holiday Notes
We’ll take a blog break next week and come back with a post on January 7. In the meantime, I wanted to draw your attention toward some war resistance and war tax resistance thoughts: This Christmas marks the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of World War I. Learn more about the Christmas Truce. Hanukkah… Continue reading
The Road to Social Change: Theory to Practice
“War Tax Objection for Peace and Justice Conference” was held over the weekend of November 7-9, at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana. NWTRCC sponsors twice-yearly gatherings (May and November) with local hosts to convene the National War Tax Resistance “Coordinating Committee” for a business meeting, but over the years the weekends have… Continue reading
It Is Our Duty to Withhold Our Cooperation
The following is the text of the speech given by Clare Hanrahan of the Taxes for Life! group in Asheville, NC, at the Day Without a Pentagon action in Washington, DC on October 19, 1998. Reprinted from the December 1998 More Than a Paycheck newsletter. Greetings from the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee and… Continue reading
How Did Gandhi Win?
This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and appears here courtesy of a Creative Commons license. by Mark Engler and Paul Engler History remembers Mohandas Gandhi’s Salt March as one of the great episodes of resistance in the past century and as a campaign which struck a decisive blow against British imperialism. In the… Continue reading
For a World Free of Nuclear Weapons: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Today is August 6, the 69th anniversary of the US military dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 70-80,000 people were killed by the bomb drop and the subsequent firestorms, while another 70,000 or more died subsequently from radiation sickness and other consequences. On August 9, the US military dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki…. Continue reading
Flashback 2009: Gaza and War Tax Resistance
Note: This piece by NWTRCC coordinator Ruth Benn was originally published in the February/March 2009 edition of NWTRCC’s newsletter, More Than a Paycheck. We still operate the War Tax Boycott site and you can still sign on to the boycott. The flyer, using an older image by artist Doug Minkler, developed for Northern California War… Continue reading
Henry David Thoreau: A War Tax Resistance Inspiration
By July 1846, the naturalist, slavery abolitionist, and writer Henry David Thoreau had been resisting the payment of poll taxes that helped fund the Mexican-American War for six years. He was arrested for refusing to pay and spent a night in jail. Though someone, likely his aunt, paid his back taxes and got him out… Continue reading
Summer Travel: Destination Wisconsin
Family related activities got me out of New York City a week ago and into Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Given the timing of my flights I realized I could fit in a visit or two with people in our war tax resistance network, so I made some contacts and set up a couple meetings. We are very… Continue reading
