[Editor’s Note: The following remarks were made by Peter Goldberger at a National Lawyers Guild war tax resistance workshop over Zoom on April 4, 2024. Goldberger addresses three subjects: the legality and ethics of counseling illegal activity; the particular risks faced by legal professionals contemplating participating personally in tax resistance; and the argument by certain… Continue reading
International
A Stain on US — Close Guantánamo
“The military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay is a glaring, longstanding stain on the human rights record of the United States.” — Amnesty International Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi was one of the first to arrive at the Guantánamo Bay military prison camp on January 11, 2002, captured as part of the U.S. “war on terror”…. Continue reading
Yes, You Can Do This!
I got on a bus to DC for the “Arrest Netanyahu” rally and march July 24, with a pile of WRL pie charts in my backpack and a sign about refusing to pay for war. I hadn’t been to DC in quite a few years, but Congress’s invitation to the person presiding over more than… Continue reading
Busting through the Bottom Line
Under the bright, clear, azure blue skies of Spring, our thoughts turn toward action. There are a number of ways to take action in the upcoming tax season culminating on April 15, 2024 and beyond. NWTRCC has put together a page- Quick Tips for Tax Day that has some resources to activate actions in coming… Continue reading
Beyond the Headlines: Finding Hope by Shaping What Comes Next Together
NWTRCC will be hosting a Counselor’s Training on Saturday February 17th. The five hour on-line training is open to anyone who has attended an Introduction to war tax resistance session (WTR 101) and would like to have up to date knowledge for themselves and others. If interested in joining please email nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org to register. In… Continue reading
Wake Up to Find that You Are Eyes of the World
People are mobilizing, taking a variety of actions to call for an end to the slaughter in Gaza; making connections of how our struggles for liberation are bound together. It is encouraging that so many people are seeking out information about how to resist paying for war and then collaborating with others to learn more… 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
Reflections on Antimilitarist Roots: War Resisters League International June 2023 Conference
After attending this year’s War Resisters’ International conference (the first since the pandemic for this international cohort of which the US’s War Resisters League is a member) I’ve been asked by friends in the peace movement “What did you learn? What were your takeaways?” And even now as I put these words down I don’t… Continue reading
The Bottom Line
Since World War II, the percentage of Federal funds from income taxes that goes to the military in the United States has varied from about 45% to 90%. While spending on the pandemic has skewed the numbers to the lower end, the average taxpayer paid around $2,200 to the military in 2022. While it is… Continue reading
Beauty Will Save The World
Anniversaries allow for a period of reflection upon the past and contemplation about the future. As we approach the year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, there has been much discussion of the war and the lack of an end in sight. It was a few days before Russia invaded Ukraine that they pulled out… Continue reading
Take Action Before the Clock Stikes Midnight
NWTRCC Events Last week NWTRCC hosted a War Tax Resistance/Refusal/Redirection (WTR) 101 online. It was an interactive, engaging conversation. We have been hearing from practitioners of WTR who have been living under the taxable income who anticipate that changing or do not see that path as sustainable. It is encouraging to be engaged with people… Continue reading