This week marked the anniversary of wars largely paid for with US taxpayer money. Twenty- three years ago on October 7, the United States began bombing Afghanistan not even a month after the 9/11 attacks. Brown University’s Cost of War Project estimates that the United States spent $2.313 trillion on the war in Afghanistan between… Continue reading
79 years ago, the United States unleashed the most powerful weapon known to humankind. The devastation of ‘Little Boy,’ a uranium bomb rained down on Hiroshima killing an estimated 140,000 people, mostly civilians. Three days later the United States dropped the second bomb ‘Fat Man’ made of plutonium which was ten times more powerful and… Continue reading
Recently the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists met to share their annual Doomsday Clock. The Council decided to keep the Doomsday Clock, which estimates the probability of a nuclear catastrophe at 90 seconds to midnight. That same time was set a year earlier in 2023, the closest the clock has been set to midnight, the deadline… Continue reading
Next week we will be meeting in West Harrison, New York for NWTRCC’s November gathering! You are invited : here are the links for in person registration or online registration and the schedule for the weekend of November 3-5. As has been the case for over 40 years with so much occurring around us, the… Continue reading
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. – Robert Frost In… Continue reading
Robert Randall, a long time war tax resister (WTR) was remembered on Valentine’s Day by some of the communities that he was instrumental in being a part of in recent decades. The memorial was organized by members of the King’s Bay Plowshares action that took place near Robert’s home in Brunswick, Georgia. Robert rose to… Continue reading
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
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
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
A lot of cultural shifts were taking place 40 years ago as evidenced by some anniversaries taking place this year. A couple weekends there were a couple remembrances of the events that took place around June 12, 1982 when over 1 million people descended on the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, marching through the streets of… Continue reading
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
I was going to write about something else, but here the world is today facing a dangerous time with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I am beyond being able to know how it feels for the people in the region, but I know I share a feeling with millions of others of just being sick of… Continue reading
