When single-sheet zines cease slinking from the printer, I stop biting my nails. With a little shuffle of feet and paper, I begin to fold and cut pages at my desk. Completing little 8-page booklets brings a small satisfaction on an otherwise unremarkable workday. A coworker I trust stops to chat as he does every… Continue reading
Personal motivations
Book Review: I Was Sentenced to Be Shot
Review Lawrence Rosenwald Autobiography of a Political Objector Max Sandim’s Memoir; Forward by Randy Kehler; Edited by Ed Hedemann & Ruth Benn ($15) Published in May 2024 Max Sandin’s memoir begins with a story told by the late Randy Kehler, who met Sandin in 1963, in New York, on a bus taking them to the… Continue reading
Dear IRS, I object to paying someone to kill in my name…
Dear IRS Friends, I was not born or raised this way. But when I received a death threat, in 1968, and was planning a gunfight, a prophet/angel appeared in a dream, taking me to talk with the man who wanted to kill me. I know now that Jesus’ “love your enemy” actually works better than… Continue reading
Obedience, Protest, and Facing the Consequences
The first obligation of responsible citizenship, I believe, is obedience to one’s conscience. Obedience to one’s government, and to its laws, is very important, but it must come second. Otherwise there is no check on immoral actions by governments, which are bound to occur in any society, whenever power is abused. — Randy Kehler The… Continue reading
Good Grief?
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
War Tax Resistance: A Catholic Worker Tradition
[Editor’s Note: A longer version of this article was first published the April 2024 edition of the Agitator, the newspaper of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker.] “‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’ with napalm, nerve gas, our hydrogen bomb… Should one pay… Continue reading
Living Simply in a New Way: An Interview with Robin Greenfield
[Editor’s Note: Robin Greenfield has been challenging people to think about their environmental impacts, their relationship to other animals and plants, and their enmeshment in economic systems for over a decade. Through YouTube videos, TV appearances, books, articles, public speaking, and other cultural work, he shares personal challenges he sets for himself and how he… Continue reading
NWTRCC War Tax Resistance Gathering – May 2024
NWTRCC’s spring 2024 gathering was back on Zoom (3-5 May 2024). On Friday evening, over thirty people joined us for a Social Hour where we twice broke out into smaller groups of five or six and had an opportunity to meet new people and touch base with old friends. On Saturday morning, forty-five people attended… Continue reading
First-Time Resister’s Letter to the IRS
[Editor’s Note: Many people, including several new war tax resisters, have been gracious enough to share their letter to the IRS with us. Just a reminder that we will be holding our next NWTRCC gathering on Zoom, May 3-5, 2024. Many long-time and first-time war tax resisters have already registered. Here is the full schedule… Continue reading
My Letter to the IRS
Hi! I hope all’s well on your end. My name’s Murtaza Nek, I’m a math and science tutor at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. I usually file my taxes using online e-filing software, but this time felt the need to communicate a message which wasn’t possible using said software. I’ve thus put in much… 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
It All Began with a Telephone
Fifty-three years ago, as a cash-strapped University of Texas graduate student, I relied on my office phone at the astronomy department to save money. Consequently, I didn’t also need a telephone at home. But I got one anyway. It was my gateway to resisting taxes for war. The year before, I had refused induction into… Continue reading