I have been a war tax resister for many years. I withhold half of my income tax from the federal government and donate that amount to support the victims of war: refugees and veterans. I include a personal “statement of conscience” that explains my beliefs along with each tax payment. The federal government uses tax… Continue reading
Back in December 2021, I wrote a letter to my 2 U.S. Senators—with no expectation—just a need to vent. I had written to both about U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Rand Paul’s joint resolution that would have stopped the arms sale to Saudi Arabia for use in its war on Yemen. I never expect… Continue reading
Carolyn and I have been war tax resisters since we were married in 1975. Although we were both raised as Mennonites and continue to be members of the Mennonite Church, one of the three historic peace churches in the U.S., we both had experiences after college while doing volunteer work overseas (before getting married) that… Continue reading
For the past 17 years there has been a local tradition of singing holiday songs with a distinctively antiwar theme. Celia’s Yuletide Express makes stops throughout the St. Louis area to bring merriment and joy to union halls, neighborhood associations, bars, and public transit stops. While the past two seasons have been adapted to the… Continue reading
“What we say to a society of murder and racism is a very simple no. What we say to our brothers across this country and around the world is a very simple word. That word is RESIST!” — David Harris, at a 1960s antiwar protest David Harris is one of the featured draft resisters and… Continue reading
Part I Addressing the Harms in Our Neighborhoods Long time war tax resister Robert Randall introduced me to his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia by saying it was mostly known as a port town for automobile transportation; quickly followed by saying “not much happens there.” On April 4, 2018, 7 people entered the King’s Bay naval… Continue reading
The Costs of War Project with the Watson Institute at Brown University recently published a report on the high suicide rates of military members and veterans of the post 9/11 wars. Their study repeated what has been known for some time, that members of the military are 4 times more likely to die by suicide… Continue reading
The Pentagon Papers at 50 is getting a lot of attention and giving Daniel Ellsberg another chance to tell his story as well as talk about more recent releases of secret documents including his own. Ellsberg says he’s ready to go to jail again for his use of classified information in his 2017 book The… Continue reading
World Beyond War is hosting their annual conference beginning on Friday, June 4th. NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice will be presenting on war tax resistance. At this international conference Lincoln will be joined by colleagues at Conscience and Peace Tax International/ Conscience UK as well as Conscience Canada. The session on War Tax Resistance will be… Continue reading
Watch your taxes Don’t kill the kids Don’t participate in this So said a Palestinian lawyer in Gaza City as he gently shook his finger at the group of Americans on a human rights witness tour of the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. That was back in 1988, on a trip I took with the… Continue reading
April 15th saw Tax Day actions not seen in years. Well at least in 2 years. After Tax Day spread into 3 months in 2020 to finally conclude on July 15th last year, people were eager to come out on April 15th in order to join in a long tradition of holding that day as… Continue reading
We woke up to black smoky air the day after Labor Day 2020. It was challenging to breathe outside, even with a N95 mask. We could not see the sun. The air quality index was over 500, in the extremely hazardous range. Our beautiful Oregon was burning up. The trails we love hiking and the… Continue reading