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Not
My War Tax resistance. Rallies. Marches. Voting. Sign-making. Calling Congress. Writing a letter to the editor. All forms of protest deserve attention. Here, we give a soapbox to some of our readers who've taken the time to write in. We also include some notes on war tax resistance and take a look at war media coverage.
Which
is Scarier? Since Sept. 11, 2001, our government has taken the opportunity to expand their powers in ways that we would have thought unthinkable in the past. This administration has taken advantage of the fears of the American people, allowing our lawmakers to pass legislation that invades our privacy and circumvents our constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process. The so-called "PATRIOT Act" has opened doors for government agencies to collect information about us such as the books we check out of the library, the websites we look at, the people we associate with, and our political and religious information. Now our state government is pursuing legislation that would make it possible to consider acts of civil disobedience to be an act of terrorism. This madness needs to end! We can no longer be politically apathetic. We need to become involved while we still can and ensure our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms will still be there for our children. Our government is offering us a sense of security in exchange for our civil liberties but are we really any safer as a result of our government's actions? We need to stop letting our fear of terrorism strip us of the freedoms that help us define what it is to be an American. If there is really anything to fear perhaps it is our government rather than a far-off adversary. Dan Orleck
War aggravates masculine violence, already endemic in American culture. My passionate, articulate daughter, powerless to stop the ravages of this real and immediate war, refuses to cheer it as an oil-fueled football game. She hasn't the hardened attitudes to pretend that bombs don't blow up people, including the brown people in Iraq. She won't forget that gas masks being used by the Iraqi forces were made in America. Young and optimistic, she believes a communitarian spirit can cure a society sickened with violence and undermined by jingoistic pride. For her sake, I fear the oppression that racism and violence perpetrate under the name of patriotism. Louise M. Bishop
Specifically, chapter 19, section 666 of the bill states that "a person commits the crime of terrorism if he plans or participates in an act to disrupt: (a) the orderly assembly of the inhabitants of the state of Oregon; (b) commerce or the transportation systems of the state of Oregon; or (c) the educational or governmental institutions of the state of Oregon. A person convicted of terrorism shall be punished by imprisonment for life." This bill broadly defines any citizen who engages in civil disobedience or anyone involved in non-violent direct action as potentially guilty of terrorism, punishable by life in prison. A food fight in a university cafeteria or a sit-in at an administration building could be defined as terrorism. Ghandi and MLK would have been defined as terrorists within the first week of their historical activism. This is Nazi stuff and it needs to be stopped in its tracks right now. I believe that we need to contact Mr. Minnis and inform him that we value our freedoms and are not interested in modeling our society after the third Reich. Contact info: Senator John Minnis, (503) 986-1725, sen.johnminnis@state.or.us Gerry Rempel
More
Coverups Bush's tax-cut grants the wealthy top 10 percent huge benefits, while the rest of us will see little to "stimulate the economy." His "No Child Left Behind in School" is a prescription for failure and undermining the public school system. Isn't his true goal to force a voucher school system? Bush would deny funds to schools whose students don't pass these tests. How could this ever help these schools and students succeed? Funds designated for children and education have been diverted to religious groups, mainly fundamentalist right-wing ones. Is this ethical, moral leadership we can trust? Bob Rubinstein
U.N.
Crushed
One of the major casualties of this last war was the United Nations. This country savaged it, ignored its counsel and showed how powerless and weak it was. We invaded another nation, killed its leaders and destroyed its buildings. If the United States can kill at will, then so can anyone else. The U.N. was created to stop just such naked aggression. It now has become just a debating society, to be honored when it suits us, and to be humiliated when it doesn't kiss our ass. If we on this earth are one people on a common journey, we need a United Nations to be our guiding star. Having done what it could to destroy the United Nations, this country harmed the Spirit of all the peoples of the earth. To kill the Spirit of the people is a terrible thing, done by terrible leaders. It is, of course, entirely in keeping with the spirit that swept over this continent killing and looting as it went, leaving the Native American population devastated in its wake, in the original "shock and awe campaign." Our common journey, at least for the poor, is to live in a land where they cannot ever afford to own homes, to work at jobs that don't allow them to raise a family, but be servants to the wealthy and the powerful. So much for the rule of law. Hugh Massengill
A
Nation of God? We stood, engaging the passing motorists who responded with honking or shouting, with dismissal or love, with one or two finger waves, sometimes offering food and drink. One of us said, "We need a flag also, it is our flag, too." I turned and looked up to the Federal Building flagpole behind us and said, "We have our own flag. We have the official flag." Personally I stand, mostly silently, like a blank sign, a plea to all who say we have souls. I stand with praying hands to ask that all of us together in this nation now examine our ethics. Are we truly a nation of God as we claim in the Pledge of Allegiance? No amount of flag-waving can hide the truth. This is an immoral war. We have stains on our national soul. Richard Rondeau
Getting
Our Attention Instead of dirty politics behind closed doors and backroom deals with large corporate contributors, he has exposed the military industrial complex in a way that has allowed the world to see, in vivid detail, what profiteering from war is all about. If the current "Axis of Evil" bad guy Saddam Hussein had only had a visible tie to al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden, we would never have been exposed to the hypocrisy going on with our government. We would have all gone along with the charade of killing innocent people, like in Afghanistan, because they were part of the 9/11 gang. But by using the tactic of a pre-emptive strike, George W. was able to show the world that in order to bring peace he is willing to kill more innocent people because "Saddam tried to kill my daddy." Some might think he didn't get his fill of killing people he doesn't know while he was governor of Texas. What if we are judging him wrongly? If we look at what he has done to bring the people of the world together in a common cause for peace it is hard to find anybody his equal. He has done more in a year to get people to talk about world peace than all the world leaders put together since Biblical times. Now is the time to step forward George, with your real agenda: peace. I can't wait until you step upon the world platform and announce, "Now that I have your attention …" Dick Blackstone
Even though we are safe here in Eugene, the flag-hanging "patriots" should ask themselves, "Is this a war I'm willing to die for?" George Bush has tried to convince you that Saddam is a threat to his country, to our lives and to our freedom; but few, I bet, have been convinced enough to answer "yes" to the above question. Why is it then that so many blustering war-wagers accuse anti-war protesters of being sniveling, whining wimps who are afraid to fight? Are they signing up to join the military? Do they believe flag-hanging is an act of courage? It takes courage to tell the truth. Anti-war protesters are telling us that most (not all) wars are the manifestations of our fears and not worth sacrificing human lives for — or the next spring. Ann Walker Impeach
Bush We don't need to wait until 2004 to kick this unelected psycho out of office. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark is spearheading a movement to impeach not only President Bush, but his entire administration. Articles of impeachment have been drawn up and are available at www.votetoimpeach.org.If you believe as I do that America cannot survive another two years under the Bush yoke, I urge you to contact Rep. DeFazio and ask him to support this effort. Jim A. Johnson
Fog
of War If the first victim of war is truth, the Iraq war, featuring the latest modern weapons of mass communication, has become a journalistic slaughterhouse. The contrasts between Arab and U.S. media coverage of the war are stark. In the U.S., Fox Cable News leads the pack with flag-waving coverage of valiant American soldiers fighting a just war. In the Arab world, the leading Al Jazeera Cable Network shows pictures of children decapitated or gutted by the same troops U.S. reporters laud as "heroes." The widening gulf of Gulf War II coverage may leave Americans scratching their heads for decades with the 9/11 question: Why do they hate us? "This war has united the Islamic world from border to border against the United States," Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, an alleged leader of Hizbullah, told Newsweek. "Instead of having one bin Laden, we will have 100 bin Ladens," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warns. Newsweek and Time, the leading U.S. newsweeklies, both reported this week on the divergent Arab and U.S. coverage of the war. "In this war, the mighty but merciful allies target bombs carefully and tend to the enemy's wounded. In that war, the allies blow up women and babies," reported Time, describing the contrast between U.S. coverage of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and Al Jazeera's coverage of "the invasion." The article continued, "If the war on American TV has been a splendid fireworks display and tank parade punctuated by press conferences, on Al Jazeera et al., war is hell." Al Jazeera's coverage, including images of dead and captured U.S. and Iraqi troops, has sparked intense criticism from U.S. officials. But the attacks have come from both sides. Iraqi officials recently expelled Al Jazeera's Baghdad correspondent. That makes the Arab network the only news network to have its reporters expelled both by Saddam Hussein and the New York Stock Exchange for its war coverage. You won't see Al Jazeera's footage of civilian casualties on U.S. networks. "U.S. TV tends to treat civilian victims in the context of showing allied medics helping them, and some of its coverage of the war's effects on civilians is insultingly picturesque," Time reports. Al Jazeera has an English language web site, but it was brought down by unknown hackers (Al Jazeera officials suspect the Pentagon). The Arabic version (www.aljazeera.net)is still loaded with pictures you've never seen on U.S. television. Despite the U.S. criticism, Al Jazeera has often had more accurate information about the war than U.S. networks, Time reports. Early U.S. TV reports of a Shiite revolt in Basra and the capture of Umm Qasr were shown to be inaccurate by Al Jazeera reporting at the scene. The London Guardian newspaper and an Editor and Publisher columnist compiled a long lists of factual errors by U.S. and British media after the first week of the war. The false reports included: a chemical weapons depot in northern Iraq; a captured Iraqi general; an attack by 120 Iraqi tanks; Scud missiles shot at Kuwait; an uprising in Basra; a mass surrender of 8,000 Iraqis and identifying a grenade attacker as a terrorist rather than a U.S. soldier. U.S. coverage of the war has relied heavily on reports by about 600 journalists "embedded" with U.S. troops. Supporters of embedding journalists say the coverage has brought more exciting reports of frontline action. But critics worry about whether reporters can remain objective while in bed with the military. Before the war, top U.S. officials predicted that the fighting would be over quickly because Iraqi citizens would welcome U.S. forces and rise up to overthrow Saddam Hussein. That prediction was proved false. ABC reporter John Donvan says it's been difficult for the media to report on the views of Iraqi citizens while embedded with U.S. soldiers. "To show up with a Humvee with machine guns on top, and guys in flak jackets and helmets, completely changes the dynamic when you try to talk to people," Donvan told the Washington Post. "The whole hearts-and-minds thing cannot be done from inside an embed." Another big problem with embeds is that it's difficult to criticize the soldiers around you who are protecting, feeding, driving and sheltering you. "I could see how it'd be hard to write critically if they made a mistake," Donvan said. "I don't think I could do it. They're my protectors." Sydney Schanberg, a former New York Times correspondent who covered Vietnam, told the Guardian that Pentagon rules requiring only on-the-record interviews of troops by embedded reporters are designed to ensure "good PR." In Vietnam, soldiers feared punishment, he says. "Most things guys really wanted to tell you were not on the record." Some reporters have tried to cover the war as un-embedded independents. But the International Federation of Journalists has complained the U.S. military has forcibly removed such reporters from Iraq. Critics say the U.S. networks often appear to have little interest in objectivity. "The networks are at war. Every cable news channel has enlisted," says columnist Norman Solomon. Solomon faults coverage for reporting the "humanitarian calamities" as only "PR problems" for the Pentagon. Instead of civilian suffering, he says, the networks are filled with coverage of military tactics and "worshiping" reports of the marvels of new high-tech weapons. Fox leads in using patriotism to pump ratings. "Fox is so blatantly one-sided, it is appalling. Every time I turn it on, someone is saying something evil about the protesters or being pro-Bush," says Los Angeles Times television critic Howard Rosenberg. But other networks aren't far behind in flag waving. "It is unfair to single out Fox News Channel for pro-American tilt or jingoism in the early days of a war in which much of the broadcast media has reflexively rallied around the flag," says a Boston Globe columnist. On many networks, reporters refer to U.S. troops and generals as "we." But we deserve better. Schanberg, the veteran reporter who covered the "killing fields" of Cambodia, wrote in the Village Voice that the gruesome images of war shown on Arab TV shouldn't be censored for American viewers. "If ours is truly a democracy, the people should be told and shown — even if they wish to turn their eyes away — exactly what is being waged in their name."
What
If They Gave A War And Nobody Paid?
Are our taxes empowering international thugs — enforcers for the corporations dominating the world economy and culture? If one head of state stands in their way, mega-death is rained down upon his whole people — military, civilian, young and old. Those suspected of terrorist sympathies are seized — no right to legal counsel, no right to see or communicate with their families, no right to formal charges, no court of law to determine their guilt or innocence, just keep innocent and guilty alike locked up until the war on terrorism is over — maybe 50 years from now. These outlaws oversee a bloated military that continues to squander tax money on ever more fiendish weapons of mass destruction while lecturing others about non-proliferation. For example, to harden artillery shells, they coat them with depleted uranium (still radioactive) that incinerates the humans inside the targets and then pulverizes into a radioactive dust that scatters all over the landscape to spread leukemia, birth defects and other diseases. Children are the most likely to pick up this radioactive debris. The U.N. Charter permits the use of military force only for self-defense, unless specifically authorized by the Security Council. Now the U.S. is defying the U.N. Charter and claiming the right to attack any group or nation that may have hostile intentions toward the U.S. This is pre-emptive attack, not self-defense. In the latest outrage, the Pentagon says it may use nuclear weapons even against non-nuclear states. The list of horrors goes on — spending seven times as much on the military as Russia does and 10 times as much as the Chinese, pressing economic policies through the World Bank and the IMF that impoverish much of the world, destroying our civil liberties, gutting environmental protections, putting weapons in space, etc. — but I'll stop here to focus on ways we might cut off the flow of money that is the blood supply of this machine of war and terror. So far, protest actions carry little risk. Also low risk is refusal to pay the Federal tax on your phone bill. Bringing your income down below taxable level: $7,700 for an individual ($8,850 if you are over 65) and $13,850 for a couple ($15,650 if over 65) is completely legal and so avoids IRS hassles. This is probably the single most effective way of cutting the government's income. To get out from under the withholding tax, you can quit your job and become self-employed, possibly becoming a consultant to those needing your skills. Escaping the withholding system gives you the choice of whether to pay or not to pay. Choosing not to pay may mean hassles for you and eventual loss of property, but it is also a hassle for the IRS. It postpones paying for months and sometimes years, especially if you are willing to fight collection. If you don't have a bank account, don't own your home and have no marketable valuables, like a late model car, collection by the IRS can be very difficult. They may even give up the chase, providing you with an excuse for celebration as you join the ranks of those no longer buying the bombs and bullets. I don't tell anyone to refuse taxes. Individuals must deal with their own consciences. This brief article does not give you all you need to know about war tax resistance. For consultation on your specific situation, you can contact Oregon Community for War Tax Resistance, (503) 238-0605 or Lane County War Tax Resistance at (541) 342-2914 and ask for Peg. Charles Gray is a longtime Eugene peace and justice activist, war tax resister, simple living proponent and a founder of McKenzie River Gathering (MRG).
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A
Mother's Fear
Terrorist
Ghandi
"Rights"
of Spring
But
worst of all, he has exploited the Sept. 11 tragedy to advance his
right wing agenda and to rob Americans of their freedoms. The USA
PATRIOT Act was bad enough, but now he wants to create a massive database
containing personal information on all Americans, down to the foods
we buy and the videos we rent; and is planning to introduce an even
more frightening measure, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of
2003, later this year. 
The
war machine would disintegrate. Who would do the bloody work of war
without pay? As we see the U.S. careening rightward toward endless
war and fascism, paying taxes is becoming increasingly repulsive.