[Peace-discussion] FW: GPAX & the Peace Tax Fund
Joni LeViness
myths16@cox.net
Tue, 11 Jul 2006 17:51:58 -0500
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Peace,
joni
p.s. no time to check this right now, but i will. I'd be interested in
hearing what you all think!
_____
From: PeaceTax Texas [mailto:peacetax_tx@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 3:36 PM
To: Joni LeViness; Aimee Smith; Michelle; greentararaider@yahoo.com;
wilcox_ann@yahoo.com; rrrotzler@gmail.com; andrei112@msn.com;
echothegreen@riseup.net
Cc: Alan Gamble
Subject: GPAX & the Peace Tax Fund
Dear Green Peace Action Committee Folks,
It has been brought to my attention by Bill Holloway that some members
of the Green Party Peace Action Committee have some concerns, confusion,
objections (or all of the above) regarding the Religious Freedom Peace Tax
Fund Bill, run by the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund. I'm aware that
your national meeting is upcoming so maybe this is a bad time to bring it
up, or maybe it is a good time.
The main thing for now that I would like to do is encourage you all to at
some point enter into a dialog with the Campaign's new director, Alan
Gamble, a Green Party member who ran for Congress in Michigan. He is cc'd
on this message, and he can be reached at (888) PEACE-TAX (732-2382). You
may wish to review the Basic Q & A and other downloadable documents
available at the Campaign's revised website, www.peacetaxfund.org
<http://www.peacetaxfund.org/> . "Compelled by Conscience," the short video
or DVD available from the Campaign, is very informative as well and perhaps
the best tool. (I can send one VHS version to the Committee directly free
of charge if you send an address; maybe you can view it in Tucson.)
I would also like to make you aware if you were not already that the
following Green bodies have already officially endorsed this in writing:
Bastrop, Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis County Green Parties (TX)
Green Party of Maryland
Green Party of Texas
Green Party of the United States (majority of national delegates)
Green Party of the United States (majority of steering committee)
Campus Greens University of Texas
Campus Greens (unanimous consent of national delegates)
There may be others of which I am unaware. These are in addition to 43
co-sponsors in the US House of Representatives and quite a number of secular
and religious local, state, regional and national endorsers, from the ACLU
of Texas to entire religious denominations and so on. The list is available
at the web site.
As a Green voter and long-time War Tax Resister (aka Conscientious
Objector to Military Taxation) who happens to be agnostic, I could say many
things about why I think this bill is necessary for people like me, and for
society at large. In addition to the Green and other endorsers mentioned
above, I will limit them to five:
1. The Peace Tax Fund does zero harm to those who are not WTRs or COMTs.
2. We must protect the civil liberties, religious freedom and the rights of
conscience, even and especially for those small minorities with whom we may
not agree.
3. This is not an intellectual exercise or a "shell game" to those of us
who, because of the lack of a Peace Tax Fund, are real people who really
suffer at the hands of the IRS, which continues to garnish, levy and seize
wages, bank accounts and property; three resisters were recently sent to
federal prison, a major development. (See this article for details:
www.peacetaxfund.org/news/2006-03-02twomorejailed.htm.)
4. No one bill is a panacea for all the problems of the military-industrial
complex; the Peace Tax Fund would be one small step toward educating
millions of taxpayers about where their tax dollars *really* go
(www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm) and perhaps shifting our culture in the
platform direction of Nonviolence.
5. There has been no better alternative suggested to date of which I am
aware, and the status quo is unacceptable.
We cannot predict what would happen if this bill passes (unlikely to
happen soon, but not impossible if the Democrats take the House this fall).
The Campaign has been around a long time and is going to continue to do its
best. But it relies on allies, and I hope the Peace Committee of the only
party with Nonviolence as a key principle will become one such ally.
Hopefully GPAX folks will examine the deeper nuances of this issue and work
through its consensus process to support it. I encourage GPAX members to
carefully reconsider whether their blockages can be transformed into
standing aside or to even supporting the Campaign.
It would be a great thing if y'all could educate and energize the
hundreds thousands of Greens who have not heard of the Bill and the GPUS and
CG endorsements. What if they each took two minutes next year on Tax Day to
email Congress on behalf of those of us who cannot in good conscience kill
or spend half of their tax dollars to others to kill in our names?
Respectfully submitted,
Andy McKenna
(a volunteer, not speaking officially for the Campaign)
P.S. If you are intersted in considering practicing token, symbolic war
tax resistance yourself, please see the National War Tax Resistance
Coordinating Committee's site, www.nwtrcc.org <http://www.nwtrcc.org/> , or
call (800) 269-7464 for a packet to be mailed to you. The best flyer is
"Why Isn't Everyone Who's for Peace a War Tax Resister?" Download it at:
www.nwtrcc.org/why%20isn%27t-rick.pdf
_________________________________________________________
"No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to (sic) man than that
which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil
authority... The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not
submit."
-- Thomas Jefferson
_____________________________________________________________________
"He or she who supports a State organized in the military way - whether
directly or indirectly - participates in the sin. Each [hu]man old or young
takes part in the sin by contributing to the maintenance of the State by
paying taxes."
- Mahatma Gandhi
_____
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo!
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=41244/*http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index>
Small Business.
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<BODY>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D937075122-11072006>Peace,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D937075122-11072006>joni</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D937075122-11072006>p.s. no time to check this right now, but i =
will. I'd=20
be interested in hearing what you all think!</SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader lang=3Den-us dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>
<HR tabIndex=3D-1>
<FONT face=3DTahoma size=3D2><B>From:</B> PeaceTax Texas=20
[mailto:peacetax_tx@yahoo.com] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, July 11, 2006 =
3:36=20
PM<BR><B>To:</B> Joni LeViness; Aimee Smith; Michelle;=20
greentararaider@yahoo.com; wilcox_ann@yahoo.com; rrrotzler@gmail.com;=20
andrei112@msn.com; echothegreen@riseup.net<BR><B>Cc:</B> Alan=20
Gamble<BR><B>Subject:</B> GPAX & the Peace Tax =
Fund<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Dear Green Peace Action Committee Folks,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> It has been brought to my attention by Bill =
Holloway=20
that some members of the Green Party Peace Action Committee have some =
concerns,=20
confusion, objections (or all of the above) regarding the Religious =
Freedom=20
Peace Tax Fund Bill, run by the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund. =
I'm=20
aware that your national meeting is upcoming so maybe this is a bad time =
to=20
bring it up, or maybe it is a good time.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> The main thing for now that I would like to do is =
encourage=20
you all to at some point enter into a dialog with the Campaign's new =
director,=20
Alan Gamble, a Green Party member who ran for Congress in =
Michigan. He is=20
cc'd on this message, and he can be reached at (888) PEACE-TAX =
(732-2382). =20
You may wish to review the Basic Q & A and other downloadable =
documents=20
available at the Campaign's revised website, <A=20
href=3D"http://www.peacetaxfund.org/">www.peacetaxfund.org</A>. "Com=
pelled by=20
Conscience," the short video or DVD available from the Campaign, is =
very=20
informative as well and perhaps the best tool. (I can send one VHS =
version=20
to the Committee directly free of charge if you send an address; maybe =
you can=20
view it in Tucson.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> I would also like to make you aware if you were not =
already=20
that the following Green bodies have already officially endorsed this in =
writing:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bastrop, Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis County Green =
Parties=20
(TX)</DIV>
<DIV>Green Party of Maryland</DIV>
<DIV>Green Party of Texas</DIV>
<DIV>Green Party of the United States (majority of national =
delegates)</DIV>
<DIV>Green Party of the United States (majority of steering =
committee)</DIV>
<DIV>Campus Greens University of Texas</DIV>
<DIV>Campus Greens (unanimous consent of national delegates)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> There may be others of which I am unaware. These =
are in=20
addition to 43 co-sponsors in the US House of Representatives and quite =
a number=20
of secular and religious local, state, regional and national endorsers, =
from the=20
ACLU of Texas to entire religious denominations and so on. The =
list is=20
available at the web site.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> As a Green voter and long-time War Tax Resister =
(aka=20
Conscientious Objector to Military Taxation) who happens to be agnostic, =
I could=20
say many things about why I think this bill is necessary for people like =
me, and=20
for society at large. In addition to the Green and =
other endorsers=20
mentioned above, I will limit them to five: </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1. The Peace Tax Fund does zero harm to those who are not =
WTRs or=20
COMTs. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2. We must protect the civil liberties, religious freedom and =
the=20
rights of conscience, even and especially for those small minorities=20
with whom we may not agree. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>3. This is not an intellectual exercise or a "shell game" to =
those of=20
us who, because of the lack of a Peace Tax Fund, are real people who =
really=20
suffer at the hands of the IRS, which continues to =
garnish, levy=20
and seize wages, bank accounts and property; three resisters were =
recently=20
sent to federal prison, a major development. (See this article for =
details: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.peacetaxfund.org/news/2006-03-02twomorejailed.htm">www=
.peacetaxfund.org/news/2006-03-02twomorejailed.htm</A>.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>4. No one bill is a panacea for all the problems of the=20
military-industrial complex; the Peace Tax Fund would be one small step =
toward=20
educating millions of taxpayers about where their tax dollars *really* =
go (<A=20
href=3D"http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm">www.warresisters.org/pi=
echart.htm</A>)=20
and perhaps shifting our culture in the platform direction of =
Nonviolence.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>5. There has been no better alternative suggested to date of =
which I=20
am aware, and the status quo is unacceptable.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> We cannot predict what would happen if this bill =
passes=20
(unlikely to happen soon, but not impossible if the Democrats take the=20
House this fall). The Campaign has been around a long time =
and is=20
going to continue to do its best. But it relies on allies, and I =
hope the=20
Peace Committee of the only party with Nonviolence as a key principle =
will=20
become one such ally. Hopefully GPAX folks will examine the deeper =
nuances=20
of this issue and work through its consensus process to support =
it. I=20
encourage GPAX members to carefully reconsider whether their blockages =
can be=20
transformed into standing aside or to even supporting the =
Campaign. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> It would be a great thing if y'all could educate and =
energize=20
the hundreds thousands of Greens who have not heard of =
the Bill and=20
the GPUS and CG endorsements. What if they each took two =
minutes=20
next year on Tax Day to email Congress on behalf of those of us who =
cannot in=20
good conscience kill or spend half of their tax dollars to others to =
kill in our=20
names?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Respectfully submitted,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Andy McKenna</DIV>
<DIV>(a volunteer, not speaking officially for the Campaign)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> P.S. If you are intersted in considering =
practicing=20
token, symbolic war tax resistance yourself, please see =
the National War=20
Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee's site, <A=20
href=3D"http://www.nwtrcc.org/">www.nwtrcc.org</A>, or call (800) =
269-7464 for a=20
packet to be mailed to you. The best flyer is "Why Isn’t =
Everyone Who’s=20
for Peace a War Tax Resister?" Download it at:</DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://www.nwtrcc.org/why%20isn%27t-rick.pdf">www.nwtrcc.org/why%=
20isn%27t-rick.pdf</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>_________________________________________________________</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">“No =
provision in our=20
Constitution ought to be dearer to (sic) man than that which protects =
the rights=20
of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority... =
The rights=20
of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit."=20
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: =
Arial"> =
=
&=
nbsp; =20
-- Thomas Jefferson</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: =
Arial"></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
color=3Dnavy size=3D2><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: =
Arial"> </DIV></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR><B=
R>
<DIV><FONT=20
face=3Darial>____________________________________________________________=
_________=20
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3Darial>"He or she who supports a State organized in the =
military=20
way – whether directly or indirectly – participates in the =
sin. Each=20
[hu]man old or young takes part in the sin by contributing to the =
maintenance of=20
the State by paying taxes."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3Darial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT=20
face=3Darial> =
&=
nbsp; =20
— Mahatma Gandhi</FONT></DIV>
<P>
<HR SIZE=3D1>
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on <A=20
href=3D"http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=3D41244/*http://smallbusiness.yahoo.co=
m/r-index">Yahoo!=20
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