Hi Folks!

We have 4 finalists for our first-ever short Video Contest. PLEASE
spread the word about online voting - it's a great way to advertise our
website also. Go to the NWTRCC home page http://www.nwtrcc.org and
click on the video contest link.

We would really like the input of small groups of young people too - can
you gather together a few "under  30" young people and solicit more
detailed opinions than the online voting will show us? Please? Let us
know by email or phone their more specific comments about why they like
the one they like.

HAVE FUN! Winners will be announced on April 13. Meanwhile, it's a great
way to advertise WTR.

THANKS!


Ruth Benn, Coordinator
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC)
PO Box 150553
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 768-3420 * (800) 269-7464
Fax: (718) 768-4388
http://www.nwtrcc.org/
http://www.hanguponwar.org/
Donate online at http://www.nwtrcc.org/contactdonate.htm

Confirmation that I am "losing my mind" is somewhat unsettling. This is worse that not remembering where you put the mailbox key or what you came into the office to get. I am in the midst of a fairly thorough fact finding evalution to figure out why my short term memory and processing speed are so far off. Hopefully some cause can be identified.

The good news is that one of my doctors thinks that my memory shortcomings are not likely to worsen. The bad news is that they are not likely to improve either. So I will get to play out my next 30 years of life with a deminished memory capability. It immediately makes my current job problematic with its huge amount of constantly changing detail. It does reinforce my need to be a listmaker and to write things down.

The next few weeks will be interesting and hopefully revelatory. I have a head MRI scheduled for next week to look for a somatic (physical) cause. The automobile accident three years ago is a prime suspect at the moment.

This is from FCNL (Friend's Committee on National Legislation).
Visit http://www.fcnl.org to see some alternatives to a bloated military budget.

Members of Congress from both major political parties have finally found an issue they agree on. Unfortunately, that issue is the need to spend more money on the military.

Right now, as part of budget proposals for 2008 and supplemental appropriations for 2007, nearly a trillion dollars is on the table to pay for current military operations and past wars. Members of Congress aren't shocked. Members on both sides of the aisle are entertaining proposals to increase those numbers to something truly impressive.

The desire among members of Congress to "support the troops" can't explain why this bloated budget is necessary. Medical facilities like Walter Reed Army hospital, stretched to the limits to care for soldiers injured in the Iraq war, cannot get the resources they need to keep up with burgeoning demand. Instead, about one-third of the military budget proposed for 2008 would support next-generation weapons and transport systems that have nothing to do with the troops on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. This budget subsidizes defense-industry companies here in the U.S. that are making record-breaking profits.

This runaway military budget comes at the expense of investing in programs to feed the hungry, allowing low-income parents to work by giving them access to safe and affordable child care, and addressing looming challenges such as climate change and health care. These kinds of investments, not more money for waging wars, would provide true human security.

go to http://nwtrcc.org to see how you might redirect some or all of your federal income taxes away from war and to peaceful uses

You are right. I missed February totally.
I was busy.
Valentine's Day was especially eventful.

Struggling at work.
Can't remember what I am doing or what to do next.
Slow as molasses, or as the turtle outside my cubicle.

Case count rising, applications daily.
Reviews, renewals, interims, changes.
Each one with it special needs and deadlines.

I have a new pill.
The mind doctor says, "Here is another pill."
Happy Valentine's day.

Stay home from work to stop the stress of forgetting.
Stay home to see experts for advice.
Stay home to focus on Real Life.

Talking. Pills. Evaluations.
They all tell me what to do and
I actually try to do it.

Hoping to find my memory crouched hiding in my head.
What word was I looking for? What item?
What bit of reality is lost?

The Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English tells us that "sarcasm" is "a way of speaking or writing that involves saying the opposite of what you really mean in order to make an unkind joke or to show that you're annoyed."

I use these communication techniques regularly. I am told I need to use them less frequently if I want people to understand what I am communicating. "Say what you mean" could be the short version. Maybe add "concisely" to that.

OK. That being said, here is a poem that I just read in a monthly magazine, The Sun.

The Liberators
by Steve Kowit

Peace-loving Hitler had no choice but to fight.
Thus to, of drear necessity, was Amalek
depopulated to the last Amalekite.

And Ashurbanipal did not rejoice
to level Thebes. But had to -- brick by brick.
Up & down he swore he had no choice.

So too did Tisias wish only to save Melos.
Cortez, Tenochtitlan regretfully laid waste.
Poor Genghis Khan, most genial of fellows,

wished not at all to wipe out Nishapur.
Eviscerating pregnant girls Menahem faced
as something he had simply to endure.

In short, we learn that that everyone is slaughtered
most reluctantly, & ever in the name
of Peace: each butchery, however merciless or sordid,

is undertaken to defend the sore oppressed
& set the people free. How then are we to blame
who have been forced by fate to lay to rest

uncounted millions in Korea, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Afghanistan, Iraq --
those states we had no option but to bomb

for their own sake, we who are no less intent upon
providing folk the blessings that they lack
than Tisias was & Ashurbanipal, & Gengis Khan?

What's So Special About January 16?

January 16 is Religious Freedom Day. The day marks the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom. Thomas Jefferson drafted the legislation and considered it to be one of his greatest achievements - more so than being President according to his self-designed tombstone.

It is a remarkable revolutionary document. Here are some excerpts: "Whereas... legislators...being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions...hath maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time;

that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; ... that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself,

...we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such act shall be an infringement of natural right." (school guide at www.religiousfreedom.com)

While originally written with a different focus, it becomes all the more powerful if read with the understanding that militarism itself could function as a "false religion", demanding sacrifices to idols made of metal. Promising, but providing no real security.

The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill is anchored in liberty of conscience. We seek not just the freedom to believe or intellectually assent to a doctrine, but also the right to exercise and practice one's faith. Faith AND "works"; words AND deeds. Otherwise, we become little more than heat factories on church pews.

We are calling you to thoughtfully reflect on this priceless heritage by briefly writing your beliefs about war, how they were generated and how they are manifested practically by you. Connect your head (understandings), heart (feelings) and hands (actions) into the person you've become. We ask you to call on your Representative and Senators to enact a law which prevents people from being compelled to "furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions [re: violent warfare] which he disbelieves".

Many in Washington feel a sea change is occurring here. Connections and bridges are being made which were not possible in decades. Walls are cracking. Fences and lines are being crossed as if perhaps they were only an illusion. Personally, I feel we have a window of opportunity now on which we urgently need to act and build during the next two years. Every act of conscience seems to carry a special significance in this moment of turning.

For those who can, we encourage you to write your letter and fax it to your three members of Congress and us (202-986-0667). Calling and emailing is less effective, but still important. Www.congress.org is a good avenue to connect. You have no idea how much EACH of your letters encourages us. Although the new Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill won't be introduced by Rep. Lewis for a couple months, you can still refer to it by it's name or the H.R. 2631 number. We are especially seeking minority party members who value liberty of conscience.

I need some people to look at my goals and say they share some of them. Otherwise I think I may be in the wrong place. If my goals are hardly shared by anyone using this website, what is it that Change the World means? I mean, I have a laundry list of things that would change the world for the better and almost every one of those goals has a "zero" next to it indicating I am the ONLY ONE WITH THAT GOAL. How could that be? I mean: End All Wars. That cannot be controversial. Sure, you may think it is unlikely, but does that disqualify it from being a very legitimate goal that many of us might want to see happen? I mean, no one has a goal to start a war, right? So let's pick up the action, OK? Or maybe just let me know where I have taken the wrong turn and how you think I could get back on track! Wouldn't this be a shit-or-get-off-the-pot moment? Talk to me, people.

I am more aware of people dying. I am 60. I notice people dying in their 60s and younger especially. It makes me want to be even more reckless. It would be horrible to die, having failed to make that one more push for something to be different. It is easy to be comfortable. It is hard to take a risk. Whatever has opened me up to taking risks is something that I do not want to give up knowingly. No diagnosis, please!

Today I learned that a special person in my changing the world life has recently died. I will copy some information here about Marian Franz. She worked on the peace tax fund practically from the start in 1972. I was around then as well, leafletting the Post Office in Ann Arbor on Tax Day, thinking I had dreamed up this great unique idea: don't pay taxes for war! 

I worked alongside Marian over the years.
I was a war tax resister.
I am an organizer.
I was a part of the staff of the NCPTF for a while.
Staff lunch with Marian was the best part of the day. All with our brown bags and stories of life.
Marian is a special person. (Always will be in the present tense.)
She is one of the many people who have made my journey so special.
I am so glad that I had an opportunity to work with her and to know her.
Peace and love to her family.

Witness to the dilemma of conscience, Marian Franz, dies at 76

By National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office and Mennonite Weekly Review staff

WASHINGTON DC - Marian Franz, a witness for peace in the halls of power, died Nov. 17, 2006. She was 76.

Marian directed the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund (NCPTF) for 24 years. As a lobbyist, she called upon members of Congress to enact legislation extending the right of conscientious objection to include taxpayers. Establishment of the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund (RFPTF) remains unfulfilled to date, but the movement is regaining strength, and Marian believed no witness for peace and conscience is ever lost.

She stepped down from the directorship in January due to a struggle with an aggressive, recurring cancer. Unfortunately, outward success in regaining physical health also eluded her.

"Marian was a tireless voice for religious freedom and the rights of people of conscience," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "Her energy and persistence in advocating for the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund was a reflection of her deep commitment to our democracy and to the cause of peace."

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., called Marian "a longtime and effective advocate for peace and human rights. She believed in the dignity of every human being, and that's how she treated everyone she met."

Dr. David Bassett, the founder and honorary chair of the Peace Tax Campaign, visited Marian a month before her passing. He notes that "Marian gave dedicated leadership to NCPTF throughout her time as its Executive Director, carrying a myriad of responsibilities with determination, grace, and courage. She worked vigorously and faithfully to gain support for the RFPTF legislation and for the Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation (COMT) concept, and to advance these concepts in local, national, and international arenas. Her life remains a beacon for us all."

J. Daryl Byler, director of the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, described Marian as "a pastor-prophet to the U.S. Congress, combining gifts of compassionate listening with passionate advocacy. Her vision and energy were contagious, and her life's work was a powerful illustration of Paul's words to the church at Galatia: 'So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.' "

Marian was born Oct. 12, 1930, in Newton, Kansas, to Ernest G. and Justine Claassen of Whitewater. She received a bachelor's degree in social sciences and religion from Bethel College in North Newton in 1954. Also that year, she married Delton Franz.

After brief pastorates in Kansas, the Franzes moved to Chicago to attend Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She earned a master's degree in religious education in 1957. In Chicago, the Franzes began an interracial Mennonite church. They were active in the civil rights movement and coordinated rallies and speaking engagements with Martin Luther King Jr.

In the 1950s and '60s, Marian worked for the Church Federation of Greater Chicago and became director of Weekday Religion Education - then run in cooperation with public schools - for one-third of the area of Chicago. She wrote articles for the International Journal of Religious Education.

In 1968, the Franzes moved to Washington to open the MCC office there. In 1971, Marian helped found Dunamis, a Christian organization that spoke to policymakers about political issues facing the nation. She became its first director.

In 1982, Marian became the first full-time director of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund.

Marian believed that war taxes have enormous consequences. "They kill twice," she said. "First, they directly enable war . . . particularly paying for weapons. Second, taxes allocated for war represent a distortion of priorities. Money is taken away from the important work of healing and is spent to destroy and kill."

Marian was a founder of the Faith and Politics Institute and served on its board for 14 years. The non-partisan, interfaith organization was founded in 1991 to help public officials stay in touch with their faith and deeper values as they shape public policy. In recent years, she commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Selma Civil Rights March with President Clinton and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Marian authored "Questions That Refuse To Go Away" as well as countless materials for the Peace Tax Campaign and Foundation. She was recently working on a book of collected columns, giving a glimpse of her witness to Congress and peace/civil rights movements.

Marian made numerous trips to Europe to attend international conferences which promoted conscientious objection to the payment of military taxes. She gave testimony before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in New York.

She was one of the founders of Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI), which works through international movements and institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union to obtain full legal recognition for those seeking to consistently practice nonviolence. CPTI asserts as a human right that no person shall be compelled to participate in military violence, directly or indirectly. Marian would have led CPTI's October conference in Berlin, Germany, but was unable to due to her health. Family-suggested memorials are yet to come, but as Marian's heart was clearly in the international movement, tax-deductible checks made out to "CPTI" may be sent to the Peace Tax Fund office (2121 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008). These will be forwarded to CPTI's Belgium office.

Marian was a member of Hyattsville (Md.) Mennonite Church, where a memorial service will be held 2pm Feb. 17, 2007.

Marian was preceded in death by her husband, Delton; and siblings Vernon Claassen and Doris Claassen. She is survived by two sisters, Edith Graber of St. Louis, and Joanne Claassen of Fresno, a son, Gregory Franz of Los Angeles; two daughters, Gayle Franz of Newton, Kan., and Coretta Franz-Eby of Lancaster, Pa.; and two grandchildren.

Friends wishing to send a note to Marian's family may write:
Gayle Franz, 415 E 10th St. Apt. C, Newton KS 67114
or email Corey

We close with words of her friend Rev. Osagyfo Sekou: "Prophets always die too soon. Marian's Peace Tax Fund ministry to members of Congress and the peace and religious liberty movements was more than salient; it was sacred. Scriptures teach us one's heart is where one's treasure is. With a military budget exceeding all the nations of the world combined, our national heart is broken with the violence of weaponry and war. To spend one's life attempting to heal a nation's heart is Marian Franz's act of holiness. She was swift with pen, principle and stories. May we be wise enough to become baptized in the waters of her words."

For the November 29 Mennonite Weekly editorial honoring Marian, click here

For the Washington Post obituary, click here