by Tom Shea “Our government can only continue fighting its wars if we cooperate – with our silence and by its citizens dutifully paying the 50% of our federal taxes which are allocated for wars and armaments.” – David Hartsough, March 8, 2014 Julia “Butterfly” Hill diverted $150,000 from her IRS taxes and gave it to dozens of works for human causes. “In my letter to the IRS I said I’m not refusing to pay my taxes, I’m actually paying them, but I’m paying them where they belong because you refuse to do so.”  Rev. Steve Kelly S.J. spent 15 months in the SeaTac U.S. Detention Center, most of it in solitary, as one the five Disarm Now Ploughshares. Hill’s…

by Stan Sorshel I took part in a “fair trade” study session at a synagogue recently, looking at moral authority in the global economy. We considered four historical examples. In Exodus, Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egypt, creating a new nation in the midst of established tribes and nations. After finding food and water, Moses received excellent advice from his father in-law, Jethro: appoint righteous men to be judges. “… thou shalt provide, out of all the people, able men such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at…

by Ellen Finkelstein “We must live in the radiance of tomorrow, as our ancestors have suggested in their tales. For what is yet to come tomorrow has possibilities, and we must think of it, the simplest glimpse of that possibility of goodness. That will be our strength. That has always been our strength.” – by Ishmael Beah WWFOR need your help in recruiting high-school students for the annual Peace Activist Trainee program. Do you know a sophomore or junior in high school who is interested in gaining skills in organizing for peace and justice in their community? Encourage them to apply to be a PAT!  Watch a clip about last year’s program. The program, generously funded by the Abe Keller…

by Glen Anderson The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “Beyond Vietnam” speech on April 4, 1967, stated, “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.”  He urged people to nonviolently resist these.  This will be the theme of the Western Washington FOR’s 2014 Spring Assembly April 12 in West Seattle. Each year the Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Spring Assembly brings together grassroots folks from throughout Western Washington to share ideas and network with each other to strengthen the movements for social justice, nonviolence, and peace.  This year’s Spring Assembly will occur on Saturday April 12 at…

by Larry Kerschner I will be co-presenting, with Todd Boyle, a workshop on GI Resistance and Military Counter-Recruitment at the April 12 Spring Assembly at the Fauntleroy UCC Church in West Seattle. I will focus on GI Resistance and Todd will focus on Military Counter-Recruitment. In my opinion, the American War in Viet Nam ended mainly from three factors. First, the tenacity and fighting abilities of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong in protecting their country from a foreign invader. Second, the growing opposition to the war among the American public. By September 1970, 47 percent of college-educated and 61 percent of grade-school graduates were in favor of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Viet Nam. Finally, the…

by Nick Mele In mid-2013, the Pace e Bene Center announced a long-term initiative to mainstream nonviolence to begin in 2014. Campaign Nonviolence aims to build a just, nonviolent world by spreading knowledge of nonviolence and awareness of the interconnections among all forms of exploitation of people and the rest of the environment, poverty, and war. As people practice nonviolence in their private lives, Campaign Nonviolence promoters and trainers will help move personal nonviolence toward public nonviolent action to oppose injustice and war. For 2014, the Campaign’s goal is to organize nonviolent actions in every U.S. state during the week that begins on September 21, the International Day of Peace. To mainstream nonviolence, Campaign Nonviolence provides resources for organizing and…

by Brenda Collier So far 2014 has been a great year for those of us who want to abolish the death penalty in Washington State.  In February Governor Inslee announced a moratorium and a week or so later the Seattle Times reversed its position and came out against the death penalty.  We need to take advantage of this opportunity and increase our efforts to build grassroots support, so that the legislature will abolish the death penalty in the 2015 session. There are many reasons to abolish the death penalty.  For me it is a moral issue – my commitment to nonviolence means I am a pacifist and against killing anyone.  But, if we are trying to convince others that the…

by Doug Mackey FORUSA has seen many transitions over the nearly 100 years it been around, but the changes occurring in the last two years are likely among the most significant.  I say this having just spent the last year looking through the nearly 100 years of our periodical Fellowship magazine, its predecessors The World Tomorrow and The New World, and some of the historic files of the American FOR buried in the headquarters in Nyack, NY. This two-year chunk of time began as I attended my first meeting of the National Council at Shadowcliff, the 100-year old mansion and FOR headquarters overlooking the Hudson River just north of New York City.  I learned that Mark Johnson, then Executive Director,…

by John Repp When Washington’s new recreational marijuana stores open, they will be cash-only. You cannot use a check or credit card to buy the pot or even the vast array of cannabis infused soda, oils, and sweets that will dazzle the first-time visitor. Cash only. Why? Because cannabis, while legal in Colorado and Washington State, is still illegal all over the United States. Private banks and even credit unions say they are afraid that they will be prosecuted for money laundering if they offer banking services to the new businesses. This creates a huge security problem for Denver shops like Starbuds well as a law enforcement problem for the local police. There have been armed robberies in Colorado. Washington…

by Chuck Schultz People like neat phrases that set forth wisdom or truth.  An adage is such a phrase that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use.  An adage, a venerable declaration, often passes as conventional wisdom. For example, Lightning never strikes twice in the same place is commonly heard.  People may believe that is true, even when they also believe that lightening repeatedly strikes the same lightning rods. Political pronouncements and advertising slogans mimic adages so that they will receive the same kind of credibility.  Adages and even political statements have some truth in them, but comprehending their relevance requires you to distinguish what is accurate and evaluate it in relation to particular…