Category: Activism

How Your Tax Dollars Are Used | War Resister’s League

The new War Resisters League’s annual “pie chart” flyer, Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes, analyzes the Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Budget (FY 2026 is 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026).  This FY2026 issue is being published in March 2025.

This year’s chart compares the Projected FY2026 Biden Budget based on OMB figures (March 2024) and Possible FY2026 Trump Budget based on G.O.P. stated goals (as of March 2025)

Projected FY 2026 Biden Budget
Projected FY 2026 Biden Budget based on OMB figures (March 2024)

These figures are from the FY2026 column in last year’s Analytical Perspectives book of the Budget
of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025. They are Federal funds, so do not include Trust funds
— such as Social Security — which are raised and spent separately from income taxes.

“Current military” includes Dept. of Defense ($880 billion) and the military portion ($314 billion) from other departments and agencies, including Homeland Security, Energy (nuclear weapons), State, NSA, CIA. “Past military” represents veterans’ benefits ($391 billion) plus 80% of the interest on the debt ($1,023 billion).*

Income taxes, you pay (or don’t pay) by April 15, 2025, go to the Federal funds portion of the budget. Potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds are not reflected on this flyer

Possible FY2026 Trump Budget based on G.O.P. stated goals (as of March 2025)
Possible FY2026 Trump Budget based on G.O.P. stated goals (as of March 2025)

Because Trump has yet to release a budget proposal, presented here is a rough estimate of what the FY2026 budget (Oct. 1 – Sep. 30, 2026) might look like. The overall budget, projected to be smaller than the Biden proposal, is based on stated goals to eliminate the Dept. of Education, in addition to major cuts in Medicaid, housing assistance, food aid, energy credits, EPA, USAID, Labor, NSF, NASA, Interior, FEMA, IRS, as well as other departments and agencies, offsetting increases in military expenditures.

These cuts will not offset major tax cuts for the rich and corporations, so the debt is expected to increase.

SOURCES: Budget reports from mainstream news sources, plus indepth analysis from nationalpriorities.org, taxpayer.net, responsiblestatecraft.org, budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu, cbpp.org, thehill.com, federalnewsnetwork.com, kff.org, among others

*Analysts differ on how much of the debt stems from the military; other groups estimate 50% to 60%. We use 80% because we believe if there had been no military spending, most of the national debt would have been eliminated.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Get involved in WRL’s organizing and education work: nonviolent direct action training, counter-military recruitment, internationalist work, and more. Visit WRL’s membership handbook at warresisters.org/joinwrl. Find resources to challenge militarism, curb police and border patrol power, strengthen nonviolent action and lift up community resilience!

Write elected officials, letters-to-the-editor, and posts online. Send and share copies of this flyer. Explain your budget priorities for a better world.

Divest from war!!  Refuse to pay all or part of your federal income tax. Though illegal, thousands of people openly participate in this form of protest. Whatever you choose to refuse—$1, $10, 45% or 100%—send a letter to elected officials and tell them why. Contact us for information or referral to a counselor near you. Contribute resisted tax money to groups that work for the common good.

For more about refusing to pay for war, brochures, and other resources, contact the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, (800) 269-7464 or see nwtrcc.org.

Order a DVD of NWTRCC’s film, Death and Taxes from WRL’s online store.

JUST PUBLISHED! Read and use War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military – 6th Edition – handbook with history, methods and resources

April 5 Is the National Day of Resistance

by Henry Lowendorf, Greater New Haven Peace Council

Friends,

On Saturday, April 5, I’m attending Hands Off’s events, “Hands Off! Protect our Democracy! Stand Up & Fight Back!” – sign up at handsoff2025.com to join me!

The Big One is in Hartford, 3 p.m. at the CT State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave.

Around the country on April 5, Hands Off events can be the biggest showing ever that we will not play doormat to the destruction of our country by Trump/Vance/Musk and their lackeys in Congress to further enrich the billionaires.

We will RESIST all attacks on any of us, on our human rights.
Hope to see you there,

Henry

List of Hands Off Events in Connecticut:

Danbury 3-4:30 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/766928/

Guilford 11-12 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/767787/

Hartford State Capitol 3-6 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/764548/

Newtown 1-3 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/766929/

New Haven Green 12-1:30 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/767051/

New London 11-1 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/766124/

New Milford 11-12:30 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/765380/

Stamford 12-1:30 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/764787/

Westport 11-12:30 p.m. https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/764636/

Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide Is Available for Film Showings

by Paula Panzarella, Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide

Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide (PAMAS) had the premiere showing of its film Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide on March 25 at the Hamden Miller Memorial Library. Many more public viewings in Connecticut will be scheduled in the months ahead.

This film raises many difficult questions and societal concerns, such as: how the cost of medical care impacts one’s choice, racial discrimination, fear of disability, denial of coverage by medical insurance companies, and prejudice against the elderly. The value of the audience discussion of these issues cannot be overestimated.

The film was produced by Progressives Against Medical Suicide and Karyl Evans Productions LLC, with partial funding from the Haymarket People’s Fund, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and the Patients Rights Action Fund.

If any PAR readers have suggestions for future venues of film showings, or would like to help organize a showing, please contact progressivesagainstmas@hotmail.com. Possible locations include libraries, classes, community centers or organizations.

For more information, please visit our website at https://pamasprogressives.org.

The 50501 Movement

The first action of the 50501 Movement was on Feb. 5, protesting Project 2025 in front of the capitols of every state. In Hartford, a number of PAR readers joined the crowd of 500 in front of the State Capitol. The second 50501 action was on Feb. 17, Presidents’ Day.

The 50501 Movement is a coalition demanding justice, transparency, accountability, and an end to executive overreach. Despite being seen as leaderless, every individual, state, city, grassroots organization, and activist is a leader in this movement.

To find out about more national days of action, visit the website https://www.fiftyfifty.one.

New ICE Age Response Team: Prepare, Don’t Panic

by Paul Bass, Feb 18, New Haven Independent

[The following are excerpts. To read the entire article, please go to http://bit.ly/41dh0aA]

If an ICE (federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agent is indeed at the door: “I don’t wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United Stations Constitution … I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights … unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door …”

A coalition of 60 agencies and nonprofit groups is spreading those red cards, and that calm-but-ready message, to the heart of New Haven’s immigrant community, which is bracing for ICE mass deportation raids promised by the newly installed Trump administration. …

“Exactly what the Trump administration wants is just fear, to incite fear and panic and chaos,” Yenimar Cortes, New Haven organizer for CT Students For A Dream, said during a New ICE Age conversation Tuesday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.” She was joined by fellow organizers Fatima Rojas of Semilla Collective, Junta case worker Jacqueline Gonzalez, and high school youth organizer Ambar Santiago-Rojas.

An estimated 100,000 undocumented people live in Connecticut.
You can call the rapid response hotline at 220-666-4472. Rojas said people can call her at 203-747-4309 for information on attending the coalition’s Saturday community engagement meetings. Cortes invited people to contact her group at 203-787-0191 for information on Know Your Rights workshops.

48′-Wide Billboard Says ‘Stop Arming Israel’

by Stanley Heller, Middle East Crisis Committee

There’s an electronic billboard over the highway just as I-91 flows into I-95 going towards New York City. Since Feb. 10, for eight seconds out of every minute of the day and night, drivers and passengers will see the urgent message “Stop the War, Stop Arming Israel.” The billboard directs people to the website StopArmingIsrael.org. It will be on display through March 9.

A coalition of groups and individuals thought of using the method of billboard to reach people not usually seen in progressive areas. It’s expensive but at the very least we hope this billboard display will normalize the idea of stopping the guns to Israel.

The Coalition is made up of the Middle East Crisis Committee, Palestine Solidarity Committee of Danbury, Health Care Workers 4 Palestine – Connecticut, CT for a World BEYOND War, Veterans for Peace Chapter 18, Connecticut Palestine Alliance (CTPA), Justin Paglino, MD–PhD, Tree of Life Education Fund, Hassan Fouda, and Promoting Enduring Peace. A score of other people made donations.

On behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Committee of Danbury, Dr. Justine McCabe said, “The imperial and immoral actions of the US—in arming Israel’s genocide as well as in its support for autocratic regimes in the region—dangerously collide with the persistent striving for democracy by ‘decolonized’ people who overwhelmingly identify with Palestinians.” She continued, “While working as an anthropologist and psychologist in Gaza and West Bank, I witnessed the intense frustration and disgust among Palestinians for US unconditional support for Israel—long before this genocidal war. In fact, US support for apartheid Israel as its geopolitical proxy to control the Middle East makes both Israelis and Americans less safe, less secure. Tragically, in their ‘special relationship’ as hyper-militarized cultures, the US and Israel dehumanize their own citizens by their brutalizing dehumanization of Palestinians.”

Besides messaging the general public, the coalition will alert each member of the CT legislature, the governor and federal elected officials about the billboard and the need for each of them to act to stop weapons from going to Israel.

Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide: Film and discussion

Hamden Public Library

Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide (PAMAS) premieres its 35-minute film, Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide, which examines this controversial topic, considering its historical context, current practice, and impact on health care.

With poetry and song written and performed by a West Haven, CT-based poet, songwriter, and performance artist, Elaine Kolb, the film includes interviews with disability and social justice activists; a nationally known palliative care doctor, Dr. Diane Meier; and a retired Connecticut disability rights attorney, Nancy Alisberg, who discuss their personal and professional reasons for strong opposition to the practice. With captioning, narration, and ASL interpretation. Audience discussion and question and answer session to follow.

This program is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Registration is recommended.

Tuesday, March 25, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Thornton Wilder Hall, Miller Memorial Library
2901 Dixwell Ave., Hamden.

CT Residents Protest President-Elect Trump Ahead of Inauguration

by Shahrzad Rasekh, January 18, CT Mirror

A Connecticut contingent marched in opposition to the impending second term of President Donald J. Trump in Washington, D.C., Saturday [Jan. 18], carrying signs and expressing concern about the fate of racial minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants and the environment over the coming four years.

The People’s March, organized by a coalition of nonprofits including the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood and Time to Act, drew an estimated 50,000 demonstrators to the nation’s capital days before Trump’s second inauguration. Under gray skies and a light drizzle, a multi-generational crowd — from babies in strollers to senior citizens — marched to the Lincoln Memorial, chanting intermittently, “This is what democracy looks like!”

[Article can be read in its entirety at https://tinyurl.com/49bedmkn]

Author Talk — Radical Connecticut: People’s History In The Constitution State

Author Andy Piascik joins us for a discussion about his and Steve Thornton’s new book: “Radical Connecticut: People’s History In The Constitution State.”

Version 1.0.0

“Radical Connecticut” tells the stories of everyday people and well-known figures whose work has often been obscured, denigrated, or dismissed. There are narratives of movements, strikes, popular organizations and people in Connecticut who changed the state and the country for the better.

Bridgeport native Andy Piascik is a long-time activist and award-winning writer whose work has appeared in many publications and on many websites. He is the author of the novel “In Motion.”
“Radical Connecticut: People’s History in the Constitution State” is his fourth book.

Thursday, Jan. 23, 6-7:30 p.m.
Phillip Marrett Room
Ives Main Library
133 Elm St.
New Haven

A response to the 2024 U.S. presidential election

by New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice

The reason we have been out here during five presidential administrations

— and will be here for the next one, too

The genocide that our government has been funding and fueling in Gaza for more than a year underscores our decision to continue our weekly vigil for peace and justice in New Haven, begun in 1999 to speak out against global, national, and local atrocities — especially those in which our own government plays a primary role. And the horrifying results of the 2024 election make citizen resistance and action more urgent and important than ever.

The Democratic party failed miserably in its one job for 2024: to change course and to put forward a program to address the existential problems facing our country and the world. Here was an opportunity to break with the Biden administration on Gaza; to denounce the demonization and deportation of immigrants; to propose concrete plans to deal with the climate crisis; and to plan to deal with the other serious issues threatening our lives, such as the disastrous housing crisis, the exorbitant cost of living, the broken health care system, and the criminal, ever-growing concentration of wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people. Instead, the Democrats cultivated war criminals and appeased their corporate donors. This appeasement did not win them win the election, but it did help hand the victory to Trump and his Republican sycophants.

We will soon face a cohort of rulers whose only goals are to solidify the existing concentration of global wealth and power into the hands of a few by dismantling every single protection and gain won from decades of struggle; destroying or rendering inoperable every department of the federal government that does not give strict allegiance to their authoritarian demands; and underwriting the corporate donors who are embedded within both parties — the weapons manufacturers, AIPAC, the gun lobby, and the fossil fuel industry. Obviously, this will make conditions exponentially worse for all, starting but not ending with the most vulnerable among us. This is exactly what the Trump machine promised. Believe them.

WHAT “Endless War?”

Since 1999 when our Sunday vigil began, passersby have asked us what “endless war” we’re talking about, what we mean by the phrase. We mean this: the serial wars fought throughout the world are one war being waged on many fronts. Adults and children continue to be slaughtered, maimed, traumatized, and driven from their homes everywhere so that immense wealth and power can be concentrated in the hands of a very few people.

Here in the United States and globally, bigotry, discrimination, and widespread economic injustice serve the same end of enriching the few at the expense of the many. The weapons of the endless war include:

  • continued development and production of an ever more deadly nuclear arsenal
  • the funding and fueling of criminal wars and genocide
  • aerial drone strikes against human beings many thousands of miles away (targets whose bodies the bombardiers, operating their weapons by remote control, will never have to see)
  • mass incarcerations and deportations of immigrants and refugees (condemning them, in many cases, to a future of torture or death)
  • the systematic dismantling of the infrastructure and social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security that most of us not only depend upon but have funded with our hard-earned tax dollars all our lives
  • the destruction of our environment
  • the racist use of the police force to terrorize Black and brown communities
  • the never-ending attacks on women’s and LGBTQIA+ people’s rights
  • the systematic, vicious undermining of citizens’ rights to vote
  • the destruction of labor unions and the creation of a “gig economy”
  • the refusal to pass a living, national minimum wage
  • the propagation of a vicious, profit-driven healthcare system that discriminates against the poor, elderly, and disabled.

We believe that our tax dollars should instead be spent on the things we need to sustain and improve our lives and our planet: universal, unrestricted, comprehensive and not-for-profit quality health care for all; emergency, full-scale, and sustained action to address and do everything possible to ameliorate climate change; and excellent housing, education, and resources for everyone.

People throughout the world are risking their lives to open this path and to resist and overthrow the authoritarian regimes that stand in their way. As U.S. citizens, we cannot evade our responsibility. Silence is not an option.

May we all have the wisdom of discernment and the courage to act to protect and serve our communities, in this moment, and in the coming years.

RESIST THIS ENDLESS WAR
https://newhavensundayvigil.wordpress.com
Sunday, November 24, 2024

 

A Short History of the Progressive Action Roundtable

by Paula Panzarella, PAR Planning Committee

On Nov. 10, I gave a presentation to the First Unitarian Universalist Society on the history of the Progressive Action Roundtable. It is available to view at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kZJZSFBUwAQ1sVfafMfd0OiCBO9CbW3A/view?usp=drive_link.

Below is a link to a few early PAR documents and an example of my current activism calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u4iKSzRVefMEDHF9BjD4BKPPyO98ltyn/view?usp=sharing.

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