Stop paying taxes!

this morning a white womon stops me & asks me if i pay taxes. i tell her my income is below the poverty line so i pay social security. she says the only way to stop war is to stop paying taxes.

i agree, saying it is one of the fiercest things we can do, for without our tax dollars, war could not continue; and without our sons & daughters bodies, war could not continue; and without our complicity & our too busy life-styles not to mention our consumer material-laden riches life-styles (comparing with 95% of the world's people, not the wealthiest of this nation), war could not continue.

paths are many and abundant to the ending of war and the establishing of peace on our planet & in our country. AND it will take all of us doing what we can and are able to do, and then pushing ourselves to reach higher, to do more - for our very existence is at stake.

but even our very existence is threatened in some untangible, futuristic way - really it is only the very existence of Iraqis and some u.s. soldiers that are at immediate stake - which is why most of us can give ourselves permission to be 'too busy' to end war!

Womyn* Holding Our Ground for Peace from Sept 11th to the 21st.

Congress will be voting in September to either continue funding the war and occupation of Iraq, or not. We are calling on Womyn to be there to make sure Congress hears our voices and to combine our energies and actions to end war NOW!

We will hold as much of the ground around Congress, the Capitol, the Senate & House office buildings as possible for the 10 days during which time they will be most likely to vote.

Preliminary Schedule: which of these day(s) appeal to you? what actions/ceremonies are you willing to bottom-line (with others)? will you help invite the different womyn's communities? any other ideas?

Sept 11th: Day of Grounding

This day will reflect the myriad of ways we ground ourselves, from brainstorming and building consensus to spell out our bottom-line goals putting us all on the same page TO a grounding ceremony energetically & spiritually preparing our bodies, minds, souls for the next 10 days TO breaking bread together TO???

Sept 12th: Day of Silence

Silence will be the base of this day as we hold in our beings the multitude of deaths, tortures, rapes being committed in our name. Actions as Womyn In Black standing vigil TO a silent procession around the Capitol and thru the halls of Congress TO a silent Real Faces of War Action TO???

Sept 13th: Day of Mourning

Womyn wail, rend our clothes, wear white as we publicly acknowledge and bewail the huge horrific destruction of life in our name

Sept 14th & 15th: Days of Outrage

We express our outrage and make all the connections, beginning with the horrific loss of life in Iraq to the daily impact of racism, sexism, poverty, classism, colonization, military & prison industrial complexes, on the people of our country & the world, and the daily consequences of choosing to spend money on war instead of human services.

Hourly actions focusing on the on womyn & children from Katrina to prisons to education, health care, providing for the most disenfranchised and underprivileged

Sept 16th to 21st: Days of Empowerment

We begin these days calling on Womyn to begin 4 days of drumming, singing, calling our ancestors to join us U guide the proceeding days of empowerment and ACTIONS as we surround Congress with our determined message of ending war NOW!

*Womyn: includes ALL WOMYN normally excluded from the everyday useage of “women”, specifically but not limited to womyn of color, lesbian, poor womyn, womyn who are/are not mothers, crones, young womyn-in-training, pagans, as well as the traditionally understood white, straight, Christian, wealthy women.

Straight, Bi, and Gay Men, Transgendered People are encouraged to organize and implement their own actions during this time focused on the White House in solidarity with Womyn Holding Our Ground for Peace.

Join our list serve! just email holdingourground9.11-subscribe (at) lists.riseup (dot) net or email info (at) bayareacodepink (dot) org . Or call 510-524-2776