The movement that has sprung up to challenge the American drive to war, before the shooting has even begun is, apparently, unprecedented. There are lots of formations offering lots of ways for people to join in.

But here are a few ideas I've not seen discussed.

Motor Car Boycott. I know it's for oil. You know it's for oil. We all know it's for oil. (Or if we don't, have a look-see at the opinion of the oil industry itself.) Since it doesn't look as though the overwhelming opposition by the world's people is going to prevent a war, why not hit them where it hurts? Park your car, round up all of its keys, and mail them to a relative living in another state (or just sell it). Then write a letter to the White House stating what you've done, and why. Then convince your friends and family to do the same thing. Yes, it's a major inconvenience. For those living in rural areas, it may even be impossible. But not nearly so inconvenient as living under a carpet of U.S. bombs. There are other benefits: you won't believe how much money you'll save (especially if you sell your car altogether), you'll feel much healthier walking short distances rather than driving, and you'll get much more productive work done on public transit than sitting in your car in the middle of a gridlock.

War Tax Resistance. Fifty percent of your federal income taxes are sucked up by the military. If this is not how you want the federales to allocate your hard-earned hard-earned, then, deny it to them. It's as simple as requesting a W-4 from your employer, figuring out how many exemptions you would need to claim to reduce your paycheck withholdings to zero, penciling in that number of exemptions, and returning it to your employer. Yes, it would be an act of civil disobedience. No, you would not be sent packing to the stoney lonesome. The IRS wants to collect the money, not imprison you.

Unless you're able to hide your assets, the IRS probably will collect, eventually. So it's not an activity that should be undertaken lightly, or without prior counseling. But it's an activity one should give serious consideration to undertaking nevertheless. (Those not ready to engage in full-on tax resistance straight away can withhold smaller, symbolic amounts instead.) There is a knowledgeable and competent base of support for those considering taking this step. Consult, for example, the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee and the Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia (full disclosure: I volunteer for the second organization).

Human Shields. Iraq Peace Team, Christian Peacemakers Teams, the International Solidarity Movement, the Universal Kinship Society, and others send delegations to Iraq, Colombia, Palestine, Afghanistan and other recipient nations of U.S. bombs in order to aid and act in solidarity with victims of U.S. militarism. The latter group is attempting to recruit tens of thousands of people to travel to Iraq to act as human shields -- on the assumption that the Bush Administration would think twice about pulling the trigger knowing the chances that somebody with white skin could get injured or killed. A supremely courageous act that's obviously not for everyone, and inherently very dangerous. But even those of us who cannot make this sort of commitment can monetarily and psychologically support those who have and shall.

Survey Says. Doubt the veracity of the major opinion poll releases? Take your own! Needs just a paper, pencil, and clipboard. Anywhere there's a captive audience would work best: in the workplace, in the theater (prior to a show's beginning), on the bus, in a line, etc. Then make sure to publicize the results to your local media.

The Eight-Hour March. The marches protesting the upcoming war (if not the rallies preceding them!) have to-date been incredibly vibrant, spontaneous, organic, and spirited. They've attracted some attention, but haven't seem to have done such a good job reaching out to those whose attentions they've attracted. So how about planning a march to encompass, say, all the daylight hours (volunteers could sign up for different shifts, as needed)? Or both rush hours as well as the lunch hour (with recuperative breaks in-between)? But here's the important part: make sure there are dedicated teams to pass out informational packets to all those gaping bystanders, as well as all those stranded motorists.

The Dispersed "March". Rather than actually marching, all those who turn up to march could be utilized to station somebody at every corner of every intersection in the downtown area (during, again, the most highly trafficked times of day and week). Each with a sign and a big stack of informational packets to hand off to passersby (and those waiting for their traffic signal to change).

Commandeer A TV Station. Okay, it'd take a ton of logistical and technical organizing. But if it could be pulled off -- and if there were enough people to prevent the station's falling back into the wrong hands -- it could have a helluva big impact.

Anyway, just some thoughts. In the final analysis it probably doesn't matter so much what we do as that we do: any time spent in dissent is time well-spent.

Citations as well as links to organizations mentioned in this article can be found at http://feedthefish.org/blog/archives/000022.html#000022.