Sites available at Mills Bluff State park. Reserve your spot by e-mailing info@wnpj.org.

WNPJ member groups & allies are planning a WALK for PEACE this August, 22 miles from Camp Douglas to to Ft. McCoy. All welcome, for any part of this event!  Some will walk the whole 22 miles - others a mile or two - and all are invited for the Rally on Sunday morning - 9 am in Tunnel City, to see the Walkers off as they go twoard Ft. McCoy. There will be bikers on the route, too.  We'll gather on the Aug. 6th, on the eve of the Hiroshima observance - as a witness against the use of nuclear weapons and depleted uranium - the occupation of Iraq - the use of the National Guard in foreign wars of aggression - the occupation of Afghanistan and the escalation of troops in Afghanistan - the air war being waged in Pakistan.  To get involved & to have your group endorse the event - contact Jeff Leys at Voices for Creative Nonviolence - http://vcnv.org/walkforpeace. Other WNPJ groups involved with the Walk include Madison Pledge of Resistance, Nukewatch, Juneau County Peace Committee, Rapids Citizens for Peace.

Although Wisconsin immigrant-rights advocates were disappointed that a drivers card for undocumented workers was not included in the budget, some were encouraged to find that State lawmakers had kept a provision to allow the children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at the University of Wisconsin if they have resided in the state for three years.
"This victory is something that brings more than hope, it brings opportunity,  an opportunity for a better future not only for the student but for the entire family, for entire communities as higher education is finally possible for their youth," said Jannet Arenas, a Wisconsin immigrant-rights activist.
The Governor is expected to sign the budget next week.

Photo: Voces de la Frontera

Galena Gazette

The 22 people charged with misdemeanor trespass went before a judge in Jo Daviess Circuit Court in Galena on Wednesday, June 24. Seventeen pleaded guilty; five pleaded not guilty. Bench trials were scheduled for four of those five.The protest was held on April 27 outside of and on the property of the private security company Xe, formerly known as Blackwater. The 22 defendants are charged with knowingly entering upon the lands of Xe, off of Skunk Hollow Road in Stockton, after receiving notice from the owner that entry was forbidden.

Photo from Alfred Meyer, alfred.c.meyer@gmail.com

Conservationists  announce  intent  to  file  lawsuit  over  water  pollution  from  Flambeau  Mine. A  Wisconsin  conservation  group  and  two  individuals  formally  notified  the  Flambeau  Mining  Company  (FMC)  and  the  Wisconsin  Department  of  Natural  Resources  (DNR)  that  they  intend  to  file  a  lawsuit  over  water  pollution  caused  by  the  partially  reclaimed  Flambeau  Mine,  near  Ladysmith,  Wisconsin,  unless  the  pollution  and  related  issues  are  fully  addressed  within  30  days  by  FMC  and  the  DNR.  The  formal  notification  letter  was  sent  to  FMC  and  the  DNR  by  Attorney  Glenn  M.  Stoddard  of  Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin,  on  behalf  of  the  Wisconsin  Resources  Protection  Council  (WRPC - member group of WNPJ),  Al  Gedicks  and  Laura  Furtman.    (photo credit to this group)

To the list of safety, environmental, and economic concerns about nuclear power, add another: Utilities do not have enough money set aside to decommission existing nuclear reactors when they are shut down, the Associated Press reports. The nuclear reactors themselves become huge mountains of radioactive waste when they are shut down, and need to be disposed of.  But no storage site exists to accept the waste, so the reactor on the Mississippi at Genoa, WI, which stopped operating in 1987, is still there, awaiting decommissioning. Point Beach has only about half of the estimated $684-million it will need for decommissioning, and the Kewaunee reactor is somewhat close to having enough money set aside if estimates of $359-million are correct, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Journal Sentinel story here. Help stop a current effort to open the door to more nuclear reactors in Wisconsin. Learn more and sign an online petition here.

Representative Tammy Baldwin continued her consistent record of voting against war funding, providing one of only 31 Democratic votes in the House of Representatives against another $97 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Baldwin was the only Wisconsin Democrat to vote against the funding, although Appleton's Steve Kagen had voted against war funding on an earlier vote. Republicans Petri, Ryan and Sensebrenner also voted against the bill because it included $5 billion for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to aid nations affected by the global financial crisis.

Peace activist David Swanson called Baldwin and 31 other members of Congress "heroes", saying,

Delegates of the 2009 Democratic Party of Wisconsin Convention adopted a resolution in support of legislation that will place new checks on future orders to federalize Wisconsin's national guard.

The resolution (shown below), Supporting Assembly Bill 203 To Require The Governor To Examine Orders That Place Wisconsin National Guard On Federal Active Duty To Determine If They Are Lawful And Valid, was unanimously adopted June 13.

In addition, dozens of delegates visited the Bring The Guard Home table hosted by Dennis Coyier to get information, sign the petition, and take post cards to mail in to their local Assembly Representatives.

The next step will be to get the Wisconsin Democratic Party leadership to communicate news of the resolution's adoption to our elected leaders asking for their support of AB 203.

Sign the online petition

Make a donation to Victor's legal defense

Active duty soldier and IVAW member, Victor Agosto, has refused to fight in Afghanistan and may face court martial for his actions. Adding your name to our support petition can help his case.

 The people of the Zharawa Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) tent camp fear for their lives as temperatures exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The camp has no shade trees or structures and no electricity for refrigeration of food. 137 families share 45 tents. Many of the people are elderly and children who are most susceptible to disease. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) share the fate of the IDP’s by moving into the tent camp. With the members of the camp, they will join voices to ask the local, national and international community to help relocate them to a more liveable and humane environment. Remember the expression, “It takes a village to raise a child?” CPT and the Zharawa IDP’s say, “It takes a world to raise a village." Learn more form this video:
"Mothers for Peace" video, available for viewing on: www.duluthcpt.net. And find out what action you can take...

 A bill requiring to Governor to review all Federal orders for deployment of the Wisconsin Guard and to refuse orders that are unlawful has been introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly, and referred to the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs. Please contact your legislators and ask them to support this legislation, Assembly Bill 203 (pdf).  Read below for a list of committee members; their support is especially critical in this first consideration.  But whether your legislators are on those committees or not, ask them to back the bill.

Download petition and flyer.     Sign an online petition.  When contacting state legislators remind them that the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Green Party have voiced support for AB 203.

WNPJ opens the process for nominating Peacemakers of the Year – 2009. The nomination form is available here and due back in the WNPJ office by July 31, 2009. Peacemakers and all nominees will be recognized at the WNPJ Annual Fall Assembly, October 3rd at the Goodman Community Center in Madison. (photo of 2008 Peacemakers): John Kinsman, Paul Melling, Sr. Lillia Langreck, Karen Drydyk, Julie Enslow & Cassandra Dixon  -Milwaukee, Fall Assembly  

If you're interested in becoming a part of the BOARD of WNPJ, starting in October, 2009 --- or want to suggest someone else-- please contact Bill Christofferson for details, by July 15th, 2009. xofferson@wi.rr.com or 414-486-9651.        

Coalition for Wisconsin Health; Affiliate of Physicians for a National Health Program - PNHP
Contact Persons: Art Taggart and Kate Wenban
Address: PO Box 1453, Madison, WI 53701
or 1202 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-663-8322
E-Mail: ataggart@wisc.edu or wischealth@aol.com
Website: www.wisconsinhealth.org

Eleven raging grannies hit the high notes about single payer healthcare to staffers at Senator Feingold's Middleton, WI  office on Friday, May 29.

Alejandro writes: "I think that the moment has come to begin to change [people's] image of immigrants and to me, what WNPJ is doing is a good example of that. I at least, as an immigrant, am going to buy it (the yard sign) so that starting with us another point of view can begin in Wisconsin. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING IMMIGRANTS!"

Stand up for immigrant rights at a time when immigrants are under attack and need your support. These new signs feature handwritten messages of "welcome" in six languages by people from many of Wisconsin's immigrant communities.  The two-sided yard sign features "welcome" in Spanish and Hmong, single-sided 11x17 window signs feature either Spanish or Hmong.

Yard sign: $5 plus postage
Window sign: $2 plus postage
Call (608) 250-9240 or email The WNPJ Office to order.

How to talk to adolescents  -- about alternatives to military service, about peace, about living a non-violent life -- was the focus of WNPJ's annual spring steering committee meeting held in Plover on March 28. A pediatrician, a high school teacher, and an Iraq war veteran shared the program, and WNPJ member groups from across the state reported on their current social justice projects. 

Photos and story by B. Christofferson (Cham Nusz, Deb Foster, group)

Click here to see the Fair Trade Directory - as a .pdf .....

Send us updates -  to familyfarmdefenders@yahoo.com.