Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice

The silver lining to the horrific decision to base the F-35s war planes in Madison is that it presents an amazing focus for us to come together. Copy this alert, modify it as you need to to make it your own, and send it to your people. If you are part of any groups, ask them to sign on as one of the Safe Skies Clean Water Coalition supporting groups by filling out this form: https://tinyurl.com/SSCWGroupEndorse

We come together for:

The slogan of your team of map-helpers,  Mary Kay Baum and Dan Folkman, is  "If we can do it, you can do it".  Below we provide you with video steps to get your maps to both the People's Maps Commission Portal (PMC for short) and Legislature's Draw Your District Wisconsin (DYD for short) by October 15th.

In the tradition of seafaring civil demonstrations against injustice, CODEPINK is sponsoring a collective of sailors that have launched an exciting new venture: a US-Cuba Friendship Flotilla that will sail from southern Florida to Cuba in November 2021. We are looking for peace-loving, humanitarian people with boats, people interested in crewing on boats, and everyone willing to contribute time, funds, and/or resources to this inspiring initiative.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced, for the first time EVER, it will set limits on levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) being discharged into our waters. While welcomed, it'll take years to implement and it will not go far enough. But, there is legislation to jump-start protection of our drinking water from PFAS, NOW. 

Did you hear that the House Armed Services Committee voted to increase Pentagon spending by $25 billion more than President Biden requested, which could bring total military spending to a whopping $778 billion in FY2022? 

That’s right. This is the same Pentagon budget that’s already bigger than the next 12 largest country’s military budgets combined.

On Sept. 9, 2021, Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Steve Shea introduced Resolution 21-826 calling for the Board to endorse the Back From the Brink “Call to Prevent Nuclear War”.

How do we achieve a more equitable energy economy? If you ask NAACP Field Organizer and MREA Vice President Denise Abdul-Rahman, she’ll kindly tell you we need a system that increases employment opportunities and decreases pollution externalities. She’ll say it starts with dialogue—with listening to communities in need and valuing community knowledge. And then she’ll ask you to re-imagine how a new, clean energy economy can work for all. Today, we’re challenging you to help create actions and outcomes around this dialogue.

Around the country, the forces of white supremacy and racism are confronting school boards, demanding they prevent teaching the true history of racism, slavery, sexism, and violence against marginalized communities that is part of the founding of our country.  As people of faith, we believe it is the responsibility of each person to do their part to address the systemic inequities and injustices in our society, and to create a world where every human being can live a life of dignity and respect.  

From Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice: As people of faith, we are all deeply distressed at the human cost of the 20-years long war in Afghanistan, and the devastating impact of the US withdrawal over the last few weeks.  Many of us are wondering how we can help the influx of Afghan refugees who have been brought to Wisconsin andmay be settling here.

We're pleased to share with you the Fall issue of the Interfaith Peace Working Group Newsletter! We believe you will find the articles informative and useful for discussion and study in your congregation/synagogue/mosque or other local faith community.

Support WNPJ's work to continue making connections for a peaceful, just and sustainable world!

Make a special donation online now!

To learn more about ways to donate, see http://www.wnpj.org/Donate-Join

Madison's Activist Street Band!  Founded in Madison, Wisconsin in 2011, Forward! Marching Band was forged in the crucible of the epic protests surrounding the (former) Governor Walker’s regressive agenda. For weeks, we marched around the capitol in the snow and rain, gaining members and experience. Since that time, Forward! Marching Band has dedicated itself to maintaining that unique fighting spirit of the Wisconsin protest movement.

WNPJ is excited to be grounding the next chapter of our work in the Just Transition framework put forth by Climate Justice Alliance, a national network made up of locally, tribally, and regionally-based racial and economic justice organizations of Indigenous Peoples, Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and poor white communities. 

Just Transition is a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This means approaching production and consumption cycles holistically and waste-free. The transition itself must be just and equitable; redressing past harms and creating new relationships of power for the future through reparations. If the process of transition is not just, the outcome will never be. Just Transition describes both where we are going and how we get there.

Upcoming Event: The theme of WNPJ’s Fall Assembly will be the Just Transition! Planned virtually for Saturday, November 13th - stay tuned for registration details!  

On September 22, 2021, Urban Triage will begin processing rental support applications submitted to Tenant Resource Center before their database shut down to transfer application information to our database. Our website, application form, call center, and online chat will be available to all residents outside the City of Madison as of October 1, 2021. Here's where you step in; we need your help. Your help is required to provide a quick turnaround time for applications.

Across the U.S., hundreds of communities and thousands of on-base personnel and service members have felt the adverse effects of toxic pollutants, including PFAS: Demilitarization of Military Flares are an Uncontrolled Source of PFAS.

You're sure to find WNPJ members you know at the Dane County 'Saturday on the Square' Farmer's Market.

Kathy Kelly writes: On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was among a small group of U.S. citizens who sat on milk crates or stood holding signs, across from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Manhattan. We had been fasting from solid foods for a month, calling for an end to brutal economic warfare waged against Iraq through imposition of U.N. sanctions.

It’s not everyday you welcome those without a home driven from their beloved country for fear of life and liberty. It’s not everyday you’re reminded of the tenants of our country as proclaimed in Emma Lazarus’ poem “Give me your tired, your poor.”  I read of human beings escaping Afghanistan with little to no belongings. Families, occupations and dreams shattered. Many will reside at Fort McCoy. To date nearly nine thousand, mostly children, have arrived.

On Sept. 28, thousands of nonprofits around the country and hundreds of volunteers will join together on National Voter Registration Day with the goal of registering as many voters as possible.

Sign the new Petition to Stop the Basing of F-35s at Truax Air Base in Madison, Wisconsin

https://tinyurl.com/PetitionNoF35s

Signatures will be sent periodically to Senator Tammy Baldwin as we collect them. Please share widely!

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The Interfaith Peace Working Group appreciates your participation in our Postcard Campaign of Resistance against the F-35s!