Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice

On July 19 seven Elder women, among them Honor the Earth director Winona LaDuke and Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative reporter Barbara With, were arrested for trespassing as they sat in lawn chairs on the banks of the Shell River praying and hoping to put a halt to Enbridge’s horizontal directional drilling under the river stressed by a historic drought.  Update: 7/23: Winona LaDuke was released from Aitkin County Jail yesterday and rejoined the Shell River 7 at the river.

  Article by Rebecca Kemble 7/20/21

They face off with sergeants and deputies from Rice and Stearns County on Enbridge’s easement to the Shell River July 19, 2021. Photos by Citizen X

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

A former mayor of Hiroshima has launched an online petition calling for a moment of silence to be observed during the Tokyo Olympics at the time the atomic bomb was dropped on his western Japan city on Aug. 6.

On this day, seventy six years ago, the world was forever changed when the U.S. detonated the world’s first nuclear device in the Trinity nuclear test. 

Conducted in the desert of southern New Mexico, it began the morally corrupt, racist, and lethal legacy of nuclear weapons. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “New Mexico residents were neither warned before the Trinity blast, informed of health hazards afterward, nor evacuated before, during, or after the test. Exposure rates in public areas from the world’s first nuclear explosion were measured at levels 10,000- times higher than currently allowed.” Sadly, it’s no surprise that the downwinders of Trinity were largely impoverished agricultural families, mostly Hispanic and Native.

Not only is it time to acknowledge the harm done by racism past and present, it is also the time to start to repair some of that damage. 

As part of For Goodness Sake, a live online nonviolence training and webinar exploring the power of music in nonviolent movements will be hosted by Pace e Bene on Friday, August 20. Click here for more information.  On Saturday, August 21 enjoy music from around the world to support the movement for a culture of active nonviolence free from racism, poverty, environmental destruction, and war.

The Navajo Nation and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opposed the inconsistent and confusing restrictions Arizona imposed on voting.  Yet this month, our highest court ruled Arizona can continue to require ballots to be returned only by a guardian or immediate family member.

The Poor People’s Campaign is joining with the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, Institute for Policy Studies, and Economic Policy Institute in a statement calling for Congress to seize an historic opportunity to set a bold reconciliation package that meets all of our needs.  Forward together, not one step back!  Please read the full statement below.

Encourage everyone  you know to take this 2-5 min action:  Go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ and simply send a brief message asking President Biden to “Stop Line 3.” Of course, it may help to add the important reasons, but if you only have 2 - 5 mins, a very brief note will be better than nothing. (And, you will be glad that you did!) A brief sample letter and flyer can be found here.

On Tuesday, July 13 Senator Duey Stroebel (R - Saukville) and Representative Timothy Ramthun (R - Campbellsport) released legislation to expand access to community solar in Wisconsin. They have asked other members of the legislature to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill. The deadline to co-sponsor the bill is Friday, July 23^rd.  Ask Your Legislators to Co-Sponsor the Bill!

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

Now that our communities are cautiously opening up,we hope that you can distribute additional postcards at Farmers’ Markets, Festivals, Picnics and 

to Faith Communities and Elected Officials in Wisconsin.

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

Sinsinawa Dominicans - a WNPJ member group comprised of women dedicated to preaching and teaching the Gospel. Based in Sinsinawa Mound in southwest Wisconsin, the Sisters believe that at the heart of ministry is relationship. Today, more than 300 Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters in the United States and abroad participate in the mission shared by all Dominicans: to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.

Our Pops are now sold at all three Willy St. Co-op locations and Brittingham Boats. We welcome the opportunity to cater your next special event! Check out our website for more information and to order your pops!

Over 300 global civil society organizations of small-scale food producers, researchers and Indigenous Peoples’ will gather online (July 25-28) to protest against the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit.

Celebrating clean water, blessing the Menominee River - &  interview with Al Gedicks.

It's not just a Madison issue. It's not just a Wisconsin issue. It's not even just a U.S. issue.  There are groups like ours in many other states - and countries - opposing the F-35 joint strike fighter jets for a multitude of reasons. Safe Skies will be contributing toward building a coordinated national campaign. 

Biden needs to stop construction of the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands crude oil pipeline that threatens the headwaters of the Mississippi as well as Lake Superior and other valued waters in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Ojibwe treaty rights, and our planet’s health.

Rosy images of electric buses and other infrastructure projects Biden is advocating for were part of his presentation in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Those images ignore the widespread destructive impacts of the oil pipeline project he is enabling upstream.

The Burlington, Vermont City Council passed a resolution on July 12, 2021 that would keep the city from investing in weapons manufacturers and requests that the Burlington Employees’ Retirement System divest from any weapons manufacturing companies if any assets are currently invested.

A good model for Wisconsin: As Colorado continues to recover from COVID-19’s economic fallout, the state is making strides to speed up the process. One way – Senate Bill (SB) 21-199, which makes it easier for undocumented immigrants to fully participate in Colorado’s economy by removing barriers to professional and commercial licenses.

Do you live near Madison WI and have concerns about the F35 fighter jets? Please take a moment to contact your Dane County Board Supervisor and ask them to support and endorse 2021 RES-088.

The Victory Noll Sisters Small Grants Program; Seeding Creation Care. Have you heard?  Small grants are available up to a maximum of $1,000 for groups, parishes and individuals. The priority deadline to apply is October 14th, 2021. (If funding remains thereafter, grants will be awarded on a rolling basis until the funds are exhausted.)

Click here for the Executive Director Position Description. To apply for this position, click here. Applications will be accepted until July 25, 2021. Please share this opportunity with others who may be interested!