The 23rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Capitol Square, Madison, Wisconsin
Tag Archives: Madison
Public & Press Release: Nonviolent Resisters Block Shift Change at Truax Military Base Monday Morning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Madison, WI, 3/27/2023
Nonviolent Resisters Successfully Blocked Shift Change at Truax Air National Guard Base this Morning to Oppose F-35 Fighter Jets & War
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Contacts:
Janet Parker, Madison for a World BEYOND War, 608-228-9096 janetparker8@gmail.com
Joy First, Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, 608-239-4327
Live this morning on Channel 27: https://www.wkow.com/news/demonstrators-gather-at-truax-field-to-oppose-arrival-of-f-35-fighter-jets/article_a526c44c-cc8f-11ed-9c13-6b59db1b26b4.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
A nonviolent resistance action successfully blocked the shift change this morning at Truax ANG Base this morning, March 27, 2023. More than 40 activists, including Iowa County parish priest Father Jim Murphy, took part in protesting the F-35 fighter jets, which are scheduled to come to Truax Field in Madison this spring. These jets were opposed by the MMSD School Board and the Madison City Council. Activists are calling on the Governor to change the mission of Truax ANG base to a peaceful one. Today in Burlington, VT, the other F-35 base, activists are also demonstrating.
“Help us say no to war, environmental pollution, militarism, and F-35’s in Madison or anywhere else.” – Andrea Novotney, Great Turning Catholic Worker Farm, Madison
“We call for grounding the F-35 fighter jets, gun control at the Pentagon, and war abolition: an end to the organized mass murder called war.”
– Janet Parker, Madison for a World BEYOND War.
“We want the Governor to meet with a delegation of Safe Skies representatives in order to discuss the F-35 project and to propose a solution that will meet the needs and concerns of Madison residents and our local public official allies. We want the Governor to negotiate with the Air Force to create a new mission for the Air National Guard at Truax Field.”
– Safe Skies organizer Tom Boswell
Statement:
F-35 FIGHTER BRINGS THE WAR HOME TO WISCONSIN!
WE SAY NO!
We come here today, March 27, 2023 to say: ground the F-35 fighter jet and abolish war! The F-35 fighter jet is a threat to the planet. It should not be based in Madison or anywhere.
Under state law, the Air National Guard provides protection of life and property and preserves peace, order and public safety, but the ANG at Truax violates that mandate. ANG bases in several states provide emergency relief during floods, earthquakes and forest fires; search and rescue operations; medical missions. Fighter jets can’t “preserve peace, order and public safety.” They are worthless in a natural disaster. They are not effective for search and rescue. They can’t help maintain vital public services. The F-35 is only an instrument of war and more than ever before, the ANG at Truax will threaten the lives of civilians abroad and degrade the quality of life in Madison.
The F-35, wherever it is deployed, will degrade the environment, intensify climate chaos, intensify the horrors of present wars and precipitate new ones. Due to the expansion of NATO and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the threat of nuclear annihilation has never been so grave as now. Placing the F-35 at Truax will make Madison a target in any nuclear confrontation with Russia. But in reality, nowhere on earth will be safe.
We urgently call on the governor of Wisconsin, on the Adjutant General of the Wisconsin National Guard, on the commander of Truax Field, on the state’s legislature and congressional delegation to change the mission of Truax. We call upon world leaders to disarm and abolish war and on the world’s people to join us in this demand.
This weekend, Madison hosted the 20th Catholic Worker Midwest Faith and Resistance Gathering this past weekend, to prepare for nonviolent resistance actions in Madison on Monday, March 27 to oppose war and F-35 fighter jets.
Madison Veterans for Peace, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, Madison for a World BEYOND War are local hosts. Madison activists are joined by Catholic Workers who converged from Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin. CODEPINK: Women for Peace are partners in the action also.
More details:
Catholic Worker was formed in the depths of the Great Depression, 1933, when Dorothy Day and a few others hawked The Catholic Worker in New York’s Union Square. Today there are 187 Catholic Worker communities committed to non-violence, voluntary poverty, prayer and hospitality. They continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.
Feb 22 Updates Peace, Justice and War
If you find worthwhile posts, articles or videos please share.
– For Peace and Justice
Brad Geyer, Chapter Contact
Our Peace Book Club VFP Madison
Defuse Nuclear War – War Abolition Walk Feb 24 at 2:30 – Madison – Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin
Meet with Mark Pocan’s staff Dane Varese, Visit Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s office and War Abolition Walk at 4pm. Join us for as much or little as you want.
Fund Communities, Not War – CODEPINK – Women for Peace Feb 22, 2023
“After the People Over Pentagon Act was re-introduced by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), CODEPINK and other allies dropped a banner inside the House of Representatives Cannon Building rotunda that reads, FUND COMMUNITIES, NOT WAR.”
The bill introduced would cut $100 billion from the well-over three-quarters-of-a-trillion dollar Pentagon budget, reducing waste and redirecting this funding to other priorities. The agency’s budget in Fiscal Year 2023 is a whopping $858 billion. Despite never passing an audit, the Pentagon often receives tens of billions of additional dollars from Congress in each budget cycle…”
Veterans for Peace is welcome. We will be showing the documentary Theaters of War on Friday evening. More to come,
Speakers & a Panel discussion “Why we should Ground the F-35 and Abolish War”
- Vicki Berenson & Steven Klafka, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin
- Danaka Katovich, National Co-Director, CODEPINK Women for Peace and Ground the F-35s Program Coordinator
- Brian Terrell, Strangers & Guests Catholic Worker, Maloy, Iowa & Nevada Desert Experience
- and more
Ukraine, One Year Later, Code Pink and Friends Video discussion
Madison Action Alert from Physicians for Social Responsibility:
3 easy steps to contact your Alder (Madison residents) on abolishing nuclear weapons and #BackFromtheBrink Campaign;
1. Find your City Alder and their contact information by clicking here.
2. Customize this linked letter to send to your alder by mail or email.
3. You can also use this letter to help you make a call to your alder.
If you like, let PSR WI info@psrwisconsin.org know which Alder you reached and their response. This helps PSR track Alders contacted along with their stance. If you are not in Madison, please consider letting your legislators know your thoughts on abolishing nuclear weapons.
Back from the Brink Background – PSR Wisconsin
VFP Madison endorses the Cease Fire Campaign calling for calling for the immediate implementation of safer alternatives to open air burning, detonation and incineration/combustion of military munitions.
About the Campaign | CSWAB
The New START Treaty’s Effect on Nuclear Warhead Deployment
Status of World Nuclear Forces – Federation Of American Scientists (fas.org)
Veteran for Peace Danny Sjursen, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, taught at West Point. The video is an interview from 2021. Danny Discusses his book “A True History of the US, ” which in some ways takes off from Howard Zinn left off but focused on the US military machine. I would love to have him come to Madison as a guest sometime.
Event Calendar
WBW News & Action: Peace in Ukraine Right Now – World BEYOND War
Sat Feb 25, 12 noon – 1 pm Peace Action Weekly Stand for Peace. Meet at 92nd and North, Wauwatosa. Each week, a different vigil site in the Milwaukee area. Bring your signs for peace! Questions? Contact Peace Action WI – info@peaceactionwi.org or see https://www.peaceactionwi.org/
The Price of Oil
Mapping the world’s oil and gas pipelines | Infographic News | Al Jazeera
Back from the Brink Updates for 2023
We are working together to abolish nuclear weapons and advocating for common sense nuclear weapons policies to secure a safer, more just future. (PSR) Talk to people. Write a letter. Ask your local organizations and friends to endorse the campaign.
thank you for your concern and involvement
share, print, hand out
updates and current efforts
Nuclear Weapons Disarmament and Divestment in Madison [PSR Wisconsin]
“The threat of nuclear war is real and growing, yet many people are unaware of the danger, or the harmful here-and-now impacts of developing and maintaining our nuclear arsenal. Others may be concerned but don’t feel as if they have any say on the issue or a meaningful way to get involved and make a difference. As a result, policymakers don’t hear concerns about nuclear weapons from their constituents and feel no pressure to act.”
learn more about Back from the Brink
About | Back from the Brink (preventnuclearwar.org)
Art on post Keith Haring
Brian Barnes
contact elected officials: