Tag Archives: Wisconsin

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 [email protected]

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:

https://www.safeskiescleanwaterwi.org/save-the-date-march-24-27-catholic-worker-faith-resistance-gathering-no-f-35s/

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.

All Posts – Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin

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…”

March 24-27 Catholic Worker Faith & Resistance Gathering – No F-35s! – Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin

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 [email protected] 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

Events | wnpj

WBW News & Action: Peace in Ukraine Right Now – World BEYOND War

“The Future in Our Pockets: Making Money Work for the Common Good” – Join this Zoom Webinar on Thursday, February 23 | WILPF (wilpfus.org)

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 – [email protected] 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

Action Alert PSR

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:

100 Years Young, Congratulations F. Lincoln Grahlfs

Happy birthday, Lincoln! Behind him, Madison VFP members Larry, Phil, Steve, Daryl, John, and Tom. Photo credit, Sandy Franzen.

A copy of Lincoln’s book can be found here at the following link or Amazon or where Veterans for Peace Madison might be tabling.

Undaunted: The Story of a United States Navy Tug and Her Crew…by Grahlfs, F. Lincoln

Picture credits to Larry, Phil and Tom

Members of Madison Veterans for Peace joined a large crowd today to celebrate the 100th birthday of Lincoln Grahlfs, our oldest member currently. Lincoln served in the US Navy during and after World War II.

After the war, he was at the infamous US nuclear weapons tests on Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls in the Pacific, receiving much radiation. Many of his buddies died too young, but he has survived and fought for better health care for veterans suffering from nuclear exposure. During the Summer of 2022, US President Joe Biden called him to Washington DC, to witness the signing of a bill mandating that care.

– Larry

It was a wonderful party for Lincoln

Who celebrated his 100th birthday

With so many friends and family.

Lincoln was recently honored with
A personal meeting with President
Biden at the White House for his work
With the veterans who survived the
Atomic testing programs held after
WWll.

Members of Madison’s Clarence
Kailin chapter 25 Veterans For Peace
Were on hand to honor their most
Distinguished member.

– Tom Glassel

A War Veteran Recounts His Journey to Becoming a Sociologist (asanet.org)

Lincoln during the war. We were all so young during our wars. Some are forever young.

National World War II Museum oral historian Hannah Dailey talks about “atomic veterans” and interviews four veterans including Lincoln Grahlfs

Veterans and Nuclear Radiation Exposure | C-SPAN.org

Joan and Lincoln Grahlfs

“F. Lincoln Grahlfs, a World War II Navy veteran, is a sociologist who has studied the effects of radiation exposure on United States military veterans. He has served as president of the National Association of Radiation Survivors.”

Veterans of US Atomic Age Deserve Compensation (militarytimes.com)

Lincoln and President Joe Biden Summer 2022

The President signed a 2-year extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides partial restitution to Downwinders, atomic veterans, and uranium workers exposed to radiation. – Lilly Adams

Lincoln’s ship putting out fires on one of the expendable ships that was anchored near ground zero of an atomic bomb test.

“The United States conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons development tests between 1945 and 1962 spreading radiation across several Western states and the South Pacific. All the while, the Atomic Energy Commission insisted to surrounding residents: “There is no danger.”

‘Downwinders’ ignored despite radiation fallout from US nuke tests – Responsible Statecraft

“Floating on a U.S. Navy tugboat in the Pacific Ocean nearly a year after the end of World War II, Lincoln Grahlfs and his shipmates could hear a countdown over a radio, signaling their mission would soon begin.

The sailors were told to cover their eyes with their hands before the countdown hit zero. Four hours later and wearing no protective gear, Grahlfs and his ship traveled 11 miles through Bikini Atoll to ground zero of where the United Stated military had tested a nuclear weapon.

The crew was tasked with putting out fires on empty ships used as targets and towing those that hadn’t sunk to shallower waters for examination. More than 75 years after cleaning up the aftermath of two atomic tests in the central Pacific, the Madison resident has used his personal experience to advocate for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and on behalf of fellow veterans exposed to dangerous radiation…”

‘You can’t live with them’: Madison WWII vet exposed to atomic testing warns about nuclear weapons

Wisconsin State Journal