MOVING THE MONEY FROM WAR TO PEACE: Building the Skills & Understanding to Get Us There

Contact: 
Jo Sippie-Gora, Seeds of Peace, 
Morristown Unitarian Fellowship at (973) 838-8576 

Madelyn Hoffman, 
Director of New Jersey Peace Action at (973)259-1126 


The Morristown Unitarian Fellowship and New Jersey Peace Action present a conference titled: MOVING THE MONEY FROM WAR TO PEACE Building the Skills & Understanding to Get Us There. The Conference will take place on Saturday, November 23rd from 9:30am to 2:45 pm and will include a keynote presentation by David Culp, FCNL Legislative Representative, Nuclear Disarmament, speaking on the “Citizen Lobbyist: How You Can Change Nuclear Weapons Policy” and a workshop conducted by ACLU-NJ facilitator, Gary Nissenbaum of ACLU-NJ titled “Protecting Our Civil Liberties: Privacy and the NSA.” The day-long conference will take place at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Rd., Morristown, NJ. 

Jo Sippie-Gora, of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship’s Seeds of Peace Committee said, “I thought it was important to plan a conference for those people who are concerned, and want to learn more, about some policy issues that affect all Americans. For example, our lobbying skills will be sharpened by Culp’s many years of experience lobbying on nuclear arms control and disarmament legislation. Our own Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has received very generous campaign donations from the arms industry, has just been appointed Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, where he will have huge influence over funding nuclear arms. Participants will acquire insights about Homeland Security and the intrusion on our civil liberties through Nissenbaum’s legal experience challenging its secrecy. From our six workshop offerings, we hope to come away better informed and to have gained some strategic skills for being successfully proactive. ” 

The conference comes within months of a tremendous public outcry of opposition to President Obama’s proposal to conduct an air strike against Syria. “Members of Congress revealed that the calls they received after the military strike proposal became public were running at least 9 to 1 against such a proposal,” said Madelyn Hoffman, Director of New Jersey Peace Action. “Not only did the massive opposition to the proposed military strike show how war-weary the public is, it also shows how wise they are to the true costs, both financial and human, of war. We need to build on that opposition every day in order to convince enough members of the U.S. Congress to move up to 25% of discretionary money to local communities.” 

The day’s workshops include the following: 

Learn About the Issues: 
*NJ Residents Can Stop the Nuclear Bomb; You Are More Influential Than You Think. 
*Understanding the Project for a New American Century – Where are the hot spots? 
*Moving the Money from War to Human Needs. 

Learn New Skills: 
*What Peace Activists can Learn from, and How We can Help, the OCCUPY Movement. 
*How to Speak With Those You Disagree with Politically – Family, Friends, Neighbors & 
Colleagues… Knowing What to Listen For. 
*Protecting Our Civil Liberties – Privacy and the USA 

New Jersey Peace Action: 
673 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ 07003, (973) 259-1126 

Web: www.njpeaceaction.org, Email: nj_peaceaction@yahoo.com 

Facebook: New Jersey Peace Action, Twitter: NJPeaceAction 

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship (MUF) – Seeds of Peace committee, (973) 838-8576