By PETER MOLENAAR
The U.S. is one of only six countries in the world without paid family leave… not for a newborn baby, not for any reason. With Mother’s day in mind, this fact is especially heartbreaking.
May 13th and 14th, 2023, Cedar Field Park…
Keep in mind: Little Earth’s Mother’s Day Pow Wow is an annual event. Despite the threat of rain this year, it was especially the ‘fancy dancing’ of the younger women which lifted the spirit of one and all. Yes, the practice of this physical grace reflects the drum, yet is on a par with the ballerina… the tasseled regalia swirled like an eagle playing with the currents of the sky.
Speaking of the eagle…
If the Republican Party maintains it’s refusal to lift the debt ceiling, our country will default on it’s debt for the first time in history. This might mean the slashing of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while imposing economic instability here and across the globe. Alternatively, might they consider increased taxation of the super-rich and a decrease in military spending, in order to make the world safe again?
Meanwhile…
Our oceans have absorbed nearly 90% of the energy trapped by global warming, such that this April’s global sea surface temperature was the highest in recorded history. So, what? So, as the La Niña/El Niño cycle shifts again, the upwelling of warm water (El Nino) is expected to raise global temperatures to record levels, while severely impacting the lives of millions of people.
Any thing else?
Probably, most of our neighbors are familiar with the loopy exit off Cedar, the one we use to access a stretch of Hiawatha en route to a traffic jam on Highway 94. Recently, I was slated to speak at a meeting of the Minneapolis School Board and I thought I’d be late! Thankfully, all went well enough.
I made mention that my daughter is outwardly and inwardly African-American. Tammy has done well in life. Thank you, public schools! I went on: however, I am concerned that there is a right-wing conspiracy bent on diminishing public education, thereby converting our children to a source of cheap labor again.
See the eagle? Is it a sacred one, or merely a bird of prey?
