Third Quarter Moon: link post

politics, Minnesota history, Israel, and videos

Reminder: Election Day is on Tuesday, November 7. What races are going on in your area? In Minneapolis we only have the city council race. The picture describes how to register on Election Day from Minneapolis’ handy dandy 2023 Voter Information Guide. I actually know some people who have moved recently and possibly need to do this. In Minneapolis, polls are open 7 am to 8 pm.

Hello dear readers, I am visiting my sisters on the west coast this weekend — the four daughters of Stan and Shirl are together! It has been windy and rainy but we are very cozy in Elena’s house. But we have lost wifi and the editing of this newsletter has been difficult without it. Please excuse my mistakes and any rough transitions you encounter in your reading as we round into the last phase of this lunation. Happy end of Daylight Savings today! And happy Third Quarter Moon.

My last links post was on October 6, 2023. The day before Hamas’ horrific attack in Israel. It’s been month since then and yet the future remains ever empty.

If you believe (think Ted Lasso here), emptiness is a hopeful thing. As we can fill it with all our most compassionate actions. And as Songs of Forgiveness supporter and dear friend Collette said, maybe find emptiness in the present too. Pure experience without its added attachments, without opinions, without surety that you know the exactly the right way forward and an openness to changing everything from here on out. Not because you don’t care, but because you care so damn much, and you know, that going back to the status quo, is not possible, nor tenable, because here we are. Change is the only constant.

Below are the linked stuff with my commentary.

Our US officials have been very clear about supporting Israel’s right to respond with a strong caution against a rash response like the US’s response after 911. Biden, taking considerable compassionate actions through diplomacy, has said, “After 911, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice we made mistakes.” Eventually I will have more to say about justice, not yet.

Biden continues, saying that responding requires intentionality and forethought, and asking, will “the path you are on achieve [your] objectives?” (Heather Cox Richardson, October 31st). Her letter is a record of all that has been happening, and goes on to relate there have been increased drone attacks of US Troops in the area and there is an expectation of escalation against Israel.

The US is walking a fine line between supporting Israel’s right to their own response, while both staying out of it and present to insist they not violate international law. And there are all the other things on the world stage to balance, with Iran sending out drone attacks on US soldiers and Russia’s continued war on Ukraine, just to name two of them.

Here is a story about the history of anti-semitism in Minnesota and Biden’s liberal lineage to Israel. I found it very interesting and enlightening (I will fix these links I couldn’t create later when I have the capacity). https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/10/23/channeling-his-inner-mondale-minnesota-dfls-pro-israel-history-foretold-bidens-passion/?emci=134de0aa-ba71-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=c85aa02a-bb71-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=377720

Here’s a friendly reminder of what you already know: It’s important that you are getting your information from a trusted news source as there is so much disinformation. If you are on the socials you can expect that your anger and hurt will be used against you, to hack the dopamine systems of your brain and body to keep your eyes and fingers engaged in scrolling — that is how the algorithms get paid. Even the inanimate objects in our hands are plagued with greed. This is a vulnerable time and vigilance is required. Your attention matters. A lot. Take care of yourself. 🙏🏼

Another final comment about the funding bill mentioned in the above link. Put forth by the new house speaker Mike Johnson — it would split funding for Israel from funding of Ukraine and introduces cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, claiming that they would “offset” the spending on Israel (Heather Cox Richardson, November 1, 2023).

The Congressional Budget Office refutes that the cut would save any money in the long haul, and calculates the bill would add $26.8 billion to the deficit due to the loss of capacity of the IRS to do tax audits of the wealthiest Americans and the loss of the resulting revenue. Admin and oversight is important and is required to make our policies and infrastructure work. Spend money to save money. We need to invest in the future.

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During the pandemic, when the world shut down in a way I never expected was possible, people were afraid and confused and isolated from each other.

And then George Floyd was murdered by a group of police in front of our eyes.

Minneapolis caught fire. The knowledge of social inequity had been spreading for a while and this act marked the end of our mass disillusionment. No one here will ever be the same.

This video includes a history of what has been going on in Minneapolis Police Reform. Minneapolis was the birthplace of the American Indian Movement and during the time of unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, the AIM Patrols mentioned were out on the street, helping keep things under control. If you recall the young men that they detained defacing and looting etc. Here is an article relating more from that time: https://ictnews.org/news/in-minneapolis-its-aim-that-serves-and-protects

The above history reminded me of this 20 minute clip from a PBS Program called Cornerstone that tells the history of North Minneapolis. This section relates the changing landscape of Plymouth Avenue. John S. Write, who shows up in the middle of this clip, was my African American Literature Professor during my undergrad at University of Minnesota. The clip describes the “long hot summers,” referring to the National urban rebellions that happened during the late 60s, and the details of Minneapolis own unrest in 1966 and 1967. The quote of Harry Spike Moss, the leader of the Way, always haunted me, “It was the long cold winters of do-nothing, that led to the long hot summers of violence” and inspired my own end of disillusionment after Jamar Clark was killed on Plymouth Avenue in 2015. Just a stone throw from where I lived in ann area of the city I pledged to no longer avoid, From this video, I discovered that the police precinct building was built on the location where “The Way” had been founded.

There is a history to be unravelled even as we were trying to build and fly this plane. Everything is happening at once.

Come again Joanna Macy (from my last link post, I will update this with a link later when I have the capacity to do so). The above video clip begins with the old synagogs on the Northside and ends with Prince, it’s a dense and beautiful history.

Another PBS news hour piece, this one I was alerted to by Bill (Will). This artist’s story with her husband aligned very much with our story of mom’s decline. His music is like her photography, it provided an outlet. And on her phone were videos she had taken of him playing music, she got so much from his art too. I found the artist’s work to be very evocative of the experience of caring for someone with advanced dementia.

Much love, Tina