Politcal Matters – April 2023
By Mordecai Specktor Native acting governor On Monday, March 6, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz temporarily transferred his executive power to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Bank of Ojibwe. Walz was under general anesthesia for a colonoscopy, and prior to the procedure he sent a letter to House Speaker Melissa Hortman […]
Political Matters – February 2023
By Mordecai Specktor Water is life In a victory for Minnesota’s Ojibwe bands and environmentalists, the Biden-Harris administration took action in late January to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the surrounding watershed from potential mining pollution. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced in a Jan. 26 press release that Secretary of […]
Political Matters – November 2022
By Mordecai Specktor Talon Metals prepares to dig On Oct. 27, the United Nations issued a report on the climate crisis and the news wasn’t good. “Despite a high-profile promise to boost ambitions at last year’s U.N. climate summit, nations have shaved just 1 percent off their projected greenhouse gas emissions for 2030 … leaving […]
Political Matters – October 2022
By Mordecai Specktor SEMI-FASCISTS ON THE BALLOT This might well be the last installment of “Political Matters” available to readers of The Circle prior to the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The Republican Party of late has established a new take on elections: If a GOP candidate wins, that’s fine; if they lose, the election was […]
Political Matters – September 2022
By Mordecai Specktor Free Leonard Peltier In 1978, I began corresponding with Leonard Peltier, the American Indian Movement (AIM) activist serving two consecutive life sentences for aiding and abetting the killing of two FBI agents. His case comes out of the June 26, 1975, shootout at the Jumping Bull ranch, near Oglala on the Pine […]
Political Matters – June 2022
By Mordecai Specktor Gun violence in the U.S.A. It’s impossible to keep track of mass shootings in this country over recent years. (If you Google “mass shooting,” the second option that appears is “mass shooting today.”) In addition to the mundane gun violence is U.S. towns and cities, the month of May saw two horrific […]
Political Matters – April 2022
By Mordecai Specktor Peggy Bellecourt journeys on A little more than two months after her husband, Clyde Bellecourt, died, Peggy Bellecourt journeyed to the Spirit World on March 16. She was 78. She was Ish Kway Yawng I Nawbi Quay – “She is looking back for the children coming along behind us,” according to the […]
Political Matters – January 2022
By Mordecai Specktor (WARNING: There are plot spoilers for the movie “Don’t Look Up,” which is streaming on Netflix. It’s enormously popular, so you might want to see it just to know what people are talking about.) What ‘Don’t Look Up’ is about The social-political satire “Don’t Look Up,” directed by Adam McKay, concerns the […]
Political Matters – December 2021
By Mordecai Specktor Remembering Lee Cook In November, I was sad to learn that Leon “Lee” Cook had walked on. According to a news obituary in the Star Tribune, Cook died Oct. 13 at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center of a breakthrough COVID-19 infection. He was 82. A member of the Red Lake Nation, Cook was […]
Political Matters – November 2021
By Mordecai Specktor Bears Ears restored by Biden There was some good news on the federal level in early October. Pres. Joe Biden restored the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments in southern Utah, undoing executive orders issued by the previous occupant of the Oval Office. “The land is considered sacred to several […]
Political Matters – September 2021
By Mordecai Specktor ‘Reservation Dogs’ We’ve been enjoying the new comedy series “Reservation Dogs,” which is streaming on Hulu. Created by Sterlin Harjo (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma) and Taika Waititi (né Cohen), a popular filmmaker (“Thor: Ragnarok,” “Jojo Rabbit”) who is Te Whanau-a-Apanui (New Zealand), on his father’s side and Jewish on his mother’s side. […]
Political Matters – August 2021
By Mordecai Specktor Denmark and Poland In the way of a pandemic travel report, I visited Denmark and Poland in July. The usual discomfort of airline travel is enhanced by the requirement of wearing a face mask. To head off for Europe, via Icelandair, you have to present your vaccination card to the ticket agent. […]