Thursday Thoughts

Mocs on the Capitol floor

November is Native American Heritage month, and one way to celebrate it is the #RockYourMocs campaign, a nationwide event that began in 2011 and encourages people to wear their favorite moccasins, take a picture, and share it online. This past Tuesday, Native social media exploded when US Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM, Laguna Pueblo) shared her moccasins photo, taken on the Capitol floor.  And now for the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say.  Deb Haaland is being vetted for the post of Secretary of the Interior.  One of her colleagues (one being promoted for the job himself) has said of her:

"It is well past time that an Indigenous person brings history full circle at the Department of Interior.  As her colleague on the Natural Resources Committee, I have seen first-hand the passion and dedication she puts into these issues at the forefront of the Interior Department, from tackling the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women to crafting thoughtful solutions to combating the climate crisis using America’s public lands."

Many support her for the job.  When asked about being considered for the cabinet, Haaland said, "There’s no doubt it would be historic.  It would be symbolic, and it would be profound, especially when we think about how the federal government essentially threw out their federal Indian policies throughout the centuries and tried to exterminate Native Americans across the country."

Word of the Day #1

to vet (something) / verb = to make a careful and critical examination of (something).  Similar words = appraise, evaluate, assess, consider, check out, thoroughly investigate (someone), especially in order to ensure that they are suitable for a job.  Example:  "Deb Haaland (D-NM) is being vetted for the job of Interior Secretary."

Overstuffed?

Hey, little squirrel.  You are supposed to squirrel away those nuts you love to eat.  Collect them for the winter, so you won't go hungry.  You aren't supposed to eat everything you find.

Word of the Day #2

squirrel away = to put (something) in a safe or secret place, especially so that it can be kept for future use.  Example:  "Most of his money is squirreled away somewhere."  [This definition is from Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.]

Remembering my mother 

Mother died on this day in 2004, so she's on my mind right now.  Here's a photo where she was being silly and showing her playful side.  I miss seeing her beautiful smile.  She would like this quote about prayer:

Mother Teresa said:  "I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that [God] will guide me to do whatever I'm supposed to do, what I can do.  I used to pray for answers, but now I'm praying for strength.  I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things."