Thanksgiving with the Murtha's

Thanksgiving with the Murtha's




Tip of the hat to Fred Bieling.

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER FROM THE IROQUOIS (SENECA) PEOPLE

A Thanksgiving prayer from my neighbors and friends, the Iroquois people of Upstate New York. All photos are mine - and they are taken of land that was once belonged solely to the nations of the Iroquois. When I walk the trails and forest paths, I can feel their spirits all around me. They were caretakers of the land, and we need to honor the ancient spirits by doing the same.



A THANKSGIVING PRAYER FROM THE IROQUOIS (SENECA) PEOPLE



Gwa! Gwa! Gwa!
Now the time has come!
Hear us, Lord of the Sky!
We are here to speak the truth,
for you do not hear lies,
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now begins the Gayant' gogwus
This sacred fire and sacred tobacco
And through this smoke
We offer our prayers
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.



Now in the beginning of all things
You provided that we inherit your creation
You said: I shall make the earth
on which people shall live
And they shall look to the earth as their mother
And they shall say, "It is she who supports us."
You said that we should always be thankful
For our earth and for each other
So it is that we are gathered here
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.



Now again the smoke rises
And again we offer prayers
You said that food should be placed beside us
And it should be ours in exchange for our labor.
You thought that ours should be a world
where green grass of many kinds should grow
You said that some should be medicines
And that one should be Ona'o
the sacred food, our sister corn
You gave to her two clinging sisters
beautiful Oa'geta, our sister beans
and bountiful Nyo'sowane, our sister squash
The three sacred sisters; they who sustain us.



This is what you thought, Lord of the Sky.
Thus did you think to provide for us
And you ordered that when the warm season comes,
That we should see the return of life
And remember you, and be thankful,
and gather here by the sacred fire.
So now again the smoke arises
We the people offer our prayers
We speak to you through the rising smoke
We are thankful, Lord of the Sky.



(Liberally translated)
Chuck Larsen, Seneca

Bubp Backs Away From Schmidt

Bubp Backs Away From Schmidt


see ThinkProgress.com

According to Josh Marshall (via the NYT), the Marine colonel Danny Bubp who was "quoted" by Ohio Representative Jean Schmidt, bedecked in 'patriotic' red and blue with white stars on the floor of the House (while disparaging John Murtha) "feels as though the words that Congresswoman Schmidt chose did not represent their conversation."

In other words, he's backing away from what he'd said to his old friend "mean-Jean" because she's become a bitter partisan poison that the Republicans can no longer afford.