What Happens When Neither Political Party Answers to the Bottom 90%?

Here is Thom Hartmann on his interview with author Thomas Frank concerning a Democratic Party that ain't what it used to be. So you've noticed the hollowing out and the resulting lack of democracy, too?

Thom Hartmann: Hillary Should Release the Goldman Sachs Speeches - video

February 4, 2016: here Thom takes a call concerning Hillary Clinton's large speaking fees from banks such as Goldman Sachs (who helped crash the US economy in 2007/08) and then explains the Democratic Party's change to the Third Way Democratic Party we see now via establishment types like Hillary Clinton and husband Bill. With his 1992 election the Party transitioned to taking money from corporations and to becoming wealthy after leaving the White House and this is one of the choppy seas that 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton is attempting to navigate as candidate Bernie Sanders continues to spotlight it:

Well, I'd really like to read the text of her expensive speeches to Goldman Sachs, wouldn't you? In my populist-common good view, the Democratic Party needs to come up with a 4th way that includes the best interests of the American people. Now that would be a sea change worth navigating.

Update Feb 5, 2016: I mistyped above "inauguration 1992" and have edited it to "election 1992" to mark the shift of the Democratic Party toward feeding at the corporate trough. In the video, Thom mentions the year 1988 for the change and of course, with the 1993 Inauguration of Bill Clinton we may choose to time the corporatizing of the previously union-working-middle-class political party which was on display last evening in New Hampshire as Hillary Clinton attempted to deny herself as the "establishment" candidate by touting President **Obama and Joe Biden as "progressives", a part they play on TV. In Mundane Astrology "establishment" and status quo are both in the realms of Saturn and in 1993 the Great Conjunction/s of Enlightenment/Age of Reason planets Uranus and Neptune took place three times at or near 18 Capricorn (POLITICAL POWER: "A British Destroyer...": smug or strong-armed paternalism - Jones).

These days we know the Uranus-Neptune pair as the mark of the New World Order which in US Politics 2016 masquerades as The Establishment so that global government (yes, Hillary's goal) may continue its implementation. Yet Americans are so often apathetic, feeling there is so much to lose. But in 2016 the young people are showing up for Bernie Sanders who is calling for a Political Revolution against this "rigged economy." Wouldn't it be karmic desserts if the very generation born during and around the 1993 conjunction/s were the major force that turned out to vote in November for Senator Sanders and against the corporate New World Order?

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**President Obama was born with Saturn in its own status quo sign of governmental Capricorn. Elected under a Saturn-Uranus opposition, there was chatter at the time about whether he was a progressive or conservative; I called him more conservative than progressive though of course progressive issues can be used to hide one's ultimate goal and in this case, it's to keep our nation on the corporate Global Government path it is on. So when a Hillary Clinton campaign promises to continue and expand Obama's policies and programs, we can believe it--they are very very serious.

Feb 4 and 6, 2016: R and D Candidates Debate as Saturn and Uranus Attend

February 4th and 6th: Democratic and Republican Candidates Engage Under Aquarius-Capricorn Vibes for it's a Sun Aquarius-Moon Capricorn blend of energies both nights with each sign ruled by Saturn, planet of government, the Establishment, the system, authority, accountability, responsibility, karma, and the status quo. And of course in modern astrology, Aquarius brings progressive Uranus to the debates--but the debates are weighted on the Saturnian side.

First, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate tonight February 4, 2016 (MSNBC 9:00 pm ET; Moon 00Cap) then Republican candidates will debate (aka, hurl insults at each other) this Saturday February 6, 2016 beginning at 8:00 pm ET (Moon 27Cap).

Since both debates come under the influence of the Spartan, steadfast, aloof blend of Sun AQ-Moon Capricorn, an *Image for Integration seems appropriate--simply apply to any of the 2016 presidential candidates as you wish!

Sun AQ-Moon Cap: "A revolutionary is elected president."

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Image from Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey.

Caller: The Democratic Party is in a State of Disorganization - The Thom Hartmann Show

February 4, 2016: a Democratic poll worker calls in and Thom takes the call...

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My Comcast connection problems persist but I want to say something quickly about this week's 'Hillary a progressive on some days' kerfluffle between Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton. (No wonder she self-describes rather schizophrenically.) To me it's not as much of a 'some days' question, it's that Hillary Clinton is a progressive on some issues and a moderate on others. And a neocon on matters of war, conquest, and global government. But that's just my view from the 13th colony of Georgia, take it or leave it! jc

Tonight's Democratic dust-up between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton airs on MSNBC 9:00 pm est with Rachel Maddow (yay!) and Chuck Todd hosting. This should be informative.

Swing Voters Don’t Exist - Why Are Dems Moving To The Center? - video (w Astrology)

Now here is a good question for Democratic candidates who drift toward 'the middle' where they imagine conservative voters graze along with answers from Mike Papantonio:

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Related is a previous post displaying the natal Horoscope of the Democratic Party circa February 17, 1801 1:00 pm LMT Washington DC with a few chart details penned on the image. Source: the letters of Thomas Jefferson via Bill Sellers.

You'll note 2Can29 rising with US natal Venus (3Cancer), then our natal Jupiter and Sun (5-14Can); MC 10Pisces (compassion?); Sun @28Aquarius (conjunct US natal Moon = mummy, daddy, and 'the nanny state'), and Moon @27Aries (Aries = I AM; Moon = the people). Perhaps we see here the traditional link from labor unions and other US workers to the Democratic Party along with what are supposed to be the 'democratic ideals' of Thomas Jefferson. So the Democratic Party is more of a maternal common good organization while the Republican Party is paternalistic and more severe.

You may also note on the chart that 1:00 pm LMT is during a Jupiter Hour with Jupiter Rx @25Cancer conjunct US natal Mercury Rx = large plans, plans for expansion, over-promising, idealism, broad vistas which we now see in motion across the globe with America's 'exceptional' imperial growth of 'boots on the ground' of sacred sand where westerners Do Not Belong. Dem Party Jupiter is in the party's 2nd house of the National Treasury showing how costly and resource-depleting America's misadventures abroad were and are even with Democrats in charge.

video: Bernie Sanders Joined Congress: Health Insurance, Economics (1990 interview)

When Independent Senator Sanders entered the US Congress it had been 40 years since Frazier Reams of Ohio entered the House of Representatives as an Independent. Here's an informative C-SPAN interview with Bernie Sanders whose hair could have used a comb then, too!

View C-SPAN with Bernie Sanders, now a Democratic candidate for US president in 2016 whether the Democratic Party wants him to be or not. Personally I'm glad the senator keeps reminding both Democrats and Republicans of the critical issues now affecting the American people and how our concerns should be addressed in order to level the playing field in this rigged game that favors plutocrats, transnational corporatists, and their political handmaidens and operatives of Washington DC.

For as you know, corporatism + statism = fascism.

Closely related: the Sun Virgo-Moon Aries personality blend of Bernie Sanders.

Democratic Party Shutting Out Bernie Sanders! - video

Brunch with Bernie: 8/7/15 - Thom Hartmann video

Senator Bernie Sanders speaks with Thom Hartmann about the 2016 election and our loss of voting rights:

Imho, the only way Republicans can reliably 'win' elections these days is to cheat. Someone tell them that cheating isn't winning, it's stealing--though with their 'success at any cost' agenda, they don't care. And yes, I know--the Democratic Party is only about half a rung higher on the ethics ladder than the Republicans - and they're all following the same Corporate Globalism script in the con vs lib Political Theater they perform for public consumption and our diversion.

And yet, when and if We the People join together and make our opinions known in no uncertain terms, the 'ruling class' backs down even if it's only temporarily! Most of them fancy themselves such political thespians able to charm and fool us, don't they? Well, will somebody please pass the rotten tomatoes?!

The Venus Cycle and US Presidential Election 2016

First Vote 2016, Venus, and the Election of a US President

by Jude Cowell

In September 2008 in her Visual Astrology Newsletter, Bernadette Brady published an intriguing article titled Standing in the Radiance of Venus: A Visual Astrology view of the US presidential election and its self-imposed union with Venus using the 8-year cycle of planet Venus as a predictive guide. With the 2016 campaign season already percolating thanks to interested billionaires and an overeager corporate media industry (using it to divert from other matters), let's take a peek at Election Day November 8, 2016 and focus primarily on the position and condition of Venus who radiates the candidate and ruling party she favors with success, or empowers the challenger she favors, while appearing in her cosmic role as either Morning Star or Evening Star.

Venus Must Have Her Way

Now as Morning Star, Venus favors the incumbent candidate or ruling party (even if 2 terms--8 years--have been served by one president)--aka, the "one who wears the crown" as it was termed in the olden days of Mundane Astrology. The Morning Star status of Venus occurs in November (2nd through 8th, when presidential elections are held) when the lady is in the early degrees of Libra, one of the signs Venus rules. Since our elections are on a 4-year cycle, Venus is Evening Star in alternate elections since Venus returns to her same position every 8 years. As Evening Star her position is the mid-to-later degrees of Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, sign of the stranger or foreigner---someone different or 'other' who acts as the challenger to the throne -- such as a non-politician, or an Independent (neither Republican nor Democrat).

But in her Evening Star role, Venus bestows favor upon the incumbent party's rival as if she's wielding influence in the court of a king and 'the crown' may be given to the opponent of the king who rules. Yet there have been two notable exceptions to this predictive guide--the successful election of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in the election of 1932 when he whisked away 'the crown' from the head of one-term Republican Hoover, and the election of Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980 who finagled 'the crown' from one-term Democrat Jimmy Carter. Both elections occurred with Venus as Morning Star yet upsets were somehow allowed due in part to both candidates' tendencies to hastily give favors to others and/or make advantageous backroom deals (Iran hostages for Reagan; for Hoover, his tide of popularity had turned due to economics after 1929.) Let's not use the word 'cheating' though I will say that cheating isn't winning, it's stealing. Plus, a fed up American public makes a difference as well--if we show up and vote.

So setting aside the two exceptions of 1932 and 1980 while remembering that 'dirty tricks' are typically used by power elites to skew election results their way, we look ahead to a horoscope of Election Day 2016 in the form of a symbolic chart of the Dixville Notch, New Hampshire 'first vote' in America which traditionally is cast between 12:00 am and 12:01 am by the small yet representative population of Dixville Notch:

Horoscope: Dixville Notch, NH 'First Vote' November 8, 2016 12:01 am EST; 1st quarter lunar phase = crisis in action

Hour of the Sun; Venus out-of-bounds (OOBs); Venus rules 3rd and 10th houses; ASC 1Vir00 with royal Regulus rising; MC (The Goal) @24Tau08 with golden Midas Rx and trickster Pan Rx in Gemini, 10th h; 3rd house Sun @16Sco13 conjunct voter Mercury which has just crossed the IC (one minute of voting and it's over!); 6th house Moon @20AQ47...'21AQ' = "A Woman Disappointed and Disillusioned" may be significant to our 2016 Venusian election tale.

As you see, Venus @25Sag13 has sashayed past austere (conservative) Saturn in mid-Sagittarius in the 4th house of Domestic Security, the Foundation of the Matter, and she glances back as the Evening Star and radiates her favor upon conservative Saturn, planet of law, government, business--and the US Congress (lawmakers, senators, and such.) Plus, evaluating attracter Venus is disposited by political and banking planet Jupiter in 2nd house of Money and Values. Additionally, Venus and Jupiter are in a Mutual Reception of friendliness with Jupiter prominent as lead planet of a Locomotive pattern (high powered executive ability and a drive to success.) Jupiter approaches US natal Saturn (14Lib48) so we may expect a conservative slant to the proceedings on Election Day 2016 with optimist Jupiter bringing US Saturn hard work structured toward reaching goals, an increase of responsibility, a deeper awareness of needed changes, and a chance to turn ideas and ideals into reality as a long-held ambition is achieved.

For the hidden manipulator, wealthy Pluto @15Cap22 here he's posited in the 5th house of Speculation, Risk-Taking, and Creative Pursuits along with activist Mars, the warrior, @29Cap14, a critical 29th degree which has a revealing Sabian Symbol considering foreign investors set freer than ever by SCOTUS' Citizens United ruling of 2010: "Directors of a Large Firm Meet in Secret Conference." For certain they do! This could easily be seen as a reference to plutocrats, transnational bankers, and even the pope (Pluto) meddling secretly from on high and utilizing testy actor Mars to instigate his schemes to control outcomes in business, law, and government (Capricorn.) Plus, with Mercury in big business Scorpio, we know that Mars and Pluto have a lot to say about what Mercury plans to do.

Mercury: the Voter, the Ballot, and our Thinking Processes

As chart-ruler and planet of voters and ballot-casting, Mercury @23Sco10 is near the Sun (6S56) and may not see issues as objectively as needed. Mercury rises on November 8th with starry Ras Alhague with its imperative to 'create balance' so we may assume that American voters may attempt balance of our political system in our traditional way--but switching parties in the White House lest our country lean too far from 'center' after 8 years of a Democratic White House. Venus in Sagittarius supports a change to someone 'different' though this may describe several of the varied 2016 candidates--even Donald Trump, if his nontraditional campaign style gets him all the way to November 8, 2016 (ed: Senator Bernie Sanders is also 'someone different'.) Plus, one of the asteroids of transition and change, Proserpina, is rising on the Mutable (thus, changeable) Virgoan horizon so a different style and/or political party seems to be exactly what Dixville Notch voters prefer in 2016...and the rest of America as well.

As for chart-ruler Mercury's major applying aspects, there are none but there is a square from the Moon (the public) in 6th house (Military, Police, Civil Service) in America's natal Moon sign, Aquarius. Moon-Mercury square indicates blockage between head (logic) and heart (emotions) which is a time-tested political tactic to confuse the public. This horoscope leans toward Fixed-Earth energies and we think of stubborn, possessive Taurus, sign of the Bull of Wall Street which seems to favor GOP candidates more than progressive Democrats (not that Hillary Clinton is a genuine progressive! That would be Senator Bernie Sanders), and of course, what planet rules greedy Taurus?

Even for all that, it is tempting to say that the cyclical Venus Effect on US Presidential Election 2016 must obviously favor a female victor, unless dirty tricks and arm-twisting backroom deals skew results. But as you see, Venus here plays the role of Evening Star and points toward a change of ruling party in the White House in 2016, a portent which can be satisfied by a Republican victor--and doubly so with one such as former CEO Carly Fiorina, a lady Republican and corporatist.

Yet if a Fiorina victory is too disconcerting for you (and hard to believe), there is at least one other possibility shown for "the other" to be favored by Venus in the person of Senator Marco Rubio for on November 8, 2016 the 'social ladder climber' power asteroid Hidalgo @00AQ03 conjoins the January 20, 2017 US Inaugural Sun, mundane significator of The President. This factor supports the potential for a Republican--perhaps a member of Congress--taking the White House throne in 2016 since the 'king star' Regulus @00Virgo rises and is the starry representative of the Capitol Building in L'Enfant's original plan for the construction of Washington DC's *Federal Triangle (see below.) Regulus may also signify a candidate who has held office on Capitol Hill--even VP Biden fulfills that role.

Actually, the Cycle of Venus timing 'the other' as victor in 2016 possibly may be satisfied by someone like Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist of a democratic persuasion. Is he different enough for Venus with his political views quite apart from establishment politicians--those we may call "the old guard" as denoted by status quo Saturn? Or will it take a change of political party to satisfy Lady Venus?

Update Oct 15th: after watching the Oct 13th Democratic debate, the performance of Hillary Clinton now identifies her as one who could possibly satisfy 'the other' imperative of Venus in Sagittarius as "someone different" (as pundits are saying)--the first female president of the United States. Yet I dread the Clinton baggage she'd carry for the Republicans would never shut up about it and let the issues of the American people take precedence over partisan politics. Republicans are so very very tiresome and Democrats only somewhat better for both have played large roles in the weakening of our democracy and the undermining of our Constitution.

Now if these considerations seem arbitrary or too iffy for you, perhaps it's because you know that many more events will occur between today (July 23, 2015) and Election 2016 and circumstances will change. On the cosmic list are Solar and Lunar Eclipses, and New and Full Moons which can affect matters in similar fashion to 'wild card' eclipses. Or does Astrology have nothing valuable to offer Politics as far as you're concerned?

Be that as it may, Election Day 2016 Astrology and Politics will again be a topic here on Stars Over Washington in the future and my hope is that you'll think to return to SO'W soon in case new information turns up or new perspectives become necessary to discuss. More natal planet info of Republican and Democratic candidates is to be added as well though not all exact birth times are to be found online. Here are a few I've posted so far, in no particular order:

Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton here and here (includes her Fist of God or Thor's Hammer pattern), Senator Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump here and here and--uh oh!--he was born with Regulus rising!

Related reading: Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2015--2017.

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*Federal Triangle: The White House = Arcturus (a different approach), the Washington Monument = Spica (the spike), and the Capitol Building = Regulus (success if revenge is avoided) for it's As Above, So Below, as the Founders and Builders of Washington DC well knew as their plan for the District reflected the stars above upon the earth below.

A Jupiter-Saturn Astro-Note: in Mundane Astrology Saturn and Jupiter, the societal planets, can handily represent the Democrats and the Republicans in various circumstances since both parties tend to alternate wearing restriction-and-expansion caps at will. Most often it's the Republican Party that insists on austerity measures (miserly Saturn) even though they are members of the Grand (Jupiter) Old (Saturn) Party. Of course, they spend lavishly like Jupiterians when they're in the White House or when the largess is for themselves or for the military, weaponry, and other things that make them mega-bucks via their stock portfolios and bribes from lobbyists and billionaire donors. It's that Saturn urge that wants to 'shrink the US government small enough so we can drown it in a bathtub', said Grover Norquist whose noon Natal Chart with details may be viewed here.

Note that Mr. Norquist is the midst of a Saturn Return and that his natal Jupiter in Virgo (planet of money, corporations, funding, investment, growth, politicians, preachers, teachers, mentors, military generals, etc) conjoins fixed star Denebola, keywords: to go against society.

Yet as the older of the two parties, Democrats also play Saturnian roles in US politics while playing generous Jupiter when it comes to Social Safety Net Programs, and promoting investment, development, and growth. Naturally, humankind needs the concepts of both Jupiter and Saturn to balance one another and thus, moderation is achieved. Too bad restriction and investment are so often used as cynical talking points to stall opponents' advancement while keeping any progress whatsoever from moving ahead which might benefit the American people. jc

Former NY Governor Mario Cuomo: paradox, paragon, or both?

On the Life and Personality of Mario Cuomo

by Jude Cowell

The American people lost one of their liberal champions this week with the passing of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, born at 9:30 am EDT on June 15, 1932 in Jamaica, New York, age 82. Astrologers recognize the timing of his life span as having a close connection to the 84-year cycle of planet Uranus, planet of genius, originality, and the radical politician (natal Uranus 22Ari37--transit Uranus not there yet but soon will be).

One source gives his time of death on January 1, 2015 (while his son was being sworn in to a second term) as 5:15 pm EST in Manhattan for those who wish to set up a horoscope.

Besides his inspiring oratorical talent, those close to Mario Cuomo describe him as having a writer's temperament which makes sense with both natal Sun and Mercury in Gemini, sign of writers and orators (Sun 24Gem12, Mercury 27:00). To check Cuomo's Astrodatabank wiki pages for a direct view of his natal horoscope tap or click here or, for more details visit his bio page as you wish.

Of interest may be a few highlights in the career of Mario Cuomo including his speech on July 16, 1984 at the DNC which catapulted him into the national spotlight (video below). His shout-out to President Reagan's touted 'Shining City on a Hill' (that Utopian ideal of Uranus) as actually 'A Tale of Two Cities' (the reality of Saturn--his in Aquarius) resonates even more strongly now as the 2015 political year begins with a newly rigged Republican majority in Congress threatening working and poor Americans with increased plutocratic oppression. Even the GOP's purported focus on the middle class bodes ill for the underdogs of American society, those weaklings Ayn Rand viciously despised.

Now on a personality level we may wish to consider Mario Cuomo's natal Sun Gemini-Moon Scorpio blend of conscious-unconscious energies, an ethereal Air-Water combination. His Gemini-Scorpio energies gave Gov. Cuomo a mixture of extrovert and introvert tendencies (an eloquent orator yet he loved to be at home which may be part of why he didn't run for president which then opened the door for Bill Clinton to run).

The former governor's Sun-Moon blend denotes a provocative head vs passion character who fought an inner battle between light-dark superficiality vs intensity, and a quick-witted operator who could sell anything (Gemini = commerce and trading), a very useful trait for a politician, lawyer, and educator. Dedicated to his convictions, Mario Cuomo could be humorous and infuriating at the same time with a scathing tongue and many inconsistencies to his character.

Respected by many Republicans, this Democrat may never quite be replaced in US Politics unless another Geminian orator takes the national political stage who holds genuine convictions rather than Gemini's usual changeable instabilities. A devoted Scorpio Moon and Mars in stubborn Taurus gave Mario Cuomo's nature more Fixed energy and thus provided him with an unbending rigidity and fixity of purpose.

R.I.P. Mario Cuomo June 15, 1932 - January 1, 2015.

For more Sun-Moon blend info I recommend Sun Sign-Moon Sign by Charles & Suzi Harvey. And here's an apt quote from one who shares Mario Cuomo's natal Sun Gemini-Moon Scorpio combination--author, poet, and critic G. K. Chesterton:

"The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people."

And now...Governor Mario Cuomo speaking on July 16, 1984:

Natal Horoscope: Democratic Party February 17, 1801

Image: Democratic Party February 17, 1801 1:00 pm LMT (NS) +5:08:09 Washington DC; Hour of Jupiter (25Can57 Rx in 2nd house of Values and Earning Ability):

This horoscope is a different version for the Democratic Party than is usually found online and is posted here for future reference; please enlarge the image to read my scribbled notes if you may. Transits to and progressions of the chart will be discussed in a later post. jc

Astro-Notes on DNC's opening Sep 4, 2012

Taking a peek at the DNC 2012 opening chart for September 4, 2012 @2:00 pm edt Charlotte, NC the Goal Point (MC) shows an Angular constellation which 'keeps on giving' when it comes to the relationship between the American people and President Barack Obama and one which he uses to good effect: Obama's natal Mars conjunct and veiled by US natal Neptune, our 'rockstar' combination.

Yet as you know, this planetary synchronicity may also hide his true motivations and actions and cause us confusion and disappointment especially since our expectations were set overly high for one president to satisfy--especially when half of Washington's politicians were/are determined to see him fail and have no compunction about allowing America to fail with him--as long as they win. Yet is Mr. Obama's tarnished pedestal now too dull to allow him to continue his administration's goals for a second term? Can fours years possibly be enough time for a president to repair 8 long years of Republican heisting, greed, and wars fought on credit card?

Or will voters abandon Pres. Obama in a snit of impatient miffdom and take an even more plutocratic-oppressive course with the Saturnian Romney-Ryan platform of austerity, disenfranchisement, and hardship? (More WAR will be in the mix with Romney-Ryan, too: RNC 2012's opening chart reveals ASC = Mars-Pluto...'a coercive demeanor that intimidates', says Munkasey.)

Of course the conjunction between the president's motivation-action-desire planet, Mars, and our national planet of dreams, visions, and ideals, Neptune--in the sign of Virgo (Work and Dedicated Service; employment) is significant at MC in relation to our aspirations and for what we may expect from the 2012 Democratic Convention as it proceeds and its platform of investment in the America is spotlighted.

A culmination will be reached the evening of September 6th when the President accepts his party's nomination for a second term after being nominated by former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday night, Sept 5th. Mention must be made of the Sept 6th transit of Mars 9Sco+ to the president's natal Neptune, a time when actions may be creatively inspired but also secretive, unwise decisions may be made, and caution around gas, chemicals, and water is advised. Or perhaps this Mars-Neptune transit simply underscores our shared Mars-Neptune connection for his speech should be quite an uplifting experience expressing compassionate idealism!

Now some say that on Sept 5th, Mr. Clinton may pull a 'Chris Christie' and talk mainly about himself and his accomplishments rather than of Barack Obama but I doubt the Comeback Kid would be that tone deaf to what We the People are wishing to hear. Do you? Unless you tend to revel in the Clinton mystique, that is.

DNC 2012 opens Sept 4, 2012 Charlotte NC

Now I'm looking at the DNC opening's horoscope set for 2:00 pm edt (with no time to search for more timely info!) because that's the hour that RNC 2012 opened on August 28, 2012. This makes for a fair comparison of charts even if the DNC opening hour isn't precisely 2:00 pm. And delegates are already descended upon Charlotte as I type along with protesters against the Ds' use of corporate money (campaign contributions, DNC in corporate venues, which I decry as well but where else is large enough for expected crowds?)

Well, tomorrow at 2:00 pm Sept 4, 2012 Charlotte, NC, we find 8Sag45b Rising which makes Jupiter *14Gem57 the chart-ruler and which emphasizes the polarity of Fixed Stars Aldebaran and Antares--success through integrity, and obsessed with success These stars were emphasized in the RNC 2012 chart as well (2:00 pm) and I leave it for you to place the emphasis on which party expresses which archetype most closely though naturally Politics in general is constantly influenced in these ways. But with a Fixed Star, its 'caution' or flaw to avoid will at some point bring loss of success if tempering advice is neglected or ignored.

A Notable Difference: RNC v DNC

On August 28, RNC 2012's opening (with Jupiter as chart-ruler and ruler of NN 00Sag14 rising which conjoins Paul Ryan's natal Neptune--contact with and possibly deception toward the masses) and that of DNC 2012 with 8Sag45 rising is that for the GOP (a Jupiter-named entity--'grand' yet with Saturn's 'old'), there were no major applying aspects to or from Jupiter; for DNC 2012, Jupiter and the Sun (leadership) are applying to a dynamic square (2A21) indicating that goals can be achieved but over-promising is a no-no for future success. '2:00 pm' on both Aug 28 and Sep 4 rises during an Hour of Jupiter, planet of vision, ideals, religion, and ideology, including political ideology.

This week, transit Venus (evaluations; national treasury; relationships; the attraction principle) has come to opposition with US natal Pluto suggesting a time of cut-throat competition, underhanded manipulations, passionate power struggles, jealously, and past slights which have no real connection to present circumtances.

And while the American people may be gripped by forebodings over the entiure political process and what any of them intend to visit upon us--some of which are irrational fears instilled by propagandists--a hint of RNC 2012's Lunar occultation of mystical Neptune (@1Pis+) as Mitt Romney accepted his party's nomination reverberates in the DNC 2012 chart from a Moon-Neptune sextile (Tau-Pis) which forms a YOD (crisis; crossroads; special task; spiritual opportunity; karmic decisions) that points toward US natal MC (The Goal; US n MC = 1Lib in Sibly chart) which lends DNC 2012 a midpoint picture any, all, or none of which may apply:

Moon-Neptune = MC: imagination can pay off significantly (Tyl); gaining notoriety by explaining visions of the future; personal guarantees which may be unfulfillable (Munkasey); a sensitive and inspired character; being gripped by forebodings (Ebertin.)

If DNC 2012 opens after lunch tomorrow, the Moon (we the people) will have left Martian Aries (protests?) and entered Venus-ruled Taurus where Luna is exalted.

This gives DNC 2012 a financially savvy, kindhearted Sun Vir-Moon Tau flavor which is shared natally by actor Peter Sellers who advised us that, "There are some satisfactions you can only find in work."

Blog Note: If all goes well, I plan to return here later in the week to post on further events at DNC 2012, in particular President Obama's acceptance speech the evening of September 6th so please stay tuned if you can. And...

Happy DNC 2012, Everyone!

Related: Youth Vote Seen as Key for Democrats in November 2012.

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*Sabian Symbol for the chart's 7th house soon-to-Station-Rx, investing Jupiter @'15Gem' = "Two Dutch Children Talking"...CLARIFICATION and self-confidence! (M.E. Jones); are someone's secretive campaign funds from abroad sent from the Netherlands? Just a wild guess! jc

Nodal Half-Return: GOP breakthrough or break-up?

Did you catch opinion writer Dana Milbank's piece in The Washington Post on August 21 about what's going on these days within the Republican Party? Will Hurricane Isaac blow into Tampa, Florida just in time to mete out divine retribution on the GOP next week and mess with their erstwhile POTUS-VP nominees, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan?

In spite of Isaac, the nominating brouhaha will go on whether RNC 2012 is soaked to its gills or not, is what I heard. They're already in Tampa drafting their platform, says Business Week.

Determination in the face of natural law shows the Republican Party's usual stalwartly irrational, stubborn stance on most things they intend to butt heads on like the old goats they are.

Yet there have been intimations of riffs and tiffs within the party itself brought on in part by Rep. Todd Akin's mysoginism gone public (he probably wasn't supposed to let that particular pregnant cat out of the legislative bag on August 19) for Mike Huckabee has sided with Akin while Bill Kristol has scolded Akin's badly timed verbage concerning rape and abortion. To my way of thinking, Akin's political platform intends to force upon American women the Republican Party's antiquated, parternalistic notions which have a decidedly Talibaneque ring to them--if Inauguration 2013 hobbles America with another GOP White House.

Astrologically we know that RNC 2012 occurs under the auspices of the Republican Party's Nodal Half-Return with transiting North Node (NN) conjunct the party's natal South Node (SN), and vice versa. As I mentioned in a recent comment, this describes a period when relationships which are weak in some way tend to break apart and separation is on the menu. However, if relationships or partnerships survive this time frame they will strengthen instead, perhaps because of the rough patch partners go through together.

Another difficult indicator is the still-of-influence Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012 @00Gem20 which conjoins the GOP's natal SN, a separative point in any chart. Falling within the 14 South Saros Series, this Annular eclipse also conjoins by degree Fixed Star Alcyone ('mystical but judgmental'; 'something to cry about'--or, as I blogged months ago, maybe it will just rain a lot. But I didn't forecast a hurricane for RNC 2012! Well, carrying on the separation theme, 'exile' is another potential for Alcyone, plus, 14S has Mercury-Pluto content within it from its initial manifestation--August 29, 984!--in finicky Virgo with a theme of 'an obsessive idea is finally accepted'--Brady.)

And that successful Jupiterian 'acceptance' comes after long hard work which may point to Mitt Romney's candidacy since he's been campaigning for the presidency for many many years, and/or it may relate to--gasp!--the Republican attempt to control women's reproductive systems and lives by instituting Talibanesque laws that crush our hard-won rights. Yet according to my Bible, Christ came to bring the world the New Law which in 2012 surely makes it plain that Old Testament times are long gone! So either obsessive idea seems horrific and I do hope that masses of American voters--the ones the Goatish Old Party doesn't prevent, that is--turn out on November 6, 2012 to take another chance on the *Democratic Party in spite of the fact that they're in on the NWO game, too.

For life in America 2012---particularly for women--seems to have come down to A Vote for Which Century we prefer to live in as we go forward into the future, and casting a vote against such antiquated, often scientifically incorrect notions about women's health seems to be the very least we ladies can do.

For more reading of a one-world-government kind (what these political geezers and grotesque jokers want to push us into) do dare to try Rosicrucian Utopia.

And here's a recent SO'W post on Todd Akin, the Republican platform, and the August 2012 Moon Wobble which adds irritability and instability to the Nodal Half-Return's separative potential mentioned above.

*Something I've meant to type about here for a long time: the jackassian, sophomoric, divide-and-conquer ploy of the GOP to make a point of using "Democrat Party" which necessarily leads to "Republic Party" both of which sound as stupid, childish, and lame as any gaggle of politicians ever wanted to employ in order to make bigger a**es of themselves with.

An Astro-Peek at RNC 2012

As Above, So Below--Even When There Be Political Conventions

by Jude Cowell


Some say that the earthly and the celestial may be successfully blended once inner harmony and patiently learned skills are meshed and in sync. Completely out of step with this harmonious dream arise Politics and political conventions in America. Like a chronic condition that should have been tended to and healed long ago, they afflict us every four years on the presidential level.

In the public realm much political pontificating goes on in between for our consumption and it's not as if propagandists can sit on their laurels for more than the shake of a lamb's tail. Unrelenting brouhaha is our fate along with endless war while the globalists have their way, an ancient way of Reason and Enlightenment when man's reasoning was thought to have usurped the perceptive intellect ("I think, therefore I am"--Descartes.) And of course, the Uranus-Neptune pair represents the very broadest concepts of the Enlightenment for they are the planets of the European movement of the 17th century in which it became unfashionable to admit that truth may be revealed to man's perceptive intellect.

As you know, Uranus and Neptune have gone on to become the planetary reps of the New World Order with their energies concentrated all through 1993 as they met in Great Conjunction three times (Feb 2, Aug 20, Oct 24) at and near '18Cap' = POLITICAL POWER ("negative expression: smug or strong-armed paternalism"--The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones.)

Yes, some revolutionaries glow with noble aims while other men of lower characters play their roles in the drama and are aware enough to manipulate and use the noble to create cacophony masquerading at times as a symphony, a constant babble really, in the great Piscean struggle: will humankind swim up or swim down? With oceanic Neptune now ensconced in his own watery realm of perceptions, dreams, and visions, it's time to set our higher courses individually as well as collectively.


Back to Earth with a Thud?

Can we by use of Astrology's lens investigate the celestial Cosmic Clock and cast its information upon Earth's actors now embroiled within their tasks and intent on gaining success, power, wealth, and the opportunity to lord it over others?

Well, your personal level of involvement in political matters, dear reader, is your own affair, but disclosure: I cannot promote an idolizing of the characters playing upon the world stage (past, present, or future) whether politician, preacher, guru, pope, mogul, general, scientist, academic, celebrity, or other. This blog was never meant for that!

Still, the American people and the rest of anyone who pays attention to US Politics (and the Conventions are like giant super bowls of power mongering, aren't they?) will be dragged through the political mud from August 27 until the evening of September 6, 2012, a time frame which covers both parties' political Conventions.

For use in this post and in subsequent posts on this topic, I shall limit my inquiries to 12:00 am the first day to midnight of August 30 with horoscopes set for Tampa, FL. An astro-peek at DNC 2012 will be forthcoming and may appear in the now under construction Stars Over Washington News, a monthly report by electronic subscription which perhaps you will consider sampling when it hits the pavement.

No matter who the nominees are and the victors turn out to be, on Monday January 21, 2013 at noon est, a caterpillar hatches, the butterfly's wings spread, the much-touted presidential baton will, we presume, again be passed to the next Oval Office dude with ceremonies and embassy balls--or handed to oneself in the case of Barack Obama. A lamentable question: does the Office of the Presidency remain the American Ideal we've been sold as The Model which Washington has always followed, and has never sullied by fraud, deception, or greed?

It is this Capricorn's belief that somewhere deep within the hearts of We the People, we know that the usurpers' taint has left a permanent stain and that our presidential choices are directed and selected, not elected. And yet we must rise to the occasion and Vote in the November 6 election. Discouraging a large turn out of voters on November 6 is a main tactic of political agents and operatives so one way for us to counter their ill effects upon our political and social systems is to show up en masse at voting booths, as crooked as the count may be.

For democracies only work if the people who are governed give consent to be ruled--and it turns out that they appreciate the results of services rendered by public officials on behalf of the collective, aka, society. Yet those in public office who break trust with the American people while hiding their true motivation and darker purposes may deceive us for a while as they work to tear down civilization--by their fruits we shall know them.

In order to further society's downfall and assure their own primacy at the pinnacle of worldly success (where there are more resources--the I Got Mine You Get Yours Mindset of The End Justifies the Means cabal with a Social Darwinism twist as informed by Ayn Rand Objectivism), they depend upon the public's apathy about what they do and how they do it, 'quaint' ethics be da**ed. But as a famous public speaker once said while slouching at a lectern, Fool me once shame on......well, you get the idea.



The Big Show Begins: RNC 2012 and Political Astrology

From August 27 to August 30, 2012 the Republican National Convention will heat up in sizzling Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. What cream will rise to the top? Will the GOP entertain and impress the voting public with a brokered convention?

Or is a Romney-Santorum ticket the perfect foil to a second-term Barack Obama? And, can either GOP candidate keep his foot out of his mouth and old scandals under wraps long enough to be nominated? Plus, is Jeb Bush only kidding about not accepting the nom?

Such exciting questions! Such nail-biting considerations!


Following on the boot heels of RNC 2012, the Democratic National Convention 2012 will be held from September 3 to September 6 in Charlotte, NC. The event's first three days will proceed from the Time Warner Cable Arena but the last night (September 6) will be held at the larger Bank of America Stadium where President Obama is expected to accept his party's nomination to serve a second term and to use stirring rhetoric in an acceptance speech that thrills the masses.

Yet we must look away from the Obama/Bank of America connection! Especially if you've read Matt Taibbi's Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail. (When Mr. Obama's DNC speech location was announced weeks ago, I cringed. Isn't this one of those tone deaf political decisions? Of course, Charlotte NC is where BoA headquarters are located so...)

Now just for the record, if during one or both Conventions we should hear a bunch of "Democrat Party" childishness, "Republic Party" must also be parroted. And then they'll both sound equally lame and foolish. So be it.


Let's Start with August 27


In this basic bit of astro-tracking for the dates of RNC 2012 there may be a message in the stars that reflects upon actions and events below. Naturally, the Saros Series of the Pre-Natal Eclipse during which both Conventions take place is the 14 South in which the Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012 @ 00Gem21 fell (horoscope shown) so events will express all or some of the flavors and themes of 14S such as: an obsessive idea (Mercury-Pluto content = propaganda galore) is finally accepted and leads to a breakthrough (Jupiter) after a period of hard work, and to political conflicts (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology.)

RNC 2012's planetary portents open with a shaking Fist of God pattern having the Uranus/Pluto square at its base, a generational conflict. In Cardinal signs (Uranus 7Ari47 Rx v Pluto 7Cap05 Rx), we find them in fated degrees since both = 7, or 8, if you prefer to round up. The Fist is shaken at speedy little Mercury 20Leo41 and we think of such correspondences as the Occupiers of the 99% Movement, of reporters and bloggers, communicators of all kinds, thinkers, plus, all mercurial pursuits such as trade, commerce, transport, travel, and speechifying. Showy (Leo) speeches and/or tricks (Mercury) may be expected, of course, for there's a lot riding on this election for everyone, as you know.

The horoscope for August 27, 2012, Tampa, FL, at 12:00 am edt shows 26Tau23 rising with Jupiter 14Gem04 in first house, a fortunate portent; this makes Venus (valuables, evaluations, relationships, the attraction principle) @18Can58 in 3rd H of Communications the chart-and-convention-ruler, so Venus' applying Ptolemaic (major) aspects hint of the proceedings and their results of RNC 2012. Yet Venus makes no applying aspects at all of major concern which emphasizes her sign and house placements and any other factors such as conjunctions or parans with Fixed Stars, midpoint involvement/s, chart angle connections, etc.

('19Can' has significance to be mentioned in a later post.)

Cancer is our national Venusian sign (@ 4Can) and you know that US natal Jupiter 6Can and Sun 14Can are posited in the self-protective, business savvy sign of The Crab. Naturally, Neptune's sojourn in Pisces resonates on deep levels with our Cancerian Moon-ruled Venus (July 4, 1776.)

It is, in fact, an Hour of Mercury and there are two T-Square patterns which create midpoint pictures though neither involve Venus. Still we may wish to consider them:

NN/ASC = Neptune 1Pis40 Rx (near Chiron 7Pis29 Rx, both in 10th H): wrong impressions and perceptions; weakened or terminated unions or associations caused by lies and deceit (well, we seem to have ensnared a slimy fish on our cosmic hook from the get-go!); (the midpoint of NN/ASC = personal relationships.)

Sun/Neptune = NN (public contact; Sun = leadership, Neptune = acting, propaganda, the masses, veils and masks, fraud, etc): demonstrating a negative or weak attitude in the company of others; links to people or groups which have ties to the occult; ridding oneself of bad ideas.

Now Mars 2Sco16 and Saturn exalted in Libra @ 25:48 are in the 6th H of Service, Work, Health (insurance reform), and the Military denoted a certain stop-and-go vibe to the Convention. Will the stage show run smoothly? The NN mentioned in the midpoint picture, above, @ 00Sag24 in 7th H shouts out the military again for '1Sag' = "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire" and the Republican Party has definitely staked out that territory these last decades (with certain Democrats as enablers--most of them actually even if they seem not to--they follow the same global governance script but with different styles.)

So we may expect American wars, weaponry, troops and other related issues (in the House of Others)--and Venusian evaluations--to be on the RNC 2012 menu. And with Sun (nominee) opposing deceptive but inspired Neptune in its own sign of sneaky, often confusing Pisces (and representing the masses and the media) it's way too idealistic to expect that we'll get real info from the GOP candidates' RNC speeches concerning their plans for what's actually in store for our nation if we should fall for, or be pushed toward, another neocon presidency.

Yet I type the above in spite of potentials in 2012 for poorly directed SCOTUS decisions to affect election outcomes and the possibility of re-counts because the Justices may again overstep the bounds of what was meant to remain a three-branched government with royalty and all allegiances to monarchs left back in the olde countrie.


To be continued...

H. R. 4646 (fees on all banking transactions) is but a myth!

Got Political Rumors to Share? Trust But Verify!

by Jude Cowell

After receiving an eye opening comment here which included a certain rumor, I checked it out and guess what? The following disclaimer is lifted by yours truly from the website of Oregon's Rep. Pete DeFazio. Hopefully, since Stars Over Washington is a mere 'freebie blog' (no money made here, folks), no one will mind if I pass it on to get out the truth about a rumor circulating around the Internet which seems to be primarily directed at undermining the Democratic Party and President Obama as something crazy he'll 'slip in' to legislation after the election.

Now if it were true it would be unconscionable as well as traitorous to the financially overburdened American people especially with Wall Street crooks roaming free. But it isn't. This from Oregon's Rep. Peter DeFazio himself who is allegedly one of the sneaky culprits:

Learn the Truth about H.R. 4646

An internet rumor has been circulating that claims that I introduced a bill titled H.R. 4646 along with Senator Tom Harkin and that it would levy a 1 percent tax on every financial transaction including credit card transactions and even social security deposits. This is patently false. H.R. 4646 was introduced by Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania, and has no cosponsors. I oppose this bill because it wrongly taxes all financial transactions, rather than just focusing on the Wall Street speculators who got us into this current economic mess. Americans making normal day-to-day transfers of money should not be subject to a tax on those transactions.

These days there are innumerable rumors circulating around the internet. Both Factcheck.org, Snopes and Politifact Oregon have debunked this myth, with Politifact Oregon calling it a “pants on fire lie”. #

Debunkings of H. R. 4646 to check out for yourself:

PolitiFact

FactCheck

Snopes

In the US, the dirty tricks of win-at-any-cost politics just never stop, do they? jc

~:~

Note: this rumor was originally trotted out just prior to the November 2, 2010 midterm elections--guess they're trying it again.

So with trickster Mercury (rumors; ideas) opposing falsifying, overblown, deceptive Neptune, I'll skip publishing the reader comment on this one. And if you are the one who left it, nice try. Either you're extremely gullible or a very bad sport.

Hint: as I've typed on SO'W many times before, I have a motto about such things that always has to be brought out when highstakes election seasons arrive:

Cheating isn't winning. It's stealing. jc

John Edwards indicted under rays of Gemini Solar Eclipse 6.3.11

NPR BREAKING NEWS: Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards Indicted On Charges Related To Money Given To Mistress

The Democratic politician's lawyers contend the payments were gifts from friends. Prosecutors allege they were political donations that should have been reported.

More at NPR.

~:~

Often a Solar Eclipse can bring things to light which were hidden especially if it connects with a person's particular natal and progressed horoscopes. With this Wednesday's June 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse @ 11Gem02, Mr. Edwards (born with an Airy Sun Gem-Moon Gem personality blend!) has had his private business put out for all to review, critique, and bring charges.

And since Solar Eclipses are freshly seeded New Moons, the legal case against the former Democratic presidential candidate is at its beginning.

Here's a SO'W post from late 2007 concerning my surmises about the 2008 campaign and the out-of-bounds Mercury of John Edwards with his natal horoscope shown. (The post is not updated or edited and hindsight is 20/20. We know who won the presidency and who now acts as VP. Of course I did not know then.)

Considering today's announcement of the Edwards indictment for misuse of campaign funds, perhaps I should have written on his crisis-ridden YOD ('Finger of God') and a difficult Fist of God pattern which you may view by clicking to enlarge his natal chart.

Ron Paul 1988: drug trafficking by the CIA, Bush Sr, & the Ds (video)

In 1988, Rep. Ron Paul was interviewed and mentioned the CIA, Bush Sr (CIA Director once upon a time), Ronald Reagan, and the Democratic Party and their involvement in drug trafficking to finance illegal CIA operations which Congress wouldn't fund (or didn't want its fingerprints on as a body.)

Then in August 1988, George H. W. Bush gave his thousand points of light" acceptance speech in New Orleans (text or audio), if you wish to remember the words of a drug-trafficking 'president' who later affirmed that his "mission" was to establish a New World Order, the dire effects of which become clearer every day.

A Few Astro-Notes on RNC and DNC 2012

Guess you've heard that the Republican National Convention to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2012 campaign will be held in Tampa, Florida the week of August 27, 2012.

Funny thing about Tampa these days, though I suppose there's absolutely no correlation between a certain geophysical phenomenon and the GOP: Earth's magnetic pole has shifted quite visibly in Tampa...toward Russia!

No word yet on the directional drift for Charlotte, NC where the DNC will be held the first week of September 2012. But one assumes it's moved a little closer to Russia, too.

However, we can sleuth for clues about the general atmosphere of that time period by considering the Pre-Natal Eclipse Series into which both conventions fall since they're scheduled only a week apart: 14 South @ '00Gem21' (conjoining Fixed Star Alcyone, keywords: something to cry about; exile.

Here's what Bernadette Brady has to say about 14S in her book Predictive Astrology:

(This Series) will tend to bring success. There may have been long periods of hard work from which the success has grown. With *Mercury-Pluto content there is also the potential for an obsessive idea to finally be accepted, which then leads to the promised success of Jupiter. During this eclipse individuals should push for the acceptance of their ideas or methodologies as this eclipse can bring the long awaited breakthrough.

Sounds like perfect astro-weather for US political conventions, doesn't it? Although the part about "an obsessive idea' may be not be any more to we-the-people's liking than their last obsessive idea because in America, it's ruling elite vs we-the-people. And the plutocrats began throwing us overboard decades ago.

~:~

* "Mercury-Pluto content" refers to the initial eclipse in the 14S Series; a 14S Solar Eclipse last manifested on May 10, 1994 @ '20Tau'. '20Tau' = "Wind Clouds and Haste" = EXALTATION...neg: 'a diffusion of self and waste of energy in an attempt to grasp the myriad facets of the nonessential'. (The Sabian Symbols in Astrology , Dr. Marc Edmund Jones.)

In The Combination of Stellar Influences, Reinhold Ebertin relates Mercury-Pluto to 'the art of persuasion, suggestion, the spirit of opposition, hasty thinking and speaking, good powers of observation, a quick grasp of every situation, an "amazingly sharp criticism", intellectual triumph over others, slyness or cunning, crafty subtlety, diplomacy, wielding influence through speaking or writing'.

Propaganda and secret surveillance are facets of the duo's influence as well and as you know, America's natal horoscope contains a Mercury-Pluto opposition across the security and career minded Cancer-Capricorn axis. (Uncle Sam doesn't just want you, he's watching you with the all-seeing eye emblazoned on America's Great Seal.)

And in Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets, Michael Munkasey gives the Mercury-Pluto duo's energy in Politics and Business as:

Thesis: High security communications and intelligence activities; political talk which offers abrupt changes to some functions; communications satellites; news of space exploration, orbital weapons, or toxic gases.

Antithesis: Secrets concerning the business community or transportation systems; communications within the intelligence gathering agencies; self-destructive impulses in business; breakdowns in road networks.

So if you plan to travel to Tampa or Charlotte for either convention in 2012 you might want to leave extra early.

~:~

Today is D Day in Egypt: Departure Day for President Hosni Mubarak and again this blogger sends best hopes to the people of Egypt as they fight the good fight against 32 years of cruel oppression.

Democracy Now!

Rep. Alan Grayson on tax cuts for the rich (video)

Thank goodness for Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) who shares his ideas for what the rich can do with the extra $83,000 they'll each pocket if the Republicans get their way extending tax cuts for the rich.

Sometimes I wonder if the Americans who put the GOP back in control (to the extent that they are) in the November midterms 2010 won't live to regret it. And other times I know they will.

And in spite of the shortcomings of the Democratic Party (and they are many), my reaction now is similar to my reaction when Bush was 'elected' then re-elected: what in the world could you possibly have been thinking?

Blackwater's client list; Prince's Sun Gemini-Moon Pisces

The Nation's Jeremy Scahill has popped the lid off the top clients list of Erik Prince's Blackwater ('Xe') operations and its bid to be the intell arm of Monsanto, one of the primary scourges of our times.

But Walt Disney? Really? What can Mickey be up to? Spying on Minnie perhaps?

If you prefer, Raw Story offers a synopsis of the situation and its disturbing implications.

And it seems the Democratic Party is on Mr. Prince's radar for his new book intends to vanquish them with damning revelations in time for the November 2010 midterms. As if I don't type every day that Ds and Rs are in league together against the American people. But who is Erik Prince in league with, do ya think?

Born on June 6, 1969 at an unknown hour in Holland, MI (est), Erik Prince's natal Moon remained in Pisces for the 24-hour period of his birth date, with Sun in mid-Gemini.

His powerful trio of Uranus 29Vir52 Rx (he's in the midst of his midlife crisis now), Jupiter 26:23, (SN 26:47), and Pluto 22Vir24 gives him enormous success potential. Yet many people were born with the same trio - so what he's done with his talents has been his choice and it reminds me of the old saw about fruitcakes at Christmas: people spend all that time, effort, and money baking fruitcakes when they could be making something good.

Yes, 'Dark Prince' certainly describes the man's career path and that's only considering the parts we know about.

Jupiter conjoined with South Node is similar to a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction which indicates a serious attitude toward life, conservatism, and practicality. Obstacles and snags must be overcome in the career path but with perseverance, success usually follows. (With him, it depends on what one defines as 'success', imho.)

Jupiter/SN conjunctions describe one whose ethical and social aims clash with prevailing standards of society and this creates conflicts of interests. He finds himself in disagreement with religious teachings and meets with blockages against attainment of higher education. Difficulties and delays in foreign lands are indicated and certainly have been encountered. (Sakoian.)

Interesting that natal Venus 00Tau07 is at a violent degree in the zodiac, the 00 - 1 Taurus area (Hitler's 'trigger point', his natal Sun degree.)

The power trio mentioned offers a midpoint picture to consider and as you know, the combo of Uranus/Pluto relates to revolution, secret agencies, collection of intell, riots, and violent upheavals that lead to changes in government. (Munkasey.)

Uranus/Pluto = Jupiter: added insight into legal and political processes that are used for expressing ideas about reform and change; an excess of strong feelings about imposing major changes into various areas of life.

Perhaps Prince's book will express this against the Democrats. But my strong feelings are that his arguments should more correctly be addressed toward the entire US political system, not just half of it, for all of them voted to invade the Middle East (with very few exceptions - and some of those were against Bush's war only to create an 'effect'.)

Is the big reveal that Dems were complicit and lies were told? Duh! They still are and do.

His Air-Water Sun Gemini-Moon Pisces blend is a moody, jack-of-all-trades combo and has these Images for Integration: Peter Pan marries Tinkerbell and they live happily ever after in Never Never Land...A weather vane on a church spire sparkles in the sunshine as the wind twirls it around, turning it into a mysterious sky gem.

(Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey.)

Well, it's time to motor into the city (for I do have a real job, y'know!) and upon return my plan is to make more headway on writing an article for Julie Demboski's Fall issue of Eclipse. I'm the final stages on what is proving an interesting topic to me, and hopefully, it will prove interesting to you, too.