Asteroid Astrology: National

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Trump Trial #1: Date Set

The Trump legal team’s final gambit to derail the Stormy Daniels hush money case failed on Thursday, 15 February 2024, when Judge Juan Merchan rejected a motion to dismiss, reaffirming the trial date already set for 25 March.  The case involves election interference, in the paying of hush money to Stephanie Clifford, AKA porn star Stormy Daniels, and to Playboy model Karen McDougal, to cover up sexual liaisons with Trump, just before the November 2016 presidential election.  Trump, via his lawyer Michael Cohen, allegedly used campaign funds to buy Daniels’ silence, while American Media fronted the cash for McDougal.  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was the first to bring criminal charges against the former president, nearly a year ago, and will now be the first (but certainly not the last) to attempt to bring Trump to justice.

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The New York 3 Special Election: Another One Bites the Dust

On Tuesday, 13 February 2024, New York’s Third Congressional District held a special election to fill the seat vacated by serial fabulist George Santos, ousted from the US House of Representatives last December.  The election in the swing district was viewed by many as a bellwether, an omen of things to come in the general election come November.  Though polling showed a tight race, Democrat Tom Suozzi trounced Republican Mazi Pilip, 54%-46%.  The victory shifts yet another House seat from R to D, giving GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson just a two-vote majority.

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Decapitated Dad

On January 30, 2024, Justin Mohn, 23, killed and beheaded his father, Michael, 68, at the home they shared in Levittown, PA.  He posted a video of him holding the head, wrapped in a plastic bag, on his YouTube channel, calling his father a traitor because he was a federal employee.  In a 14-minute tirade, Mohn spouted rightwing conspiracy theories and antigovernment slogans, brandishing the head for part of the time, later seen in the background sitting in a cooking pot.  Mohn then took his father’s car and fled the scene, arrested later that evening approximately 100 miles away, after his mother returned home, discovered the body, and phoned 911 at about 7 PM EST. 

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Carroll of the Bills: Trump’s Defamation Price Tag

Some people never learn.  Despite being found liable for sexual assault and defamation last year, in a civil action brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who sued him for slanderous statements attempting to rebut her claims of rape, Donald Trump continued to defame Carroll, post-verdict.  And Carroll continued to sue him.  And Trump continues to defame her.  Will she sue again?

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DeSantis DeParts

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to suspend his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on 21 January 2024 came as a shock to … no one, actually.  Following a dismal finish in the Iowa Caucus six days prior, with Donald Trump thirty points ahead of him and fellow contender Nikki Haley nipping at his heels, just two points behind, it seemed only a matter of time before he pulled the plug.  And with DeSantis polling in the single digits in the New Hampshire Primary two days hence, now was the time.

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The 2024 Iowa Caucus

I’m not sure why anyone pays attention to the Iowa caucuses anymore, considering its Republican voters have only picked their Party’s eventual presidential nominee twice since the 1960s, and only one of those went on to win the general election.  But Iowa is the time-honored kickoff to the quadrennial American presidential passion play regardless, and one must observe the conventions and traditions that make the country what it is.

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