National Archives - Page 5 of 48 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

April 17th, 2024 at 09:08am by Alex Miller

Trump Trial #1 Begins

The first of Donald Trump’s four pending criminal trials began on Monday, 15 April 2024, with jury selection. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was also Tax Day, and without doubt, the ordeal of Trump on trial will be taxing for us all. Trump kicked off the event with a series of his trademark untruths as he bloviated to reporters before entering the Manhattan courtroom for his trial’s appointed start time of 9:30 AM EDT. The former president characterized the proceedings as “persecution,” “an attack on a political opponent,” and “an assault on America,” averring that “every legal scholar says this case is nonsense” and an “outrage.”

None of that is true, but Trump did state one accurate fact: “Nothing like this has ever happened before, there’s never been anything like it.” Indeed, this is the first criminal prosecution of a former US president and current presidential candidate in history. Congrats, Donnie! You’ve just set two new records!

March 28th, 2024 at 09:48am by Alex Miller

Eclipse Notes: Of Bombs, Bonds and Bridges

Hold onto your cosmic hats! We’re gonna do a down-and-dirty overview of three stories that made the news in recent days – the terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22^nd that left more than 130 dead; the diminution of Donald Trump’s civil fraud bond on the 25^th; and the catastrophic bridge collapse in Baltimore on the 26^th. Each deserves a deeper dive, buy hey! I’m only human.

March 8th, 2024 at 10:05am by Alex Miller

Happy Birthday, SCOTUS!

The Supreme Court of the United States (AKA SCOTUS) just had a birthday! Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Court turned 235 on March 4, 2024 (and she doesn’t look a day over 200!). The Court’s motto is “Equal Justice Under the Law,” but for much of its chequered history it may as well have been, “Often Wrong, But Never in Doubt.” We don’t have to go as far back as the 1857 “Dred Scott” decision (which found that the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent) to find a real head-scratcher. More recent examples include “Heller” in 2008, which confirmed the Second Amendment gun rights free-for-all; “Citizens United” in 2010, which granted corporations the same free speech rights as individuals regarding political spending; or the 2022 ruling in “Dobbs” which eliminated nationwide reproductive health rights (though to be fair, it was also SCOTUS that confirmed those rights, in 1973’s “Roe v Wade”).

February 29th, 2024 at 08:27am by Alex Miller

Redefining Childhood: Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen IVF Embryos Are Children

In a shocking/not shocking ruling on February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court has stated that frozen embryos intended for possible in vitro fertilization use are, legally, children, and their destruction can be prosecuted under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. The 8-1 decision by the exclusively Republican nine-member Court allows couples whose frozen embryos were inadvertently removed from storage and allowed to deteriorate to sue a Mobile, Alabama fertility clinic for the wrongful death of their “children.”

February 21st, 2024 at 08:37am by Alex Miller

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.

February 14th, 2024 at 09:12am by Alex Miller

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.