MNA Archives - Page 19 of 46 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

December 4th, 2018 at 08:07am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: George H. W. Bush

On Thursday, 30 November 2018, George H. W. Bush died at his home in Houston, Texas, at age 94. The 41^st president of the United States, Bush was the son of a Senator, the father of the 43^rd US president and of a former governor of Florida. Bush served two terms as Vice President for Ronald Reagan before succeeding to the office for a single term, losing the presidency to Bill Clinton in 1992. The subsequent friendship which grew between the two men (Bush and his wife Barbara often referred to Clinton as another son) was a beautiful example of a nonpartisan spirit that seems quaint and antiquated in today’s cruder, rough-and-tumble political atmosphere.

November 26th, 2018 at 01:33pm by Alex Miller

AAA Profile: Nancy Pelosi, The Once and Future Speaker

When the 116^th Congress convenes on January 3^rd, 2019, it’s likely to have a most remarkable woman at its head. If chosen Speaker by the incoming Democratic majority in US the House of Representatives, it won’t be Nancy Pelosi’s first crack at wielding the gavel. The California-based Representative made history in 2007 when she became the first female Speaker of the House, a post she held until the 2010 electoral rout against the Affordable Care Act, spearheaded by the Tea Party, tossed Democrats out of power for 8 years. But progressives and Pelosi are back, and 2018’s Blue Wave has once again turned the tide in DC.

November 10th, 2018 at 08:21am by Alex Miller

Sessions Sacked

On Wednesday, November 7^th, 2018, while the Midterm Election votes were still being counted, Donald Trump saw the fulfillment of a years-long dream: the forced resignation of Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. (And don’t think the timing on that isn’t significant; Trump wanted something controversial to distract from the Democratic victory the day before, and Sessions fit the bill perfectly.)

Yes, Sessions was the first sitting US Senator to openly endorse Trump’s Presidential campaign in 2016; yes, he was Trump’s handpicked choice for the post he now leaves; yes, he was perhaps the most effective of Trump’s Cabinet officials in enacting the administration’s ultra-conservative agenda.

But Sessions’ fatal flaw was a teeny modicum of ethical behavior, when he recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian collusion with the Trump campaign. This he was required to do, having been a major campaign surrogate for Trump, and he only did it after lying to Congress during his AG confirmation hearings about his own interactions with Russian agents.

November 8th, 2018 at 08:49am by Alex Miller

Midterm Elections 2018: Post Mortem

Well, it’s finally over. Mostly. As of this writing (Wednesday morning, November 7, though a protracted Verizon service outage may delay posting), the results appear to be a mixed bag. The Democrats have retaken the House of Representatives, but the Republicans have expanded their Senate majority. Barring a few key races (Arizona, Florida and Montana Senate races still too close to call, a Mississippi Senate race requiring a run-off, and a likely legal challenge in Georgia’s gubernatorial election), the broad outlines are clear.

October 30th, 2018 at 08:49am by Alex Miller

Slaughter in the Synagogue

Shortly after Shabbat services began at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, October 27, 2018, a lone gunman entered and began shooting up the congregation with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and two Glock hand guns. He left 11 dead and another six wounded, including several police officers who responded to the 911 calls. The suspect, Robert Bowers, was apprehended after being shot by police and remains in the hospital, though he faces arraignment on 29 Federal charges on the Monday. Bowers had a history of anti-Semitic posts on social media sites, and told arresting officers that he “just wanted to kill Jews”, whom he accused of bringing terrorists into the US to destroy the country.

The rampage is the most deadly act of anti-Semitism in US history, and the 294^th mass shooting in the country this year. Obviously, we’ve been down this road many times before; it is wide and commodious, and there appears to be no turning.

October 1st, 2018 at 09:22am by Alex Miller

AAA Profile: Bela Lugosi

“Welcome to my house. Enter freely and of your own will.” From this first intonation of his opening line in the 1931 horror classic “Dracula”, Bela Lugosi was a star. Suave and elegant, with opera cape, top hat and cane, sans the fangs and gore, Lugosi’s portrayal of Bram Stoker’s malignant villain virtually singlehandedly vaulted the vampire from grotesque to sex symbol. His sophisticated appearance and exotic eastern European accent set him in the firmament of Hollywood glitterati, indelibly linked with his undead character for all time.