Rip Archives - Page 16 of 18 - 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.

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.

September 7th, 2018 at 03:34pm by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Burt Reynolds

On September 6^th, 2018, noted actor Burt Reynolds suffered a heart attack and died at a Florida hospital. Reynolds was best known for his popular action films of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run”, but also received an Oscar nomination for his work in 1997’s “Boogie Nights”. During his heyday, Reynolds’ life was frequent tabloid fodder, with long-term relationships with singer and talk show hostess Dinah Shore, actress Sally Field (his co-star in the “Bandit” films) and TV personality Loni Anderson, whom he eventually married, then divorced.

August 28th, 2018 at 09:24am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: John McCain

On Saturday, 25 August 2018, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) succumbed to his battle with brain cancer, at his home outside Phoenix, Arizona, just four days before his 82^nd birthday. The six-term senator, a former Republican nominee for president, had garnered a reputation as a maverick nonpartisan, a truthful, principled political actor who chastised his fellow Party members as freely as the opposition.

August 20th, 2018 at 09:16am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Aretha Franklin

On Thursday August 16, 2018 “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin relinquished her earthly title for a spot on the Celestial Choir. Franklin, aged 76, who had been fighting pancreatic cancer for 8 years, passed away at home while on hospice care, surrounded by family and friends. Her death elicited memorials, statements, tributes and reflections on her life from across the globe.

June 29th, 2018 at 08:49am by Alex Miller

A Tale of Two Kitties

For those of you who may not be familiar, I’m not just a space rock junkie. I also manage a stray and feral cat colony in West Philadelphia; since 2007 we’ve found homes for about seventy cats, and have provided food, shelter, medical intervention and affection for several dozen more.