Washingtonia Archives - Page 14 of 20 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

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.

September 15th, 2018 at 04:35pm by Alex Miller

Hurricane Florence

In mid-September, Hurricane Florence became the first major storm to strongly impact the US in the 2018 season. A Category 4 hurricane just days before crashing into the Carolinas, Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 before making landfall, and quickly diminished to tropical storm strength, likely sparing billions in property damage and additional lives.

But Florence will still wreak havoc with its storm surge, up to 11 feet in some areas, and its accompanying deluge; with as much as two feet of rain expected generally, some areas could see almost 40 inches in a matter of hours. Billions of dollars’ worth of damage will likely ensue, with affected areas taking years to recover.

September 14th, 2018 at 08:33am by Alex Miller

Ted Cruz: Texas Toast?

Texas Senator Ted Cruz may be in the fight of his life for re-election this November. The one-term Republican Senator who famously shut down the government in 2013 with a filibuster comprised partly of a reading of Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham”, has made few friends and allies on Capitol Hill, having a reputation as uncompromising, caustic, and generally charm-free. Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) once described him as “Lucifer in the flesh.”

Polls show he is now neck-and-neck with Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, a former punk rock band member who is currently US Representative for Texas’ 16^th District. Cruz is so desperate, he has asked former 2016 GOP presidential nomination rival Donald Trump to stump for him. Trump, who during that campaign tagged him with the moniker “Lyin’ Ted”, insulted his wife as ugly, and accused his father of participating in the JFK assassination, is Cruz’ last best hope of retaining his seat. With friends like these…

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 15th, 2018 at 09:01am by Alex Miller

Omarosa, With Thorns

On August 14^th 2018 former “Apprentice” bete noire and White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman released “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House”, her tell-all expose of nearly a year as Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison. Say that ten times fast. It’s a lot of words to identify a position that was difficult to define, but seems to have been related to her prior work with the Trump Campaign as Director of African-American Outreach.

August 9th, 2018 at 03:04pm by Alex Miller

Proxy War: Ohio 12

On Tuesday, 7 August 2018, Ohio’s 12^th Congressional District held a special election to replace Representative Pat Tiberi, who resigned effective January 15^th to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable, despite having served as US Representative for the district for 17 years. Ohio 12 is the former seat of John Kasich, current Ohio governor and 2016 GOP presidential nomination contender. The district, which includes suburbs of Columbus and more rural counties, is a reliably Republican one, which Donald Trump won by 11 points in 2016; Tiberi won it then by 36 points, 66-30% against his Democratic challenger.

That was then, this is now.