VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN

In his nomination acceptance speech on September 2, George W. Bush briefly touted the tremendous gains for democracy in Afghanistan, when he stated that "terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people—yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election—a resounding endorsement of democracy."

And the fact that 10.35 million Afghanis have registered to vote, and more are registering daily, would be a tremendous victory, if it weren’t for the opposing fact that only 9.8 million Afghanis are actually eligible to vote. Voter fraud and abuse in Afghanistan is rife, with many citizens acquiring up to a dozen or more valid voter cards apiece. But then again, this is the Bush Administration—if they can’t introduce democratic corruption, nobody can.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN?

Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) may well have earned himself the title of Galactic Turncoat Extraordinaire for 2004. In a blistering keynote address given at the Republican National Convention in New York on Wednesday, September 1, Democrat Miller trashed his fellow Party members and Presidential candidate John Kerry in particular, stating, "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today’s Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator," and "In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution," then proceeding to castigate Kerry for his voting record on defense.

All very well and good, and Miller’s entitled to his opinion, but, incredibly, 12 years before, the Georgia Senator, then the Peach State’s Governor, stood in the very same hall at Madison Square Garden and gave a rousing keynote call to arms in support of Bill Clinton’s candidacy. At the time it was the Republicans he denounced as the cynics and skeptics, stating, "They have mastered the art of division and diversion and they have robbed us of our hope," and said George H. W. Bush, Dubya’s daddy then running for re-election, "just doesn’t get it."

But the flip-flopping doesn’t stop there. As recently as 2001 Miller praised Kerry personally in a speech, calling him "one of this nation's authentic heroes" who has "worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment...fought against government waste and ... fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so." Kerry and Miller have also had identical Senate voting records on intelligence funding, and both voted for increased defense spending in 2002, so his speech’s laundry list attack of weapons systems Kerry would have dumped is disingenuous, to say the least.

What could cause such a complete reversal? Well, some might point to Senator Miller’s advancing years and a possible family tendency toward senility, but to the galactic astrologer, the theme of "complete reversal" can lead to just one culprit—Black Holes.

Born 24 February 1932, Miller’s chart is not at first glance that of a turncoat. A sensitive Pisces Sun and equable Libra Moon speak of a reasoned, balanced, empathetic outlook, although Libra can be indecisive and Pisces sometimes has difficulty standing firm. But the Sun is at 4 Pisces, in exact square to Black Hole Isis at 4 Sagittarius. It is impinged also by exact sextile to Black Hole Durga at 4 Capricorn and exact trine to Black Hole Parvati at 4 Cancer, all of which makes Miller a prime candidate for a dramatic, 180-degree reversal at some point in his life. Transit Uranus is currently paying a visit to Miller’s Sun, and its effects are obvious in the agitated rhetoric which spewed from his lips with Uranian impropriety.

The trigger for Miller’s changing attitudes over the past few years seems to have been a late-life solar progression of his Sun over Black Hole Eurydice, a ten-year process he is currently halfway through, with his progressed Sun now conjunct the singularity of the Deep Space anomaly at 16 Taurus. Incredibly, at the time of his prior keynote address in 1992, Miller’s progressed Sun was exactly conjunct a Quasar at 4 Taurus, also known as a "White Hole," metaphorically a Black Hole’s polar opposite. I guess we could call Miller a White Hole Democrat and a Black Hole Republican.

When we dig deeper into the fabric of Miller’s psyche with a look at asteroids, the tendency to break faith and betray loyalties becomes clear. I chose to examine the positions of celestials Ixion (Greek mythology’s first murderer, who betrayed his new father-in-law at the wedding banquet), Hektor (the Trojan ne’er do well who eloped with his host’s wife, Helen), Medea (who betrayed her father the king and the goddess whose priestess she was, to lead her lover Jason to the Golden Fleece) and Lancelot (who betrayed King Arthur by adultery with Guinevere). Just for good measure, I plunked in Fides, for keeping Faith, or the lack thereof, and Karma, for obvious reasons.

Inconjuncts seem to be the theme. There are seven of them, and they may speak volumes for Miller’s adjustments in perspective over the years; with so many inconjuncts, he has just never really felt comfortable in his skin. Ixion at 28 Virgo is in a very strong position galactically, exactly opposed a Black Hole and square to the Galactic Center, which implies a high public profile for his treachery, and is also inconjunct Miller’s Mars at 29 Aquarius, itself conjunct Black Hole Hekate. Jupiter has been edging up on Ixion all summer, and at the time of the keynote speech had reached 24 Virgo applying to exact conjunction.

Hektor at 5 Libra is conjoined another Quasar, an anomaly which is often an indicator of pervasive manifestation impossible to downplay or hide, and is tightly inconjunct the 4 Pisces Sun. Lancelot at 15 Pisces is inconjunct natal Jupiter at 15 Leo, which is itself retrograde, another possible indicator of periodic reversal of philosophy or opinions. Lancelot is also tightly sextile to the current progressed Sun, which thus squares Jupiter, inflating ego and any pompous tendencies Miller may have, thrusting him into the spotlight and egging him on to make the most of it, provide the biggest spectacle he can muster.

Medea at 8 Aquarius is opposed a Black Hole at 9 Leo and forms a mini-stellium with Saturn at 1 Aquarius, Fides at 2 Aquarius, and Karma at 4 Aquarius. All are inconjunct Neptune at 6 Virgo, itself also conjunct a Black Hole. This certainly speaks to a loss of faith and severe disillusionment.

The preponderance of inconjunct aspects suggests a certain irascibility and tetchiness obvious in Miller’s everyday persona, heightened now by the garrulousness of age and what is probably a genuine disillusionment with the current state of polarization in politics which his Party has done nothing to quell. Unfortunately, Miller has just added fuel to the flames.

I FEEL YOUR PAIN

It’s too much to suppose that Bill Clinton’s hospitalization for chest pains on the day of Bush’s acceptance speech at the RNC, and his subsequent diagnosis of arterial blockage and coronary bypass surgery, was an attempt by the "Vast Left Wing Conspiracy" to deflect attention from Bush and the convention, but it sure worked out that way. Even a Party animal like Bill wouldn’t induce a health crisis for political gain.

Would he?

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT PENIS

The subject of the title of this section is Alan Keyes, Barack Obama’s opponent for the open Senate seat in the state of Illinois.

It’s not Keyes’ Senate run which draws our attention so much as the comments he made in an interview with Sirius OutQ, a satellite radio station that provides programming aimed at gays and lesbians, where he described gays as "selfish hedonists," and included Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter Mary as such "by definition." Not that there’s anything wrong with that....

Keyes, sometimes known as the conservative Al Sharpton, has twice failed in primary Presidential bids, and was recently imported by the GOP from Maryland to Illinois to replace disgraced Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan, who withdrew from the race in June over a sex club scandal involving his wife. Keyes' extreme conservative views make him an unlikely choice for Illinois voters (unless Obama should actually be caught on tape screwing a llama while snorting coke and leafing through his autographed copy of "Mein Kampf"), but that didn’t stop him from embarrassing the Party the week of the convention.

Speaking on Monday, August 30, Keyes, presumably in a ham-handed attempt at Republican outreach to the homosexual community, stated that gays are "sinners" because of their propensity to "use the organs intended for procreation for purposes of pleasure." Mr. Keyes continued: "A homosexual engages in the exchange of mutual pleasure. I actually object to the notion that we call it sexual relations because it is nothing of the kind....it has nothing to do with sexuality because they are of the same sex. And with respect to them, the sexual difference does not exist there, and therefore [they] are not having sexual relations.... Homosexuals are essentially incapable of procreation. They cannot mate. They are not made to do so. Therefore the idea of marriage for two such individuals is an absurdity."

With rough wooing like that, who wouldn’t get all weak-kneed?

Born 7 August 1950, Keyes’ chart does suggest some sexual repression issues. Methinks the bigot doth protest too much. Venus at 19 Cancer is exactly opposed a Black Hole, has just separated from conjunction with Uranus at 7 Cancer, and is square to Neptune at 15 Libra, a combination which often promotes homosexual tendencies. Uranus craves experience out of the ordinary, something unconventional, even bizarre; while Neptune breaks down barriers and blurs the lines determining who it is acceptable to love. At the very least, there is a natural ambivalence and fluidity to Keyes’ intimate relationships which suggests susceptibility to unorthodox forms of romantic expression.

Mars at 28 Libra is exactly conjunct Black Hole Pele and is isolated from the rest of the chart with no major aspect to any other celestial. This is liable to produce a sexuality which is unintegrated within the context of the psyche as a whole, and uncompromising in its perspective. Again, due to the unpredictable and often provocative nature of strong Black Hole contacts, there is something going on below the surface of Keyes’ persona which suggests deviation from societally-sanctioned sexual norms.

Keyes’ intolerance and rigidity is amply well represented by the Sun/Pluto conjunction in mid-Leo, which also incorporates a controversy-provoking Maser. He feels a royal, almost divine, right and responsibility to set the rest of us straight, so to speak, and would not scruple to enforce his ideas and opinions on others via force or coercion.

The only retrograde planet in the chart is Jupiter, which shows its power in the reactionary and backward-looking philosophies he espouses, which form so much of who he is. At 4 Pisces, Jupiter is currently receiving the ministrations of transit Uranus, urging Keyes to shake things up with passionate avowals of his ideas, but perhaps ultimately also opening him to change and growth via increased awareness.

Asteroid Lust at 11 Gemini squares the 8 Virgo Mercury, itself sandwiched between two Black Holes and the site of the recent Mercury retrograde, which has evoked other gay-themed issues such as New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s coming out and resignation (McGreevey’s Mercury is at 9 Virgo), and the California Supreme Court’s rejection of the same-sex marriages performed there earlier this year. That Keyes thus gives a great deal of time to the thoughtful consideration of lust, to which he would be in natural conflict via the square, is understandable. Lust is also square natal Saturn at 18 Virgo, with predictably restrictive results; pleasure, for Keyes, is obviously an undesirable by-product of sexual contact, never properly an end in itself. The conjunction of natal Saturn with asteroid Sappho at 21 Virgo, named for a famous Greek lesbian poet, also speaks volumes for his desire to clamp down tightly on the legal rights of the gay community.

GET THE BUTTERFLY NET, WE’VE BAGGED ANOTHER ONE

And the award for most fitting and ironic punishment goes to Theresa LaPore, soon to be former election commissioner of Palm Beach County, Florida. LaPore, who designed the infamous "Butterfly Ballot" for West Palm Beach four years ago which arguably cost Gore the election, was defeated in the Florida Primary Election on August 31; but there had to be a recount to prove it!

Human error was determined to be the cause of a vote tally which included results for over 6,000 more absentee ballots than were cast. LaPore was narrowly defeated by challenger Arthur Anderson, who despite the relative unimportance of this race had personal appearances from the likes of Senator Joseph Lieberman and former Governor Howard Dean to his credit. The margin of victory narrowed even further when the duplicated ballot count was rectified, an ironic circumstance which perfectly mirrored the Gore/Bush contest four years previously.

LaPore had begun work for the elections board at age 16 as a part-time file clerk, more than 30 years ago, and was defeated in her attempt to attain a third term as supervisor. Her opposition to the addition of a paper trail verification system for the new electronic machines being installed in West Palm Beach irritated voters, who added LaPore’s uncooperative stance over this issue to their lingering resentments about the 2000 debacle, which LaPore resolutely refused to take responsibility for. "There was a consistent effort to blame voters," said Carol Ann Loehndorf, chair of the Democratic Party of Palm Beach County.

Theresa, good luck, and good riddance!

YEAH, THOSE NEW VOTING MACHINES SEEM TO BE WORKIN’ OUT JUST RIGHT

Also in the August 31 Florida Primary, Mel Martinez, George W. Bush’s former Housing Secretary and his personal choice for the Republican nomination in the Sunshine State’s Senate race, defeated his better-known opponent by a much wider margin than expected. As recently as Monday some polls showed former US Representative Bill McCollum with as much as a 7 point lead, but the congressman was trounced on Tuesday by Martinez in a 45% to 31% blowout. Martinez, who is Cuban American, will battle Democrat Betty Castor for retiring Bob Graham’s seat in November.

A major portion of the campaign in recent weeks focused on Martinez’ gay-bashing attempts to rouse the conservative Right. The campaign turned particularly nasty when it circulated a flier accusing Mr. McCollum of pandering to the "radical homosexual lobby" by co-sponsoring a failed hate-crimes bill that would encompass crimes based on the victim's gender, sexual orientation or disability. It also criticized him for his support of expanded stem cell research.

The St. Petersburg Times went so far as to rescind its endorsement of Mr. Martinez on the day before the election, accusing him of bigotry and of "hateful and dishonest attacks" on Mr. McCollum. "No matter what else Martinez may accomplish in public life," the newspaper wrote in an editorial, "his reputation will be forever tainted by his campaign's nasty and ludicrous slurs of McCollum in the final days of this race." Even Governor Jeb Bush felt compelled to denounce the campaign’s TV ads, which suggested McCollum supported gay rights and same sex marriage, and ask that they be pulled.

Born 23 October 1946, Martinez’ 29 Libra Sun conjoins Black Hole Pele, and the chart is galactically active in many respects. With the Sun also conjoined Jupiter exactly on Black Hole Dionysos at 6 Scorpio, Martinez is firmly wedded to his deeply conservative views, and is clearly operating from that parallel universe where his perspective is the "right" one, regardless of others’ opinions.

The Saturn/Pluto conjunction at 8 and 13 Leo, which straddles a Black Hole and a Maser, indicates a philosophy of government based on power, repression, and rule by the elite, whether they be the elect of God or the societal upper crust and corporate leaders. Ultimately, control is all that’s important.

The Mars/Mercury conjunction at 20 and 22 Scorpio shows the bitter invective of the campaign, particularly the inflammatory (Mars) rhetoric (Mercury) regarding sexual issues (Mars/Scorpio). Martinez does not work and play well with others; compromise and toleration is not natural to him.

But the big issue is the surprisingly large margin of victory, culled from the new electronic voting machines which have no paper trail for verification of voters’ ballots. The Governor’s office called this primary test of the new systems a "success." From their point of view, I’d have to agree with them. Election 2000, here we go again.

THE WRATH OF GOD?

It’s late summer, we’ve recently had a war with Iraq, the economy is shaky, an embattled Bush is desperately seeking re-election, and a killer storm devastates Florida. Is this 2004? Don’t be so certain—it could be 1992. Hurricane Andrew tore Florida a new one that summer while the George H. W. Bush campaign foundered. Are the recent batterings by Charley and Frances of Florida, partly distracting the public’s attention from Bush’s convention performance, proof that God is a Democrat and is punishing Floridians for their electoral sins in putting Dubya in the White House?

Nah, but we’d like to think so.