Seizing on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) reluctant concession allowing him to appoint five members to the committee that writes the party platform, Bernie Sanders on Monday announced a suite of picks that included activists across the progressive sphere.
Sanders' appointees to the 15-member Platform Drafting Committee include: racial justice activist and scholar Dr. Cornel West, 350.org co-founder and noted environmentalist Bill McKibben, Native American activist Deborah Parker, Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), and James Zogby, a pro-Palestinian scholar as well as founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI).
Senator Sanders has picked wisely and well! I'm especially pleased about Dr West's inclusion. I've been a fan of his since I first saw him as a guest on Bill Maher's TV show, back in 2008. Below is the post I wrote then - it's relevant also, with regard to yesterday's post, because Dr West has natal Sun+ in Gemini.
Drive-by Astrology # 1 - Dr. Cornel West
More often than not "drive-by" is used in connection with shootings. I'm going to put the term to use in a more peaceful context: "drive-by astrology". Whenever I come across an individual whose natal chart proves, on first sight, to be an exact fit for the person I perceive, I'll post the chart with very brief reasons why it fits its owner so clearly. I hope this will provide a chance to see astrology working "before your very eyes" !
First up in the drive-by series: Dr. Cornel West, author, lecturer, public speaker, social activist,democratic socialist and major figure in African American academia, including the illustrious Princeton and Harvard. I've seen Dr. West on several occasions as a guest on Bill Maher's "Real Time". Each time I've been impressed by his eloquence, charm and ability to hold my interest, whatever the subject under discussion. He obviously has a brilliant mind, yet his approach is straightforward and lacking in all the scholarly affectation so often encountered among the egg-head community.
A descriptive paragraph from here:
"...... an eloquent lecturer, whose lithe and energetic body was
totally involved in the torrent of words and ideas that tumbled from his mouth. He asked his listeners not only to hear what he said, but to enter into his thought processes and share his enthusiasms or generate their own thoughts and enthusiasms. His speaking style was symbolic of his convictions, which rejected the divorce of body from mind, of emotion from intellect, characteristic of much philosophy since Descartes. In a time when many philosophers would be horrified to be called preachers, West (although not an ordained minister) was not embarrassed to preach an occasional sermon. For him a passion for social justice was as intellectually respectable and demanding as the most rigorous intellectual analysis of propositions, and the two were never far apart in his philosophy."
ASTROLOGICALLY DRIVING BY:
Born on 2 June 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (I didn't have him down as an Okie!)Birthtime unknown.
Sun and 3 planets in Gemini (the sign of mental process, communication, a quick mind). Good start! Two of the Gemini planets are conjoined, Mercury and Mars at 22 degrees. Mercury is at home in its own sign, Gemini, therefore unadulterated by other influence, though strengthened and energised by Mars.
Saturn and Neptune are conjoined in Libra (diplomacy and justice), Moon is in Aquarius between 9 and 22 degrees (social awareness). So, Air, the mental element, rules - Gemini, Libra and Aquarius predominate. Gemini and Libra planets in close trine, and the Moon is very likely in trine to both, though how close we can't be sure. What a circuit, enabling all kinds of mental acrobatics!
One more point - in January 2002 Dr. West underwent surgery for prostate cancer. Saturn (restriction, limitation) visited Gemini from May 2001 to Dec 2002, hitting his 4 Gemini planets one by one along its journey, reflecting what must have been a very worrying and restricting time for Dr. West.
4 comments:
Musician, author, actor, activist, professor, talk-show host and frequent guest, piled on top of what he's actually known for: a social-political, Christian, socialist intellectual having bearing on contemporary affairs. That and so much more! He's a Renaissance man. Quite the guy of our modern times.
Yes, you've provided an astrological overview to indicate the natal chart fits the individual. I'd add that his Moon between 9* and 22* Aquarius invariably does trine one or more of his Gemini planets. Like you, I suspect his Moon trines the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, particularly since most astrologers allow a 10* aspect orb for Sun and Moon. He also has a yod: Mercury-Mars sextile Pluto, with Chiron apex...bringing his intellect and action on the collective (Pluto) pain and wounds (Chiron). You mention the Saturn transit of his Gemini planets concurrent with his prostate cancer diagnosis. Transiting Saturn would have affected this yod and the planets involved rule the reproductive organs, wounds-pain, regeneration.
Mercury disposits most of his planets (except for Moon and Uranus), emphasizing his intellectual talents. Moon and Uranus are also final dispositors and are in mutual reception. He has a capacity to dissociate his emotions from his intellect. His Wiki page doesn't provide information about his personal life extant. I suspect he is rather cool and collected emotionally, perhaps not desiring intimate relationships other than friendship.
He has some important (potentially life-changing) transits by the slower-moving planets against his natal chart now and into the next several years, with transiting Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto, particularly. Transiting Jupiter will greatly affect his air grand trine, as Jupiter transits Libra next year, which should provide positive support.
It will be interesting to see how Bernie's panel fares with their teammates on the DNC platform issues. I'm sure Wassershit, et al, has been busily conceiving nefarious work-arounds to circumvent the Bernie-five's input.
mike ~ Dang, my internet connection is iffy today - I typed a comment here a few minutes ago and before I could post it the whole thing hung up, so had to "end task" - it's happening more and more recently (though not usually on Blogger).
Trying to recall my comment!
Thanks for the additional astro input. Dr West is a treasure - I was so pleased when he came out for Bernie early on, and delighted to know he's one of Bernie's 5 picks.
I agree that DWS will be plotting loopholes and hurdles, but the 5 are a strong-minded quintet - she might under-estimate them!
By the way, have you yet seen the reports of State Dept findings on Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server issue - came out an hour or so ago? They're all over the net now, with some comment threads going so mad that it's hard to keep the screen stable to read!
I don't know how important it'll become, but it must surely affect the way people in states still to primary will see her - her faulty judgement is highlighted!
I've been busy mowing and weeding, preparing for tonight's storm arrival, so no, I was unaware of Hillary's continuing email scandal in today's headlines. I just now looked. I don't consider the OIG's final decision that she broke the rules to be that big a deal. We already knew she broke the email rules...didn't take a final report to confirm it. I agree that it's a log on the fire undermining her professional ethics and conduct, but it's the same log, not a new log. The same log pushed with a poker into the hot coals of a presidential election.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used his personal email account, too, even after Hillary's revelation, but no one is going after him:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/26/us/pentagon-chief-used-personal-email-after-white-house-queries.html
She shouldn't have used her personal email account, but in my opinion, I don't see it as a major show-stopper. The Department of Justice has yet to conclude, so maybe more will come to light, but I just can't imagine this as anything more than piss-poor judgement on her part from what has been disclosed thus far. I'd much rather have her presentations to Wall Street financiers be revealed.
mike (again) ~ More storms for us too - twice this week we've had phone calls in the early hours (2 or 3 am) one with tornado warning with sirens blaring, the other just a violent storm (and call came after it had passed and we were dozing back asleep again)
:-/
I understand that Clinton's private SERVER puts her violation in a much worse bracket than the other Sec of States' or other officials'. A private e mail account is one thing a private server is something else, it appears. One commenter I saw this morning likened it to her driving at 100 through a 45 mph zone and the rest driving at 55 mph. :-)
As you say it's old news, but old news brought to the top of the pile of talking ponts once more, and underlined.
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