Bill Maher's Word Trouble

Something else in the news during my off-blog week: Bill Maher blotted his copybook - again. He had let slip the "n" word in response to something a Senator from Nebraska had said to him. I'll not repeat the context here, but link to a relevant article for detail - there are numerous others online.

http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/bill-maher-apologies-again-on-hbo-show-1202461271/

I long ago lost all admiration for Bill Maher, but I was an avid fan of his early on in my time in the USA. I hadn't ever marked him as racist though - west coast elitist limousine liberal, yes, Obama apologist, yes (cost him a $ million donation that did!) Anyway, he apologised immediately for his use of the "n" word, also apologised further, multiple times, in the following week's show. That show had several black guests who were given free rein to upbraid and school Maher which, it appears, they did with enthusiasm. Rapper, Ice Cube, declared that the "n" word is the property only of black people, white people are not allowed to use it. Hmmm. Perhaps the best plan would be if black people (especially rappers) didn't use the word either. Take it out of the human lexicon altogether throw it in the trash, burn it - that's what is truly needed. From a report of Ice Cube's other remarks, he had said something to the effect that Bill Maher sometimes sounds like "a redneck trucker". Is that term not objectionable too, thought I? Maybe the term redneck should be reserved only for use by that particular ilk, if Ice Cube's rules are to be followed.

There was likely, I discovered after reading commentary, another layer to Senator Ben Sasse's remark during Real Time. The remark by Nebraska's Republican Senator which caused Maher to respond as he did, possibly had a hidden anti-semitic barb within it. I had not realised this. After Maher said something about visiting Nebraska,

Sasse hit Maher with the comment, “We’d love to see you working in the fields with us.” Maher didn’t hear “with us” so much as “working in the fields.” It was a dog whistle. There’s an old antisemitic caricature of Jews as people who live in cities, who don’t know anything about good, hard, manual labor – not like the Godfearing Protestant Christian farm folk of Nebraska. [Words in italics are from a commenter, Bill Kilpatrick].

If that is a correct assessment, then I can see more clearly why Bill Maher responded, in knee-jerk fashion, instinctively, as he did. That in no way excuses him, but could explain his manner of response more clearly.

Ye gods! When will people in the USA stop with this race thing? Perpetuating it appears to be almost an industry. We are human, all of us. When will we learn? Will it take a visit from extra-terrestrials to bash this point into our thick skulls? If surprise alien visitors decided to do as depicted in an old episode of The Twilight Zone and make it their objective to "Serve Man", then we'd darn well deserve to be broiled or grilled, plated and eaten...And, by the way, we'd taste better with garlic!

Bill Maher's California

Bill Maher. Reading his piece at HuffPo yesterday, "New Rule: Conservatives Who Love to Brag About American Exceptionalism Must Come Here to California", I was reminded how much of a hero he was for me in my first few years on this side of the Big Pond. As sometimes happens with infatuations, my previous fan-worship of Maher has gradually worn from thin to non-existent. His donating $1 million dollars to the Obama 2012 campaign was the last straw. Hadn't he got Obama's number after 4 years? I feel certain there were Green or other candidates on the ballot for him, to whom his dosh would have meant far more than it did to our Deceiver in Chief.

We still watch Bill Maher's weekly Real Time show, to hear the views of his guests rather than his own.

Anyway, forget about my naïveté when it comes to TV stars and politics - back to Maher's piece published yesterday, and used in his show last night. He extols the virtues of his now home state, California, contrasting them sharply against red states' blinkered idiocies. I've never visited California, other than overnight stops in Los Angeles, close to the airport, on a "once in a lifetime" trip to Hawaii back in 1984. From what I've read, we wouldn't be able to afford to live in California, no matter how idyllic the political scene there. One pays - high price or bargain basement - for what one gets, in a variety of ways in life.

The benefits Bill Maher describes somehow result in sky high property prices, and I'm sure that's just a start. That'll be fine for multi-millionaires like Bill, of course - for the rest of us, not so much. Cost of living in general will be much higher in California than in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and other red states. In my old homeland, England cost of living was much higher than here. Property prices, hotels, gas, utilities eating out are all expensive there as compared to Oklahoma. Part of this is due to the fact that staff in some occupations are better paid (restaurant, fast food, hotels) and, though unions are less common than they once were, they are still more prevalent than in the USA.

Now, for the benefits of living in a nice house in a nice area, owning a decent (if aging) car, the ability to afford occasional road trips with motel stops, I have to live among people whose politics disgust me, needed to give up the UK's National Health Service and instead pay through the nose for Medicare supplement and a further supplementary medical insurance, and for all medications, in order to to get me anywhere near to the same level of protection healthcare-wise I'd have enjoyed for free if still living in England.

Swings and roundabouts.

I hope Bill Maher is right, in that California's political flavours might eventually bleed out and affect other states, if not in total, then in ways which could begin to bring balance.

That well-known old quote of Will Rogers, like my earlier fan-worship of Bill Maher, also seems to have worn thin over the years: "When the Okies left Oklahoma and moved to California, they raised the average intelligence level in both states."

The Lion and The Ram ~ Gillespie & Maddow ~ Partisan?

It was fun to see "the lion" and "the ram" go head to head a couple of times, or more, on Friday evening's Real Time.

The Lion with Sun and Venus in Leo: Nick Gillespie of Reason.com and Reason TV (an "independent" libertarian). The Ram with Sun and Venus in Aries: Rachel Maddow, MSNBC talking head with a nightly show supporting just about anything the president and Democrats say or do.

I no longer watch MSNBC (bad for my BP!) In the days when I did watch, when Rachel Maddow's show first aired, in 2008, I wrote a post about her and her natal chart. That was before the political scales dropped from my eyes. I still enjoy hearing Rachel speak when interviewed outside of her show, but feel now much as Nick Gillespie indicated. He accused Maddow and Maher of being partisan. Well DUH!! They are. Maher gave President Obama's campaign fund $1 million cheque recently. In Maddow's professional eyes Democrats and President Obama can do no wrong. We have no means of knowing how she really feels.

Nick Gillespie asked Rachel Maddow to name a Republican she likes or would choose over a Democrat. Rachel didn't answer. Bill Maher said that it was an unfair question. Had it been 20 years ago, he could name one. But Republicans of today are so far gone that there is a lack of options, he said.

Gillespie went on thoughout the show to try to dominate the conversation, talking over everyone else - all the time. I rolled back my initial positive reaction.

(NOTE: The matter under debate on Friday when the "spat" began was the recent refusal of Attorney General Eric Holder to hand over certain documents related to Fast and Furious - a federal operation allowing weapons from the U.S. to pass into the hands of suspected gun smugglers so the arms could be traced to the higher echelons of Mexican drug cartels. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which ran the operation, lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which have been linked to crimes, including the fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010 and some 200 Mexicans.)

Partisan in political context = a committed member of a political party. The term often carries negative connotation, referring to people who wholly support their party's policies and remain reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their political opponents in almost any situation.

Talking heads - all of them, including Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert as well as the MSNBC and Fox crowd are there to serve a single purpose - support for the two political establishments in the USA, to keep the controversy going, keep the country divided. They are, have to be, partisan. They never, never criticise their own or acknowledge anything or anyone who might be saying or doing anything halfway decent from the other "team".

If the people of USA, or most of them, would simply stop with the partisanship it could be the start of something interesting. If they'd only be willing to see through what's really going on, throw away their team shirts, stop labelling themselves and others.

Am I partisan? Not with regard to Republican/Democrat - I'm neither. But could I name someone from the right who I admire (bearing in mind that I'm about as left as you can go without falling off the edge of the USA)? Well.... I 'd name Jon Huntsman, Republican, as a guy I'd have felt quite comfortable voting for in the presidential election, had he been given the support he should have received to obtain the nomination.

On a lighter(?) note - we came across this sign outside a gas station, just across the Red River in Texas, on Friday ~~


My immediate comment: Will someone please tell both of 'em that they ought to be doing a better job?!

Happy Birthday Bill Maher!

Today is the birthday of Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time, stand-up comedian, political commentator & social critic : HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILL! He's a special favourite of mine. His show kept me (almost) sane during my first years in the USA during the presidency of G.W. Bush.

He has an interesting natal chart. I blogged about it a couple of years ago, around the time his documentary film Religulous was released. Here's an excerpt from the archived post, as it related to Bill's natal chart. That post and others referencing Bill Maher can be accessed via the Label Cloud in the sidebar.




Bill Maher was born on 20 January 1956 at 10.32pm in New York, NY.

Rather than trying to interpret his chart in general, I'll concentrate on what strikes me as particularly interesting about it, and on where his anti-religion streak comes from.

Interesting: so many very early and very late degrees:

Sun 00 Aquarius
Saturn 00 Sagittarius
Mars 04 Sagittarius
Neptune 00 Scorpio
Uranus 00 Leo
Moon 02 Taurus
Venus 04 Pisces
Chiron 05 Aquarius

Pluto 28 Leo
Jupiter 29 Leo

The first decanate (10 degrees) of each sign is thought to be most characteristic of the sign in question, having the sign itself as sub-ruler, whereas the second and third decanates are sub-ruled by the other two signs in the same element. This could make for a particularly clear-cut planet-in-sign interpretation in Bill's case, but because so many planets lie in early degrees there are numerous close aspects in the chart, which in turn form webs of interlinked aspect patterns. Perhaps the simplest translation is that Bill has a particularly complex personality. The most interesting aspect patterns here are the Grand Cross and the Mystic Rectangle.

The Grand Cross, which I've outlined heavily in blue, includes four square aspects and two oppositions. Astrologers see this type of configuration as indicating stressful, tense energy which needs a clear focus if it is to be constructive. In Bill's case the Grand Square is in Fixed signs: focus will be inflexible, opinions not open to persuasion. I've recently noticed this type of configuration in the charts of a couple of other ascerbic well-known personalities - Keith Olbermann and Randi Rhodes. All three of these critical observers focus on the political scene. Aviator Amy Johnson's chart contained this pattern too - her focus was on feats of flying, in her time unusual for a female. These people seem more driven than the average person, almost as though they house a hidden looped dynamo.

The Mystic Rectangle, which I've outlined in purple, isn't actually mystical. The configuration combines helpful and tense aspects (2 trines, 2 sextiles and 2 oppositions). This feature of Bill's chart may act as a partial antidote to the Grand Cross, bringing in a softer more adaptable side, especially as some of the aspects are "out of sign" - which means that early aspects of one sign link to late aspects of the previous sign, combining two elements/modes. Eg. Pluto/Jupiter in late Leo (Fixed Fire) trines Moon in early Taurus (Earth), a degree or two more would put the Leo planets in Earthy Mutable Virgo, indicating the potential for a rather more adaptable attitude than indicated by the Grand Cross.



His quick wit and ready ability to see the funny side of most things probably help Bill to deal with many of the stresses of his lifestyle. Mercury, the communication planet isn't closely tied into any aspect or pattern, it lies at 12 Aquarius (in the second decanate of Aquarius, sub-ruled by Mutable Gemini). Symbolically here Mercury acts as "an observer" of the tangled web of aspects - rather as Bill himself observes the tangled web of the world's political and religious scene.


In a nutshell, I see this web of linked but very different aspects in his chart as indicating that Bill Maher, though sharply critical of organised religion, still retains certain doubts. His humour softens and warms the harshness of his judgement, and this is always going to be his saving grace. For every challenging aspect in his chart, there's a harmonious one - something not encountered in every natal chart.

Many viewers of his programme, myself included, have forgiven Bill much in the past. He can be something of a misogynist at times, possibly though this done is more for effect, to raise a laugh, than due to any personal feeling. I detect an underlying kindness and softness beneath his overtly critical and prickly nature.

Bill Maher on France

Mumbling Mos Def

Salman Rushdie and Mos Def were guests on Friday's edition of Bill Maher's "Real Time". I've been surprised by Mos Def on a few previous occasions. His film roles in "Be Kind Re-wind", "16 Blocks" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" each were pleasantly surprising, in that I'd assumed he was just another hip-hop artist to whom it was useless my trying to relate. Wrong. He's a good actor too.

He's not exactly who I'd had in mind as Ford Prefect when I read "Hitchhiker", but he did a good job with the part.


On "Real Time" Mos Def's opinions were more or less in tune with what I'd been thinking myself a lot of the time. The big problem I, and I'm sure many other viewers had, was having to strain to catch what he was saying. Mos tends to mumble. It's a pity, because he has opinions which need exposure. The other guest, Salman Rushdie, is such a clear and precise speaker that the contrast became even more obvious when Mos spoke - or mumbled.

Mos Def is, I understand, a shortened slang form of "Most Definitely". The star's real name is Dante Terrell Smith. He was born on 11 December 1973 in Brooklyn, New York.



A 12 noon chart for that day tells us that he has Sun, Neptune and Mercury in ebullient, philosophical Sagittarius, Neptune and Mercury are close enough to be termed conjoined. I don't understand anything about his musical genre, but Neptune conjunct Mercury has to indicate a highly imaginative mental style, very useful in any creative activity, music and acting included. Hey - and it also now strikes me that foggy Neptune so close to Mercury might account for his tendency to mumble, often incoherently.

Venus and Jupiter (ruler of his Sun) are in Aquarius in harmonious sextile to Mercury/Neptune- which relates nicely to his political and social commentary: left-wing liberal. Mars in Aries is in harmonious trine to his Sun, bringing in a little aggressive edge to his otherwise genial, likeable personality. The photograph (right) represents the Mos Def I sense.

Looking at his natal chart along with that of Bill Maher (right), I can easily see why they would get along. Bill's Sun and Mercury at 0 and 12 Aquarius match Mos's Venus and Jupiter at 2 and 10 Aquarius. And Bill's Mars at 4 Sagittarius matches Mos's Mercury at 4 Sagittarius. Their Moons are compatible too, Bill's in Taurus, Mos's in Cancer.

"Am I, or are the others crazy?"

After a few nights of TV viewing recently, a quote from the great Einstein springs to mind:

"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? "

First, a little good news:

On Jay Leno's late night show on Wednesday he interviewed Charlie Sheen. In passing Charlie said, "I'm a Virgo and like to keep things straight, know where everything is". I expected a sarcastic retort about astrology from Leno, but was pleasantly surprised when he responded, "I don't know anything about astrology, but I'm Taurus and I've been connected to five women all born on 5 September. I can tell if a woman's birthday is 5 September, just by looking at her."
Interesting . Maybe it's something to do with both Leno and the women being "well-earthed"!

Then the bad news:

I watched Alexandra Pelosi's documentary "Right America: Feeling Wronged" featuring Republicans in the USA, their views and beliefs. Alexandra is Nancy Pelosi's daugher. She has Sun in Libra. This is a nice example of Libra seeking balance. Alexandra, with her documentary, tried to right a perceived wrong, in that Republicans felt they were short-changed during the election season. They considered that Democrats were favoured by most TV channels and newspapers - "the media is too far left" was their cry. As my cry is "they're not far enough left", it's no surprise that I found comments by some of America's "ordinary" Republicans quite incredible, and pretty scary. There's an article about the documentary at Salon, here. We live in a town "on the buckle of the Bible Belt", in a state where not one single precinct polled a majority of votes for Barack Obama in the 2008 General Election. I ought not to have been surprised by some of what was said during interviews, but I was shocked!


Next evening we watched a DVD of Bill Maher's movie "Religulous". Seeing the DVD so soon after Alexandra Pelosi's movie, I truly felt as though I'd last year become a citizen of Bizarro Land.

Bill Maher seems to me to be eminently sane though. He has Sun in early Aquarius, a zodiac sign with the (I think) mistaken reputation of being eccentric. Being an early Aquarius Sun myself, I draw comfort from Bill's sanity, at least on the topics of religion and politics. I fell out with him briefly last year due to his sneers about Hillary Clinton. In "Religulous" though he speaks strongly, on several occasions, about the rights of women. So he's forgiven. My post about Bill's chart and "Religulous" from last September is HERE.
A review of "Religulous" from the LA Times is a fair assessment. Bill does go primarily for laughs, and interviews those people most likely to bring them forth. Underneath it all though, there's a very serious issue. As the reviewer says:

"The most interesting thing about “Religulous” is the sobering reservations Maher expresses about organized faith. When he talks about humanity figuring out nuclear weapons before we figured out how to be rational and peaceful, when he mentions religion’s power to direct men to destructive courses, even when he groans and says, “It’s so shamelessly invented,” he raises issues that could stand some genuine thought."

Speaking of sneers about Hillary Clinton - Chris Matthews was one of the worst offenders last year during the primaries. This week I happened to surf past MSNBC's "Hardball" and heard Chris declare how much he admires her, and that he has awarded Hillary Clinton a Hardball Award for "putting service to the country before self, being fearless...." etc. I don't remember the exact words. With three planets in mutable Sagittarius, I guess he's allowed to change his mind. Last year's post on Chris Matthews' natal chart is HERE.

It's a funny old world, here in the USA - funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha!

Drive-by Astrology: Cory Booker

Drive-by posts are supposed to be brief - this one's a slow, Sunday drive-by!

Bill Maher, on "Real Time" last Friday night interviewed Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Now, I know absolutely nothing about New Jersey, except that when, from my UK home, I first started US immigration procedures I used to read a British Expat's help forum. One of the contributors, an ex-pat who already lived in New Jersey had a motto, beneath his avatar which made me grin: "New Jersey, where strangers are killed and eaten". Having read a few articles about Cory Booker and his city, I realise it wasn't that far from the truth!

A description of the city of Newark, population 275,000, from Scot Raab's article in "Esquire" (link below):

"Lousy housing? Check. Rampant unemployment? You bet. Shitty schools? Bingo. Gang warfare? My, yes. Newark may have only one movie house -- and zero new-car dealerships and big-box stores -- but it has what might be the world's only Toys "R" Us knockoff Ebonically named Wee Bee Kids, close to City Hall. Everybody with the means to flee fled long ago -- and by "everybody" I mean the white folk and nearly all the middle-class blacks -- and what was surrendered on the way out of town was any sense that the people left behind truly matter"

Mayor Booker was impressive in Friday night's interview. He clearly impressed Bill Maher, and he definitely impressed me. Bill commented to the effect that, if a new President Obama does a good job, Americans might think "Wow, African Americans are good at this - let's have another!" Cory Booker would be a shoo-in in those circumstances! He lit up the screen with his smile and his enthusiasm. This is definitely one to watch, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him in coming years.

Born 27 April 1969 in Washington DC. No time of birth available. 12 noon chart below, so ascendant and exact Moon position not accurately shown.



His natal Sun and Mercury are in Taurus - fixed sign, determined, solid, dependable, pragmatic.

Saturn, in the last degree of Aries (the anaretic degree, thought to be particularly strong) is conjunct Taurus Sun, although in different sign. Aries brings in energy, impulsive brightness, and extra enthusiasm to that somewhat staid Sun. This came across very clearly in the TV interview. He's a law-maker (Saturn) of sorts in his own realm of Newark, but staid and stodgy, as Saturn can be, he definitely is not - thanks to Aries. Venus is also in Aries, intensifying a go-ahead, get-ahead enthusiastic approach to life.

Bringing things back down to Earth, and adding organisation, discernment and critical thinking: Virgo. Moon will be somewhere in Virgo, with Jupiter and Pluto, Uranus had just moved to 00 Libra, here again two planets conjoin from different signs, this conjunction with Jupiter draws in the social reform and rebellious nature of Uranus to somewhat shake up Virgo's tendency to nitpick.

I like this quote (from New Yorker article linked below)

"His earnestness can at times be confounding. Upbeat, chatty and competitive, he drops quotations into conversations like a professor seeking tenure. Even when campaigning, he occasionally corrects people over minor mistakes." (that last sentence - very Virgo!)

Mars is in ebullient, optimistic Sagittarius in harmonious trine to Venus in energetic Aries, more reflection of this almost pulsating character who comes across to spectators.

Two more things I'll note in this chart~~
1. A Yod (finger of God, or Fate) - an arrow-like pattern formed by two quincunx aspects and a sextile.

Here the point of the arrow hits Saturn - law maker. Astrologers say that the planet at the arrow point indicates a compelling focus on the energies of that planet, driven by the combined energies of the two in sextile, here it's Uranus/Jupiter and Neptune. So this Yod can be translated thus: optimistic dreams of social reform brought into focus via laws and hard work. Another quote, which illustrates the above quite well ~~
Cory Booker's current aim in life is to heal Newark and make it "a national model of urban governing by employing a mix of discipline and openness to new ideas."

And

2. This one I don't much like: Mercury on the degree of Fixed Star Algol.
I wrote in a recent post, (here), that Algol's very bad reputation doesn't always manifest in a life. Sometimes it's negligible or non-existent. Sometimes though in the lives of those with this traditionally malefic star prominent in their natal chart, some kind of disaster occurs. It's a potential, no more.

More reflections of his style from links below:

(Booker)"For me, it's a leadership issue -- and if I have to stay out on the streets till four o'clock every morning, I'll do it. I know we can do this. The city as a whole, I know we can solve our problems -- they're not bigger than we are. I believe in my heart -- and I have no right to believe otherwise, because human history is a testimony to it -- that we can change things. The question is, can we muster the collective will? King said it more eloquently: The problems today are not the vitriolic words and the evil actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people."

The author describes how Cory Booker and two security guys travel the streets of Newark in an SUV, talking to gang members, down-and-outs, a cross-section of Newark's night people:

"Booker powers down his window, and the man -- small, red-eyed, ageless, shriveled with cold -- squints at him and says, "CoryBooker," a single word, like Tinkerbell, with gravel and wonder in his voice.

"How ya doin', man?" Booker says. "Why are you out here in the freezin' cold in the middle of the night?"(He gets out of the vehicle talks to the man, hands him a card with an address to contact.)

When he gets back in, I ask if he ever felt called to preach.

"Yeah. I debated between law school and divinity."

How long was the debate?

"It was long in the sense that I think I've always wanted to be a part of a spiritual revolution. You can't have a physical transformation until you have a spiritual transformation. But my views of religion are very expansive, so I still feel like I'm -- hopefully -- living a life of spirit."

Preachers wear better suits.

"I've ripped a lot of suits recently," he laughs. "And in ignominious ways. I caught one on a door and ripped the pocket. This one, the crotch wore out, so we had to send it out to put a patch on. The truth of this is, it's just not high on my priority list."

Links:

From New York Times, 2006, by Damien Cave.

Scott Raab at "Esquire" wrote a very engaging article following an interview with Cory Booker, back in July. "The Battle of Newark, Starring Cory Booker". It's a long but rewarding read, Mr Raab has great, energetic writing style.

Why So Afraid of Socialism?

The YouTube clip at the end of this post comes from Friday's edition of "Real Time" hosted by Bill Maher. His guests included Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent who describes himself as a democratic socialist. Glory be!! Another American politician to whom I can easily relate, and the only self-defined socialist in the US Senate. Along with the other two guests on Real Time this week, actor Ben Affleck, and multi-talented comedian Martin Short, conversation centered around socialism - the democratic type practiced in many European countries and Canada.

Socialism. The very word strikes fear in the hearts of too many Americans. However, if a politician is shrewd enough to call it Populism - then it sneaks in by the back door. Bernie Sanders is too straightford a character to mince his words in order to pander to his public.

Socialism. It's impossible to define it in a few words. Researching the internet on the subject only serves to confuse a simple mind like mine. In the smallest of nutshells, and slightly tongue-in-cheek, the "2 Cows Philosophy" defines it thus:

A SOCIALIST:
You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
A REPUBLICAN:
You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

Interestingly, the same list also defines:

A CHRISTIAN: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

Compare "A Socialist" with "A Christian". It's odd, isn't it, that in a country so proud of its Christian values, socialism is derided and feared ?

Throughout the show on Friday evening Bernie Sanders' responses elicited enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Granted, it was a largely liberal audience, but the fact that a socialist's words were accepted by them so graciously was a baby step forward. In the United States socialism is more often than not equated with communism. It's a serious mistake which has been fed to the public by right-wing pundits.

A quick look at the natal chart of Bernie Sanders then. Perhaps he has the astrological patterning to make a brand of socialism palatable to Americans.

Is there some reflection of his political leanings here? Aquarius planets perhaps, or strong Uranus - both have connections with socialist thinking. Born 8 September 1941, New York NY. No birth time known, so this is a chart set for noon on his date of birth. Ascending sign and exact degree of Moon in Aries not shown.



Hmmmm....no Aquarius (unless it was the rising sign, which we can't know without a birth time). His Sun lay smack-dab in the middle of Virgo indicating a discerning and critical nature, one that can separate the wheat from the chaff with consummate ease.

Mercury (mental processes and communication) is found in an early degree of the more tactful and dipolimatic Libra, and trines Uranus at 00 Gemini - here's that socialist rebel mindset of his! And.... Saturn is conjunct Uranus, albeit in a very late degree of adjacent sign, Taurus. Saturn and Uranus are opposites in essence. Tradition versus the avant garde, the old versus the new, status quo versus change, capitalist versus socialist. Bernie Sanders has them well-blended in his personality blueprint! The signs the two planets occupy, Gemini and Taurus, could also be said to represent opposite ideas - free thinking, adaptable (Gemini) and the more traditional fixed mind-set (Taurus). He has an innate understanding of traditional values, but with a yearning to modernise and improve them to fit 21st century needs, and the unusual talent of being able to communicate on both levels. These characteristics have helped him to make his brand of socialism acceptable in Vermont, one of the first 13 states, steeped in tradition, yet willing to step into the 21st century with Senator Sanders.

The clip from Friday's edition of "Real Time"

Bill Maher & "Religulous"

Bill Maher's new film "Religulous" is due for release this week, though how wide the release will be isn't clear. It is highly unlikely to be shown at our local cinema, but perhaps we'll be able to see it in some city not too far away. The title, Maher says, is a blend of two words - religion and ridiculous. That tells us a lot about the film's theme! From here :

"Hang on to your vestments, everyone. "Religulous," certain to be among the fall's most discussed movies, arrives Wednesday. The documentary is comedian Bill Maher's brutal takedown of what he calls "the most controversial, taboo topic ever": organized religion. The subversive film, directed by fellow comic Larry Charles ("Borat") finds Maher traveling the world to question true believers. Maher's point is that believing absolutely in dusty scripture causes more problems than it solves, and that "mankind needs to shed this skin before it can really progress." "

Bill Maher's views on organised religion are well known by those who watch his HBO weekly show, "Real Time". He's scathing about religion in general but rather than defining himself as an atheist, he says his stance is "I don't know". On this point, as on many others I'm with Bill. I have been annoyed on several occasions by the sexism/misogyny he occasionaly throws around, but even so have never missed a show.

Bill has an interesting natal chart. Born 20 January 1956 at 10.32pm in New York, NY.



Rather than trying to interpret his chart in general, I'll concentrate on what strikes me as particularly interesting about it, and on where his anti-religion streak comes from.

Interesting: so many very early and very late degrees:

Sun 00 Aquarius
Saturn 00 Sagittarius
Mars 04 Sagittarius
Neptune 00 Scorpio
Uranus 00 Leo
Moon 02 Taurus
Venus 04 Pisces
Chiron 05 Aquarius

Pluto 28 Leo
Jupiter 29 Leo

The first decanate (10 degrees) of each sign is thought to be most characteristic of the sign in question, having the sign itself as sub-ruler, whereas the second and third decanates are sub-ruled by the other two signs in the same element. This could make for a particularly clear-cut planet-in-sign interpretation in Bill's case, but because so many planets lie in early degrees there are numerous close aspects in the chart, which in turn form webs of interlinked aspect patterns. Perhaps the simplest translation is that Bill has a particularly complex personality. The most interesting aspect patterns here are the Grand Cross and the Mystic Rectangle.

The Grand Cross, which I've outlined heavily in blue, includes four square aspects and two oppositions. Astrologers see this type of configuration as indicating stressful, tense energy which needs a clear focus if it is to be constructive. In Bill's case the Grand Square is in Fixed signs: focus will be inflexible, opinions not open to persuasion. I've recently noticed this type of configuration in the charts of a couple of other ascerbic well-known personalities - Keith Olbermann and Randi Rhodes. All three of these critcal observers focus on the political scene. Aviator Amy Johnson's chart contained this pattern too - her focus was on feats of flying, in her time unusual for a female. These people seem more driven than the average person, almost as though they house a hidden looped dynamo.

The Mystic Rectangle, which I've outlined in purple, isn't actually mystical. The configuration combines helpful and tense aspects (2 trines, 2 sextiles and 2 oppositions). This feature of Bill's chart may act as a partial antidote to the Grand Cross, bringing in a softer more adaptable side, especially as some of the aspects are "out of sign" - which means that early aspects of one sign link to late aspects of the previous sign, combining two elements/modes. Eg. Pluto/Jupiter in late Leo (Fixed Fire) trines Moon in early Taurus (Earth), a degree or two more would put the Leo planets in Earthy Mutable Virgo, indicating the potential for a rather more adaptable attitude than indicated by the Grand Cross.

His quick wit and ready ability to see the funny side of most things probably help Bill to deal with many of the stresses of his lifestyle. Mercury, the communication planet isn't closely tied into any aspect or pattern, it lies at 12 Aquarius (in the second decanate of Aquarius, sub-ruled by Mutable Gemini). Symbolically here Mercury acts as "an observer" of the tangled web of aspects - rather as Bill himself observes the tangled web of the world's political and religious scene.

So....back to "Religulous", and Bill's antipathy for organised religion.

In astrology Sagittarius and Jupiter connect to religion. In Bill's chart Jupiter, planet of religion, conjoins Pluto in Leo. Pluto is an outer planet, not usually significant in a personal chart unless closely tied to a personal planet, which, here, it is! Pluto energy is challenging and transformative, often in an initially negative way. Jupiter's religious flavour is being seriously challenged and modified by Pluto in this chart. The conjunction forms a part of the Mystic Rectangle rather than the Grand Cross though, and links to a few softer aspects, bringing a somewhat enigmatic feel to Bill's personality.

Two conjoined personal planets, Saturn and Mars, lie in Sagittarius the sign of religion. These two planets are traditionally thought of as malefic, they can add an awkwardly negative energy. Here, there's a conglomeration of linked challenging and helpful aspects. Sagittarius's religious flavour colours Saturn the old fashioned structurer and blends it with Mars the aggresive fighter. The two planets lie in helpful trine aspect to Uranus (the avant garde) ruler of Bill's natal Sun, which also links into the Grand Cross configuration. A tangled web, and it's not surprising that conflict on the matter of religion is evident in Bill's life.

In a nutshell, I see this web of linked but very different aspects in his chart as indicating that Bill Maher, though sharply critical of organised religion, still retains certain doubts. His humour softens and warms the harshness of his judgement, and this is always going to be his saving grace. For every challenging aspect in his chart, there's a harmonious one - which doesn't happen very often. Many viewers of his programme, myself included, have forgiven Bill much in the past. It's possible to sense an underlying kindness and softness beneath his overtly critical and prickly nature. Even so, not all will forgive him this time. Those who hold very fixed views on religion themselves are likely to be sorely offended by "Religulous" in spite of its humour, should they venture to watch it.

Politix Mix - Sullivan, Klein, Palin.

We arrived home from our drive-about yesterday evening, managed to catch a repeat of Bill Maher's TV show, "Real Time" which we'd missed on Friday night. My stomach started to churn when I saw that one of his guests was Andrew Sullivan. I wrote scathingly about him at "Andrew Sullivan - Is Aries Moon to blame?" This time though I found a point of agreement with him, in spite of my hurling a few expletives early on. The panel got to discussing Sarah Palin. Mr Sullivan and I at last agreed. Our Aries Moons were in total accord on this subject - he even used the same word I've used to describe McCain's VP pick - "irresponsible". Mr Sullivan was royally pissed about Palin, became very, very emphatic - even Bill Maher looked a bit stunned at Sullivan's dramatic turn.

Another of Bill Maher's guests was Naomi Klein - a very astute, impressive lady. She and Sullivan had quite a set-to early on, on the subject of capitalism, but, when the subject turned to Palin they reached agreement.

I was keen to see Naomi Klein's natal chart, but have been unable find her time of birth. A 12 noon version must suffice, this will give a partial picture, minus ascending sign, and exact Moon position.

Born 8 May 1970 in Montreal, Canada.



Sun/Mercury conjoined and Saturn all in Fixed Earth Taurus. Mars and Venus conjoined in Mutable Air Gemini, Moon also in Gemini unless she was born 11pm or later. So all personal planets except Jupiter are in Taurus or Gemini. Two very different signs. Jupiter is in Libra, and could easily be in trine with Gemini Moon, depending on time of birth, adding strength to her Airy side.

The most significant aspect between personal and outer planets is Uranus in Libra trine (harmonious) the Venus/Mars conjunction in Gemini, but Uranus is also in irritable quincunx to Saturn in Taurus. More reflections of the dual nature, shown in her Taurus/Gemini line-up.

What does all that mean? I'd say, in a nutshell, it indicates a person with very definite and down to earth views (Taurus), with the ability to communicate these in entertaining fashion and with fluency(Gemini), unafraid to be controversial (Uranus trine Venus/Mars), and perhaps a feeling of inner irritability about the conflict between status quo and the avant garde (Saturn/Uranus quincunx).

Ms Klein is a successful and controversial author: her three titles so far -"No Logo, No Space, No Choice, No Jobs". "Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate." "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." I feel certain there will be many more books to come, in similar vein.

Back to the rapidly becoming boring subject of Sarah Palin. As we were driving around during the past few days we spotted two stickers in the back window of the same truck which declared "Palin 08!" and "I'm voting McCain To Get Sarah Palin". Sigh. We were in northern Oklahoma at the time. I peeked at the occupant as we passed the truck, expecting to see a female - no - two burly looking males! We did see several "Obama-Biden" garden signs in New Mexico though, and a lone "Obama 08" sticker as we drove home through mid-Oklahoma. Gotta get me one of those!

Rough on Huffington

On Friday evening we watched the season finale of Bill Maher's TV show, "Real Time". At this time of year, waving 'bye 'bye to Bill until summer's end has usually been a cause for regret. This year it's more a cause for relief. Bill, along with most of his carefully selected guests, climbed gleefully onto the Obama bandwagon some time back, jeering at Hillary Clinton and her supporters as it trundles past. One wheel is looking decidedly wobbly these days.

For this season's finale the panel consisted of comedian Garry Shandling (suffering from a damaged knee, pilled-up and waffling); Phil Donahue, a talk show host from years past, the sensible panel member who hardly got a word in edgewise; and lastly but loudly, Arianna Huffington.



I used to be a regular visitor to Arianna's Huffington Post website, before Obamamania infected it and gradually took over. Vitriolic Obama fanatics, writers and commenters, drove more level-headed regulars like me away. I credit Arianna's obvious antipathy towards Hillary Clinton for allowing the infection to spread. The site has become a rabid fan club rather than the purveyor of news from an independent liberal perspective, which it once was.

On Friday night Arianna didn't try to hide her feelings about Senator Clinton. I sensed though that Bill Maher's attitude towards Clinton had softened somewhat. He probably smells change in the air.

Arianna Huffington was born 15 July 1950 in Athens, Greece. According to Astrotheme time of birth was 3pm. Her dominant zodiac sign is Cancer, dominant planet Pluto, ruler of her Scorpio ascendant.



This lady should display clear Cancer and Scorpio traits. Perhaps the reason she finds Hillary Clinton so unacceptable is that they have some traits in common, maybe they are traits she secretly dislikes in herself. Their ascendants, if birthtimes are accurate, are but 3 Scorpio degrees away from each other.

Even more prominent in Arianna's natal chart is Cancer: Sun, Moon & Mercury all within a span of 5 degrees, with Uranus in that sign too. A whopping dollop of the Crab ! Cancer isn't a favourite sign of mine - it's my own rising sign. I find it annoying. My Aquarius and Aries bits don't get along well with Cancer at all.

In Arianna's case, Scorpio and Pluto mesh easily with her Cancerian side. That's a scarey combination in my book! Water water everywhere - as the saying goes - and not a drop to drink. Much too much of a good thing. Cancer and Scorpio mesh a little too well for comfort. There is potential for bringing forth a venomous, hurtful, emotionally charged hybrid.

It's sites such as Huffington Post (there are several others, just as bad and even worse) which offer a breeding ground for dangerous ideas. I noticed, among comments at the site, threats of riots at the Convention in Denver, should Barack Obama not be the Democratic party's nominee. A few bells may be ringing for those who remember the late 1960s. Let's hope that history does not repeat itself. If it does, a certain type of website will have played no small part.



"You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be alright

You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all want to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be alright

You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We'd all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know know it's gonna be alright"
(written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney)

Bill Maher's Message to Astrologers

Bill Maher had a message for astrologers on Real Time (HBO), in his "New Rules" segment on Friday, 11 April.






The second "Rule" is the one - any takers?

His chart and some comments from 2005/6 can be viewed at Astrodatabank HERE

Some of those comments are hardly obsequious - Bill may never have read them!

I'm pretty sure that a predisposition towards sexism and misogyny will be hiding in his natal chart somewhere, probably involved with that Grand Cross involving Sun, Moon, Uranus and Neptune.

Bill's recent shows have disappointed me a lot, he seems to have joined the rest of mainstream media and is guilty being obsequious himself - in the direction of Barack Obama, whilst never failing to make overtly sexist remarks about Hillary Clinton. You've let yourself down badly, Bill, and I guess you've lost some fans recently - myself included.

Randi Rhodes and Other Bitter Tastes

I glanced at an article about Air America broadcaster Randi Rhodes. This week she was suspended indefinitely for making inappropriate remarks, on stage, about two prominent females, Senator Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro, at an event sanctioned as a fundraiser for Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign (see here). I found the information a bit of a yawn initially. After all, it's becoming de rigeur for so called "progressive liberals" to denigrate the two women in question. How "progressive" is it, though, to use gutter language? The group of political left-leaners in the USA who label themselves "progressives", to this onlooker seem like the exact opposite, it's a misnomer if ever I saw one!


I wasn't too intrigued by Ms Rhodes' lack of vocabulary and good taste until I saw her date of birth. 28 January 1959, Brooklyn, NY. She's younger than me, by a stretch, but her birthday is the day after my own. I had hoped that an intelligent Aquarius Sun might display rather more class and evidence of grey matter than this woman appears able to do.

I can immediately think of three other January Aquarians who are less than classy these days - Dick Cheney, Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher, but even they would, I think, stop short of calling Senator Clinton or Ms Ferraro "fucking whores" while on stage.

Aquarius does have the reputation of being a rebel, a radical, a maverick, of course. How this emerges in each individual varies a lot.

Here's a 12noon version of Randi Rhodes' natal chart, I wasn't able to find a time of birth for her.



The first thing I noticed was Saturn at 2 Capricorn. Transiting Pluto is currently one degree away from her natal Saturn at 1 Capricorn. (Saturn in Capricorn is classic hard-nosed Saturn in its own sign. Pluto a powerful and potentially nasty and transformational influence). Add to this the fact that Ms Rhodes' natal Pluto is at 3 Virgo and transiting Saturn is at 2 Virgo, and we have a double whammy of Saturn/Pluto clashes. Nasty, and it doubtless has something to do with current events.

Other notable aspects in this natal chart are an opposition (180*) between Aquarius Sun and ruler of Aquarius, Uranus, in Leo. It's a tense aspect and I'm not sure of its meaning when a sign and its ruler are involved. Even more significant, an out of sign fixed Grand Cross involving 24 Taurus/26 Aquarius/28 Scorpio and 3 Virgo - which is 4 degrees from 28 Leo) planets involved are Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Pluto (out of sign because Pluto is in early Virgo rather than late Leo). Even if the Grand Cross isn't tight enough square aspects (90*) remain between Jupiter, Venus and Mars - so there's plenty of aggravation and challenge here.

The term Grand Cross refers to "a chart where there are two sets of planets in opposition at right angles to each other." (When the aspects are drawn in the configuration looks like a square with a cross inside it.) "This is an aspect representing very difficult energy; it often denotes frustration, anger, stress, and intensity. However, this aspect also helps with self-growth and endurance."

Coincidentally ascerbic comedian and chat show host Bill Maher and TV talking head Keith Olbermann (both mentioned in the second paragraph, above) have Grand Crosses in their natal charts too - see Bill Maher's natal chart at Astrodatabank (here), and Keith Olbermann's is in an earlier blogpost of mine (here).

So - three January Aquarian Suns all with Grand Cross configurations in their natal charts, all given to ascerbic commentary, which, if unchecked can descend from ascerbic to downright offensive. Coincidence? I think not.

Trace Adkins - A Capricorn/Aquarius Mash-up

On Friday evening Bill Maher had Trace Adkins as one of his guests on his show "Real Time". By the way, John Townley recently wrote a brilliant interpretation of Bill's natal chart. HERE).

I'm sworn off country music and its attendant politics, so wasn't too impressed when I saw Trace sitting there complete with black Stetson hat. He didn't have much to say, as it turned out. He did come out with a couple of funny one-liners though which warmed me to him, and he does have a gorgeously deep speaking voice.

Next morning curiosity overcame me and I looked at his natal chart, or a 12 noon version of it. Ahaaa! Another Saturn Hybrid. Born 13 January 1962, Sarepta, Louisiana. Of course, 1962 was the year of the Aquarius pile-up. Garth Brooks and Clint Black, two other country luminaries, came into the world a few weeks later.

All Trace Adkins' personal planets, except the Moon, are in Capricorn or Aquarius. Moon could be in Aries or Taurus depending on birth time, but because of his musical background I'd guess Taurus. Ascendant is unknown.



Via Google links, I found that Trace Adkins has written a book, "A Personal Stand, Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck", in which as well as the story of his early life, he gives his views on many things, politics, the state of the world and the USA included. This is probably what gave him credentials enough to appear on Real Time. He had also been interviewed by Hannity and Colmes in December. There's a transcript of that interview HERE. It throws some light on his political views, which do indeed reflect a mix of Capricorn and Aquarius, as does his chart.

A good illustration of what I see as the Capricorn/Aquarius mash-up appears in this extract from his conversation with Alan Colmes. There's a typical conservative view muddled up with a decidedly more Aquarian stance here - and he's not "saying which one's better":

COLMES: You say in the book, you say "liberalism is less moral and more civil and conservatism is more moral and less civil."
ADKINS: Yes.
COLMES: What do you mean by that?
ADKINS: When I wrote that particular line, I was in the context of the way that we deal with the rest of the world is really what I was trying to say. And what I mean by that is I feel like liberals tend to just give everybody a pass, no matter what kind of egregious acts they may be perpetrating on...
COLMES: You really think so?
ADKINS: I do. I do.
COLMES: Have you heard about any of the Republican congressional scandals over the last year or so?
ADKINS: Dealing with international...
COLMES: Just dealing with sexual hijinks, dealing with all kinds of things.
ADKINS: Well, that's not what I was talking — that's not what I was talking about.
COLMES: I wanted to give your audience a chance to know what you're talking about.
ADKINS: Well, I'm trying to say it's in the way that we deal with the rest of the world. And I think that conservatives from time to time will try to force their moral objectives on somebody else, and they will do it sometimes at the point of a gun and be a little less civil about it, is the point that I was trying to make. I'm not saying which one's better. But that was an observation I was making.
COLMES: A lot of people — a lot of people think that going and trying to install, let's say, democracy at the point of a gun or a bayonet doesn't really work that well, as evidenced by some of the fallout we've seen from having done it over the last few years...

I prefer Trace Adkins' approach to that of some other flag-waving country singers, he obviously thinks for himself about issues, rather than simply following the herd and pandering to the crowd. But I'm still sworn off country music.

The Pluto in Capricorn Avant-garde ?

Religion is coming well and truly under fire these days. Is this a foretaste of what Pluto in Capricorn might bring, I wonder? Transformation (Pluto) of the status quo (Capricorn), especially transformation of long established doctrines and organisations, church and religion for example.

Books with anti-religious themes have appeared, one after another in the past few years. Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Christopher Hitchens(God is not Great), Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), Victor Stenger(God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist) , Sam Harris (End of Faith, and Letter to a Christian Nation)are few authors who have clambered aboard this money-spinning bandwagon. It's always money, isn't it? Why do I feel so cynical about this, when I am also cynical about organised religion myself? Somehow, news of these books makes me uncomfortable, but if this is a hint of what's to come I'd best get used to it!

I watched Bill Maher, one of my favourite Americans on Larry King Live on Tuesday evening. He announced that he has made a new documentary , as yet un-named, about religion. Bill Maher's views on the subject are well known by his fans, it's no surprise that this film will be in Michael Moore mode. I'll wait to see it next year before criticising and drawing conclusions. Bill said that his stance is not actually atheistic, it's "I don't know". Same here! Is that what we all should be saying really? Nobody knows - do they?