Whitney, you're singing my song. I'm a Brit in the US, a historian and former academic, and this is brilliant. I'm sorry not to be a paying subscriber (I am so broke, and already maxed on the publications to which I'm subbed--or more accurately, the people to whom I subscribe.) But happy to send people your way.
Hello, Annette! What a pleasure to have you here. And thank you! I value new readers as much as paying supporters. I appreciate you cheering me on. I was just reading your history blog -- I too am so maxed on subs, but every time I stick with someone, I eventually become a paying subscriber, as I understand and respect the value of paying. So, in time, we will swap credit cards. :)
I'm not convinced by Hersh's argument that the convicted felon is not a Russian asset, though Sarah Kendzior (who wrote Hiding in Plain Sight, a book about the felon's Russian oligarch ties), has argued that Biden is a "placeholder," put there by people with far from noble purposes, to be revealed in the next installment. To me this feels harsh, but in line with what someone with heavy patterns in a horoscope (Mars-Pluto and Sun-Saturn conjunctions), and her unique experience (she's an expert on authoritarian regimes), might say.
I appreciate your belief that humanity is the new Gutenberg bible. In this new age of Air (starting in December 2020, continuing for 200 years), whoever controls collective mindset (how we think), including the media, education, information and data networks, is likely to win the game. But how we think no longer needs to be grounded in fact and experience, as it was in the past 200 year age of Earth. We can literally make things up out of thin air, and have courts issue opinions on hypothetical cases that never manifest in real life.
That being said, looking back to last year, when we were opining on where we would be this summer, with Jupiter (expansion, the media) having just entered Gemini (diversity/fracturing of information, much of it trivial and way too much), we could see the potential for the electorate feeling overwhelmed by choice. I thought one logical manifestation would be a glut of third party candidates threatening the ability of a clearly democratic choice to prevail. But those candidates haven't gained much traction. What we see now is a fracturing within the two major parties, with multiple choices emerging now that the clear, solid, Jupiter-in-Taurus phase has ended.
Glad to see you active again on Substack. Thanks for offering an always fresh and provocative take. : )
Hellloooo! Oh, so nice to have you here! I think the Jupiter/Gemini influence you mention is actually happening. RFK, Jr can really help splinter things. We don't need a glut, three will do nicely, to help fracture the electorate further. So, yes, to your multiplicity of choices point.
Just looking at the mars rx and Pluto rx on the day of the election...fun times. No one will accept the results! I am not sure what will happen, but I was just having a conversation with someone that I think Pluto in Aquarius will bring in a new constitution and a tamer, non-hegemonous, certainly not empirical, America. I also suspect we will split in at least 2 pieces. But, with Pluto back in Cap -- it's going to look the exact opposite of that through Nov 19 at least. As I keep saying, the first decade of all these outer transit movements are going to be sooo heavy.
Thanks for reminding me of that line of thinking on Biden by Sarah Kendzior. She is definitely worth listening to, in my experience. Whatever the truth is, I think we will know it in time. I am glad I am not a betting person, because I don't know who to believe anymore, and figure that what I think I know is always subject to review. So, I'd lose money. xx
I don't trust Seymour Hersh. He's right about a lot of things, wrong about a lot of things, and he always believes he knows more than anyone.
How on earth can anyone argue that Trump's decades of ties to the Russian mob and the Kremlin aren't a real thing? He literally invited his whoremasters to the Oval Office, yukked it up with them, and gave them classified intelligence. At the debate, Biden should have asked him what Putin's ass tastes like.
Yay! It's so nice to see you here, thanks for commenting. I mean, you could be applying your talents to late night comedy shows (which you should totally do). I respect your distrust of Hersh, but I stand by his willingness to not stick to the corporate media script. Even if he is a total raging maniacal asshole who believes he is infallible -- and I wouldn't be surprised if he is -- he asks good questions. And he still remembers what a muckraker is supposed to actually be. It's not cos play for him.
Hi, Kirk. Nice to have you here and commenting. That's an interesting point, and it leads me deeper into my bunker against the media in general: it's very hard to know whether what is being reported is tainted somewhere along the line with someone's hidden interests. I stay in touch lightly, and use people like Greg (whose comment you are responding to) and Matt Taibi for perspectives that are clearly their own and based in their own cogitations and independent reporting. Whether they and a few others I read are "correct" ultimately is not the point, because I can't verify everything they say, just like I can't verify anything at all that CNN reports.
That the writers I read honestly applied their faculties of observation and logic to what they report is what I am attracted to. I feel invited into the conversation that way, rather than told what to think. I trust myself to make my own decisions, and if I am wrong, adjust as I go along.
As for your point directly, that's the thing: he is a criminal full stop. That we debate the shades of gray is a sign of our times, not a sign of the truth. Whatever he's guilty of, and I personally am undecided anymore about his Russian influence, although Greg's point is well-taken with me, that he spent a night with a porn star is so uninteresting and certainly not the finest work of a grifting criminal mind. Thank you, Kirk. I hope you comment more.
I didn't hear the debate, but I did have the screen on, muted, with closed captioning as I was on a Zoom class. It was fascinating in a creepy way to watch the two men, their faces, their mannerisms and only read very little of the captioning. After hearing some of the post debate commentary and some of the clips, two things became clear to me. First, like what you are speaking about, is that changing what's happening is up to us. There isn't anyone who is going to get us out of this mess, this undoing. We have to take the power to make the world we want to live in, so we need to make that decision, and if we are keeping in the system, a way to do that is to vote. Even though it's going to be rough after the election it can help move the energy. It's not perfect, but can be a declaration. And second, no matter who runs for the Dems it doesn't matter, because the vote has to be a vote against Trump-and Project 2025, and Steve Bannon and Steven Miller and the others seen and unseen who have been running the show. We may not know who is behind the scenes in the Biden administration, but some good things have happened during his presidency. But as this system comes apart, it's going to be up to us to decide moving forward how things will be.
Hello! Nice to see you here. Yeah, I think your point about voting is a good one. At this point -- and some of my readers seeing this might not be happy about me saying so -- I think voting is largely symbolic. But for the reasons you state, it's important to still honor the potential power of it. I also believe that even if we don't live to see it, a better democracy will come out of all the crashing and dust. x
I've had that same thought regarding voting and you're right, very unpopular to say it out loud, even though we have seen over and over, that it's often futile, particularly with the gerrymandering and electoral college constraints. But, I still have hope that it will count for something, particularly locally.
Pluto in Aquarius...power from the bottom up, from the people, moving away from top down hierarchy of Pluto in Capricorn when Daddy God/President ruled all:) I agree about the confusing, confounding and chaotic decade to come. And yes, a few thousand people control so much. But, how long does that money and power and control last when they squash everything and everyone? I guess we'll see.
Yes, exactly. And also, all the things we haven't wanted to talk about now have to be talked about. That will be Pluto's demand. Thanks for weighing in.
I look at Pluto as a huge plow, turning over all of that stuff under the surface, so that we can see it and HOPEFULLY deal with it. Plowing through the Aquarian systems and themes. Heading toward the point in Aquarius where the Constitution was being formed, written and ratified. So, here we are, unearthing the flaws and hidden, between the lines parts. All the best...hope your book is coming along.
"If we’re distracted by the spectacle, we won’t notice the power grab happening"
That's the way it's always been, we don't have to go far back in history to see how we have sleepwalked into every calamity. It's happening in the UK, in France, in so many countries beyond the European boundary. This time though it's driven by the death throes of capitalism. When you impoverish the many to make yourself richer, where is the growth going to come from? The military industrial complex is part of that, some elites make a lot of money out of war, naturally they want to keep it going, but that impacts on resources and labour. Capitalists are killing themselves, as well as everyone else and the planet, but they're too greedy to admit it. They distract us by blaming everything on immigrants, and other such nonsense. What an inheritance for our youngsters.
Thanks, Patrick. Re your animation and photography: It's nearly impossible not to work for any of these entities if you want to actually make a living.
Whitney, you're singing my song. I'm a Brit in the US, a historian and former academic, and this is brilliant. I'm sorry not to be a paying subscriber (I am so broke, and already maxed on the publications to which I'm subbed--or more accurately, the people to whom I subscribe.) But happy to send people your way.
Hello, Annette! What a pleasure to have you here. And thank you! I value new readers as much as paying supporters. I appreciate you cheering me on. I was just reading your history blog -- I too am so maxed on subs, but every time I stick with someone, I eventually become a paying subscriber, as I understand and respect the value of paying. So, in time, we will swap credit cards. :)
I'm not convinced by Hersh's argument that the convicted felon is not a Russian asset, though Sarah Kendzior (who wrote Hiding in Plain Sight, a book about the felon's Russian oligarch ties), has argued that Biden is a "placeholder," put there by people with far from noble purposes, to be revealed in the next installment. To me this feels harsh, but in line with what someone with heavy patterns in a horoscope (Mars-Pluto and Sun-Saturn conjunctions), and her unique experience (she's an expert on authoritarian regimes), might say.
I appreciate your belief that humanity is the new Gutenberg bible. In this new age of Air (starting in December 2020, continuing for 200 years), whoever controls collective mindset (how we think), including the media, education, information and data networks, is likely to win the game. But how we think no longer needs to be grounded in fact and experience, as it was in the past 200 year age of Earth. We can literally make things up out of thin air, and have courts issue opinions on hypothetical cases that never manifest in real life.
That being said, looking back to last year, when we were opining on where we would be this summer, with Jupiter (expansion, the media) having just entered Gemini (diversity/fracturing of information, much of it trivial and way too much), we could see the potential for the electorate feeling overwhelmed by choice. I thought one logical manifestation would be a glut of third party candidates threatening the ability of a clearly democratic choice to prevail. But those candidates haven't gained much traction. What we see now is a fracturing within the two major parties, with multiple choices emerging now that the clear, solid, Jupiter-in-Taurus phase has ended.
Glad to see you active again on Substack. Thanks for offering an always fresh and provocative take. : )
Hellloooo! Oh, so nice to have you here! I think the Jupiter/Gemini influence you mention is actually happening. RFK, Jr can really help splinter things. We don't need a glut, three will do nicely, to help fracture the electorate further. So, yes, to your multiplicity of choices point.
Just looking at the mars rx and Pluto rx on the day of the election...fun times. No one will accept the results! I am not sure what will happen, but I was just having a conversation with someone that I think Pluto in Aquarius will bring in a new constitution and a tamer, non-hegemonous, certainly not empirical, America. I also suspect we will split in at least 2 pieces. But, with Pluto back in Cap -- it's going to look the exact opposite of that through Nov 19 at least. As I keep saying, the first decade of all these outer transit movements are going to be sooo heavy.
Thanks for reminding me of that line of thinking on Biden by Sarah Kendzior. She is definitely worth listening to, in my experience. Whatever the truth is, I think we will know it in time. I am glad I am not a betting person, because I don't know who to believe anymore, and figure that what I think I know is always subject to review. So, I'd lose money. xx
I don't trust Seymour Hersh. He's right about a lot of things, wrong about a lot of things, and he always believes he knows more than anyone.
How on earth can anyone argue that Trump's decades of ties to the Russian mob and the Kremlin aren't a real thing? He literally invited his whoremasters to the Oval Office, yukked it up with them, and gave them classified intelligence. At the debate, Biden should have asked him what Putin's ass tastes like.
Yay! It's so nice to see you here, thanks for commenting. I mean, you could be applying your talents to late night comedy shows (which you should totally do). I respect your distrust of Hersh, but I stand by his willingness to not stick to the corporate media script. Even if he is a total raging maniacal asshole who believes he is infallible -- and I wouldn't be surprised if he is -- he asks good questions. And he still remembers what a muckraker is supposed to actually be. It's not cos play for him.
Seymour Hersh was right in 2017: Trump was never a Russian asset. Why are his actual crimes never sufficient, that folks have to make up new ones?
Hi, Kirk. Nice to have you here and commenting. That's an interesting point, and it leads me deeper into my bunker against the media in general: it's very hard to know whether what is being reported is tainted somewhere along the line with someone's hidden interests. I stay in touch lightly, and use people like Greg (whose comment you are responding to) and Matt Taibi for perspectives that are clearly their own and based in their own cogitations and independent reporting. Whether they and a few others I read are "correct" ultimately is not the point, because I can't verify everything they say, just like I can't verify anything at all that CNN reports.
That the writers I read honestly applied their faculties of observation and logic to what they report is what I am attracted to. I feel invited into the conversation that way, rather than told what to think. I trust myself to make my own decisions, and if I am wrong, adjust as I go along.
As for your point directly, that's the thing: he is a criminal full stop. That we debate the shades of gray is a sign of our times, not a sign of the truth. Whatever he's guilty of, and I personally am undecided anymore about his Russian influence, although Greg's point is well-taken with me, that he spent a night with a porn star is so uninteresting and certainly not the finest work of a grifting criminal mind. Thank you, Kirk. I hope you comment more.
I didn't hear the debate, but I did have the screen on, muted, with closed captioning as I was on a Zoom class. It was fascinating in a creepy way to watch the two men, their faces, their mannerisms and only read very little of the captioning. After hearing some of the post debate commentary and some of the clips, two things became clear to me. First, like what you are speaking about, is that changing what's happening is up to us. There isn't anyone who is going to get us out of this mess, this undoing. We have to take the power to make the world we want to live in, so we need to make that decision, and if we are keeping in the system, a way to do that is to vote. Even though it's going to be rough after the election it can help move the energy. It's not perfect, but can be a declaration. And second, no matter who runs for the Dems it doesn't matter, because the vote has to be a vote against Trump-and Project 2025, and Steve Bannon and Steven Miller and the others seen and unseen who have been running the show. We may not know who is behind the scenes in the Biden administration, but some good things have happened during his presidency. But as this system comes apart, it's going to be up to us to decide moving forward how things will be.
Hello! Nice to see you here. Yeah, I think your point about voting is a good one. At this point -- and some of my readers seeing this might not be happy about me saying so -- I think voting is largely symbolic. But for the reasons you state, it's important to still honor the potential power of it. I also believe that even if we don't live to see it, a better democracy will come out of all the crashing and dust. x
I've had that same thought regarding voting and you're right, very unpopular to say it out loud, even though we have seen over and over, that it's often futile, particularly with the gerrymandering and electoral college constraints. But, I still have hope that it will count for something, particularly locally.
Pluto in Aquarius...power from the bottom up, from the people, moving away from top down hierarchy of Pluto in Capricorn when Daddy God/President ruled all:) I agree about the confusing, confounding and chaotic decade to come. And yes, a few thousand people control so much. But, how long does that money and power and control last when they squash everything and everyone? I guess we'll see.
Yes, exactly. And also, all the things we haven't wanted to talk about now have to be talked about. That will be Pluto's demand. Thanks for weighing in.
I look at Pluto as a huge plow, turning over all of that stuff under the surface, so that we can see it and HOPEFULLY deal with it. Plowing through the Aquarian systems and themes. Heading toward the point in Aquarius where the Constitution was being formed, written and ratified. So, here we are, unearthing the flaws and hidden, between the lines parts. All the best...hope your book is coming along.
"If we’re distracted by the spectacle, we won’t notice the power grab happening"
That's the way it's always been, we don't have to go far back in history to see how we have sleepwalked into every calamity. It's happening in the UK, in France, in so many countries beyond the European boundary. This time though it's driven by the death throes of capitalism. When you impoverish the many to make yourself richer, where is the growth going to come from? The military industrial complex is part of that, some elites make a lot of money out of war, naturally they want to keep it going, but that impacts on resources and labour. Capitalists are killing themselves, as well as everyone else and the planet, but they're too greedy to admit it. They distract us by blaming everything on immigrants, and other such nonsense. What an inheritance for our youngsters.
And then there is nature, whose rhythms supersede ours, so good luck with that vice grip on power, bruh. x
Thanks, Patrick. Re your animation and photography: It's nearly impossible not to work for any of these entities if you want to actually make a living.
You probably know a lot of weird things, in that case. LOL.
What a shit show that winged thing has been.