Category Archives: Politics

European elections and political musings

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Uranus square PlutoThe phrase “May you live in interesting times” has often been identified as a “Chinese curse,” although Wikipedia debunks that notion.  But the viewpoint that interesting times could be a curse supports the idea that change, for most people, is difficult.

We are living in very interesting times indeed, and heading into times that will be even more interesting as Uranus in Aries faces off against Pluto in Capricorn in June.  If you’re new here you’ll be reading a great deal more about this aspect and I hope to be putting up a major article on the subject this week.  Capricorn represents the established structures of power, and Aries represents the urge for self-determination.  Pluto is the planet of annhilation and transformation, so while it travels through Capricorn (through 2023) there is sure to be dramatic change in political structures around the world.

That began last weekend with elections in Europe as the established order lost power in many nations and splinter groups (Uranus represents the oddball fringe elements of society among other things) gained a footing in the governmental bodies of these nations.

Capricorn can be a sign of hardship, and austerity programs throughout Europe have attempted to get a handle on the rising debt that we saw increase during Pluto’s reign in Sagittarius (the sign of expansion and optimism).

The most unnerving sign of the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square was the rise of the ultra-right wing neo-Nazi party in Greece known as Golden Dawn.  Uranus in Aries represents the revolution (Uranus) of the individual (Aries).  This is a symbol of anarchy and ultimate liberation, and as it continues to face off against the power structures (Pluto in Capricorn) over the next three years the entire global political landscape will change.

Even Osama bin Laden worried about splinter groups undermining his control over Al Qaeda, reflecting the growing resistance to any kind of larger and more powerful political structure by radical (Uranus) individualistic (Aries) groups (Uranus entered Aries in 2010). The Tea Party wing of the Republican party is a symbol of this kind of radical force, as is the Occupy movement in the US.

The square formation between Uranus and Pluto began last year when the two planets aligned within a degree, but the first exact square comes in June.  Watch these pages for more Uranus/Pluto news, and you may want to catch up with this article to get a historical perspective.

 

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The arrest of George Zimmerman and the healing of wounds in the US Sibly chart

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Trayvon martin astrologyThe shooting of Trayvon Martin has made national headlines in the United States and in a country that likes to think of itself as being “beyond race” this story has brought the matter of racial bias and injustice to the front page of American news.

George Zimmerman was arrested yesterday just as Mars, planet of aggressive force, changed direction to turn direct.  Because this case has had so much impact on the American discussion I wanted to see if there were any significant connections between the charts of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin and the generally accepted chart for the US, the Sagittarius rising “Sibly” chart.

In order to assess the effect these individuals are having on the evolution of the United States I examined the progressed charts for all of the players using the information available  without accurate birth times.  Trayvon Martin’s progressed Saturn was exactly quincunx the progressed Moon in the US chart, demonstrating the challenge (Saturn)  to the emotions (Moon) of Americans in a struggle that, like the quincunx aspect, has no real way of achieving resolution. Both progressed Mars and Jupiter in Trayvon’s chart are trine Progressed Chiron in the US chart, motivating the desire (Mars) to raise up painful old wounds (Chiron) so that they can be healed and some meaning (Jupiter) found from the situation.  And Trayvon’s progressed Neptune, illusion and mystery, conjoins the US progressed South Node (karmic matters), with his progressed Uranus (shocking events) sitting right on the US Pluto (revelation of secrets and the principle of destruction).

George Zimmerman’s progressed chart also has interesting and potentially significant relationships to the US chart.  In the US progressed chart itself, progressed Sun is in an exact square to progressed Uranus which suggests an event that comes out of the blue to change the country forever.  Zimmerman’s progressed Uranus is exactly opposite the US progressed Uranus and squares the US progressed Sun, suggesting that he is the instrument of this sudden event.  His progressed Pluto is exactly square to the US progressed Pluto, which again ties into the intensity of his connection to a major transformation in the culture of the United States.  And while we don’t know his Moon placement without an accurate birth time, the progressed Moon using a noon time is exactly conjunct US progressed Mars and opposite US progressed Chiron.  It is the workings of his emotional world (his progressed Moon) that is stimulating the necessity of the US to force the healing of old and unspoken wounds as represented by Chiron.

Mars and Chiron in the progressed chart of the United States have been in a dance for a long time.  The two first opposed each other in 1985, with that dance beginning several years earlier as Ronald Reagan took office and arguably began dividing the country into conservative and liberal.  Without getting into a whole political discussion, it is widely accepted that the economic policies of those times have created the greatest wealth gap of any country in the world today.

The US progressed Mars turned retrograde in 2006-2007 which in my view was a turning point for the US and its military (Mars) dominance in the world.  Now that P Mars is approaching the second opposition to the US progressed Chiron (culminating in 2019) the fruits of these economic policies will make themselves known and a battle (Mars) may be necessary in order to heal the wounds (Chiron).

The shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman brings some of these matters into the public eye so that they can be dissected and examined, and hopefully some resolution and healing can occur.  George Zimmerman’s progressed lunar nodes are in exact harmony with the US progressed Mars/Chiron, which suggests that he has an important role to play in this national discussion and on some level is just an echo of a larger dynamic in the healing of the greater wound.

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Keith Olberman fired from Current TV

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Keith Olbermann astrologyKeith Olbermann became a folk hero when he was one of a very small number of media personnel that spoke out against the war in Iraq.  His popularity as host of the Countdown show on MSNBC was on the wane when he was fired last year by MSNBC and went to work for Al Gore at Current TV.   (You can read my original astrological profile of Keith Olbermann here.)

Olbermann’s progressed Sun just moved into Aries about two weeks ago.  Aries is the sign of initiation and independence, and Olbermann has always been stubborn (Mars in Taurus) and with a tendency towards vindictiveness (Mars opposite Scorpio Jupiter).  When the progressed Sun changes signs (which only happens every 30 years), there is a shift in attitude and the personality begins to take on the color of the new sign.

It’s an interesting astrological fact that the signs next to each other in the zodiac have nothing in common so when the progressed Sun moves from one sign to the next it is a really big shift.  In this case Olbermann is moving from Pisces, which generally seeks the path of least resistance and a path of peace.  This has likely moderated some of Olbermann’s natural tendency towards bossiness with that Mars/Jupiter opposition, but then when his progressed Sun moved into Aries the gloves would have come right off.

There aren’t any real details available yet about what happened behind the scenes, it will be interesting to learn what really happened.  Current TV is claiming excessive absences and it does appear that Olbermann was taking more vacations than usual.

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Breitbart and Limbaugh in the news

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I was just working on the chart for Andrew Breitbart, the conservative columnist who died last week, when Rush Limbaugh made news for being more horrifically obnoxious than usual.  So today we have a dual post on conservative newsmakers.

Andrew Breitbart (2/1/69, time unknown, Los Angeles) was a conservative writer who wrote for the Drudge report and Huffington Post as well as the Washington Times and also ran his own conservative blog syndication site.  Like Limbaugh, his style was forceful, pompous and angry and extremely self-righteous (in fact, his book was titled “Righteous Indignation: Excuse me while I save the world).

He  died of a sudden heart attack during his Uranus opposition, the transit that occurs for all of us around age 41-43.  Uranus in Breitbart’s chart was conjunct Jupiter, the planet that shows where we want to be god.  Individuals with Jupiter conjunct Uranus have a fierce passion to be an agent of change, and with these two planets opposite a painful conjunction of Venus and Chiron in his chart, it is likely that his passion to create change was fueled by some internal misery.

A transit of Uranus over a system like this generally creates an urge for a sudden change in life, and very rarely results in death.  Because we don’t know the time Breitbart was born we don’t know his ascendant, but he was a Full Moon personality with the Aquarius (Uranus-ruled) Sun opposing the Moon in Leo.  Full Moon people are generally at an evolutionary crossroads as this is the culmination of the lunar cycle.  The conscious mind (Sun) opposes the lunar instincts and create tension that requires continual conflict in order to make the adjustments required to move forward in life.

With Chiron tightly conjunct Breitbart’s North Node, he came on a healing journey this time around.  When we allow ourselves to continue to erupt in reactive methods and avoid the healing process, the body begins to carry the load of the blocked energy which results in health problems.

Limbaugh is a different story.  He is just a profoundly unhappy man.  With the Sun in Capricorn he is driven to work harder and achieve more, but Chiron squares his Moon which suggests deep emotional wounds that create internal stress.  His Aquarius Mars, which is rather detached from the Mars experience of anger and aggression, is opposed by Pluto which generally denotes someone with an abusive childhood and a tremendous reservoir of pent-up rage.

Both Breitbart and Limbaugh have a challenging aspect between Mercury (communication) and Uranus (radical expression) in their charts, so they are/were both prone to the same kind of extreme language in expressing their ideas.  Limbaugh likely finds it easier to challenge that pent-up rage through his speech than to actually feel it, and with transiting Uranus squaring Limbaugh’s Mercury/Uranus opposition now it appears that any shackles that temper his expression have been blown off and he is now spewing his venom through speech without a filter.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of the upcoming square between Uranus and Pluto which will bring any revolutionary or radical ideas and energy to the surface, so we will likely see more crazy talk from public personages as the summer approaches.

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Uranus square Pluto: Will Scotland secede?

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Photo from the Laird of Oldham. The entry of Uranus, planet of independence and revolution, into Aries, the sign of the warrior, brought the Arab Spring, Occupy Everything, and numerous other minor and major revolutions around the world.  Now it is even inspiring thoughts of secession in Scotland.

Young people all over the world are rising up (Uranus in Aries) against the establishment (Pluto in Capricorn) for a variety of reasons.  In many countries (Algeria, Syria, Chile, Spain, India, Egypt, Israel, Tibet, Russia) young people with little to lose are expressing the revolutionary force of the Uranus/Pluto square which began last summer and intensifies later this spring.

Analysts fear that Scottish independence could have a domino effect in an already weakened Europe:

Analysts in Brussels say Scottish independence could trigger a fundamental redrawing of the relationship between Britain and the European Union – something that could have profound implications for countries such as Belgium, Spain and Italy which have their own powerful separatist movements.

“Would the way the EU handles Scotland also apply if other states were to split, like Belgium or Spain?” asked Piotr Maciej Kaczynski of the Centre for European Policy Studies.

“The impact on other countries, especially Spain and Belgium, could be enormous,” he said.

Analysts predict that some member states could target a multi-billion-euro rebate Britain gets from the EU budget, as well as “opt-outs” from the troubled euro and the Schengen open borders agreement.

The European Union itself was a brainchild of the Uranus/Neptune conjunction in 1992 and 1993, with its wildly creative and generally impractical application of revolutionary (Uranus) idealism (Neptune).  It took hold during the Pluto in Sagittarius period from 1995-2008, during which globalism (a Sagittarian concept if ever there was one) seemed like a very good idea.  Now with the contraction of Pluto in Capricorn, the chickens are coming home to roost and the world faces a reality check.

 

 

 

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The Astrological State of the Union

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astrology of the USLike people, countries have astrology charts that are based from the date and time of their inception.  There is a great deal of argument among astrologers over which is the “real” chart for the US, and if you like you can read more about that argument and why I use the Sibly chart here.

In my Astrological State of the Union post from 2009 I wrote:

The United States is at an astrological crossroads.  The US progressed Mars turned retrograde last year, and is searching for a new direction.  Pluto, god of transformation, has been challenging the US Midheaven, the point of public perception.  The qualities that gave the US its power over the past 400 years will not work for the next 400, and the nation will have to adapt.  Economic systems are changing and becoming much more tenuous and fluid as they go global.  Traditional social systems are weakening and require a new way of looking at the way humans form families and cultural groups.  As a people we must become more lithe and limber so that we can adapt to the changing collective, or we will not survive the 21st century.  This is not a time to look back and long for the conservative values of the 1950s – those days are over.  There is a new day dawning, and we will have to be ready for it.

This is no less true today.  The transit of Pluto, planet of destruction and regeneration, in a square to the US Midheaven oversaw the breakdown of much of American life which resulted in the appearance of a decline in the American role as world superpower.  Uranus, the planet of radical change and revolution, is preparing to transit in opposition to the US Midheaven.  Uranus is known as the “awakener” because it stimulates a view that is different from the everyday world view that keeps our lives in order.  Under this Uranus cycle there will be a growing awareness among the common people that the lives that many of us knew have been irrevocably changed, and there will be a growing unease about the future.

Uranus and Pluto are getting ready to face off in a powerful cycle such as the 1960s when the alignment of these two stimulated the social change and upheaval of that period.  In 2014 and 2015 the square (90 degree aspect) between these two planets will reach the degree of the Sun in the US chart and stimulate some radical events that are likely to continue the ongoing battle between the forces that seek to return to the ways of the past, even though the bridges have burned behind them, and the forces that demand change in a radical and perhaps unsustainable form.

In the meantime, though, there is a “double whammy” of Uranus and Jupiter events beginning with a square of transiting Uranus to the US Jupiter this year beginning in April.  Jupiter in a national chart represents the national ideology and belief system, and with Uranus demanding a radical departure from the past we are likely to see a further splintering of religious dogma and organized religion over the next year.  But this cycle will also stimulate excitement and greater readiness for the changes that are necessary in order to move into the next phase of the nation’s ability to sustain itself.  Then Jupiter will conjoin Uranus beginning in July (through next February) which could stimulate greater innovation and new ideas.

The death of an old way of living leads to a new beginning, but only if we can let go of the past and move forwards.  This Uranus/Jupiter “double whammy” can provide the fuel for this to happen if we allow the change to unfold.  If we cling to the past, things will not go well under this influence.  Change is inevitable.

In the summer of 2012 there is a large number of Jupiter cycles which will create expansion and help the changes to find their ground and become anchored in the new reality.  After that point the transits are generally favorable for growth and national confidence that can put the nation’s finances back on track.

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The astrology of SOPA

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SOPA astrologySOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act currently under discussion in the US House of Representatives.  At first glance, stopping online piracy sounds like a good idea.  I know that I myself have found plenty of my articles circulating on the Net under someone else’s byline.  But when you dig a little deeper into the language of the 75 page bill you find requirements that internet provides monitor the usage of its customers to ensure that rogue sites are not visited, and gives the Justice Department the authority to shut down websites that do not comply.

From an astrological perspective, the Internet is ruled by the planet Uranus, the giver of technology and innovation.  Uranus entered the sign of Aries last year, bringing the energy of aggressive force and self-orientation (Aries) into Uranian realms and intensifying the natural rebellious tendencies of Uranus.

Pluto is the planet of death, power and transformation, and it governs experiences that take us to the limit of endurance and then push us a little further.  In 2008 Pluto entered Capricorn,  the sign of social and economic structures.  Pluto seeks to consolidate power, while at the same time breaking down existing structures that are weak or corrupt so that they can be rebuilt, and the mission Pluto in Capricorn is clear: force the rebuilding of the very fabric of society.

Over the next few years  the revolutionary fervor that we have seen over the past year with Uranus in Aries will continue as Uranus and Pluto face off in a challenging square (90 degree) aspect.  As the power structure (Pluto) finds it more difficult to control the freedom (Uranus) of the masses it will seek more egregious measures to do so (Pluto) , which will be followed by more resistance and rebellion (Uranus).

You’ll notice during this period that the power brokers appear to work from both sides, such as in the case of Rupert Murdoch who is one of the more vocal supporters of internet censorship through SOPA in the US while simultaneously fighting for freedom of speech in the UK wiretapping scandal.

The Internet began its existence as a wild and untamed forum for free expression, but power brokers have long sought to harness and control it for financial gain.  This dynamic is perfectly symbolized by Uranus in Aries (individual freedom) vs. Pluto in Capricorn (business and power).  I suspect that this issue, in a variety of forms, will be one of the major factors in the Uranus/Pluto square over the next few years.

For one of the most cogent articles about SOPA, see this article on the Huffington Post by 16-year old Aaron Wang in which he clarifies:

The bill itself even reflects the inability of Congress and the entertainment industry to grasp a correct understanding of the Internet. The bill allows for the blocking of a domain name but not the numeric IP address. Users can still access the blocked website if they know this IP address. This completely contradicts what the bill stands for — it blocks websites most popular to Internet amateurs like Facebook and YouTube, while tech-savvy users can easily search the IP address of their favorite illegal movie streaming website and access it. What we get as a result, is the censorship of the Internet similar to that of China, Iran, and Syria.

Over the next few years it will no longer be possible to remain complacent.  Just as in the 1960s when Uranus and Pluto conjoined and social upheaval and transformation was inevitable, each of us must determine which principles are important to us, and be prepared to fight for them.

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The astrology of the death of Kim Jong Il

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Kim Jong Un astrologyKim Jong Il, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, died  on December 17th leaving his already unstable country in a state of uncertainty.

In 2006 I profiled Kim Jong Il which you can read here.  As I wrote then, there are a lot of different versions of Kim Jong Il’s birthchart floating around because of the mystery surrounding his birthdate. Although his official biography gives his birthdate as February 16, 1942 Soviet records show that he was actually born in 1941 but that his birthdate was later changed so that he would appear to be 50 years of age at the time of his father’s 80th birthday celebration. The noon birthchart that I’ve posted uses the actual birthdate of 1941. This birth data has the lowest Rodden Rating of XX according to Astrodatabank and there’s probably not much point to further investigation.

What would be more interesting would be to profile Kim’s successor, his third son Kim Jong Un.  As with his predecessors his actual year of birth is a mystery.  Various news sources quote “intelligence sources” as giving his date of birth as January 8, 1984 but without verification I am hesitant to use this date since it is little more than rumor at this point.  His official year of birth is 1982 but it is widely thought that this date was assigned because it echoed the official year of birth of his father Kim Jong Il.

Astrologically, the 1982 chart makes more sense than the 1984 chart does.  The 1982 chart has Saturn conjunct Pluto in Libra which would make this his Saturn Return, and transiting Saturn would be sitting right on his Pluto right now, a fitting image of his having take new responsibilities (Saturn) in order to assume power (Pluto).  Saturn and Pluto both square his Capricorn Sun, suggesting that he is highly responsible and feels a great deal of pressure to perform.  The Moon is in Gemini in this chart which suggests someone who craves a wide variety of experiences, and it opposes Neptune which sometimes suggests an individual who can be easily deluded and manipulated, especially while young.

In the 1984 chart Saturn and Pluto are both in Scorpio and the Moon is in Pisces which does echo the 1982 Gemini Moon opposition to Neptune since Neptune rules Pisces.  But a Pisces Moon is quite different – it is highly sensitive and “soft.”  We already know that Kim Jong Il eliminated his second son from the succession because he was too soft so it’s difficult to imagine someone with a Pisces Moon as the next Supreme Leader of North Korea.  But the Sun in the 1984 chart is unaspected, a “singleton” Sun, which often indicates an individual who operates on his own and finds it difficult to connect with others.

In any case, since we don’t really know if even the birthtime is correct for now I’d rather focus on the chart for North Korea.  The chart I use is from September 9, 1948 (noon), and we find that transiting Uranus is exactly square to Uranus in the national chart.  Just two days before the death of Kim Jong Il transiting Jupiter was in an exact square to Venus in the national chart, mirroring the release (Jupiter) from a pattern of relating to others in the nation (Venus).  Jupiter will be virtually stationary at that point over the next two months so it will be interesting to see how the various relationships of power in North Korea begin to unwind.  I suspect that there will be a great deal of conflict before that settles into any kind of normalcy.

I’ll report back on any new information we have about the new leader’s date of birth.

for daily planetary cycles visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: The Protester

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Time person of the year 2011Astrologers everywhere are nodding their head.  Uranus in Aries square Pluto – Time Magazine names “The Protester” the person of the year.  Uranus: rebellion and radical change, in Aries: initiation and action.  Squaring Pluto, power, endings and transformation; in Capricorn, the structures upon which we build our lives such as governments and corporations.

It’s so obvious!

Except to Time Magazine:

No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent. In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world.

Read more here.

And also re-read my article from February of last year about the spread of global protest in which I wrote:

These protests are just the beginning of what will become a firestorm of political resistance over the next year as Uranus, planet of revolution, squares off against Pluto, planet of power and control.  They were inspired by the return of Jupiter into Aries and the simultaneously square of Jupiter to Pluto in Capricorn, which mainlined confidence (Jupiter) and courage (Aries) into the souls of individuals who were fed up with the control (Pluto) of autocratic governments (Capricorn).

This is just the beginning of the excitement.  Uranus and Pluto have only come within a degree of their exact square which culminates next summer.  THEN the fun will really start!

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“Occupy Wall Street” – the beginning of Uranus/Pluto in the US

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occupy wall street astrologyThe movement known as “Occupy Wall Street” which began about three weeks ago in New York’s financial district has spread across the country, but it still isn’t clear what the message of the movement is.  For the first couple of weeks of the protests it wasn’t even covered by the mainstream news; now that the movement is in its third week journalists are wondering what it’s all about and law enforcement officials are getting tired of it, arresting 50 people in Brooklyn today.

USA Today calls it “a vague but growing movement against financial and political avarice.”

ABC News says “But while their message might be a tad muddled, all are united by their anger over what they say is a broken system, a system that serves the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the rest.”

Columnist Nick Kristof writes in the Times, “Where the movement falters is in its demands: It doesn’t really have any. The participants pursue causes that are sometimes quixotic — like the protester who calls for removing Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill because of his brutality to American Indians.”

Organizers of the movement say they were inspired by the Arab Spring in which a surge of revolutionary fervor, driven by the approaching square of Uranus in Aries (the revolutionary warrior) to Pluto in Capricorn (the power of the economic structures), resulted in the downfall of Arab leaders in several countries.  But while the Occupy Wall Street people were inspired by the Uranus/Pluto square, they no longer have the wind at their back since the square is waning and the energy is fading.

That’s not a bad thing for the movement, though, since instead of flaming out with the intensity of the Uranian explosion of Pluto authority structures, there is an opportunity for the collective to expand over the next few months and potentially come back next spring with a great force.

If you actually read the Occupy Wall Street website information it’s clear that the movement does have a very clear purpose, which is to bring America back into the hands of the people (Uranus in Aries) and out of the hands of the corporations (Pluto in Capricorn).

Even though the protests didn’t begin until September 17th, The Occupy Wall Street movement actually began on July 13th with this call to action.  At the time, Uranus and Pluto were about as close to the square formation (about a degree apart) as they would get in 2010.  (The actual cycle doesn’t begin until 2012.)

It’s pretty exciting, really.  The original call to action says this:

This could be the beginning of a whole new social dynamic in America, a step beyond the Tea Party movement, where, instead of being caught helpless by the current power structure, we the people start getting what we want whether it be the dismantling of half the 1,000 military bases America has around the world to the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act or a three strikes and you’re out law for corporate criminals. Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America.

It’s enough to make me want to put on my thirsty boots again and start marching for freedom.

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