Educational Freedom

There are many alternative school choices being considered after a year of closings, when children were thrust into different ways of learning. The failures of America's public education system were also brought to light. Advocates of school choice in America have had limited success, even though educational choice has bipartisan support among the electorate. While legislators have generally failed to make it a reality, one state has set into motion revolutionary legislation which fits these developing Aquarian times.

"West Virginia has passed an education savings accounts bill for which 90% of students in the state are eligible. This is revolutionary because, up until now, ESA programs introduced in other states have tightly restricted eligibility. WV enables nearly all the state's school-aged children to access accounts. Students can use the money toward the educational options and resources of the families' choice, whether private, online, or home school related. If parents are happy with their local public school, their children's money will still go to that school."

The state of West Virginia has three planets  in Gemini, the sign of lower education. Sun, Uranus and Mercury. Mercury is the Gemini ruler, and the Sun Uranus Mercury conjunction reflects innovative educational reform. Jupiter in Libra trines the Gemini stellium, adding oomph to their revolutionary efforts.

The Mountain State also has Moon, Venus, and Mars in Leo. There are many many  Leos in the teaching profession since they love children and enjoy performing for their captive audiences. I can attest to that. I loved my teachers. I remember the Leos well. Very entertaining, animated, and enthusiastic. They made going to school fun. With more options for parents, they are likely to have greater influence in choosing teachers for their eager kids.

An interesting added factor is the nodal axis. West Virginia's south node is in Gemini, north in Sagittarius, the sign of higher education. It is possible that eventually, revolution will move to that realm. However it plays out, with three planets in Leo, the state is certainly bound to feel pride.

The new development accentuates the benefits of crisis and difficulty which can lead to positive change. This Cancer country is fundamentally protective of its young, and with Pluto transiting opposite the country's own Mercury, the time is opportune. West Virginia is leading the way in what will likely lead to other states instituting welcomed educational reforms and freedom of choice.

A Sound Contender

Please let me introduce myself. My name is Professor Thaddeus Knockwhistle.

I am an educator of great renown. I teach political and social structure within the ant colony at the University of West Phalange. A very interesting phenomenon occurs in ant societies which might be relevant to today's societal malaise in the wonderful country of America.

“If you catch 100 red fire ants as well as 100 large black ants, and put them in a jar, at first, nothing will happen. However, if you violently shake the jar and dump them back on the ground the ants will fight until they eventually kill each other. The thing is, the red ants think the black ants are the enemy and vice versa, when in reality, the real enemy is the person who shook the jar. This is exactly what’s happening in society today. The real question we need to be asking ourselves is who’s shaking the jar… and why?” 

Well it surely is evident that the nation is shook up. Astrologers and such might have something to say about this in a big picture, but I am not conversant in that language. I adhere to my own expertise. The "why" might be left up to the philosophers to answer, however.

Because I have knowledge of population breakdown I have decided to run for President of the United States. I pledge to find out who is shaking the jar, and I will consult with other experts as to what can be done to stabilize the nation and repair any residual damage. I will do my very very best.

Magic, Voodoo, and Wizardry

Beware you damned cheaters!!!

Motion and Progress

The sign of Aries, and its ruler Mars, mark the beginning of earthly life when humans know they are going somewhere. They look across the terrain and plot their paths. Mars is bent on going directly to a chosen destination.

At the end of the wheel, in Pisces, ruled by the planet Neptune, the journey is complete. There's nowhere else to go but perhaps into other worlds, often found to be of an imaginary nature.

When Neptune aspects Mars, or Neptune falls in the first house of a chart, or Mars is found in Pisces, the path potentially taken is sometimes convoluted, nebulous, and perplexing or confusing. The transiting planets highlight such things.

When the United Sates was born in 1776, Mars was positioned at 21 Gemini. Neptune was square at 22 Virgo. And now, transiting Neptune in Pisces has joined this square, squaring Mars and opposing Neptune for about a year. 

A route to nowhere is a possibility. Sometimes under Neptune's influence communications  go awry. Gemini with Virgo likes to analyze and explain in detail, but marrying these observations with reality can be elusive or not even quite feasible under these circumstances.

Simultaneously, truth seeking Pluto is transiting opposite Mars in Gemini's ruler, Mercury. "Where on earth is truth hiding?" Mercury might ask. "Will it hurt?" being in Cancer.

Neptune can reflect fraud, trickery, and deceit, and even though these things happen ordinarily, with Neptune in Pisces aspecting the country's planets, people are sensing more than usual that something is amiss. Delusion masquerades as reality and reality appears to have found an ideal hiding place. The millions of Virgoan facts, figures, graphs, charts, and numbers don't quite add up.

So people in America are wondering what is really happening and where the nation is going exactly. No one is in charge and the path ahead is obscured by scattered perceptions among the citizens. Some see this, some see that. Some see dark clouds, others don't see much of anything, and some see shimmering utopia. Are any of these real? Neptune doesn't seem ready to tell just yet.

All is never lost. Blocks to forward progression create altered routes. Humans get "there" anyway. There's something to be discovered in Neptune's convolutions while arrival at a preconceived destination is on hold.

Mr. Picklebee's Misadventure

Mr. Picklebee is a very nice gentleman, always polite and considerate. So when the government asked him to wear a mask over his mouth, he did so willingly. Eventually, when he was cleared to remove his mask, he discovered, to his astonishment, that his mouth had completely vanished.

Not one to overreact, Mr. Picklebee contacted his creator, a renowned and great artist, to fashion him another one. He's waiting for the finished product.

Mr. Picklebee is such a patient man.

A Blob of Protoplasm

People often talk about man and lizard. They speak of the primitive lizard brain, sometimes while casting aspersions on the body part. Perhaps they misunderstand.

The part of the brain responsible for lizard management is the multi-talented medulla oblongata, right there above the neck, rear portion specifically, where spine meets brain, keeping the body in ship-shape. It also has a lot of nerve, cranials 10-12 to be exact.

"Cranial nerve 12 is the hypoglossal nerve. This nerve controls tongue movement and is crucial to speech and swallowing."

According to neurophysiologist, John D. French, "Guarding the rear of the medulla is the reticular formation, a thimble-sized web of interlocking neuron circuits. Within this tangle ticks the brain's alarm apparatus, monitoring the sensory signals that pass through. The smell of smoke would instantly set off the alarm, alerting the decision-making cortex to start its neuron motors. Without that silent warning a person would be reduced to a helpless, senseless, paralyzed blob of protoplasm."

I'd say some blobs of protoplasm trying to speak on the public stage could use a jolt to that 12th cranial nerve. Tongues are flapping senselessly out of control. Perhaps they've mistakenly swallowed their pride. They probably could use some repairs to their neuron motors as well. A lube maybe, some tightening of screws. Neuronic motors I call them. Not to cast aspersions, of course.

Long live the Mighty and Magnificent Medulla Oblongata!!!

It's Nuts

Many of earth's creatures have this thing called a brain. What goes on in the brain is unfathomable. It's a message center of astronomical proportions.
Survival orders, pleasures, pains, emotions, knowledge, fantasies, memories, and everything are under its direction.

It's enough to drive a rational person nuts.

I know we're not all insane. I don't think we are. Well, I'm not insane. I'm other things, but I seem to have my wits about me.

Then you have the brain's strict dividing line. Right and left. No nonsense. And the two communicate anyway. It's done by this thing called the corpus callosum, the kingpin in the madhouse.

The brain seems to have a mind of its own. Thankfully, it has a hard shell.

Murder and Political Ecstasy in Modern America

The very popular Dr. Francis Fartok will be giving a presentation at 7:30 P.M. in the Constitutional Museum, featuring his latest publication on U.S. society; Murder and Political Ecstasy in Modern America. It's an intelligent analysis of the unintelligent in politics. The reaction has been highly favorable thus far.

The renowned political, social, and communicational scientist is considered to be an expert on contemporary life. Dr. Fartok is always fascinating. Attendance will surely be high so come early!