Editor’s note: the following is a piece written by Judith Gayle, a feature writer for Planet Waves’ subscriber edition, Planet Waves Astrology News. She also writes a political blog, called Political Waves, where this piece was originally printed. –RA

With only 15 days to go, you’ve seen what the Right is using to slow up Obama’s sweep — race and voting issues. The McCain buzzwords which include everything from the far, dark corner under the kitchen sink, are hateful and frightening to the base — now it’s “welfare” and “socialism.” Mac continues to be rash with this mouth, alienating those who aren’t on his narrow, Red path.

Consider:

“At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives,” McCain said in his weekly radio address. “They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut it’s just another government giveaway.”

That’s a quote from an article indicating that Obama drew 100,000 in St. Louis yesterday; 75,000 in Kansas City later in the day. As Obama opens up the world to unifying possibilities, McCain insults Europe, as he did Spain not too long ago. We will NOT survive this century if we continue to exclude and alienate. Old McPoopyPants is the cranky voice of continuing the national isolation George Bush made an art form.

CNN’s Blitzer noticed that too, throwing it for comment to Missouri swing-state’s Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt. Matt Blunt, Roy’s boy and our quickly expiring Governor, told us on Face the Nation Saturday morning that Sarah Palin was a perfect candidate for the Show Me state. On CNN, Roy defended Palin’s notion that small towns [Pea Patch style] are the home to real, pro-Americans [make that culturally conservative and religious.] Absurd!

The Blunts are just that, Neanderthals of a quickly fading era. Missouri is a bellwether — McCain currently leads by a single point and it’s dicey that he can hold it; the turnout for O yesterday set a national record. As well, Obama has turned so many traditionally Red states that bellwethers may not have much punch this time. In case you missed it — all truisms are moot this time.

The big news of the race today is Colin Powell’s endorsement of O as a �transformational figure’ prepared to lead the country. He spoke of the generational shift, he mentioned the larger topics of Supreme Court nominations and international goodwill — he was effusive about Obama and as enthusiastically damning of his own party. The question concerning moderates of all stripes, even those not effected by race, has been Obama’s readiness and experience; Powell just put that to bed.

And only the dense would refuse to see that Colin’s endorsement is the military-mind rejecting the out-of-touch military-model; that can’t be ignored. Troops are now sending four times the money to O than McCain; Powell’s selection won’t surprise them, but it may surprise a few others. And while endorsements at this late date don’t usually carry too big a punch, this one may. Continue reading →

Dear Friend and Reader,

MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID to me the three most sensitive subjects to talk about are religion, politics and music. She instructed me to never talk about these things with people unless I was ready for a scream-out. Now, I am pretty deft at choosing friends that don’t get worked up about stuff like that: call it an affinity for intellectualizing, but as I get older and I begin to witness more conversations than I actually find tasteful to participate in, I’ve realized that my mother is right. Strange as it may seem, the three things she mentioned have something in common: mind control.

The last debate between McCain and Obama and the balooning economic bill have placed what we think of as power and who we would like as leaders into the forefront. It’s crucial as the final weeks before the election unfold, that each of us come to the personal realization that how we see the world around us is how we see ourselves.

What we find beautiful, ugly and dangerous is influenced by our minds. It is with our minds that we make our choices. It is with our capacity to reason and get carried away by emotion that enables us to interact and learn from this world we are in. I say this because the election is coming up and each and every one of us has our own personal vote that we can spend in any way we like — supposedly like our money. How we place our vote, like how we spend our money, is a reflection of what we value in the world.

About once a month my partner’s mother invites us to dinner and we are obliged to comply. We go to the house, get sniffed out by the two dogs and stand around in the kitchen for about 20 minutes before supper is ready. Then we go into the dining room and have a seat.

The wallpaper is a kind of floral striped affair in tones of pearl and bone. The crystal lamp lights are dust free as are the tops of the curtain rods. Witnessed by the collection of hand-painted ceramic song birds in the curio and the dogs who beg for what gets dropped “by accident” onto the floor, the conversation inevitably turns to one of two things: politics or the government.

Continue reading →