By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Weary of penis puns? Me too. One more wiener joke will put me over the edge. I’d willingly travel back in time to those rowdy years as a Cub Scout den mother, facing down the emerging testosterone of over a dozen 9- and 10-year-old boys, each and every one trying my patience with potty humor. I’d happily volunteer to scold those who make big bucks delivering my corporate-sponsored and televised news, who can’t control their nervous laughter or their need to repeat the name Weiner over and over as if we might miss the joke. Get a clue, you guys — you’re embarrassing yourselves. (I wonder what we’d have to pay someone with actual intellect to anchor network news, and I wonder who would watch.)
Just last year, Anthony Weiner married Hillary Clinton’s long-time top aide, exotic beauty Huma Abedin, and the couple is expecting their first child. Weiner’s behavior seems particularly dismaying for a newlywed. His sexting habit appears to be long-standing, and if he was serious about quitting he probably should have sought treatment for this compulsion rather than endanger his marriage and career. Clearly, the psychology of this personal problem isn’t news to any adult, but the variables are very much a reflection of 21st century multimedia influence. There IS no real anonymity these days, but Mr. Weiner may have factored that in, adding an additional layer of thrill to his eventual self-destruction.
Certainly Weiner got emotionally stuck somewhere in adolescence. I don’t say that because he got caught playing cyber-footsy; I say it because he’s got a habit he reportedly confessed to his fiancée, telling her he had quit when he hadn’t, which in turn produced all the gory details we’ve endured over the last week. There are programs available for that kind of thing.
This would be a good place to interject that I don’t care what consenting adults do sexually, that’s strictly between them and their partners. I do care, however, when elected officials put their public authority in jeopardy by risking it for a personal thrill. That seems to me a self-defeating exercise, and — until we collectively grow past our long list of sexual prohibitions — one that ultimately harms everyone involved. Look at all the time and energy wasted in this train wreck, mitigated only if intense Chiron energy begins to expose and bind these kinds of collective wounds.
Sadly, Weiner is one of the good ones. The kind of candid grandstander and egoist New Yorkers prefer, he’s been a trusted voice on the left for a while now, ever since we lost top-tier progressives like Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold, or even outspoken Florida Representative, Alan Grayson. We can no longer count on Democrats to enthusiastically defend progressive values, and Weiner is not shy about getting to the truth of Republicans’ convoluted talking points. If that kind of candor sounds oddly disconnected from the current scandal, it should be noted that the Congressman never did say the suspect bulge wasn’t his. If anything, that was the give-away.
That’s one of liberals’ virtues I find refreshing, even redeeming: they’re terrible liars. Recall, if you will, “I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinski!” I know, you wanted to believe. But — gosh! — counting Big Bill’s body language and facial expression, not to mention personal history, it was a stretch, even for the faithful. Yet who could blame him for a quick disclaimer. With the Moral Majority poised to wave a semen-stained dress like a battle flag, impeachment loomed.
Mr. Weiner’s second mistake, the cover-up, was doomed from the start. The third misstep was in suggesting his Twitter account had been hacked, a serious allegation that required further exploration. One might count as a fourth error a somewhat narcissistic cultivation of attributes that even Barbara Walters couldn’t help admiring, but clearly, the congressman’s first mistake was in displaying them to cyber-strangers. Ultimately, Anthony Weiner just couldn’t bring himself to lie about whose penis was in question. To paraphrase his unhappy friend and ex-roommate, Jon Stewart, these things do not go unrecognized by their owner.
After a tearful admission and blanket apology to all concerned, the representative seems hunkered down to weather this storm. Barraged by calls from both parties to step down, that is entirely the congressman’s prerogative. Weiner bent the boundaries of good taste and told some untruths, but not a single law appears to have been broken. Lefties are inclined not to count this kind of thing as a deal-breaker, and righties only make much ado about it if the offender is in the opposing camp. For progressives, the worst of this situation has been in giving muckraker Andrew Breitbart a legitimate scoop. A broken clock, so they say, is right twice a day, and Breitbart, whose ambition is to get the respect a real journo might earn, got this one right.
While the episode has been painful to watch, we don’t know how it will eventually shake out. The congressman’s wife has chosen to stay with him and is urging him not to resign from government. The entire event has that self-destructive Chiron feel to it: repeatedly shooting down at your own toes will eventually cause you to shoot yourself in the foot, forcing you to deal with consequences, including what is optionally devastating and/or healing. In this case, the episode occurred with the whole world looking on.
Bread and circuses? Yes, indeed, except that in the good old U S of A, our diversions are more aptly described as guns and penises. We are young souls here in the United States. Many of our citizens inhabit an adolescent persona that refuses to reason past the secretions of their glands, nor can they control their emotions farther than their individual and tribal vendettas. We once had enough national humility to leverage that youthful hubris; now we’re poised to synthesize experiences that will shift us into adulthood, and I do hope we don’t have to depend on Chiron’s alchemy for that process.
No matter how much anxiety Weiner experiences this week, he’s head and shoulders above Sarah Palin, opportunistically cruising the East Coast on a bus tour. Supposedly taking a family vacation, Ms. Palin is sucking up oxygen and making people like poor upstaged Mitt Romney want to spit in their milk. Visiting Old North Church in Boston, the little missy was asked what she would remember from her travels. The question launched what we now refer to as a Palin “word salad,” a jumble of barely-recognizable misinformation. In this case, her reference made more sense to the far right and Christocrats, as she insisted that Paul Revere was ‘ringing bells’ to warn the Red Coats that we wouldn’t let them take our guns. Say what? Yes, she did, and you can watch Stephen Colbert send that up brilliantly, here.
Catching hell from a startled press, Sister Sarah explained herself to FOX News a few days later. She was being maligned by the left — the lamestream press, as she puts it — for her comments, but she insisted that her account was accurate. Revere had been captured and detained by the British, to whom he inflated the numbers of armed rebels they would meet if they persisted in moving on Boston. She was not wrong, no, not straight-shootin’ Sarah. She takes her history from conservative historians and they know best how to define the founders and their intentions. Their revisionist history filters almost everything through the protections of the 2nd Amendment, because we love our guns, here in ‘Murika. In fact, we seem to love our guns more than we love our Constitution.
I know this will come as a shock, but so many of us have been wrong all these years, not understanding the true Bible-totin’, anti-slavery message of our forefathers; or so it would appear if we listen to the choice of history practiced by the right-wing. Over at Hullabaloo, digby has a couple of YouTubes that will give you a good idea of what evangelical historian David Barton wants to teach this misguided nation. You should probably watch them, because there is a whole alternate universe establishing itself in the minds of the Tea Bag contingent. You will be hearing more of this, and being aware of it is the only way to make any sense of it at all.
Jon Stewart recently interviewed Barton, the expert in American history that Mike Huckabee wants to force the public to watch. He’s as slick as they come, oozing snake oil and pious intentions. Perhaps these aren’t lies so much as delusions, I’m not sure. Perhaps Sister Sarah truly believes this nonsense, I don’t know. Perhaps this is revisionism with impunity: no consequences for those who would change the entire context of the national landscape.
So much has already passed downstream, who are we to blame for having surrendered reality and embraced self-serving fantasy? Who would take responsibility? As accountability is not in the Republican lexicon, it will probably fall to those sad-sack Democrats to dig reality out of the muck of conservative propaganda. Meanwhile, some portion of the nation believes that Paul Revere rang bells to warn the Brits that we are a gun-totin’, ammo-hoarding, militia-lovin’ citizenry. And those of you reading this? Don’t even THINK about bringing the hard truth into 21st century focus anytime soon.
C’est la vie. Such is life, here in Crazyville. Emotional maturity awaits us, but in order to leave the old behind, we have to expose our dysfunctions and admit our pretensions. All eyes will have to shift in witness to what no longer works, and perhaps never did. Perhaps we’ll have to count the rungs of our mistakes in order to climb the ladder to a new level of common good and mutual respect. Maybe, like Anthony Weiner, we’ll have to apologize, even allow an ass like Andrew Breitbart an opportunity to capitalize on our embarrassment.
Me, I consider this current window of time a heads-up moment for each of us. If any part of this process describes you or your life — self-delusion to cover wounding — I urge you not to put off dealing with it squarely. Progress only comes on the other side of moving stuck energy, removing the blocks that keep us in old behaviors. What remains in the way of progress is the old baggage we drag behind, the secrets we can’t face, the lies we cling to. Perhaps getting right with OURSELVES is the real business of ‘change we can believe in.’ And as we begin to do that work — one by one — everything around us shifts to let in the Light.
Sadge, even if you had meant iI I would still love you. Both of us had quite a day— sof (smile on face instead of laugh out loud) . Where the hell are you going? What is the EU? Europe? As long as you are doing that tio take good care of yourself and you keep your computer with you so we can hear from you…. I need to hear from you, my girl. Your thoughts and comments brighten my day, are instrucfional and relevant, and cute.
re: what I said about “those damn comments on those articles” I meant “those articles”, the links? NOT the comments , NOT the comment crowd Here…… some of those comments on those linked articles were outrageous, I mean, crazy! I just couldn’t believe them….
points taken on my overexcited tone..I need to learn Web etiquette, I tend to type the exact words I actually would speak, however, it doesn’t always translate because you can’t see my eyes, face, hear how I am saying things, or you can’t see my hand expressions, which I use when I talk.
so apologies all around. really, I appreciate the feedback. I do get too excited about certain things. sheesh.
it’s so hard so hard for me.
anyways, tying up any loose ends..
peace All.
I am always pleased I took the time to read your piece, Judith. I like your take and appreciate your genuine /earthy/bold take on the powers-that-be. It is a good good thing.
I realize I haven’t been trying that hard to search out the topic, so that’s probably lots that’s passed me by (aside from what is here @ PW), but I was thrilled to see my own feelings about narcisim and adolesent boy fixations verbalized and validated. I don’t want to get too psycho-babbley on anyone but … I mean really! little boys and their willies and then teen age boys who remain fascinated with the workings of their stuff. Yes, they are the sexting fiends and doesn’t that just make sense.
OK, can we all (I mean congresspeople, et al) get back to FINDING ME A JOB?? or saving our houses or cleaning up wall street?? Geez, Weiner! if you cannot help me get a flipping job in this environment, get your @#$%ing weiner out of the way.
Phew. I feel better now, thank you all,
mm.
Dear kat. My Eris /f**k comment was NOT in any way pointed at you. It was the best I could do to support you. That might tell you and me what kind of day and week and pre-eclipse I am having. This being a very edgy weekend for me, my mouth DID open, as we all saw, and this is not the venue that I wanted my Xena/Eris (6 Aries, 9th house) nature/voice to be raised. There is no battle here, just a discussion. Didn’t want to say anything until I read your comment. Then I Had to chime in. Oh well.
I was clearly feeling Erisy and pissed as I ws disagreeing with other bloggers, and I was wishing there would be a way cultivated more frequently to disagree without putting down. I did not lead that charge, unfortunately. But, I am comfortable with my imperfections these days.
Right now with my Part of Fortune @ 24 Sag and my natal Merc and Uranus @ 24 and 21 Gemini I can barely think or feel a clear thought or feeling and occsionally this past week I have even envisoned myself being sucked into the GC whole. Really.
But I am not offering this as an excuse for Eris. She has an energy all her own. Bitch-y is a soft word for my experience of her sometimes, but you get the point. And I have come to love and respect all aspects so to speak of myself.
Love to All–it is through our differences that I learn, grow and find more of myself to polish or, to fondly set on a shelf, to rest up for the True Battle.
More details and pictures pouring out on this sexting issue and, gosh! To paraphrase Bill Maher — that’s a lot of work WITHOUT getting laid.
Love you back, Jere; wish I’d been where you are to admire (and perhaps sample!) your bread.
Stellium, I applaud your enthusiasm for your point of view, much as I’m quite comfortable with my own. I didn’t put my personal seal of approval on this collective social consciousness we all share, I just try to make sense of it. These kinds of incidents provide us baby steps toward mending our social contract — and building in some needed tolerance — so perhaps next time this happens, we’ll be better informed and less impatient with the process.
I still feel that anything that we’re COMPELLED to do, especially secretly (in the corner, in the dark) OWNS us … clothed or unclothed. And I continue to define that energy as stuck, especially when smashing through barriers is what this whole time-frame seems to be about.
Eris is about ego-wounding and discordant energy, Kat. Kinda bitchy, ya’ know? Although, Be and Burning River, Eris will always be Xena to me — and perhaps that’s another context, Kat. The warrior woman! And testy as she is, there is enough confidence in Eris/Xena to carry that big sword while still speaking softly. When our hackles raise on this kind of energy, that’s the time to do an ego cross-check. I so appreciate those who know to do this each and EVERY time — that’s how progress is made not just within our own soul, but for the whole of us.
Kat, I have Leo Mars too … occasionally we purr a bit loudly, that’s the nature of Big energies! And as for your Grama — bless her — that’s some role model. My Sag Sun (3) and Mercury (22) salutes her, and you as well.
In reference to the teachy/preachy stuff, I prefer the Isabel Hickey Keyword for Sag = “I perceive.” She defines this in terms of intuition. Add the superconsciousness context of the 9th house rulership and you’ve got a Mutable communicator who will teach/preach/share because that is in the elemental design of their energy signal. Each listener will have to designate how they receive the information, passed through their own filters and sensitivities. Older Sag’s have hopefully learned not to blurt, for which they’re infamous when young; and definitely learn how to own their own opinion: I am ever mindful of the first and after eight years writing for Planet Waves, I’ve got the second nailed.
Finally, let me add that I am occasionally urged to run for office of some kind, lack of qualified candidates being what it is today. I always plead that I don’t have the temperament for it, which I don’t — and that my past would disqualify me. It’s been gloriously messy. I can testify that I have a few pictures of my own floating around out there, gratefully not digital and hopefully fading with time, and putting myself into a position where I would have to defend a single choice I’ve made in my past is more than I’m willing to do, period, end of discussion. So while I applaud all of you who altruistically want the hypocritical barriers of social disapproval to fold, and I with you, I’ll caution that for now — and well into the future — we need to remember that the sharks are always circling. It’s a sign of our times, which Bill Maher says have become just plain nasty … and he’s got a point.
By the way, you think this is a shit-storm? Wait until the wifey, who is as close to beloved Clintonista royalty as they come, chimes in — then we’ve got game!
Thanks to all you guys for playing this weekend, it’s been enLightening.
Tell me, Who (the fuck) HASN’T pushed the wrong button on their (dumb)phone device?
I’ve built in all kinds of safety nets to help prevent (drunken, sober, sane, or not) mis-pushes of those little buttons.
Had to take the naked (erect) pix of friend off cover photo of phone tho. Really, he was just too ahem, exposed.
This sure brings up a lot of *stuff* for me.
I’ve been observing my own reactions to the Weiner story. At first it was a slapping of the forehead, “Are you kidding me? He was that stupid?” (with a bit of humor, not taking it very seriously). Then: “How mortifying. Just admit it, you fool. The prevarication/sort-of denial is the problem!” Then: I don’t know if he’ll have the same authority/power on behalf of his constituents…maybe he should go. Could they trust his word now?” Then: All these superior types, making this a “scandal”…ugh.
Now I’m really paying attention of everyone else’s reactions too. What do these say about us? About our wounding, about our lying, about our projections onto others? Our shame?
And what do we have a right to expect of our public officials? I don’t really know, exactly. They’re human beings. I prefer less hypocrisy, but that too tells us something about our condition. Outright criminal activity needs to be dealt with. But this? I appreciate Stellium’s comments. They make me consider how I want/expect all aspects of others (including my public servants) to conform to what I consider right or acceptable.
I find myself aligning with the opinions of dreamastrologer and Stellium in Sag. Judith & Fe: your articles & comments have been a great springboard for me to do my own internal mucking about. All of the comments here are serving that purpose, too. So thanks, everyone!
Burning River and Bkoehler and dreamastrologer – I’m not understanding the Eris reference. Please explain. I’m missing something here. I’m kind of new to these little outer beings.
I do appreciate the listen, be quiet and learn stance, too. As you said, it is about balance, no doubt.
That being said, I can’t say I’m in a very balanced mood today – probably the exact transiting Mars T square to my, also exact, Mars Leo /Moon Aqu. opposition!!! My husband and I just had a fight, too, for which I apologized, and I apologize if I hurt dreamastrologer’s feelings, too. I’m in a cranky, grinding gravel kind of mood. I probably should get out and start weeding my garden. Kat
and Jude – thank you.
Be – your comments too. Thank you.
Good food 4 thought n feeling.
oh hahaha – did I mention that SAG stuff is in my 5th house?
That explains a lot.
I preach but I have fun? lol.
Naw. Still on the platform for I Teach which I suppose it what Preaching is meant to be.
all said in love’n’fun (I know tone is hard to read; making sure this reads as “jovial”.
xo
katlyons (I love to compare and contrast for fun):
me = Pisces sun Leo Ac Aries moon etc…my only natal planet in SAG is Saturn at 24 degrees and also Vertex at SAG 29 – neatly bookending the GC.
Mom and Dad met in seminary in the 50s; both preach in their own way in their own careers (now mostly retired save for the preaching).
This little fish prefers to ever-consciously work at Learning. The Teaching can come from that (a thin line perhaps?) Preaching; never – it’s my evil twin.
xo
(although, yes, I’ve been university prof and school director and ever seem to be placed in positions where I’m practically invited to preach and often use all my strength to hold it back because it wells up in me like an over-pressured oil-well) (Thus, I suppose, I paint and write….heh-heh.)
Speaking of Eris and expressing ourselves, I’ve had a thought about the seniors who have gone on to become Social Security and Medicare recipients, and, although I’ve never read anything referring to Eris as a generational marker, I believe she might be partly responsible for the rebellion or resistance among seniors to the Republican attempt (again) to gut those services. As Uranus is now transiting the degrees where Eris was for those born in the 30’s and 40’s it is awakening the dormant and docile-appearing citizens of this country to voice their discordant views of this attempt. Polling is one thing, voting is a whole ‘nother thing.
There was a TV discussion of the percentage of what people (divided into groups) pay into Medicare and what they receive in benefits (averaged out). A big deal was made of the amount received being greater than the amount contributed, however, there was no mention of the inflated and unfair cost of healtcare, especially hospital stays and drugs, in this “study”. Nor was there a comparible study presented of what private insurance payers put in compared to what they take out. A warning to all state and US government elected officials with this mindset. Don’t fuck with Eris.
Judith, your whole article was interesting and I would point out that another common problem with the Jupiter-Sagittarius’ly influenced person is the desire to skip over details in order to get the “big” picture. Virgo’s may not always “see the forest for the trees” but they don’t miss the details. Sag will persuade itself that it isn’t necessary to take the time for the small things because what’s really important is the wide view. What is actually necessary is a well-informed and balanced view. Less polarization and more harmony is the goal.
be
I noticed also some comments on this article bringing out the Eris in me. Keeping my mouth shut, I am willing to listen to All and hope the fuck myself and we all keep growing into what I believe is the harmony and melody we have be created to Create. ///\\\
Also, regarding preaching (and a desire to share this), my Grandmother was a Sag evangelical preacher – in the 40s and 50s no less – a real rarity at that time. God knows what she went through for that. I recently I read a book about modern women in the ministry (Jewish and Christian, mainly) who have, and still do, experience amazing repurcussions for daring to be a women leading a church.
Anyway, born Dec. 21, 1886, she died at 94, and she formed four churches in her lifetime, one of which is still going strong. Her last church had a women’s education and elementary school and, now, high school.
I left the church as an adolescent, but have always admired her, and perhaps, it is why I come by my preaching/teaching honestly. Kat
Going back to dreamastrologer’s first comment in this thread, I have given some thought to the “preachy” issue since there was a discussion a couple of months ago at PW regarding the Sagittarius “I preach” designation. Some people thought “I teach” was more acceptable. Having a Jupiter/ASC in Sag, I have certainly noticed my own inclination to “preach,” but isn’t it also in the ear of the beholder? Anyone with a point of view speaking articulately could be accused of preaching, I suppose. And even if so, so what? (I also deeply respect dreamastrologer’s happiness at getting past it – to each his own, as they say.)
My point is, Judith, – you go girl. Keep it up. Preach, teach, analyze, dramatize, whine, moan, and make your goddamn point however it works for you. So far, what works for you is working for me. Kat
mm. Interesting what Alec Baldwin had to say
Anthony Weiner is a Modern Human Being….(on R side of HuffingtonP)??
hmm. many things many things..
“His private life SHOULD be his own business but according to the public contract he’s agreed to, it isn’t.”
then the public contract needs to Change!! or our perception(s) of it!!
We love the man for his gutsy, risk-taking, energetic behavior, when it SERVES us (public servant) on behalf of US, but then flail on him, or are ‘disappointed’ in him for his private life? you’re joking, right? too many rules, too many boxes. for me. pardon me for restating the article, but hypocritical?? Impossible! Impossible standards! I guess it all comes down to what we Value the most, which ‘view’ of him?? the view of the dynamic politician, or the view peeping through the windows .ridiculous.
and we’re making his neutered status HIS fault? oh no. oh no no no….no
and I’m mulling over the concept of being ‘stuck’ when you are expressing..I mean, when you see him in Action, in Congress, that doesn’t appear ‘stuck’ to me, and yes, taking a picture of your penis to share, is that ‘stuck’? we may not like it (speak for yourself) but not sure that is ‘stuck’….
BTW, I know I am out of line on this, so forgive me dear readers, v. evident fr. reading the damn comments on those articles..are you KIDDING me?? so much moral indignation….too much! you doth protest too much!! W.O.W.
BTW.BTW:(under Related) Type “T” personality…ha!ha! now. is that a coincidence? or a synchronicity? ha!
Jere! making bread?
In the Spirit of Spirit,
peace.
p.s. Love Bill Maher.
p.s.s that Sag 23+ can be a real bitch! chirp!
Wow, this is all breaking fast — I suspect the news last night about the under-age contact has everybody spooked! Wish the Dems were as hard on the Pubs as they are on their own!
Anthony Weiner Seeks Treatment, Requests Leave Of Absence As Top Democrats Call For Resignation
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/11/debbie-wasserman-schultz-anthony-weiner_n_875402.html
I don’t think anyone outside of Rep. Weiner’s family was hurt by his actions. I find it hard to accept that republicans can look the other way when one of the C Street brethren do worse than what Weiner did and still manage to stay in office.
For the foreseeable future, Rep. Weiner’s future belongs in the hands of his constituents. We seem to feel that venting our party frustration on him can make this syndrome go away. It won’t. And the sooner we accept that the power we give these men is as much a trap for them in that they feel they can take unacceptable risks, the more we will see this happen.
We love Weiner because he is one of the few out there who calls it as he sees it unequivocally. Yet the guy is still not a legislator. He is a mouthpiece for the left.
All of that is well and good. But we still need all types to make the revution, so we need to pick up the slack. Like they are in Wisconsin with recalls.
Yes Weiner made a mistake, but the depth of the lesson is going to make or break this man’s character. I will be very interested to see how this shakes out for him in six month’s time. I’d like to see if Mrs. Weiner will break the silence or let her silence speak for itself.
..And that’s why I love you Jude!
..bread’s in the oven.. few more minutes.. gotta get the crust ‘just right’.
🙂
Jere
This whole scandal thing pings in all the tender places, doesn’t it. The male/female dialogue is never-ending, seems like. As Eric mentioned on Friday, there are damned few women caught with their hand in the cookie jar so it falls to the male animal to take the evolutionary heat. The topic is so vast it’s hard to get ones arms around.
I’ve had some interesting conversations with men responding to the piece I wrote last week about the John Edwards scandal. I’ve heard defenses suggesting that men just can’t help themselves and/or it’s unfair to ask a man not to seek comfort where he can. I even heard one (which I consider generationally-inspired) screed about how suggesting that men masturbate their needs away rather than succumb to the first opportunistic baby-mama out there smacked of semi-lesbian insensitivity and communicated a misunderstanding of men in general.
Following that line of reasoning, men should not be responsible for their own genitalia because they’re driven by the kind of unthinking madness Spock endured when he went home to breed. In a time when we’ve seen rape become accepted as a military weapon, and Viagra an enhancement not to mutual pleasure but to punishment, we need to rethink this crap. We are all driven by our endocrine system for most of our lives but ultimately, I just don’t believe we’re the equivalent of salmon struggling up the ladders to spawn. IMHO, if we can’t do better than that, the species needs to fold. Fortunately, many of us can do better.
Sorry you found the first half preachy, Dream. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I did something stupid or embarrassing in order to “get” a critical puzzle-piece for my Becoming, so I don’t judge other folks adventures but I am interested in analyzing them because they hold clues for all of us. In this kind of astrological climate, these things are instructive for humankind as a whole. Just about everywhere I look, I see Poster Children for some issue that needs resolving. Weiner and Palin are, indeed, cautionary tales and neither deserves a pass until we unearth the little nugget of wisdom the Universe is trying to deliver.
Personally, I’ve been a big Weiner fan and I’m not happy about this fall from grace. And while I agree that, “the guy told a few lies about his own goddam personal life. big fuckin deal,” Anthony Weiner is NOT a butcher, baker or candlestick maker that I can feel free to ignore. He’s the last remaining attack dog for the Democratic party and he’s so mired his credibility in controversy that he’s hampered his ability to perform that necessary function. At a crucial moment when we’re being overwhelmed by mass delusion, we need his voice more than ever but now it’s muted — and that’s the price we’ll ALL pay for Anthony’s private life.
Now our attack dog is neutered. And given the actual exchanged (funny and wrong) tweets, as read by Bill Maher and Jane Lynch last night on Real Time, it will be a long while before we hear more than a whimper out of him. Go here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=217332234953678&ref=notif¬if_t=video_processed
We all lie about sex: if there’s a communal thread of growing awareness running through the blogosphere, I think that’s it. We all do it — and if we’re paying attention to the Muse whispering in our ear, we’re asking ourselves WHY? If we have to lie about our personal life, we’re in a position where other peoples opinion apparently matters more than our own. In Weiner’s case, it’s the latter.
Eventually we’ll change this shame-based system, but for now, when Weiner chose public service he became public property. His private life SHOULD be his own business but according to the public contract he’s agreed to, it isn’t. Those of us who have outgrown the contract are impatient with this; others are just awakening to the punitive unfairness and hypocracy of the contract, itself.
Trust Pride was grand-glorious, clinkjet — thanks for the astro-details, be, and for finding the pony in the horseshit — and thanks, River, for the kind words. Let’s keep looking for those pony’s, each one a gift for us if we keep mucking out the stalls.
Thank you, Judith, for your fair, comprehensive take on the newest national attention-getter. If there might be any positive twist, it seems to me that Rep. Weiner has upstaged Ms. Palin at the moment on the east Coast and I do not doubt that she is aware of that.
I like the term “stuck” in adolescence that you use. It reminded me of Eric’s Podcast with Melanie Reinhart this Wednesday about Asbolus square Nessus. And about the buck stopping. This is an opportunity for Rep. Weiner and untold hundreds of thousands of other citizens with similar compulsive behaviors to figure out how to stop that buck at their doorstep. In their lives. Now. It did not begin with them, as bkoehler alluded to so eloquently (thanks again, be); no, he did not start it. It is culturally ingrained in boys and culturally sanctioned and encouraged in men. And it must Stop by their getting “un-stuck”… At each doorstep. One by one. It is not what we do, it is what we do about what we do that creates character. May he access the character building assistance that is available to him and any other man and woman who wants it. Thanks again for your positive clear perspective on what I would ignore, otherwise, as being meaningless. (Weiner in his underwear and Palin on her bus tour.). Thanks PW for the great writers and thinkers I find day by day on this site who help me make more sense out of the larger picture than my own little world, which has its own buck-stopping duties that keep me busy day by day. Hug to all.
BINGO!
Thank you.
I enjoyed reading this while I drank my morning coffee. What a welcome and refreshing start to my day! Now I’m off to march in my local Gay Pride parade – to deal with issues both personal and national.
🙂
This will probably be a blessing for Anthony Weiner in the long run, in disguise of course. I’m so glad you addressed the psychological side of this event, noting he got stuck somewhere in his adolescence. Whatever else we get from eclipses, a chance to get unstuck seems opportune. For Rep. Weiner it is his turn in the barrel.
The Moon’s north and south nodes have been stuck themselves as they are from time to time, and now it is in the degrees of 23+ Sagittarius and Gemini. The emphasis WOULD be emotional, it being the Moon’s nodes, and it could be about communication due to the sign of Gemini and about networking due to the sign of Sagittarius. The intense focus on these subjects due to the length of the nodes’ stay on these degrees seems inevitable.
Ceres, the symbol of nurturing, was at 23 Pisces 11 at the time of the first of 3 eclipses on June 1, squaring the frozen Moon Nodes, demanding we all address certain issues. Especially the Democrat representative from New York.
Anthony Weiner has his own natal Ceres at 24+ Sagittarius, where the June 15 Lunar Eclipse Moon will be and opposite the Sun at 24+ Gemini. The transiting nodes, still stuck at 23+ Sag and Gemini, are unrelenting in their focus. We must all endure more “news” about Rep. Weiner’s tribulation.
Finally, in the July 1 eclipse the asteroid Juno, symbol of the devoted and most proper wife will be transiting at 22 Virgo 38. Here to save the day I hope as she closes the grand mutable square consisting of her husband’s Ceres, transiting Ceres and the Lunar Eclipse opposition, the wife of Rep. Weiner and the mother of his as yet unborn child will come into sharp focus now. The Moon’s transiting nodes are, of course, still at 23+ Gemini/Sagittarius.
Those who twitter and use similar social networking applications have become fully aware of the potential cost of letting it all hang out, but the one who has the most to gain is the Representative’s unborn child and of course, himself. There are blatent astrological aspects in Mr. Weiner’s birth chart signifying his present challenges, but the presence of Ceres natally and in transition speak to the cause of his own deep seated, well entrenched emotional needs. We can all learn something from this harrowing experience of Anthony Weiner, as a nation and as individuals, and we can grow in compassion and become better human beings. Blessed is the Universe in its wisdom.
be
I’m glad I read past the preachy part to the bread and circuses, er guns and penises part where you put palin in her place, several layers below weiner in the muck. the guy told a few lies about his own goddam personal life. big fuckin deal. republicans like palin tell a few a friggin lies a minute about public life and policy. big difference