from the Astrology Center of America / AstroAmerica.com ARCHIVE Subscribe / Unsubscribe December 3, 2013 Email Dave@astroamerica.

com
Support the Newsletter: Become a Sponsor! Donate, or make a monthy contribution: $10.00 / $20.00 / $50.00 Click to help!

NEWSLETTER
NOW WEEKLY! WEEKL Y! so the song goes). I have temps now. But we are in no danger of going out of business. So long as I can think up things like this, so long as I am not selling random stock at clearance prices, we are not going to disappear. Know that I would much rather sell books than give readings, which increasingly terrify me. I am convinced that you can learn this, that good books are the key. So tell your friends, tell those in your local astrology club. Yes, I may repeat this in the future and yes, I may have to, but for the moment, catch me while Im old and foolish. Which is the word for this week, foolish. US AND CHINA The US and China are shortly to trade places. When the Chinese currency replaces the US dollar as the worlds means of exchange, China will become dominant and the US will be reduced to the worlds sweatshop, making cheap crap for sale abroad. It will mean the return of [bad] jobs and [low] wages, but weve been here before. Unions will be the answer, and theyre set to make a comeback. Exactly when this happens I do not know, but last week China was flexing its muscle and setting no-fly zones around its territory. China has the gold, America has the military, it would not surprise me if the US went to war to steal some Chinese loot.

With art by Vera !

The Holiday Super-Sale

N time for Christmas, or Kwanzaa, or however you celebrate the rebirth of light this month, we are offering all our Astrology Classics at 40% off the cover price. This is the same discount, the same price, as bookstores pay their wholesalers. There is one catch: You must order at least $100 in books. Order $100, pay only $60 (plus the usual shipping, of course). Order $200, pay $120, etc. Dont miss out! In the space for comments on the second page of the shopping cart, write something like super sale! or 40%! If you want other books, order them separately. Are we nuts, are we going bust? Yes we are nuts and yes we are going bust and I am paying a lot of money to get my front teeth in time for Xmas (all I want for Christmas,

ASTRO A to Z

MED
FROM C.E.O. CARTERS ENCYCLOPAEDIA

2014 MAYNARD CALENDARS

In stock and shipping! 4Celestial Influences Wall Calendar 4Celestial Guide Datebook 4Pocket Astrologer 4Astrologers Datebook

A L M A N A C K
for the week (all times GMT) 00:23 :1100 New Moon 16:35 04 03:46 Void 06:51 05 02:43 06 05:33 Void 06:55 21:31 07 03:04 08:05 12:12 Void 20:42 08 08:35 09 15:12 9 1743 1st Qtr. 17:30 Extracted from AstroAmericas Daily Ephemeris, 2000-2020. Buy. 03
Astrology Home Newsletter Archive

Worldliness. The map of a worldy person will usually show a prominent Saturn and a badly placed Venus; Mars will probably be prominent, and the same may be true of Jupiter. The 5th house will be to the fore if the native is also pleasure-loving; if he is ambitious and self-seeking it will probably be seen in the prominence of the 2nd and 10th houses. Earth and Fire are more likely to be stressed than the other elements. Fire, although possessed of greater spiritual possibilities, is also often connected with pure animal spirits. It must be remembered that worldliness, in the sense of the activities being centered on material things, is not exactly of the nature of a deadly sin; we can hardly think, whatever our philosophy may be, thast we are placed in this world solely in order to forget it! On the other hand, there is a vast difference between the man of high ideals whose mind is centered on bettering the physical things around him, and the mere worldling who has no serious interest or ideals at all. I have observed elsewhere that Sun in Aries square Mars in Capricorn has a very materialistic influence. Encyclopaedia of Psychological Astrology, by C.E.O. Carter. Buy.

S TAR

Vivian Robsons
OOO

SABIK eta Ophiuchi 18 10 Notes: A pale yellow star situated on the left knee of Ophiuchus. From I Sabik, Preceding One. Influence: According to Ptolemy it is of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It causes wastefulness, lost energy, perverted morals, and success in evil deeds. With Sun: Sincere, honourable, scientific, religious and philosophical interests, unorthodox or heretical, moral courage, bad for gain. With Moon: Secret enmity and jealousy, trouble through relatives, successful but not wealthy, success in breeding stock. With Mercury: Injury from open enemies, little help from friends, failure in business, fairly good for gain but legal losses, scandal through relatives of marriage partner. With Venus: Musical and artistic ability, not very favourable for gain. With Mars: Unorthodox or heretical religious views that may cause trouble . . . From Fixed Stars, by Vivian Robson Buy
New Astrology Books New Vedic Books New Tarot Decks Top Ten Books
Copyright 2013 by David R. Roell. All rights reserved.

OO O

OF THE WEEK OOO

OOO

Buy the book! Meet the author! Headlines, graphics, book titles & authors are all clickable. So click already! Go places!

Ivy M. Goldstein-Jacobson 1893-1990

IVYS % GEM OF THE WEEK

Those of us born on a cusp

HOSE born with the Sun leaving one Sign or entering the next are born on the doorstep (cusp) of the Sign they are entering. They have built into their consciousness the best characteristics of the preceding Sign to be used to advantage this time around though they must grow up to about age 28/29 when the Moon & Saturn return together by cycle. Saturn brings wisdom while the Moon develops it during those 29 years (at which age, anyway, we all go through a period of changes & taking on a responsibility by that cycle). Anyone born on this doorstep is a young soul. If the Sun is afflicted at birth it shall be that something or someone shall be badly lacking in the early environment that is traceable to parental misfortune even though he were not actually abandoned on a doorstep. During the first seven years of life a cuspal native experiences some difficulty. In a cardinal Sign (all of them are of the innate character of Aries) it has small impact at the time but developingindependence. In a fixed Sign (all of them based on Taurus of self-protection) there is a temporary lack of orientation but a quick recovery based on the previous Signs energetic nature. In a common Sign (all of them based on Gemini) the effect goes unnoticed at the time & amounts to an easy acceptance of untoward circumstances in any future personal relationships. There is immediate adjustment in cardinal Signs, delayed adjustment in fixed Signs, easy adjustment in common Signs. From Outer Space to Planet Earth, 1982. Buy

T was my mothers presence in my natal chart that gave me the clue to puzzle out Jack Kennedy. A natal chart is like a musical score that you have never heard. You look at it, you stare at it, you make attempts and if you are persistent the light will finally dawn. In classical astrology the mother is represented by the midheaven. Your mother, my mother, all mothers. I have Aquarius there, which means my mother was aloof, a better keyword for Aquarians than bizarre. Some are, but many are simply remote in a puzzling way. The 10th house being empty in a system where occupied houses get attention, my mom was not a terribly important part of my life (sorry mom!). Her ruler, the ruler of Aquarius, was Saturn, stationary retrograde in my 5th house. What does this mean? Mummy wanted to play with me? Wanted to be my girlfriend? Well, no, since Saturn always says NO and Saturn in Libra in particular is too mature and too aloof for that. There was the feeling we should have been closer as mother-son, but that the bloom was off the rose, to steal an old phrase. Where it gets interesting is when we count the houses from my mothers point of view. With my 10th = 1, we go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and there we find Saturn. In my chart my 5th house is her eighth house. Saturn in the 8th is serious. The 8th is death. Do I try to kill mummy? Does she try to kill me? Or have sex with? We were Catholics. We were told wed rot in hell if we even disrespected our parents. Finally last week the light dawned. My arrival changed my mother in fundamental ways. Because thats what the 8th house is really all about. Change you cannot predict, cannot know in advance, change over which you have no control. Death is that sort of change. Married life is that sort of change. Giving all your money to your brother-inlaw to invest is that sort of change. All traditional 8th house meanings. You know change is out there and that you must endure it from time to time. You hope for the best. You prepare for something else. Way back when, my mother was a 19 year old girl and I was her first born. The process
Copyright 2013 by David R. Roell. All rights reserved.

J FK
OHN

ENNEDY

of giving birth changes a girl into a woman. I think it can truthfully be said that women who never give birth remain girls forever, regardless of their calendar age. I also think it true that men experience nothing comparable. Yes, we go off to war and war is horrible, but war is an externality and is not limited to males. Females endure it as well. Childbirth is intimate. Its inside you. And unlike war, once you have given birth, it never actually ends. Wars always end. For my mother, I was the first of nine. My mother spent her 20s either pregnant, or recovering from pregnancy and preparing to become pregnant again. A womans life is nothing like a mans. Natally my mother was a Cancer Sun, Leo Moon, maybe Libra rising. It is hard to rectify your blood kin, it just is. ITH this in mind we approach John Kennedys natus. He was born on May 29, 1917, at 3:00 pm in Brookline, Mass, a suburb of Boston. Although the time sounds approximate, the chart is fairly sturdy. It takes nearly 15 minutes for Saturn to escape from the 10th and into the 9th, the first significant change. Kennedys chart, with its stellium in the 8th, is well-known. Mars, Mercury and Jupiter are in Taurus, while Sun and Venus are in Gemini. We start by unpacking the 8th. This is not a stellium, but a Taurus group of three and a Gemini group of two. Sun and Venus are properly 9th house, not 8th, except . . . Except that Mercury in Taurus in the 8th and Venus in Gemini, now in the 9th, are in mutual reception. Mutual receptions act to smear the relevant houses together, in this case, 8th and 9th. Smoosh the 8th and 9th together and you get dreams (9th) of change (8th). With a chart like Kennedys you will quickly realize the importance of getting dreams out of an imaginary new age 12th (where many modern astrologers have mistakenly placed dreams) and back to the 9th, where they have traditionally been found. In the dream house you get high ideals 9th. You get a certain foreign flavor, as in Camelot, perhaps. You get a religious aspect as well. A major campaign issue in 1960
continued, pg. 4

HSTUDENTS CORNERH
HSTUDENTS CORNERHHSTUDENTS CORNERHHSTUDENTS CORNERH
This is a serialization of Vivian Robsons A Students Text-Book of Astrology.

Like what you read? These are excerpts. Get the complete books from:

www.AstroAmerica.com
Order toll-free: 1-800-475-2272

Part 45

Personal Appearance
ARIES, continued: Hair red, sandy, brown, or sometimes very dark, and either wiry & straight, or crisp & curly; recedes on temples; frequently parted in the middle; often stands up like horns on each side of the forehead. Eyes grey or greyish brown, occasionally blue, with alert sharp & piercing look; sometimes large & prominent. Eyebrows dark & bushy. Nose thin & aquiline or long & close to the face with a slight rise in the middle. Teeth white & strong, wide apart & usually large & prominent, often projecting. Complexion usually pale but sometimes ruddy. Peculiarities. Often like a ram or sheep in appearance; tend to butt sideways with the head when excited; habit of craning the neck; strong voice; and sharp and direct speech, often using slang; hasty handwriting; energetic walk; rush at things. T AURUS Body. Medium, height or under; thickset & squarely built; short & strong neck; strong shoulders, often stooping; strong broad & plump hands & feet; women frequently handsome. Head round or square, broad, and well set into shoulders. Face square; full forehead; lips full, often well shaped; wide mouth; heavy jaw & chin. Some types have thinner lips & a flat space between nose & upper lip. Features sometimes flattened. Hair dark and usually curling or wavy; often very plentiful; does not readily turn grey. Eyes brown or dark, large, round, sometimes prominent, and often slow moving & mild. Eyelids heavy & often partly lowered, giving a sleepy look. Eyelashes long, dark & curling. Nose well shaped, often making a straight line with the brow; nostrils usually thick. Complexion creamy white but sometimes coarse or swarthy; thick skin. Peculiarities. Often like a bull in appearance; hairy body & hands; very fond of good living & coarsen in age; deep musical voice & often sing; sometimes wear muttonchop whiskers; walk with small steps holding body still & set. A Students Text-Book of Astrology, by Vivian Robson. Buy

DOG OF THE MONTH

OVE starts out like Dr. Livingstone embarking on a great adventureand so, pal, are you. Theyre reckless. Theyre aggressive. Romance is a glorious, all-embracing mind-expanding, exuberant game with Venus in Sagittarius. Its a game they play by the rules. Who wrote the rules, anyway? Ill give you twelve guesses. Starry-eyed and sparkling with magic, theyre not above crawling up your drainpipe and sneaking in the bathroom window just to surprise you. You never know with them. Its a special gift they have, this magic, and theyll give you wild presents, flirt with everybody, and talk philosophy with you til the sun comes up. Loosen up a little and trip the light fantastic with them . . . youll never forget it. Snap one up, if you can, and you can. They just love hippies, foreigners, philosophers, In people, and anyone whos bright, but theyll gladly pal around with you, even if youre merely fun and wear casual or ethnic clothes. Keep changing your looks and keep them on the hop. They will if you dont do it first! Expect anything. Most of them do a mean horse immitation. Not one of them is above telling you a joke or making like Groucho Marx in the midst of a passionate moment. Drawbacks? Lets see now . . . one of their games is Wounding Honesty. Your friend tell you that you look a little like Liz Taylor and Venus in Sagittarius pipes up, Oh, but your tits arent big enough! Yes, like that. Consciously they see nothing wrong, till later, in blurting out the truth. Good old unconscious mind is right in there, though, protecting them, creating a little distance. . . Debbi Kempton-Smith, 1999. Buy.

Venus in Sagittarius

THE Sagittarius dog will often run away from home, so always check all the local pounds not just the one in your neighborhood, as distance means nothing to this loner. He will come back for awhile and then be off again, so dont be too heartbroken. It has nothing to do with your treatment, they just like seeking new places to play. Extremely docile when brought home, he makes you feel protective towards him. These dogs love games, so take them to the local park or beach & throw balls or sticks for them to catch & retrieve, and this will keep them around for a while. Certainly keeps you on your toes, which is healthy for you. Needless to say this is the perfect companion for the outdoorsman. They are courageous & adaptable to any situation. Marian Futterman, 1976, Your Dog and Astrology, $3.00. Yes, Marian, we still have copies. Some of the best sunsign writing I ever came across. Buy!

+ The New Newsletter

ost people, most astrologers, even, have no idea how rich, how varied, astrology really is. Im lucky. For the last twenty years, Ive lived in what amounts to a world-class astrological library, which Ive been passing off as AstroAmerica. Every week I will serve up a slice for your amusement. Til next week Dave December 5: 1492 Columbus lands in Haiti. 1766Christies first auction, London. 1952Great Smog, London.

was the extent to which a Catholic US president would be a tool of the Pope in Rome. Kennedy stared that one down. Ronald Reagan, our second Catholic president, was the beneficiary. The 9th also gives an emphasis on higher education, namely college. The 9th house being distant journeys, you get the fabled 50 mile hike. Note Gemini on the cusp of the 9th itself. Gemini is the short trip, an errand. Our normal walking around (3rd house) was to be transformed into a major feat of endurance via Gemini on the 9th. The 50 mile hike used feet, ruled by Pisces, to achieve the goal of improving public health. Health is 6th house, which in Kennedys chart has Pisces on the cusp, ruled by Jupiter in the 8th, the house of change. The man-on-the-moon project was exactly the same. We could change ourselves by undertaking this fabulous, 9th house, journey. OHN KENNEDY used his unique combination of 8th and 9th houses to bring a breath of fresh air to America and the world. But 8th house change is not in any way casual. Death, the traditional meaning of the 8th house, is never casual. Eighth house change is absolute. It is for this reason that Scorpio is traditionally associated with this house. Scorpio is penetrating, it is secretive, it is seductive, it is, ultimately, unknowable and unpredictable. Instead, Kennedy had Taurus there, with Mars in Taurus smack on the cusp itself. Mars in Taurus is debilitated. Which does not mean weak. Mars is weak in Libra, where it must use others to do its bidding. I once had the opportunity to observe Mars in Taurus at close range. Mars in Taurus is like a bull. It is blunt, it is unyielding, it is unstoppable, it is blatantly obvious. In a fixed sign, Mars in Taurus never stops, never rests, never goes away. It is the frontal attack, even if it makes no sense. With Taurus on 8 there is also a sense that change that can be bought and then kept, like a prized possession. (Which can make for a pack rat, but I digress.) Scorpio would never fall for that, but Taurus will. With Taurus there is a sense that mere bluster (Mercury in Taurus) will result in easy victories, and that these will be final. Now consider the problem of Gemini on the 9th house cusp. Gemini works with details, but the 9th house gives it great concepts instead. Consequently goals fail when details are found to be wrong. Goal: Throw Castro out of Cuba. Details: The Bay of Pigs fiasco. The details used to implement the desired change were

John Kennedy
May 29, 1917 3:00 pm EST Brookline, MA Placidus houses mean node

of the wrong scale, and so failed. Goal: Improve the position of the South Vietnamese government. Detail: Murdering Ngo Dinh Diem destabilized the government Kennedy was trying to save. Goal: Civil rights and equality for all. Detail: Selecting Senator Lyndon Johnson as the vice-president removed the one man who could move his agenda through Congress. Goal: Getting Russian missiles out of Cuba. Missiles that were placed there as a result of the failed Bay of Pigs. Result: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Which very nearly ended all life on this planet. John Kennedy was this way. He was going to compulsively change things, make them better, bigger, grander, than ever before. He had first done it to himself, from being a rich mans son in Boston, to becoming a US senator, to becoming president at the age of 43. He knew it could be done, he knew he was the agent of change itself. In this, he was supported by a country that was eager for change, that longed for change. Yes, the end of World War II had brought peace and prosperity, but it was an empty, soulless, commercial prosperity. People longed for goals, for a reason to go on working. Since the failure of the economy in 1929 there had been nothing but work and privation, but the resulting post-war abundance was hollow. Hence the juvenile biker gangs that sprang up after WWII and the
Copyright 2013 by David R. Roell. All rights reserved.

beatniks that followed a decade later. The country was rich but empty. It had Eisenhowers brilliant management, but it wanted more. Into this stepped a flawed man. Kennedy was in fact doomed to fail. Note the position of Saturn in Kennedys chart. Tenth house. Where have we seen that before? ITH Adolf Hitler. Hitler had Saturn in the 10th, but in his case, it was in Leo. In Leo, Hitler was the older brother, the natural leader, the fhrer himself. The evil, magnetic allure of Hitler was in his 10th house Saturn in Leo. In truth, in reality, Adolf Hitler was one of the most beloved men of the 20th century. He used that love to become perhaps the most evil man who ever lived. I have avoided doing his chart as revealing his overwhelming magnetism would upset almost everyone (the many who hate and fear him, the growing number who admire and worship, as well as all the rest who are not familiar), and there is no point to that. I personally fear I will fall under his spell. He is still that powerful. In Kennedys chart, Saturn in Cancer in 10 meant that he was perceived to care for us as individuals. He would be our surrogate mother (not father). Like Hitler, like nearly everyone with a 10th house Saturn (I have a brother with Saturn in Libra in 10), Kennedy was fated to go on and on mothering us until he eventually failed. Saturn in

10 compulsively takes on thankless tasks until it eventually takes on the one that will overwhelm it, thus leading to failure. The only difference between Adolf Hitler, Jack Kennedy and my brother Ken is the context in which they failed. Which has to do with their overall standing in the world. Hitler and Kennedy were national leaders, and so failed publicly and on national and international levels. Brother Ken was merely the head of my family. Kennedy was 46 when he failed. Hitler was 57. As was my brother, but, as befitting his smaller role in society, he lived. He is now 60. Given the history of males in my family, he has another ten years ahead of him, perhaps more. He might rehabilitate himself. Astrology is not set in stone. We observe. We learn. Astrologically speaking, little is known of the elderly. John Kennedy, a man of high ideals but flawed details, failed. It was his fate to be executed, put to death, murdered, in full public view after not quite three years of rule. This is one of the most severe fates suffered by any man and hints at Kennedys ability to unsettle the established order. Yes, Mars in Taurus may charge ahead with frontal attacks and change the world, but it will not see the stab in the back. Not at all. Of his assassination I can offer nothing that has not been hashed about for decades. In Kennedys chart, note the 12th house Moon, which gives a tendency to keep his feelings to himself. Note these feelings were ruled by Mercury in Taurus, conjunct Mars, both in the 8th of intensity and change. Mars in 8 made him reckless, while Moon in 12 (trine to Mars) hid that from public view. In World War II he commanded a wooden boat with four torpedoes on it. These were essentially suicide boats. The Navy reports losing nearly 1/5th of them during the war, including the one assigned to young Kennedy, the PT 109. As I recall, it was crushed by a Japanese destroyer, with loss of crew. Kennedy himself was badly hurt. Moon in 12 gave him secret enemies, while Aries on the 7th house cusp and ruler Mars in the 8th also gave him public enemies. We have seen with other 8th house types a compulsion to take life-or-death risks, such as with Evel Knievel and Harry Houdini, which in Evels case led to his being crippled, and for Houdini, his death. HE penalty for assassins who do not succeed is certain death. For this reason, assassins leave nothing to chance. For perverse reasons, successful assassins often get away, since the new leadership must quickly produce a scapegoat to

quell public anger. Knowing this, assassins will often produce a fall guy. Someone to take the blame for them. In Kennedys case, it was Oswald, with his unbelievable 100 yard shot at a target not one square foot Kennedys head, which was moving. Presuming the target was the center of Kennedys head and the result was the bullet that hit him in the shoulder, the error was less than one foot, down and to the right. Which, by a sniper in warfare, would be impressive shooting. The wounded soldier would be rushed to safety. But as a means of assassination, when there was likely to be only enough time for one such shot, the assassination as a whole would fail. It is for this reason the subsequent bullets the real murder were likely fired from much closer range. The grassy knoll, in other words. While Johns murder will likely remain mysterious forever, that of his brother Robert is not. THE RFK MURDER T has been said that Jack was killed because of the actions of his brother, the Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Kill Bobby and the President closes ranks and goes after you. Kill Jack and the Attorney General is disempowered. Which he was. The best person to solve JFKs murder was Bobby, and I have heard it said that he knew the identities of the murderers before dark on that evil day. Lacking ultimate power, he was forced to keep his solution to himself. It seems as if he was talked into running for president in 1968 against his better judgment. With his brothers murderers free, Bobby was not only fearful for his own life, but that of his family as well as Johns. It could be argued that, upon winning the California primary on June 4, 1968, Bobby Kennedy was already the de facto next president of the US. In the Democratic party his chief rival was Hubert Humphrey, who had been his brothers rival eight years before. On the Republican side, Richard Nixon would emerge. It was easy to see that Humphrey would fade and that, given a straight up re-match between Nixon and a Kennedy, that Kennedy would win. And, being no fool, go after his brothers murderers the very next morning. This is visceral. So if you were going to murder Bobby to cover up your murder of his brother Jack, the evening of the California primary was pretty much your last chance. The next morning Bobby was scheduled to go into seclusion until the convention. A murder at the convention smacked too much of John
(continued)

SUPER HOLIDAY SALE!

Buy $100 (or more) in Astrology Classics books, get a 40% discount.
Astrology Classics are the books we publish. They are some of the finest astrology books ever written. Now you can get them at the same price bookstores pay: 40% off, with a minimum order of $100. Get a hundred bucks of books for only $60! (plus shipping) For the most part, these are not new books, but the classics youve always admired and wanted. William Lilly, Firmicus Maternus, H.L. Cornell, Sepharial, Broughton and many more. Including Zane Steins definitive book on Chiron. Robert Janskys definitive book on Eclipses, now back in print. DeVores Encyclopedia as the ultimate reference. The ultimate book on Mundane. Charles Carter, too. See the complete list here. On the second page of the shopping cart in the space provided for comments, write 40%! We will make the changes. ANT other books as well? Dont forget our Buy one at full price, get an Astrology Classics book at half-price sale, which continues. There is no minimum. Buy just one book at full price, get an Astrology Classic of equal or lesser price at half off. Enter HALF PRICE in the shopping cart, we will do the rest. The list is here. Help us make this a splendid Christmas for the astro-scholar in your home! Our best wishes for the holidays!

Sale ends Nov. 30!

Frankenheimers Manchurian Candidate of 1962, and if Kennedy had been murdered on the campaign trail in the fall everyone would have known what was up. Bobbys murder was simply done. It will stand as a text-book example. Sirhan Sirhan, a weak-willed, feebleminded individual, had been previously programmed. On the night in question he was presumably lightly drugged. He was led through the hotel by a female accomplice. As they approached the crowd around Kennedy, she pressed a .22 caliber gun into his hand and saw to it that he pulled the trigger. Eyewitness accounts confirm that Sirhan was disarmed and wrestled to the ground before he had gotten off more than two shots. Meanwhile there was a man directly behind the Senator. When he saw Sirhan emerge from the crowd, and using Bobby himself as his shield, he jerked Bobbys left arm behind him. As this is painful, Bobby raised his right arm in defense. Thus exposing his right armpit. The right-handed murderer fired twice into the exposed armpit, and then once to the side of Bobbys head. (Coroners report.) By this

time Sirhan had been disarmed. While this was going on, a second man, with a gun identical to Sirhans, fired randomly into the air. (Forensics report.) Even small caliber weapons are very loud in an enclosed space. An hour later these three were seen leaving the hotel by a back exit. The woman allegedly shouted, We did it! We did it! As a 16 year old boy in Kansas I had watched the election coverage until it had ended a few minutes before the murder. It was after midnight, I was sleepy and preparing to go to bed. And then the world changed. I myself heard the report of the three individuals and their exit. I did not get to bed until dawn. It is not terribly hard to deduce the name of the man standing behind Kennedy, but as he, or one of his friends, may still be alive, I will refrain. Its not just a matter of safety. There is libel to think about as well. Kennedy lingered for 26 hours. Just as a long-distance marksman became the fall guy for Johns murder, a lone deranged nut was the fall guy for Bobbys, but here, the matter is black and white. A .22 caliber weapon is not fatal. Ev-

eryone who handles guns knows this. A .22 caliber bullet will blind you if it hits your eye. It will deafen you if it lands in your ear. It will smash teeth if it hits you in the mouth. But even with the muzzle touching the skin itself, it will not penetrate the rib cage. It will not pierce the skull. You will merely get a flesh wound or a headache. The elderly Ronald Reagan was hit at point-blank range by .22 caliber longs, which is to say, the same small bullet with more powder behind it, yet survived. By comparison, John Lennon was hit by a hail of .38 specials, a much larger bullet known for its single-shot stopping (killing) power, widely used by the police for precisely that purpose. The smaller .22 is commonly used against marauding squirrels. ET we were told the filthy lie of Sirhan and made to believe it. We were told lies about Jack, we were told lies about Martin, we were told lies about 11 hijackers on September 11. And it makes no difference anyway. We are powerless over our government. Jack Kennedy was the last who tried to rule. No one else has paid the awful price for such foolish arrogance.

Copyright 2013 by David R. Roell. All rights reserved.