Judge criticizes civil forfeiture laws

In today’s Leonard v. Texas, Justice Clarence Thomas sharply criticizes civil forfeiture laws. The one-justice opinion discusses the Supreme Court’s refusing to hear the case (a result Thomas agrees with, for procedural reasons mentioned in the last paragraph); but Thomas is sending a signal, I think, that at least one justice — and maybe more — will be sympathetic to such arguments in future cases: This petition asks an important question: whether modern civil-forfeiture statutes can be squared with the Due Process Clause and our Nation’s history….  March 6; https://goo.gl/D7sdHW

The New Moon (February 26, 2017 ) of the current lunar cycle was d an Annular Eclipse amongst a stellium of planets nesting in the stars of Aquarius, the humanitarian waterbearer. Generally, eclipse lunar cycles mark a time of shifting into a new octave of experience. They offer a time to resynchronize our selves with the ever-changing cosmic currents supporting our evolutionary progression in consciousness. At Beaumont, Texas where Justice Clarence Thomas gave his opinion on the case, the eclipse was placed in the 11^th house in hard aspect to the Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T-square on the angles. The 11^th house in a mundane chart relates to a society's collective long-term hopes, wishes and ideals.

At the heart of this decade are conflicts that surround the vexing question: Who decides what is permissible in society? Do individuals have the freedom to choose what they will or won’t do, or do collective agencies — from public opinion to various kinds of dominant social institutions — have the power to determine what actions will and won’t be allowed? This is the essence of Uranus in Aries square to Pluto in Capricorn-  a conflict between freedom of the individual and the power of  institutions exercising control. The activation of the Uranus-Pluto cycle implies that the 2010s represent a crossroads for human civilization in terms of how societies are organized and run. It  implies that we have reached a point where that process must and will be reformed.

To the long term Uranus-Pluto square, Jupiter in Libra has now added a third factor. Jupiter in Libra welcomes us to openly engage in dialogue about what's broken, with the various stakeholders whose needs currently aren't being effectively met. Previously unrecognized voices gain new prominence, bringing issues to light which haven't received their due attention before.