By Colleen O’Connor
Recent news commands our attention. Specifically, two pieces of news—seemingly unrelated.
First, fabulous news from a NASA-funded astronomy project. A real “wow” moment.
Something never seen before has been recorded across the planet—the “marvel of two collapsed stars smashing into each other…[which]…rippled the very fabric of the universe.”
Aptly called “Kilanovas,” these brilliant explosions of dying stars were predicted by Albert Einstein over a hundred years ago, but have only now been detected, recorded and pinpointed with cosmic accuracy.
Scientists involved describe the events as “sparking a new era.”
“It’s transformational,” said Julie McEnery, an astrophysicist at NASA. “We’re able to combine dramatically different ways of viewing the universe, and I think our level of understanding is going to leap forward as a result.”
Astronomers detected the merger 130 million light-years away, in the galaxy NGC 4993, on the morning of Aug. 17. They named it SSS17A.
In a parallel universe, far, far, away, another Kilanova moment is in the making—an ugly one.
More aptly spelled, “Kill-A-Nova.”
Two of earth’s once dominant “stars” or “supernovas” are smashing into each other and about to explode. Namely, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.
Everyone knows about Weinstein now (and evidently for the past 20 years), but few know about Summer Zervos, the woman whose gravitational pull is yanking the President into the same black hole as Weinstein.
Zervos, a former contestant on the Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice,” accused Trump of kissing and grabbing her when she went to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007 to discuss a possible job at the Trump Organization.
After Zervos made the accusation last October, just weeks before the election, Trump denied it and called it a lie.
Zervos’ well-know attorney, Gloria Allred of former Mayor Bob Filner fame, responded by suing Trump for defamation on behalf of her client.
What is the breaking news leading to this earth-bound Kilanova-like smash up?
As part of that lawsuit, Zervos’ lawyers also served subpoenas on Trump’s campaign—issued in March, but only entered into the court file last month—and reported just last week.
Zervos’ subpoena requires Trump to turn over all documents “concerning any accusations that were made during Donald J. Trump’s election campaign for president, that he subjected any woman to unwanted sexual touching and/or sexually inappropriate behavior.”
“At least 16 women have publicly accused Trump of forcibly attempting to kiss, grope and have sex with them. Many of those women came forward in October 2016 following the leaked 2005 video of Trump bragging to “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush that he freely touches women without their consent, infamously stating that he can “grab them by the pussy.”
The decision by the courts is scheduled for Halloween. Seriously.
As attorney Allred remarked: “We are hopeful that the court will deny President Trump’s motion to dismiss, so that we may move forward with discovery and obtain relevant documents and testimony.”
Imagine those.
Whether or not a sitting President can be required to respond to subpoenas or even testify, under oath, is the crux of the Trump defense.
Remember Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky’s case? That sitting President lost his case, was ordered to respond to the subpoenas, and testify under oath. That precedent still stands.
Thus, Trump is fast approaching his more aptly spelled, “Kill-a-Nova,” moment—just as Weinstein’s “dying star” has entered the vortex. The explosion is not far off. The public has already linked the two together.
How does this hellish mess correspond to the heavenly cosmic marvel?
The repercussions of each are historic and massive in scope. They have also become “teachable” moments.
That Kilanova detection, which involved thousands of researchers working at more than 70 laboratories and telescopes on every continent, ushered in a new era in astrophysics research known as “multimessenger astrophysics.”
No more “lone genius” eras. These scientists learned to work together.
Women, too, are now learning to work better together. Not just to expose Weinstein and Trump, but to usher in their own new dawn of “multimessenger” support, sparking a similar new era.
Ironically, Weinstein and Trump are being ensnared by the same methods that brought them to star power—social media and celebrity.
The hastag #MeToo, requesting women (not just celebrities) to tweet their own stories of unwanted sexual advances, reached critical mass overnight, logging 4 tweets per second. The worldwide response—from Bolshoi ballerinas to Olympic gymnasts—reached more than 6 million Facebook users.
Thus, “Kilanova,” or “Kill-A-Nova,” may soon become the moniker for this heavenly-hellish year that is 2017.
A real WOW year.
Colleen O’Connor is a native San Diegan and a retired college professor.