Reply #1: I didn't think that Rehnquist retiring was unexpected,

[Trillo]

given his health problems. O'Conner's was a surprise, as far as I knew. Hasn't it been a long time since there was a vacancy? Longer than average?

You must have a wide orb on tMars applying conjunct nChiron, Are you that early to suggest the moon cycle or as a trigger?
I am using Astrolog with the extended ephemeris files, and it appears that there may be a few days of difference (about 10) between it and Rob Hand's Timegraph software, at least with respect toward Chiron. (not sure yet) Hand's Chartwheels won't graph Chiron or any other asteroid, evidently, even though the option appears selectable. Argh!

From Astrolog:
There's a curious heliocentric pattern between nUranus/nMars and tUranus/tMars. Exciting.