Kentucky Fried Politics: A Colonel Sanders Timeline

Good update there @gap80 - Mondale back again.

I really hope the Colonel’s Middle Eastern efforts can butterfly the Iranian Revolution- does the Shar like KFC? Perhaps the spotlight being in the region more makes Mondale pay more attention?

That dam collapse might put back Alt energy a bit if it’s considered risky making hydroelectric plants. Though Sanders mentioned solar so, maybe it balances out, esp if people remember windmills can make power.

Wonder if Tikhonov has a better relationship with China and the West? He’s likely to outlive the ‘old guard’ which us more stable for the USSR.

Revolution in South Africa and Amin deposed- could be good. Let’s see what slides in to replace those govt’s.
 

FDRFan1943

Banned
[1] Because the Colonel’s road repair programs caused the Prestonburg Bus Disaster of 1958 to not happen (it was mentioned in that year’s chapter), there was no real movement to improve the safety features and designs of public buses afterwards like there was IOTL. As a result, this OTL accident is even more disastrous!

Does this have any effect on the Carollton Bus Crash that occurs in 1988?
 
You're welcome. I wasn't totally sure about Zisk but thought he might be, I'm wrong on some stuff too. :) I did recall that Dave Parker played right and had a rifle arm himself (just not a canon :) ) so we would see Clemente in left his last few years - the '75 Pirates' outfield might not have anyone taking extra bases on them!

Willie Randolph might be a good 2nd baseman for Boston, to, rather than the Yankees. Their lineup is thus: Rivers, Randolph, Rice, Lynn, Cecil Cooper, Yaz, Fisk, 3B, and SS. But, boy, I was stunned how good the Red Sox' pitching staff was in 1976 given they were in Fenway for half their games! This might be a case where the Big Red Machine outslugs the Red Sox because they *aren't* built as much for Fenway, so while Fisk hits his famous home run in Game 5 to stave off elimination, and Boston then wins Game 6 as well, the Reds finally break through and win Game 7 at home.
 
Chapter 42: January 1977 – February 1978
Chapter 42: January 1977 – February 1978

“If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”

– Matthew 5:44-48



“Vice President Gravel, Speaker Udall, Mr. Chief Justice, President Sanders, Vice President Humphrey, Vice President Scranton, Reverend, Clergymen, and all my fellow citizens: Today does not mark a personal or political victory, but a celebration of the best qualities of America. …The American people overseas and at home are working to break the bonds of mass misery both abroad and at home, from humid jungles to urban cities. No matter where they come from, the cries for freedom cannot ever go unanswered. …America is resilient. When push comes to shove, and disasters and emergencies occur, we all put our differences and prejudices aside to carry out our collective instinct to assist those around us who are suffering. This is the integrity of both the human spirit and the American way. …Not only do I accept the difficulties, obstacles, and adversities that I will face in the coming years, but I also welcome them with open arms. May God continue to bless the United States of America with pride, humility, toleration and freedom, and may He bless the rest of the world with such indispensable qualities of prosperity and greatness.”

– President Mondale’s second inauguration address, 1/20/1977



WALTER MONDALE’S ADMINISTRATION AT THE BEGINNING OF 1977

Cabinet:
Secretary of State: US Senator James Carter of Georgia (incumbent Philleo Nash retired)
Secretary of the Treasury: former Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs Robert Vincent Roosa of New York
Secretary of Defense: outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and retired US Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. of Washington, D.C
Attorney General: attorney and former Deputy Attorney General Ramsey Clark of Texas
Postmaster General: former US Senator Maurine Neuberger of Oregon
Secretary of the Interior: former state senator Fred R. Harris of Oklahoma
Secretary of Agriculture: outgoing Governor K. Gunn McKay of Utah (incumbent Ryan DeGreffenried Sr. retired)
Secretary of Commerce: US Congressman John Emerson Moss of California
Secretary of Labor: former Undersecretary of State Robert F. Kennedy Sr. of Virginia
Secretary of Health and Welfare: Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Albert Rossellini of Washington state
Secretary of Education: Governor Pierre Salinger of Massachusetts (incumbent F. Grant Sawyer resigned)
Secretary of Transportation: US Representative T. Ashton Thompson of Louisiana (incumbent Ralph Nader retired)

The President’s Executive Office:
White House Chief of Staff: Chief of Staff to Senator Mondale Richard Moe of Minnesota
Chief Domestic Policy Advisor: former State Secretary of State Gloria Schaffer of Connecticut (incumbent Julia Butler Hansen retired)
Chief Economic Policy Advisor: former President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Harold F. Linder of New York
Chief Foreign Policy Advisor: Columbia University political science professor Samuel P. Huntington of New York (incumbent Robert Dale Maxwell retired)
Chief National Security Advisor: attorney and assistant to the Secretary of Defense Togo D. West Jr. of North Carolina (incumbent Sam Huntington retired)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget: former First Lady of Florida Mary Call Darby Collins of Washington, D.C.
White House Communications Director: political activist and campaign organizer Sam W. Brown Jr. of California
White House Press Secretary: Press Secretary for Senator Kennedy-Shriver Mary Jo Kopechne of Massachusetts (incumbent Mac Kilduff retired)
Administrator of the Small Business Administration: businessman Alexander Buell “Sandy” Trowbridge III of New Jersey

– MondalePresidentialLibrary.org.usa/cabinet_members/1973



…in other news, former Secretary of Transportation Ralph Nader became the inaugural holder of the office of Administrator of the newly-formed Environmental Protection Agency, a federal agency meant to oversee the conservation of America’s ecosystems. At the swearing-in ceremony held earlier today, Mr. Nader said, quote, “There’s more than enough room on Earth for man and nature to co-exist,”…

– NBC News, 1/24/1977 broadcast



MONDALE ENDS FIRST WEEK OF NEW TERM WITH AMBITIOUS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA PUT FORWARD

Washington, DC – Emboldened by the Democratic and liberal gains in November’s election, President Mondale has announced several specific legislation endeavors this week, with the biggest ones concerning his planned massive tax overhaul and a shift in federal spending. On the 21st, Mondale said “The key to this nation's future is a healthy growing economy -- an economy that provides jobs and opportunities for all Americans, and not just profits for the rich. We will work to put limits on how much the doctors and the hospitals can gouge Medicare and Medicaid and the public. Nobody should have to pay $700 a day for a hospital room or $65 to walk into a doctor's office.”

In regards to social politics, the President vowed on the 22nd to further “enforce the civil rights laws so that women and minorities have a fair chance to get and keep a good job.” Additionally, Mondale called for legislation that will aim to “improve education for all children, and to strengthen families with nutrition programs and day care centers. As a member of the influential Finance Committee I fought for fairness and equity in our tax laws. I continued fighting in my first term and I will continue to fight in my second term.”

Mondale has also alluded to economic concerns brought up during his re-election campaign, saying on the 23rd, “We are going to give smaller, creative companies an even break instead of passing out all the goodies to the big corporations. Big business doesn't need public assistance. We are going to see to it that American exporters don't get shortchanged by other countries' unfair trading practices. We also are going to give family farmers a fighting chance against the giants of agribusiness, and bring the nation's governors and mayors together to forge a real partnership with the federal government to make this nation's cities good places to live.”

Finally, earlier today, Mondale re-confirmed that he retains his position that “we should help poorer nations stand on their own feet. Democracy will never grow in the soil of poverty, oppression, and despair. We have to attract the people of other countries with our values, instead of scaring them with our weapons.” Specifically, the President announced a very ambitious goal: a call for a “senate resolution to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.” [1]

The Washington Post, 1/27/1977




THE GREAT LAKES BLIZZARD OF 1977: The Deadly Cold That Surprised Millions 40 Years Ago Today

F2Wm3SH.png

[pic: imgur.com/F2Wm3SH ]
..If you didn’t experience it firsthand, you will never fully comprehend just how bad winter weather can get. Forty years ago this week, residents of the Niagara Region in southern Ontario and western New York (including the city of Buffalo) found themselves in the midst of one of the most infamous blizzards in either region’s history. A blizzard so intense that people literally froze to death in their vehicles because they couldn’t make it to safety. A blizzard so powerful that it created nine-metre snow drifts, completely burying cars and making snowmobiles the only possible means of transport for days, if not weeks

What makes the Blizzard of ’77 so unique is the fact that this storm did not by itself produce the copious amounts of snow that led to the aforementioned nine metre snow drifts famously photographed after the event.


…Succeeding but unrelated to another historic meteorological event – snow falling in Miami, for the first time in recorded history, on January 19 – the Blizzard of ’77 would likely not have happened at all if it were not for the anomalously cold conditions toward the last quarter of 1976; the average air temperature during the months of November and December, for example, was 6˚C colder than the climatological normal, breaking records that went back to the 1880s. Because of these cold temperatures, Lake Erie froze over completely by December 14th, 1976 – the earliest it had ever done so on record. …Now normally if a Great Lake freezes over, this reduces the likelihood of experiencing a significant snowfall downwind, as lake-effect snow no longer becomes a concern; moisture can no longer be readily picked up by the winds, hindering the development of lake effect snow squalls. But in this particular case, the Blizzard of ’77 largely happened because the lake froze over so early. Meteorological reports…indicate that up until the blizzard began…it had snowed every day since Christmas of 1976, leading to a whopping 150 cm of snow falling prior to the blizzard in January alone.

…Stranded motorists quite literally froze to death in their vehicles, as engines failed to ignite or ran out of gas. A state of emergency was declared in western New York by then-President
Walter Mondale, in collaboration with then-Governor of New York Mario Biaggi, while the Canadian Forces were sent out to assist in Canada. Without exaggeration, the only reliable means of transportation in the region became snowmobiles, which were used extensively by local police and RCMP in the Niagara Region to provide aid for as many as they could.

…Gradually, by February 1st, the winds diminished as the system departed …Slowly but surely, with the help of the Armed Forces and local police, people dug themselves out, although some report being trapped in their homes for weeks; perhaps unsurprisingly, the Niagara Region reported an 18 per cent increase in births in the fall of 1977 as a result! The final price tag for this event on both sides of the border is an estimated $300 million, and led to a total of twenty nine storm-related deaths in the Buffalo area, and at least two in Canada. …While it is clear that a very specific combination of anomalous conditions led to this extraordinary event, the Blizzard of ’77 highlights the importance of winter preparedness.
[2]

– theweathernetwrok.co.usa, 2017 article




MONDALE DECLARES I.S.F. VIRUS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS AFTER TENTH B.L.U.T.A.G. AMERICAN DIES

The Los Angeles Times, 2/1/1977



NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE “SECOND SPACE RACE”!: USSR’s Soyuz 24 Docks With Salyut 5 Space Station

...with the Soviets continuing their space station program, one wonders when the US will launch one of its own…

– The Houston Chronicle, 2/7/1977 broadcast



Atlas Shrugged
(TV miniseries)

Broadcast: February 1-8, 1977

[snip]

PRODUCTION
…Efforts to turn Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged” into a theatrical film began in the early 1960s but dragged on without progress for the rest of the decade. After several individuals attached to a proposed two-hours-long film withdrew from the project, Albert S. Ruddy approached Rand with a new and more comprehensive proposal of producing a two-and-a-hours-long film version of her book in 1972, but he refused to let her have final script approval.

Later that year, Henry and Michael Jaffe proposed to Rand that they produce a TV miniseries adaptation with her having final say over the script and 75% of the casting, but not over the set design, editing, or cinematography, though she would have a say in them all. After weeks of negotiations, she agreed to the deal after Rand was impressed by Jaffe’s handling of several prior productions for TV and film in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The negotiated plan for an 8-hour series to air on The Overmyer Network was greenlit in 1973. Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant and Ed Snider joined the crew in 1974. John Aglialoro, a TV technology investor, businessman, and entrepreneur, was signed on to co-produce later that year…

[snip]

CASTING
The miniseries featured a large ensemble cast, with the main roles of Dagny Taggart and Hank Reardon being portrayed by Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrooke, respectively. Richard Lynch played James Taggart and Arthur O’Connell played oil tycoon Ellis Wyatt. Lawrence Dobkin portrayed Wesley Mouch, with James Cromwell and Sorrell Booke appearing as two of the character’s supporters. Ronald N. Sobe portrayed scientist Quentin Daniels, while Stefan Gierasch played the elusive John Galt. Additionally, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Will Geer, Ryan O’Neal and multiple B-list actors and actresses appear in smaller roles. Furthermore, after failing to have Colonel Sanders make a small appearance in the film due to scheduling conflicts, the cameo role went to US Senator Barry Goldwater instead; Goldwater was running for President at the time his single scene was filmed.

[snip]

RECEPTION
The first episode’s original air date was set for the spring of 1976, but due to rewrites meant to satisfy Rand, its release was delayed several times. The miniseries did not air until after the 1976 election; years later, US Senator Ron Paul alleged “had the series come out before the election, Reagan would have won,” a claim with which most scholars and psephologist disagree.

The series aired from February 1 to February 8, 1977. It received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. Rand blamed the harsh reviews on the aspects of the series that she no final say over, despite most the blame being directed towards her and her “inability to collaborate and listen to the professional opinions of others,” as one critic put it. Another critic at the time wrote that “nearly 30 years after The Fountainhead, Rand still doesn’t get that creative output requires more than just one person’s narrow and inexperienced vantage point being used for a project that is clearly out of their professional field.” Audiences overall found the series to be lackluster, with even openly conservative viewers finding the story “hard to follow” and the characters “uninspiring, unrelatable to the Average Joe, and self-absorbed,” as Variety magazine put it.

Contrary to popular belief, Rand was not arrested attempting to set fire to the T.O.N. primary studio in May 1977 – she was arrested for striking the assistant director in a public setting after beginning a heated argument with him over a more edit in the third episode. Rand was released without charges, only to sue the network for breach of contract a month later. However, Rand dropped the matter after being countersued for assault and battery, and for allegedly violating workplace pestering rules established in 1971, after the “Ms. Arkansas Wave” (the claim being that she “bullied” set directors and other crew members).

Rand passed away in 1982 having never again spoken to anyone involved in the series and refusing to talk about the miniseries in interviews…

[snip]

LEGACY
…In recent years, the miniseries has grown a small but noticeable “cult following” among wealthy libertarian-leaning celebrities who praise the themes of the series but are also critical of certain aspects of the writing, directing, and acting…

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 2011



HAILE SELASSIE, EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA, DIES IN LONDON HOSPITAL

Suffered Pneumonia and Heart Problems In Final Years On The Throne

The Guardian, 2/8/1977



The 84-year-old monarch left behind a nation tearing itself apart. His son, the new emperor, the 62-year-old Amha Selassie I, called for an end to the fighting with the promise of massive reform and a renewed focus on feeding the poor and providing basic needs to rural communities. Not all believed the new ruler would be a change of pace, a break from the years of there being a stark gap between Ethiopia’s haves and have-nots. More believed there would be no amnesty for their betrayal of the monarchy, and thus they continued to fight on, especially in the northern and eastern sections. But the new monarch persisted, as it was his father’s final wish that he “save Ethiopia.” Taking the dangerous trip to the frontlines outside of Jima on February 20th to re-announce his wish for a ceasefire, Amha Selassie I subsequently partook in a tour of the region’s less fortunate areas, shaking hands and conversing with village farmers and elders to prove himself to be a man of the people. The activities were captured on camera, and the film was spread across the nation’s war-torn spots over the next several days and weeks, while the new emperor hoped he could keep the nation together, to make it strong enough to outlive the memories of the bloodshed experienced by all within its borders.

Speaking of which, the Somalian natives of Ethiopia’s Ogaden region were becoming increasingly preferential to breaking off and joining the nation of Somalia, while diehard Derg followers saw an independent state born out of Ethiopia’s north would be better than staying under the Ethiopian throne…

– Saheed A. Adejumobi’s The History of Ethiopia, Greenwood Press, 2007



United States treasury bonds are reliable, low-risk investments. However, the yield, also known as the return, on the bonds in low, meaning investors do not invest in them unless they believe the economic future ahead of them will be less-than-desirable. Thus, nervous investors’ demand for bonds rises during times of uncertainty. …The US Treasury reported a drop in interest rates on the bonds, leading to an inverted treasury yield curve, on February 12, 1977…

– clickopedia.co.usa



HOUSE, SENATE AGREE TO “HISTORIC” SPENDING BILL

…After weeks of committee meetings, hearings, and cross-aisle discussions, a massive spending package meant to fund a plethora of programs – mainly ones concerning worker and family assistance – is set to pass in congress “within a few weeks”...

– The Washington Times, 2/14/1977



US, SOVIET LEADERS AGREE TO BEGIN NUCLEAR FREEZE TALKS THIS APRIL

…In the announcement, Mondale noted that, "In this, the nuclear age of doomsday weapons, we have to do everything in our power to ensure peace. The most awesome responsibility of the President is not only to keep us strong so that we don't invite attack, but to use all of our physical and moral strength to keep the peace and spare the world from holocaust." The President took the moment to reiterate his campaign pledge to “put this nation out front again in the effort to halt the spread of nuclear weapons -- and the threat of doomsday blackmail. …It is imperative for us to sit down with the Russians and work out a mutual and verifiable freeze on nuclear weapons.” [1]

The Guardian, 15/2/1977




Social Services Benefit increases legislated by Congress accelerated sharply in the early 1970s, which when combined with projected economic conditions and a fully mature Social Security program caused concern about the program’s financial status. [3] This development led to House Republicans opposing House Democrats attempting to expand the program. However, with Democrats holding a majority in the House, President Mondale was successfully in increasing general benefits to 16 percent in February 1977.

– Gary C. Jacobson’s The Power and the Politics of Congressional Elections, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015



COLONEL SANDERS DONATES US$10MILLION TO SALVATION ARMY

The Advocate-Messenger, KY newspaper, 3/1/1977



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[pic: imgur.com/NdQjZFz.png ]

– US Secretary of State Jimmy Carter, US Vice President Mike Gravel, and US President Walter Mondale (just out of frame) discussing foreign policy matters in the Oval Office, 3/3/1977



On March 7, 1977, Marley was involved in an accident while practicing on a stage in Kingston for a concert. According to the official report, a stagehand left an empty bucket of KFC on the side of the stage, which eventually tipped over onto a lever that caused the trapdoor to collapse, causing Marley to sprain his foot. Upon closer inspection at the hospital, doctors discovered cancer under one of the toe nail. Doctors quickly removed the cancerous part of the toe. Not wanting to disappoint fans, Marley performed on stage as was scheduled. Nevertheless, the partial amputation, done without Marley’s permission, negatively affected his short-term dancing abilities on stage, causing him to adopt a “hopping kick-dance” form of dance style to compensate.

– clickopedia.co.usa/Bob_Marley



Nikolai Tikhonov’s Premiership was short-lived as conservatives decided to rally around a single figure. In March 12, 1977, after only four months in power, the politburo waited until he was visiting relatives in his home city of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Upon his attempt to return to the Kremlin, Brezhnev informed him he had been forced out of power, simply saying, “you’ve been forced into retirement, my friend.” Brezhnev then told Tikhonov that, while he had wanted to succeed him, his health was still in decline, and the politburo had chosen a man physically healthier, but even older than both Tikhonow and Brezhnev.

Soviet statesman and longtime Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov was, at the age of 75, an experienced politician, beginning his career as an ardent Stalinist before losing influence under Khrushchev but regaining it under Shelepin. After limited influence under Inauri and Kosygin, Suslov allied with Andropov to oppose Kosygin’s forward-thinking programs. Suslov’s hardline orthodox attitude meant détente with the US had almost certainly come to a sudden end, drastically altering US-Soviet relations...

– Victor Cherkashin’s Adamant: The Rulers of the USSR and the KGB, Basic Books, 2005



Margaret was put in charge of the KFC delegation that went to Hong Kong. The British had been wary of doing business so geographically close to the Chinese maintain, but with the success of KFC outlets in neighboring Philippines and the Indochinese subcontinent, and Deng Xiaoping being even more friendly with western investors than his predecessor, Hong Kong officials finally welcomed us in.

Margaret oversaw not just the handling of the local meat itself, but the treatment of the animals, too. Whatever the chicken eats, whatever enters its stomach and its system, affects the taste of the meat. The same goes for its environment – chickens need running room to be healthy, as cramped corners lead to them pecking at each other and becoming less inclined to eat more, leading to scrawny, course meat on their bones. Thus, Margaret was adamant that the local chicken farmers provide each chicken a minimum of 15 square feet of foaming room, and at least 10 inches of roosting space per chicken.

Like with neighboring China, we adapted KFC’s façade to be more familiar to locals, and over time converted the menu to reflect local tastes. We soon added rice congee and egg custard tarts to the menu; we began offering Soy Sauce Chicken in 1985 and Duck Sauce Chicken in 1989.

…Because Hong Kong was still a British colony at the time, it was much easier to do business with them than the PRC. However, Margaret reported back to me that she picked up on “very sexist vibes” from the British, but less so during her 1976 trip to Shanghai. However, though that was just her experience; mine was actually quite the opposite, with the British treating with as an equal, while during my visit to Beijing in late 1974, Chinese businessmen only acknowledged my presence if we were in the presence of Mao’s wife. Regardless, both of us came to conclude that it was possible that the introduction of western cuisine and culture could lead to the introduction of modern western social views, would could considerably curtail what we saw was a high amount of sexism in Asia…

– Mildred Sanders Ruggles’ My Father, The Colonel: A Life of Love, Politics, and KFC, StarGroup International, 2000



SENATOR KENNEDY-SHRIVER CALLS FOR HEALTHCARE COST REFORM

The Washington Post, 4/2/1977



On April 4, 1977, Grundy, Virginia suffered yet another major flood of the Levisa Fork River. Businesses were affected more so than houses. The state and federal governments were hailed for their immediate responding to the millions of dollars in damage. Grundy took decades to recover from the flood damage, but some economics have taken note to how the town’s economic strength and growth has still not returned to pre-1977 levels.

– weather.gov.usa, c. 2011



THE CASE FOR MEDICARE/MEDICAID PRICE CAPS

– Ted Kennedy’s op-ed in the Sacramento Union, Ted Kennedy’s newspaper, 4/8/1977



UJo4wvs.png

[pic: imgur.com/UJo4wvs.png ],

– cover of former US President Colonel Sanders’ mini-cookbook “Twenty Favorite Recipes,” first published c. April 1977



NARRATOR: For much of the ’70s, times were great in the United States. Marginalized groups were on their way; détente kept the thought of atomic holocaust at bay, for the most part; unions remained strong under the pro-labor administration of Walter Mondale. Despite warfare tearing up land far overseas and the fearful possibility of a US-Soviet nuclear exchange still lingering in the air, American pop culture concerned the nation’s splendor – Star Wars captivated audiences; American youth listened to lively, bass-based optimistic music derived from the soul, rock-n-roll and ambient rock tunes of the previous decades; the new wave of teenagers had expendable income and the roaring economy of the time gave them the ability to buy things like never before.

ROBERT REICH: It was like a more socially progressive version of the 1950s. You had people celebrating nuclear energy again. And you had the middle class being strong enough for a family of five to survive handsomely on one paycheck. But you also had women pursuing careers, going to college at a then-unprecedented rate. After many tumultuous years, things were finally going right for millions of Americans.

NARRATOR: And with the splendor came a renewed confidence in banks, and a huge increase in consumer good production…

– History Channel documentary “the Roarin’ ’70s,” 2002



The years of agricultural neglect under the pro-urban Kosygin years led to deplorable conditions for Soviet farmers nationwide – decaying roads, outdated machinery, under-rewarded laborers, and a ruined rural work culture plagued the countryside. Making matters worse was Suslov’s rejection of any assistance from any non-Western Pact nation, sparking international condemnation. Suslov’s hardline orthodox attitude also made him against change and opposed to Kosygin’s forward-thinking programs, leading to a decrease in the quality of life in more developed areas too. In fact, it seemed as if Suslov did not promote any specific alternatives to the reforms of Kosygin other than raising the budget of the Soviet military and space program…

– Alexander Korzhakov’s autobiography From Dawn to Dusk: A Cutthroat Career, St. Petersburg Press, 1997



…earlier today, President Mondale signed the Federal Campaign Spending Act into law, setting a cap on the amount of money that can be spent on federal campaigns. When it was a bill, it was narrowly approved after facing bipartisan opposition in both chambers of congress...

– ABC News, 4/27/1977 broadcast



[vid: youtube.com/watch?v=THHTOSxY3Ws ]
– KFC commercial, first aired 4/30/1977



WA GOV. JULIA HANSEN SIGNS “UNIVERSAL” HEALTH CARE INTO STATE LAW: State Joins MA, VT, Others In Unofficial Multistate “Healthcare Pact”

The Sacramento Union, 5/5/1977



...as the investigations into allegations of violating campaign finance laws continue to mount against him, Georgia Governor Bert Lance has resigned from office, effective immediately. The resignation comes only one week after Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor, a one George T. Smith, had died from pneumonia after visiting Washington, DC. In accordance with state law, the person next in line for Governor is the state Secretary of State. This means Georgia’s new Governor is 72-year-old Benjamin W. Fortson Jr., a Democrat. Fortson, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since 1928, has served as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 1946, and was involved in the Three Governors Controversy of 1947 and played a central role in finding superior storage for state archives…

– The Overmyer Network, 5/10/1977 broadcast



…In the national elections the nation of Israel held earlier today, the Likud party, led by Menachem Begin, has achieved victory by obtaining a hefty plurality of seats in the state’s Knesset, or legislative body. The election ends roughly thirty years of the opposing Labor party’s dominance in Israel’s national elections...

– BBC World News, 5/17/1977 report



In May 1977, the Sultan of Oman made a historic shift in diplomacy when he began the warming of relations with Israel. The sultan, Qaboos bin Said al Said (b. 1940) came to power in 1970 when he overthrew his paranoid and dictatorial father, quickly repealed many of his restrictive laws (which included bans on playing football, wearing sunglasses, and speaking to anyone for more than 15 minutes), and went to work decreasing his country’s infant mortality rate and illiteracy rate [4]. Qaboos distanced himself from his father even further by offering to host “the famous Colonel’s Chicken Peace Dinners” in 1976. In 1977, the Sultan offered to sign a bilateral agreement with Israel in on sharing water and helping each other improve water and road supplies, as Oman, a nation with a total land area of 119,500 square miles, had only 6 miles of paved roads in 1970 [4]. Momentum from the successful negotiations lead to further rumbling on other deals such as an education-based foreign exchange student program being set up in the near future. The success of Oman opening up to Israel was inspiring to Osama El-Baz (b. 1931), an important Egyptian diplomat during the late 1970s and a senior advisor to Egyptian Vice President Hosni, who believed that if Qaboos could place the chance for profit and political popularity on the global stage above religion, perhaps Sadat could as well.

– Martin van Creveld’s Defending Israel: A Controversial Plan Toward Peace, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004



But by 1977, the dream of overpowering KFC Inc. in the burger business had faded. KFC Inc.’s Wendy’s continued to be among the nation’s leading burger franchises, while Ollie’s offerings had found a home in the niche of exotic artisanal-yet-hearty foods. And John Y. Brown Jr. was not the type of businessman to keep his dingy tied to what he believed was just as good as a sinking ship. [5]

“You’ll be fine without me,” he assured Ollie, giving a speech he likely worked on to make it sound sincere.

“And what of your plan to make the Colonel rue the day he had you fired?” Ollie asked.

Brwon sighed, “I wanted to have my revenge, but that injustice happened – shoot – almost a decade ago. And you know what, if I stay hung up on yesterday, I’ll end up doing nothing today! We’ve turned quite a pretty penny over the past six years; turns out, that’s good enough for me.”

Brown then offered to sell his interest in Ollie’s Trolley to the Heublein Corporation, but Ollie wouldn’t have it. “I’ve always had the final say around here, and I always will. I won’t have some bigwig a$$#oles telling me how to run my own business. I’ll buy back your shares and then you can get out of my sight.” After completing the transaction, Ollie’s last comment to his disheartened former business partner was a curt “Now get out, traitor.”

“Don’t be like that, Ollie,” was Brown’s alleged reaction. But there was no use convincing Ol’ Gleichenhaus otherwise.

While Brown left to pursue other interests, Ollie stuck to what he did best – seasoning a third of a pound of lean beef with a blend of 32 spices for his delicious Ollieburgers… [6]

– proudsoutherner.co.usa/food/ollies-trolley/you-could-be-the-next-colonel-sanders




…After months of South Dakota’s Governor Reifel and Senator James Abourezk lobbying alongside Secretary of the Interior Fred Harris for an improvement on the quality of life on Native American reservations, President Mondale signs into law today the Native American Rights and Utilities Access Act, which extends previous civil rights legislation to apply to residents of Native American reservations, specifically in regards to access to things such as clean drinking water and education resources such as updated textbooks and other school supplies…

– NBC News, 5/29/1977 broadcast



Restauranteur-businessman John Y. Brown Jr. entered the world of sports in a big way when he purchased the Buffalo Braves [7] basketball team just prior to the 1977 season, affecting the careers of Moses Malone, Adrian Dantley and Dennis Johnson…

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[pic: imgur.com/Oziv2Pf. ]
Above: the Colonel reading about the June 4, 1977 NBA championships.

The Colonel’s attitude to Brown entering the world of sports management was one of indifference, and reportedly had to ask upon learning of it “Don’t we know him?”

“He tried to take over McDonald’s with our approval, Pop,” was the gist of his daughter Margaret’s reply.

“Oh yeah. Well, at least he ain’t bothering' us no more,” he concluded.

[snip] …The Jazz’s Gail Goodrich improved his stats… [snip] …Milwaukee Brewers were all set to enter the American League along with Washington, with Seattle and Toronto set to entering the A.L. as well…

– Joe Zagorski’s American Sports in the 1970s: A Most Important Decade, Critical Publishing, 2018 edition



WASHINGTON TO BECOME WINDY CITY’S FIRST BLACK MAYOR

…Harold Washington, an African-American politician who has served as a member of state congress since 1965, defeated Republican nominee Dennis H. Bloc by a 50% margin… …City councilman Wilson Frost, after agreeing to not run in tonight’s election, has served as interim mayor since Mayor Daley’s death late last year…

The Chicago Tribune, 6/7/1977



…Apart from Chicago’s Mayoral election, tonight saw another major political election in Florida’s Miami-Dade County, FL, where voters narrowly voted to repeal the county’s BLUTAG rights ordinance in the wake of weeks of singer Anita Bryant campaigning against the ordinance in her “Save Our Children” crusade…

– ABC News broadcast, 6/7/1977



The 37-spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission and Oklahoma-based country music singer Anita Bryant led a highly publicized campaign to repeal county ordinances protecting BLUTAGs from discrimination as the leader of a coalition named “Save Our Children”. The campaign was based on conservative Christian beliefs regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and the perceived threat of homosexual recruitment of children and child molestation… The campaign marked the beginning of an organized opposition to gay rights that found support among many prominent figures such as Reverend Jerry Falwell. During her hateful crusade against the BLUTAG community, she espoused hateful rhetoric such as "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children" and "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards,” [8] that last bit being an oddly specific claim to make. Subsequently, people opposed to her words protested by boycotting the products Bryant was promoting, such as orange juice and Coca-Cola; she soon became the face of bigotry in the eyes millions of Americans. To this, Sal Mineo (1939-2018) famously stated “not everyone hates her – the makers of Pepsi must love her!”

– Brandon Teena’s The Rise of BLUTAG Rights: The Story of the Bi-Lesbian-Undefined-Trans-Asexual-Gay Movement, Scholastic, 2019



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[pic: imgur.com/dutWlSn ]
– Colonel Sanders cameos in the film “Love at First Sight,” premiered 6/17/1977 [9]



…The rate of farmers joining unions steadily rose 5% between 1972 and 1978. While Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers union butted heads with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over lettuce farms and grape farms, other unions such as the National Farmers Union filled the void, developing rural health systems and mobilizing their growing number of members to demand better treatment and legal protection – especially in the wake of the pro-labor victories of the 1976 congressional elections. Others still maintained focus on state-by-state immigration reform, often receiving the backing of the White House. …Overall, unions retained strong positions in the goings-on of the American workplace. …As union membership rose, income inequality decreased. …Union membership numbers reached an all-time high of 22,000,000 in the late 1970s. [10]

– clickopedia.co.usa/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States#The_1970s




I wanted to call in “KFC University,” or “KFCU” for short, but the Colonel thought that sounded too formal, too imposing and intimidating, so when we officially founded the “institution” it was named “KFC College.” Set to open in September of 1978, Mildred’s announcement of its creation met backlash from folks who compared it to the training facility of McDonald’s employees – Hamburger University, founded in 1961 [11]. Like Kroc’s campus, KFC College gave employees dozens upon dozens of hours of training over the course of three months. The Colonel would visit at the start, middle and end of the course to oversee progress and approve “graduation” of the students, but he also popped in on classes whenever he could. A brainchild of Maggie, the campus officially opened near Paducah, in western Kentucky. The location was chosen because, while still staying inside of Kentucky, it was closer to being in the middle of country, increasing employment opportunities in the region and lowering travel time and expenses for prospective employees out west.

– Dave Thomas’ Under the Colonel’s Wing, Mosaic Publishing, 1982



“WOMEN MARINES” FINALLY DISBANDED

…The members of the US Marine Corps Women’s Reserve will now be integrated into the regular Marine Corps, in compliance with the Equal Rights Amendment ratified two years ago. The move follows the Navy’s disbanding of the W.A.V.E.S. late last year...

The Los Angeles Times, 6/28/1977



…Secretary of State Carter was an unashamedly active promoter of Colonel Sanders’s Annual Chicken Dinner Summit, which he famously called a “Pieces for Peace” drive in July 1977...

– David Frum’s political textbook How We Got Here: The ’70s, Basic Books NY, 2000, p. 298



Some major news coming in from the nation of Pakistan, where the Prime Minister, a one Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, has been overthrown in a military coup. The coup comes after months of social unrest and civil disobedience in Pakistan over allegations that Prime Minister, uh, Bhutto, had committed voter fraud to win the country’s general elections held back in March. We’ll have more information as the story develops… [SNIP] The new leader, and the new government in fact, uh, in Pakistan seems to now be of the military kind. The new leader, or at least the leader of the bloodless coup over there, is General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the Chief of Pakistan’s Army Staff, uh, um, who has announced that “free and fair elections” will be held in 90 days…

The Overmyer Network Special News Bulletin, 7/5/1977



“Homosexuality is a foreign plot cooked up by the Reds; it’s a form of sex segregation, as it separates the two genders so they can have even less in common, hindering reproduction levels in America. The Reds are trying to pull a long con, here!”

– political activist J. B. Stoner to a reporter, CBS News, 7/10/1977



THE JOHN AMOS SHOW: Interview: Amos Talks About Getting His Own TV Series

…Amos, who played Gordy Howard the Weatherman on MTM from 1970 to 1973, was also on Good Times from 1974 to 1976, but left that show over writing style conflicts. With his new series, Amos plans to address serious issues affecting African-Americans in today’s society and portray humorous situations. …“I want it to be a show that everyone can enjoy, but I’m not going to act like everything is all hunky-dory and white and black problems are one and the same.” …Amos admits that the “mission statement for this show will require a delicate balancing act and fun but careful writing, but that’s why we’ve got some of the best writers in Hollywood working on this.” …the John Amos Show will premier in September…

– People Magazine, mid-July issue



…Former Governor Bert Lance has been arrested over new charges uncovered during investigations… This development coming in the same week as Governor Mandel of Maryland being removed from office, in this reporter’s opinion, demonstrates the scope of corruption in American politics, and the need for serious reform to address it…

– Linda Ellerbee, NBC News’ Weekend program, Saturday 7/16/1977



The flood began on the night of July 19, 1977 when a stalled thunder storm system created flash floods that inundated the region around Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Roughly 12 inches of rain fell over the course of 24 hours. Due to the region having a history of flood problems dating back in 1889, flood control dams were constructed in the area beginning in 1938. Public outrage at the collapse of dams in California and Idaho is recent years led to the state’s Governor Martin P. Mullen calling for a re-examination of all of the state’s dams and flood control measures in late 1976. The statewide review led to repairs and improvements being done to several such features, including six dams in and close to the Johnstown area. Just weeks after the completion of these updates, the flood overran rivers but its deadly forces was held back by the improved control systems. Unfortunately, such measures were not enough to prevent the largest of the dams in question, the Laurel Run Dam of West Taylor Township, Cambria County, from failing. Over 101 million gallons of water overpowered the construction and enveloped the downriver community of Tanneryville. Fortunately, early warning systems put in place during Mullen’s re-examination endeavor allowed dozens to escape with their lives. Including the 12 people killed in Tanneryville, the total number of deaths in the Johnstown Flood of 1977 was 29.

– clickopedia.co.usa/Johnstown_Flood_of_1977



REPORTER: …the Department of the Interior is set to raise safety standards on the construction of river dams over recent concerns of both environmental and human health and safety activities. When asked, the department’s Undersecretary had this to say:

UNDERSECRETARY (in recording): “…we’re raising the level of scrutiny for newer and also older constructions. Just earlier today, for instance, we began a second review of Georgia’s Kelly Barnes Dam. Repairs are set to begin on a few minor concerns there within the month, and it should be better than ever before the start of the rain season later this year down there. We, uh, we are more than aware that safety is imperative when it comes to new, environmentally-conscious forms of energy. We will take no exceptions to this…”

– ABC News, 7/30/1977 report



The recent rise in Colorado Potato Beetle infestation has caught the attention of the department. The cause of their rising numbers is being investigated. In the meantime, the extent of the insects’ devastation to farms in the several western states will likely lead to a rise in the prices of domestically-grown tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. The Department advises against illegal practices and advises all consumers to maintain awareness of the farms from which they acquire their products, even products from states and overseas areas not affected by this recent agricultural development.

– US Department of Agriculture Special Announcement, 7/31/1977



…The Huntsman Container Corporation’s containers deal with us was so financially profitable for them, they were soon successful enough to begin making containers and other products for other food chains like Burger Chef and Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips by, I’d say, the start of August 1977…

– Pete Harman, 60 Minutes interview, early 1992



MONDALE SIGNS SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION BILL INTO LAW

The Washington Post, 8/3/1977



…After weeks of the conflict seemingly winding down in some parts of Ethiopia, in the face of monarchists showing a united front against pro-communist Derg forces in the south and central parts of the country, a major development is unfolding on the diplomatic side of things. With the support and assistance of elements of the United Nations, Emperor Amha Selassie I has called for secretary-general of the Eritrean Liberation Front Isaias Afwerki and Somalian President Siad Barre to agree to an armistice so the three leaders can sit down and negotiate terms for a peace treaty...

– CBS News report, 8/9/1977



10 August 1977: the comedic anthology film “Kentucky Fried Movie” premiers; while former US President Colonel Sanders had cameoed in independent films in the past, Sanders refused to cameo in this movie due to its script, which the Colonel reportedly called “perverse.”

– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk



STATE OF NEVADA POLICE INCIDENT REPORT

Case No.: 120416479

Date of Incident: 8/12/1977

Location: near border of Washoe People Reservation, Lake Tahoe/south of Pyramid Lake, Washoe County

Summary (Detail of Event/Actions Taken):

A pickup truck was pulled over for erratic driving. The First Officer noticed the driver, Sacramento resident Richard Trenton Chase, was drenched in blood, had a bucket with a bloodied liver in the back of the truck, and had a threatening look on his face. When asked, Chase stated the blood was cow’s blood. In compliance with the 1976 executive order issued by Governor Rex Bell Jr. concerning suspicious activities, the officer ordered the individual to step out of the vehicle in order for said officer to inspect if the blood was human or bovine. Chase complied. Upon noticing officer reach for his firearm in his holster, which, again, was in compliance with Governor Bell’s 1976 order in regards to suspicious behavior, Chase assaulted the officer, running to him and jumping onto him before attempting to bite him in the neck. In self-defense, the second officer immediately left their police vehicle and fired one warning shot into the air. Chase was unresponsive to this warning shot. This inaction on Chase’s part prompted the second officer to fire at Chase in order to stop him from continuing to assault the first officer. The officer fired once; the bullet hit Chase in the stomach and grazed the first officer’s arm. The second officer immediately requested backup, requesting an ambulance. Chase succumbed to his wound on route to the hospital.

Case Status: Pending. The two officers involved are to be questioned concerning a possible violation of protocol per an 8/13/1977 request from the Sacramento Police Department in California.

Additional Specifics: (see below)

– Nevada State Police Report, updated 8/15/1977



NEW AGENCY AIMS TO BETTER COORDINATE FEDERAL DISASTER RESPONSES

…Late last year, by executive order, President Mondale created the Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency, or “ODERCA,” to improve federal responses to crises such as hurricanes, forest fires, floods and other natural and man-made disasters that overwhelm local and state authorities, in response to years of oil spills and dam collapses capturing public attention. …The purpose of this new federal-level agency, which focuses on helping people during major incidents, is not to be confused with EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, which focuses on protecting the environment in general…

Associated Press, 8/23/1977



PAYMENT TO INTERNED JAPANESE-AMERICANS GETS MONDALE’S OK

By W. Dale Nelson

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Mondale today signed a bill into law that will provide $20,000 reparations to Japanese-American US citizens who were interned during World War II. Conceding that “no payment can make up for the injustice, the indignity, and the lost years.”

Roughly 250 survivors of the internment camps attended the signing ceremony, where Mondale described to the audience how “tens of thousands of our fellow Americans were forced to live in internment camps, and for not a matter of weeks or months, but for three long years.”

Strongly supported by US Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), US Representatives Patsy Mink (D-HI) and Norman Mineta (D-CA) (the latter of whom was interned at one of these camps alongside his family), and US Vice President Mike Gravel (D-AS), Japanese-American groups had been lobbying for reparations legislation for years. The bill, after its being proposed in 1971, was finally cleared by the US Senate in a narrow vote May 28 and was approved by the US House in a more comfortable vote on August 27.

The bill will provide a $20,000 tax-free payment to each of the 60,000 survivors of the approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were interned in several camps scattered across the US from 1942 to 1945. Japanese-Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps after the nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941. The attack plunged the United States into World War II, and created an era of paranoia, as suspicion that spies existed among the Japanese-American community flared calls to watch members of that community more closely.

At the ceremony, Mondale added, “This bill has less to do with property than with honor, for here, with this, the United States government admits to a mistake and confesses to a wrong.″

Associated Press, 9/1/1977



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– KFC-Canada poster celebrating Colonel Sanders’ 87th birthday (September 9), first distributed c. late August 1977



…the Aries Program seemed to be falling behind the data-collecting progress of the USSR’s Soyuz and Salyut programs. …Working with the less-than-desirable budget led to the development of orbital space travel vehicles dubbed “shuttleplanes” that could be reused “more than twice” for manned or unmanned missions. Still sticking to his convictions and refusing to risk losing more American lives in space, Mondale greenlit the unmanned model for future orbital and lunar missions in August 1977…

– NASA scientist Farouk El-Baz’s Up and Away: How The Cold War Competition Pushed Us Into The Stars, MacFarland & Company, 1994



At the age of 16, I “was trying to raise myself to be a black man in America” because I had this fitful interior struggle. I “was grappling with questions of racial identity, alienation and belonging[12] over being a half-Black, half-White American military brat with white parents and no real hometown or long-lasting friends. However, I was not the only member of my family to have so much drama. Mom and Dad argued many times, usually over liberal and conservative values or “how to raise the children.” By the time in was in High School, though, problems for them seemed to be beginning to cool. Mom had finally found a place for herself in government – working at the U.S. Department of Education, she strived to promote universal understanding, and in her position overseeing the organizing of foreign exchange student programs. I remember how she fought valiantly for additional funds in 1977 for the 1978 fiscal year. Father, meanwhile, was approaching 41, and was enjoying promotion to Rear Admiral, which was just short of being a full Admiral. He was content with his performance overseeing a part of American forces along the coast of Ethiopia. Near the end of that summer, Father took us all on a much-needed vacation to Havana, Cuba, where we basked in the sun on the beaches near the newly-built casinos. We even managed to witness a part of the early construction phase of the Havana Adventure Amusement Park, Cuba’s answer to Florida’s Disney World…

– Barack McCain’s Lessons From my Fathers, Sunrise Publishers, 1993



In early September of 1977, Landrum Bolling, an ardent activist for peace in the Middle East, former President of Earlham College, and unofficial channel between the US State Department and the PLO, left the Mondale administration to spend more time working on the third “Sanders Summit” in Jerusalem. Through his connections, several (albeit low-ranking) PLO members had finally agreed to attend the festivities out of goodwill, but declined to give any speeches…

– Martin van Creveld’s Defending Israel: A Controversial Plan Toward Peace, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004



Stephen Hillenburg was born on an army base in Lawton, Oklahoma, in 1961. “My parents told me that over there they make snowmen out of tumbleweeds at Christmas,” he later recalled. His father, Kelly Hillenburg Jr., left the army shortly after Stephen was born, and relocated the family to California. However, as Kelly Hillenburg was in the aerospace industry his whole life, working for McDonnell-Douglas and Rockwell, the family again relocated to Ohio, where Stephen’s father worked as a draftsman for elements of the Apollo program. drafts technician – makes detailed technical drawings or plans for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, sections, etc. “He was very excited about that. He got to work on the space shuttle with Ed Rockwell, designing details in the interior such as cabinet, seat positions, small things but still important things,” Stephen recalls. Dad moved the family once more, from Ohio to Florida, in 1967, in order to complete a final assignment for NASA’s Apollo designs before entering early retirement in 1968. It was in Florida where Stephen’s love of the ocean blossomed and flourished.

Describing himself as “an ocean freak,” Stephen in his youth liked to explore tide pools, bringing home things that “should have been left there and that ended up dying and smelling really bad,” he says. “Still, I was fascinated by the ocean because of its mystery – it’s a separate world you can’t study alone or visit freely. I think my experience growing up along the coast, north and south of Cape Canaveral, really influenced my interest in the oceans and the creatures found in them.”

When it comes to his artistic abilities, Hillenburg confesses, “Grandma couldn’t afford to go to art school but was always drawing and painting and making tiny detailed finger puppets and Christmas ornaments. It dawned on me that I had artistic skill in the third grade, in 1970, when my art teacher was very complimentary of my drawing of an orange slice.” The teacher was also a peacenik who found another ne of Hillenburg’s drawings – one of two soldiers hugging – to be “wonderful [and] touching.” Stephen admits, “I just thought it was funny,” apparently unaware of American troop presence in Cambodia at the time.

Hillenburg’s interest in seafood, however, didn’t begin until the summer of 1976, when, during a family road trip to Washington, D.C., the Hillenburgs stopped over at Calabash, North Carolina, the Seafood Capital of the World, leaving a “long-lasting impression” on him. Later that year, Hillenburg visited Woodman’s of Essex in Boston, and enjoyed their Fried Clam and their Clambake To Go (a combination of lobster, clams, potatoes and corn), calling it “inspiring.”

In September 1977, at the age of 16, Stephen landed his first job, working as a fry cook at a local McDonald’s. “When I was real little, I would look in the windows and think, ‘Wow, this is the greatest job in the world, making food to make people happy.’ Actually having the job brought me down to Earth and into reality.” But apparently, Hillenburg was undaunted by the negative aspects of the occupation, as the teen-aged Stephen also ended up working at a lobster restaurant in Maine during the summers, its owner reminding him of a pirate via his strong Maine accent…

– The New York Times, 1999 article



September 13, 1977: on this day in history, the American television series “Soap” debuts on ABC. While the sitcom was intended to be a night-time parody of the daytime soap opera genre presented in a serial format, it maintained serious dramatic plot lines (terminal illness, prejudice, war, hostage crises, love triangles, dementia) alongside more melodramatic plot lines (demonic possession, alien abduction, time travel, sentient puppets). Additionally, several scandals pertaining to its content – coarse language, lewd behavior, and situations that conservative groups deemed subversive and suitable for television (though many of these elements are considered quite tame by today’s standards) – impeded the show’s ability to find sponsors, causing ABC to perennially threaten to cancel the series. Its inclusion in Season 1 of Jodie Dallas (portrayed by a young Billy Crystal) as the first openly gay major character in a syndicated TV series added to the show’s controversies, though it was praised years later for this and its addressing of BLUTAG issues...

– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk



MONDALE SIGNS MEDICARE PRICE LIMITS BILL INTO LAW

…The bill places limits on the amount a physician can charge patients for certain basic needs, such as staying in a hospital bed post-surgery, being driven to a hospital in an ambulance, and even simply visiting a doctor’s office…

The Washington Post, 9/19/1977



WALL STREET WONDERS: WHEN WILL RECESSION RETURN?

By James C. Warren

...recent actions taken by Wall Street investors suggest economic precariousness may arrive in the near future. “It’s the basic nature of capitalism: highs and lows. Good times come and go, and right now the economy has had a good time for almost 14 years – that’s an unprecedented length of growth,” says… Historic market patterns suggest a downturn may be “imminent,” warns businessman and former Ambassador Malcolm Forbes…

– The Chicago Sun-Times, 9/22/1977



In his capitalizing off of the midterm’s liberal legislative gains via getting several laws passed, President Mondale also oversaw a significant improvement in education, and signed into law legislation for a federal breakfast program and a federal day care centers program… On September 30, he signed into law a narrowly-passage bill that amended the US tax system to have more vertical equity, which conservative US Senator Hank Hibbard (R-MT) chastised as being “unnecessary,” and claimed the 1971 Negative Tax Income Rebate law was “more than enough for the poor,” a comment that would come back to haunt him in 1978…

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



The Armed Forces of National Liberation (in Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional, or “FALN”) was a Venezuelan guerilla group formed by the Communist Party of Venezuela to foment revolution against the democratically elected government… [13] …FALN’s membership numbers grew in the years succeeding the defeat of the communist regime in Cuba in 1965. At said war’s conclusion, many communist Cuban expatriates escaped persecution by fleeing to South and Central America. Reportedly over 1,000 Cubans found their way to Venezuela and over half of them joined the FALN, influencing their ideology and the group’s methods of attacks against the Venezuelan government. While such actions failed to change minds during the relatively decent years of the late 1960s, said actions increased in the 1970s as economic and political conditions began to decrease...

– clickopedia.co.usa



Now for the third summit, we got together a more impressive guest list, got a bigger venue in town, you know, more intimate setting and décor and al that sort of thing. It was starting to look like a real big shindig, so we changed our seating policy. You still have to pay a small entry fee if you wanted to attend, but on top of that, you also had to donate to some charity and prove you’d done it in exchange for a seat. I didn’t need the money, KFC didn’t need the money, but others out there, hungry children, for instance, they needed it, they still do, in fact…

The third summit went very well, I think. No major problems, everyone was civil. And it did a lot of good, I think – the delegates from Egypt were the same fellas who had a constructive talk with President Sadat soon afterward…

– Harland “The Colonel” Sanders, KNN interview, 2/9/1980



…My years of loyalty to Deng was rewarded on October 12, 1977, when Deng appointed fellow reformer Hu Yaobang third in command, and I second in command, making me Deng’s successor. In that same announcement given before the National Congress, Deng proclaimed that he would retire in 1987, after 12 years in charge. He also swore that “when it becomes obvious that it is necessary, I will not refuse the changing of ways if it means improving the way of the nation, the nature of the party, and the quality of the work and lives of the people.” Giving a fixed date like that was an unprecedented move that, while demonstrating his seriousness in calling for political reform, also confined Deng to work in a fixed timetable of sort – he now had ten years to complete his agenda for China…

– Bo Yibo’s The Dragon and The Eagle: Chinese and American Dances, Daggers and Dinners, English translation, 1998



In October 1977, in light of the Alaskan oil pipeline’s successful oil turnout, President Mondale signed a proclamation for a federal rebate for American residents and companies who purchased domestic oil instead of imported oil. This endeavor raised his popularity in northeastern states, as those states tend to be more reliable on foreign oil, and so their rebates were higher upon switching to domestic oil.

– David Frum’s political textbook How We Got Here: The ’70s, Basic Books NY, 2000



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[pic: imgur.com/bfOO6pA. ]
– Governor Hammond with Vice President Gravel and several others at a political function in Washington D.C.; while some pundits criticized Gravel for his informal (i.e., tie-less) attire for the evening, the image of anti-establishment “rebellion” appealed to peaceniks and college students – his core base of political supporters; c. 10/20/1977



W.H.O. DECLARATION: SMALLPOX HAS BEEN ERADICATED!

Deadly Disease Finally Wiped Out Thanks to Modern Science!

The New York Times, 10/25/1977



COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT BECOMES LAW: Meant to Encourage Bank Activities In Low-Income Communities

The Washington Post, 10/28/1977



LEADERS OF THREE-SIDED ETHIOPIAN CONFLICT AGREE TO PEACE TREATY!

Geneva, SWITZERLAND – In a stunning development, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Amha Selassie I, has agreed to grant the break-away northern region of Eritrea independence in exchange for an open border and Ethiopian access to Eritrean seaports. Somalia’s President Said Barre has also agreed to end the Ogaden Warfront, and is set to use funds from his country’s treasury to officially purchase conquered Somali-majority land from Ethiopia. The Emperor of Ethiopia has admitted that the resolution “may rub many of my fellow countrymen the wrong way, but I would rather relinquish these slivers of land and let them be, than to continue to hold onto them and to spill the flesh of my fellow man over them. Through peace, Ethiopia and Eritrea and Somalia can grow strong and prosperous.” [14]

The Guardian, 10/29/1977




…In New Jersey, the Democratic nominee, state General Assemblyman James J. Florio was just been declared the winner of the Garden State’s gubernatorial election. Florio won over Republican nominee Raymond Bateman by a narrow margin… At 40, Florio will be their youngest Governor, um, in years, and he is also now set to become the state’s first-ever Italian-American Governor. Florio supports the state’s supplemented income law, supported legalizing gambling to generate revenue last year, and ran on a promise to clean up New Jersey’s most polluted and crime-riddled areas…

[snip]

…Tonight’s gubernatorial election in Virginia has finally concluded. With over 98% of the vote counted, we can now confirm that Republican nominee John N. Dalton has won the governorship by a 5% margin over Democratic nominee William Battle...

– ABC News, 11/8/1977 election night coverage



JOEY SECURES FOURTH TERM – BUT WITH ONLY 35% OF THE VOTE

…Incumbent Mayor Joey Periconi ran under the Republican banner in what was essentially a five-man race. …Periconi’s closest opponent was Harrison Jay Goldin, the city’s 41-year-old Comptroller and former state senate, who ran under the Democratic banner and received roughly 29% of the vote. …Also challenging Periconi was talk-radio show host and former one-term US Congressman Barry Farber (under the Conservative banner), who after being endorsed by Governor Biaggi saw a last-minute boost in the polls resulting in him obtaining roughly 18% of the vote; author and former city investigative commission member Edward N. Costikyan (under the Liberal banner), who received roughly 12% of the vote; and 69-year-old Italian immigrant former Republican State Assemblyman Vito P. Battista (under the new United Taxpayers Party), who won roughly 5% of the vote. All together, all the other candidates on the ballot received roughly 1% of the vote…

The New York Post, 11/8/1977



MILK MAKES MILESTONE BY MAJOR MARGIN: Local BLUTAG Activist Wins Election To Public Office In Near-Landslide

…last night’s election of the openly gay political activist Harvey Milk to city supervisor – he will be sworn in as a Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the Fifth District in January – is an impressive milestone for the B.L.U.T.A.G. community. For them, the year began with singer-turned-activist Anita Bryant leading political attacks against their unconventional lifestyle in multiple counties, only for them to proclaim victory in other parts of the country this November. …The revelations brought about by the “outing” of former Presidential aide Walter Jenkins and subsequent counter-outings of 1969 proved “blutagism,” a broad term for various forms of “non-traditional” sexuality, is not a contemporary fad but a long-existing social phenomenon. …Conservative social and political organizations opposing the BLUTAG community, however, are not discouraged by Milk’s election, with Mrs. Bryant telling CBS last night that “real Americans is will not allow this depravity to get out of hand, because if homosexuality was the normal way God would have made Adam and Bruce.” [15] Concurrently, Mayor Moscone took a more unimposing position on Milk’s victory, congratulated Milk in a phone call and soon afterwards telling reporters “What’s more important here is not what he does at home but what he does at work – whether or not he’ll be good at this new job of his, that’s what.” …

The San Francisco Chronicle, 11/9/1977



Egyptian President Anwar Sadat startled the Arab World on November 9, 1977, by announcing to his nation’s parliament his intention to go to Jerusalem and speak before the Knesset. Arrived ten days later for a three-day visit, several observers credited the Third Annual “KFC Dinner” Summit for encouraging Sadat to seek a more peaceful path in the region. On November 19, Sadat met with Israeli Prime Minister Meacham Begin in Israel to seek a permanent peace settlement, setting the stage for bilateral agreements to be hopefully reached between Egypt and Israel in the months ahead. Fearing the move would lead to a grab for land without consideration for the PLO’s wants, the PLO also agreed to meet with Israel’s Defense Minister for a Non-Aggression Treaty to be negotiated and signed in 1978… [16]

– Martin van Creveld’s Defending Israel: A Controversial Plan Toward Peace, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004




…A local diabetic veteran was shot and killed by police officers earlier today after stealing insulin in an armed robbery of a local pharmacy that ended in the veteran shooting up the store, causing thousands of dollars in damages and injuries three customers hit by broken glass…

– KOAA-TV, Colorado Springs TV station, NBC, 11/21/1977 broadcast



“This violent incident should be an eye-opener to how flawed the American healthcare system truly is. Over the years, we have seen millions of decent Americans take to the streets to vocalize their concerns. But this young man, a veteran of the United States Army, chose to be undemocratic and unpatriotic in what he believed was his only option in a system so deadlocked it cannot even pass laws to ensure quality medicine and healthcare to its own constituents, including its own veterans. As such, I will introduce on Tuesday a strong hospital care reform bill… So such hatred for and disappointment in the healthcare ways of the greatest nation on Earth can never again reach such un-American heights. Thank you.”

– US Rep. Gary Hart, 11/22/1977



SENATOR JOHN L. MCCLELLAN DIES AT 81

– The Texarkana Gazette, 11/28/1977



I had just started working for Texas Commerce Bank’s branch manager at the new bank in Caracas, Venezuela [17], where I impressed the locals with my fluency in their language. I had just gotten off the phone with Columba, then my wife of only three years, when I heard unsettling commotion in the lobby. I went over and to my shock I saw masked men waving weapons around and ordering all of the money out of the vault. It was my responsibility to confront them, so I did. The attempt to stall for law enforcement to arrive did not exactly go as I had planned it to. Seeing me as a symbol of all they thought was wrong with capitalism, they decided to take me hostage...

– Activist and survivalist expert Jeb Bush’s Perseverance: A Survival Guide, 2016



“I'm sorry, Dorothy, but right now you only know as much as I do about all this.” I told her from the police station in Caracas.

“But you’re a former congressman, Dad” my daughter referred to the four non-consecutive (1967-1971, then 1973-1977) terms that I had spent on Capitol Hill. “Surely one of your connections can tell you something!”

I reiterated, “Only that the kidnappers, these communist F.A.L.N. fanatics, were last seen driving south of Caracas before the police lost them down some backroads.” I then reassured her, “We just have to wait until the ransom note.” Why else would they have kidnapped him?, I thought, he’s the son of an ex-Congressman and the brother of an MLB player, for Pete’s sake! [18]

– George H. W. Bush’s autobiography, 2015 edition




biGJEdy.png

[pic: imgur.com/biGJEdy. ]
– Jeb Bush in his mid-20s



Throughout the Sanders administration, the Colonel failed to oversee the passing of federal anti-lynching legislation, despite efforts being made. In 1977, though, with a large liberal majority in both chambers, Mondale used his high popularity and political capital to pass through congress the Lowenstein-Brooke Anti-Lynching Bill. On December 1, Mondale signed the bill into law, finally making lynching a federal crime in all US states and territories.

– historian Jeff Greenfield’s How Everything Changed: The Effects of 1976, Centurion Publishers, 2023



I never told my captors who I was. They figured that out on their own, in a serendipitous manner – with a baseball card set one of them had. When they connected the dots, they started debating how much of a ransom they should demand from my old man. Then they started arguing how much. Then the more extremist members of the group began calling for my execution. That faction wanted to “make an example” out of me; specifically, they wanted to create “an example of what happens when American pig-dogs try to force the evil capitalism onto the world,” to quote the most passionate, and thus most terrifying, member of the group.

The shouting match, though, provided me with an opportunity for me to escape, and so took it. I pull the pen I had stored in my pants’ back pocket, quietly clicked the tip out, and stabbed it into the rope, thinking it could weaken what was confining me to a chair on the side of the room. The pen snapped, but the remains and the ink loosened up the rope a bit. I used the remains of the pen to loosen them up some more, and soon I felt a loop of fabric slip past my wrist. As quietly as I could, I freed my other hand, slumped down to the floor, untied my legs, and crawled along the wall to the room’s door. At that moment, I rounded the corner, spotted a door out, and hurried through it.

I was at least thirty feet away from their grisly jungle compound before I heard the commotion. One of them fired into the air in an act in intimidation, which worked, by the way. I stopped and turned around.

And then realized they couldn’t see me, not in all that brush.

The one, likely the leader, shouted in Spanish, “come back now and we won’t hurt you, American.”

Another said “But I thought we were gonna f#@k him up – ”

Callate!” the first one barked to interject.

I moved further into the jungle, despite the insects being feisty and the possibility of even feistier, larger animals coming around. But first things first – I needed to find help, a friendly way out of there. I was tired, I was worried, and I was thirsty, but I knew the local dialect. [SNIP] I soon found a water source and carefully followed it to a vast lake. There I quenched my thirst, and not too long afterward experienced the reason why you should never drink unpurified water.

One leafy bathroom break and another long walk later, I came by civilization, a tavern, where I drank some clean water, had my mosquito bites looked at, and was informed by friendly locals that I was in Camatagua, a village 50 miles or so south of Caracas. Finally, I knew where I was, and what direction I had to go in. I needed a ride, but too many hearing my request feared retribution from the F.A.L.N. – except for one man with a weathered face and blackened teeth, who showed me the hidden escape hatch built into the back of his truck. If we were ambushed, I would slip out the back.

Fortunately, the roving guerillas overlooked us, most likely because for the entirety of the trip, I sat under a thick tarp, the smell confirming that this disheveled-looking Good Samaritan owned some kind of livestock. By the time we reached the city, my shirt clung to my back like a sticker to scrapbook.

The city was bustling with police asking about “the kidnapped American.” They stopped the questioning once I told one officer who I was.

[snip]

The experience was frightening, but, in a strange way, I found the survivalist aspect of it to be quite exhilarating. It had a lasting effect on my relationship with nature, and the political issues of South America…

– Activist and survivalist expert Jeb Bush’s Perseverance: A Survival Guide, 2016



On December 6, 1977, another section of South Africa broke away – the Bantustan ethic region of Bophuthatswana declared independence, joining other Bantustans Verda and Transkei in mounting a form of strategy that would allow the Black natives to request foreign aid and diplomatic relations with other nations such as Israel and the United States. The strategy would also, potentially, make the South African government address them more directly is the nation did not wish to have uncooperative patches within its borders. While Transkei took up a decent portion of coast and Verda made up a small area near the northern border, Bophuthatswana consisted of eight tracts of land separated from one another by the rest of South Africa, making the defense of its borders a quite difficult task. Activist leaders such as Biko promoted “the three breakaways,” later arguing it added “headache and havoc to the days of the white man’s government.” Of course, riots in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein occurring almost daily as opposition to Apartheid only helped…

– Julian Brown’s The Road to Soweto: Resistance & Revolution in Post-Soweto South Africa, Jacana Publishers, 2016



SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: A Celebration Of The Prosperity Of The 1970s

Upon release on December 16, 1977, “Saturday Night Fever” quickly became the biggest dancing movie of all time, and propelled the Bee Gees and actor John Travolta into national stardom…

– Tumbleweed Magazine, Special 30-year-Anniversary Retrospective Issue, 2007



The December 19, 1977 Uganda General Elections, which followed the overthrow of Idi Amin the previous year, were the nation’s first general elections since the pre-independence general elections of 1962. The elections resulted in Interim President Paul Ssemogerere’s moderate Democratic Party winning over the Uganda People’s Congress. The UPC accused the DP of voter fraud, only for UN official who had observed the election proceedings to deny such wrongdoing. Political opposition to Ssemogerere, led by Paulo Muwanga, who accused the President of being British PM Dingle Foot’s “puppet,” continued for the rest of Ssemogerere’s time in office.

– clickopedia.co.usa/1977_Ugandan_General_Elections



Mondale and the Congress wrapped up 1977 by passing and signing into law the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act, a new and more detailed Clean Water Act, a Family Farmer Relief act meant to give small farms greater government assistance, and finally, the Urban Transportation Sanitation and Development Act, which was a result of multiple meetings with state and local leaders of numerous metropolitan areas in the US.

In retrospect, 1977 was a fairly easy year for Mondale – at least, when one compares it to the event that unfolded in 1978…

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



ERITREA CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE

enjGvPU.png

[pic: https://imgur.com/enjGvPU. ]
Above: a map showing what the horn of Africa now looks like, after last year’s controversial “partitioning” of Ethiopia that ended the 1974-1977 wars and transferred Ethiopian territory to Somalia in exchange for a “purchasing fee” and a 1-mile-deep demilitarized border zone on the Somalian side of the nations’ new border.

Associated Press, 1/1/1978



...We can now confirm reports, that a massacre of civilians has unfolded in the city of Multan, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The story seems to be that workers at the Multan Colony Textile Mills went on strike after the factory management refused to give workers a bonus after an increase in profits, and Pakistan’s leader, Muhamad Zia-ul-Haq, ordered troops to open fire on them to end the strike… Reports estimate the number of the dead is over one hundred, at the very least, and hundreds more have been injured in some way, shape, or form… Nationwide, the people of Pakistan, a nation currently under the control of a military dictatorship, are taking to the streets in outrage at the government’s disregard for the lives of the people. Trade Unions are even calling for worker strikes nationwide…

– BBC World News, 1/2/1978



…In other news, rising interest rates are giving businesses pause over their spending projections for the 1978 fiscal year, out of concerns for earnings and stock price values…

– CBS Evening News, 1/12/1978



“Yeah, that’d be great, but unfortunately, Colonel, this isn’t a social call.”

“Oh?”

“Colonel, the Defense Department’s urging me to send actual troops into Angola.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“We’re making progress, albeit at a snail’s pace. But they think we ourselves can get it done faster. I’m not sure, that’s why I’d like your opinion.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, Indochina’s full of jungle. So’s Angola.”

“Well it’s not just the land, which you really do need to study, and make sure the military know it, too, but it’s not just that. You need to know the people, which people you can trust, and which you can’t.”

“A lot of natives are resilient to even advisory troops down there, but even more directly, I just don’t like the image of American forces plowing down Black people. And on their own continent, no less.”

“Yeah, well, remember – if you disagree with them and they don’t like it, remind them that you are the president, and then go with what your gut and all the data tells you to do. You don’t want to dive into quicksand after being told it’s a gold mine.”

“That’s one way of putting, I guess.”

– Telephone conversation between Colonel Sanders and Walter Mondale, 1/12/1978



MONDALE PAINTS OPTIMISTIC PICTURE OF PROSPERITY IN STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

…the President was light on foreign policy, only mentioning a planned withdrawal of troops from Ethiopia and not even mentioning the US’s support of anti-communist forces in Angola at all…

The Washington Times, 1/19/1978



POWERFUL BLIZZARD STRIKES OHIO VALLEY! MILLIONS HIT, OTHERS BRACING FOR IMPACT!

Mondale: “We Learned From Last Year’s Cold Front How To Better Handle These Crises”

…federal and state emergency agencies are already prepping for power outages and rescue operations…

The Los Angeles Times, 1/25/1978



…A joint resolution is similar to a bill in that both require the approval of both Chambers of Congress. A resolution passed by only one chamber, however, is not binding law, but instead a way of expressing the overall sentiment of the Senate on a certain issue. …On January 30, as Vice President Mike Gravel presided over the Senate, the chamber finally passed a resolution calling for the ending of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Gravel beamed with pride when Speaker Udall oversaw the resolution’s passage in the House, making for a joint resolution that rejected the opinions of the War-Hawks on the Hill. Naturally, many hawkish politicians and political activists scowls in fury at this development, and swore to reverse it – “for the sake of the nation,” Senator Hibbard assured an ABC reporter on February 3rd…

New Ideas For Old Problems: The Walter Mondale Presidency, Borderless Books Publishing, 2004



HISTORIC I.R.A. PEACE TREATY SIGNED!

…the 1977-1978 Peace Accords over Northern Ireland may very well mark the end of the Troubles for good… The IRA had increased its violence over the UK’s involvement in the Cuba War and was inspired by the events of France in 1964 to increase their more violent and extremist practices, with 1966 being the most hostile year. Thankfully, the 1970s saw the UK government moderate on the issue of Northern Ireland over international pressure… Years of bilateral and multilateral discussions has culminated in this treaty…

The Boston Globe, 2/4/1978



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[pic: imgur.com/5srBVP8.png ]

– A painting of Colonel Sanders, painted c. February 1978



…In other news, the government of the southern African nation of Rhodesia has announced that it will accept multiracial democracy by the end of this year – a move that is likely an effort to quell riots in Rhodesia that the government fear will spill into an outright revolution similar to what appears to be unfolding in South Africa…

– BBC World News, 15/2/1978



PUBLISHER TED KENNEDY UNVEILS PLANS FOR NEW “K.N.N.” NETWORK

…newspaper magnate Ted Kennedy, owner of the Sacramento Union, tonight unveiled his plans for a 24-hour news channel dubbed “Kennedy News Network.” The ambitious endeavor is the brainchild of three influential members of the news/“info-tainment” industry: Kennedy, media executive Reese Schonfeld, and businessman Robert Edward Turner III… Turner, the CEO of Public Television Network (PTN), explained at the announcement, “This is a massive endeavor, we’ve hired a staff of at least 300.” An expensive move as well, a total of roughly $32 million has been poured into KNN’s launch, and the operation is expected to cost millions per month in order to operate… KNN is set to begin operating later this year…

– The Los Angeles Times, 2/22/1978



IS RINGO LEAVING THE BEATLES?!

…according to sources close to the legendary band, Ringo Starr’s the years of playing referee over the differing visions of John and Paul have “finally gotten to him.” The claims may explain the prominent use of Billy Preston, the unofficial “fifth Beatle,” on the bands most recent album – the band may be eyeing for a suitable “Replacement Ringo” of sorts…

The Sun, UK tabloid magazine, 26/2/1978



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)
[1] Italicized parts pulled from OTL Mondale’84 campaign brochure: http://www.4president.org/brochures/1984/mondale1984brochure.htm
[2] Parts that are in italics are from the OTL article: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/blizzard-of-1977-meteorological-analysis-canada-niagara/78699
[3] Italicized bit from here: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v66n1/v66n1p1.html
[4] At least, according to Source 5 on Qaboos’s wiki article: https://books.google.com/books?id=f3pV457NIE4C
[5] Based on his OTL record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Y._Brown_Jr.#Business_ventures
[6] Just a quick update on this: https://bittersoutherner.com/ollies-trolley-worlds-greatest-hamburger
[7] So yeah, his unsuccessful revenge quest led to him entering the sports management world later than he did in OTL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Y._Brown_Jr.#Basketball_ventures
[8] Whole segment is pulled from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Bryant#Anti-gay_rights_activism
[9] Video of actual scene found here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu8rcm
[10] Info obtained from passages (and graphs) found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States
[11] Real thing!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger_University
[12] Italicized parts are from some article found through Ann Dunham’s wiki page, but I can’t find it now (I’ll keep looking, though! o_O )
[13] This opening bit is taken from its OTL wiki page…
[14] IOTL, Amha Selassie declined to become king even after the Derg offered the throne to him. This makes me think that either he was reluctant to rule or did not believe he would be accepted as ruler by the people. But ITTL, as was mentioned, his father made him promise to “save Ethiopia,” a vague enough request for Amha to do what he thinks is in the best interest of the country, not so much the monarchy.
[15] OTL quote: http://www.quotehd.com/quotes/anita-bryant-quote-if-homosexuality-was-the-normal-way-god-would-have-made-adam
[16] Sadat really did do this, and it really did cause the PLO to be open to talks out of fear of being left out of an agreement between just Egypt and Israel!!!
[17] Upon further research, I became unsure if I should make this bit a part of this TL as, according to this source: https://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20150611_2 , Bush only got the OTL job in Venezuela because of father’s prior position in the CIA, but in this TL, G.H.W.B. never got that job, making me wonder if Bush would have still gone to Venezuela here. I think the CIA connection, though, may have only been a part of it, as Jeb seems qualified for the position.
[18] I (very briefly) mentioned in July/August 1970 that George W. Bush plays for the Houston Astros.

The popular vote percentage is also remarkably close to OTL 1984's, I like that twist a lot, even if it may not have been deliberate.

Is Donald Rumsfeld a Democrat ITTL, or is that just a typo?

Just a typo. EDIT: fixed; good eye, dude!

@gap80 , you okay with the following?

BASEBALL
World Series -- Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3

EXPANSION
Four new teams in Major League Baseball, two in the AL, two in the NL
The candidate cities:
* Buffalo
* Denver
* Milwaukee
* New Orleans
* Seattle
* Toronto
* Washington
Explored the idea but had no real chance -- Indianapolis, Miami, Norfolk, Portland, Tampa, Vancouver

(maybe the readers should help choose the four)

FOOTBALL
SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS SINCE THE 1970 MERGER
V (1971) - Baltimore Colts
VI (1972) - Dallas Cowboys
VII (1973) - Miami Dolphins
VIII (1974) - Pittsburgh Steelers
IX (1975) - Minnesota Vikings
X (1976) - Dallas Cowboys

EXPANSION
1976 - Seattle and Tampa Bay entered the NFL as its 27th and 28th franchises. The league rejected bids from the six surviving World Football League franchises (Birmingham Vulcans, Hawaiians, Memphis Southmen, Portland Storm, San Antonio Wings, Southern California Sun).

BASKETBALL
1976 NBA final - Phoenix Suns over Boston Celtics, 4 games to 3
1976 ABA final - Kentucky Colonels over New York Nets, 4 games to 2

1976-77 NBA ALIGNMENT
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION - Boston Celtics, Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, New York Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets
CENTRAL DIVISION - Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Spirits of St. Louis
WESTERN CONFERENCE
MIDWEST DIVISION - Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Kansas City Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
PACIFIC DIVISION - Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle SuperSonics

HOCKEY

1976 STANLEY CUP -- Montreal Canadiens d. Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 0

SOCCER

NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE
Tampa Bay Rowdies beat the Minnesota Kicks 2-1 to win the Soccer Bowl. The league played the season with 20 teams, but two (Boston, Philadelphia) folded at season's end and three more announced relocations for the 1977 season (Miami to Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio to Honolulu, San Diego to Las Vegas).

Nevertheless, the NASL continued to explore potential expansion. A report leaked to the media named potential expansion sites through 1980:

* Anaheim
* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cincinnati
* Cleveland
* Denver
* Detroit
* Houston
* Kansas City
* Louisville
* Memphis
* Montreal
* Norfolk
* Pittsburgh
* San Francisco/Oakland
* Tulsa/Oklahoma City
* Philadelphia
* Phoenix
* San Diego

Yes; this is all great, thanks a bunch!

On a more serious note...

@gap80 how do you see the religious right developing ITTL?

Similar to OTL, though Reagan's defeat here will likely give its political leaders pause. IOTL, the Colonel was on friendly terms with some members of the religious right, but he's a little pre-occupied at the moment with KFC and the annual Chicken Dinner Summit, so we'll see how things develop on that front in the upcoming years/chapters...

1) Boston would work, only because they don't have thec post-'75 letdown of OTL. But they need a few tweaks to make up 14 games int he standings.

2) Loved the first SNL skit, had me laughing out loud. The 2nd was good, I'm not one for scary movies s the Halloween theme wasn't as enjoyable but I still laughed. So, both were enjoyable.

3) Hinckley's end seemed very fitting.

4) Mondale beating Reagan that easily may force a move to the center by the GOP. I predict Howard Baker in '80 - I recall 1980 as the first election I started to follow and I really liked him, IIRC, but he dropped out early.

5) I don't think Gravel can win the primaries, I can see Jimmy Carter coming out on top. (Nice to see him in the Senate.) Or John Glenn.

1) That all sounds right, great analysis

2) Thanks, I'm glad to hear (um, read) it!

3) Yep!

4) Maybe; after all, four years is a lifetime on Planet Politic - a lot can happen prior to the 1980 primaries...

5) We'll see...

Theoretically, renovating the Superdome to configure it to baseball isn't out of the question (as proposed by this site (under baseball hypothetical): http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Superdome.html#diag)
Cool!

Interesting, though I still think Washington is preferred. Or Denver, the A's almost moved there in 78. (Wouldn't happen TTL with Finley owning the Colonels instead.)

With Clemente living and yet DaveParker a future star in right, Richie Zisk is expendable - he could also replace Dwight Evans in right and is more their type of player, though you could see them, after failing to do it with all sluggers, daring to get a guy who could steal 40 bases a year in Fenway to lead off like Rivers. Or trade Rivers for a 2B or 3B.
Interesting stuff; your knowledge on this subject is practically encyclopedic!
Good update there @gap80 - Mondale back again.

1) I really hope the Colonel’s Middle Eastern efforts can butterfly the Iranian Revolution- does the Shar like KFC? Perhaps the spotlight being in the region more makes Mondale pay more attention?

2) That dam collapse might put back Alt energy a bit if it’s considered risky making hydroelectric plants. Though Sanders mentioned solar so, maybe it balances out, esp if people remember windmills can make power.

3) Wonder if Tikhonov has a better relationship with China and the West? He’s likely to outlive the ‘old guard’ which us more stable for the USSR.

4) Revolution in South Africa and Amin deposed- could be good. Let’s see what slides in to replace those govt’s.

1) According to the threads I've found on this site pertaining to that subject, by 1976 the situation was ripe for revolution as, by the end of his OTL rule, the Shah had lost all internal support by basically alienating all but the wealthiest members of his country over the years, so the s#!t is still going to hit the fan - the real question, then, is how it's do so...

2) Maybe!

3) We'll see...

4) I'll cover how things are coming along in both nations in the next chapter :)

Does this have any effect on the Carollton Bus Crash that occurs in 1988?

Probably not directly, since this was the result of the driver not being familiar enough with the vehicle, while that 1988 crash was the result of a drunk driver. Still, the Colonel's temperance, the 1932 POD, and safer cars advocate Nader being in a higher position of power here could lead to butterflies that could see drunk driving levels differ from OTL by then.

Thanks you replying, y'all. I really appreciate the feedback! :)

You're welcome. I wasn't totally sure about Zisk but thought he might be, I'm wrong on some stuff too. :) I did recall that Dave Parker played right and had a rifle arm himself (just not a canon :) ) so we would see Clemente in left his last few years - the '75 Pirates' outfield might not have anyone taking extra bases on them!

Willie Randolph might be a good 2nd baseman for Boston, to, rather than the Yankees. Their lineup is thus: Rivers, Randolph, Rice, Lynn, Cecil Cooper, Yaz, Fisk, 3B, and SS. But, boy, I was stunned how good the Red Sox' pitching staff was in 1976 given they were in Fenway for half their games! This might be a case where the Big Red Machine outslugs the Red Sox because they *aren't* built as much for Fenway, so while Fisk hits his famous home run in Game 5 to stave off elimination, and Boston then wins Game 6 as well, the Reds finally break through and win Game 7 at home.
Duly noted!
Fun to see Reagan lose in a landslide for once
I'm glad you enjoyed that!
 
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Was the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire butterflied away (it occurred in May of 1977 IOTL; my mom went to that club a lot in the 1970s (1))? My mom has always said that the corner of Kentucky where the Supper Club was built was a corrupt area (maybe Colonel Sanders cracks down on fire code enforcement in the 1950s when he's governor)...

Good update, BTW; wonder what event occurs in 1978...

(1) She lived in Kentucky for much of the 1970s before moving to Corpus; she passed away three years ago, sadly...
 
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For @gap80 's approval...

A PARTIAL LIST OF 1977 CHAMPIONS IN PROFESSIONAL AND COLLEGIATE SPORTS
FOOTBALL
NFL
SUPER BOWL XI -- Oakland Raiders 33, Minnesota Vikings 24
NCAA
DIVISION I
Associated Press (media poll) -- Pittsburgh Panthers
United Press International (coaches poll) -- Pittsburgh Panthers, Maryland Terrapins

BASKETBALL
NBA
FINALS -- Portland Trail Blazers over Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 2
* The Colonels surprised most of the so-called experts by winning the Eastern Conference, sweeping past Philadelphia in the conference semifnals and beating another ex-ABA team, the New York Nets (still playing with Julius Erving, who was in his last contract year with the team and on his way out) in the conference finals. But Bill Walton and the Blazers outplayed Moses Malone and the Colonels in six games to win the first post-merger NBA title.
NCAA
DIVISION I
NATIONAL CHAMPION -- North Carolina

BASEBALL
WORLD SERIES -- New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 3
* George Steinbrenner's money finally got him that World Series trophy he coveted. Reggie Jackson, who came to New York via free agency, won Series Most Valuable Player honors. The '77 season was the inspiration for Sparky Lyle's controversial book, The Bronx Zoo.
** Baseball added four expansion teams for the first time since 1969 -- Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in the American League, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Senators in the National League. (New Orleans was encouraged to either have the Superdome renovated for baseball or build a baseball-only stadium for the next round of expansion, which insiders said wouldn't come for at least another 10 years).
* The Louisville Colonels finished fourth in the AL East
 
BTW, the Blizzard of 1978 occurred on my mom's 30th birthday, canceling whatever plans she had; she decided to move south that evening, and settled in Corpus Christi, Texas, where I was born in October of 1981 (two days after Anwar Sadat was assassinated; my mom was a fan of his, and wanted to name me Anwar, but my dad (luckily) was against it)...
 
[snip] …The Jazz’s Gail Goodrich improved his stats… [snip]

Why? What did NOLA ever do to you?:'(x'D

Deng proclaimed that he would retire in 1987, after 12 years in charge

I don't recall if this was as the plan as OTL, but if Hu can keep his post, I wonder if this will change the fate of Tiananmen in due time.

PUBLISHER TED KENNEDY UNVEILS PLANS FOR NEW “K.N.N.” NETWORK

…newspaper magnate Ted Kennedy, owner of the Sacramento Union, tonight unveiled his plans for a 24-hour news channel dubbed “Kennedy News Network.” The ambitious endeavor is the brainchild of three influential members of the news/“info-tainment” industry: Kennedy, media executive Reese Schonfeld, and businessman Robert Edward Turner III… Turner, the CEO of Public Television Network (PTN), explained at the announcement, “This is a massive endeavor, we’ve hired a staff of at least 300.” An expensive move as well, a total of roughly $32 million has been poured into KNN’s launch, and the operation is expected to cost millions per month in order to operate… KNN is set to begin operating later this year…

– The Los Angeles Times, 2/22/1978

So Ted Kennedy is the new Ted Turner in terms of cable news? Interesting.

The experience was frightening, but, in a strange way, I found the survivalist aspect of it to be quite exhilarating. It had a lasting effect on my relationship with nature, and the political issues of South America…

– Activist and survivalist expert Jeb Bush’s Perseverance: A Survival Guide, 2016

Interesting story with Jeb

Restauranteur-businessman John Y. Brown Jr. entered the world of sports in a big way when he purchased the Buffalo Braves [7] basketball team just prior to the 1977 season, affecting the careers of Moses Malone, Adrian Dantley and Dennis Johnson…

On second thought, if they do move to New Orleans after losing the Jazz, this would be a fair compromise. Plus, a new incentive on an arena for the city.

“Homosexuality is a foreign plot cooked up by the Reds; it’s a form of sex segregation, as it separates the two genders so they can have even less in common, hindering reproduction levels in America. The Reds are trying to pull a long con, here!”

– political activist J. B. Stoner to a reporter, CBS News, 7/10/1977

Damn, such a long con for an ideology that is younger than being gay :closedeyesmile:

Some major news coming in from the nation of Pakistan, where the Prime Minister, a one Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, has been overthrown in a military coup. The coup comes after months of social unrest and civil disobedience in Pakistan over allegations that Prime Minister, uh, Bhutto, had committed voter fraud to win the country’s general elections held back in March. We’ll have more information as the story develops… [SNIP] The new leader, and the new government in fact, uh, in Pakistan seems to now be of the military kind. The new leader, or at least the leader of the bloodless coup over there, is General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the Chief of Pakistan’s Army Staff, uh, um, who has announced that “free and fair elections” will be held in 90 days…

The Overmyer Network Special News Bulletin, 7/5/1977

A shame that Bhutto couldn't be saved and Pakistan not be sent to the Stone Age under Zia...

Overall, great post
 
Really cool; I wonder how Ted Kennedy having KNN based, I presume, on the West Coast impacts Ted Turner. He'll still be rich (Turner Broadcasting System will see to that) but not superrich. (Fun fact: When he first bought the Braves in 1977, he asked a player who wore number 17 to change his name on the uniform to "Channel" to give TBS free advertising.) Hew may start CNN but it won't have near the clout since it's not even first among the 24 hour new networks.

I recall 1978's blizzard really well, we had lots of snow in '77 but I don't think the blizzard hit us quite as much then, 1978 was huge, though. Here is a good video, even some broadcasting from 1:40 in the video from our family's favorite radio station.

Speaking of sports, is Muhammed Ali still boxing? Without the Vietnam stuff he's probably fought a few more times without the layoff, meaning he might have retired by now.

I wonderhow Barack McCain will develop politically; it'll be intgeresting. Perhaps becasue of needing to start his own path rather than try to please both his mom and dad - who are quite different - he will be the olitician known as a maverick like John was in OTL's 2008.

Nice to see Havana developing. Probably too poor to ever be a major league city - just like San Juan or Monterrey - but it could have a AAA team there someday, or at least AA.

Exciting to see John Amios get a show.

You put all 4 teams in the A.L., I'm sure that's a typo. (I can empathize, I typed "A.L." just now) Seattle would make sense in the A.L. with Toronto balancing out the West Coast and Canada, and in TTL Milwaukee was always an N.L. city so they'd go in the N.L. West and Washington in the N.L. East.
 
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With Harold Washington getting elected mayor six years earlier, Chicago city politics are going to be even nastier than they were IOTL. He might not have enough allies on the city council to keep his vetoes from being overturned. Which means it would be that shithead Vrdolyak who would be de facto running the city.
 
In 1977, Rod Crew needed 8 more hits to reach .400 on the year, he'd have been the first player since 1941 to do so. Did he get it? With 2 extra teams, that's 20 more pitchers, but those pitchers are mostly in the N.L. and I doubt that we could get him that many more, it's already an expansion year in the A.L..

George Brett is a different case. Unlike Carew, who played the whole season and would win the A.L. MVP for carrying the Twins, Brett was injured part of the time and therefore only needed 5 more hits, as he got the required number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting crown and hit .390 but only had 445 official at-bats (where he didn't walk, get hit by a pitch, etc.)

1980 is not an expansion year, and the 20 extra pitchers - who OTL would have been borderline major leaguers - haven't had a chance to get the coatching to become really good yet. They have also spread more through the majors.

His OTL 1980 game log if you need a date for anything (he actually had a bit of a slump early, but after May... wow!)

Therefore, I suggest that with 2 extra teams, Brett should hit .400 in 1980, the first one since Ted Williams. And that Carew might have hit about .390 or .391 in TTL's 1977. And with Kansas City, of course, he is such an iconic Royal.
 
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sounds like she was an amazing person (a Midwesterner in Texas invested in Middle Eastern affairs is quite interesting!).

Yeah, she was, @gap80; IMO, the name Anwar would not have gone over well post-9/11 in Texas (even though I don't look Middle Eastern). She voted for Democrats as president (except for McGovern--she didn't vote for him because he dropped Eagleton from the ticket (1)) and did not like Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush at all (and she would have hated President Trump (2))...

(1) IMO, Eagleton should have come clean to McGovern about his mental issues; yeah, he wouldn't be picked, but that would have been the right thing to do...
(2) Trump was inaugurated on what would have been her 69th birthday (she was born on January 20th, 1948)...
 
Chapter 43: March 1978 – November 1978
Chapter 43: March 1978 – November 1978

“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there”

– Teddy Roosevelt



FOUST CUTS RIBBON AT GRAND RE-OPENING OF REFURBISHED PLANT

…Governor Foust attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Huntsman Corporation’s massive newly-expanded and renovated plastics manufacturing plant in Campbell County during her promotion of her latest regulation bill... During the visit, Foust took the opportunity to also visit the elegant Beverly Hills Supper Club nearby for a photo-op with the prestigious clientele. The high-end club was the scene of a minor fire last year, leading to Foust also praising the raising of safety standards under Governors Sanders and Robsion… the state’s northernmost counties are relishing in the good fortune of this economy, but some locals are concerned that the statewide regulations enacted under the past four governors (Sanders, Combs, Robsion and Foust) will discourage the growth of native-Kentucky companies...

The Courier-Journal, 3/1/1978



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[pic: imgur.com/MoL6pjv.png ]

– Colonel Sanders' brief appearance in a KFC commercial, first aired 3/2/1978



It was inevitable. There were signs, but they were overlooked by most of the public. Wall Street insiders becoming more inclined to sell than to buy; earnings growth dropping dramatically as wages failed to match rising consumer prices leading to confident consumers buying on credit like the 1920s had never happened; and metals like gold and copper rising in value. After an unprecedented 14 years of growth, recession was bound to happen. And it did so rapidly.

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



EXTRA!: DOW PLUMMETS IN FIRST HOUR!: Markets In Disarray As Wall Street Is Gripped With Finances Crisis!

The New York Times, 3/4/1978



…Officer Smith witnessed Suspect Joseph Paul Franklin brandish a Ruger Model .44 caliber semi-automatic rifle amidst the panic overwhelming said local bank. Suspect did not acknowledge Smith’s order to lower said weapon and put his hands in the air, compelling Smith to shoot Franklin in the hand… Franklin is a listed suspect in the 12/17/1977 non-fatal shooting of an unarmed interracial couple in Cincinnati, Ohio… Franklin is currently maintaining his right to remain silent… It may be of interest to note that Franklin was arrested in close proximity to the whereabouts of media mogul Larry Flynt…

– Arrest report from local police, Lawrenceville GA, 3/5/1978



In some ways, the situation was very similar to the panic that had overwhelmed Wall Street 14 years prior, as the NYSE fell into disorder and the Dow dropped 400 points. For their part, the SEC reflected on their handling of stagflation, inflation, and price-and-wages freezes under the last two Presidents, and sought to intervene even further than in the past.

[snip]

On Capitol Hill, politicians had their fun accusing one another of being to blame for the recession. The White House, both indirectly and (informally) directly, claimed it on the long-term effects of the 1973 Oil Shock and on President Sanders’s alleged mishandling of the economy. Others pointed fingers at the Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the United States, for overlooking vital signs of a recession being on the way.

On March 5, in the Oval Office, Mondale sat down with all relevant members of his cabinet, league of advisors, and inner circle for an hours-long debate...

– John Kenneth Galbraith’s Prosperity Upended: The Causes and Effects of the 1978 Recession, Excelsior Publishers, 1993



“They’re saying excess spending’s what done it,” noted Attorney General Clark.

“That makes no sense,” noted Commerce Secretary Moss.

“But they’re saying it with confidence – that is the problem,” Clark replied.

Labor Secretary Kennedy was more reflective, and, contemplating the works of FDR, thought out loud “maybe we should launch some new ‘New Deal’ or something.”

Treasury Secretary Roosa disagreed with, “No, I think we need to call for a temporary tax increase to get country rolling again.”

“I thought of that, too,” the President spoke. “I’m very much inclined to raise taxes to solve this issue, but we’d have to do it fairly. [1] And even then, it may not encourage manufacturing and construction, let alone consumer spending.”

“It depends on the type of tax, I suppose,” Chief of Staff Moe encouraged his boss’s notion, “We hit the top classes, they’ll take it out on the lower classes. We can’t hit the lower classes, because they can’t afford it. That leaves the middle class.”

Mondale interjected with “Not unless we do a flat tax. Hit everyone across the board.”

“Do we go with a number, by bracket, or a percentage? 1% from someone on skid row differs greatly from 1% from someone in Manhattan,” asked Mary Collins, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“Percentage, makes it the most fair and it gets everyone to pitch in,” suggested Chief Economic Policy Advisor Linder.

Mondale, ruminating the idea, quietly muttered, “I really should have seen this thing coming.”

Kennedy objected to the notion by saying “I think a tax hike on anyone right now would only hurt everyone.”

“I’d recommend slashing prices for the poor and middle, and raising taxes on the rich, but the rich would make sure we paid for it in November, if we even manage to pass such a thing to begin with,” Speaker Udall noted as we thought of which members of his party would and would not vote for such a bill.

A second issue then came into the conversation when the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, former businessman Sandy Trowbridge, reminded the assembly of men and women present of the crisis facing bankers now. “If we let the banks fail, their customers will get money back.”

Linder shook his head, “No, no, that can’t work like that – we have to bail them out.”

Moss added “ – and create a debt relief program for struggling homeowners and businesses facing bankruptcy.”

“But that’d make a huge government deficit!” Roosa proclaimed.

“Then we’ll have to slash taxes to stimulate growth to get rid of the deficit!” Kennedy got into Moss’s corner, “but leave the most essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid alone, I say.”

Roosa was again dismissive, “We’d never get out of the red before the end of our time here, and the Republicans will retake the White House lickety-split!”

“We have two years to prep for that,” Mondale said boldly, “But we need to address this problem now! Listen – I’ve listened to both sides, and the tax hikes are tempting. Raising taxes hurts short-term but helps long-term, but too many people are short-sighted. I like what Kennedy said, though, about major work programs, but I’d personally would be willing to go in the opposite direction and actually raise taxes.”

“The problem then becomes not which programs would see a cut in spending, but how to tell the American people that taxes are good for them.” Clark said flatly with a sprinkling of sarcasm, just enough to make the President aware of his criticism without offending him. Clark then leaned in with earnest. “Fritz, lowering taxes raises worker take-home pay, allowing them to put more of their money into the economy, which raises demands from businesses, which causes the economy to grow again.”

Mondale replied with a response that did not directly address the tax query at all: “Then we encourage spending and go about creating jobs. We need to stimulate the economy, so we’ll raise government spending for this year, cut back the next to shrink back the deficit, and we’ll also lower interest rates. That should do the trick. It might be slower, it might be tougher, it might even cost us a few seats in November, but I think it’ll help more people in the short run and in the long run.”

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



“I remember I had a harder time looking for work than my siblings… Prices for everything were going up and banks and management people were freaking out over the sudden downturn. People began acting like a hurricane was hitting all fifty states, it seemed.”

– Frank Morabito of Fort Wayne, IN in KNN anniversary special, 2008



Another step in warming relations between Israel and the P.L.O. was the historic March 11[, 1978] exchanging of an equal number of low-ranking prisoners between the two entities. Naturally, the agreement led to some – shall we call them the overly passionate? – being outraged. But the average Israeli and the average Palestinian wanted to live in peace, and so approved of what they viewed as something that could get them closer to living in that way.

– Martin van Creveld’s Defending Israel: A Controversial Plan Toward Peace, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004



IN DEFENSE OF WALL STREET

…the Free Market cannot be treated with libertarian ideology at all times without creating dangerous situations for the well-being of its users… However, even the humanitarian former President Colonel Sanders opposes the banks being bailed out, stating “There’s no such thing as a bank that’s too big to fail. That’s like sayin’ there’s no such thing as a three-legged chicken. Sure, you won’t see one often, but it can happen, it has happened, and it will happen again. And cuttin’ off the third leg don’t change the facts of the matter.” While the Colonel’s perseverance to his principles is admirable, the situation at hands calls for a more practical approach. And as bitter as it may sound, government intervention in the marketplace is a necessary evil to preserve consumer confidence at this moment of crisis...

– National Review, 3/7/1978 Special Report



“The causes of this recession were put into motion long before I entered office, but criticizing past mistakes will not improve current conditions. Making the rich pay their fair share of taxes like everybody else is this congress’s new obligation. It is clear that what the American people want from the Federal Reserve is monetary policies that make sense -- that help people buy houses and cars and home appliances. That place people -- millions of men and women -- back to work like FDR did, and retrain workers who were abandoned. That rebuild our nation's roads and bridges and dams and waterlines. These make up our nation's physical foundation, so they have to be sound. That tell government and business and labor that we have to work together to rebuild the nation's basic industries. We have to work together and stand together; there's no other way. That is why I am calling for legislation that will slash taxes to encourage spending and for a sit-down with the nation’s governors to work on public works projects to lower the unemployment rate, and to study this situation on a state-by-state basis... [2]

– President Mondale’s Special Address to the Nation, 3/9/1978




HOST: San Francisco’s city council just signed into law the most comprehensive BLUTAG rights bill in the nation ever, and the responses to it have been polarized. Phyllis Schlafly, you have said that this development is disgraceful, correct?

SCHLAFLY: Yes, it is an affront to God.

HOST: But what about the separation of Church and State?

SCHLAFLY: Separating Church and State is not the same as Church being ignored by State. We are an almost entirely Christian nation, and our laws need to reflect the wishes of all the people, not the wants of some people.

HOST: Which is why the law was passed, so BLUTAG people will be treated like all the rest of us.

SCHLAFLY: They are not like the rest of us, though, because they do not follow God’s will, and neither does this new law.

HOST: But what about the separation of Church and State?

Meet the Press interview, 3/28/1978



Mondale Talks Shop With the National Governor’s Association: Leaves “Optimistic” At “Hardhat Work” To Be Done To Combat Economic Crisis

The Washington Post, 4/7/1978



Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had served as Shah (King) of Iran since 1941, but it seemed his time as its head of state was coming to close one way or another. His perceived pandering to the US and western society was igniting opposition lead by the Ayatollah (leading Shia cleric) Ruhollah Khomeini, especially after the news of recession hitting the US led to fear that soon the economy ripples would soon hit Iran.

On April 10, 1978, the 58-year-old Shah of Iran was assassinated by an avid supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini, claiming the Shah planned to “sell out” his country to the US and Israel. The assassination came a mere two days after the Shah had informally commented “That Begin is not that bad of a man,” a reference to Israel’s Menachem Begin. However, police reports indicate the murdering political extremist was planning the assassination for at least two weeks.

Across the seas and oceans, in the skies high above a much different desert landscape, Reza Pahlavi was flying shotgun in a Thunderbolt jet piloted by one of his fellow trainees at the US Air Force base in Lubbock, Texas. Reza, the Crown Prince of Iran, was wrapping up basic training and had been permitted to go on what he called “a bit of a joyride.” He would soon be given more serious things to do than go joyriding. Upon returning to zero altitude, Reza was informed that he had just inherited a nation of roughly 35 million people. He was 17-and-a-half years old.

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[pic: imgur.com/Adc7Fhb.png ]
Above: Reza in 1978; the new ruler refused to be “replaced” by a temporary regent upon becoming King at such a young age, believing he would be fully capable of governing the country with the help of advisors. After turning 18, the controversial dispute (which included claims of his mother being the true power behind the throne) was rendered moot.

The young prince, upon returning to Iran as its new Shah, quickly discovered that his father’s initial base of support was long gone due to years of alienating. To stay in power, Reza sought to turn the public against the Ayatollah Khomeini by cracking down on corruption and implementing basic public health and employment programs to combat early signs of recession. Like his father, the Shah Reza was accused of being an American puppet by his opponents, only for him to counteract by making proclamations that tightened the bonds between church and state in terms of respect to traditional values. Soon, the quality of life began improving nationwide thanks to the reforms, and Khomeini supporters began resorting to terrorist acts of rebellion. Encouraged by Khomeini’s call to demonstrate against “the puppet shah,” his followers began planting bombs in government offices and attacking government officials at regional offices, American and western embassies, and other places. Attempts to take American diplomats and workers failed after Reza doubled Iranian security forces in Tehran. Khomeini continued to lose ground as the year progressed, however, as many Iranians began to believe that the new leader was the change that Iran had so badly needed.

Shah Reza branded Khomeini a terrorist and a traitor, and ordered he stand trial despite advisors calling for his death. The new leader, perhaps inspired by his time in the United States, announced that he wanted to make Iran “the Switzerland of the middle east,” a financial and corporate hub for the region that would stay neutral in regards to major worldwide geopolitical issues. This appealed to neither pro-western nor anti-western members of the inner circle inherited from his father, but the King was adamant. According to the accounts of his eldest son, Reza “repeatedly had to explain to his advisors the amount of wealth had and prosperity experienced by both the people of Switzerland” to keep them from “even thinking of pulling off some sort of coup.”

Khomeini was finally dealt with in 1983, when…

– Michael Axworthy’s A History of Iran, Basic Books, 2008



For once, Mike [Gravel] and Walt [Mondale] agreed on something when Fritz cancelled production of the neutron bomb, a new weapon that had the potential to kill people with radiation while leaving buildings relatively intact. [3]

– Joseph Walker Barr’s The Mulling Minnesotan: Mondale’s Military Moments, Borders Books, 1994




The 1978 Georgian Massacre of April 14, 1978, began as a wave of demonstrations in response to Soviet Premier Suslov’s efforts to change language statuses in the Georgian SSR. The demonstrations primarily occurred in Tbilisi, the SSR’s capital, after it was made clear that Suslov intended to replace the region’s official language of Georgian with Russian. Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets in an obvious open expression of opposition to state policy. Suslov would not tolerate this “insubordination,” as he called it, and ordered in the military to “put down [a] potential uprising.” On April 15, members of the Soviet Army opened fire on a large collection of protestors, killing over 110 people and wounding roughly 350 more.

While the Soviet Pravda did not report the mass shooting, the story made its way outside of the Georgian SSR, first being reported in the United Kingdom and West Germany as a “massacre” before the event reached the US. The USSR received international condemnation and contributed to anti-Soviet sentiment in the SSRs of the Caucuses mountain region…

– clickopedia.co.usa



BOB MARLEY PLAYS FOR PEACE: Over 32,000 Attend the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, Jamaica

The Daily Telegraph, 4/22/1978



SOLDIERS EXCHANGE GUNFIRE IN PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN BORDER SKIRMISH

…at least three soldiers were injured on both sides of the border in an incident concerning Pakistani citizens attempting to flee into Afghanistan…

The Guardian, 4/25/1978



…The specifics of “Mondale’s bill” dictated that taxes would be raised across the board for six months in order to address economic woes. Being open and honest about it seemed to be having a less-than-desirable affect, as more and more conservatives such as William F. Buckley and Congressman Phil Crane sought to use Fritz’s own words against him...

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



ROCKY TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR AGAIN DESPITE RECENT HEALTH SCARE

…The former Governor and H.E.W. Secretary has been in failing health since at least early 1977, according a former member of his inner circle. “He had to be put on blood thinners and a new diet, but he keeps refusing the doctor’s order for bed rest, and instead is increasingly defying him by increasing his schedule.” Others, including pundits, have pointed to how Rockefeller, at almost the age of 70, seems to have poor back and hands that regularly shake… [4]

– The New York Times, 5/1/1978




MONDALE PULLS TROOPS FROM ANGOLA AMID ECONOMIC WOES BACK HOME

The Boston Globe, 5/2/1978



ANGOLAN WITHDRAWAL IS A COLD-WAR FORFEITURE TO THE USSR!: Without U.S. Support, African Nation Is Doomed to A Communist Takeover

The New York Post, opinion article, 5/2/1978



…Earlier today, both chambers of congress established what is being called the Troublesome Assets Relief Program, or TARP, which is a new federal program that is meant to allow the US Treasury to bail out troubled banks. The legislation establishing the program also increases the FDIC’s limit on bank deposits in order for said banks to be able to tap federal funds needed to avoid bankruptcy…

– The Overmyer Network, 5/4/1978 broadcast



REP. RON PAUL DEFEATS SEVERAL OTHERS IN GOP SENATE PRIMARY

…The 1.5-term Congressman will continue to run for LBJ’s old seat on his small-government, anti-taxes campaign messages…

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5/6/1978



1% FLAT TAX CUT BILL PASSES SENATE, 52-48: Conservatives Outraged Over Wealthy Paying More

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[pic: https://imgur.com/RhI8cVC ]
Above: a visibly tired President Mondale addressing critical questions at a White House Press Briefing just prior to the vote; Mondale is expect to sign the bill into law as soon as possible.

...The Economic Modification and Stability bill is part of an omnibus economic stimulus package granting unemployment benefits to a large swath of struggling Americans, as well as tax write-offs for small businesses…

The Washington Post, 5/7/1978



On March 9, political strategist Jesse Helms won the Republican nomination for US Senate. His victory, and, subsequently, his campaign, was one of many to obtain strong endorsements from Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, William F. Buckley, and other members of the “Religious Right” movement. …The defeat of Ronald Reagan in 1976 convinced conservatives in the party that Americans were not yet familiar with the benefits of conservatism for them to be successful on the national stage. In their effort to build up such a familiarity, organizers began growing grassroots campaigns immediately afterward, and sought to bring new leadership to Washington come November 1978. …Their Republican opponents, whom differed from them by supporting limited “helping hand” welfare programs akin to the policies of Colonel Sanders, soon adopted a term for themselves: while leaders like Helms were conservative candidates and those like Ron Paul were libertarian candidates, people such as Jay Hammond and Frank X. McDermott were “Colonel Conservative” candidates. As for The Colonel himself, the former President was not as active in this election cycle as he had in previous years, likely due to him being preoccupied with peace talk efforts unfolding in the Middle East that year…

– Michael Stewart Foley’s Front Porch Politics: American Activism in the 1970s and 1980s, 2013 net-book edition



“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”

– Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) on Meet the Press, 5/22/1978 [5]



On May 28, 1978, a massive prison escape in northern Florida gave the Sunshine state’s unpopular Governor Louis A. “Skip” Bafalis the perfect opportunity to regain his popularity. Bafalis immediately organized the state police forces to finally push forward the “law and order” promises that he had made in 1970 and 1974. State troops patrolled the streets of all the nearby towns, leading to all 10 escaped convicts being captured within a week. The one that got the farthest away did so by stealing a boat in his attempt to flee to Cuba, not knowing of the island nation’s extradition policy. Another one, in a moment captured by local TV cameras, was shot in the knee and apprehended just two miles south of the Georgian border on June 20. The events caused Bafalis to appear on TV again and again. Complaints that the Governor was becoming too much of a spotlight hog and accusations that state and local police were too violent to the convicts failed to break down the newfound popularity of the Governor the media quickly (and, perhaps, appropriately) dubbed “Florida’s Gentleman Biaggi.”

– Meg Jacobs’ Pressure at the Polls: The Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s, 2016 net-book edition



CALGARY TO HOST 1984 WINTER OLYMPICS!

Calgary, Alberta, CANADA – Despite a late entry into the process, the Canadian city won the bid to host the 1984 games over Sarajevo, Yugoslavia; Gothenburg, Sweden; and several other cities, especially several American cities, who possibly sought to gain wealth from hosting the major event amid economic recession…

– The Daily Mirror, 18/5/1978



An early test of the [February 1978] peace treaty’s effectiveness came on May 24, when an oil tanker crashed into rocks at low tide and spilled several tons of oil into the sea. The people of both Ireland and Northern Ireland worked together to clean up the mess the spill left of the coastline of both political entities in a showing of peaceful cooperation that would have been likely unimaginable just a decade earlier...

– Andrew Marr’s Modern Britain: A History, Pan Macmillan Publishers, 2002 edition



VOTERS APPROVE PROP 13 IN LANDSLIDE

…capping the state’s real estate tax amount at 1% is expected to slash property taxes by 60% and relieve millions of Golden State property owners… Governor Reagan’s opposition to the Proposition will likely not help his re-election bid… “The Founding Fathers would be proud that their idea of limited taxation is still being upheld two-hundred years later,” says Howard Jarvis, the former US Congressman (1965-1971) who used the initiative process to create Proposition 13. However, opponents of the Proposition question the constitutionality of the law…

The Los Angeles Times, 6/6/1978



PRIMARY UPSET TESTS STRENGTHS OF GOP’S CONSERVATIVE FACTIONS

Helena, MT – Last night’s primary for the GOP nomination for Montana’s Class 2 Senate seat ended in an upset, as author and stock-and-commodity trader Larry R. Williams campaigned extensively to defeat controversial incumbent US Senator Hank Hibbard by a margin of 3.4%. Williams, 35, opposed Hibbard over concerns that the incumbent’s deeply conservative policies were hurtful to Montanans “at a time when the feds have to actually do something with the tax money we give them.” Williams also alleged Hibbard had failed to address statewide issues since his election in 1972, exclaiming “Montanans deserve an actual Senator on Capitol Hill” at a victory rally last night. Williams favors indexing tax brackets for inflation and other market indicators of his own creation, which he has promoted through his published books. The young writer’s win is also a victory for the “Colonel Conservative” faction of the GOP, which supports federal investments such as establishing public works programs to lower employment, while “Reagan Conservative” politicians like Hibbard supported tax cuts for the wealthy to incentivize businesses into hiring more workers…

– The New York Times, 6/7/1978



…On June 8, police raided Biko’s house to arrest him on what was later determined to trumped-up charges… Biko escaped apprehension when supporters began throwing rocks at the police officers as a distraction. Biko fled to the breakaway Bantu of Transkei to coordinate anti-Apartheid activism from a safer vantage point...

– clickopedia.co.usa/Steve_Biko



After the 1977 bilateral agreements with Egypt and Israel, multilateral agreements with Israel, Egypt, Syria, non-PLO representatives of Palestine, Iran, and Oman began in the summer of 1978.

[snip]

The objectives led to a proposed trade-off: in exchange for recognition of Israel’s right to exist in peace, Israeli citizens and military would withdraw from occupied territories gained in the 1967 Sukkot War, with an addition of a formal assurance that Israel would not threaten the security of any of its border-sharing neighbors and visa-versa. “Unless one nation indisputably attacks first,” Begin was careful with the semantics of the language to avoid loopholes.

Anwar was intrigued by a notion that had arisen during the Chicken Dinner Summits, that Israeli investments in energy and technology could be profitable long-term. From this, the two men agreed that the proposed multilateral treaty would also include a stipulation that all signatory Arab states would have exclusive rights to Israeli markets ahead of other nations. The representatives of Jordan, Oman and Syria concurred.

– Harry Hurwitz and Yisrael Medad’s Peace In The Making: The Menachem Begin-Anwar El-Sadat Personal Correspondence, Gefen Publishing House, 2011



REPORT: Angola Veterans Suffering From Dengue Fever! [6]

– The Sacramento Union, 6/17/1978




The high number of conservative Republicans running against incumbent moderate Republicans gave the Democrats high hopes for November, as the conservative movement was failing to find a foothold in the Democratic party outside of the south, where only some notable conservative Democrats remained by this point in time…

– Gary C. Jacobson’s The Power and the Politics of Congressional Elections, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015



…In 1956, Elvis Presley getting a polio vaccination on national TV raised immunization levels in the US from 0.6% to 80% in just 6 months. Now, the King is calling for American everywhere to take note of another health issue, and donate to several organizations and medical and charitable organizations aiming at treating Angolan War soldiers suffering from Dengue Fever, a tropical disease spread by mosquitos for which there is no known cure. Mr. Presley is reportedly working with Jerry Lewis of Jerry’s Kids to promote this cause, and the King is urging people to donate to places such as the CDC, the National Institute of Allergy and Infestious Diseases, and other medical and Veteran-related organizations to combat what Elvis is calling a, quote, “major health crisis hurting my fellow veterans,” unquote…

– NBC News, 6/29/1978 broadcast



LAST AMERICAN TROOPS EXIT ETHIOPIA

– The New York Times, 7/1/1978



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[pic: https://imgur.com/Lc8wC3M ]
– Norman Rockwell (left) and Colonel Sanders (right), c. early July 1978



ELECTION ’78: ANTHONY BEATS REECE

Canberra – Concerns over the extent that the US’s economic recession will impact the Australian economy had spurred the National Country party into obtaining a majority in tonight’s general elections, making Doug Anthony the next Prime Minister. Anthony, 48, has been in parliament since 1957… After entering office less than two years ago, outgoing Prime Minister Eric Reece, 68, failed to unite the Labor party over several budget and agrarian bills and policy proposals…

The Canberra Times, Australian newspaper, 7/7/1978



FRENCH SCIENTISTS MAKE BREAKTHROUGH IN ISFV RESEARCH

…people in five U.S. states and two French provinces have already died from the effects of the Immunity System Failure Virus…

Associated Press, 7/11/1978



...The December 1970 talks with President Arias, Vice President Torrijos, US Secretary of State Curtis and the US Ambassador to Panama saw the outline of an agreement… that the US would hand over control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians after a 15-year transition period starting in 1979 in exchange for U.S. preference in Panamanian markets via trade deal. …Conservatives in the U.S., already hurt by the drop in representation that follow the 1970 midterms, openly opposed the talks, with Senator Cotton claiming “giving them our canal would be an insult to the Americans who built it.” Governor-elect of California Ronald Reagan added to the opposition by stating “We built it, we own it, it’s ours!” [7] In 1978, however, the tune had changed to a more accepting one, as more Americans and politicians began to see the trade-off as both a maintaining of American dominance in regards to economic opportunity in the region and the preserving of the freedom and liberty of the locals…

– Ashley Carse’s Beyond the Big Ditch: Politics, Ecology, and Infrastructure at the Panama Canal, MIT Press, 2014



On 18 July, Nelson Mandela celebrated his sixtieth birthday in his prison cell. Unbeknownst to him, the prison collected over 10,000 birthday cards sent to him by anti-Apartheid activists in Britain. The UN Special Committee on Apartheid marked the anniversary with further condemnation of the South African government. Across the city of Pretoria, activists led worker strikes and hunger strikes outside of government offices, causing hundreds to experience police brutality. Police also responded to the “domestic crisis” by launching additional raids on suspected activist supporters of Steve Biko, who still remained “at large,” coordinating “the Great Struggle” from the friendly territory of Transkei... [8]

– Julian Brown’s The Road to Soweto: Resistance & Revolution in Post-Soweto South Africa, Jacana Publishers, 2016




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– Norman Rockwell’s painting of Colonel Sanders, painted c. June 1978 and unveiled 7/20/1978



MARKETS RECOVERING SLOWER THAN EXPECTED, 3RD QUARTER LIKELY TO UNDERPERFORM

The Wall Street Journal, 7/21/1978



GOVERNOR DICK LAMM IN HOT WATER OVER NEW TAX HIKE PROPOSAL

The Denver Post, 7/22/1978



SOVIETS FACING FINANCIAL CRISIS OF THEIR OWN

…With its many oil reserves being used up quicker than expected after decades of production, oil and gasoline in the U.S.S.R. now costs 84% more than it had as early as the late 1960s, and oil is not the only resource climbing in price. Basic commodities are feeling the effects of the Soviet Union’s economic system, which, due to being bogged down by bureaucratic red tape since its conception, cannot respond sufficiently to the fast-changing and flexible complexities of the modern economic world. As such, the Soviet people are facing worker alienation and a lack of economic innovation that is much more severe than what Americans are currently experiencing…

– The Wall Street Journal, 7/26/1978



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– Colonel Sanders campaigning for Republican candidates for Kentucky’s U.S. House seats, 7/27/1978



HANOI OPENS ITS FIRST K.F.C.

…In Vietnam’s south, the city Saigon already has five within city limits, makes for a total of nine KFC outlets in the southeast Asian country…

– The Louisville Times, 7/29/1978



POPE PAUL VI HAS DIED: Church Leader Suffered Heart Attack At Age 80

9-Day Mourning Period With Body Lying In State Begins Tomorrow

The Baltimore Sun, newspaper, 8/6/1978



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The charismatic Pedro Luis Boitel (b. 1931), a poet and dissident who opposed both Batista and Castro during the 1960s before joining Cuba’s Chamber of Representatives in 1970, revived interest in the fledgling Stability Party. The last-minute fear of instability led to a surge in support for said party as well, allowing them to surpass the New Authority Party, but not the conservative party in the July round of voting.

Established moderate Andres Rivero Aguero (1905-1996), the Prime Minister of Cuba from 1957 to 1958 who was elected President in 1958 but was denied the position, returned to national politics under the Conservative Party banner.

Retired Army General Eulogio Cantillo (1911-1978) of the New Authority Party, who would die one month after the August round, was criticized for being an active early supporter of Castro, damaging the prospects of the party that many early (pre-1978) polls and pundits projected would win over 50% of the vote in the July round.

[snip]

The energetic campaign of Boitel overwhelmed the milquetoast Aguero in the nation’s first runoff election… The results meant a shift in foreign policy away from what Boitel called “blind loyalty” to the US without favoring socialism either, instead favoring a new “Cuban direction,” which some described as populism nationalism, though Boitel called it “passionate patriotism.”…

– clickopedia.co.cuba/1978_general_election/English_translation



NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE

Directed by John Landis

Screenplay by Harold Ramos, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller

Starring John Belushi, Donald Sutherland

Before National Lampoon’s Animal House, no one ever had the guts to make an honest movie about college life. From Good News to Love Story, from Campus Confidential to the Paper Chase, Hollywood has chosen to regard the campus as a haven for earnest young lovers, gung-ho jocks, inspirational professors and tortured class losers. Animal House, a riotous farce set at fictional Faber College in 1962, presents quite another picture… At its best it perfectly expresses the fears and loathings [sic] of kids who came of age in the late ’60s; at its worst Animal House revels in abject silliness. The hilarious highs easily compensate for the puerile lows…

– Frank Rich’s film review for Time Magazine, 8/14/1978 [9]



…I’m standing outside a movie theater in Denver, Colorado, where a group of activists are picketing the theater and calling for a boycott of the recently-released movie “Animal House.” The film is a risqué comedy depicting the more negative potential aspects of college life. The people behind me are outraged over depictions in the film that say are degrading to women, most notably a scene where a woman passes out in front of a man with whom she was about to, um, have a moment of intimacy, and the young man momentarily seriously considers, uh, forcing himself onto her, until a shoulder angel talks him out of it. Another scene depicts a 14-year-old in another adult situation. The movie, according to the boycotters, also makes light of underage, eh, relations, and various levels of sexual pestering…

– news correspondent, CBS News, 8/19/1978 broadcast



LT. GOV. HAZEL HEATH, PROUDLY “COLONEL CONSERVATIVE,” WINS PRIMARY ELECTION IN U.S. SENATE BID

…Heath chose to run for the Senate instead of for Governor due to the popularity of leading Republican gubernatorial candidate Lowell Thomas Jr., who won the nomination tonight by a wide margin. Also in tonight’s gubernatorial races, first-term Congressman Bill Clinton won the Democratic nomination amidst claims that he is “not Alaskan enough,” as he moved to the state less than a decade ago after being inspired to do so by the career of Vice President Gravel…

– The Fairbanks News-Miner, 8/22/1978



JAMES HOWARD MEREDITH: A NEW VOICE FOR THE SENATE

Who is James Meredith?: Born in June 25, 1933 in Mississippi, Meredith is an American politician, Civil Rights Movement figure, writer, political commentator, and Air Force Veteran. He served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1960 before becoming one of the first Black students to attend Jackson State University. In 1963, in the midst of the Cuban War, Meredith put his education on hold to re-enlist, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain. In 1967, soon after graduating from JSU, Meredith ran for U.S. House seat from New York against Adam Clayton Powell, then ran for the Republican nomination for a US Senate in his native Mississippi in 1972. This past June, Meredith won the primary for the GOP nomination by a 4% margin over Congressman Thad Cochran.

What does he stand for?: Meredith stands for “Colonel conservatism.” He wants to simplify America’s domestic program systems, bring for an era of racil reconciliation, and tax break on small businesses to help re-stimulate the economy…

– “Meredith For Senate” pamphlet, first printed and circulated around Mississippi 8/23/1978



As US Secretary of State Jimmy Carter continued his visits, the dictatorial regime began to show signs of coming to an end through more peaceful avenues than previously thought possible. …Ernesto Geisel’s tenure oversaw the oversaw the abertura (“opening up”) of the country to others, the liberalizing of Brazil, the formation of a new Constitution in 1978. Taking some of the suggestions given by the US State Department, Geisel also re-implemented Brazil’s Electoral College in time to hold a new election in 1980... [10]

– Boris Faustino and Sergio Fausto’s Brazil: A Nation's History, Cambridge University Press, 1999 (Second Edition, 2014)




…In other news, Maryland’s state Supreme Court has ruled that, due to the incumbent Governor Marvin Mandel being sentenced to an additional year of jail without parole, he will be unable to carry out the duties of the office for the rest of his term. As a result, the court also ruled in favor of Blair Lee, the state’s acting Governor for almost a year now, who argued that he should officially become full governor in light of Mandel’s newest legal adversity. As Acting Governor, Lee has sought to distance himself from Mandel by appointing special prosecutors to every state department in order to, quote, “root out any and all other scandals now instead of later,” unquote…

– NBC News, 8/23/1978 broadcast



With the boycotts leading to her sponsors dropping her, and her funds subsequently drying up, Bryant decided to jump into politics at a time when the budding “religious right” movement was trying to vindicate and rebuild themselves in the wake of their Presidential candidate, former monkey handler Ronald Reagan, losing in a landslide in 1976.

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After talks with state political leaders, Anita decided to give electoral politics a try, quoting a line quickly becoming one often spouted by misinformed newcomers: “If the Colonel could do it, so can I!” Bryant ran for an open congressional seat in a deeply conservative section of her native state of Oklahoma, where she capitalized on her reputation as “a leader of the fight to preserve family values,” as she called it. Pledging to combat “militant homosexuality” [11], she won the nomination with ease, making her election in November an inevitability…

– Brandon Teena’s The Rise of BLUTAG Rights: The Story of the Bi-Lesbian-Undefined-Trans-Asexual-Gay Movement, Scholastic, 2019



…The Papal conclave in Vatican City has just announced that Cardinal Albino Luciani, the Patriarch of Venice, has been elected to be the Catholic Church’s new Pope… Apparently, he will take the name of “John Paul” to honor both his predecessor Pope John XXIII, and that pope’s predecessor, Pope Paul VI…

The Overmyer Network, 8/26/1978 broadcast



…In early September [1978], the first class of KFC College students walked through those doors and began taking classes training them in the fast-food industry. …The teachers are called the Colonel’s Scholars, and they’re all certified teachers and experienced members of the KFC family…

– Dave Thomas’ Under the Colonel’s Wing, Mosaic Publishing, 1982



Elena [Ceausescu] ran Romania like it was her own personal fiefdom. She considered the masses to be “rats” and privately referred to them as such. And she let her cronies pursue an unchecked reign of terror across Romania. To stay in power and generate revenue, Elena began allowing any sort of character, from drug lords to corrupt politicians to mafia members, to use Romania as their own private bank (for a fee, of course) in 1973. By 1978, Elena had developed a vanity cult around herself, and in doing so spent much of her country’s G.D.P. on herself each year, purchasing lavish expenses, twice-renovating the Presidential Palace, one of the largest buildings on Earth at the time, and creating a security apparatus that was so intrusive that it is estimated that over ten percent of the country’s population were informants, [12] most of which were gossiping housewives-turned-snitches who kept their oppressive fingers on the pulse of their respective neighborhoods. Thousands “disappeared” between 1971 and 1978 due to their inquisitiveness. Women also suffered under the wrath of Elena due to her banning of makeup and making abortion a capital offense, famously explaining to it be a matter of justice: “a life for a life.”

Her hold on power began to slip away in 1977, when coal miners went on strike in the Jiu Valley. In one of the largest assembly of dissatisfied workers since the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, 35,000 workers stop working on August 1. Elena refused to send a negotiating team as suggested by most members of the Communist Party at first. Instead, the police opening fire on the strikers. Talk of resistance began to form as the dozens of dead workers made many rethink their allegiance to the state. Demonstration against her began sprouting up that next year, and increased each time someone became a martyr. By September 1978, thousands across the country were ready for change...

– Vladimir Tismaneanu’s Stalinism For All Seasons: A Political History of Romanian Communism, University of California Press, Third Edition, 2023



…tonight’s most prominent primaries where in Florida and Minnesota. In the Sunshine State, Jack Eckerd, the preferred choice of the popular incumbent Governor Bafalis, won the Republican nomination with ease. In Minnesota, voters selected a unique matchup, as a conservative Democrat will face off against a liberal Republican in November. The popular incumbent Senator Bob Short won the Democratic nomination, while former Governor Harold Stassen won the GOP nomination unopposed...

– CBS report, 9/12/1978



A major test of the new King’s leadership skills arrived on September 16, 1978, when a 7.4-scale earthquake struck Iran. The ground was felt shaking in Iran, where the Shah was at the time it struck. The death toll ranged between 15,000 and 25,000 from its effects. Shah Reza immediately responded by accepting any international aide offered, and personally travelling to the areas effected the worst – including the town of Tabas, which was ravaged due to its proximity to the quake’s epicenter and was the location of a majority of the deaths – to personally oversee the distributing of food and medical assistance.

[snip]

The reign of the new Shah would feature campaigns for human rights and basic utilities, with most Iranians growing to support him, save for some conservative extremists living in sparse desert areas away from most urban clusters. Anti-monarchy violence would still sprouts up every now and again – the one in 1983 being the most infamous – but enough people in the nation were kept content enough for the rhetoric to not grow into a major movement, at least not like the kind seen in the late 1970s…

– Michael Axworthy’s A History of Iran, Basic Books, 2008



[snip] A second trade-off was soon formed: Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel in exchange for Palestinians being permitted to visit holy sites within its borders without harassment. Even allowing non-military security guards to accompanying Palestinian citizens into Jerusalem upon request was agreed to, “if we can keep the PLO and non-PLO leaders of the Palestinian people at the table,” Begin noted in his diary. While the PLO was still willing to negotiate despite repeatedly threatening to walk out, the PLO’s ally, Syria, was beginning to decrease their enthusiasm for the proposed multilateral peace treaty.

Begin and Anwar soon came upon a possible solution to the PLO’s demands: in exchange for the PLO amending their charter so it would acknowledge Israel’s right to exist “in some form or another,” Israel would formally acknowledge the existence of Palestine the state (but not the right of the PLO to control it). However, the Israeli government, at least under Begin, would still informally consider the PLO a terrorist organization for being founded with the intent to promote armed struggle and violence against Israeli civilians, and would refuse to increase peaceful relations with Palestine any further until dropping the violence and extremism portions of their mission statement.

It helped that not all Palestinians supported the PLO, especially as the effects of the Chicken Dinner Summits began to work against the organization’s anti-Israeli propaganda. The possibility of losing power frightened enough members of the organization for them to agree to the deal.

The men assembled in the American city of Atlanta, Georgia, the capital of the home state of the US Secretary of State Jimmy Carter, to make the accord official with pen, paper and witnesses…

– Harry Hurwitz and Yisrael Medad’s Peace In The Making: The Menachem Begin-Anwar El-Sadat Personal Correspondence, Gefen Publishing House, 2011



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– newspaper covering the culmination of the 1977-1978 Sadat-Carter-Begin peace talks, 9/25/1978



“AN OUTRAGEOUS BETRAYAL!”: THE ATLANTA PEACE TREATY OUTRAGES POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS HARDLINERS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST

…thankfully, it appears that most political leaders are discouraging violence and are condemning attacks…

The Boston Globe, 9/26/1978



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– The Indian Express, reporting on Libya and Sudan’s reactions to the “Chicken Dinner” Peace Treaty, 9/27/1978



REPORT: SITUATION IN PAKISTAN WORSENING

…as the people’s freedoms are limited or even revoked, many are deciding to flee a nation they are starting to no longer recognize…

The Guardian, 27/9/1978



POPE JOHN PAUL HAS DIED!: Led The Catholic Church For Only 33 Days

The Guardian, 28/9/1978



The fourth Annual Chicken Dinner Summit in Jerusalem was one of much jubilation. Discussions on Israeli-Arab-Christian relations were relaxed and peaceful, as there was much to celebrate that year. Most of the speakers praised the actions taken by world leaders, especially the “big four” of Egypt’s Sadat, Israel’s Begin, Secretary Carter, and my dad, to ensure peace between several Middle Eastern lands.

[snip] Another speaker at the summit was boxer Mohammad Ali. Ali was welcomed due to his anti-war views, which caught national attention in the early 1960s, back when he was still known as Cassius Clay. During the Cuban War, the US Armed Forces lowered its test standards, leading to Ali being listed as Class 1-A (as in available for military service) in 1962 despite his dyslexia inhibiting his writing and spelling in tests. Ali responded in 1963 by declaring himself a conscientious objector and subsequently became an ally of the shoutnik/peacenik movement. At the 1978 Summit, Ali would reiterate the sentiments he expressed 15 years earlier, that “war is against the teachings of the Qu’ran…We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger.” [13]

Ali’s opposition to being drafted came at a time when opposition to American troop presence in Cuba was on the rise. Soon, college students, the Nation of Islam, multiple celebrities and high-profile activities, fellow boxers, Malcolm X, and his coach Angelo Dundee and Sugar Ray Robinson, were in his corner, as the threat of being arrested and fined for refusing to be drafted became a real possibility for the rising star boxer. The NY State Athletic Commission even threatened to suspend his boxing license, just six months before his planned matchup against Sonny Liston. The conflict was resolved in late 1963, when several lawyers defended Ali’s right to object, and he was granted a medical deferral for dyslexia upon retaking the writing and spelling as the standards had been changed yet again between his initial listing and his open refusal. “Too many others were not so lucky to find a legal loophole like I did,” Ali reminded us 1978, “In 1963, I merely nearly lost my chance to go up against Sonny Liston in 1964, but too many others lost their lives while I was kicking Liston’s rear.”

Ali’s incident led to a New York state court ruling that religion was a valid excuse to refuse being drafted in 1965, but Father’s administration rendered the situation moot by making the military all-volunteer by the time he left office – an act for which Ali praised Father. To return the favor, Ali gladly spoke at the summit, where he indirectly admonished the PLO by saying “Islam is a religion of peace [that] does not promote terrorism or killing people …certain…followers who cause…destruction…are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims.” Despite the controversial speech, Ali praised leaders on all sides of the issue by calling for such pro-peace actions to continue on, saying “political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam” for the promotion of peace [13].

– Harland David “Harley” Sanders Jr., In the Thick of It: The Story of The Colonel and His Son, Sunrise Publishing, 1991



WORK PROGRAMS TAKING LONGR THAN EXPECTED TO START

– The Wall Street Journal, 10/9/1978



…In other news, South Africa’s parliament elected a new State President earlier tonight. A largely ceremonial position, the winner by a landslide was the former Prime Minister for twelve years, Prime Minister B. J. Vorster. The fact that Vorster is an ardent supporter of Apartheid could very likely mean that the nation’s crisis over the segregation system will continue under his eyes if not worsen, as the nation’s dominant political party, the ruling majority National Party, stands by its refusal to end Apartheid or to even reform the government’s ways of handling and treating Black South Africans…

– BBC World News, 10/10/1978



REPORT: KENTUCKIANS STRUGGLING TO RECOVER FROM RECESSION

…Eastern Kentucky is starting to slip back into its old self of out-of-business stores… Over 70% of Kentucky residents disapprove of Mondale’s decision to raise taxes to combat the recession; it is no too surprising, then, that his approval rating in the state is at an all-time low… As Governor Foust travels the state, swearing to pass legislation to “fix this pronto,” calls for a Kentuckian version of a monthly dividend program, similar to the ones found in New Jersey or Alaska, are gaining prominence across Kentucky…

Associated Press, 10/11/1978



GA DEMOCRATS MAY PULL OFF AN UPSET WITH THEIR DARK HORSE CANDIDATE

With the Democrats embroiled in scandals, there is a real possibility that a Republican – specifically, local politician Rodney M. Cook – may finally win the Governor’s seat on November 7. Cook’s main opponent, though, is not like the other Democrats appearing in the news.

This fall’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee is Atlanta’s own Dr. John Skandalakis. [14] In his first bid for public office, the 58-year-old neophyte initially entered the race to bring attention to a single-issue – the need for a complete reform of that state’s entire medical system. His life story of moving from Greece to become a respected physician won over liberal voters. Upon seeing his numbers gain traction, Skandalakis expanded to platform to better housing, and promoting small businesses. He also has called “simplifying as much paperwork as responsibly possible.” In a stunning development, Skandalakis defeated George Busbee and Harry Geisinger in the Democratic primary earlier this year due to the latter two joining Bert Lance in having scandals ruin their reputation. (How ironic – Skandalakis almost has the very word “scandal” in his name, but the man himself seems to have no scandals, or even controversies, of which to speak).

[SNIP] …With this in mind, Skandalakis could in fact win just enough voters to deprive Cook of the governorship…

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion article, 10/12/1978



…today on Capitol Hill, President Mondale signed a bill into law which will allow the home-brewing of beer in the United States, reversing a federal law on the books since 1919. Regulation of the brewing, though, will devolve to the state level… former President Harland “Colonel” Sanders has already voiced strong opposition to the move on moral grounds, but Mondale is defending his decision to sign the bill, noting that it will likely end accidents and crimes connected to illegal home-brewing…

– ABC News, 10/14/1978 broadcast



When the second Papal Conclave of 1978 elected Karol Jozef Wojtyla [on October 16] to become Pope – taking the name John Paul II to honor his predecessor – it sent shockwaves through the religious and geopolitical worlds. …The first non-Italian to serve as pope since Pope Adrian VI serve from 1522 to 1523 brought hope to the people of his native Poland, who were struggling under Communist rule…

Time Magazine, 2008



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– Sports Illustrated issue covering the Yankees winning the October 10-17, 1978 World Series, late September 2018 issue



MONDALE CALLS FOR NEW MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR STIMULUS PACKAGE TO BOOST ECONOMY

…Mondale and the majority Democrats in both the House and the Senate are pushing against opposing Republicans and conservative Democrats on a second proposed massive omnibus meant to boost the nation’s employment levels… With the package, the President is also seeking the creation of more Federal Hiring Programs to fix “our broken state-to-state system of planning and contracting infrastructure projects.” Mondale believes that simplifying construction developments and road repair paperwork practices will improve employment conditions on both fronts…

The Washington Post, 10/20/1978



U.S.S.R. FEELING AFFECTS OF U.S.-BASED RECESSION AMID FARMING CRISIS OF ITS OWN MAKING

…While the 1975 US-Soviet grain deal helps the Russians keep their economy roaring for a while, Premier Suslov’s mishandling of his country’s agricultural practices will only worsen as the conditions facing rural Russians becomes more dire – especially was winter nears…

The Daily Mail, 26/10/1978



LEADING MIDDLE-EASTERN LEADERS SADAT, BEGIN, AND CARTER SHARE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR HISTORIC PEACE TREATY

…while both Sadat and Begin credited US Secretary of State James Carter and former US President Colonel Sanders for their roles in bringing about peace talks in their respective speeches, rules state that no more than three people can share a Nobel Prize. ...Colonel Sanders reportedly supported Carter's name being put into consideration instead of his own. ...Each recipient gave praise to the Colonel in their respective speeches... The former President received a special citation for his contributions…

The Guardian, 27/10/1978



“It’s an injustice, a darn shame, that the Colonel won’t get the credit he's due. But I’ve spoken to him, and he told me he’s already honored to have played a part. That wouldn’t be enough for me, but it is for him.”

– Richard Nixon, 10/27/1978



REAGAN-BURTON MATCHUP LIKELY TO BE NAILBITER

…polls show a slim majority of Californians favor Burton… Former Governor Brown claims “Californians are fed up with Reagan saying ‘I told you so,’ claiming he warned America had large social programs put a strain on the economy, when thousands of Californians now need those programs more than ever to get by.” …Reagan’s critics claim his rhetoric does not reflect his actions… Additionally, Reagan promised to not run for a third term only to break that promise early last year…

The Sacramento Union, 10/29/1978



Even after the signing of the 1978 Atlanta Treaty, The Colonel declined to actively campaign for any candidates, making some question if his health was in decline. The truth, however, was that he had friends and acquaintances he respected on both sides of the conservative schism. For example, he was on friendly terms with both Jerry Falwell and Barry Goldwater. Basically, the Colonel wanted to play a more uniting role in the party if the party wanted him involved…

– Anne Meagher Northup’s Chicken and Politickin’: the Rise of Colonel Sanders and Rational Conservatism in the Republican Party, 2015



United States Senate election results, 1978
Date: November 7, 1978
Seats: 33 of 100
Seats needed for majority: 51
Senate majority leader: Howard Baker (R-TN)
Senate minority leader: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Seats before election: 44 (R), 55 (D), 1 (I)
Seats after election: 52 (R), 46 (D), 2 (I)
Seat change: R ^ 8, D v 9, I ^ 1

Full List:
Alabama: incumbent appointee John Sparkman (Democratic) over Jerome B. Couch (Prohibition)
Alaska: Hazel P. Heath (R) over incumbent Eben Hopson (D)
Arkansas: Jim Guy Tucker (D) over Tom Kelly (R) and John G. Black (I); incumbent appointee Kaneaster Hodges Jr. (D) retired
Colorado: William L. Armstrong (R) over Floyd Haskell (D); incumbent Gordon L. Allott (R) retired
Delaware: incumbent J. Caleb Boggs (R) vs Emily Womach (D)
Georgia: incumbent Sam Nunn (D) vs Fletcher Thompson (R)
Idaho: George Vernon Hansen (R) over incumbent Richard H. Stallings (D)
Illinois: incumbent Charles Percy (R) over Alex Seith (D)
Iowa: Roger Jespen (R) over incumbent Dick Clark (D)
Kansas: Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R) over William R. Roy (D); incumbent James B. Pearson (R) retired
Kentucky: incumbent Lawrence W. Wetherby (D) over Louie Nunn (R)
Louisiana: incumbent Jack P. F. Gremillion Sr. (D) over Woody Jenkins (Independent)
Maine: William Cohen (R) over incumbent William Hathaway (D)
Massachusetts: incumbent Ed Brooke (R) over Paul Tsongas (D)
Michigan: incumbent Robert Griffin (R) over Carl Levin (D)
Minnesota: incumbent Bob Short (D) over Harold Stassen (R), Brian Coyle (Natural Mind) & Leonard J. Richards (I)
Mississippi: James H. Meredith (R) over Maurice Dantin (D); incumbent James Eastland (D) retired
Montana: Larry Williams (R) over Paul G. Hatfield (D); incumbent Henry S. “Hank” Hibbard (R) lost re-nomination
Nebraska: incumbent Orrin Hatch (R) vs J. James Exon (D)
New Hampshire: inconclusive; Carman C. Chimento (I) appointed and rematch held later between Gordon J. Humphrey (R) and Thomas J. McIntyre (D); incumbent Harrison Reed Thyng (R) retired
New Jersey: incumbent Clifford P. Case (R) over Ray “Buttercup” Rollinson (D)
New Mexico: incumbent Roberto Mondragon (D) over Pete Domencini (R)
North Carolina: incumbent Terry Sanford (D) over George Wimbish (R)
Oklahoma: incumbent Bud Wilkinson (R) over David L. Boren (D)
Oregon: incumbent Mark Hatfield (R) over Vernon Cook (D)
Rhode Island: incumbent Claiborne Pell (D) over James G. Reynolds (R)
South Carolina: incumbent Strom Thurmond (R) over Charles D. Ravenel (D)
South Dakota: Larry Pressler (R) over Don Barnett (D); incumbent James Abourezk (D) retired
Tennessee: incumbent Howard Baker (R) over Joseph L. Evins (D)
Texas: Ron Paul (R) over incumbent J. J. Pickle (D), Wingate Hezekiah Lucas (Big) and Luis A. Diaz de Leon (La Raza Unida)
Virginia: Richard Dudley Obenshain (R) over incumbent John Otho Marsh Jr. (D)
West Virginia: incumbent Jennings Randolph (D) vs Arch Moore Jr. (R)
Wyoming: incumbent Gale W. McGee (D) vs Alan K. Simpson (R)

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



United States House of Representatives results, 1978
Date: November 7, 1978
Seats: All 435
Seats needed for majority: 218
New House majority leader: Morris K. Udall (D-AZ)
New House minority leader: Robert H. Michel (R-IL)
Last election: 233 (D), 202 (R)
Seats won: 218 (D), 217 (R)
Seat change: D v 15, R ^ 15

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



ANITA BRYANT WINS CONGRESSIONAL SEAT BY TIGHTER-THAN-EXPECTED MARGIN

– The Oklahoma Daily, 11/7/1978



United States Governor election results, 1978
Date: November 7, 1978
State governorship elections held: 36
Seats before: 33 (D), 17 (R), 0 (I)
Seats after: 29 (D), 20 (R), 1 (I)
Seat change: D v 4, R ^ 3, I ^ 1

Full list:
Alabama: Elvin McCary (R) over Melba Till Allen (D); incumbent Jeremiah Denton (R) was term-limited
Alaska: Bill Clinton (D) over Lowell Thomas Jr. (R), Don Wright (I) and Mike Colletta (Alaska Libertarian Party); incumbent Jay Hammond (R) retired
Arizona: incumbent Sam Steiger (R) over Jack Ross (D)
Arkansas: Orval Faubus (D) over Lynn Lowe (R) and Nancy Pearl Johnson Hall (Independent); incumbent David Pryor (D) retired
California: Phillip Burton (D) over incumbent Ronald Reagan (R)
Colorado: Bill Daniels (R) over incumbent Dick Lamm (D), Roy Peister (Tea) and Earl Dodge (Prohibition)
Connecticut: incumbent Ella T. Grasso (D) over Ronald Sarasin (R)
Florida: Jack Eckerd (R) over Buddy McKay (D); incumbent Louis A. Bafalis (R) retired
Georgia: John Skandalakis (D) over Rodney M. Cook (R) and J. B. Stoner (Independent); incumbent Benjamin W. Fortson Jr. (D) retired
Hawaii: Alema Leota (Independent) over Frank Fasi (D) and John R. Leopold (R); incumbent Thomas Ponce Gill (D) retired
Idaho: incumbent Jay S. Amyx (R) over John V. Evans (D)
Illinois: incumbent Paul Simon (D) over David C. O’Neal (R)
Iowa: Chuck Grassley (R) over Jerome D. Fitzgerald (D); incumbent Armour Boot (D) retired
Kansas: incumbent Robert Frederick Bennett (R) over John W. Carlin (D) and Frank W. Shelton Jr. (American)
Maine: Linwood E. Palmer Jr. (R) over Joseph Brennan (D); incumbent Peter N. Kyros (D) retired
Maryland: incumbent F. P. Blair Lee III (D) over John Glenn Beall Jr. (R)
Massachusetts: incumbent Michael Dukakis (D) over Lou Nickinello (R)
Michigan: Soapy Williams (D) over William Milliken (R); incumbent Martha Griffiths (D) retired
Minnesota: Coya Knutson (D) over incumbent Clark MacGregor (R) and Richard Pedersen (American)
Nebraska: Charles Thone (R) over Gerald T. Whelan (D); incumbent J. James Exon (D) retired
Nevada: incumbent Rex Bell Jr. (R) over Robert E. Rose (D)
New Hampshire: incumbent Malcolm McLane (D) over Mabel Everett (R)
New Mexico: Joe Skeen (R) over Bruce King (D); Jerry Apodaca (D) was term-limited
New York: incumbent Mario Biaggi (Conservative) over Hugh Carey (D), Nelson Rockefeller (R) and Mary Jane Tobin (I)
Ohio: Jim Rhodes (R) over Dick Celeste (D); incumbent Buz Lukens (R) retired
Oklahoma: George Nigh (D) over Ron Shotts (R); incumbent David Hall (D) was term-limited
Oregon: Victor Atiyeh (R) over incumbent Edith Green (D)
Pennsylvania: Milton Shapp (D) over Dick Thornburgh (R); incumbent Martin P. Mullen (D) was term-limited
Rhode Island: Lincoln Almond (R) over Thomas Ross DiLuglio (D) and Joseph A. Doorley (I); incumbent J. Joseph Garrahy (D) retired
South Carolina: Richard Riley (D) over Edward Lunn Young (R); incumbent William Westmoreland (R) was term-limited
South Dakota: incumbent Benjamin “Ben” (Lone Feather) Reifel (R) over Roger D. McKellips (D)
Tennessee: Jake Butcher (D) over Hubert David Patty (R); incumbent Lamar Alexander (R) was term-limited
Texas: Bill Clements (R) over incumbent Frances Farenthold (D) and Mario Compean (La Raza Unida)
Vermont: incumbent Stella B. Hackel (D) over Walter L. Kennedy (R) and Earl S. Gardner (Liberty Union)
Wisconsin: incumbent Bronson La Follette (D) over Lee S. Dreyfus (R)
Wyoming: incumbent Thyra Thomson (R) over Edgar Herschler (D)

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



CLINTON WINS GOVERNOR’S SEAT IN UPSET

…Congressman Clinton most likely won in an upset by appealing to conservatives and independents with his “third way” policy proposals and his outgoing personality, youth energy and charisma. Meanwhile, the more bookworm-like Thomas failed to win over enough Alaskans outside of the Republican primary pool of voters…

– The Anchorage Daily News, 11/7/1978



BURTON VICTORY MAY MEAN TROUBLE FOR THE G.O.P. IN CALIFORNIA

…California voters ultimately rejected Reagan’s claims that his trickle-down economics were sure to improve the economy. In one of the biggest Democratic victories of the night, Congressman Burton won on a campaign promoting “human-centered” policies …Another item on the Golden State’s ballot last night was the anti-BLUTAG proposal that was the Briggs Initiative, which was also defeated by a wide margin…

The Sacramento Bee, 11/8/1978



The victory of several candidates such as Victor Atiyeh and Hazel Heath who touted the label “Colonel Conservative” hinted at the start of a potential “Colonelization” of the G.O.P. in the late 1970s. …The candidates ran on platforms advocating deregulation except in regards to certain health and safety standards, a cautious interventionist foreign policy, and an acceptance of gradual social change. …The U.S. House results created a precarious situation where any death or resignation, and subsequent special election, could interrupt the speakership by tipping the majority back the Republicans, upset the balance of power in the chamber in mid-session...

– Gary C. Jacobson’s The Power and the Politics of Congressional Elections, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015



CORRESPONDENT: “while police have declined to release the name of the man arrested at City Hall earlier today, rumors are circulating that the man in question is none other than Daniel James White, a local politician who resigned from the city’s Board of Supervisors roughly three weeks ago. There are also unsubstantiated claims that the reason another local politician, board member Carol Ruth Silver, was driven away from City Hall behind me in an ambulance is because she was wounded in an attack of some sort. To tell us more, here is a man who work in the building, who claims to have seen what happened. Sir, in your own word, could you please tell us what you saw?”

JANITOR: “Well I was making my rounds when I see White walk over to the Mayor’s office, but Moscone was busy talking to these inspectors inside. With all the dams falling apart on TV, Moscone thought it was a good idea to get the building inspected, see if it could withstand earthquakes and shi-uh, stuff like that. And White went crazy mad, sort of a public meltdown I guess. He wanted to see him. So he pulls out this revolver, see? And he starts firing it through the door to try to get it open. Now that’s when Silver and Feinstein – eh, this other board member over there – they hear all this and they run over. I wave to get, trying to tell them to get down, but too late! White sees Silver and she shoots her! Got her in the shoulder, I think she’ll live but I’m not a doctor. Anyway, Silver’s grabbin’ the spot and Feinstein’s just freakin’ out, she’s trembling, petrified on the floor out of sight from White, so White goes back to trying to open the door. I guess someone called the cops around then, because soon security was shouting a him to drop his weapon, and they basically had a hostage crisis until one of the guards caps White right in the ass. Square in the butt cheek. I think he’ll live, but, again, I’m not a doctor. So he’s down for a sec, but it’s just enough of a sec for the guards to get the drop on him. I tell you, for shootin’ up the place, he won’t be seen around here again!”

– Channel 5 KPIX-TV, 11/27/1978 broadcast



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)
[1] Mondale said that he would raise taxes “fairly,” and suggested they would be higher for the weathly in his speech at the 1984 DNC IOTL.
[2] These italicized parts are pulled from the OTL Mondale’84 campaign brochure: http://www.4president.org/brochures/1984/mondale1984brochure.htm
[3] An OTL weapon!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb
[4] OTL! To use a quote (from On His Own Terms: The Life of Nelson Rockefeller by Richard Norton Smith) that I found on some other thread on this site but can’t locate at the moment, “By early 1977, it was becoming increasingly obvious to the people of his cabinet that his health was failing – has to be put on blood thinners and a new diet, but refuses the doctor’s oder for bed rest, increase defying him by increasing his schedule. Stoically tries to conceal clear signs on angina pain, also had a stooped back and shaking hands.”
[5] OTL quote, though it was spoken years later IOTL.
[6] According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever#Epidemiology), Angola has a “history of epidemic dengue”; if we sent troops into that country without properly preparing for the diseases found within, it’s possible that some of them would catch it; thankfully, it can only be spread by mosquitos and not through contact with though who have it.
[7] Passage re-stated from one of the 1970 Chapters
[8] Relevant details about OTL developments found here, in case anyone’s interested: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-timeline-1970-1979
[9] This is an OTL review: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946996,00.html. I think the movie would still be set in 1962 because the writers’ depiction of the character Neidermeyer matches the anti-war sentiment of TTL’s 1962.
[10] Yeah, I’m not an expert on Brazilian politics, but I think that, in his new position as Secretary of State, Carter would try to do something about the situation down there, and that his action plus internal reactions to an alternate economic situation, the international peace movement, and other butterflies would change this about down there, yes?
[11] I’m not even making up that phrase, she really did use it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anita_Bryant_Story
[12] From here: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/21/elena-ceausescu/
[13] Italicized bits are OTL Mohammad Ali quotes, according to his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali
[14] This obscure guy: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10029-009-0612-0

Also, it seems somebody made a TV Tropes page for this TL: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/KentuckyFriedPolitics I'm honored!

With Harold Washington getting elected mayor six years earlier, Chicago city politics are going to be even nastier than they were IOTL. He might not have enough allies on the city council to keep his vetoes from being overturned. Which means it would be that shithead Vrdolyak who would be de facto running the city.
Oof, good point; I'll cover that in 1979 or so.


In 1977, Rod Crew needed 8 more hits to reach .400 on the year, he'd have been the first player since 1941 to do so. Did he get it? With 2 extra teams, that's 20 more pitchers, but those pitchers are mostly in the N.L. and I doubt that we could get him that many more, it's already an expansion year in the A.L..

George Brett is a different case. Unlike Carew, who played the whole season and would win the A.L. MVP for carrying the Twins, Brett was injured part of the time and therefore only needed 5 more hits, as he got the required number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting crown and hit .390 but only had 445 official at-bats (where he didn't walk, get hit by a pitch, etc.)

1980 is not an expansion year, and the 20 extra pitchers - who OTL would have been borderline major leaguers - haven't had a chance to get the coatching to become really good yet. They have also spread more through the majors.

His OTL 1980 game log if you need a date for anything (he actually had a bit of a slump early, but after May... wow!)

Therefore, I suggest that with 2 extra teams, Brett should hit .400 in 1980, the first one since Ted Williams. And that Carew might have hit about .390 or .391 in TTL's 1977. And with Kansas City, of course, he is such an iconic Royal.

Interesting!

Weird thought: I wonder if a version of the Colonel Sanders dating simulator exists ITTL

Well, there's this thing IOTL...: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1313881651/grand-old-academy-a-satirical-dating-sim

Yeah, she was, @gap80; IMO, the name Anwar would not have gone over well post-9/11 in Texas (even though I don't look Middle Eastern). She voted for Democrats as president (except for McGovern--she didn't vote for him because he dropped Eagleton from the ticket (1)) and did not like Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush at all (and she would have hated President Trump (2))...

(1) IMO, Eagleton should have come clean to McGovern about his mental issues; yeah, he wouldn't be picked, but that would have been the right thing to do...
(2) Trump was inaugurated on what would have been her 69th birthday (she was born on January 20th, 1948)...

My deepest condolences and most sincere sympathies. When my grandmother died last year, and when a close friend of mine died in 2015, the following quote (I don't remember where I heard it) really helped: "don't frown because it's over; smile because it happened," that you got to spend whatever time you had with them, and that that time was good. Hold onto that, it'll get easier.

Was the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire butterflied away (it occurred in May of 1977 IOTL; my mom went to that club a lot in the 1970s (1))? My mom has always said that the corner of Kentucky where the Supper Club was built was a corrupt area (maybe Colonel Sanders cracks down on fire code enforcement in the 1950s when he's governor)...

Good update, BTW; wonder what event occurs in 1978...

(1) She lived in Kentucky for much of the 1970s before moving to Corpus; she passed away three years ago, sadly...

Good detail to cover, I should have mentioned it; yeah, I think your idea of higher safety standards being put in place sounds good - I'll cover the club and the region (and how the state's been under Governors Robsion and now Foust) and what else will occurs in this TL's 1978 in the next chapter. :) That's cool that your mom lived in that area. My sincere condolences on her passing :cryingface:

For @gap80 's approval...

A PARTIAL LIST OF 1977 CHAMPIONS IN PROFESSIONAL AND COLLEGIATE SPORTS
FOOTBALL
NFL
SUPER BOWL XI -- Oakland Raiders 33, Minnesota Vikings 24
NCAA
DIVISION I
Associated Press (media poll) -- Pittsburgh Panthers
United Press International (coaches poll) -- Pittsburgh Panthers, Maryland Terrapins

BASKETBALL
NBA
FINALS -- Portland Trail Blazers over Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 2
* The Colonels surprised most of the so-called experts by winning the Eastern Conference, sweeping past Philadelphia in the conference semifnals and beating another ex-ABA team, the New York Nets (still playing with Julius Erving, who was in his last contract year with the team and on his way out) in the conference finals. But Bill Walton and the Blazers outplayed Moses Malone and the Colonels in six games to win the first post-merger NBA title.
NCAA
DIVISION I
NATIONAL CHAMPION -- North Carolina

BASEBALL
WORLD SERIES -- New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 3
* George Steinbrenner's money finally got him that World Series trophy he coveted. Reggie Jackson, who came to New York via free agency, won Series Most Valuable Player honors. The '77 season was the inspiration for Sparky Lyle's controversial book, The Bronx Zoo.
** Baseball added four expansion teams for the first time since 1969 -- Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in the American League, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Senators in the National League. (New Orleans was encouraged to either have the Superdome renovated for baseball or build a baseball-only stadium for the next round of expansion, which insiders said wouldn't come for at least another 10 years).
* The Louisville Colonels finished fourth in the AL East

I like this very much! Very plausible and enjoyable!

BTW, the Blizzard of 1978 occurred on my mom's 30th birthday, canceling whatever plans she had; she decided to move south that evening, and settled in Corpus Christi, Texas, where I was born in October of 1981 (two days after Anwar Sadat was assassinated; my mom was a fan of his, and wanted to name me Anwar, but my dad (luckily) was against it)...

That's a fun anecdote; and I don't see a Colonel Sanders Presidency butterflying away the weather in 1978, so you most likely do exist in this TL! As for Anwar, well, we'll see how the annual Chicken Dinner Summit influences his diplomatic endeavors in the region and if that effects what's written on your birthday cake... Again, my deepest sympathies on your mother's passing :teary:; sounds like she was an amazing person (a Midwesterner in Texas invested in Middle Eastern affairs is quite interesting!).

1) Why? What did NOLA ever do to you?:'(x'D

2) I don't recall if this was as the plan as OTL, but if Hu can keep his post, I wonder if this will change the fate of Tiananmen in due time.

3) So Ted Kennedy is the new Ted Turner in terms of cable news? Interesting.

4) Interesting story with Jeb

5) On second thought, if they do move to New Orleans after losing the Jazz, this would be a fair compromise. Plus, a new incentive on an arena for the city.

6) Damn, such a long con for an ideology that is younger than being gay :closedeyesmile:

7) A shame that Bhutto couldn't be saved and Pakistan not be sent to the Stone Age under Zia...

8) Overall, great post

1) I believe Gentleman Biaggi requested it...

2) I don't believe it was, it'll be interesting if I find any info on that, though...

3) Thanks!

4) Thank you!

5) Alrightythen, nice!

6) Yep! :D

7) We'll see how things unfold over there...

8) Thanks!

1) Really cool; I wonder how Ted Kennedy having KNN based, I presume, on the West Coast impacts Ted Turner. He'll still be rich (Turner Broadcasting System will see to that) but not superrich. (Fun fact: When he first bought the Braves in 1977, he asked a player who wore number 17 to change his name on the uniform to "Channel" to give TBS free advertising.) Hew may start CNN but it won't have near the clout since it's not even first among the 24 hour new networks.

2) I recall 1978's blizzard really well, we had lots of snow in '77 but I don't think the blizzard hit us quite as much then, 1978 was huge, though. Here is a good video, even some broadcasting from 1:40 in the video from our family's favorite radio station.

3) Speaking of sports, is Muhammed Ali still boxing? Without the Vietnam stuff he's probably fought a few more times without the layoff, meaning he might have retired by now.

4) I wonder how Barack McCain will develop politically; it'll be interesting. Perhaps because of needing to start his own path rather than try to please both his mom and dad - who are quite different - he will be the politician known as a maverick like John was in OTL's 2008.

5) Nice to see Havana developing. Probably too poor to ever be a major league city - just like San Juan or Monterrey - but it could have a AAA team there someday, or at least AA.

6) Exciting to see John Amios get a show.

7) You put all 4 teams in the A.L., I'm sure that's a typo. (I can empathize, I typed "A.L." just now) Seattle would make sense in the A.L. with Toronto balancing out the West Coast and Canada, and in TTL Milwaukee was always an N.L. city so they'd go in the N.L. West and Washington in the N.L. East.

1) IOTL, Ted Turner and Reese Schofield began forming CNN in 1977/1978. Here, the two partner up with the better-connected Ted Kennedy for more funding opportunities, leading to the project being called "Kennedy News Network" instead of "Cable News Network."

2) Interesting video

3) Oh yeah, I should cover what he's up to - I'll do that in the next chapter.

4) Very possible!

5) Sure!

6) Thanks

7) Yeah, that seems to be an oversight/a typo. Good eye, thanks for spotting that!
 
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Chapter 44: December 1978 – June 1979
Chapter 44: December 1978 – June 1979

“We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor.”

– MLK (OTL)



After the crash but before the next session of Congress could be sworn in, Mondale rushed to stabilize the still-struggling economy by passing a series of rushed bills meant to regulate employment practices and Wall Street manipulations. Willing to try anything to reduce economic inequality, Mondale even backed a bill being workshopped on in the House that sought to tie an employer’s tax breaks to either his worker’s wages or the company’s success, but even members of his own party opposed the notion as it would have given the federal government far too much control of the markets. The bill died in committee in December 1978. The legislation’s idea did find better success at the state and local levels in 1979 and 1980, though.

By the end of the year, Mondale gave even more liberties to the Justice Department, allowing Attorney General Ramsey Clark’s department to launch a campaign against employers who violated workplace safety laws or sought to refuse payment to workers in the midst of economic concerns. The Democratic administration’s strict regulations led to an increase in businesses attempting to use sweatshops overseas, largely in South America and parts of India. Labor Secretary Kennedy wanted Mondale to threaten them into submission, but Fritz and Clark believed that would only worsen the situation. Instead, Mondale sought to increase tax breaks for companies who kept a majority of their labor forces within American borders. Of course, this did not solve the complicated problem...

New Ideas For Old Problems: The Walter Mondale Presidency, Borderless Books Publishing, 2004



INSIDE: THE SCOOP ON THE WHO: A Look At the Band And Their Record-Setting Concert Attendees

Exclusive Interview With Keith Moon And His Vision For The Who

– Tumbleweed Magazine, 12/7/1978 special issue



…By December, the US’s economic recession was finally being felt in full across Western Europe, upsetting prices and markets most especially in France and the United Kingdom… In China, many feared latching their economy onto the US’s had been a grave mistake, but Chairman Deng stayed the course, understanding it is the nature of economies to grow and shrink like the rise and fall of the tides…

– Andrew Marr’s Modern Britain: A History, Pan Macmillan Publishers, 2002 edition



…The state’s economic woes only added to the White House’s concerns… As 1978 came to a close, the USSR’s stockpile finally became larger than the US’s. Suslov’s bellicose view of the US-USSR relations, though, made many Soviets uneasy as well…

– Alexander Korzhakov’s autobiography From Dawn to Dusk: A Cutthroat Career, St. Petersburg Press, 1997



…The development of the microprocessor was pivotal in making computer systems more efficient, smaller in size, and cheaper in price… Bell Labs’ work on the microprocessor began in the 1960s… The economic prosperity of the 1970s – President Colonel Sanders’ support of small and small-but-growing businesses combined with the Space Race continuing on long after the Moon Landing – made fertile ground for tech companies to grow and compete with one another. Motorola was one such company, competing with Bell for a superior microprocessor, with Motorola’s most significant 32-bit design being released in 1978 [1].

– clickopedia.co.usa/microprocessor



Unfortunately for Mondale the rest of the Democrats, while the economy recovered in four months (one month after taxes were curbed, not slashed as initially expected, to stimulate growth), the unemployment rate failed to significantly drop until mid-December, at which point the economy truly began to considerably recover…

– Gary C. Jacobson’s The Power and the Politics of Congressional Elections, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015



IRAN’S SHAH REZA SIGNS NON-AGGRESSION TREATY WITH ISRAEL

…The Shah proclaimed “we have many shared enemies – poverty, disease, and hunger are a menace to Iran and Israel. Working together to combat these plagues is a far more glorious mission than destroying our fellow man.”…

The New York Times, 12/12/1978



H8NK235.png

[pic: https://imgur.com/H8NK235 ]
– Christmas-themed KFC advertisement, c. 1978



1978 ended with the then-44-year-old Roberto Clemente announcing his retirement from the game to focus more on his humanitarian aid efforts and charity work, while Lyman Bostock’s California Angels teammates finally convinced him to not use the free agency rules to switch to another team due to conflicts that had risen between Bostock and the coach in early November…

– John Helyar’s Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball, Ballantine Books, 1994



…a French tanker has exploded at the Gulf Oil terminal at Bantry, Ireland. At least ten are dead, but the number of people unaccounted for remains high at over 50…

– BBC World News, 1/8/1979



9 January 1979: On this day in history, the “Music for UNICEF” Concert is held at the UN General Assembly to raise money for UNICEF, as part of the organization declaring 1979 to be “the Year of the Child” earlier in the month; performers include the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Paul McCartney, Jim Croci, ABBA and Earth-Wind-Fire; a soundtrack album and music video collection are later released.

– onthisday.co.uk



VIOLET CUMMINGS, SISTER OF COLONEL SANDERS, DIES AT 83

…while not a particularly outspoken or vocal member of the Sanders family like her oldest brother and his children, the camera-shy Violet was a beloved mother, sibling, aunt, and wife, who is remembered as being a friend to anyone she met…

– The New York Times, obituary column, 1/14/1979 [2]



“This past year has been challenging for all of us, and it has become clear that the state of our union can be assisted or inhibited by the natural ebb and flow of a cherished commodity, the free market system. The economy can be merciless when recession strikes, and the effects are felt long after it is over. The freedom to exchange goods without federal control of the production and supply of goods allows for the free exchanging of ideas and opportunities. Times when our ability to relish in this possibility becomes limited always test us. Our wisdom, our skills, our values, and the strength of our resolve are put into question. But the need to come together to lift each other out of hard times always shines through the darkness. Our nation has stayed strong during worse crises, it did remain strong during last year’s recession, and it will remain strong in future crises.”

– Walter Mondale’s State of the Union address, 1/23/1979



In January 1979, [Deputy President pro tempore of the Senate Richard] Nixon met with the new Senate leaders – Majority leader Howard Baker, majority whip and retiring fellow Californian Tom Kuchel, and President pro tempore of the Senate Milton Young – to discuss how to best challenge the unacceptable” policies and legislation proposals of President Mondale. From his perch at the top of the Republican Party hierarchy, Nixon had praised the administration’s foreign policy, and wanted to maintain his influence over that aspect of the GOP’s actions in the Senate…

– Bob Halderman’s The Haldeman Diaries: Three Decades of Tough Decisions and Tricky Dick, Barnes & Noble Press, 1994



MUSLIM EXTREMISTS KILLED TRYING TO STORM JORDAN’S ROYAL PALACE IN HOSTAGE ATTEMPT

The Guardian, 26/1/1979



E.P.A. DIRECTOR NADER LAUNCHES PROBE INTO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ACROSS THE EAST COAST

nwqGiaG.png

Above: Ralph Nader speaking to reporters

...Nader explained “the mistreatment of the reactor cores or any mishandling of radioactive materials can be disastrous. Even if there is a slight chance of human error, it is too great of a chance.” Nader also criticized the lines of communication between officials connected to nuclear power plants…

– The New York Times, 1/27/1979



“EVERYONE SHOULD DRAW”: JOAN MONDALE’S ART POLICIES ANGER TRADITIONALISTS

…it has become a yearly tradition for reporters to assemble at the White House in January to see what new works of art the First Lady, affectionately dubbed “Joan of Art,” has added to the grounds, either purchased through charities or borrowed from museums. Rather than promote her personal favorites like her predecessor Claudia Sanders, Joan uses the White House to showcase all forms of art, from immaculate European sculptures to classic American paintings to the latest popular visual fads. This embracing of both and new is worrisome, however, to supporters of established “fined art,” who fear Joan’s promotion of less-than-high art lowers standards and will in turn lower support for art programs among state government. This year’s collection of art is receiving more scrutiny than usual, possibly due to the nation still recovering from the effects of recession. “It’s bad enough that there’s this Bob Ross fellow on TV now, but every time Joan redecorate the White House, she denotes high-quality art instead of elevating it, and it makes states even more willing to reduce funding for school art programs – especially when funds tighten like they did last year,” says an anonymous member of the D.C. art scene. Joan has defended her critics in the past, though – such as for praising Japanese art at a banquet in 1973 and for her bold support for the ERA in 1975 – and is doing the same now. Yesterday, Joan told this reporter, “Art is an essential outlet for creativity. It is a right that belongs to everyone, and I mean everyone – not just the elite, and not just the professionally trained. Everyone should draw, because everyone has the right to express themselves.”

People Magazine, 1/28/1979



Bob was surprised by the success of him hosting PBS’s “The Magic of Oil Painting.” After Bob renamed it “The Joy of Painting” in January 1979 (out of worries of Christian activists accusing him of promoting Satanism and witchcraft for using “magic” in the name), he took a promotion tour that took him from Anchorage to San Diego to Boston. He was blown away by the revelation that the program had become a hit coast-to-coast after just four years of hosting. He was even more blown away by the sheer number of hearts touched by his melodious narration and comforting images…

oh3mPwa.png

[pic: https://imgur.com/oh3mPwa ]
Above: Bob in a promotional image

– Kristin G. Congdon, Doug Blandy, and Danny Coeyman’s Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon, University Press of Mississippi, 2014



The month of January 1979, when averaged out over the contiguous United States, was the coldest month in the US since at least 1880, with a mean temperature of 21.90 °F (or −5.61 °C), versus a 1895-to-1974 mean of 29.99 °F (or −1.12 °C). This statistic contributed to theories of “global cooling” at the time. Additionally, the month of January 1979 reached a maximum temperature of 31.90 °F (or −0.06 °C), which is the coldest temperature on record for any month and the only occasion when the area-averaged contiguous US mean maximum has ever been recorded falling below freezing

– National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Contiguous U.S. Temperature, January statistics



GOP SENATORS DEMAND SNL APOLOGIZE FOR SKETCH “INSULTING” COLONEL SANDERS

…the sketch in questions begins with a voice-over stating “everyone thinks they know Colonel Sanders is the lovable chicken seller-turned-President with a heart of gold, but that’s not how he got the leaders of the Middle East to get along.” The sketch then shows The Colonel (portrayed by John Belushi) physically assaulting said leaders (such as Garrett Morris as el-Sadat), striking them with his cane and making mafia-like threats (“The last man who went against me found the head of his favorite camel in his bed”). Sanders/Belushi essentially intimidates the heads of state into meeting for peace talks. …SNL is defending the sketch, with producer Lorne Michaels telling one of our reporters “We all know The Colonel didn’t actually do that. That is the joke. The fact that these Senators either can’t understand the joke or are too sensitive to laugh at a harmless skit really reflect more poorly on them than it does on us.”…

The Los Angeles Times, 2/2/1979



Emperor Amha knew he was unpopular. By February 1979, however, he concluded that he was so unpopular that the country would not be able to move on under his reign. As such, Amha “the Reluctant Ruler” Selassie began preparing his 25-year-old son, the more ambitious Zera Yacob Amha Selassie (b. 17/8/1953), or Zera Yacob, for short, to take over the throne someday – and someday soon, relatively-speaking…

– Saheed A. Adejumobi’s The History of Ethiopia, Greenwood Press, 2007



SID VICIOUS DIED HOURS AFTER LEAVING FORCED DETOX PROGRAM, BANDMATES REVEAL

…the bassist rocker’s demise demonstrates a major flaw in our current responses to recreational drugs. Forcing addicts to go through detoxification programs does not work because the withdrawal is not at their own volition. Thus, it is not surprising that Vicious sought out heroin as soon as he was released – because being denied access to it is not the same as being able to access it and having the strength to say “no” to it…

The Los Angeles Times, 2/8/1979



SUPREME COURT COMPOSITION ON FEBRUARY 14, 1979

Chief Justice (since March 1971): Frank Minis Johnson Jr. (R-AL, centrist) – succeeded Earl Warren – appointee: Sanders
Associate Justice Seat 1 (since November 1971): William Henry Hastie Jr. (D-PA, conservative) – succeeded Hugo Black – appointee: Sanders
Associate Justice Seat 2 (since November 1967): Edward Hirsch Levi (R-IL, centrist) – succeeded Abe Fortas – appointee: Sanders
Associate Justice Seat 3 (since October 1962): Sarah Tilghman Hughes (D-TX, liberal) – succeeded Felix Frankfurter – appointee: Johnson
Associate Justice Seat 4 (since June 1974): William Joseph Nealon Jr. (I-PA, liberal) – succeeded William O. Douglas – appointee: Mondale
Associate Justice Seat 5 (since November 1971): Sylvia Bacon (R-DC, centrist) – succeeded John M. Harlan II – appointee: Sanders
Associate Justice Seat 6 (since October 1958): Potter Stewart (R-MI, centrist) – succeeded Harold Hitz Burton – appointee: Eisenhower
Associate Justice Seat 7 (since April 1973): Miles Welton Lord (I-MN, liberal) – succeeded Tom C. Clark – appointee: Mondale
Associate Justice Seat 8 (since October 1956): William Joseph Brennan Jr. (D-NJ, liberal) – succeeded Sherman “Shay” Minton – appointee: Eisenhower

– thesupremecourt.co.usa/court_compositions/by_date/month/1978



JUSTICE HASTIE DIES AT 74

…In his final years, William Hastie, the sole African-American to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was in poor health after surviving a heart attack in 1976…

– The Washington Post, 2/15/1979



18 February 1979: On this day in history, the Sahara Desert experiences snow for roughly 30 minutes; the region would not experience snow again until 2020

– onthisday.co.uk



MONDALE NOMINATES HIGGINBOTHAM, AFRICAN-AMERICAN JUDGE, FOR VACANT SUPREME COURT SEAT

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[pic: https://imgur.com/NeWR4t7 ]
The Post and Courier, South Carolina newspaper, 2/21/1979



MARDI GRAS ’79 IS BACK ON! NOPD Union, Management Agree To New CBA

– The Opelousas Daily World, Louisiana newspaper, 2/22/1979



LIBERAL PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTION RESULTS: JEAN CHRETIEN BEATS THE ODDS

Ottawa Civic Center, ON – The Liberal Party has a new leader in the form of 45-year-old Jean Chretien. Incumbent leader Paul Martin Sr, 75, is retiring after leading the party through two general elections. Chretien, 45, has served in Parliament for Saint-Maurice since 1969, winning his first election as a member of the anti-Hellyer faction of the party. The less successful candidates have all congratulated Chretien for his victory in a showing of party unity. Pierre Trudeau, an MP-turned-University Chancellor who dropped out after a poor showing in the first ballot, gave the most enthusiastic endorsement of Chretien. Lincoln Alexander, an African-Canadian leadership candidate who has served in Parliament for Hamilton West since 1969, and whose leadership candidacy received a small but active and passionate group of supporters, also endorsed Chretien. Alexander was soon followed by Gene Whelan, 54, a MP since 1962; initial frontrunners John Turner and Donald Stovel Macdonald, both of whom underperformed; as well as fellow MPs Allan Joseph MacEachen, Lloyd Axworthy, and Herb Gray. MPs such as Pierre de Bane, however, declined to endorse Chretien “until he’s proven he is worthy of the post.”

The Ottawa Sun, 2/25/1979



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– The totality phase of the total solar eclipse of February 26, 1979, as it was seen in Bozeman, Montana, 2/26/1979; hundreds flocked to the Pacific Northwest during the weekend prior to be able to view the eclipse on Monday morning, but due to overcast skies in the region, the entire path of totality was not directly observable after totality passed through Portland, Oregon shortly after sunrise (maximum at 8:14 am PST, 2/26/1979); it would be the last total solar eclipse to visible from the continental US until 2017



CONSUMER PRICE INDEX SHOW COSTS DROPPING AS MARKET HEALTH IMPROVES

The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/1979



MAYOR MAUROY WINS THIRD 7-YEAR TERM FOR SOCIALISTS

Paris – In tonight’s Presidential runoff, Francois Mitterrand's preferred successor Pierre Mauroy, the 50-year-old Minister and former Mayor of Lille, defeated Republican party nominee Michel Jean-Pierre Debré in one of the closest elections in modern French history, with the incumbent ultimately winning by a margin of 2.1%. …On February 14, Mauroy and Debré came in first and second place, respectively, in the first round of voting, defeating all other major and minor candidates: Valery Giscard d’Estaing (MRP), Jean Royer (Conservative), Arlette Laguiller (Workers’), Rene Dumont (Reform), Jacques Duclos (French Communist Party (PCF)), and Gaston Defferre (French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO)), and Bertrand Renouvin (New Royalist Action)…

Les Echos, French newspaper, 2/28/1979



FBI DIRECTOR SULLIVAN STEPPING DOWN

…William Sullivan pledged to serve for “no more than ten” years when he began his tenure as FBI Director in late 1969… President Mondale will likely select Sullivan’s preferred successor, Deputy Director William Felt Sr. to become the bureau’s new leader…

The Washington Times, 3/1/1979



SCOTLAND TO IMPLEMENT ASSEMBLY AFTER DEVOLUTION REFERENDUM; 45% of Scotland’s Electorate Backed Proposal

The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 3/3/1979



PENMANSHIEL TUNNEL CLOSED FOR REPAIRS; HM Railway Inspectorate Orders Ground Be “Stabilized” Before Excavation-And-Rebuilding Efforts Resume

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 3/7/1979



The 1978 Crash deteriorated American confidence in the federal government’s ability regulate the economy and businesses, with Republicans claiming that the “strangulation” of parts of the economy lead to it. Mondale’s attempts to pass laws regulate the economy were successful in 1978, but after losing the Senate in that November’s midterms, further efforts were seriously impeded. In March 1979, Senate Republicans opposed the most left-leaning parts of the 1979 Omnibus Appropriations Act and the 1979 Fraudulence Discovery and Resolution Act, causing their passing to be delayed for months.

– David Frum’s political textbook How We Got Here: The ’80s, Basic Books NY, 2003



SENATE REPUBLICANS MORE HOSTILE THAN USUAL TO SUPREME COURT NOMINEE

…Judge Higginbotham is facing scrutiny over his alleged “radical” social policy views amid extended Senate hearings…

– The Washington Post, 3/11/1979



The 6-foot-5 51-year-old Judge has a commanding presence in the Oval Office. The President skipped the pleasantries of such a meeting and cut right to the chase. Mondale asked Higginbotham is he “wanted to be spared the headache” of the Senate hearings and have his name withdrawn from consideration. The judge refused. With his commitment to social justice unbending, Higginbotham was determined to fight, overcome the odds, and work to pursue the end of bigotry and prejudices in the nation he loved, to see those who are invisible and hear the pleas of the voiceless and forgotten. [3] “If I can fight through them, I can fight for us,” Higginbotham explained to Mondale.

– Jimmy Breslin’s Higginbotham: A Matter of Freedom: A Biography, Freedom Publishing, 1999



MONDALE DEFENDS LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, DERIDES “THE SENATE’S HATCHET JOB” AND TOUTS LEON’S EXPERIENCE

The Pittsburgh Courier, 3/16/1979



…In other news, several individuals have come forward claiming that during last year’s massive prison escape in the Sunshine state, former Florida Governor Louis Bafalis ordered state officers to ignore habeus corpus and other laws pertaining to individual freedom when necessary to apprehend escaped convicts. The claims may lead to the state justice department investigating Bafalis, who just left office with high approval ratings…

– The Overmyer Network, 3/17/1979



“I can’t stop cops from individually pushing the limitations of their badges regardless of the orders of their superiors. Florida’s boys in blue are heroes, if not overly enthusiastic heroes.”

– former Governor Louis Bafalis (R-FL), 3/19/1979



“Louie’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

– Governor Mario Biaggi (D-NY), 3/20/1979



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– Colonel Sanders greets supporters outside after making a surprise visit to a KFC outlet in South Bend, IN, 3/21/1979



UNEMPLOYMENT RATES DROPPING SLOWER THAN EXPECTED THIS QUARTER

The Wall Street Journal, 3/22/1979



10 YEARS AFTER APOLLO: What We Learned From Landing On The Moon – And What May Come Next

– Time Magazine, March 1979 issue



A NATIONAL TREAT: The Australian Chicken War And Its Aftermath

Chicken Treat was founded in 1976 in Perth, where it primarily offered B.B.Q. chicken and served as a “native alternative” to K.F.C.; by 1979, the restaurant had grown into a franchise, as it gained popularity across the continent. Its main native rival was the more established and larger roasted chicken restaurant chain Red Rooster, which was also founded Perth, but in 1972. Red Rooster also more diverse, serving burger and fish-based products as well as its flagship roasts. Red Rooster also began franchising in 1977, in the wake of the number of KFC outlets in Australia rising to 50 in 1976. The founders of both chicken chains believed this surge in KFCs indicated an untapped market, and decided to “answer the call for a chicken chain founded by Australians and for Australians.” KFC responded by allocating ad funds to Australia, starting another well-known Australian “bird war” of sorts.

– Western Australian Business News, Australian newspaper, special anniversary issue, 2006



SENATE CONFIRMS HIGGINBOTHAM FOR US SUPREME COURT SEAT, 52-48, AFTER LENGTHY HEARINGS

The Washington Post, 3/30/1979



NASA Director Harold Brown promoted Ismail Akbay in April 1979 due to his impressive resume. Born in 1930, Akbay received a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Tennessee before becoming employed at NASA. After working impressively on the Apollo Saturn V-S1C Rocket, and taking charge of the engine aspects of proposed Apollo-Soyuz Rendezvous Mission that was scrapped once the belligerent Suslov rose to power in the Soviet Union, Akbay was part of the team that monitored Voyager 1’s visit to Jupiter in March…

[snip] …the Aries Program seemed to be falling behind the data-collecting progress of the USSR’s Soyuz and Salyut programs. …Working with the less-than-desirable budget led to the development of orbital space travel vehicles dubbed “shuttleplanes” that could be reused “more than twice” for manned or unmanned missions. Still sticking to his convictions and refusing to risk losing more American lives in space, Mondale greenlit the unmanned model for future orbital and lunar missions in August 1977…

– NASA scientist Farouk El-Baz’s Up and Away: How The Cold War Competition Pushed Us Into The Stars, MacFarland & Company, 1994



The Soviet Union’s reputation on the world stage worsened further in the aftermath of the Sverdlovsk Anthrax Leak. The death of at least 100 people from a fatal slipup at a bio-warfare laboratory was not covered up sufficiently, as the scope of the disaster was too great to contain. Upon the disaster hitting the west’s front pages, the UN admonished the work being done in Sverdlovsk, as it violated the conditions of the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972, an offshoot of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. More importantly, it made more Soviet citizens worry about their government’s capabilities and hidden motives…

– Alexander Korzhakov’s autobiography From Dawn to Dusk: A Cutthroat Career, St. Petersburg Press, 1997



HIRING INCENTIVES TO RESTORE EMPLYOMENT ACT PASSES WITH EASE

The Washington Post, 4/4/1979



GOVERNOR BURTON PUSHES FOR STRONGER HOUSING, LABOR, EMPLOYMENT LAWS

Sacramento, CA – Phillip Burton has certainly been a busy Governor. His administration, already overseeing legislation concerning medical and health care and boosting infrastructure funding to improve road safety and decrease unemployment, is expanding to issues affecting housing and labor, focusing on easing accessibility to “the bare essentials and decent rights entitled to every single American,” the Governor said in a speech today. “In this free society of ours the consent and the support of the people is essential and is the top priority of the Government that the people elected to work for the people,” the Governor added…

– The Sacramento Bee, 4/5/1979



Members of the Arab have yet again voiced opposition to last year’s historic multilateral peace treaty. In Uganda, Libyan expeditionary forces allied with the growing anti-treaty faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization have laid siege to the independent nation’s capital of Kampala, setting off car bombs and taking a group of hotel employees hostage. The leader of this terroristic act of aggression is vowing to, quote, “liberate Uganda from the claws of imperialism,” unquote.

– BBC World News, 10/4/1979 broadcast



RESIDENTS SWEAR TO REBUILD AFTER TWISTER KILLS OVER 40

…the communities of Wichita Falls, TX, are still reeling from the effects of a deadly tornado that touched down yesterday and left a path of devastating destruction in its wake…

The Los Angeles Times, 4/11/1979



SENATOR PAUL FILIBUSTERS LATEST BUDGET PROPOSAL, CALLING IT “TOO UNRULY”: “In These Times We Cannot Afford More Tax-And-Spend Irresponsibility”

The Washington Post, 4/14/1979



15 April 1979: On this day in history, the Great Montenegrin Earthquake, which had a moment magnitude of 6.9, devastated the Yugoslavian republic of Montenegro; it was also felt along the Albanian coastline, and in all six of Yugoslavia’s regional capitals (Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Skopje, Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana); over 90 aftershocks followed the main earthquake, the strongest of which struck over a month later on 24 May and had a magnitude of 6.3M; the earthquake resulted in thousands of buildings being damaged, 133 people dying (99 in Montenegro, 32 in Albania, and 2 in Croatia), and roughly 1,000 people being injured; the extent of property damage resulted in several major restoration projects being launched along Yugoslavia’s coastline, with the cities of Budva and Kotor being extensively redeveloped.

– onthisday.co.uk



…competition for comedic talent made the start of the ’80s a “golden era” for budding young jokesters. In a larger framing, the subsequent competition for higher ratings also made the time a “golden era” for comedy itself, as it encouraged everyone to try to make others laugh. With the chaos of the modern world and everyday struggles, people still wanted to laugh, and together, SNL and CSTV delivered…

– James A. Miller and Tom Shales’ The Comedy Wars: SNL vs. CSTV, Vanguard Publishing, 2016 edition



Mondale’s efforts to reel in the economic disarray finally breached the conservative and pro-business opposition in the Senate by handing in a less ambitious budget for the next fiscal year, and a watered-down appropriations bill, the latter of which became the Consolidated Appropriations Act of April 1979.

– John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Crash of ’78: The Causes and Consequences, Lion’s Corner Publications, 2001



…In 1979, the Houston Rockets drafted Larry Bird…

– Joe Zagorski’s American Sports in the 1970s: A Most Important Decade, Critical Publishing, 2018 edition



…After days of martial law and multiple deaths, the Ugandan military has apprehended the leader of the anti-treaty terrorists, and at the moment, it seems the followers of this extremist group have fled the country…

– BBC World News, 27/4/1979 broadcast



In the midst of his country’s region of Montenegro still recovering from the 7.0 earthquake of April 15, Grand Marshal Tito, Yugoslavia’s almost-87-year-old ruler sought medical attention. He was suffering from poor circulation in his legs, and found his home nation’s facilities to be insufficient. Specifically, he was outraged at suggestions that his legs be amputated. Instead, Tito traveled to Addis Ababa in late April, where Yugoslavia’s well-established student program with Ethiopia had led to the development of hospitals for the Yugoslavian doctors [4]. Upon returning home in May, Tito ordered the development of new hospitals and medical schools in all of the nation’s provinces: “I want us to have the best hospitals on this continent!”

Hospital, though, were the least of Yugoslavia’s concerns. The nation’s fruitful economy of the 1970s was giving way to the ripple effects of the 1978 recession. Even though Yugoslavia’s factories were hit less than other parts of Europe due to them being less centralized than they would have been in other socialist nations, growth halted; inflation and unemployment were soon on the rise. The worst came when the government’s decision to borrow large quantities of capital from the West to grow funds through exports hit a fatal snag once the recession decreased demand for Yugoslavian imports, thus creating a huge debt crisis for the nation as the decade came to a close…

– Leslie Benson’s Yugoslavia: A Concise History, Palgrave Publishers, 2001



“GRINDING IT OUT: THE MAKING OF MCDONALD’S”: A Review of Ray Kroc’s Auto-Biography

…one of the giants of the fast-food industry pens his diverse life story with the same wit and charm that made him a millionaire success story…

– The New York Times book review, 5/1/1979



A.G. CLARK MAY BE STEPPING DOWN

…anonymous sources close to Clark claims that he and Mondale do not “see eye to eye on how far to prosecute big business” for allegedly worsening the effects that last year's recession has had on the businesses and personal finances of thousands of Americans…

The Washington Post, 5/2/1979



The ’80s were highly prosperous for Indonesians. I like to think it had something to do with Suharto becoming more welcoming to western investors. In 1979, Suharto allowed KFC to “plant their flag,” as he called it, in the capital city of Jakarta. We opened despite conservative hardliners seeing us as a symbol of imperialism, because, since it had already happened time and again, we were certain that the quality of life in the country would only improve once good-intentioned capitalism worked its finger-lickin’ magic on the local, then region, then national economies.

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[pic: imgur.com/1QtonKL.png ]

[snip]

…Father’s relations with the members and factions of the GOP was not unconditionally cordial. Sanders locked horns with the best and the worst of them, from Nelson Rockefeller to Jesse Helms. ...During his presidency, he was on good term with most in the GOP House Leadership, including top spot holder Halleck, and kept contact with many of them longer after they had retired from political office... On the Senate side of thing, he was on friendly terms with Everett Dirksen, and mourned his death in 1969. …Father liked Senator Barry Goldwater’s rambunctious outspokenness and adherence to his ideals, and the two worked well together to partner on legislation to benefit Arizona and environmental issues. For this reason, Father met with Goldwater in 1971 to try and convince him to wait until 1976 or even 1980 to run for President, instead of challenging VP Scranton for the 1972 GOP nomination for President. Father believed that challenging Scranton – and losing, as Sanders correctly believed he would – would kill Goldwater’s chances of succeeding in any future Presidential runs, as it would be a direct and open defiance of the rest of the party’s leaders…

…Father also got along well with Eisenhower, and reportedly bonded with Mondale, despite the age difference between him and Fritz, due to their shared love of cooking (him as both a love and a profession, Mondale as a simple hobby to relieve stress, but both as a way on bonding with friends and family; the two even swapped recipes from time to time, mainly for appetizers and desserts such as pies, especially during Thanksgiving and the wintery holidays).

…Father also enthusiastically supported War Hero Jeremiah Denton’s run for Governor in 1974, but kept a low profile on most political topics during the late 1980s…

– Margaret Sanders’ The Colonel’s Secret: Eleven Herbs and a Spicy Daughter, StarGroup International, 1997



…In other geopolitical news, Denmark granted limited autonomy to Greenland earlier today, granting the region its own Parliament in the administrative capital of Nuuk…

– BBC World News, 5/5/1979 broadcast



…Calls for another general election began to grow in 1979, a time of record unemployment as the phenomenon of deindustrialization saw the nation’s manufacturing industries seemingly head to a close. Observers began to call the British economy “the ‘sick man’ of Western Europe” as inflation also rose in the long-term wake of the 1978 recession…

– Kenneth O. Morgan’s Putting Our Foots Down: The Days of Michael And The Years of Dingle, Guardian publications, 2011



IS GRAVEL TOO SOFT ON NATIONAL SECURITY TO WIN IN 1980?

…The Vice President is showing clear signs that he will run for his party’s nomination next year, but enthusiasm for his brand of policies may not have enough appeal for a general election… …Gravel’s open animosity to Mondale is making Democratic leaders nervous of his expected Presidential campaign, as many of them believe his confrontational personality may be too divisive to maintain party unity in the autumn campaign of next year’s race…

The Chicago Tribune, 5/9/1979



CRONKITE: “It seems that, with the nations of the Middle-East agreeing to a historic non-aggression treaty last year, former President Colonel Sanders is moving on to other endeavors. After hosting annual peace summits in Jerusalem since 1975, the Colonel has now announced his intention to work on a cookbook.”

SANDERS (in interview footage): “I wrote a small cookbook in 1961 to promote Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it was a short, quickly-put-out thing. This is going to be much bigger and even more helpful of a book.”

CRONKITE (in interview footage): “Isn’t writing a cookbook a step down from contributing to peace talks?”

SANDERS (in interview footage): “Not at all, Walt. Those talks were to promote people putting down their weapons and picking up some food to feed their families. I think it’d be hypno-critical of me to tell people to eat, and not also tell them how to eat well. Now, I’ve read hundreds of cookbooks. Most of those cookbooks don’t even tell you how to get a steak ready, how to bake biscuits or an apple pie. [5] This one will give you the basics and the very best of America’s many, many dishes.

CRONKITE (in interview footage): “So will it only cover American cooking.”

SANDERS (in interview footage): “Ah, no. I’ve tried cooking from everywhere, and I want this book to be for everyone. So it’ll cover the basics for everyone. Basic breakfast dishes, how to make bread, soup, eggs, how to prep meat and veggies, and in the different styles of lots of different cultures. That’s the thing about us – we all eat bread, meat and greens. We all look forward to dessert. And of course, I’m going to add my personal favorite dishes to the mix, too.”

CRONKITE (in interview footage): “In the book, will you finally reveal the eleven secret herbs and spices used in your KFC chicken?”

SANDERS (in interview footage): “Walter, if I can keep my trap shut about classified government information for these past 14 years, I can certainly keep my trap shut over something even more important than all of that stuff put together.”

– CBS News report, 5/12/1979 [6]



THE DALITARKIN CONSEQUENCE

Genre: TV drama film

Release date: May 16, 1979

[snip]

Plot:

In the distant future, Earth’s gravity has begun to accelerate, leading to the world’s government to agree to a plan to evacuate the planet and relocate as much of Earth’s population as possible to Mars. Terraformation of the Red Planet soon begins, but heated debates rages on how many people can be relocated before Earth can no longer sustain human life. Some countries produce a lottery system, while others decide to not accept those that the government considers “worthy of passage.”

Ten generations later, the Earth itself is nearing its end as it is increasingly losing its stability and is becoming flatter, like a squished-down ball, making gravity considerably heavier and producing environmental disasters that have killed “billions” of people. Millions have already being evacuated to colonies on Mars, but “hundreds of thousands more” have little hope of escaping the planet’s imminent destruction.

In the dilapidating ruins of an unnamed city, Skio, a wealthy descendant of the scientists who spearheaded awareness of the physics-shattering phenomenon ten generations ago is looking for his ex-girlfriend, Fain, in the hope of making amends before they depart on separate ships and will be physically apart for the three months the trip to Mars will last. Skio finds her volunteering at an emergency shelter, but Fain reveals that she wants to stay behind for as long as possible to help those deemed “unworthy of passage,” arguing their economic stations have unfairly condemned them to death. After a long and intense philosophical argument, Fain shows Skio the extent of poverty in the area, and the still-burning remains of locals’ last attempt to build their own Mars-bound spaceship. After considering the situation, Skio suggests threatening to stay behind to bring attention to the problem, arguing that his powerful connections would not allow a notable descendent of the evacuation program be left behind due to PR concerns.

However, after remote-meeting with several leading program members, including top-ranking individuals such as “the nation’s Chief Commander,” Skio and Fain are convinced that nothing can be done about those left behind due to the lack of time and materials needed to evacuate the remaining inhabitants of Earth, prompting Fain tearfully leave. However, as they depart and head to their shuttles, the one poverty-stricken person shown earlier in the film tries to attack and possibly rape Fain, but she manages to knock him unconscious, enabling her to get onboard.

An undetermined amount of time later, Earth is “flattening” just as the last of the evacuation ships leave its gravitational pull; some can’t withstand the strain and explode, but most don’t. The audience then sees the would-be rapist from before, has been left behind among thousands of others as the planet speeds up even faster. On Mars, Fain and Skio are watching Earth flatten on a large screen. Fain describes to Skio the moments experienced by those left behind, which is interspersed with the events occurring to the rapist. The gravitational pull pins him to the ground, the sun seemingly passes by quickly, over and over again, hurting his eyes. His body is stretched, “like being pulled on and apart by a thousand arms,” his brain suffers an aneurysm (suggested by blood leaking out of his ears, then nose, then eyes), he “can’t think any more,” then “can’t even feel,” and then he and everything else flattens and torn is apart as the whole planet completely flattens and disintegrates.

Some of the debris from Earth’s implosion gathers momentum and crashes into Mars’ weak atmosphere, hitting some of the colonies, including the one that Fain and Skio are at, but the damage is considered “light,” and it is addressed and amended. The people on Mars stare out into the black void to where Earth would be, humanity now facing an uncertain future as they’ll now struggle to survive and restart on an only slightly terraformed Mars. Fain is just happy she and Skio at least tried to save more people, though both are uncertain how so many will survive with such limited resources on Mars. They then listen to the Colony Director give a reassuring speech about humanity’s ability to adapt and overcome.

Just before the credits roll, we see an exterior shot of the colony’s “energy tank” to reveal it was damaged by the “debris shower” from earlier; the engine sputters and shuts down just before the film cuts to black.

Reception:

The film essentially broke even at the box office despite its limited release. The film also received mixed reviews, with some critics alleging it was “too dark” and others claiming the main characters were “neither likeable nor relatable.” However, the “dreary” and “depressing” film was praised for its special effects, and currently has a small but strong cult following.

– mediarchives.co.usa



INSIDE: REV. JERRY BROWN ON CHARITY WORK IN SOUTH AMERICA

[snip] The Reverend continued, “Not even an attack on my life last year for criticizing the government of Argentina while working in Buenos Aires could deterred me from doing the best I can do for my fellow man. I encourage everyone who can make a difference, no matter how small, to do so. The downtrodden do not ever forget the kindness they receive.” …

– People Magazine, late May 1979 issue



GOP INTRODUCES “REGULATIONS FLEXIBILITY” BILL IN THE HOUSE

– The Washington Post, 5/28/1979



After Mondale privately threatened to fire Clark and replace him with Labor Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to be the new Attorney General, Clark reluctantly agreed to launch a series of investigations into the roles that certain major banks and Wall Street corporations played in the immediate aftermath of the 1978 economic crash. …Congressman Larry McDonald (D-LA) criticized the action and claimed the administration of scapegoating, famously saying on May 29, “Yeah, that’s it, give the people the blood they’re calling for.” …With support from and the backing of Kennedy, Clark also sought to root out lingering corruption that, according to polling, was soiling the reputation of unions overall nationwide…

– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019



FRANK EUGENE CORDER

Born May 26, 1956 in Perry Point, Maryland, Corder dropped out of high school to join the US Army in October 1974, and originally trained as a mechanic before being deployed to Angola. He returned to the US in July 1978, having been discharged in June of that year, shortly after rising from the rank of Private First Class to the rank of Specialist. Corder had stayed in the US Army three year longer than initially planned. He passed away at the age of 23 from Dengue Fever, a disease that many of his fellow troops contracted prior to returning from active service in Angola.

The Aegis, local newspaper for Harford County, Maryland, obituary section, 5/30/1979



But it wasn’t just the militants worsening things for ol’ Suslov. Even peaceful men contributed to his problems. On June 2, 1979, Pope John Paul II traveled to Poland for a nine-day stay. The historic visit emboldened Polish nationalism, and the man’s rhetoric fanned the still-flickering embers of rebellious sentiment into a flame of activism, creating another rise in pro-democracy/anti-communism actions that were even more passionate and organized then the ones that overwhelmed Poland in 1968.

– Alexander Korzhakov’s autobiography From Dawn to Dusk: A Cutthroat Career, St. Petersburg Press, 1997



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[pic: https://imgur.com/JmXHNnF ]

– Former President Harland D. “Colonel” Sanders is spotted participating in a march in front of Kentucky’s capitol building in protest of cuts Governor Foust made to state social programs earlier that week, 6/7/1979



The 1979 European elections held from June 7 to June 10 of that year, were parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history. Seats in the Parliament had been allocated to the states according to population, and in some cases were divided into constituencies, but members sat according to political groups... [8]

– clickopedia.co.usa




CAM BOMB KILLS 2 AT US EMBASSY IN DAMASCUS

– The Washington Post, 6/11/1979



EXTRA!: THE BEATLES SPLIT UP AS RINGO CALLS IT QUITS!

…fed up with trying to work with Paul and John amid internal fighting over creative differences, Ringo Starr’s departure has led to Paul McCartney and John Lennon agreeing to go their separate ways as well… it is currently unknown what is going on with George Harrison, a.k.a. the Quiet Beatle, who has characteristically made no public comments over this turn of events...

The Daily Mirror, 12/6/1979



…Gravel convinced Mondale to sign a directive for secret aid to be sent to the governments of nations that had signed onto the 1978 Atlanta Treaty in the face of rising hostility from "anti-treaty terror groups"…

New Ideas For Old Problems: The Walter Mondale Presidency, Borderless Books Publishing, 2004



At the close of my high school experience, I had a choice to make. Do I follow my father into the Navy, continuing on the family’s military tradition, or do I follow my mother into academia and go to law school. Or do I go to the one first and the other one second? Or do I chart my own course? The end of high school was a time for reflection, to analyze my interests and my skills, and determine what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Preparing to grab my diploma on graduation day, I still wasn’t sure what I would do.

At the high school on Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, I had stumbled upon one of the well-kept secrets about black people: that most of us weren’t interested in revolt; that most of us were tired of thinking about race all the time; that if we preferred to keep to ourselves it was mainly because that was the easiest way to stop thinking about it, easier than spending all your time being mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you.” [9] Maybe it was the military atmosphere, but it highlighted a truth about life – that your situation depended on where you started. Grow up in Compton and survival becomes a revolutionary act. You get to college and your family is still back there rooting for you. They’re happy to see you escape; there’s no question of betrayal. But I hadn’t grown up in Compton. [10] I had grown up in Arlington and Hawaii and Biloxi. I had nothing to escape from except my own inner doubt. [10]

My anguish over the ideal assumptions of youth giving way to the harsh realities of the world we realize we’ve lived in all along led to me having long socio-political conversations with my high school friends. At each new school I would chose my friends carefully, and at Keesler I found myself joining a small sliver of the Black students who were, as they liked to say, “awake and aware.” Here is where I began to really study the concept of individuality in a world of labels like rank, age, and color. That kind of thinking was new to me. In the military, there is a “group-think” mentality. That your unit – your country, your cohorts, your family – come before you. Teenage me latched onto the idea of individuality, and my mother was more supportive of it than Father. As were my new friends.

One of them, the son of a low-level serviceman who spent his days cleaning bird droppings off the runways, was two years older than me, and was a vehement critic of the way of thing. “The minority assimilates into the dominant culture, not the other way around. Only white culture can be neutral and objective. Only white culture can be nonracial, willing to adopt the occasional exotic into its ranks,” one time in 1977, he sarcastically announced before adding, “Like you, right?” and looked at me. I had not yet told them that I was not adopted. I was too tired of making the correction and hoped they’d figure it out on their own, but hadn’t.

“No, damn it!” I bellowed, “I’m half-white on my mother’s side!” And, like many times before, I boasted that I was in the unique positon of having two Dads, my biological father living far-away in Kenya and my “real” father, the Rear Admiral.

“But you agree that only white culture has individuals, right?”

“How are you even a military brat?”

“I mean outside the military, Barack! The world is much smaller than you think it is!” He rebutted.

There was truth in his rant. And as the years went by I would realize something unfortunate. We, the half-breeds and the college-degreed, take a survey of the situation and think to ourselves, “Why should we get lumped in with the losers if we don’t have to?” We become only so grateful to lose ourselves in the crowd, America’s happy, faceless marketplace; and we’re never so outraged as when a cabbie drives past us or the woman in the elevator clutches her purse, not so much because we’re bothered by the fact that such indignities are what less fortunate coloreds have to put up with every single day of their lives – although that’s what we tell ourselves – but because we’re wearing a Brooks Brothers suit and speak impeccable English and yet have somehow been mistaken for an ordinary n*@@er. We don’t think we are Black, we think, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m an individual!” [11]

[snip]

While overseeing the actions of his men, Father was a fierce force, but at home he not your typical military father, cold and distance. He learned to turn off the part of your brain that makes you keep your defenses up, and he would interact with me and my little half-sister. He encouraged my following in his footsteps. On the other hand, Mother made excellent counterarguments to starting my adulthood in the military. During our brief time living on the Air Force Base in Djibouti in 1976, Mother taught me to disdain the blend of ignorance and arrogance that too often characterized Americans abroad. But the time she spent interacting with the locals, and witnessing the dead and dying in the military hospitals, made her realize the chasm that separated the life chances of an American from those of a Somalian or an Ethiopian. She knew which side of the divide she wanted her child to be on. I was an American, she decided, and my true life lay in America, not oversees, risking my life, possibly dying in a third-world land instead of making the world a better place from the comfort of America’s borders. [12]

But I could not agree to that. Not yet. Maybe it was the fear of social interaction outweighing the fear of being shot down by enemy fire. Maybe it as my adoration for my Father the caring War Hero’s calls for me to be a pilot like him outweighing my friend’s calls for me to be an individual above all other labels. Whichever, the fact remained that in June 1979, I was unwilling to make the choice my mother wanted me to take.

That summer, I visited the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and spent three days doing nothing except walk from one end of the town to the other. Like a tourist, I watched the range of human possibility on display, trying to trace out my future in the lives of the people I saw, looking for some opening through which I could reenter [13] that place in my mind where I had been in my early youth, that place in which I felt safe, secure and certain of who I was.

When the answer was never more complicated than the simple reply of “I am Barack.”

– Barack McCain’s Lessons From my Fathers, Sunrise Publishers, 1993 [7]



[vid: youtube /watch?v=Q0Fda0l3_3w ]

– KFC Commercial (its opening sequence possibly being a reference to the Colonel's involvement in recent developments in the Middle East), first aired 6/21/1979



22 June 1979: On this day in history, the sci-fi horror film “Alien,” directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O’Bannon, received a wide release, having already premiered on 25 May, on the opening night of the fourth Seattle International Film Festival; it will be released in the UK on 6 September, and go on receive critical acclaim, box-office success, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, plus three Saturn Awards and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation; the success of the film would launch the “Alien” franchise and be a boon to the career of lead actress Sigourney Weaver…

– onthisday.co.uk



“Recently there was a big Kentucky Fried Chicken promotion held in Gainesville, Florida. One of our franchisees was a graduate of the University of Florida. He wanted to get me in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but they couldn’t initiate me unless I was enrolled in a college. So they set up a special course for me. It was a three-day course in marketing. So while I was enrolled as a student there in Gainesville I got elected and initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha. I guess I’m the only seventh-grade dropout in the country who ever belonged to a college fraternity.”

– Harland Sanders’ The Colonel’s Cook Book, published late 1979 [14]



FRESHMAN REP LAMBASTED FOR “HURTFUL” RACIST COMMENTS

…John James Hoellen Jr. (b. 1914), a former Republican Chicago Alderman from 1947 to 1975 best known for opposing public housing on the claim that they will become “vertical slums,” is facing backlash for being caught on camera using rhetoric describing African-Americans as being “primitive [people who] enjoy the sun and the mud.” Many of his constituents and fellow lawmakers are calling on Hoellen to apologize for the comments, claiming they are “hurtful and morally wrong,” says US Rep. Yvonne Burke (D-CA). Hoellen, who opposes interracial relationships and the BLUTAG-American community, has not commented on the incident as of the time of this being printed…

The Washington Post, 6/27/1979 [15]



THE BERLIN AIRLIFT

Genre(s): action/warfare/military/WWII

Released: June 28, 1979

Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)

[snip]

Premise:

The film follows the chronology of the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift and the events leading up to it. One of the first major international crises of the Cold War, the event was in response to the Soviet Union blocking rail, road, and canal access to the sections of the post-WWII city of Berlin, Germany that were under the occupation of the Western Allies. To help though surrounded by the USSR’s blockade, US and British air forces flew planes over the city over 250,000 times. These planes dropped what turned out to be several thousands tons of necessities such as fuel and food nearly every day from June 1948 until the USSR lifted the blockade in May 1949; for safe measure, the airlifts continued until September 1949, just in case.

Cast:

George Chamberlain portrayed Lucius D. Clay, the senior officer of the US Army who orchestrated the Berlin Airlift; Paul Newman was originally set to portray Clay but had to withdraw from the project amid scheduling conflicts.

Fess Parker, who typically portrayed American leadership figures, most notably Davy Crockett in the 1950s, was cast as Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky, the Soviet General who led Soviet responses to the Berlin airlift; he is depicted as being level-headed (rejecting one officer’s suggestion of firing “warning shots” at the US and UK planes), but ignorant, as he believes the airlift will fail.

James Mason portrayed Brian Robertson, 1st Baron Robertson of Oakridge, the senior British Army officer who convinced Clay to oversee airlift operations instead of Clay’s proposal of forcing convoys through the roadblocks, which would have been “bloody” and could have potentially escalated the crisis into warfare with the USSR; he is presented as clashing with Clay over leading organization and mobilization efforts.

John Fiedler portrayed Robert A. Lovett, the US Under Secretary of State who oversaw the strategizing and logistics of the Berlin Airlift and worked with military personnel to smooth out all details; Lovett is presented as an energetic workaholic serving under Secretary of State George Marshall.

E. G. Marshall portrayed George Marshall, the US Secretary of State enthusiastic for the airlift but inhibited by his poor health

Rutger Hauer, Faye Dunaway, and child star Hubert Fahow portrayed “all that’s left” of a German family struggling to survive in Berlin in the wake of WWII; at the beginning of the film, Hauer’s character, who “somewhat sat out” the war due to being a leg amputee, blames the US for “going too far” to secure victory in the war, but after the airlift leads to him obtain medicine to help his ill son, concedes “they’re not all bad.”

Edward Herrmann, who had received accolades (including an Emmy) for his portrayal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1974 made-for-TV movie “Eleanor and Franklin,” portrayed him again here.

Several veteran actors, including George C. Scott, Keenan Wynn, Annette Funicello, Leon Ames, Alan Hewitt, William Windom, and George Voskovec all appeared in the film as well, all portraying smaller roles.

Reception:

The film received generally positive reviews and was a financial success at the box office.

– mediarchives.co.usa



QCbAx6S.png

[pic: imgur.com/QCbAx6S.png ]

– Colonel Sanders presenting a KFC regional manager with an award, 6/29/1979



“I won’t be running for President next year. I don’t agree with many of the Vice President Gravel’s policies, I don’t think they are popular enough to win in a general election, but don’t think it’s right to deny him the chance to prove me wrong. Besides, this is already a pretty tough job, and dividing my time between it and the campaign trail would only impede my endeavors in both tasks.”

– Secretary of State Jimmy Carter, 6/30/1979



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)
[1] 1 year earlier than OTL due to the aforementioned technological advancements made during the 14 years between recessions ITTL.
[2] OTL, as found here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176685300/violet-catherine-cummings
[3] Paraphrase of line found in Higginbotham’s NYT obituary column: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/15/us/a-leon-higginbotham-jr-federal-judge-is-dead-at-70.html
[4] OTL, by the way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito#Non-Alignment
[5] OTL Quote!
[6] Segment written because IOTL the Colonel wrote a cookbook/semi-autobiography in 1966 and a more in-depth autobiography in 1974. ITTL, he still wrote the 1974 one (though it’s much more in-depth here), but was busy being President in 1966, and so never wrote a second book (In retrospect, perhaps I should have had included him writing a mini-cookbook to promote KFC between leaving office in 1959 and running for another in 1964 in one of the earlier chapters. Whoops… oh well!).
[7] Italicized parts are pulled from various pages of Barack’s OTL autobiography: https://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=barack+obama+autobiography+book&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks
[8] The passage that is in italics was directly pulled from this election's wikipedia article
[9] These italicized parts were pulled from Barack's OTL autobiography: https://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=barack+obama+autobiography+book&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks, Page 98
[10] Ibid., Page 99
[11] Ibid., Page 100
[12] Ibid., Page 47
[13] Ibid., Page 122
[14] Quote from page 15 of his OTL 1966 book, “The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef”
[15] Guy made some pretty messed up comments IOTL, which can be found on his wiki page


Also, some polls for the 1979-1980 Presidential election season:

The Democratic Primaries: https://www.strawpoll.me/18958938

The Republican Primaries: https://www.strawpoll.me/18973785




Here’s a breakdown of the Democratic candidates (7):

Maurice Robert “Mike” Gravel was born on May 13, 1930 in Springfield, MA to French-Canadian immigrants. After serving in the US Army's Counterintelligence Corps, he worked as a taxi driver in NYC before moving to Alaska in 1956, where he quickly found work in real estate. After two unsuccessful bids for public office, he served in the state House (1963-1967), and served as its Speaker (1965-1967). In 1966, a good year for anti-war Democrats, Gravel won election to the US House. He briefly ran for President in early 1968 before successfully running for a second House term later that year. After winning a special election in late 1969, Gravel entered the US Senate in January 1970. After running for President again in 1972, Gravel became the running mate of his party’s Presidential nominee, a moderate, who sought to unite the party. After nearly eight years of serving as VP, Gravel is indisputably the “darling” of the progressive wing of the party in this race, and due to his current occupation is the presumed frontrunner. However, the potential strength of some more moderate opponent could make his third race for the nomination be more like a real competition than a coronation. This is due to Gravel’s icy relations with Mondale and other moderate Democrats, a situation which some argue threatens to alienate voters outside of Gravel’s base; on the other hand, Gravel believes primary voters are more weary of Mondale’s “milquetoast” governing style than of his habit of “always choosing to stand by principles and values than resigning to ‘going with the flow,’” and as a result is, at the very least, comfortable with his presumed odds. Gravel is running on improving relations with the USSR and the PRC to “prevent more regions of the world from falling to proxy wars” and advancing denuclearization, and on supporting making federal social programs “more efficient and helpful.”

Ernest Frederick “Fritz” Hollings was born on January 1, 1922 in Charleston, SC. A medal-winning US Army veteran who fought in WWII, Hollings is considered to be a career politician, having continually held public offices for the past 30 years. Hollings began his career by serving in the state House (1949-1954) and as its Speaker (1951-1954). He then served as Lieutenant Governor (1955-1959) and then as Governor (1959-1963), where he improved his state’s education system and promoted industries moving there. After US Sen. Johnston died in office in 1965, Hollings successfully ran to complete his term via special election. Hollings won re-election in 1968 and 1974, and is allowed to run for both re-election and the White House in 1980. Hollings is a conservative but has a history of being praised for bipartisanism. He is known for heading several fact-finding tours on hunger and poverty as a leading member of the US Senate Select Committee on Hunger and Human Needs. Hollings could face scrutiny from the party’s left for opposing legislation to admit more refugees from Asia and Cuba during the late 1960s, but he believes his conservatism, bipartisan record, and focus on “kitchen table issues” will earn him support from Republicans in the general election – provided that he wins over moderates and wins his party’s nomination first.

Henry Martin “Scoop” Jackson was born on May 31, 1912 in Everett, WA. A Norwegian-American like Mondale, he has been serving in the US Senate since 1953, after previously serving in the US House (1941-1953). Jackson is a moderate aligned with the President and supported Civil Rights legislation and environmental protection during the 1960s and 1970s. Derided by some as “the Senator from Boeing” for backing military spending on weapons systems and military contracts for Boeing, Jackson is arguably best known for his support of higher military spending, national defense, and military contractors. This clear hawkishness, combined with his support for Japanese internment camps during WWII (and even opposing Japanese-Americans being allowed to return to their homes along the west coast once the war was over) may be detriments to his campaign. Due to these concerns, Jackson is focusing more on social issues such as equality and social welfare programs. Jackson is also downplaying the “law and order” rhetoric he is known to use due him believing that those talking points contributed to Reagan’s landslide loss four years ago. Nevertheless, this “cold war warrior” cares greatly about maintaining an anti-communist stance more professional and less openly-aggressive than McDonald’s but more ambitious than Nixon’s. He wants to reverse Mondale’s “inroads with the Soviets,” though he is currently running on his championing of social welfare programs and labor unions in order to win voters over from Gravel.

Lawrence Patton “Larry” McDonald was born on April 1, 1935 in Atlanta, Georgia. After working as a flight surgeon in the US Navy at a base in Iceland, McDonald married a local Icelander and had 3 children with her – Tryggvi, Callie, and Mary. McDonald began to practice medicine after his discharge, but soon increased his focus on politics, resulting in his wife divorcing him (McDonald would remarry in 1975, resulting in him becoming the father of two more children). McDonald was elected to the US Representatives from northern Georgia since 1972, a good year for Democrats, and won re-election in 1974, 1976, and 1980; he is retiring to focus on this Presidential run. Often described as a modern-day McCarthyist for his very strongly anti-communist rhetoric often teetering on the edge of paranoia (often wearing a bulletproof vest and maintaining fallout shelters at his home and primary campaign headquarters certainly help to bolster this description), McDonald is of the most conservative voting records in the US Congress. Being the former Chair of the John Birch Society, McDonald is a firm supporter of several JBS ideas. He is calling for steep cuts in government spending and foreign aid programs, calling “the Johnson-Sanders welfare state…a disaster”; abolishing the federal income tax; less regulations on pharmaceutical drugs but more restrictions on recreational drugs; impeaching the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for abuse of power; abolishing several federal election laws; pulling the US out of the UN; and undoing almost all of the post-New Deal welfare and regulatory state. Interestingly, though, McDonald supports adding more statues of historic African-American figures to places around Capitol Hill. Deeply conservative both fiscally and conservatively, McDonald does not shy away from being called a populist, and believes he can re-energize “old bases” in the party and secure the South in the Electoral College come November 1980. McDonald also believes America needs to be stronger on the world stage, supporting military action over détente to “keep our enemies in line” at home and abroad, saying recently that “Scoop and Mike are just two sides of the same rotten apple threatening to spoil the bunch that is the Democratic party. One is in cahoots with big business, the other is a talentless shoutnik who’d be glad to see the Soviets take over America.”

Walter Louis Nixon Jr. was born on December 16, 1928 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Nixon began his career in law by entering private practice in 1952; after serving in the US Air Force from 1953 to 1955, he re-entered private practice and garnered local prominence for defending three shoutniks arrested for draft-card burning in a 1964 case. He was a potential nominee for a US District Court seat if President Lyndon Johnson had won re-election. Nixon left private practice in 1971, when, after presiding over two closely-followed state corruption cases in 1969 and 1970, was drafted by Biloxi Democrats to run for Governor. He was elected to said office in 1971 and served from 1972 to 1976 due to being constitutionally limited to a single term. During his time in office, Nixon cracked down on wasteful spending, opposed nepotism in state appointments, and sought to combat recreational drug use among the state’s youth. Nixon has thrown his hat into the race due to his disapproval of Vice President Gravel’s policies being “unacceptably left-wing,” adding “I’m the only candidate in this race with an encyclopedic understanding of our national laws.” Mum on most social issues outside of opposing anything he deemed to be harmful to children, Nixon is running for President with a campaign style that is similar to that of former President Sanders, who is fairly popular in the American South. Nixon himself seems to be portraying himself as another version of The Colonel due to that former President focusing on “family values” as well. In his announcement speech, Nixon proclaimed “Self-evident truths of our nation must be preserves for future generations,” demonstrating his intention to take up a moderate-to-conservative lane in this race. However, his opponents may be quick to question where exactly he stands on certain fiscal and foreign policy issues.

Robert Earl “Bob” Short was born on July 20, 1917 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A US Navy veteran who fought in WWII, Short entered the world of business after unsuccessfully running for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 1946. He started out in trucking before building up a freight carrier company and then shifting into sports management. Short owned the NBA Lakers (1957-1965), then the NFL Oilers (1969-1974) after failing to outbid comedian Bob Hope for the MLB Senators team in 1969. However, Short managed the Senators from 1974 to 1977 after Hope grew frustrated with management duties and sold them; Short subsequently moved the team to his native Minnesota, then sold them to local Minnesotan businessman so Short could run for the US Senate. These actions led to Short quipping “I’ve dealt with Senators before, I can deal with them again” on the night of his 1978 election victory. A moderate, Short is close friends with fellow Senator Humphrey; having worked on Humphrey’s 1968 and 1972 Presidential campaigns, Short is hoping to win his endorsement. Short is running for President on a pro-life, pro-business platform emphasizing his monetary success with the Lakers, Oilers, and Senators. However, his opponents are already questioning his handling of players’ rights and negotiations for said teams, alleging he put profit ahead of players; Short denies these allegations.

Elmo Russell Zumwalt Jr. was born on November 29, 1920 in San Francisco, California. Both of his parents were country doctors, with his mother being Jewish and from Vermont. Zumwalt was raised as a Christian and originally planned to follow in his parent’s footsteps and become a doctor, but in 1939, with the threat of war looming, he joined the US Navy. Zumwalt ended up serving in WWII, in the Korean War, in the Cuba War, and in the Indochina Wars (where he contributed to naval actions during the 1967 invasion of Hanoi). He received the rank of Admiral in 1970; later that same year, President Sanders nominated him to be Chief of Naval Operation (1970-1972). Zumwalt retired from the military in January 1973 and settled in Virginia, where he had officially resided since 1970. Critical of state political regulations on businesses and medical services, Zumwalt ran for and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1973 and served from 1974 to 1978. Highly critical of Mondale’s leadership during the 1973 Oil Crisis, Zumwalt challenged Mondale for the 1976 Democratic nomination; he competed in most of the primaries, and while he won none of them, he received as much as 20% in some of them, resulting in him receiving 3.9% of the total delegate count at that year’s convention. Since then, Zumwalt has continued to call for stronger consumer protection laws after witnessing how asbestos has affected US Navy Veterans and Virginia citizens, resulting in him banning its use in Virginia in 1975. Running for President again, Zumwalt believes in maintaining a “firm hand abroad and a soft hand at home,” and seems to be aiming to be a moderate “compromise” candidate between southern candidates and northern candidates, and between conservative candidates and the progressive Gravel.



And here’s a breakdown of the Republican candidates (19):

A. Lamar Alexander Jr. was born on July 3, 1940 in Maryville, Tennessee to middle-class Scotch-Irish educators. After serving as the editor of his law school’s newspaper, Alexander worked as a legislative assistant for US Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN) from 1967 until leaving in 1970 due to disagreeing with Baker’s “aggressive [and] confrontational” approach to the Ms. Arkansas scandal. Alexander subsequently worked on several successful Republican campaigns in Tennessee in 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973. Alexander then utilized the political connections that he had made during these victories to mount a successful campaign for Governor of Tennessee in 1974. He supervised a fairly conservative administration while in office (1975-1979), cutting taxes and deregulating the state’s education system. Constitutionally limited to a single term, Alexander is now mounting a Presidential campaign that is emphasizing his youth, energy, charisma, gubernatorial tenure, “D.C. outsider” status, and “humble roots.” A defender of the nuclear energy, oil, and gas industries, Alexander believes that the US Department of the Interior should be decentralized to grant local and statewide governments the freedom to monitor ecological habitats more efficiently. He also supports tax cuts in the form of replacing several current taxes for “more fair” flat taxes. Making his candidacy official at the age of 39, he is the youngest candidate in the race.

John Milan Ashbrook was born on September 21, 1928 in Johnstown, OH to US Rep. William Ashbrook (1867-1940, R-OH). After graduating from law school, he became the publisher of his late father’s former newspaper. Ashbrook then worked with political strategist F. Clifton White from the Young Republicans during the early 1950s before Ashbrook served in the state House (1957-1961). Ashbrook was then elected to the US House of Representatives in 1960. His seat, which he has held continuously since 1961, is the same seat his father held from 1907 to 1921 and again from 1935 until his death. John Ashbrook is now running for President on a “consistently conservative” platform; his campaign is already being supported by political commentator William F. Buckley Jr. due to them sharing the same right-wing positions on budget deficits, environmental protection, wage and price controls, and relations with the USSR and the PRC. In his announcement speech, Ashbrook indicated the style of his campaign by proclaiming “We have to change course. It doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate, because the Democratic party is the party of drugs, disasters, and détente. And Americans sick and tired of all three of those things.”

Howard Henry Baker Jr. was born on November 15, 1925 in Huntsville, Tennessee to US Rep. Howard Baker Sr. (1902-1964, R-TN), who served in the House from 1951 until his death. After serving in the US Navy during WWII, Baker began to law practice in 1949, but did not enter politics until 1964 (a fairly good year for Republicans), when he won a special election to the US Senate. Known for brokering compromises and maintaining civility during tense discussions in D.C., Baker easily won re-election in 1966, 1972, and 1978. Popular among his colleagues, Baker has been the US Senate Majority Leader since 1971. Now running for President on a moderate campaign, he is touting his reputation for negotiation and honesty in the hopes of appealing to middle-class and suburban voters tired of the alleged “instability” of the past nearly eight years to Democratic rule. Baker also wants to “chip away” at the stigma surrounding alcohol, due to his wife, Joy, being a recovered alcoholic.

Edward William “Ed” Brooke III was born on October 26, 1919 in Washington, D.C., but moved to Massachusetts after serving in the US Army during WWII, where he met his current wife, Remigia. After reinvigorating the Boston Finance Commission in the late 1950s, Brooke served as state Attorney General (1963-1967), where he developed a reputation for combating organizing crime and government corruption. This success led to him winning election to the US Senate in 1966, 1972, and 1978. Brooke’s Presidential candidacy has already been endorsed by Nelson Rockefeller, which could be a liability or an asset in the upcoming contests, pending local attitudes and how much weight it even carries. Having co-authored the Lowenstein-Brooke Bill of 1977 that finally made lynching a federal crime, Brooke is running on a moderate platform supportive of labor, health regulations, easing access to higher education, civil rights, voting rights, cutting down on wasteful federal government spending in favor of a “small but still helpful” federal government, and détente. Brooke’s rhetoric and masterful debate skills are closer to being inspiring than controversial, in stark contrast to the divisive performance of Reagan’s during the 1976 debates. Brooke is one of two African-American candidates in this race.

Danny Lee “Dan” Burton was born on June 21, 1938 in Indianapolis, IN. After working as a real estate broker and as an insurance agent, he served in the state House (1966-1968), in the state Senate (1968-1976) and as Governor (since 1977). Burton has decided against running for a second gubernatorial term to run for President instead. Calling himself a D.C. outsider, Burton has been consistently conservative throughout his career, except for his support for bailouts for large farms and agricultural businesses hurt by the 1978 economic downturn. Blaming Mondale for the recession, Burton is calling for greater federal accountability with rhetoric similar to Reagan’s. However, he is already facing scrutiny for supporting Bahrain’s monarchy, praising Pakistan's dictator, calling former US Secretary of State Nash a “dumbass,” and using the governor’s official helicopter to travel to a 1977 golf tournament. Burton rebuts the controversies as being greatly exaggerated, and counters claims that he is too inexperienced for the Presidency by touting his ability to balance the budget in every year of his governorship thus far.

Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. was born on July 15, 1924 in Mobile, AL and has made a career in the military. After developing the highly-praised “Haystack Concept” naval attack strategy in 1957, Denton became a Naval aviator during the Cuba War, where he was shot down and taken prisoner in the last year of the war and was liberated after 11 months of torture. Despite his war wounds, he returned in active duty in time for participate in the 1967 fall of Hanoi. After publishing his best-selling autobiography in 1973, Denton was drafted into running for Governor in 1974. He won, and served from 1975 to 1979. Now running for President on his military and governing experiences, critics call him a “Reagan 2.0,” despite Denton being closer to the center than Reagan.

Robert Joseph “Bob” Dole was born on July 22, 1963 in Russell, KS. While serving in the Army during WWII, Dole suffered life-threatening wounds from a German shell, resulting in permanent limited mobility in his right arm. Returning home a decorated Army captain, Dole became an attorney, then launched a successful career in the state House (1951-1953), as County Attorney of Russell County (1953-1961) and in the US House (1961-1969), where he voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1962 and in favor of war efforts in Cuba and Indochina. Since becoming a US Senator from Kansas in 1969, Dole was served as Chair of the Republican National Committee, and as a ranking member of the Senate’s Agriculture and Finance Committees. He is now running for both a third Senate term and for the White House. If his brief run for President in 1976 is any indication, Dole may have an image problem, with voters finding him too bland. However, Dole sees this as a good thing, as he believes that, after four years and the failure of the Reagan nomination, voters are looking for a “Return to Normalcy” kind of candidate. A rural conservative who is not as far to the right as Reagan, some say that Dole’s best bet is to adhere to blue-collar workers and to try his best to benefit from this season’s early primaries being held in states with large rural populations. Dole’s focus on healthcare for veterans and the disabled could also help his bid.

Aloha Pearl Taylor Browne Eagles was born on November 8, 1916 in Duluth, MN. After attending nursing school, Aloha (who pronounced her first name with a silent “H,” as in “a-LO-a”) moved with her husband to Fargo, North Dakota, where Aloha was both a beloved homemaker and an active participant in local public service programs (she was best known by locals for baking cookies for public events). She served North Dakota’s state House of Representatives from 1967 to 1973, where she supported women’s rights by attempting to liberalize the state’s abortion laws. In 1969, she authored a bill to legalize abortion “in cases of rape, incest, of if the mother’s health was endangered” that narrowly failed to pass in 1969 and again in 1971, with each attempt resulting in Eagles receiving abusive phone calls, hate mail, and even death threats. Elected Governor on a conservative campaign the focused entirely of fiscal restraint and was fueled by state GOP efforts to combat post-Arkwave claims of sexism, Eagles returned to the abortion issue in 1973 by working with Democrats to narrowly pass the bill. She spent the remainder of her first term supporting tax cuts and deregulation to win back disillusioned Republicans; she signed into law a bill that prohibited “the sale of volatile solvents” such as those being used for “glue-sniffing” by young North Dakotans in 1974, and oversaw the construction of a women's prison in the state (which brought in more jobs and improved her support among voters concerned about “law and order”) in 1975. In 1976, she successfully ran for re-election in what was a bad year for Republicans elsewhere; Eagles credits her surprise re-election victory to “never straying” from her principles. She supported the ERA and more libertarian policies during her second term. Now running for President on her record of supporting social services, law enforcement, family values (which she argues includes “legal and safe abortion when needed”), vocational rehab programs, and protecting religious freedom, her candidacy could appeal to feminists on the left, while her success in improving North Dakota’s agriculture sector and employment rates could win over workers on the right.

Barry Morris Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909 in Phoenix, in what was Arizona Territory at the time. He was raised Episcopalian and has Jewish descent on his father’s side. Goldwater helped manage his family’s department store before serving in the US Army Air Force during WWII. He then was elected to the Phoenix City Council in 1949, and served from 1950 to 1952. Being praised for building up the local Republican party resulted in his first election to the US Senate in 1952; he won re-election in 1958, 1964, 1970, and 1976. Despite supporting desegregation, civil rights, and racial equality, and voting in favor of the 1957 Civil Rights Act, Goldwater did not support the 1962 Civil Rights Act due to his concerns that it would lead to an unconstitutional overreach of the federal government. He ran for President in 1964, but after losing his bid for the GOP nomination, worked closely with the Sanders administration to keep the federal government “in check.” After the death of Everett Dirksen in 1969, Goldwater was tapped to serve as Senate party leader, until he stepped down from the position in late 1971 to unsuccessfully challenge VP Scranton for the Presidential nomination 1972. Locked horns with moderates in this contest lead to him losing popularity in the party and may have hurt his third campaign for the Presidency in 1976. Nevertheless, these three runs may have substantially contributed to conservative and libertarian political movements in the US. Running once again for the Presidency, Goldwater has gradually shifted from being a staunch conservative to taking up a more libertarian space in the race, openly opposing the ascendant Religious Right movement on the grounds of separating church and state, and even supporting environmental protection at the federal level.

Jay Sterner Hammond was born on July 21, 1922 in Troy, NY. After serving in the Marines as a fighter pilot during WWII, he moved to Alaska and worked as a bush pilot. More than a decade later, he entered local politics; he served in the state House (1959-1965) and in the state Senate (1967-1971); he was first elected as an Independent, then join the Republican party in 1960. Hammond was elected Governor in 1970 and won re-election in a landslide in 1974. Now running for President, he is touting his gubernatorial record of overseeing the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund, several landmark environmental protection laws, leading the state through the 1973 oil crisis, and taking swift action he took in the early weeks of the 1978 recession to minimize its affects in his state. Identifying as a “Colonel Conservative,” he is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, and stands out among the candidates by strongly supporting anti-pollution laws and by renewing the call for implementing the Federal Assistance Dividend pushed by Colonel Sanders in 1965.

Paul Dominique Laxalt was born on August 2, 1922 in Reno, NV to Basque immigrants from the French Pyrenees; his father was a shepherd while his mother opened and operated her own restaurant. After serving as a US Army medic at the Battle of Leyte during WWII, Laxalt graduated from law school and became a successful district attorney and lawyer. Laxalt then entered politics, serving as the District Attorney of Ormsby County (1951-1955) and then as Lieutenant Governor from 1963 until his election to the US Senate in 1964, a good year for Republicans; Laxalt won re-election in 1970 and 1976. In office, Laxalt supported purging members of the John Birch Society from the GOP, promoted casino development, and backed protecting scenic waterways from runoff pollution. A defender of Reagan in 1976 and a friend and ally of Goldwater, Laxalt is now heading a “friendly” campaign for the White House, hoping to win over undecided voters with his oratory skills and middle-class appeal. Touting his roughly 16 years in the US Senate, Laxalt supports the notion of low taxes and lowering spending habits (except for the military), and libertarian-to-conservative proposals that may appeal to western voters and to the people of New Hampshire, an early primary state.

Donald Edgar “Buz” Lukens was born on February 11, 1931 in Harveysburg, OH. After serving in the Air Force in the 1950s, he entered politics; he eventually served as President of the national Young Republicans in the early 1960s before serving in the US House (1967-1971) and then as Governor (1971-1979). Due to his success at lowering unemployment and reforming the state’s tax system, Reagan considered choosing him to be his running mate in 1976. Modeling himself as a champion of the factory worker, Lukens is now running for President with a focus on winning over blue-collar workers, a strategy that is similar to one that was pursued by Ray Kroc roughly four years ago. Lukens is anti-immigration on the grounds of protecting US jobs. He is also a self-proclaimed champion of “moral correctness.” Lukens claims that his saving of American factory jobs and his successful negotiating of international business deals during his time as Governor to bring more businesses to the Buckeye State “more than qualify” him for the oval office.

James Howard Meredith was born on June 25, 1933 in Kosciusko, MS. He is an African-American with English Canadian, Scots, and Choctaw heritage. Meredith served in the US Air Force from 1951 to 1960, but returned to serve his country during the Cuba War. Moving to NYC in the mid-1960s, Meredith became a writer and political adviser for local conservative politicians. After unsuccessfully running for congress in 1969, Meredith moved back to Mississippi and ran for the US senate in 1972, winning the Republican nomination and losing in a surprisingly narrower-than-expected margin, which convinced him to run again in 1978, which was a good year for Republicans overall. Winning the 1978 election and entering office in January 1979, Meredith has quickly developed a reputation for bluntly and directly addressing critics and for confronting and challenging members of both parties for racist comments. He is also becoming well known for being hard to pin down on the political spectrum, as he is willing to work with either party to pass libertarian, moderate, and conservative works of legislation. Meredith has now launched a “maverick” Presidential campaign that espouses both conservative ideals and bipartisanship to appeal to conservative voters that typically vote for Democrats.

Ronald Ernest Paul was born on August 20, 1935 in Pittsburgh, PA. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1961 and subsequently served as a flight surgeon for the US Air Force during the Cuba War, an experience that cemented his anti-war views. After said war, Paul and his wife relocated to Texas, where he ran a private OB/GYN practice. Researching politics in his spare time, he became increasingly critical of President Mondale ending the Gold Standard, and in 1977 announced he was running for the US Senate. Winning the GOP nomination in an upset, he warned that Mondale’s policies would bring about economic disaster; the 1978 recession beginning weeks before the election helped Paul win the race by a 12-point margin. Now running for President, Paul’s critics call him an inexperienced political neophyte who “got lucky,” while others call him a populist outsider and a rising star with grassroots support. Paul’s supporters claim he can connect well with suburban voters, while critics admonish his lack of legislative accomplishments. And both his supporters and opponents, plus undecided voters, seem to be impressed by how the man has ascended so quickly from being a baby-delivering doctor to being a Senator and now a serious Presidential candidate.

George Wilcken Romney was born on July 8, 1907 in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico to American citizens, thus making him eligible for the Presidency. He worked in the automobile industry after moving to Detroit in 1939 and entered politics in 1961. Romney quickly went from being a wealthy businessman to being the Governor of Michigan. After holding that office from 1963 to 1971, he was elected to the US Senate in 1970, and re-elected in 1976 after narrowly failing to win the GOP presidential nomination earlier that same year. As Governor, he overhauled the state's financial and revenue structure, greatly expanded the size of the state’s government, and introduced the state’s first state income tax. Romney also strongly supported the Civil Rights movement; he helped by desegregating suburbs and increasing housing production for the poor. He is now running for President again, and on a platform similar to the moderate centrist one that he ran on four years ago. If he can pulled it off, his being devoutly Mormon could appeal to both the Religious Right and religious minority groups.

John Harbin Rousselot was born on November 1, 1927 in Los Angeles, CA. Starting out as an insurance agent during the 1950s, Rousselot also was an author and public relations consultant before successfully running for Congress in 1960. He was previously a delegate to the 1956 Republican National Convention, and a member of the executive committee of the CA-GOP State Central Committee (1956-1957). Staunchly conservative, he has served in the US House since 1961, and considers himself to be a “survivor” of Democratic “machinations,” as he has repeatedly won re-election despite redistricting due to focusing on local issues every general election season. His candidacy has been endorsed by fellow US Rep. and former NFL player Bill McColl, but it has also been endorsed by John Birch Society members Edwin Walker and Billy James Hargis.

Harold Edward Stassen was born on April 13, 1907 in West St. Paul, MN. After serving as District Attorney of Dakota County (1935-1939), he was elected Governor in 1938, 1940, and 1942, but resigned in 1943 to serve in the military during WWII. Stassen is a moderate critical of nuclear energy safety who has ran for President six times before – the closest attempt being in 1948. Becoming the GOP nominee for US Senate in 1978 marked his first primary win in 36 years. Despite narrowly losing that election, this perennial candidate alleges that his presence in that general election introduced him to a new generation of voters and increased voter turnout. While still a longshot candidate, Stassen believes that “things are different this time around,” and that this is the closest he’s been in decades to winning the GOP nomination for President.

Antonina P. “Ann” Uccello was born on May 19, 1922 in Hartford, CT. Beginning her career in the business sector, she was serving as a department store executive when she ran for city council in 1963. Serving from 1963 to 1967, she was elected Mayor of Hartford in 1967, and served from 1967 to 1971. She narrowly lost a run for the US Senate in 1970, but she was appointed to that same US Senate seat following the death of incumbent Tom Dodd (D) in 1971. In office since then, Uccello has shown herself to be a moderate with a focus on fiscal policies instead of social ones. Nevertheless, her Presidential platform focuses on her championing of better housing, job training, and protecting children from lead paint, among other social issues.

William Childs Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914 in Saxon, SC. After four decades in the US Army, Westmoreland has an extensive military history. Overseeing action in WWII and being both praised and derided for his controversial methods during the Cuba War, he was promoted to General in early 1964, and was sent to Laos in 1965 to oversee “search and destroy” missions to decimate the Pathet Lao. His contributions to the 1967 Invasion of Hanoi led to media speculation that he would run for President in 1968 if President Sanders declined to do so. Instead, Westmoreland served as the US ambassador to Cambodia from April 1968 to January 1973, where he helped to modernize that country’s military and develop its international relations as well. After retiring from the Army in early 1974, Westmoreland was elected Governor of South Carolina in November of that same year. As Governor, he focused on improving the state’s education standards and aggressively cracking down on crime. Rising focus on law-and-order resulted in Reagan tapping Westmoreland to be his running mate four years ago. Prohibited by term limits from running for re-election in 1978, Westmoreland believes his experience in both the military and politics makes him “more than qualified” for the Presidency.

@gap80 I don't think Mitterand would have a 3rd term, if only because there is a two-term limit in the Constitution of the 5th republic.
I believe another name of the Socialist Party would end up succeeding him - maybe Laurent Fabius or Lionel Jospin ?
Shoot, you're right; I'll change that to Pierre Mauroy, since Fabius is only 32 in February 1979 and Jospin's not prominent enough IOTL/ITTL for it to be feasible.
 
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@gap80 I don't think Mitterand would have a 3rd term, if only because there is a two-term limit in the Constitution of the 5th republic.
I believe another name of the Socialist Party would end up succeeding him - maybe Laurent Fabius or Lionel Jospin ?
 
Cool, two updates, make sense since next Thursday is Thanksgiving.

It's fun to see a few familiar name shuffling places. Especially Bill Clinton in Alaska. You wouldn't normally expect much from that state, except that the vice presidential candidates of 1972 were both from there, I wonder if that means the state will get a little more prominence in this timeline.

Six extra years, at a hundred hits a year, given the injuries meaning he probably wouldn't play quite as much just as he hadn't the last couple of years our timeline. So, Clemente probably wind up with a hit total similar to Stan musial's, probably a little above but shy of Hank Aaron's National League records.

1980 is going to be interesting. I really don't know too many of the names from our timeline on the Democratic side, I kind of doubt Gravel can win but you never know. For the Republicans, I mentioned before that I really liked Howard Baker in our timeline but I couldn't resist the chance to vote for Ed Brooke. I wonder if he would be too liberal but maybe not. Of course, he might have moderated enough considering the Point of Departure 30 years earlier. So he could be able to be nominated.

So, Carter won't run, which makes sense he is dedicated to his position at State and that is probably where he was best. But I'm surprised Nixon isn't in the list for the Republicans, at least that I could see. However, it seems like he would be happy in the Senate, perhaps happier than as president. He has a position of power and strength snd can stay in it for longer than 8 years. :)

Are you butterflying away Bostock's death, too?
 
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