Kentucky Fried Politics: A Colonel Sanders Timeline

[miner249er]

working various jobs to support his family while slowly learning the Wnglish language. It is his pursuit of the paycheck to do right by his family that has led to him frying chicken in Antarctica.

Wnglish? what is Wnglish?

 

[Kennedy Forever]

I vote for Hillary

 

[Igeo654]

I'm still holding out hope that Olympia can somehow pull this off and become America's first Greek-American President as well as its second female one.

 

[gap80]

Chapter 94: September 2007 – February 2008​

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall”

– Confucius



“OH, HE DEFINITELY RIPPED US OFF”: Freddie Mercury Grills Vanilla Ice Over Song Similarities

…a low-key feud between the on-again, off-again band Queen and rapper Vanilla Ice seems to have reached a boiling point, as the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, said in a TON interview Thursday that the rapper “lifted several entire tracks and chords” from “at least two” Queen songs…

– thehollywoodreporter.co.usa, 9/1/2007 e-article



“They’re not the same. Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby have totally different riffs, different beats, different rhythms, different everything!”

– Vanilla Ice, 9/2/2007 radio interview



Just as Chairman Bo Xilai was poised to order the launching of another cyber-attack – this time, one that was set to hit at least 5 million servers across the US, Canada and Mexico – the explosive allegations of massive corruption hit the digital and real-life pavement of the West.

Li Zhang Wei had been an assistant to Bo ally Zhou Yongkang for over six years, taking the position after the wave of purges of municipal payrolls that followed the SARS outbreak left it and many other spots wide open. A devoted patriot of the state, he had studied and closely followed the career of both Chairman Bo and Bo’s father, Vice Chairman Bo Yibo, and sought to emulate the elder Bo’s dedication to honesty, even in the face of unpopularity and the threat of dismissal. But as the years of loyal service continued, Li found himself conflicted as he spotted an alarming pattern: businessmen would often meet with Minister Zhou for tete-a-tetes concerning the very kind of quid pro quos the nation’s leader derided as corrupt. In August 2007, Li’s faltering faith in the PRC’s government was broken when he accompanied Zhou to The Imperial City and was ordered to take notes on what could only be described as a money laundering scheme. Chairman Bo was overseeing the embezzling of funds into private accounts for him and several oligarchic members of Red China high society through business contractor projects, the origin of the funds for these projects, which were often their never completed or did not truly exist, often being the black markets – weapons left behind in KW2, drugs, blood diamonds, human trafficking. Li, believing it all had to be some sort of mistake, dug deeper in these affairs by convincing Zhou to let him handle the books tracking these transfers. Inside these files, Li discovered only more evidence that the Chairman and company were not as commendable as Li had once thought [1].

According to the statement Li gave to the American embassy in United Korea, the once-blindly devoted assistant had what he described as a “moral panic attack.” Under the guise of visiting a family member who lived in Manchuria, Li traveled to the Chinese-Korean border, and then fled to Seoul, where he immediately revealed more than just his eyewitness claims – he had also smuggled out copies of the illegal accounts via floppy discs and 8-gb “bit drives” he had hidden on his person and luggage. “The people of the country I love must know the truth about Chairman Bo,” pleaded Li, a man that Schrodinger would probably describe as being both a patriot and a traitor until two tests (time, and the bias of the writers of history) determined which label suited him best.

– Carl Krosinsky’s Modern China: A Complex Recent History, Borders Books, 2020



PRC SHUTS DOWN ITS TECHNET FOR “MAINTENANCE” AS BO SCANDAL GRIPS LEADERSHIP

…the shutdown comes after three days of chat board visitors arguing with each other, with most decrying the Chairman while others defend the nation’s leader, arguing the allegations are false and the evidence doctored…

– The New York Times, 9/4/2007



The corruption scandal was incredibly ironic given Bo Xilai’s anti-corruption crusades, purging all that he and his supporters suspected of partaking in illegal or even underhanded activities. Naturally, Bo fought back against the allegations, declaring in a televised speech on September 5 that any who “fell for the lies” was “a fool and a disgrace.” This, however, did nothing to curb the rising number of incidents concerning young Chinese citizens being arrested for protesting outside of government offices. In fact, it seems having police arrest technetters for posting anti-Bo threads prior to the technet shutdown only increased the number of protest incidents and their intensity as the days and weeks continued.

And if that wasn’t enough for the Chairman, on September 6th, a “second batch” of government document leaks began spilling out of Shanghai.

Hackers had broken through the government roadblocks and were leaking out further evidence of wrongdoing, from business palm-greasing to kidnappings to even a dossier on military strategies for hypothetical invasions of Taiwan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and even Russia and (for some reason) Mongolia as well.

The Chairman was now growing increasingly paranoid and livid. He privately asked the military’s cyber warfare department on the effectiveness of redirecting the cyber-attack planned for the US to instead target the city of Shanghai in order to stop the leaker, as the nation’s intelligence agencies could not pinpoint his exact location, only the city from which the leaks were spilling. With technet servers already down, a cyber-attack would only knock out the hacker’s equipment. Bo’s private team of military advisors greenlit the project despite the reservations of several other leaders in the military.

On September 7, the Death Lotus 2 cyber virus was unleashed upon China itself to “flush out” the leaking hacker. The virus, however, worked too well, and broke through firewalls meant to protect the computer systems of Shanghai’s city government and police stations, which were the only systems still being allowed to be used. The frying of the region’s officials’ ability to access the technet and the subsequent ending of additional leaks convinced Bo that it was in fact a police officer or political figure behind the “second batch” of leaks, and so he swore to begin another wave of purges “as soon as this whole thing is resolved.”

Indeed, the second batch of leaking had been nipped – but not before one last dossier was sent to outlets in Korea. This dossier documented in detail how Bo Xilai had been using the government’s Ministry of State Security to wiretap and monitor all members of the National People’s Congress (or NPC), including his strongest supporters, in case any were tricking him with false loyalty. The wiretapping operation proved to be very upsetting to members of the NPC.

“This is proof of Bo’s attempts to revive the People’s Republic of Mao Zedong,” was a whisper from one anonymous member of the nation’s governing body. “If he can’t trust us, how can we trust him?” went another.

Zhang Dejiang, the head of the NPC, was caught on camera publicly remarking that he was “gravely concerned” about the reputation of the country in recent years. Indeed, amid the bungling of North Korea, then SARS, earlier allegations of cyber-attacking the US, and now the Bo scandals, the People’s Republic, while still an economic powerhouse, was being looked down on by most world leaders.

Members of the government’s highest rungs of power began to meet in private.

Unlike in the United States, there is no impeachment process for the Chairman of China. However, according to the National Constitution adopted in 1976, in the immediate aftermath of the Chinese Civil War of 1975, the Chairman controls the party and the military, but also “serves at the pleasure of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on his own prerogative” [2]. That wording was vitally important because, as it was viewed as meaning that Bo could not use the office of Chairman for personal benefit, and thus was violating the rules of said office. This was the avenue through which the NPC could replace Bo, but only if they could drum up the courage to do so before Bo dismissed them and replaced them with more loyal lackeys.

By September 9, rumors that Dejiang and others were considering “ousting” Bo reached the ears of the Chairman himself.

“So this is their response to my reforms. Of the centralizing of control of welfare programs and of the markets, of trying to undo the free market-based economy that is a capitalist ploy meant to divide the Chinese people along economic class lines,” Bo allegedly remarked to Wu Na, one of his last remaining assistants.

“The shutdown of the technet services put the country into a panic, I will admit, but it is a necessary panic.”

Wu knew better than to ask “necessary for whom,” but felt perfectly fine thinking it.

– Omar Khan’s Dousing A Fire: The PRC, The Stench of Corruption, And The Need For True Reform, 2015



NO JUSTICE AT ALL? China’s Deeply Corrupt Chairman Could Stay In Office Until 2016

…this apparent impasse highlights the need for a set of checks and balances, as Bo could try and stay in power for nine more years before facing prosecution…

– The New York Times, 9/10/2007



The Chairman of the People’s Republic is able of promulgating laws, of selecting and dismissing ministers, of declaring states of emergency, and of issuing mass mobilization orders – but only with the approval or confirmation of the National People’s Congress. [3]

And as the days went by and international pressure mounted for something to be done about the extent of corruption instigated by these businessmen and government officials, including Bo, the NPC was growing tired of trying to cover up the misdeeds of their boss. Bo publicly called for several contractors and mid-tier officials to be arrested, but said nothing about the members of the wealthy elite who were also mentioned in the leaked-out documents.

On September 11, Zhang Dejiang and several other leading members of the party, including former Chairman Zhu Rongji, met with Chairman Bo. At this meeting, Zhu reported broke down in tears, though some reports also claim that he smacked Bo across the face as well, either right before sobbing or soon after beginning to cry.

Dejiang was blunt, but delicate; he offered Bo a deal – retire prematurely in exchange for no prosecution from the PNC. Bo refused to consider it, believing that he could ride out the allegations, the protests, the riots, and keep power for another nine years. “And what about the technet?” Reportedly asked Zhang. “How can we function without it. Its use is vital to the health of the economy.”

“We cannot trust the people with such power. It was a mistake to even try and let them have it,” Bo allegedly stated, “They are destroying this country. Not me, not my alleged associates or affiliates. Themselves!”

Bo left the meeting with the promise “If anyone suggests I step down again, I will dismiss them.”

Zhang nodded, “We will not ask you again.”

After three more days of protests escalating into full-blown riots as the lack of technet access brought the national economy screeching to a halt, the Treasury Minister suggested, to anyone who would heed the warning, that a recession could soon occur unless the country resumed the commerce and market activity previously conducted through the technet. The most important opinion during all of this, however, was the allegiance of the military. Zhang was more respected among the highest members of the PRC Armed Forces than Zhu, as many military leaders disagreed with the former Chairman’s handling of KW2, and so he was the one who met with them in the days after failing to convince Bo to leave office voluntarily. The head of the PNC discovered that, with the situation in the cities devolving in riotous frenzies and purges affecting military leadership as well as political offices, an overwhelming majority of military leadership disagreed with Bo’s use of cyber warfare on China’s own computer systems, with the head of the Army reportedly finding it “irresponsible” and the head of the Air Force “an unnecessary waste of a perfectly good computer virus.”

On September 16, the PNC held an emergency meeting in Beijing. With coercion from Zhang, Zhu, and their allies, 85% of the PNC voted to expel Bo from the Communist party, which, as per the rules set by the 1976 constitution, removed the Chairman from immunity from prosecution for corruption, bribery and abuse of power. Hours later, the Ministry of Justice reminded the National People’s Congress that if found guilty on even one charge, Bo would no longer be eligible for the position of Chairman and would thus immediately lose said office.

Almost immediately, Chairman Bo was arrested at his office in The Imperial City. After a brief physical altercation, Bo declared that he would dismiss all members of the PNC who had voted to strip him of his immunity, only to be reminded that he needed the approval of a majority of the PNC to do so. And at this point, the PNC were no longer willing to go along with Bo’s destructive behavior.

Claims that Bo was arrested before he could flee to Somalia are not substantiated. Even the detail of him ordering his suitcases be packed is most likely rumor that began spreading as soon as the Chairman’s arrest became publicly acknowledged.

– Omar Khan’s Dousing A Fire: The PRC, The Stench of Corruption, And The Need For True Reform, 2015



…Congressional gridlock was making the legislative process inert, as the split congress meant that lawmakers in one chamber were introducing bills that colleagues in the other chamber were simply striking down or letting die in committee. Independent and swing voters disapproved in the polls. Everyone pointed their finger at everyone else for who held culpability for this continuing legislative standstill.

The situation only worsened upon legislators returning from summer recess. Jackson and McMaster disagreed strongly on the funding of federal operations and agencies for the next fiscal quarter, and McMaster’s feet dragging threatened to give the government a “funding gap,” an emergency situation in which non-essential federal personnel would have to be furloughed, a.k.a. “take a mandatory temporary leave of absence.” This potential disruption of the governmental systems’ process was only prevented at the last minute, when Jackson withdrew a proposal for a nationwide free federal breakfast program, after meeting with the Senators who had introduced the idea in the spring. Jackson agreed to hold on the program proposal until the next quarter…

– Nancy Skelton and Bob Faw’s Thunder In America: A Chronology of The Jesse Jackson White House, Texas Monthly Press, 2016



PROSECUTION LINKS BUTHELEZI TO I.O.C. BRIBERY CHARGES!

– The Cape Angus, South African daily newspaper, 18/9/2007



CHICKEN DINNER SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM PAYS TRIBUTE TO HARLEY SANDERS

…nine regional heads of state and dozens of Local Community Leaders paid their respects to The Son of The Colonel for his contributions to ensuring that these international community conferences are held annually in the Middle East long after his father’s death in 1990…

– The New York Times, 9/20/2007



...Lars Herseth, a Blue-Dog Democrat, has announces that he will challenge Vice President Wellstone for the Democratic nomination for President in next year’s Democratic primaries. Herseth, age 61, served one term as Governor of South Dakota from 1987 to 1991 and then two terms in congress from 1993 to 1997, losing re-election in the Republican Wave of 1996…

– Real News Service, 9/23/2007 broadcast



CHAIRMAN BO PUT ON TRIAL FOR CORRUPTION

…Bo Xilai is still serving as the head of state, but should he be found guilty of any charges, he would be removed from office, per the rules of the country’s 1976 constitution. Bo, age 58, could face the death penalty for the charge of treason, ironically due to Bo himself raising the punishment for treason to death back in late 2004 as part of his tough-on-crime campaign…

– The Los Angeles Times, 9/24/2007



..The 2006 death of Treasury Secretary Tim Johnson had led to some financial analysts predicting that the country would enter recession ahead of the 2008 election, as both sides of the political aisle credited Johnson with keeping the Jackson administration from violating the BBA. However, thanks to a strong and growing post-SARS economy, along with high tax revenues, 2005 tax increases on upper-income taxpayers, and a prominent restraint of spending on the military and NASA, coupled with capital gains tax revenue from a strong stock market, the government had enough surplus funds to spend on social services with going “over the line.” Unfortunately for Jackson and his new Treasury Secretary, it was these same conditions that were of grave concern to some fiscal watchdogs on Capitol Hill. “We’re practically breaking even, and that’s bad. One more economic downturn is all it’d take to mess up our current economic model,” warned then-US Congressman Dave Ramsey (R-TN)…

– researcher Brenda J. Hargis’ Emboldening: The Jesse Jackson Presidency, Sunrise Publications, 2017



NO, KFC DOES NOT USE PENGUIN MEAT

Claim:

The global food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken keeps its prices low by using penguin meat shipped in from their base in Antarctica.

Rating:

FALSE!

Rumors have swirled for years that the fast-food mega-giant uses penguin meat to keep its prices so affordable. The claim dates back to 2007, when the company set up a single outpost in Antarctica in an expensive – but, as sales reports later showed, effective – publicity stunt. However, supporters of the “Penguin Patty” theory allege that the outlet is more than just a stunt – it is a front, meant to hide an illegal penguin-meat-harvesting operation.

It is understandable that these claims would arise about KFC. A worldwide franchise founded by a man who was then elected President would stir the imagination of any conspiracy theorist. Rumors of the government using KFC to execute social experiments have existed since the 1970s, when the company founder was still in office, and the First Ark Wave led to claims that the chicken was somehow used to hypnotize certain patrons. All of these rumors have been proven wrong, and this most recent one is not an exception.

To those who consider animal-eating to be immoral, this claim highlights the disregard many may have for animal rights and inhumane animal treatment. But the fact is that KFC is not in the agricultural or farming business, they buy their ingredients and food products from suppliers who service other customers, too (though it is true that KFC uses intermediaries to separately collect each of the eleven secret herbs and spices in order to keep their specifics a trade secret). So not only does the KFC company and its parent corporation, FLG Inc., not derive its meat from multi-legged mutant chickens from Oregon or Turkestan, but it does not slaughter Antarctica’s best-known flightless bird for meat, either, because it would be logistically impossible for them to even attempt it.

KFC-Antarctica is not some independent laboratory, but a corner of the cafeteria of McMurdo Base, a US research station used by US and international scientists not on KFC’s payroll. Efforts to violate international law and poach penguins would be noticed. Furthermore, the company’s facilities at the base are not large enough to accommodate some secretive meat-processing operation, especially given the fact that tourists are allowed to tour the base.

Also consider the huge undertaking of supplying all of the company’s outlets from one location, and the shipping and transportation coordinating. Such heavy traffic would raise red flags immediately. Furthermore, KFC sells the equivalent of 780 million chickens annually – now if all of that meat was supplied even partially by penguin colonies, someone at McMurdo Base, a location that is not exactly closed to the general public, would undoubtedly notice the sudden drop in penguin colony sizes.

Bonus fact: The KFC chicken served in Antarctica is shipped tri-annually from chicken farms in Argentina and New Zealand in special freezers to keep the chicken as well-preserved as possible. Accountants at KFC have stated multiple times that the travelling and shipping expenses have gone down significantly since the outlet opened due to matching deliveries with scientist vessels and tourist boat cruises, allowing tourists to eat KFC as well as those serving at McMurdo Base.

– trueorfalse.co.uk, a rumor/conspiracy theory debunking website, 12/12/2011 e-article



“A NEW DIRECTION”: Gary Johnson Launches White House Bid!

– The Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico newspaper, 9/27/2007



SECRETIVE TRUMP FILM SLATED FOR DECEMBER RELEASE

…the closely-guarded film is being financially backed by Trump’s own fortune in his first-ever attempt to “make it big” in the independent film industry…

– The Los Angeles Times, side article, 9/28/2007



…When Wellstone officially announced in late September that he was running for President he made the proposal of establishing tuition-free public universities a plank of his campaign platform. The VP later told one of his aides, “If the GOP oppose it in the House, that’s alright, because we have a new option now thanks to Gravel. I’ll say to the American people that they have to vote it into effect through a national referendum.” Wellstone explained that free public colleges would be paid for via a tax of 25 cents on every $200 worth of stock trades on stock sales, as more than 75% of Americans did not actually own any stock, and roughly 90% did not own a “significant” amount of stock, in 2007...

– researcher Brenda J. Hargis’ Emboldening: The Jesse Jackson Presidency, Sunrise Publications, 2017



IS A CHEM LAB ABOUT TO BLOW UP? SOURCES CLAIM ICE AND MERCURY ARE SEEKING LEGAL CONSUL OVER PLAGIARISM CLAIMS!

– People Magazine, late September 2007 issue



TANCREDO ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL RUN – AND HE’S ALREADY IN HOT WATER!

…the congressman who filibustered against last year’s massive immigration reform bill used a host of derogatory terms in his speech in which he formally launched his White House bid...

– The Denver Post, Colorado newspaper, 10/1/2007



2001: The Year Self-Driving Cars Became A Reality

In recent months, self-driving trucks travelling down major highways has become a fairly common sight, with the eye-catching incidents only rising in frequency. To understand what is going on – how automakers, tech companies, and auto parts makers have joined forces with delivery companies to create trucks that need someone in the passenger seat but not the driver’s seat – we have to look at a “eureka” moment that happened back in late 2001.

It was on a secure Air Force Base close to Silicon Valley, and one of the Defense Department projects left untouched by the new President’s military budget cuts was an obstacle course race designed to see if it was not only possible but also practical, safe, and financially appealing to create cars and trucks that required no drivers. For years, the closest that scientists and engineers had gotten to this was robot vehicles designed to explore caves, mountains and seabeds, or mechanical bots that defused bombs in “heat zones” such as Colombia and post-war Korea. However, even with President Sanders and Mondale investing in technology to the benefit of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency established under President Eisenhower, progress had been slow. As a result, in 1993, under President Iacocca, a $2million prize was promise to whoever could design a driverless vehicle that could complete a 200-miles trek through a test highway and a mock city traffic grid, complete with cardboard pedestrians that would slide into the street unexpectedly, laid out in the Mojave Desert. In 2001, a Volkswagen equipped with cameras and motion sensors completed the course. [4]

The success ignited the interest of both industries – car manufacturing and delivery transportation. Corporations raced, no pun intended, to capitalize on the potential to create, at the least, partially automatic trucks and vans that would improve how equipment and deliveries reach their intended destinations. Engineers are now working with major companies in teams such as Altos and Chevrolet, Convergent Technologies and Chrysler, Kaypro and Ford, and, most successfully, Packard-Bell-Stratus and Volkswagen, to use mostly-self-driving trucks on America’s highways and roads for commercial and economic benefit...

Above: self-driving technology being tested at a race track in California

…The rise in this technology has its ups and downs. On one hand, these new trucks may be able ship items to customers faster and more efficiently, but it may come at the cost of drivers made “redundant” being given pink slips…

– automagazine.co.usa, 10/3/2007 e-article



…In October, President Karimov created the contradictory “GONGOs” – Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations – to increase the regulation of NGOs. He also intensified his attempts to reform and weaken the UT’s trade unions, which multiple international labor organizations had rated as “strong.” Karimov sought to have them be an instrument of management rather than a means of interest group-based collective bargaining. [5]…

[snip]

…Using the fearmongering tactic of claiming reforms were necessary in order to ward off “religious radicalism,” going so far as to claim that “excessive” religious freedom welcomes radicalism, Karimov increased documentation and permit requirements for the constructing of mosques, synagogues and churches inside of the UT. These policies immediately led to criticism from Human Rights Watch, The CDSJ Group, and other organizations…

– Ke Wang’s Turkestanis Unite!: The Rise And Execution of An Idea, Cambridge University Press, 2013



TENNESSEE-BASED CHICKEN CHAIN PLANS SOUTHERN EXPANSION

…Krystal, a Tennessee-based fast-food chain known for its fried chicken sandwiches and for its sliders having steamed-in onions, has announced plans to expand into the states of Georgia and Florida with “at least” five outlets per state opening in the next six months, according to an official announcement posted on the company’s netsite. The first outlet in Atlanta, Georgia is reportedly already under construction and slated to open in the first quarter of 2008; another two are set to open next summer in Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida…

– usarightnow.co.usa/business, 10/5/2007 article



POLL: HILLARY RODHAM-CLINTON LEADS PACK OF G.O.P. CANDIDATES

– The New York Times, 10/6/2007



...As Rodham-Clinton began to present herself as a potentially unifying candidate, a fellow contender, televangelist Pastor Mike Bickle of Missouri, attacked her from the right with the charge that she was somehow a Liberal-In-Disguise (or “a lid,” for short). His claim and condemnation of her candidacy stemmed from the fact that in 1980, Rodham-Clinton’s husband, composer George Stanley Clinton, had worked on an anti-televangelist film called “PrayTV.” [6]

The very first film on his discography, Mr. Clinton had scored the film’s music because he was in no financial position to be picky with what job offers he received at the time (though he did also work on the soundtrack for the racy cult classic 1980 film “The Apple” around this same time). Additionally, Clinton composed the music while his wife was working in the state legislature and had nothing to do with his work on PrayTV. Since his wife’s election to the US Senate in 1996, George does not compose as often as before, choosing to instead support the careers of his wife and children.

After George S. Clinton noted this context in a radio interview a few days after Bickel began this mudslinging, the Rodham-Clinton campaign chose to ignore it, believing that such ridiculous accusations would be unable to influence the primaries…

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



BO XILAI REMOVED FROM OFFICE AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY

Disgraced Chinese Leader Found Guilty On 1 Charge Of Misuse Of Funds, Acquitted On 5 Other Charges; All Other Charges Dismissed

…In what has been a speedy string of court procedures through Red China’s judicial system, the Supreme People’s Court today announced that Chairman Bo Xilai is guilty on 1 count of misuse of national funds, a crime punishable by a sentence of up to five years in prison. More serious charges that, if Bo had been found guilty of, carried the death penalty, such as treason, were dismissed. However, the crime of misuse of national funds is a designated “high crime” in China, and so, because China’s constitution states that anyone found guilty of a “high crime” cannot serve as Chairman, Bo Xilai has been stripped of the position of head-of-state. Bo has thus been succeeded into that office by the Vice-Chairman of China…

– The Chicago Tribune, 10/15/2007



…Yang Gang (b. 1953) was a top regional official in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region when the SARS pandemic reached Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital. Having grown up and lived in the area for most of his life (except for his time fighting in the 1975 Civil War), Yang had developed an extensive network of contacts powerful enough to ensure that when SARS cases began showing up, safezoning measures were immediately implemented in a manner that was swift and orderly. This smooth handling of the pandemic propelled him to the Vice-Chairmanship in 2004. Viewing the extent of Bo’s scandals, Yang took a neutral stance on the dispute over whether or not his boss needed to step down, given that Yang himself had once been accused of graft early in his career, but was cleared of the charges; the incident was a blight on his career he believed would be brought up again if he took a side.

Upon ascending to Chairman, though, Yang pledged to “restore dignity” to China, but through government transparency instead of purges. His first act as Chairman was restoring the technet, ending over five weeks of “digital darkness” that had wreaked havoc on the economy and on Chinese society. His second act was nominating a Vice-Chairman. Wanted to establish a historic chairmanship from the get-go, he selected Guo Jianmei (b. 1960), head of the Ministry of Health, who was a well-known supporter of human rights and gender equality. Guo was a controversial pick, but the PNC approved her, making her the first-ever female Vice-Chairman of the People’s Republic.

The new administration was a breath of fresh air for the nation as Yang and Guo seemed to be pushing to country in a different, better direction. The top two heads of state seemed to almost work as a team of sorts, too, with Yang repairing foreign relations and Guo attempting to seek out solutions to the high levels of pollution, smog, mercury poisoning and other hazards damaging China’s life quality in certain areas of the country…

[snip]

Above: Chairman Yang Gang

– Carl Krosinsky’s Modern China: A Complex Recent History, Borders Books, 2020



SCALISE WINS PRIMARY OUTRIGHT!

…state senator Steven Scalise (R) defeated fellow candidates Foster Campbell (D), Walter Boasso (D) and Charles Emile “Peppi” Bruneau Jr. (R) in tonight’s race for governor of Louisiana. By securing a slim majority in this open jungle primary, a November runoff is unnecessary, and so, one will not be held. Scalise will take office on January 14…

– The Opelousas Daily World, Louisiana newspaper, 10/20/2007



TOMMY FOR TOMORROW

– Tancredo’08 slogan, first used c. October 2007



JOHSON: “I happen to think that the world kind of looks down on Republicans for their social conservative views which include religion in government. I think that that should not play a role in any of this.” [7]

RODHAM-CLINTON: “We are here to defend and advance the cause of democracy. And there cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives. There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens are able to participate fully in the functions and process of this country.” [8]

SWANN: “The Presidency is not a one-person job. It requires the best people from a plethora of backgrounds to keep the White House a productive workplace and not an echo chamber.”

JOHNSON: “Natural gas costs less than coal now, so no new coal plants are going to be built soon given the price of natural gas. That’s wonderful for the planet, but, to be frank, it sucks for coal miners and coal workers other coal-related jobs. The solution to their problems is to retrain them for the new jobs popping up in the growing natural gas industry.”

GRITZ: “By Golly, we’ve got to join and stand together as Americans for a change or we’re going to fall. And we’ll be the very first generation to turn over to our children less of a nation than we received. The Federal Reserve System is a cancer on our body politic, one that Lee Iacocca died trying to have removed. As President, I will complete Iacocca’s plan to dismantle that non-government entity of corruption and evil.” [9]

SNOWE: “Discrimination and bigotry have no place in our society, and I believe Senator Tancredo’s unfortunate remarks about immigrants grossly oversimplify a complicated issue and, most egregiously, undermine Republican principles of inclusion and opportunity.” [10]

– Snippets from the GOP Presidential primary debate in Reno, NV, 10/24/2007



KING ABDULLAH ANNOUNCES PRAYER CONDITIONS FOR SAUDI ASTRONAUTS

…After lengthy consultations with religious leaders, the leader of Saudi Arabia since 1993, has announced clarifications for how Muslim astronauts should pray while in space. The declaration stipulates that Muslim astronauts must pray toward either the Kaaba itself or toward the Earth in general, but while keeping one’s “mental focus” on Mecca. Qibla requirement thus was decreed to focus more on the concentration of the prayer itself, rather than on the exact orientation and positioning of the prayer in relation to the location of Mecca...

– The Al Jazeera Press, Qatari news source, 10/27/2007



…Domestically, Yugoslavian relations were growing more complicated. While Albanians and Kosovans got along famously and Macedonians, Slovenians, and Vojvodinians were peaceful, anti-Serbian Croats were calling for reforms to make the central government even weaker than it already was. The Presidium of Yugoslavia met often with advisors and leaders of the Croatian government to iron out proposals and curb conflicts before they could escalate. Zoran Dindic of Serbia, who served from 2005 to 2007 (completing the 2004-2007 term of the corrupt Presidium Radoman Bozovic of Serbia after the nation’s supreme court ruled in his favor, ending a brief constitutional crisis), was less successful on this front than his successor. Ilir Meta of Albania, Presidium from 2007 to 2010, had gained favor with many political figures in the country when he relinquished in claim to the office during the 2005 succession crisis. As a result, he was able to broker a deal with the leader of Croatia that has since allowed the Yugoslavic nation-states to sign trade agreements and non-military-related treaties with other national governments without requiring the permission of the Presidium.

On the foreign policy front, Presidium Meta executed a major diplomatic shakeup and successfully shifted Yugoslavia’s national policy away from its independent/third-party stance in order to be more favorable to the rest of Europe…

– Frederick B. Chary’s The Modern Balkans: The History of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Turkey After The End of the Cold War Era, Greenwood Publishers, 2018 edition



…In an attempt to win over more blue-collar workers, the House GOP introduced a bill that if passed would prohibit American or American-based companies from having less than 50% of their workforce be American citizens, claiming that such a move would “cut the unemployment rate in half” despite it already being at a rate of 3.1%. The proposed bill was opposed on the left for being “clear and obvious” discrimination via sidelining immigrant workers, as Senate Majority Leader Gary Locke (D-WA) put it.

However, the proposed bill backfired on the right side of the aisle as well, as libertarian Republican candidates such as Gary Johnson called it an attempt by the federal government to “boss around” businesses big and small. Congressman Tancredo, who was (still) running for President at the time, swore that he would repeal any such that “when [he won] the Presidency.”…

– researcher Brenda J. Hargis’ Emboldening: The Jesse Jackson Presidency, Sunrise Publications, 2017



“In today’s world, it is no longer unimaginable to think that business can operate – and even thrive – in an environmentally-friendly manner.” [11]

– Olympia Snowe (R-ME), trying to appeal to business owners while campaigning in Londonderry, NH, 11/1/2007



KENTUCKY ELECTS ITS FIRST BLACK GOVERNOR

...He defeated Republican nominee Donna Walker Mancini, a member of the Kentucky Senate, and Independent Democratic candidate Jackson W. Andrews, a political activist, with 51.2% of the vote, compared to Mancini’s 43.5% and Andrews’ 5.2%. …Owens’ campaign capitalized on the popularity of Kentucky’s incumbent Governor, the term-limited Gatewood Galbraith… Darryl Owens (Democrat, Jefferson County), the 69-year-old Lieutenant Governor (in office since 1999), previously served as a D.A. and as a County Commissioner (1983-1991) before election to Kentucky House (where he served from 1991 to 1999)… He will be the sworn in as the 58th Governor of the Commonwealth on December 11th…

– The Dallas Morning Herald, side article, 11/6/2007



…And in political news, the voters of Mississippi cast their ballots tonight for governor, and with 96% of the votes counted, Republican nominee Laughlin Hudson Holliday has been declared the winner, winning over the Democratic nominee, Mayor Louis Fondren of Moss Point, by a margin of roughly ten percent. Holliday, age 63, is a retired Major General of the Mississippi Army National Guard, who has been active in local politics for years, but has never before held political office…

– CBS Evening News, 11/6/2007 broadcast



…As congress’s rate of passing bills slowed significantly in the face of heavy Republican backlash that persisted throughout the rest of the year, House Democrat minority leader and former House speaking Kennelly began meeting with House whip Ed Markey to decide how to best present the Democratic Party in 2008...

– researcher Brenda J. Hargis’ Emboldening: The Jesse Jackson Presidency, Sunrise Publications, 2017



BUTHELEZI PROBE UPDATE: Justice Department Finds “Substantial But Largely Circumstantial” Of Wrongdoing

– The Sowetan, South African daily newspaper, 11/11/2007



TANCREDO DEFENDS FORMER AFFILIATION WITH THE WIDE-AWAKES

…During a TON interview earlier today, retiring Congressman and Presidential candidate Tommy Tancredo refused to distance himself from the Wide-Awakes, a loosely-organized paramilitary movement named after the more organized Wide-Awakes of the 1860s. This new Wide-Awakes movement was unofficially founded in early 1996 that, at its peak in 1998, was supported by 12 congressmen and at least two hundred of political candidates, including Tancredo. Their negative activities ontech lead to an effort to censor technet sites nationwide, adding to the movement’s unpopularity and contributing to its decline in significance by 2002. Tancredo, though, remarked today that “Their actions did not match their intentions, and that was a shame, but I think their main general idea – to maintain a strong and sensible defense of our nation – had merit then, and still has merit now.”…

– The Denver Post, 11/12/2007



“Back in the 1960s, we had the Heritage and Independence Party, or H.I.P., for short, the followers of which were dubbed the hippies. They opposed social advancements and essentially wanted to reset the clocks to simpler, more racist times. And now the Goetzites of yesteryear are rallying around the likes of Gritz and Tancredo – the new hippies, or neo-hippies, as I call them.”

– Prof. Janice R. Fine, Tumbleweed Radio, 11/13/2007 broadcast



…Moise Katumbi sought to develop the interior’s infrastructure in order to connect remote villages to larger marketplaces such as the capital of Kinshasa in the west, Lubumbashi in the south, Kisangani in the north and Bakwanga in the center of the country. The biggest obstacle to this though, was the fact that he had to give favors to the factions of the governing coalition to which he owed his ascension to Head-of-State. It was precarious position in which too much power for the lower classes would lead to him being confronted by the remaining wealthy land developers, militants, political radicals and elitists who still had sway over members of the government, while not giving enough to the people ran the risk of yet another civil war. It did not help Katumbi that some nationalist “purists” did not even consider him to be “a true African” due to the ancestry and ethnic makeup of his father (a Greek Sephardic Jew from Rhodes Island).

On the world stage, the former allies were slowing withdrawing support as the dust of warfare settled and the calls for aide went answered no more from other country’s leaders. Even South Africa began stepping away from shaky situation amidst its own problems, while Kofi Annan of the UN offered little more than diplomatic advice. Americans were self-involved; China was reeling from internal corruption of its own; and the Middle Eastern Bloc seemingly cared more about the lifeless body of the Moon than the goings-on of the celestial body on which they existed. It seemed the only people outside of the DRC who still cared was the Yugoslavians still clamoring to keep their country be the face of the arguable obsolete Non-Aligned Movement.

Thus, Katumbi described the post-war Democratic Republic of the Congo as being “much harder to govern than expected,” as the new leader was repeatedly blamed for everything, from poor crop production to too much regulation or not enough regulation, to poor travelling conditions to private mining companies agreeing to pave roads that just so happened to link villages and cities to their mines.

It was all a mess, and while it was not Katumbi’s mess, it was Katumbi’s mess to fix.

– Michelle Diebert’s Between Hope And Despair: A History of The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zed Books Ltd, 2020



TRUMP ACTION FLICK PUSHED BACK TO SUMMER RELEASE DUE TO RESHOOT ISSUES

– usarightnow.co.usa, 11/15/2007 e-article



MOTHER-POST: I’m Moving To Mexico!

The quality of life down there is actually much better than it is here in Chicago. Crime is dropping as their leaders are off their asses and following the money trails of the recreadrug lords. It helps that I’ve checked the place out, and that I work remotely for a tech company. But most importantly for me, I don’t think I’ll be targeted by the cops anymore, not by the cops down there – most of the locals are just a dark as me! So if anyone else thinking of cashing in on the expanding markets down there, I suggest checking out Cabo – it’s not just for drunken teens anymore! Also: Follow me on my plog, link here!

>REPLY 1:
How can you leave the United States? This is the greatest country on Earth!

>REPLY 2:
I visited Mexico City last year. I agree, they’re really cleaning up the place. Not glamorous, but still better that Pittsburgh, at least. How the rent/currency exchange/water quality down there. I remember a lot of things being pricey and bottled…

>REPLY 3:
What’s a plog?

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 3:
Personal Net-Log, like a captain’s log or a journal except others can see it and comment on it. How old are you; they’ve been around for years, dude!

>REPLY 4:
Good luck in Mexico, I hope there isn’t too much of a language barrier.

>REPLY 5:
Breaking news: man seeks refuge in Mexico after escaping the horror of Deep-Dish-Pizza-Land!

– euphoria.co.usa, a public pop-culture news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 11/19/2007 posting



MEREDITH SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY

…“I run to win, and I’m not going to win this. The party is too divided for a campaign as bold and confrontational as mine.” …The announcement comes after weeks of the former Vice President underperforming in both polling and fundraising, which has been very surprising, given that Meredith was a frontrunner for the nomination just four years ago. “I think the party’s dynamics have changed a lot in that little time. I seems that, unfortunately for him, the window of opportunity for Meredith’s unique brand of conservatism has closed,” suggests political analyst Tim Russert…

– The Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi newspaper, 11/21/2007



CHINA’S JUSTICE SYSTEM STRIKES DOWN BONXILAI APPEAL

– The Los Angeles Times, 11/23/2007

– US President Jackson takes to a pulpit while speaking at a church service three days after Thanksgiving, Sunday 11/25/2007



…Meanwhile, in the nation of Yugoslavia, Presidium Meta met with the head political leaders of the nation’s provinces to discuss recent linguistic education concerns...

– Real News Service, 11/26/2007 broadcast



…Gritz’s inner circle included many of the same faces found among the Goetz campaign, including Jet Wilders. Born Geert (Dutch for Gerald) Wilders in the Netherlands in 1963, Wilders had immigrated to the US in 1981 to become an actor. However, after only securing bit parts in a few films and TV shows, he switched to politics, joining the Dinger campaign in 1996. A deeply conservative activist-turned-strategist, he joined Gritz’s campaign as press secretary due to his opposition to Tancredo’s anti-immigration rhetoric.

In November 2007, Wilders met with Gritz and the Idahoan’s Chief of Staff, cartoonist-turned-political analyst Benjamin Garrison, to discuss how best to approach the candidacy of Hillary Rodham-Clinton, who was rising in the polls as a establishment-friendly favorite of the “Colonel Conservative” wing of the party.

According to Wilders in a 2010 interview, Gritz was more concerned that he and the likes of other populist candidates, such as Congressman Billy Creech, could end up “cancelling each other out,” only for Garrison to convince him that their struggling campaigns would not cut into Gritz’s margins once the primaries truly began.

“They will spare themselves the embarrassment and drop out before the first April Cluster,” Garrison reportedly said confidently, “We don’t we need to worry about Creech, or Bickle, or Biaggi.”…

– Richard Ben Cramer’s What It Takes: Roads to The White House, Sunrise Publications, 2011 edition



Oscar Andres Rodríguez Maradiaga (born December 29, 1942) is a Salesian bishop of the Catholic Church as the former President of Honduras. At an early age, he aspired to become a pilot but “felt an internal” call and planned to join the Salesians in May 1961. However, upon the Cuban War breaking out earlier that year, Maradiaga felt morally compelled to help those fleeing from the warfare. He earned a pilot’s license in early 1962 and began transporting food, aid, and medical supplies into Cuba and flying refugees out. After the war, Maradiaga opened a successful humanitarian non-profit organization that saw the likes of Mother Teresa and Rev. Jerry Brown contribute to food drives. His organization “Open Hands of the World,” was integral to revitalizing communities in the aftermath of the US military intervention in Honduras during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Maradiaga was briefly held hostage by recreadrug dealers, who released him after a ransom was paid, only for a sting operation to retrieve back said ransom. In 2000, Maradiaga was drafted by the Solidarity and Decency Party to run for President; he won in a plurality. Serving during the SARS pandemic, his administration stood among those of neighboring nations by distributing masks, ordering pharmacists to provide medicine for free with the promise of the government financially compensating them for their business losses, and shutting down the nation’s tourist industry. These actions almost lead to a coup were it not for his strong support from several western countries causing the would-be ouster to drop their plan in early 2003. After leaving office in 2004, Maradiaga retired from politics and announced that he was finally joining the Salesians. He officially became Catholic bishop in December 2007.

– clickopedia.co.usa



CALIFORNIA DISTRICT COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW ICE-MERCURY CASE!

…the district court pointed to a similar case from 1998 as precedence for the dismissal, and noted that neither side presented enough evidence to merit hearing the dispute…

– The Los Angeles Times, 12/5/2007



TIME MAGAZINE PICKS MARY L. S. HANNON FOR “PERSON OF THE YEAR”

…Hannon is the CEO of Finger Lickin’ Good, Inc., the parent company of KFC. Hannon has helped turn the KFC franchise around in the last two years, and she made headlines this year for successfully opening up an eco-friendly KFC outlet of sorts in Antarctica…

– usarightnow.co.usa, 12/7/2007



…The campaign season turned negative even before the first ballots were cast. In December, the attacks on Rodham-Clinton switched from professional (mainly, her inconsistent voting record) to personal, when the Gritz campaign circulated a photograph of HRC in casual clothes, with a unique hat and shades, on vacation with family members in Florida.

Above: the allegedly “scandalous” photograph of Senator Rodham-Clinton, allegedly flaunting her lavish vaction-filled lifestyle

The Gritz campaign sought to use the image in advertising to highlight Rodham-Clinton’s elitist tendencies, with one ad’s narrator alleging that the Tennessee politician “does not care” about blue-collar issues, claiming she was not taking her position as a Senator serious enough. The media strategy was polarizing, but in the end, a majority of primary voters seems to disapprove of the ad. After three weeks of Gritz’s polling numbers only dropping slightly instead of improving, the ads featuring the photograph were pulled from circulation…

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



FORMER PRC LEADER BO XILAI SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS OF HOUSE ARREST IN LIEU OF FIVE YEARS IN JAIL

…he will begin his sentence in January…

– The Denver Post, 12/12/2007



…In central Asia, the people of United Turkestan are reeling from the unofficial results of their President election held tonight. In a major upset, incumbent President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and the populist right-wing National Party as apparently won a full term over Kazakhstan Governor Zharmakhan Tuyakbay of the center-left Unity Party…

– BBC, 14/12/2007 broadcast



…Almost immediately, it became apparent that there was something wrong with the election results. After voter tallies outnumbered voter rolls in two districts, the Governor of Kyrgyzstan announced an audit of the ballots cast in the Bishkek precinct. The National government immediately sued the Governor on the accusation of attempted voter fraud via the audit.

As the country’s court system began to be congested with litigation both merited and vexatious, the people of United Turkestan took to the streets. Violent clashes between Tuyakbay supporters and security forces left dozens injured and hundreds in jail for disturbing the peace. Ballots allegedly blighted by government interference pointed to ongoing issues with voter registration and the Karimov administration, with reports of ballots being destroyed in anti-Karimov districts coming out in the hours and days after Karimov declared victory.

Some independent observers described in the days afterwards that they experienced intimidation from police, and could “not in good conscience” consider it “a free and fair contest.” As the weeks went by, anti-Karimov groups gathered further evidence of irregularities between voter rolls and voting tallies, which in turn only raised the calls for either Tuyakbay to be declared the winner, or for Karimov to be removed from office for voter/election fraud…

– Ke Wang’s Turkestanis Unite!: The Rise And Execution of An Idea, Cambridge University Press, 2013



AMID CLAIMS OF VOTER FRAUD, BOTH CANDIDATES DECLARE VICTORY IN DISPUTED U.T. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

– Kommersant (The Businessman), Russian newspaper, 12/16/2007



FOURTH TIME’S THE CHARM: Lee Hoi-chang elected President of United Korea

…the conservative Lee previously ran for President in 1992 (in South Korea), 1997, and 2002…

– The New York Post, side article, 12/19/2007



ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL GROUP CLAIMS U.T. ELECTION WAS “RIFE” WITH FRAUD

…members of the International Organization for Election Security and Integrity in Asia (IOESIA), who observed election procedures in United Turkestan last week, allege that there was widespread efforts to tamper with the election results. The IOESIA’s monitoring missions have come under fire by UT President Karimov, who has often accused the intergovernmental organization of being “a puppet,” of either “the west” or “Russia,” depending on his nation’s geopolitical relations at the time of the comment claims...

– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 21/12/2007



“I’ve been seeing folks on the technet go after Mr. Ice for his music, saying mean things about his creativity, saying that he’s a coward for trying to take the Queens to court and things like that. What hypocrites! Mr. Mercury is doing the same thing. And I heard the rest of Queen don’t even want to drag this thing out! But what I want to say is, the thing is, Mr. Ice deserves some decency. He is a good man, with a good head on his shoulders, and, you know something? Nobody can own a composition of two or three notes in a row. This bickering over tiny details and coincidental similarities is ridiculous.”

– Elvis Presley, 12/22/2007 radio interview



WORLD’S BIGGEST BUILDING MAY BE COMING TO MOSCOW: The Crystal Island Mega-Project

…A mixed-use destination designed by the international Foster + Partners architecture company, the Russian government has approved of plans for Crystal Island to be constructed in Moscow. With English architect Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, calling the huge undertaking of a project “the start a new generation of architecture,” the design plan calls for a multipurpose building so large, its structure is capable of holding hotels, apartments, retail stores, office spaces, and even schools and spaces for exercise and sports. Crystal Island, a miniature indoor city of sorts, will utilize Moscow’s wind conditions to power the structure with a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, and electricity… [12]

– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 27/12/2007



During the Christmas break of 2007, the President and his family retreated to their South Carolina homestead to partake in the festivities. Jesse Sr. kept away from his lar phone, and instructed his Secret Service to only bother him if an emergency arose. That order did not include political emergencies.

Upon returning to D.C., the President was informed that House Speaker H. Dorgan McMaster had spent the holiday season attending private fundraiser dinners to gather donations for the GOP primaries, and had ordered opposition research, complete with inquirers rummaging into Wellstone’s past.

“An old college intern I haven’t spoken to in years showed up out of the blue, telling me that punks are hounding him for a story,” said the VP as Jackson and company traversed away from a small gathering of the press at the West Wing, where Jackson had given standard post-Christmas comments.

Wellstone’s description of inquirers pestering ex-employees was too reminiscent of Junior’s explosive incident last year for the President to keep his cool over. “Dargan, that creepy son-of-a-b*tch!” Jackson blurted aloud in a huff, “I’d like to cut that bastard’s nuts off!”

“Mr. President, careful!” Chief of Staff Daniels said quietly but urgently as he pointed to the side. They were still in the hallway and the press were still within earshot of the congregation of journalists.

“Uh oh,” whispered Wellstone, “you think they heard that?”

“Um, I don’t think so,” the President assumed. Unfortunately, he was wrong – not only had they heard it, but they had caught it on tape as well.

. . . . . . . .

The “Christmas Nuts” incident was certainly not the biggest scandal of the Jackson administration, but it was an embarrassing moment back Jackson hoped would be quickly forgotten. Unfortunately, as it was recorded without complete context, the White House PR team was in disarray. “This is embarrassing,” noted Communications Director Magness. “It’s not disastrous, but weren’t getting a lot of negative press over it.” Without having the reason for the outburst, most technetters were assuming the comment was brought on by standard political maneuverings on the Speaker’s part. Magness suggested Jackson address inquiries into the incident, and explain that the outburst was due to his disapproval of underhanded tactics instigated by the Republican House Speaker.

“It really should, shouldn’t I?’ The President agreed.

“But regardless of what kind of address it is, you do need to apologize for the comment,” added Magness.

“What?” Jackson said bluntly and sharply, almost curtly.

Magness quickly explained, “Otherwise they’ll just stick to the story that you have a nasty temper, which is painting you in, well, a very negative light. It could really hurt our image and impede the rest of your time here.”

“Won’t it just blow over if we wait it out?” Wellstone asked.

“With the primaries only weeks away, I don’t think we could afford that, Paul,” Magness answered.

Jackson nodded in reluctant agreement.

On January 4th, Jackson apologized for the “ugly rhetoric,” only to immediate discuss allegations of House Speaker McMaster of hiring “bulldoggish gumshoes to pester people, looking for any dirt that can possibly get on” the Vice President. “You know you are barking up an empty tree when a candidate is so clean that you end up in the garbage trying to make ’em look dirty!”

– Nancy Skelton and Bob Faw’s Thunder In America: A Chronology of The Jesse Jackson White House, Texas Monthly Press, 2016



JACKSON SIGNS TRADE AND COMMERCE ANTI-TRUST BILL SIGNED INTO LAW

…the new law, one of congress’s most left-leaning of the past year given the Split Chambers, bolsters legislation passed under President Bellamy and is meant to promote competition in business, as a way of improving the economy, by protecting trade and commerce in the US from trusts, monopolies, and other unfair business practices…

– The Washington Post, 1/5/2008



MCMASTER REPUDIATES ALLEGATIONS OF UNDERHANDED OPPO RESEARCH PRACTICES

– The New York Times, 1/6/2008



AMID LOW POLLING, TANCREDO WITHDRAWS, ENDORSES GRITZ

…“It’s imperative that the populists in the party unite and avoid the vote splitting that could lead to some L.I.D.,” short for Liberal In Disguise, “like Senator Rodham-Clinton, or some openly liberal person like Senator Snowe, winning the nomination.” Tancredo then proclaimed that “at least Snowe has the integrity to wear her liberalism on her sleeve and own up to it, not like Rodham-Clinton, whose voting record matches whatever was popular at the time. So at least Snowe is consistent.”

[snip]

Comments Section:

Comment 1:

“At least Snowe is consistent” That’s a compliment! Her fan club – are they calling themselves the Olympians or the Olympiacs? Because I swear I’ve seen it written both ways – have to use that in their next ad!

Comment 2:

Tancredo's out? Good riddance to bad rubbish!

– usarightnow.co.usa, 1/7/2008 e-article



“LET’S GO, SNOWE!”

– common chant heard at Snowe rallies, first used c. January 2008



U.T. PRESIDENT KARIMOV SWORN IN TO FULL TERM AS CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OVER ALLEGED VOTER FRAUD ESCALATE

– The New York Times, 1/9/2008



HOUSEHOLDS COULD SAVE $800 A YEAR BY CUTTING FOOD WASTE, NEW TRIAL SUGGESTS

…In an extensive study recently conducted and funded by the US Department of Agriculture, householders reduced their levels of food waste by an average of 70% by following recommended food-saving steps to make better use of leftovers and pantries. The trial saw over 80 families record their food waste nd meal plans. “Many in the trial showed a compulsion to throw out food rather than to place it in a freezer and repurpose it for another meal,” and, on top of negative environmental impact, food waste in the US alone is “a billions-of-dollars vacuum,” says US Secretary of Agriculture Jim McGovern (D-MA), who hoped to tackle food waste in order to solve another issue, food insecurity. “Food should be a fundamental right, and this administration is aiming to encourage more people to waste less so less people go hungry, especially children.” According to recent studies, between a third and a half of all food in the US ends up being thrown out rather than eaten, costing the average family hundreds of dollars a year…

– The Chicago Tribune, 1/10/2008



SNOWE: “I represent what I think is a traditional Republican – limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, individual freedom and liberty.” [13]

GRITZ: “I want everyone listening at home to take notice of all the lies spoken on this stage tonight. Because the truth is that a spider web of ‘patriots for profit,’ operating from the highest positions of special trust and confidence, have successfully circumvented our constitutional system in pursuit of a New World Order. The Jackson/Wellstone Administration is the most corrupt, elitist, and treasonous Presidencies in our country’s entire history, having unleashed insufferable taxes upon the masses.” [14]

SWANN: “This is a televised job interview for president. It requires us to show how we behave, and if the best you can do is to behave in a manner that is undignified, that shows that you don’t have the character needed for this job.”

JOHNSON: “More taxes means you and I have to spend more time at work to get more money to pay for the new taxes. Essentially, more taxes means more work. And with this administration’s reckless spending, taxes have only risen in the past six years and they are going to continue to rise under another Democratic term.”

SNOWE: “What is the purpose of public service? It’s to solve problems for the people you represent and certainly in the United States Senate, thinking about your state and thinking about your country as well.” [13]

SWANN: “I respect police officers and police departments. I understand the difficulties of their job, of protecting law-abiding citizens from criminal activities. The problem is when they apply force in cases when it is inappropriate to do so. Studies show that most of the time, when someone calls the police, it is for a non-dangerous event like an angry customer or a domestic squabble. Arguments that d not need to be broken up with gunfire and people getting shot. The problem is the mentality found among many police officers and even some police offices – not most, but many. On that note, I actually agree with the President’s push for police precinct reform. I just think it can be done with more respect to our brave men in blue.”

SNOWE: “Money in politics is an insidious thing.” [13]

SWANN: “Most minorities have experienced some kind of racial prejudice. I myself experienced it when I was beginning my career in the NFL. My brother and I were harassed by police in San Francisco over a white homicide that happened on the other side of town; the killer was ultimately caught and he confessed, but the fact remains that we were an easy target to be made into scapegoats if people demanded someone be arrested for the crime. It was 1975, and I was in the NFL, but I was not immune from negative stereotypes.”

RODHAM-CLINTON: “I want to serve and give back to the community that helped support my parents in Illinois, and my children to grow up and thrive. It is an honor and privilege to serve in the Senate, but I think I could do even more good for even more people from the White House.”

GRITZ: “America cannot afford a third Jackson term. So remember – vote for ‘Bo Gritz’ to preserve, defend, and protect your rights!”

– Snippets from the GOP Presidential primary debate in Atlanta, GA, 1/11/2008



ACTION MOVIE STARRING MLB PITCHER DONNY TRUMP PUSHED BACK TO DECEMBER 2008 RELEASE DATE

– thehollywoodreporter.co.usa, 1/14/2008 e-article



…In his efforts to westernize the country, Presidium Ilir Meta of Albania also sought to modernize the country’s economy by shifting certain citizens to the country’s growing services industry. Trade and financial relations with France, the UK, and Germany increased significantly, and Meta utilized this good fortune to improve his nation’s standard of living, and to bring Yugoslavia “into the twenty-first century”...

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



TURKESTANI TECHNETTERS REPORT RISE IN RELIGIOUS PROSECUTION

…Additional reports are being sent out ontech by both professional reporters and average citizens with technet access. All describe, or have hand-held recordings of, scene suggesting that ordinary Muslim practitioners are being targeted and jailed without trial in United Turkestan. “Karimov is sending Secret Police in his attempts to secularize the country,” explains foreign analyst… Inside the troubled central Asian nation, the dictatorial President, Islam Karimov, is seeing his popularity waning as these crackdowns and “disappears” continue on…

– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 22/1/2008



VANILLA ICE SPOTTED VISITING GRACELAND!

– peoplemagazine.co.usa, 1/26/2008 e-article



JOHNSON: “I think, when left to their own devises, Americans are smart enough to not just get by but to thrive as well. I agree with Senator Snowe that everyone needs a source of income. After all, it’s what pays for food, rent, laundry, electricity, your lar phone plan, your technet plan, water bills, heating/cooling, insurance. And the rest goes to savings accounts. That, though, is all you need to understand to keep yourself out of lifelong debt. Personal responsibility, the ability to manage your own finance. I think all, or at least nearly all, Americans have the ability to run their own lives and make tier own choices. But if you for some reason or another simply cannot manage your own money, you should not have to come running over the government. You should man up to the truth and go hire an accountant, or crack open a book, the latest edition of ‘tax law for dummies.’ My point is, let me wrap this up, is that I believe – I have faith in the notion – that if you treat the American people like they can make their own decisions, then they will.”

GRITZ: “We must stop the runaway globalists from enforcing upon our country the sickening schemes of the progressive agendas. The long-nosed promoters of the perversion of God’s will and America’s laws must be stopped dead in their tracks. It is like how it says in the bible – Ephesians 6:12 – ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.’”

SWANN: “To be president, you must have the necessary qualities. You must be a man of logic, tolerance, understanding, honesty, and integrity. I do not think that Bo Gritz has demonstrated any of these qualities. Maybe on the battlefield, but not once while serving his country in the US House and the US Senate.”

EDGAR: “Bo Gritz has presented division and bigotry as individuality and order, but they are not the same and cannot be confused for one another.”

RODHAM-CLINTON: “We owe it to ourselves, to our country, and to our families to keep this campaign a place where we can exchange ideas with a level of decency, respectability, protocol, and decorum worthy of the pursuit of the office of President of the United States. To do anything less that this sort of professional behavior is to sully said office.”

– Snippets from the GOP Presidential primary debate in Manchester, NH, 1/28/2008



PARLIAMENT VOTES TO IMPEACH BUTHELEZI FOR ALLEGEDLY APPROVING I.O.C. BRIBERY SCHEME

– The Cape Times, South African daily newspaper, 2/2/2008



“I can neither confirm nor deny any possible rumors that alleged that my client and possibly another client may or may not be working on a collab album.”

– Elvis Presley’s agent, 2/5/2008

– The First Couple of the United States attend a black-tie political fundraiser dinner in Columbia Heights, the capital of the state of Potomac; 2/7/2008



…We can now confirm that Joseph Tyree Sneed III, an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, has died. He was 87 years old. A judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals at the time that President Denton appointed him to the nation’s highest court, Sneed was the most conservative voice among the current justices. According to the Associate Justice’s daughter, former SBA Administrator and former AT&T COO Cara Carleton Sneed, the elder Sneed passed away from natural causes…

– KNN Breaking News, 2/9/2008



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S):
[1] An overview of his OTL scandal(s) found here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-17673505
[2] The section of this sentence that is in quotes was pulled from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China
[3] OTL. Ibid.
[4] 2007 was when self-driving born in OTL (so, here in TTL, it happened years earlier): https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a1859966/how-did-autonomous-driving-craze-begin/
[5] Italicized bit is pulled from his wikipedia article
[6] OTL, as mentioned in this TL’s Chapter 47!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pray_TV_(1980_film)
[7] An OTL Gary Johnson quote, according to a link found on his wikipedia quote page
[8] The passages that are in italics are OTL quotes: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton
[9] The italicized parts are OTL quotes:

[10] The parts that are in italics are from an OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[11] Ibid.
[12] This really was a proposed project in OTL!: https://inhabitat.com/tallest-skyscraper-in-the-world-coming-to-moscow/
[13] OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[14] Italicized passage is an OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-bo-gritz

The next chapter’s E.T.A.: soon!

 

[gap80]

Chapter 95: February 2008 – June 2008​

“Once there was a man who had two sons; one went to sea and the other became Vice President; neither were ever heard from again.”

– Variation of a one-liner most often attributed to either Thomas R. Marshall or Theodore Roosevelt



…The dynamics of Jackson’s search for his third Supreme Court appointment differed greatly from the dynamics of his first. No longer did the President feel the need to pick a “historic” candidate to nominate. Nor did he have to contemplate the court’s composition – in seven years prior, the court was split 4-4, but after the appointments of Page and Sandel, the court favored liberalism, 6-2.

Furthermore, Jackson had his pick of the litter in regards to the large and diverse field of candidates from which to choose. Various news sources mentioned the names of Tom Ambro (age 58), Rubén Castillo (age 53), Denny Chin (age 53), Audrey B. Collins (age 62), Andre M. Davis (age 59), Aida M. Delgado-Colon (age 52), Daniel R. Dominguez (age 62), Julio M. Fuentes (age 61), Roger L. Gregory (age 54), Cynthia Hogan (age 49), Elena Kagan (age 47), Diana Gibbon Motz (age 64), Carlos R. Moreno (age 49), Stephen M. Orlofsky (age 63), Richard Anthony Paez (age 60), Johnnie Blakeney Rawlinson (age 55), Leah Ward Sears (age 52), Martha Alicia Vazquez (age 54), Ann Claire Williams (age 58), and Diane Pamela Wood (age 57) as possible nominees.

However, Jackson’s advisors urged the President to consider the ethnic composition of the court. Emilio Miller Garza of Texas was Mexican-American, Larry Thompson of Georgia and Chief Justice Alan Page of Minnesota were African-American, and Mary Murphy Schroeder of Colorado and M. J. Sandel of Connecticut were Jewish. Five Justices (Schroeder, Sandel, Miles W. Lord of Minnesota, William Nealon Jr. of Pennsylvania, and Sylvia Bacon of California) were white, and only two (Schroeder and Bacon) were women. Due to the fact that roughly 50% of law school graduates were female by this point, several of Jackson’s advisors believed it would be “more than appropriate” for him to select a female to nominate, though others in his inner circle encouraged him to select a Puerto Rican as a political move, hoping such a move would help make the new state lean Democrat.

Eventually, the shortlist of included nine candidates: Mexican-American and Puerto Rican-American Appeals Court Judge Rubén Castillo of Illinois, Hong Kong-born Appeals Court Judge Chin of New York, Puerto Rican-American State Chief Justice Aida M. Delgado-Colon of Puerto Rico, African-American Appeals Court Judge Roger L. Gregory of Virginia, US Deputy Attorney General Cynthia Hogan of Ohio, Jewish-American Harvard Law School Professor Elena Kagan of Connecticut, Mexican-American State Chief Justice Moreno of California, African-American female Appeals Court Judge Rawlinson of Nevada, African-American female State Chief Justice Sears of Georgia. Hogan and Kagan were soon dropped from consideration, leaving on the list four men (Castillo, Chin, Gregory, and Moreno) and three women (Delgado-Colon, Rawlinson, and Sears)…

– Linda Greenhouse and Morton J. Horwitz’s Sustaining Liberty: The Supreme Court Under Our Current Chief Justice, Sunrise Publishing, 2020



“Governor Johnson, the SARS pandemic is the only example I need to example why your philosophy is not sound. The American government needs to be able to defend the American people from all major moments of harm, and that includes deadly viruses. It was a government that provided stimulus checks for millions of Americans during a moment of crisis. The part of your platform that does work, though, is the flourishing of free enterprise, which can happen during times of prosperity, but only after such an aspect of our free market system is defended by the government during the most trying of times.”

“Senator Grits, I really must disagree with you on your criticisms of the UN. It saddens me that a historic event like this is being misconstrued by a small but vocal group of critics trying to spread the notion that the UN gathering is really the work of radicals and atheists bent on destroying our families.” [1]

“Now, on this part, I actually agree with Bo, Mario and Lynn. There isn't any sensible approach except to do what we need to do simultaneously. Secure our border — with technology, personnel, [and] physical barriers if necessary in some places. Furthermore, we need to have tough employer sanctions in order to protect American jobs for American workers.” [1]

– US Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton (R-TN), GOP Presidential primary debate in Concord, NH, 2/12/2008



WHO’S BACKING BIAGGI? The Stunning Success Of A Nonagenarian And The Usability Of The Technet

…The 90-year-old has mounted a surprisingly strong White House bid, and the explanation is complicated. Biaggi, a former Congressman, Governor and Senator who first ran for President 40 years ago, is winning over a diverse crowd of supporters, and for diverse reasons. Biaggi backers seen in public, cheering Biaggi on at debates and during his visits to small New Hampshire towns, are overwhelmingly elderly individuals who remember Biaggi from eras lost since past. “I remember when he was a governor,” says one grandmother in Amherst, New Hampshire. “He did a lot of good for New York. I think he has the smarts and the experience needed to do a lot of good for America.”

His supporters on the ontech, though, seem to be disproportionately young, and are treating his candidacy much less seriously. Some sarcastically back him Biaggi in polls, making him either a “joke candidate” or a “protest candidate,” meant to mock the party or the party’s selection of candidates. “Eh. Why not?” one political chat forum message goes. Another is “If we have to have an anti-police-reform nominee, we might as well get one that’ll likely only serve or four years, maybe less,” goes another.

In short, Biaggi’s supporters range from conservative Democrats to bitter ex-Goetz backers to dissatisfied undecided voters. And the candidate’s use of weblogs to comment on traveling across the early primary states of New Hampshire, Georgia and Nevada may explain it. “His ontech presence is certainly a boost,” says Alessandra Biaggi, the candidate’s granddaughter and his campaign’s chief media strategist. “It’s what’s allowed him to get enough attention to get into the debates, and it could play a major role in how well he does in the weeks ahead.”

– usarightnow.co.usa, 2/14/2008 e-article



CAN THESE ROBOT PANTS ALLOW PARAPLEGICS TO WALK?

…M.I.T. scientists have developed a neuro-scanner headband meant to assist the paraplegic. The headband is wirelessly connected to cage-like structure the design team has dubbed “smart trousers,” a double-cylindrical kind of device resembling robot pants. A paraplegic individual wears the device on their legs, like a stiff pair of pants, while wearing the headband. The headband then scans the cerebellum of the brain, allowing the wearer of the trousers and headband to move their legs through the robotic-pants-like apparatus. The device has only been tested in the lab, but the team is confident that once field tests are performed, the results will prove the technology’s applicability and success.

The project hinges on the success of both software and hardware – on the neuro-scanner’s ability to “read” the cerebellum, and on the smart trousers’ ability to support of the wearer’s weight. In the tests performed, the pants showed signs of damage after under an hour of use, as well as the “walking” being slow (with a cerebellum-to-foot time delay of up to 15 seconds sometimes) and “awkward” (the walk often being exaggerated, resembling one of someone walking through footprints in heavy snowfall). Nevertheless, whether the kinks can be worked out or not, the fact remains that this device could give wheelchair-bound individuals the experience of walking, even if it is a Waltham is difficult to navigate and control.

…Another project being worked on at M.I.T. that is similar to this pond is an attempt to design an “Artificial Retina Implant” so the blind can see. …While projects such as these can stir up thoughts of hope and curiosity, the equipment necessary to work on them is incredibly expensive for the institute…

– scientificamerican.co.usa, 2/15/2008 news e-article



SNOWBALLED!: Olympia Trounces Opponents In Latest Pre-Primary Debate

…Despite still polling middle-tier, Senator Snowe gave a debate performance worthy of frontrunner status. Snowe held her ground and castigated fellow Senators Gritz and Rodham-Clinton for their stances on police precinct reform while she herself walked a thin line between the community and police sides of the subject. She also dug into Gary Johnson’s libertarianism …The Maine Senator described her time on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, and when discussing her plans for a Snowe Administration, criticized the current administration’s handling of SBA loans, and remarked, “President Jackson is too hesitant to encourage small business growth out of fear that it will produce Republican businesspersons. But I intend to go about and ensure that Small Business Administration loans truly go to those who need them, regardless of whatever they may think about my politics. Because never have I ever forgotten that we in this country are fellow Americans first and foremost. And on Capitol Hill, we should remember that we are Americans first and Republicans or Democrats second.” [2]…

– The Bangor Daily News, Maine newspaper, 2/19/2008



JACKSON VETOES WORKER VISA REFORM ACT

…In his most prominent use of the President veto yet, Jackson has struck down a controversial bill that would have established longer residency requirements for Guest Worker immigrants, among other supposedly restrictive changes to the US’s immigration laws and policies. The Republican-majority House of Representatives does not have enough votes to override the bill. The bill was narrowly passed in Senate because it was heavily watered down and was supported by conservative Democrats such as Jim Guy Tucker and Doug Jones. Because of this, neither major party was “enthusiastic as a whole” for the legislation, explains one anonymous Senate aide…

– The Washington Post, 2/22/2008



…Despite apathy over a guest worker reform bill being a bipartisan sentiment, the simple fact that Jackson had vetoed it was enough for the GOP and many of its Presidential primary candidates to still try and paint it as an example of Jackson being a bad President. Opportunists, such as Bo Gritz and Ronna Romney, for instance, swore that the bill was this great thing that the Democrats had shot down, either due to incompetence, ignorance or malicious machinations.

And the primaries had not even truly started by that point…

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



…In South Africa, the Scheme to Bribe International Olympic Committee officials into selecting South Africa to host the 2012 Olympics has culminated in the impeachment and conviction of South Africa’s President Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Throughout the investigations into his involvement in the scheme, the head of state swore he was innocent, even as evidence came to light that he was told of the plan and approved of it prior to its execution. Because of South Africa’s parliament finding him guilty on one count of conspiracy, he will leave office tomorrow and be succeeded into office by the nation’s Deputy President. Said individual is Keorapetse Kgositsile, a 69-year-old Tswana poet who was an anti-Apartheid activist in the 1970s. Kgositsile previously served in parliament and has been Deputy President since 2004. Because he is a member of the ANC, the main opposing party to Buthelezi’s People’s Party, Buthelezi and his remaining supporters are claiming that his impeachment trial was politically motivated…

– BBC News, 24/2/2008 broadcast



UNITED KOREA’S NEW PRESIDENT SWORN IN TODAY: Promises To Crack Down On Illegal Drugs, Guns Smuggling In Inaugural Speech

– The Los Angeles Time, side article, 2/25/2008



KGOSITSILE PARDONS BUTHELEZI! “This National Wound Must Be Healed”

– The City Press, South African daily newspaper, 27/2/2008



JACKSON NOMINATES AIDA M. DELGADO-COLON FOR SUPREME COURT SEAT

…If, the state Chief Justice will be the third female and the second Hispanic Associate Justice serving on the bench…

– The Miami Herald, 3/1/2008





– US Senator Olympia Snows (R-ME), campaigning for President in Hooksett, NH, 3/2/2008



IT’S SNOWE-TIME: Maine Moderate Grabs Granite State

…US Senator Olympia Snowe was the favorite to win the first-in-the-nation Presidential primary in New Hampshire due to regional appeal. Meanwhile, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the standard bearer of the libertarian side of the party in this primary season, managed to beat the odds and come in second place with a respectable 28%. Also tonight, Senator Bo Gritz came in third place, Governor Lynn Swann finish in fourth, and Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton came in fifth, followed by Jim Edgar and Ronna Romney in sixth and seventh place, respectively, and with all other votes making up less than 1% when combined. On the Democratic side of the night, Vice President Paul Wellstone coasted to victory in his party’s New Hampshire primary contest…

– The New York Post, 3/4/2008



“HERMAN CAIN, YOU’RE NO COLONEL SANDERS”: Candidates Criticize Each Other In GOP Presidential Debate

…In the final debate before our state’s primary election for President, Georgia’s own US Senator Herman Cain tried and failed to fight off a flurry of attacks on his record and proposals. All of his opponents on the debate stage in Atlanta lambasted the Senator, who was the favorite to win this state in September, but has since slipped in polling and fundraising. For example, Governor Ronna Romney of Michigan went after Cain’s tenure at KFC being “rocky and unstable, like what a Cain White House would be.” In another rebuke of Cain’s candidacy, African-American Governor Lynn Swann brought up Cain’s pro-rich activities while Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and while President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, leading to Swann ending his closing statement with “Cain keeps promoting himself as another kind Colonel Saunders or Lee Iacocca, but the truth of the matter is that, well, Herman Cain, you’re no Colonel Sanders.”

Cain also repudiated claims from US Senator Olympia Snowe that his 9-9-9 tax plan would end up raising taxes on the lower classes in the long run, instead swearing the “simplifying the tax code will get people to work, save and invest their money better. 9-9-9 would do more harm no matter how you slice and dice it.”

Attempting to win over conservatives and maybe some libertarians, too, US Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton replied to Cain’s comments with "I just believe that there's got to be a healthy tension [sic] among all of our institutions in society, and that the market is the driving force behind our prosperity, our freedom in so many respects to make our lives our own but that it cannot be permitted just to run roughshod over people's lives as well.” [3]…

– The Macon Telegraph, Georgia newspaper, 3/8/2008



…In tonight’s Republican Presidential primary in Georgia, Hillary Rodham-Clinton has edged out a win over fellow US Senator Bo Grits, with Governor Lynn Swann coming in at a close second. In fourth place was Senator Olympia Snowe, with Senator Herman Cain, after a fairly poor showing in the latest Republican debates, saw his candidacy sink down to fifth place, after being in first place in polls conducted in Georgia in September...

– CBS Evening News, 3/11/2008 broadcast



RICHARD PENNINGTON FOUND GUILTY OF TWO CHARGES AFTER BEING ACQUITTED ON THREE

…the former Chief of Police has been found guilty of conspiracy and of evidence tampering, but has been “exonerated” on related charges of unlawful search and seizure, witness intimidation, and wire fraud. Two other members of the Charlotte Police department were found guilty earlier this month, while two more are still awaiting trial for their alleged connections to a late 2000 incident…

– The Louisville Courier, 3/14/2008



…As the primaries began in earnest, even the sentencing of the Richard Pennington Evidence Tampering Case became politicized. Wellstone called the guilty verdict “justice,” while candidates such as Bo Grits argued it was the opposite of that. Other candidates such as Gary Johnson and Olympia Snowe had typical libertarianesque “let the courts work” comments, while Senator Rodham-Clinton remarked the populist notion that “only those who deserve to be locked up and need to be locked up should be locked up.”

Privately, Rodham-Clinton expressed that she enjoyed these sorts of flavor-of-the-month discussions. They were a way of keeping an eye on what voters were paying attention to while allowing herself to stay relevant in the busy news cycle. “To Hillary, it was like a test of sorts,” claims one former HRC’04 campaign member. “Being able to read the room, being able to touch on a sensitive subject without oversimplifying it, and being able to summarize in a small enough statement for it to become a sound bite. It was like a careful dance or a recipe, one that required plenty of experience, and after running for office before, in the 1970s, for Governor 1990, for the Senate in 1996 and 2002, and for the Presidency in 2004, Hillary thought herself to be a masterful sound bite giver.”…

– Nancy Skelton and Bob Faw’s Thunder In America: A Chronology of The Jesse Jackson White House, Texas Monthly Press, 2016



…So the Republicans and Democrats just held their respective Presidential primary contests in Nevada, and the results are kind of interesting. On the Democratic side, former Governor Lars Herseth of South Dakota received nearly ten percent, suggesting Wellstone’s road to the nomination may be less of a coronation and more of a competition than previously thought. On the Republican side, Senator Bo Gritz barely won over Ronna Romney, who is doing very well at the moment. Support for her is surging for her right now, for this alleged elitist with large corporation experience heading a Michigan-based radio company before becoming Governor. She’s pushing that business narrative, and this time, it lead to her getting very close to winning a primary…

– Will Cain, WBZ (AM) News, 3/18/2008 radio broadcast



REPORT: Businesses With Under 200 Workers Make Up Over Half of America’s Economy

– The Wall Street Journal, 3/20/2008



…The primaries of Maryland and Vermont were held on March 25. On the Democratic side of things, Wellstone easily scored wins in both states, with challengers Herseth and Diamondstone failing to make an impact – Dismondstone only received 7% of the vote in his home state and only 1% in Maryland, while Herseth received roughly 2% in both contests. In the Republican contest, Snowe narrowly beat Swann for Maryland in a crushing for the Pennsylvania Governor’s campaign. She also won Vermont with ease.

Enthusiasm for Ronna Romney, meanwhile, seems to have been a rather short flavor-of-the-month experience, as she grossly underperformed in both contests, while supporters of small businesses, such as Snowe, Johnson, and Rodham-Clinton, did fairly well…

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



HERMAN CAIN DROPS OUT OF WHITE HOUSE RACE, ENDORSES BO GRITZ

– The Augusta Chronicle, Georgia newspaper, 3/26/2008



SENATE CONFIRMS DELGADO-COLON FOR SUPREME COURT SEAT, 73-31

…the first female Puerto Rican Associate Justice of the Supreme Court will be sworn in on April 3rd…

– The Washington Post, 3/27/2008



…While the rise of America’s Bernie Goetz fueled support for anti-Turkey conservative candidates running for seats in Greece’s legislature, Goetz losing his race in November knocked the wind out of the sails of Greece’s own nationalist movement ahead of the December 2004 elections. Nevertheless, the brief foray into anti-immigrant populism put a temporary strain on Greco-Turkish relations, and after over thirty years of the two nations and their people getting along with each other better than ever before. In March 2008, the general elections saw Greek populists once again try to swell their numbers, only to lose more than half of their seats in The Hellenic Parliament…

– Frederick B. Chary’s The Modern Balkans: The History of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Turkey After The End of the Cold War Era, Greenwood Publishers, 2018 edition



...Today may have been April Fools’ Day, but tonight, it’s the April Fools’ Cluster – five states hosting Presidential primaries for the Republican and Democratic parties. Voters in Iowa, Wyoming, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Delaware have all cast their ballots, and already we are being told who has won. …After failing to gather momentum in the early primaries, Gary Johnson’s concentration on western state primaries in this April has led to him winning Wyoming and Iowa. Meanwhile, Gritz has won South Carolina while Snowe has won Minnesota and Biaggi, in a major upset, has won Delaware with a plurality of roughly 37%. ...And so the four-way contest continues with no clear frontrunner for the time being…

– NBC, 4/1/2008 broadcast



…The Second April Cluster was held on April 8, and consisted of ten primary contests for both of the major parties: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Florida, and Maine.

Immediately after the results, Gritz supporters claimed that the inclusion of Biaggi on the Alabama ballot siphoned away populist and conservative votes away from Gritz and allowing Rodham-Clinton to win. The same was alleged against HRC’s victories in Arkansas and Louisiana.

Meanwhile, Snowe won Hawaii, Connecticut, and her home state of Maine, while Gritz won Florida. Gary Johnson’s momentum continued with him scoring victories in Alaska and Arizona. Colorado, however, was the narrowest. After three days of counting, Snowe narrowly prevailed over Johnson, who privately accused Gritz’s appeal in certain parts of the state of “spoiling” the contest by siphoning votes away from the Johnson campaign and thus handing the state to Colorado. Nevertheless, the victory in Colorado proved to political observers that Snowe could be competitive out west…

…Evangelical voters largely rallied around Gritz as Mike Bickel’s accusations made against HRC continued to plague her candidacy’s efforts to reach out to religiously-conservative voters…

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



SWANN SONG: Penn Gov Suspends White House Bid

…Governor Swann failed to win any contests, with his best performance being his third-place finish in Louisiana in this past Tuesday’s “cluster” of primary contests…

– The New York Post, 4/11/2008



…The Motion Picture Association of America introduced the MPAA Film Rating System in order to rate a film’s “suitability” for certain viewers, based on the film’s content. While the system is not a legal requirement for the distribution of a film in the US, most theaters require that a rating of some kind to accompany the film’s exhibition.

The MPAA FRS was established in 1965, as a result of US President Harland “Colonel” Sanders’ efforts to protect young children from “traumatizing material” at movie theaters. Saunders met with CAGOP politicians, with the USIA, and with the MPAA prior to thru FRS’s unveiling, which led to the Motion Picture Production Code (established in 1934) falling even more out of favor and out of use, but not being officially discontinued until 1973, amid claims that thru MPPC was a form of morals-based censorship.

RATINGS

The current three MPAA film ratings are as follows:

AAA – “All Ages Admitted.” Often erroneously thought to be short for “Appropriate for All Ages,” this rating means the film contains nothing unsuitable for children

PGR – “Parental Guidance Recommended.” Often mistakenly believed to be short for “Parental Guidance Required,” this is the broadest of the ratings. The MPAA strongly encourages parents to learn about the film’s content through word-of-mouth, film reviews, and other ways prior to the film’s viewing.

OEO – “Over Eighteen Only.” The most restrictive rating. Children under the age of 18 will not be admitted to watch the film.

CONTENT DESCRIPTORS

The ratings often have accompanying descriptions of the film’s contents in order to provide more specific detail without “spoiling” the film for potential viewers. If the film is exhibited with a rating, most theaters will note so. As of April 2008, 31 state laws require theaters to inform patrols of a film’s rating or lack thereof prior to their admittance…

– clickopedia.co.usa



In an effort to avoid any further potential “spoiler” effects, Gritz’s campaign sued several states to have the names of Biaggi, Tancredo, Bickle, Creech and other minor populist candidates removed from their respective ballots. Tancredo had withdrawn after obtaining ballot access in five upcoming states, but Pastor Mike Bickle and outgoing Congressman B. J. Creech were still running for unclear reasons. Concurrently, Biaggi was still an active candidate who insisted he was a serious contender. None of these suits bore fruit, however, because the time to remake the ballots had passed; the ballots for the April 15 primaries were already printed and ready.

As a result, Gritz’s campaign staff met with representatives of Hillary Rodham-Clinton behind closed doors in the nation’s capital of the District of Columbia. According to the Gritz campaign’s Jet Wilders, “We offered a simple suggestion of trying to coordinate our campaigns, so only we would campaign in states that we were more likely to win, and they would campaign in states that they were more likely to win. Her representatives refused to consider it, believing it to somehow be a scandalous backroom deal of some kind.” With Rodham-Clinton and her inner circle declining interest in the Gritz team’s proposal, “The Gritz Gang” also met with the Bickle, Biaggi and Creech campaigns to promise each of them a position in a Gritz administration should he win, only for all three minor candidates to refuse to bow out. Privately, Creech believed a Rodham-Clinton nomination to be inevitable and that his splitting of the populist “Goetzite” vote would benefit her, and raise his chances of a position in a Rodham-Clinton White House. Bickle and Biaggi, meanwhile, remained in the race until the convention in the hopes on influencing, respectively. the religious and law-and-order aspects and positions of the party’s national platform.

In the Third April Cluster, on April 15, Republicans took to the polls in ten primary contests. Senator “HRC” won her birth state of Illinois, with Jim Edgar of Illinois graciously conceding the contest to his fellow Senator and endorsing her the next day. Massachusetts predictably went to Snowe. In Missouri, the home state of Pastor Mike Bickle, his 5% pull of the vote may have cut into Gritz’s share of the vote, as expected; Snowe won the contest in an upset, by a margin of 1.1%. Johnson won Oklahoma, while Rodham-Clinton won her home state of Tennessee with ease. Utahns voted for Gritz by a plurality. In West Virginia, “HRC” peeked out another victory, though the delegate total was split evenly due to Gritz coming in a very narrow second place. Snowe won all of the final three contests of the night (Kansas, thanks to HRC, Gritz and Johnson trying to win over conservative voters, resulting in Snowe winning with only 31% of the vote; Washington State, predictably; and Potomac, thanks to Lynn Swann’s endorsement).

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



IT’S SNOWE USE!: Splintered G.O.P. Lets L.I.D. Slip By To Head The Pack

– The New York Post, 4/16/2008



SAUDIS LAUNCH MANNED MISSION TO THE MOON

…The Saudi Space Center today launched a crew of five to the moon in the culmination of six years of research and training. This mission very well could, if successful, prove that the region is a major player in the current “space exploration industry”…

COMMENTS SECTION

Comment 1:

I feel like they chose today of all days for this sort of thing on purpose

Comment 2 (a reply to Comment 1):

The puns, they write themselves!

– usarightnow.co.usa, 4/20/2008

– Scientists and engineers, participants of Operation Nanna, watch the successful liftoff of the Mijad-Wahin (Glory-1), Jilib Launch Base, Somalia, 4/20/2008



…Named after the word for the god of the moon in ancient Sumerian mythology, the Nanna project’s initial triumph of exiting the atmosphere was the pinnacle of the international effort to send Muslim astronauts into space and have them successfully land on the moon. Using American and Israeli tech companies, Iranian testing grounds, and the Jilib Launch Base north of Jilib, Somalia, near the equator, with three astronauts from Saudi Arabia, one from Pakistan, and one from Turkey (who was half-Israeli and half-Syrian, and as a result of that and his charm became a regional media favorite), the Saudi Arabian Space Center, or Markaz Alfada Alsaeudii (MAA) in Arabic, led the endeavor, as it was Saudi Arabia’s royal family that primarily sponsored and funded the project.

Both science and geopolitics were behind the project. When Americans landed on the moon in 1969 and the Soviets followed suit soon after, only for the US to abandon the moon in 1985 and the Soviet Union to collapse in 1984, it left a void that the Saudis decided to fill in the hopes of being seen as a serious player on the world stage for it. Additionally, there were still more to understand about the moon; there were still lunar mysteries left unsolved and questions left unanswered, and it was the jobs of the scientists onboard to gather more data and information on them.

[Note: my apologies for the red side being slightly larger than the green side; that's a regrettable cropping error, sorry ]

Above: The flag of the Saudi Space Agency features a crescent Moon and the pan-Arab colors of black, white, green and red.

– Madawi al-Rasheed’s The History of Modern Saudi Arabia, Sunrise Books, 2019 edition



America’s response to the success lunar landing was nearly two-faced. While most Americans – especially younger Americans – were congratulatory, and described the moment as being inspiring, most especially for young Arab-Americans, older Americans had a more negative reaction. Bo Gritz summed up the reactionary nationalist sentiment with the polarizing comment “Great – now we’ve got foreigners on our moon!”

The next evening, on April 22, five primary contests were held, in which Bo Gritz exceeded expectations. Whether due to cultural backlash or a genuine renewal of interest in his candidacy, the fact remains that the Idaho populist’s campaign began experiencing a resurgence.

In Wisconsin, Snowed achieved a plurality victory thanks to Congressman Scott McCollum’s crucial last-minute endorsement, with Gritz overperforming and receiving second place. Grits won both Virginia and Mississippi outright, while Snowed won Rhode Island.

Texas, however, was the closest contest of the night. After a recount was held in three narrow counties, Senator Rodham-Clinton was declared the winner of the delegate-rich winner-take-all primary, with Gritz finishing in second place, roughly 50,500 votes shy of victory.

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



CAN GRITZ WIN THIS? His Path His Narrow, But Not Impossible

– nationalreview.co.usa, 4/23/2008 article



Many were reluctant to allow Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud to be one of the six men to go to the moon due to the chance of some accident taking his life. However, not only was the Prince responsible for the MAA being founded in the first place, but he believed that him being on board would boost the Saudi people’s confidence in the monarchy and in their government and country, and would give the crew good fortune.

On April 23, the Glory 1 successfully touched down in the Sea of Tranquility, roughly 15 kilometers away from the nearest American or Soviet landing site. As the Middle East and parts of the rest of the world celebrated the achievement, experiments were carried out to on the lunar surface to see, for instance, why the satellite can ring like a hollow bell. Information was transmitted back to base as the new data was gathered…

[snip]

…Before leaving, a Koran, flanked on its sides by a Bible and a Torah, were placed on the lunar surface with simple plaque concerning the power of faith and the potential of humanity…

[snip]

While the EDL technology was sound, the conditions of atmospheric drag put mechanical strew on the Glory 1. Atmospheric conditions impacted the shuttle’s heat shield during high-velocity hyperbolic century, causing the cabin of the shuttle to hear up as well. By the time the Glory 1 had breached through the atmosphere and were descending thanks largely due ot Earth’s gravity well, much of the cabin’s interior control panel was on fire, with the flames spreading rapidly. Based on the cabin black-box recordings and survivor testimony, astronaut Amer Nadeem of Pakistan prevented a burst of flame from hitting Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud by covering him with his arms. The burning shuttle crash-landed off the coast of Sakata.

On the six men on board, only Amery Nadeem died; his wounds were too great, and he succumbed to them before the crew were picked up. The rest of the crew received moderate burns, including the Prince. The captain was in the hospital for six months for skin grafts, infection treatment, and surgery, while the Prince was treated for second-degree burns across his legs.

While officially considered a success because the Glory 1 had landed on the moon, the bungling of the entry portion of the mission left a bittersweet experience in the minds of all who had either witnessed or had been involved in the endeavor. Soon after, Saudi Arabia’s government announced an extensive investigation into the heat shield failure, given that the shield had been produced by a Saudi company. Additionally, SA’s MAA terminated all plans for additional manned missions. It was specified that it was “until further notice,” but as of this book’s publication, no astronauts have been sent up to the moon by any Middle Eastern space agencies big or small ever since.

Above: armyman-turned-astronaut Amer Nadeem of Pakistani, the first Muslim astronaut to die in space (left); Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (right)

– Madawi al-Rasheed’s The History of Modern Saudi Arabia, Sunrise Books, 2019 edition



GRITZ IS “BETTING IT ALL” ON MICHIGAN, EX-EMPLOYEES CLAIM

– usarightnow.co.usa, 4/27/2008 e-article



…And in political news, Senator Olympia Snowe won two of tonight’s three Republican Presidential primary contests. The moderate from Maine won Michigan with another plurality over three major challengers, and she won the Republicans Abroad delegation as well. Governor Gary Johnson won the Virgin Islands caucus, the third contest of the tonight…

– The Overmyer Network Nighttime News, 4/29/2008 broadcast



With The Gritz Gang’s metaphorical blimp quickly deflating, HRC believed that she could now be the alternative to “The Lid,” only for Snowe’s campaign to continue to develop momentum – and delegates – at the start of May. Six contests were held on the sixth, and Snowe won three of them – Puerto Rico, Guam, and New York. Johnson won American Samoa, while Rodham-Clinton, despite her increasing campaign trail activity, only successfully pursued victory in Ohio and the Northern Mariana Islands. The loss in New York narrowed her window for the nomination outright and raised the odds of a contested convention. One member of her inner circle later reported “We had put so much effort and resources into New York and Puerto Rico that the overlooked Northern Mariana Islands almost felt like a consolation prize!”

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008



WATCH: American Radical Bo Gritz Bitterly Concedes Bid For U.S. President And Refuses To Endorse Anyone!

– video uploaded to OurVids.co.can, a video-sharing netsite, on 5/7/2008



…In early, as the riots, protests, and crackdowns continued on unabated, Karimov opted to take his secular agenda even further. On 10 March, Karimov signed an executive order banning the adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, from being broadcast in the country. The announcement was viewed as an attack on UT TV and radio stations, causing even more members of the media to voice support for the protests and the “positive changes” that for which they called…

– Ke Wang’s Turkestanis Unite!: The Rise And Execution of An Idea, Cambridge University Press, 2013



…In what has effectively become a race between two-and-a-half candidates, with Senators Olympia Snowe and Hillary Rodham-Clinton neck-and-neck and former Governor Gary Johnson repeatedly finishing in third place in recent contests, the odds of the moderate Snowe obtaining the Republican nomination for President have only increased with the results of tonight’s three primary contests. Possibly due to Hoosiers in southern Indiana having roots in southern states such as Kentucky and Tennessee, partially due to job migration patterns dating back to the 1950s, Rodham-Clinton secured Indiana’s winner-take-all delegation slate. Senator Snowe, on the other hand, won the winner-take-all delegation slates for Pennsylvania and North Carolina, with the latter contest being the closest one of the night. Gary Johnson underperformed in all three races…

– CBS Evening News, 5/13/2008 broadcast



GARY JOHNSON BOWS OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE

– The Albuquerque Journal, 5/15/2008



TIPPECANOE

Premiered: May 16, 2008
Genre(s): political bio-drama
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Produced by: JoAnne Seller and Daniel Lupi
Written by: Michael France and Ted Tally

Cast:

Harrison Ford as William Henry Harrison
Meryl Streep as Anna Semmes Harrison
Graham Greene as Tenskwatawa, “The Prophet”
Nas’Naga as Tecumseh

[snip]

Trivia Facts:

Trivia Fact No. 1: Harrison Ford purposely exhausted himself for a comic scene.

In one of the film’s more lighthearted scenes based on a real event, a large crowd of office-seekers shove their papers (resumes, petitions, etch.) into the pockets, hats, and arms of the new President when he’s on his way to his first cabinet meeting, causing him to go to the upper floor of White House (the private quarters) to escape the chaos; by this point in his life, Harrison was already thin and malnourished due to ulcer problems. In order to pull off the look of an angry, bitter, and exhausted old man, Ford maintained a very demanding work schedule and ragged lifestyle ahead of filming scenes like this one – he agreed to film two other, smaller roles; he slept for no more than three hours every night for a week; and he went on a “crash diet” that caused him to lose several pounds.

Trivia Fact No. 2: The film won an Oscar for practical makeup effects.

Upon the film winning an Academy Award for the makeup effects used to age Meryl Streep’s character, Harrison Ford allegedly expressed regret at going through “so much trouble” to get into character when he could have just “gone to the f*ckin’ makeup department” instead.

– mediarchives.co.usa



SNOWE WIDENS LEAD WITH 3-0 PRIMARY SWEEP

…the “Maine Moderate” swept through Kentucky, Nebraska and Oregon, putting her just two delegates shy of clinching the nomination outright. Senator Rodham-Clinton would need to win all remaining primary contests in order to deadlock the convention...

– The New York Times, 5/20/2008



“Everybody has setbacks in their life, and everybody falls short of whatever goals they might set for themselves. That's part of living and coming to terms with who you are as a person.” [4]

– Hillary Rodham-Clinton, withdrawing from the race for the GOP nomination for President, and re-entering the race for the nomination for her US Senate seat (with that primary already scheduled to be held in September), 5/22/2008



…As the presumptive Republican nominee for President, Olympia Snowe won tonight’s two Primaries in South Dakota and Idaho with ease, even in the wake of Senator Gritz calling for primary voters to write in his name in the latter contest…

– CBS Evening News, 5/27/2008 broadcast



MOTHER-POST: Is Colonel Sanders The Chef Overrated?

I write “the Chef” because I’m not talking about “the President,” so please, keep the politics to a minimum, because what I’m asking about here is his reputation as a Chef, whose opinion on food often had a lot of weight to it. But, recently, I’ve been reading food-related articles about The Colonel, and most of the time, his reaction to other people’s cooking is really negative! He seems to have very narrow tastes. I get that he has a right to his opinion, and I know that the man was a perfectionist, but sometimes, in his comments, he comes off as, I want to say, a bit narrow-minded.

Let me give you all an example. Here’s some snippets from a 1976 article by a one Mimi Sheraton [5]. It shows just how picky he was:

“The ex-President expressed some very strong opinions on the meal at the highly esteemed Coach House as he discussed his interest in food.

He ordered black bean soup, which he thought should have been thicker and heavily laced with sherry instead of Madeira; mushrooms with chicken livers that he ordered pink, but which he did not like because they had been sautéed instead of crisply fried; a salad that he did like although he preferred French Roquefort cheese to the feta used, and pecan pie, which he thought was not as good as one he made with lemon juice “to add life to the Karol syrup filling.”

Of the Coach House fried chicken (“Give me the middle wing joint; it’s the best part of the chicken”), his verdict was, “Very good, but it would be better with more salt and my seasoning.”

In other words, he didn’t like a single thing he ordered; he had at least problem with every last item!

His favorite food of the day was the cornbread baked in sticks, of which he ate three and carried six back to his hotel. “That’s the best cornbread I’ve ever had made by a Yankee up North,” he declared to the waiter. “Not too much sugar or flour in with the meal.”

Refusing a glass of wine, The Colonel explained, “Wine tastes like gasoline, and now that I read about all the arsenic in California wines, I’m glad I don’t drink it. I have 14 more years to go to finish the century and I want to take care of myself so I make it.”

He explained that he was on a mon-aging diet that required him to eat a can of sardines every morning.

Having traveled in 44 countries (“I’ll never go to India. I don’t want to see people sleeping in the streets”), The Colonel prefers American food and most especially that of the Southeast. “We season our food more than folks in other parts of the country,” he said. “I’ve never been struck by French food. Only the sauces are good. I never have a chance to eat in Italy any places but in a Hilton Hotel.” [5]

To recap: the man only liked food he was already familiar with. Does that sound like an expert food connoisseur to, well, anyone?

Above: the image of The Colonel that came with the article

So, what do you all think? Should the man who made those world-famous birds be taken seriously when it comes to his thoughts on other people’s food?

>REPLY 1:

I remember reading somewhere that he liked German food because he used to work for a German farmer when he was young, so, yeah, I agree, there is a connection between what food The Colonel praised and what food he ate while growing up. But I don’t think that makes him overrated, food-wise. I mean, have you ever tasted his chicken – it’s amazing!

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1:

Yes, his cooking is not overrated, but I think his thoughts on other people’s cooking should be taken this a grain of salt. No pun intended.

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 1:

So this thread should really be entitled “We Shouldn’t Take The Colonel’s Reviews of Other People’s Food Too Seriously”

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 1:

Eh. Too long, and not catchy enough.

>REPLY 2:

How dare you insult the glory of the Colonel’s culinary prowess! His word was law! If he decreed your food to be subpar and beneath his high standards, it was the truth!

>REPLY 3:

I agree – his standards were always too high. Even before he became President, there were many anecdotes about him insulting the perfectly serviceable food he’d ordered, going round to the kitchen, and telling the chef off. He’d swear up a storm without consideration for the women and children within earshot, and admitted to doing so. In one instance I remember hearing about, he smashed a plate of eggs right on a chef’s head!

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 3:

Citation needed!

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 3:

Well, at least he never insulted the servers, because he knew they we never to blame, since they’re not the ones doing the cooking, now are they? Hey – I guess that makes him the Gordon Ramsey of his era!

>REPLY 4:

I’m surprised by the India comment. Woah.

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 4:

If I remember it right, the Colonel only visited India in the 1980s because he was coerced into it. He didn’t want to go, but he was convinced he could prevent war from breaking out between India and Pakistan. I was in college when that went down, and, I have to say, I don’t remember anyone discussing the Colonel stopping after the negotiations to try out the local cuisine. Huh.

>REPLY 5:

Maybe, but in his defense, he was 86 when he gave that interview. By the time you’re that old, you really don’t like to try new things. You’re set in your ways for some reason.

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 5:

I thought the saying was “you’re never too old try new things”

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 5:

Yes, but another saying is “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 5:

Good thing people aren’t dogs, then!

– euphoria.co.usa, a public pop-culture news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 5/28/2008 posting thread



SOUTH AFRICA’S PRESIDENT KGOSITSILE WELCOMES PM HESELTINE TO CAPE TOWN DURING DIPLOMATIC VISIT

– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 30/5/2008



…The final round, or “cluster” of primaries were held on June 2, 2008. Of the five contests, Snowe won four (California, North Dakota, Montana, and New Jersey); Gary Johnson’s campaign won his home state of New Mexico posthumously due to his high popularity in The Land of Enchantment. …Of the total 57 contests (52 states, plus 4 territories (Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands), plus the Republicans Abroad delegation), Olympia Snowe won 30…

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008

POPULAR VOTE:

Olympia Snowe – 6,379,451 (29.14%)
Hillary Rodham-Clinton – 5,256,369 (24.01%)
Gary Johnson – 2,611,765 (11.93%)
Bo Gritz – 2,467,275 (11.27%)
Mario Biaggi – 1,858,667 (8.49%)
Lynn Swann – 1,153,729 (5.27%)
Jim Edgar – 1,112,135 (5.08%)
Herman Cain – 440,038 (2.01%)
Ronna Romney – 214,546 (0.98%)
Scott McCallum – 183,896 (0.84%)
James H. Meredith (note: withdrew before the start of the primaries) – 124,787 (0.57%)
Billy J. Creech – 50,353 (0.23%)
Mike Bickle – 32,839 (0.15%)
All other votes – 6,563 (0.03%)
Total popular votes – 21,892,415 (100.00%)

– clickopedia.co.usa [6]



…Today marks the 25th anniversary of the 1983 classic film “WarGames,” which has proven to be as influence as that decade’s bleak anti-nuclear war TV special “The Day After.” According to a former US Secretary of Defense, the success of the film influenced National Security Policy as the Cold War came to a close and computer technology was on the rise. The regulations and initiatives devised for the ARPANET system, and ultimately the modern technet, can also be traced back to this techno-thriller and it being viewed by members of the Denton White House. According to one source, Defense Secretary William Westmoreland disliked the film, believing its anti-war message was “unpatriotic and defeatist,” President Jeremiah Denton enjoyed the film’s “intimidating sublimity.” …The high-speed technet became the norm by the start of this decade, paying for the bandwith bills so video downloaders do not have to. With this huge financial barrier broken, sites such as ourvids blossomed and began to flourish in the 1990s. However, this may not have happens had leaders such as Denton and President Carol Bellamy not called for stronger investments in the possibilities – and possible dangers – of the computer and the technet…

– usarightnow.co.usa/pop-culture, 6/3/2008 e-article



“I believe it is of a question of whether or not we support tax cuts… It really is a question of what we can afford to do now in the current economic and fiscal climate.” [7]

– GOP Presidential nominee-in-waiting Olympia Snowe (R-ME), allegedly dodging a question on tax reform, Meet the Press, 6/5/2007 interview



“I think I made a mistake. I think I should have run [for the nomination] again. Looking back on the past several months, I know I would have won it.”

– Bernie Goetz (R-CO), 6/7/2008



ARAB LEADERS ARE WARY OF WELLSTONE WINNING – HERE’S WHY THAT’S IMPORTANT

…several diplomats have made it known that they and many of their bosses fear that his election would reignite regional conflict over perceived bias favoring Israel. “We know that Wellstone is a professional who would not upend The Delicate Peace and favor the Israeli just because he is Jewish,” says the outgoing Syrian Ambassador to Israel, “But try telling that to a paranoid religious extremist.”…

– National Review, nationalreview.co.usa, 6/10/2008 e-article



…Jackson’s administration has appealed to southern and Christian voters in a way that Wellstone might not be able to, for several reasons. Jackson is an ordained reverend with a philosophy similar to that of Christian Democracy. He quietly supports a consistent life ethic, promotes faith-based organizations, has stayed publicly mute on his thoughts about school prayer, and has approved of legislation supportive of a “culture of life” more than once. Wellstone, on the other hand, does not have the religious appeal outside of the Jewish community, as evidenced by his poor showing in the south during the 2000 primaries. As a result, unless he has a powerful and influential southern running mate, his autumn campaign strategy may have to be to win as many northern states as possible to offset losses in the south…

– The Atlantic, op-ed, June 2008 issue



…In political news, there are rising calls for a third-party conservative ticket if the presumptive Republican nominee for President, Senator Olympia Snowe, does not choose a conservative populist running mate. The movement, which has a notable ontech media presence, wants some prominent politician – such as former Senator Bernie Goetz, Senator Bo Gritz, Congressperson Tommy Tancredo, Barbara Coe, and Jason Buck, and others – to break from the GOP to mount said long-shot bid in response to the Republican ticket and platform that is not satisfactory enough to the conservative populists of the party…

– KNN, 6/25/2008 news report



Usually, the choice of running mate was almost considered to be an afterthought of sorts, meant to compliment the top of the ticket without overshadowing the Presidential nominee. This time, however, the Presidential nominee-to-be had neither the pleasure nor the privilege of selecting a running mate basely sole on how well she got along with them. Instead, as the summer convention neared, the choice of running mate was growing increasingly pivotal to the unity of the GOP.

Olympia Snow was well aware of her precarious position of needing to appeal to populists, libertarians, and conservatives. Her best-case scenario was to find someone with which all three factions could be satisfied, lest the rumors of the populists – the Gritzites/Goetzites (or “neohippies,” as some on the left were beginning to prefer calling them) – walking out at the convention actually bear fruit. It was, in short, a tall order.

Snowe pledged to select a male running mate after initially floating, either jokingly or seriously, the idea of a two-woman ticket. Additionally, several high-profile possibilities publicly removed themselves from consideration in the weeks following her clinching the nomination, most notably Jon Huntsman Sr. of Utah, former Governor Doug Swanson of Nevada, former Governor Denny Rehberg of Montana, and US Senator Bo Gritz of Idaho. On the other side of things, Snowe’s campaign ruled out selecting political neophytes such as Senators and Governors who had only been serving in their current offices since January 2007, thus eliminating the likes of Governors Kelsey Grammar of California, Fred Grandy of Iowa, Bill Owens of Texas, Dennis Hof of Nevada, Luis Fortuno of Puerto Rico, and Harley Davidson Brown of Idaho, and Senators Ben Lewis Jones of Virginia, Andrew Raczkowski of Michigan, Michael Steele of Maryland, and Stan Jones of Montana.

Had she won by a larger margin, she may have been able to pick a fellow moderate or moderate-leaning politician such as Jim Edgar, Lynn Swann or Jack Lousma. But the fact remained that Snowe had to settle for picking someone farther to the right of her given the party itself as a whole being to the right of her. Nevertheless, Snowe did not want to select someone who was “too much of an opposite,” referring to the deeply-populist (or “ultra-neohippie”) individuals who had opposed her candidacy vehemently and vulgarly, and were reluctant to accept her as the nominee; she believed that any one of these sorts of individuals would likely be an unhelpful – or worse, an undermining – VP/RM.

Due to all of these factors, Snowe listened to many advisors, including the party leadership, and met with many potential vetted picks in order to try and answer a tough question – who would be the best running mate for her unique situation? [8]

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



Wellstone swept the Democratic Presidential Primaries of 2008 with ease. He had only three notable opponents: a moderate former South Dakota Governor named Lars Herseth, who had very little name recognition; former US Senator Peter Diamondstone, a Marxist so radical that he considered Mike Gravel to be a “conservative corporate sellout elitist”; and musician Toby Keith, a conservative Democrat who dropped out after New Hampshire. None of them received more than 7% of the vote in any of the aforementioned contests.

After dropping out, Keith urged Wellstone to pick General James L. Jones Jr. to be his running mate, saying “Jim is a good friend of mine who really should run for President someday, and being V.P. would definitely help with that. It would also keep the party from splitting.” [9] While the comments were overlooked at the time, they nevertheless did touch on a major problem for Wellstone – what to do about the lingering conservatives in the party. Within Wellstone’s inner circle, there was talk over the possibility of “throwing a bone” to that side of the party. True, the faction was shrinking in the wake of the high popularity of Democratic progressivism, but the conservatives in the party still in office still had power and influence. The idea of giving the second slot on the ticket had merit.

[snip]

For Wellstone, the nomination of Snowe was considered “disastrous.” Her very ability to achieve the nomination of a party notably to the right of herself gave the VP’s campaign machine pause. “If she can perform that well in that kind of environment, she could do even better in November,” fretted Wellstone’s Chief of Staff. Indeed, while her pathway to the nomination had been credited to a “perfect storm” of variables, most prominently inter-party backlash to the “proto-neohippie” vitriol of the Goetz’04 campaign, most in Wellstone’s inner circle concurred that Snowe would be even better at campaigning in the general election.

The President, however, was far more optimistic, expressing confidence in the Rainbow Coalition. “It carried us over the finish line twice before, it can get you my job this time, too. We have a completely copacetic coalition backing you, Paul,” Jackson reportedly sad to his “first mate” in late June 2008.

[snip]

The political calculations did not end with the studying of demographics that could potentially swing towards Snowe. For there was one other crucial factor for Wellstone and company to consider – who to select to be the VP’s running mate. The Wellstone’08 team had already begun compiling a list months ago, possibly even before Toby Keith made his General Jones suggestion, but now, as the time for the Democratic National Convention neared, the search began in earnest. At the start of the media’s many rumors over who was being considered and who would be vetted, the former Governor of Louisiana, actor-turned-politician-turned-actor Harry Shearer, came right out and refused to be considered. While having obtained “hero” status for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and being well-liked by both moderate and progressives by not sticking to one specific ideology while in office, the experience of Katrina and her aftermath had been exhausting for Shearer. In late June, he publicly refused to be considered for the position, saying “one government gig was enough for me, thanks!”

At Wellstone’08 headquarters in Potomac, the main debate was whether to pick a fellow progressive or someone to the right of the VP. His multiple sclerosis was still fairly mild, with his limp worsening only slightly over the past eight years, and so, while Wellstone himself believed that he would be able to serve for four or eight years without incident, his campaign urged him to take it into consideration, “just in case.” Wellstone’s Chief of Staff reportedly noted “just because we know it’s not too serious of an ailment doesn’t mean that Republicans will talk about it like it is a disqualifying thing. Snowe wouldn’t do that, but you can bet you’re a$$ that other Republicans will.”

Basically, the last hurdle of the primary season that the Democrats faced was a question with many potential answers: who would be the best Running Mate for the 64-year-old progressive Jewish-American VP from Minnesota? [10]

– Billie Lofi’s The Wellstone Way: The Life of a Passionate Progressive, University of Minnesota Press, first edition, 2017



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S):
[1] The part in italics is an OTL quote: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton
[2] This passage’s italics segments are from an OTL quote found here: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[3] These italicized parts are from an OTL quote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Hillary_Clinton#cite_note-47
[4] The italicized parts are from OTL quote: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton
[5] OTL article! The italicized parts are from said article, which was found here: https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/09/archives/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad.html
[6] The popular vote distribution is based on the results of the last chapter’s poll, as of 11/22/2020
[7] OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[8] YOU can help answer this question!: https://www.strawpoll.me/35204949
[9] Toby Keith said that General Jones should run for President someday in OTL, and Keith really was a conservative Democrat until October 2008 in OTL; both according to his wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Keith#Political_beliefs
[10] YOU can help answer this question!: https://www.strawpoll.me/35205065

[8] Ahead of the 2008 RNC, I made a preference poll concerning who Snowe should pick to be her running mate: https://www.strawpoll.me/35204949
Here’s a quick breakdown of the 12 options on the poll:
US Sen. Spencer T. Bachus III of Alabama, age 61 – This Vietnam veteran has a reputation for being a problem solver on The Hill. A member of the Senate Financial and Judiciary committees, he has criticized the Jackson administration not reacting “strongly enough” to issues in Africa that required military intervention. Bacchus is also to the right of Snowe on regulation, except for certain subjects such as protecting citizens from technet-based identity theft.
US Rep. Salvatore P. “Sonny” Bono of California, age 73 – The addition of an experienced politician (he has been in office since 1995) who is also a noted celebrity, and a Hispanic one at that, may benefit the ticket. His public sparring with his son Chaz over BLUTAGO rights, though, could either help or hurt Snowe’s odds of winning, depending on who that controversy being brought up again wins over, versus who it causes to turn away from ticket.
US Sen. Terry E. Branstad of Iowa – In office since 1992, the half-Jewish Branstad certainly would bring additional legislative experience to the ticket. His spot on several foreign-policy-related Senate Committees doesn’t hurt, either. A supporter of tax reform, education and farming assistance, Branstad could put rural parts of the country into play in November.
Fmr Gov. Jim Bryson of Tennessee – Selecting a political ally of Hillary Rodham-Clinton, despite being noticeably to her right, would be an olive branch to Rodham-Clinton and her supporters during the primary; his executive experience would also compliment Snowe’s twelve years of US Senate experience.
Gov. Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina – While originally a supporter of Mike Bickle, then Ronna Romney, then HRC, Graham initially had some harsh words to say about Snowed, only for him to have since apologized and bring in donors and endorsements for the presumptive nominee. While Snowe is personally reluctant to pick this supporter of the party establishment, she may be convinced that picking him will keep the party united and lead her to victory in November.
US Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard of Utah, age 68 – This lifelong Mormon politician is known for his compassion, his support for mental health care and research laws, his advocating of religious freedom, and his ability to work across the aisle despite being noticeably to the right of Snowe. His adult son Matt, who suffers from Down syndrome, often visits his father’s place of work, and is known for congratulating every newly-sworn-in Senator with a warm hug.
Fmr Gov. Gary E. Johnson of New Mexico, age 56 – Selecting this pro-marijuana, anti-interventionist, and anti-IRS mountain climber of an ex-Governor would definitely win over libertarians, and possibly enough Gritzites to carry Snows to victory in November. His high approval rating in the pro-Democratic state of New Mexico could also put that state into play.
US House Majority Whip J. Scott McCallum of Wisconsin, age 58 – Serving in public office since he was 26, this Colonel Conservative from a conservative district is very well received by deeply conservative, libertarian, and moderate legislators alike. Snowe is also eyeing him because, as a US Representative since the 1980s, he has a wide range of legislative experience and political connections that could be invaluable for fundraising in the fall. Plus, he was very respectful to her during the pre-primary season, keeping their disagreement on police reform in one debate notably mature and professional.
Gov. George Speaker Mickelson of South Dakota, age 67 – With a high approval rating in his home state (it is currently steady at over 80%), Mickelson could keep the plains and Midwest in the Republican corner. Mickelson’s short-lived 2008 campaign tried to walk a fine line between the populist, conservative, and moderate camps, but failed more due to lack of name recognition than anything else.
Gov. J. C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma, age 51 – Selecting an African-American “Colonel Conservative” from a deeply-conservative state could win over populists without it costing the party recent gains in minority outreach efforts. Watts may be able to win over former Jesse Jackson voters as well.
US Sen. Larry R. Williams of Montana, age 66 – In office since 1979, this wealthy financier and opponent of the IRS has a consistent pro-business/libertarian-lite voting record on top of having some pretty deep pockets and connections. His selection may also help secure the GOP’s lock on the upper western states.
Gov. Humbert Roque “Rocky” Versace of Puerto Rico, age 71 – With foreign policy issues being largely on the back burner in this election, this former US Secretary of Defense celebrated in the past for his handling of the Second Korean War would still appeal to hawks (and thus may placate former Wide-Awake members who backed Gritz in the primaries). Versace may also possibly improve turnout among Hispanic voters, given his Puerto Rican ancestry.

[10] Ahead of the 2008 DNC, I made a preference poll concerning who Wellstone should pick to be her running mate: https://www.strawpoll.me/35205065
Here’s a quick breakdown of the 20 options on the poll:
Moderate options, for party unity (8):
US Sen. Brad R. Carson of Oklahoma, age 41 – a young and athletic rising star is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation; he largely focuses on military affairs, along with protecting oil workers from unemployment, and protecting Native American rights
Gov. Richard J. Codey of New Jersey, age 62 – a Catholic, “100% Irish” former funeral director serving in public offices since 1974, his strong Northeastern roots could benefit the ticket, given Snowe is possibly putting said region into play thanks to her New England appeal
Fmr Gov. Larry J. Echo-Hawk of Idaho, age 60 – a devoted Mormon with a background in law, Echo-Hawk is a Marine Corps veteran, and an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation who cares about police precinct reform; he would be the first Native American to be VP since Charles Curtis 80 years prior
US Amb. to Egypt William A. “Bill” Gwatney of Arkansas, age 49 – a party loyalist who previously served as a state senator, a US Congressman, and the head of O.D.E.R.C.A.; a political financing operative with foreign policy bona fides, his selection could possibly neutralize claims of a potential Wellstone presidencies being biased in favor of Israel, given Gwatney’s recent success in strengthening US-Egyptian relations
US Sen. Christopher Charles “Chris” John of Louisiana, age 48 – taking office via appointment in March 2006 (after incumbent John Georges resigned for a higher-paying CEO job), John differs from his Senate predecessor by criticizing big business, but nevertheless support oil and gas industries due to his state’s economy still depending on them; he is of Lebanese, French and German descent, and his inclusion on the ticket could put the south into play
US Marine Corps Gen. (ret) James L. Jones Jr. of Missouri, age 65 – initially dismissed by the vetting team, Jones expressing interest in the job gave weight to his candidacy; the former Commandant of the Marine Corps and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe recently worked with Israelis and Palestinians on security issues; he could appeal to undecided voters concerned that low military funding is making the country vulnerable to any threats, real or perceived
US Sen. Kathleen Hartington Kennedy-Roosevelt of Massachusetts, age 57 – a woman’s right advocate from New England with very deep financial pockets and name recognition (she was born into the Kennedy political family and is related to the Roosevelt political family through marriage) could help the ticket
US Sen. Alexander “Alex” Penelas of Florida, age 47 – a Cuban-American former Mayor of Miami-Dade County who in 2003 engaged in a shouting match in the Senate chamber with Senator Diamondstone over the impact and legacy of the Cuba War; he barely won a second US Senate term in 2006 by backpedaling on some issue and has since changed his mind of them again, but nevertheless he could have Hispanic voter appeal
Progressive options, to double down on messaging (8):
US Sen. Eddie Najeeb Basha Jr. of Arizona, age 71 – a Catholic former businessman with western/libertarian appeal who is of Lebanese ancestry and who votes more often with progressives, especially one matters concerning education and assisting the poor
US Sen. Harry William Braun III of Arizona, age 60 – an eco-progressive champion of wave power energy who is still pushing for massive more public works projects concerning irrigation, wave turbines, and producing hydrogen via solar power electrolysis, he is a technocrat with much legislative experience
US Sec. of Agriculture James Patrick “Jim” McGovern of Massachusetts, age 49 – focused on protecting and defending human rights at home and abroad, especially for children, this highly-liberal politician won only won three terms to the House before joining Jackson’s cabinet, but has been praised for his active efforts to curb food waste and nutrition insecurity both in the US and worldwide; he is of no relation to the McGovern political family of South Dakota
US Sen. Teresa “Terri” McGovern of South Dakota, age 63 – the daughter of former US Congressman and former Governor George McGovern of South Dakota, she opposes alcohol and recreadrugs but supports mental health care reform along with improving working conditions and the quality of life in the US, especially for nurses and teachers
US Rep. James Charles “Jim” Slattery of Kansas, age 60 – an early supporter of Bellamy, then, Jackson, and now Wellstone, he helped popularize wind turbines in Kansas; he served as Governor from 1987 to 1995 and has been in congress since 1999; he has foreign policy experience, as he served on several House foreign affairs committees until 2007, and briefly served in Angola during the 1970s
US Sen. Alice Constandina “Dina” Titus of Nevada, age 58 – a Greek-American who could cut into Snowe’s appeal; during her time on The Hill, she has supported sexual pestering counseling programs, education, VA reform, and tax credits for businesses who switch from fossil fuel, among other policies
US Sen. Gloria Tristani of New Mexico, age 55 – the granddaughter of Senator Dennis Chavez has only been in office since January 2007, but has already made a name for herself by actively calling for legislation to shield children from obscenity and violence, as well as improving education overall; she previously served as he head of the FCC; born in Puerto Rico, she is Hispanic, and may win over two demographics that could be crucial factors in November
US Sen. Mark Emery Udall of Colorado, age 58 – the son of former House Speaker Mo Udall, Mark is an avid environmentalist, an expert on domestic security issue, and a defender of renewable energy who could appeal to libertarian-leaning voters; his oratory skills would also be a plus on the campaign trail
Other options (4):
US Sen. Majority Leader Gary Faye Locke of Washington, age 58 – the Chinese-American commerce expert tries, as the leader of the Senate Democrats, to appeal to all within the party and then some; as VP, he would be very influential when needing to work with congress
Fmr Gov. Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin of New Mexico, age 62 – a political activist who advocates recreadrug legalization, he kept taxes “fair” as Governor and supports police reform and international cooperation, as well as promoting Mexican-American culture; his celebrity status may help the ticket
US Att. Gen. Ralph Nader of Connecticut, age 74 – a longtime registered Republican who is currently an independent, his political positions are all over the map but are closer to the left than to the right, and he often caucuses with the Democrats; after decades of public service in multiple positions, he is a highly experienced politician and, as Nader is Lebanese, his selection would neutralize claims that Wellstone’s election would upend relations in the Middle East
Fmr Gov. Robert Norman “Bob” Ross of Alaska, age 66 – the famous art instructor, environmentalist, mental health advocate, cancer survivor, and defender of education and the arts could appeal to progressives, moderates, libertarians, and possibly even some conservatives, given his 20 years of military service

Please vote!

The next chapter’s E.T.A.: November 30th at the earliest, December 3rd at the latest

Also: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

[Igeo654]

Voted for Johnson as Snowe's VP. It'd be interesting to see if he can push through his FairTax idea through Snowe and maybe legalize weed across all 52 states. Quite honestly, he's 100 times better than most of the alternatives. It's clear that the future of the GOP belongs to Libertarians and Liberal-Centrists.

 

[Sunstone77]

Throw my vote behind Johnson. Not normally a fan of libertarians, but he seems like the most reasonable candidate of the pack. Having the GOP reorientate themselves around a more libertarian ideals can only benifit them in the long run. And I like the idea of the headline “New Mexico forecasts Snowe”

As the democrats, there’s not real stand out candidate that catches my attention. James L. Jones Jr. might appeal to some of the more security focused republicans and entice them to vote blue.
I’d like Bob Ross to run but I don’t he’d be up for it

 

[Kennedy Forever]

Was excellent. Although I thought Hillary would win the GOP but still interested in Snowe. I still hope Wellstone wins. I chose James Jonea Jr to be Wellstone's running mate and Lyle W. Hillyard to be Snowe's running mate

 

[Igeo654]

I've been looking at the OTL FairTax proposals. It all seems very interesting, if somewhat risky if executed poorly. That being said, if Snowe wants to win this election, she's gonna have to make it a focus of her campaign, especially if Bob Ross ends up being the VP choice for the democrats.

 

[gap80]

Chapter 96: July 2008 – January 2009​

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

– Isaac Asimov (OTL)



…The dictatorial Islam Karimov’s day of reckoning turned out to be July 7. On this day, a middle-aged Uzbekistani Muslim militant finally stopped running. A religious fighter by nature, Tohir Yo‘ldosh, born sometime in the late 1960s, was fought in the nation’s war for independence as a child soldier. He stayed in the UT military and volunteered to serve in North Korea. Returning home to serve in the National Guard, Yo‘Idosh’s first major spot of trouble with the law came in 2001, when he was temporarily demoted for publicly calling for Islamic radicalism. Yo‘Idosh described his fellow Muslims as “the most persecution group of people on Earth” and believed in several anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. When Karimov rose to power, he was one of the first to be arrested for opposing the new President’s increasingly anti-religion policies. In December 2007, Yo‘Idosh escaped prison along with three other inmates, but he himself went into hiding on his own. In June 2008, he returned to the nation’s capital of Shymkent and waited for his moment.

Said chance at retribution came when Karimov took part in a regional celebration of the 1983 Battle of Shymkent – a defense of the city from Soviet forces that Yo‘Idosh had actually fought in as an adolescent. Yo‘Idosh found it ironic that he would end the persecution of his fellow lovers of Allah just as the persecutor was praising him and his fellow veterans of a battle crucial to his nation’s independence.

The militant blended into the crowd cheering on the President. Predator stalked prey as the latter shook hands, inching closer to his fate. Finally, Yo‘Idosh pulled out his weapon – a recently acquired and tested pistol with a handy silencer attachment – and hit his target directly in the heart. Karimov jolted, staggered back, and collapsed to the shock and confusion of the audience.

At first, the news outlets reported his death to be a stroke or heart attack before rumors of assassination were confirmed. Yo‘Idosh was identified by security tapes soon after and a manhunt began. It ended days later with a shootout at a hotel just north of the Chulakkurgan Solar Park in southern Kazakhstan. In a deadly blaze of gunfire, Yo‘Idosh managed to proclaim that he had killed Karimov “for all believers, but for believers of Allah especially” before a policeman’s rifle pierced the spot under his armpit on covered by his bulletproof vest.

As Head of the National Gathering, Imangali Tasmagambetov of Kazakhstan ascended to the Presidency; in his first presidential address, he sought to dampen riotous responses from pro-Karimov citizens by calling for “a special time of healing” and the people of United Turkestan both celebrated and mourned the passing of what had been their nation’s most authoritative leader…

– Ke Wang’s Turkestanis Unite!: The Rise And Execution of An Idea, Cambridge University Press, 2013



FORMER HEALTH MINISTER JOSÉ RAMON BALAGUER WINS THE PRESIDENCY!

…In what could be the birth of a new political party system, José Ramon Balaguer (b. 1932) has led the Progressive Party to its first-ever Presidential election victory, defeating (via a very narrow plurality) the Conservative Party’s nominee who lost by a margin of roughly 3%, and the Stability Party’s nominee, who grossly underperformed with a total vote share of roughly 5.7%. José Ramon Balaguer is a former Communist who served time in prison for backing Fidel Castro during the War of The Sixties, and was a P.O.W. in early 1964; he then became a champion of left-wing causes in the National Assembly, calling for stronger labor union protection laws but opposing industry nationalization. Balaguer, age 75, also served as Cuba’s Minister of Health during the final two years of the Alfredo Abon Lee administration. …The second-place finisher of tonight was Conservative Party nominee Orlando Sánchez. Born in Havana in 1957, Sánchez’s parents fled with him to Venezuela when he was very young, and they briefly lived in Houston, Texas, U.S., before returning to Havana in 1967. Sanchez has lived there ever since, developing a career as an athlete before majoring in political science and serving as that city’s Mayor from 1994 to 2006...

– Diario de la Marina, Cuban newspaper, 7/10/2008



SNOWE PICKS GARY JOHNSON FOR RUNNING MATE!

…while the selection of an ex-Governor for the position of Vice President is unconventional, it is most likely an effort to win over members of the ascendant libertarian wing of the GOP…

– The New York Times, 7/11/2008



A part of the answer came with the early announcement of Snowe’s running mate. With Johnson on the ticket, Wellstone’s inner circle believed the western states, and libertarian-leaning states such as Alaska and New Hampshire, had the potential to party the swinging game. Early polling conducted by the Wellstone campaign suggested as much, with the VP’s favorability dropping 5% in the Granite State, 7% in Nevada, and a whopping 15% in New Mexico. However, these predictions were based on small poll samples. The suggestion to select a nominee from a western state rose nevertheless…

– Billie Lofi’s The Wellstone Way: The Life of a Passionate Progressive, University of Minnesota Press, first edition, 2017



ONTECH CALLS FOR A WELLSTONE/ROSS TICKET ON THE RISE

…chat forums and social digital media sites across the technet are seeing spikes in calls for a certain figure beloved by the centurion generation to join the Vice President’s quest for the White House…

– tumbleweedmagazine.co.usa, 7/12/2008 e-article



…Herseth’s poor performance in the primaries suggested the there was, overall, contentment among remaining moderate and conservative members of the Democratic Party, dimming the odds of someone such as General Jones or Governor Codey being chosen, though they were vetted.

The push for Bob Ross, however, was unexpected, and befuddling to Wellstone. “Why him?” he asked his inner circle in mid-July. The vice President was unsure because both men had bad health histories. With Wellstone suffering from a very mild case of MS and Ross still living with lymphoma, Wellstone had wanted to select a fellow progressive who would continue own his policies should he have to step down in the wake of his MS worsening. The biggest benefit to the Ross push was Ross’ progressivism, but, as Wellstone put it, “If both of us go down, there’s no telling what would happen.”

Wellstone’s Chief of Staff was even more resistant to the “Draft Ross for VP” movement, saying “The Republicans to Snowe’s left will mock us for putting forward a ticket of two sick old white men.”

“Plus,” Wellstone noted, “While I really like the man both personally and professionally, the fact is that hasn’t won an election since 1990.”

With a bit of a shrug, Wellstone’s chief speechwriter noted, “Well, young people love him, so he could boost turnout among that demographic.”

The Chief of Staff rolled his eyes at this, undoubtedly thinking back to youth-centric campaign of the past – the landslide loss of Gravel’84, the nailbiter victory of Bellamy’88, and maybe even, quite possibly, the alleged “disaster” of Wellstone’00. “I don’t even think he’d want the job.”

“Only one way to find out,” suggested the speechwriter.

. . .

In his studio, Ross was experiencing déja vu all over again. “I mean, I appreciated being vetted, and I’ll gladly serve under you – ”

“So you’ll take the job?”

“If it’s what you folks need to better America, I guess I’m for it. But I’m still surprised by. The fellas the vetted me did tell you about my cancer, right?”

“It-it’s in remission, isn’t?”

“It’s in a deep hibernation, but it could return at some point. Lymphoma’s a sneaky little devil like that,” Ross said with as much levity as he could muster.

“Then we’ll address that devil if or when it wakes up.”

“I suppose so. Tell Paul I’ll see him in D.C. soon.”

[snip]

“He’s an art instructor who has worked on several projects, so patrons of the arts will like him,” went one staffer.

“He could shore up some celebrity endorsements,” another agreed.

“Yeah, and he’s always sort of had this subtle Christian bite to him that could really appeal to religious voters. Ending every episode of his show with ‘God Bless,’ and all that. We could play that up in some state and some areas,” noted the deputy communications director.

“But he’s not religious to the point of it being that in-your-face kind. He’s more like a Europe-style Christian Democrat than a fire-and-brimstone Dentonite evangelical. Okay, go for it,” the communications director approved the deputy’s idea.

Another listed additional positives. “Strong record on environmental protection, he implemented successful mental health programs while Governor, he being a cancer survivor could help, and just look at the technet talks.” Turning his monitor around, she continued. “Even members of Republican-leaning netsites are expressing interest in Ross joining the ticket. His strong support for veterans and his time in the Air Force is a big part of that – he even saw some action in the Cuba War, for Pete’s sake! That could appeal to those in the party pushing for us to pick Jones to stop the anti-military claims.”

“Alright, alright, alright,” the Chief of Staff to the Vice President finally yielded. “I’ll meet with Bob one more time.”

. . .

Less than a week before the DNC, after Ross finally won over Wellstone’s close confidant with a meeting in which the former Governor demonstrated the kind of “engaging energy” that the VP’s Chief of Staff was looking for, the selection was finalized. “It may be a repeat of ’72, where the ticket was of a Minnesota/Alaska composition, but, hey, that ticket did win, and the VP won’t be a troublemaker this time, either.”

– Billie Lofi’s The Wellstone Way: The Life of a Passionate Progressive, University of Minnesota Press, first edition, 2017



VP PICKS PAINTER! Bob Ross To Be Wellstone’s Running Mate!

Above: Bob Ross violating safety procedures by holding a snake while serving as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, June 2004

– The New York Post, 7/15/2008



“We have to work together to keep our country fair, to continue to seek out success, to better protect our planet, and to better ourselves, our fellow Americans, and our fellow human being everywhere. We can better ourselves and our country by holding our most successful and wealthiest citizens accountable for their impactful actions. We can improve our own lives as well as the lives of our families, friends, neighbors and fellow countrymen, and even better lives in other countries if we continue to fight against inequality, poverty, bigotry and corruption. That is the legacy we want to give to our children, that is the quality of life we want for America. The past eight years have seen vast improvement in America’s standard of living, but there is still more to do, there are still more people to help. So let’s keep helping those who need help and improving America’s standards was we enter the 2010s.”

– Paul Wellstone at the 2008 DNC, 7/20/2008



“All The Way With Wellstone,” “Everyone Matters,” “Actions Matter,” “Wellstone For The Win”

– Wellstone/Ross’08 slogans, first used at the 2008 DNC, 7/18-21/2008



…The biggest amendment to Snowe’s platform, however, was the inclusion of a variation of Gary Johnson’s FairTax proposal. The proposal single tax rate would streamline the tax system in regards to collecting by replacing all federal income taxes with a single consumption tax (the platform plank carefully worded it as replacing “all or nearly-all”). The additional proposed elimination of the IRS was also controversial, even among some Republicans. Snowe herself was not a fan of the FairTax proposal, but understood that, as a key part of Gary Johnson’s campaign, its addition to her own campaign was necessary to win over the party’s growing libertarian base. “It seems that for each and every year the Democrats control the government, we get more and more Republicans calling for us to not even have a government,” Snowe reportedly observed. Nevertheless, the RNC adopted the FairTax as an official position, albeit a watered down version the proposal that Johnson had campaigned on. Most noticeably, the party platform’s FairTax plank only called for an “extensive audit” of the IRS, instead of it being abolished entirely.

Additionally, in order to try and placate populists and social conservatives, stern rhetoric calling for “respect for traditional values” was included in the acceptance speeches of Snowe and Johnson. The effort was not as successful as they had hoped it would be…

– Jackie Halperin’s Whiplash: The Rise of Snowe, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008

[pic: imgur.com/NLABdu0.png ]

– Former Governor Gary Earl Johnson (R-NM) accepting the GOP nomination for Vice President of the United States at the 2008 Republican National Convention, 7/27/2008



“The American story is about overcoming adversity and celebrating diversity. It cannot be changed by revisionists and it cannot be revisited by those who seek to benefit being so backward… The American spirit is stronger than stone and mortar, tougher than steel and glass, and more enduring than any pain or suffering that can be inflicted on our national conscience. …America is stronger than hatred and violence, it is stronger than resentment and bigotry. The American spirit is strong because the American people are strong, because the American people can overcome problems easier when they work together.” [1]

– Olympia Snowe at the 2008 RNC (7/26-29/2008), 7/28/2008



“Americans are not comfortable with immigrants, and yet they keep showing up! No more immigration would mean higher wages for local-based workers. But did Senator Snowe address this? Nope! She only discussed something about ‘moving forward as a nation and party,’ or something. I think she tried to throw a bone for former backers of Tancredo and Gritz, people like me, by mentioning ‘our national conscience.’ I think the talking heads on TV yammering about how it was a jab at racism are wrong. I think it was a jab at President Jackson’s corruption. But you know what? It’s not enough for me. I honestly cannot get behind this ticket. I like Johnson, but Snowe is too soft on, well, much pretty much everything. I think I might just write-in Gritz or Goetz of Tancredo for President, and maybe Johnson for VP”

– US Rep. Jefferson Bingham Miller (R-FL’s District 1), 7/29/2008



"Neither Beltway party is going drain this swamp, because to them it is not a swamp at all, but a projected wetland and their natural habitat."

– political activist Pat Buchanan, 7/30/2008 [2]



BERNIE GOETZ ANNOUNCES THIRD-PARTY WHITE HOUSE BID!

…“Dramatic actions require dramatic reactions. …Snowe and Wellstone are two sides of the same coin. I will be a real choice for real Americans!”…

– The New York Times, 7/31/2008



RUSSIA CUTS OFF OIL SUPPLIES TO POLAND AMID ENERGY DISPUTE

– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 1/8/2008



HOST: “With only three months to go until the election, former Senator and 2004 Republican nominee Bernie Goetz’s entry has shaken up the race, with polls already showing that he is siphoning votes away from the Snowe/Johnson ticket.”

GUEST 1: “Yes, and this should be very concerning for both major parties, because, while he very likely will not win any states, he could be a spoiler in many close states. His candidacy appeals to a certain group of voters of certain voter blocs that can be found in both parties. Conservative Democrats, former Gritz supporters, and many populist and populist-leaning people.”

HOST: “How well do you think we will do among religious voters?”

GUEST 2: “He performed very well four years ago, uh, when he drummed up strong support from the evangelical and socially conservative voting blocs. So the real question is, the question really should be, ‘How many within those groups are Republican Party loyalists, and how many will bolt for Goetz?’”

– NBC roundtable discussion, 8/2/2008 broadcast



GOETZ PICKS EX-REP. BEV KILMER FOR RUNNING MATE

…Beverly J. “Bev” Kilmer, age 57, ran a chain of hairdresser shops across northern Florida before serving in the state House from 1998 to 2000, and in the US House 2001 to 2007, representing Florida’s Second District. In 2006, she challenged incumbent Republican Toni Jennings for governor by running to her right, but lost with only 40% of the vote in the GOP gubernatorial primary. However, her strong showing and debate skills exceeded expectations, and has since been a frequent guest on conservative radio programs…

– The Orlando Sentinel, 8/5/2008



IMPRESSIVE OPENING CREMONY STARTS BERLIN OLYMPICS

…the 2008 Summer Olympic Games began in Berlin, Germany today with an opening ceremony that centered on the themes of peace and universal brotherhood…

– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 8/8/2008



SPEAKER MCMASTER INSTRUCTS HOUSE COMMITTEES TO CONDUCT ADDITIONAL HEARINGS ON JACKSON’S SARS RESPONSE

– The Washington Post, 8/10/2008



GOETZ RUSHES TO QUALIFY FOR STATE BALLOTS

…The former Senator has already missed the ballot deadline in seven states and may not qualify in time to appear on 12 additional state ballots. His best-case scenario at this point is obtaining enough signatures for approval in said 12 states, and successfully appeal to a state court in two additional states that are challenging his ballot presence, in order to appear on the ballot in 45 states. His worst case scenario is failing to appear on any more than the 28 state ballots to which he has been added. Either way, Goetz and his new political party – the Boulder Party, named after the city of Boulder, Colorado, the site of his campaign's headquarters, and “because we’re going to be like a mighty, thunderous boulder aiming right toward the establishment elites,” as Goetz has put it – will have access to a total of no less than 289 electoral votes...

– The Denver Post, 8/11/2008



“No, actually, I don’t think any bad things can come from a third option. A binary political system and partisan politics between Republicans and Democrats and the liberal, moderate and conservative factions within are tearin’ this country apart. The people are sick of it. In the words of our first President, General George Washington, ‘The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, is itself a frightful despotism.’ He actually said that, and it’s gotten even worse in the nearly 200 years that have passed since he said that.”

– Businessman and former Governor H. Ross Perot Sr. (I-TX), Bernie Goetz surrogate, KNN interview, 8/13/2008



B.R.A.C. COMISSION CLOSES 50 MORE MILITARY BASES

…In the largest wave of military base closures seen since the end of the Cold War, President Jackson has successfully ordered the closing of forty military bases and installations both domestically and abroad. The process was performed through the Base Realignment and Closure process, a federal government commission meant to improve Defense Department efficiency. Since BARC’s conception in 1990, over 500 military bases and testing grounds have been shut down, at least 1,200 military projects of varying scale and expense have been cancelled, through a series of rounds, with this latest cutting of military waste and redundancy being the seventh (after previous BARC rounds occurred in 1990, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005)...

– The Boston Globe, 8/15/2008



BO GRITZ BACKS GOETZ, CLAIMS WELLSTONE’S M.S. MAKES HIM “UNFIT TO SERVE”

…In a rambling endorsement at a Goetz/Kilmer rally in St. Louis, Missouri, Senator Gritz said with his deep, booming voice that “Wellstone has got a nerve-damaging disease inside him. This means that he could have a health crisis at any moment – in the middle of a major crisis, in the middle of some foreign policy snafu of his own creation, or in the middle of another Hurricane Katrina, and we’d end up with Acting President Bob Ross, and then a succession crisis, and then chaos and anarchy.” Goetz continued with offensive and insensitive language, alleging that “If this was the Army, Wellstone’s signing up for the Green Berets, and all he can do is have a desk job, but he wants to lead the charge on the battle field when he just can’t. Because the fact remains that the man will be a cripple with double vision any day now. He is physically unfit to serve as President. He cannot carry out this particular duty.”…

[snip]

Comments Section:

Comment 1:
Bo, you’re almost 70 and you look like you already had a stroke. Stop being such a hypocrite!

Reply 1 to Comment 1:
Yeah, and since Bo brought up mental health, didn’t Grits try to kill himself back in the 1990s? Hypocrite indeed!

Reply 1 to Reply 1 to Comment 1:
Allegedly. It was after his wife separated from him over his Wide-Awakes activism and he was apparently pretty depressed about it. He went to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the foot. He claimed it was a gun-cleaning accident, but some claim he tried to shoot himself but somehow screwed it up.

Comment 2:
Couldn’t he have just, you know, not referred to MS victims as cripples and instead just say why we should vote for Goetz? This shouldn’t be so difficult.

– usarightnow.co.usa, 8/21/2008



GALLUP: Voting Behavior Expected To Be “Atypical” This Fall

…according to Gallup Polling, registered voters recently polled demonstrated a sense of ambivalence in regards to party loyal, especially among registered Republicans polled, who were less willing to say that they would vote for their own party than registered Democrats polled

– The New York Times, side article, 8/24/2008



SNOWE COMES TO FLORIDA!

…the Republican nominee is touring key cities in the Sunshine State in the hopes of keeping Florida – a consistently Republican state with a substantial number of votes in the Electoral College – from voting Democrat via a split in the Republican vote. Third-party candidate Bernie Goetz’s running mate is Bev Kilmer, a fairly-popular conservative Congressperson-turned-activist from northern Florida, and polls show that Goetz’s presence in the race in narrowing the gap between Wellstone and Snowe in the Sunshine State…

– The New York Post, 8/27/2008



IRELAND’S TAX LOOPHOLES CHALLENGED IN COURT

– currentaffairs.co.uk, 30/8/2008

[pic: imgur.com/TyB3Hxn.png ]

– Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States and former Governor Gary Earl Johnson of New Mexico making a face during a TV interview for KNN, 9/1/2008; the image inevitably became a popular “reaction” lafpic for the next year or so



GRONKIEWICZ-WALTZ IN MOSCOW TODAY TO NEGOTIATE END TO OIL DISPUTE

– The Dziennik Zachodni (The Western Daily), Polish newspaper, 9/2/2008



...After another rally, this time in Hope, Arkansas, Goetz met once more with his inner circle and his closest supporters. Congresspersons Craig T. James (R-FL), Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) all playing a part in drumming up support for Goetz in the Sunshine State. Brown-Waite, a spunky and wild-eyed conservative, was confident that the Boulder Ticket would (somehow) win, explaining to Goetz's campaign manager, Jet Wilders, that she had seen a "message from God" in her scrambled eggs [3] the day before Bernie announced his candidacy, informing her that a "true champion of the people" would emerge victorious in November...

– Richard Ben Cramer’s What It Takes: Roads to The White House, Sunrise Publications, 2011 edition



GOP PRIMARY RESULTS: Rodham-Clinton Beat Ramsey

…After failing to win the Republican nomination for President, two-term incumbent US Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton launch a late entry into this race, to the detriment of first-term US Congressman Dave Ramsey, who was vying to succeed Rodham-Clinton. However, US Senator “HRC” won the GOP nomination by a margin of only 3%, suggesting that her White House aspirations have damaged her popularity in The Volunteer State…

– The Chattanooga Times Free Press, 9/9/2008



“My friend Bo, uh, US Senator Gritz, he may have said a few things that were rough, but definitely not wrong. He was right in pointing out Wellstone’s health. Multiple sclerosis is a disease that goes after and eats away at nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which messes up your nervous system’s ability to transmit signals to other parts of the body. That can cause mental and even psychiatric issues. Wellstone as president would mean having a potentially mentally unstable head of state. Bo had every right to call him out on running for President while being inflicted with something so horrible and potentially incapacitating.”

– Bernie Goetz (B-CO), 9/12/2008



I HEARD SNOWE IS WORKING WITH KNN TO KEEP GOETZ OUT OF THE DEBATES

I heard that, because Olympia can’t bribe the FEC into keeping Goetz out of the debates, she is working with her fellow elitists, the wealthy Kennedy political dynasty, and their connections in KNN, to omit Goetz’s name from polls. The True Voice of America can’t do well enough in the polls to qualify if he isn’t included on the polls at all/in the first place! Does anyone know if this is a legitimate thing I’ve heard? Or is this just some sick elitist rumor I’ve heard?

– grapevine.co.usa, a public news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 9/14/2008 posting



OIL PIPELINE STANDOFF ENDS, CLEARING WAY FOR ACCORD!

– The Dziennik Zachodni (The Western Daily), Polish newspaper, 9/16/2008



“Two truths are all too often overshadowed in today’s political discourse: public service is a most honorable pursuit, and so is bipartisanship. …My concept of government’s role in People’s lives is that it is limited but legitimate, and essential when people have nowhere else to turn.” [4]

– Olympia Snowe campaigning with longtime US Congressman Scott McCallum (R-WI) in Kenosha, WI, 9/19/2008



OZAWA LEADS OPPOSITION TO VICTORY! Will Become First PM Not From LDP In 13 Years!

…Taro Aso failed to keep hold of the LDP’s majority in the Diet in tonight’s national general election. …Ichiro Ozawa of the Centrist Coalition has obtained a plurality of the vote and has announced that he will form a coalition government with the Social Democrats, led by Mizuho Fukushima...

– The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese newspaper, 9/21/2008



...Support for the perpetually-dominant LDP had been dropping ever since Shintaro Ishihara had split from the party to form the Red Sun coalition in 2003, causing many isolationists, populists, nationalists, and conservatives to slowly bleed away from the party’s ranks. The scandals of the Hashimoto administration complicated matters; while initially commended for issuing a nationwide freeze on wages and prices during the SARS pandemic, Hashimoto was blamed for the slight economic hiccup that came in the aftermath of its removal in 2005. Despite this, Jackson had supported Hashimoto up until his Japanese counterpart left office in early 2008 over declining health... Upon Ozawa’s victory being confirmed, Jackson congratulated him via phone call…

– Walter LaFeber’s The Sun And The Eagle: US-Japanese Relations In The Post-Cold War Era, 2019 edition



…Many Japanese pundits predicted that this would be the start of a new political party system, as the ascendant Centrist Coalition, Red Sun Coalition, and Social Democratic Parties were all much more ideologically consistent than the big-tent LDP. In an interview for Shuman Gendai magazine, former PM Junichiro Koizumi confessed that this was a major issue for the dominant party, saying “The party leaders are in crisis mode at the moment, and I think the problem, the reason why we lost despite the economy improving, is that we are too disorganized, and it shows. It is embarrassing. I think we have lost our roots. We are at this point several parties disguised as one and I think we need to look back to how we were in previous years to see how we can fix the LDP.” The problem with the LDP’s wide range of supporters was on full display back in 2007, when a proposed monthly allowance for families with children failed to pass in the Diet over conservative LDP members objecting the proposed law’s details. Japan’s governing party was indeed in “crisis mode.”

Meanwhile, the yakuza syndicates continued to lay relatively low. The 8/22/1998 Shinjuku Shootout and their mediocre response to the 2002 SARS pandemic during their attempted “comeback” under PM Ishihara had done a real number of their popularity at home, and so most syndicates were focusing primarily on investing in the troves of human misery that could be found oversees in various minor third-world countries, with the power of the technet only easing their scamming operations and market connecting endeavors…

– Alec Dubro and David E. Kaplan’s Yakuza: Japan’s Criminal Underworld, University of California Press, 2013 edition



GOETZ’S POSSIBLE PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY, EXPLAINED

…Goetz is currently set to appear on the ballot in 41 states, which may be enough to win the election outright hypothetically, but not realistically. What seems more likely to occur in the event that he wins is him winning enough states to deadlock the Electoral College. Needing both candidates to do poorly would account for Goetz attacking Wellstone as well as Snowe, because Goetz winning any states may not matter if the election is a landslide victory for either Wellstone or Snowe. If the election is narrow enough, Goetz could play kingmaker. Acknowledging that it is very unlikely that he would be selected as a “compromise” candidate for President due to his polarizing campaign, Goetz may be trying to deadlock the Electoral College so he can pressure either Snowe or Wellstone into agree to certain populist measures in exchange for Goetz throwing his support to them ahead of a House Contingency election…

…However, Goetz has repeatedly publicly stated that he is running “to win outright.” If this sentiment is sincere, than he may be even less successful. Despite the fact that all the states for which Goetz has failed to qualify are electorally low or highly favorable to Wellstone, the former Senator has repeatedly expressed a belief that he could win enough states to scrape by the 273 threshold. Unfortunately for Goetz, this is a very tall order. His performance in the debates – that is, if he qualifies to participate in them – may supply the boost his candidacy needs to obtain 273. But the odds are still highly against him on this...

– tumbleweedmagazine.co.usa, 9/23/2008 e-article



WHAT TO SAVE, SPEND, AND TAX: An Analysis Of The Snowe, Wellstone And Goetz Budget Proposals

…While Wellston advocates for an overwhelming government bureaucracy and Goetz favors dismantling several safety nets in the name of individual independence, Snowe offers a middle lane between the two extremes, calling for state responsibility while nevertheless approving of seemingly most federal welfare programs…

– The Wall Street Journal, 9/24/2008

– President Jesse Jackson Sr. on the campaign trail, stumping for VP Paul Wellstone in Raleigh, North Carolina, 9/29/2008



“This latest round of GOP-led House investigations into SARS has found nothing. If anything, these clearly politically motivated public displays of testimonies are not damaging Wellstone’s election odds, but are instead reminding Americans of how well President Jackson handled the virus. The investigations could very ironically hand the election over to the VP!”

– Professor and political analyst Janice R. Fine, NBC News guest spot, 10/1/2008



…However, there may be merit to Wellstone’s calls to use tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans in order to avoid making a deficit and possibly increasing the national surplus without reducing social programs. In a speech he made at Fayetteville, North Carolina, VP Wellstone continued on, saying “higher corporate taxation rates will create the incentive that big businesses need to spend earnings and expand, creating more jobs and such that can be deductible from their taxable earnings. This in turn would drive wealth reported into a lower tax bracket. In short, with a high tax on the wealthiest Americans, major companies would have to spend their money on their own businesses if they don’t want the government to take most of it.”…

– Newsweek, early October 2008 issue



GOETZ QUALIFIES FOR PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES!

…the populist third-party candidate is currently polling at an average of 13.9%. The FEC set the threshold of 10% for debate participation back in the 1990s, after there was discussions over why independent candidate Glen Bell had been allowed to participate in the 1988 Presidential debates…

– The Chicago Tribune, 10/3/2008



WORKING CLASS SUBURBANITES TORN OVER CANDIDATES

…there are partisan splits among several demographics, especially among different age groups, genders, and education levels….

– Gallup polling report, 10/5/2008



WELLSTONE: “I will defend this country. If defending this country military is ever needed, and it is clear that the time for peace and negotiations has passed, I will use the military. But I will use the military wisely. I will look at the situation closely and listen to multiple perspectives and ideas to determine the best course of action.”

GOETZ: “A Commander-in-Chief can’t just sit around listening to advisors while things go to, uh, go to crisis levels elsewhere. A leader has to lead, and the American President has to be able to know immediately, without hesitating, exactly know to do should war ever reach our shores. I served on several military and foreign affairs –related committees during my time in the Senate. So I know how to lead.”

SNOWE: “Bernie, diving headfirst into a pool before checking to see if there’s any water in it is not a sound foreign policy philosophy. You have to analyze the situation before you make that call.”

[snip]

MODERATOR: “With the rise of technology utilization, especially during and after the SARS pandemic, many employees such as bank tellers and car assembly line workers are being replaced with computers and machinery. What should be done about these newly laid off workers as the country continues its national shift away from traditional occupations?”

WELLSTONE: “I think have to do more for them. No American should go without the essentials needed to not just survive but to live well. These workers cannot be forgotten or ignored. They have to be retrained. The Federal Jobs Guarantee Program needs to be amended for more on-the-job training initiatives, and also, the federal government has to hold businesses who outsource accountable because they also are contributing to the rising employment predicament.”

SNOWE: “As President, I would approach the job issue by working with governors and businesses to set up training programs for all who need them, and thus hold the state governments accountable for statewide job programs.”

Goetz: “Two ways to cut down the unemployment rate in this country is to curb the immigration quotas and to persecute businesses capitalizing on cheap foreign labor or even illegal aliens living here among us. …As President, I would hunt down outsourcing businesses and go after them over things like labor abuse, illegal employees, and wage theft, because if you don’t buy, sell, hire, work or even rent American, then you are un-American.”

– Snippets from the First Wellstone-Snowe-Goetz Presidential Debate in Columbia Heights, PO, 10/7/2008



…According to Snowe’s former field operator, when the Maine Senator learned of Wellstone’s running mate selection, she expressed that her campaign as made their announcement first. “Had we known they were going to pick him, we would have gone with Hillyard.” Indeed, US Senator Lyle W. Hillyard of Utah, who was almost chosen for the position in July, was considered one of the “hearts” of the GOP Senate and would have been able to combat Ross’s ability to comfort and reassure people on the campaign stump. However, Johnson was chosen because he had much more name recognition, his pick was thought to increase the chances of uniting the party, and he had fared better in hypothetical VP-pick polling. A Hillyard-Ross debate would have been a sympathy contest, with each man trying to jerk out more tears and feelings of inspiration. But instead, on October 12, we got the Ross vs. Johnson debate…

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



ROSS “While we both share a great deal of passion for Mother Nature and our country’s natural resources, we differ greatly on how to approach protecting them. Now, Gary here wants to take a hands-off approach and hope that all businesses nice play. I wish I could think, that but I can’t. I can’t because I saw firsthand how government deregulation can hurt Mother Nature. In 1986, the Chevron Oil Spill hit southern Alaska. I was one of several hundred people who pitched in to clean up the site. That oil got on more than just the rocks. Birds were caked in black, killed fish washed up onto the shoreline. It was heartbreaking. It was not mistake, or a happy little accident – it was a disaster. And the worst thing of it was that the folks at Chevron refused to take responsibility for any of it. And the Governor at the time believed in small government, and that only worsened the problem. And the thing of it is, though, is that the whole disaster was completely avoidable, if proper procedure had been followed in the first place, and – ”

*Buzzer*

MODERATOR: “Sorry, Director Ross, that’s your 30 seconds. Governor Johnson, same question – ”

JOHNSON: “Well first I’d like to respond to what Bob said, alright? Bob, I do support environmental protection, but to ask the federal government to be in charge of things won’t help post-disaster cleanups. It would instead weigh the federal system down with excessive bureaucracy and delay the response. For example, we right now have several cabinet posts and cabinet level posts that perform slight variations of the same jobs during and right after a natural disaster like a Hurricane – the EPA, ODERCA, the National Guard, the NWS, the HHS Department, and the Community Development Department. They all descended upon Katrina three years ago, when that Hurricane sit Florida and Louisiana, and while lives were saved, the city of New Orleans is still cleaning itself up because of all the red tape. Every building down there is inspected at least once by at least five different agencies, slowing down progress. Local, county, state and federal offices bickered incessantly over building zones and which agencies were in charge of what. A more innovation-friendly administration would cut back not on necessary intervention but on the red tape that currently comes with it.”

[snip]

JOHNSON: “The country’s internal divisions are out in the open and as a result, this election has shown that unlike in the regimes we have confronted overseas in past years, everyone in this country has the freedom to state whatever their opinion is, no matter how right or wrong it is!”

[snip]

ROSS: “Libertarian lite is not friendly enough for most Americans. It is too tribalist, encouraging people to only look out for themselves. That is too negative for America. An economy where everyone is on their own is not going to lead to a prosperous America because it does not encourage the fundamental value of lending a helping hand when you can – a value that I am happy too Americans hold dear for minimalist governing to work. I have met with millions of Americans over the years as a military man, as an instructor, as a governor, and as the EPA Director, and I know for a fact that nobody is alone in this country. We all rely on each other, for food, for shelter, for education, and for joy. We all need each other. And a Wellstone administration will celebrate and encourage that, not with an unsympathetic small government, but with a helping-hand government. A Wellstone administration will help lift people up and give them an education and a chance to work, to prove themselves and do right by their families and their Maker. A Wellstone administration will be an administration of smarts and of love.”

– Snippets from the Ross-Johnson Vice-Presidential Debate in Phoenix, AZ, 10/12/2008



…With the moderator Tim Russert (b. 1950) closely watching time limits and interruptions to keep the second debate both on schedule and polite, Snowe and Wellstone sought to avoid personal attacks, while Goetz tried simply to make the quickest snide remarks he could.

Snowe sought to keep focus on the key issues of her campaign, such as maintaining and strengthening the improving economy, reducing corporate and income tax, and reducing crime. She also called for a curbing of government spending in order to “respect the dollars of the taxpayers.”

Goetz took the opportunity to oppose tariffs, asking “Does free trade have conditions? Yes? Then how is it free trade?” Goetz also proposed a heavy taxation of businesses that performed outsourcing practices for a majority of their payroll, and reiterated how he would “never, never, ever hesitate to defend” the US military.

Wellstone urged that “we need to focus on the middle and lower classes. Since the 1970s, the middle class has shrunk significantly due to Republican tax laws passed under President Jeremiah Denton.” While he and Snowe discussed the details of fiscal responsibility, Goetz appealed to social conservatives and members of “the social fringe” with dubious claims that Wellstone would raise taxes on “whites and gentiles only,” a comment that led to even the moderator suggested he should “behave” himself. Russert also added, “If you do not agree with the Vice President’s tax proposal, then tell us yours.”

“He, uh, his proposal would be terrible,” Goetz stated.

“Alright, so what would you propose?” Russert repeated the question.

Goetz stumbled, “I wouldn’t propose what Wellstone is proposing.”

[snip]

Wellstone expressed a strong support for education, explaining that “brainpower does not discriminate by color, gender, faith or background.” The VP also voiced support for the National Initiative Amendment after Goetz directly asked him, “If you win the Presidency but Republicans gain control of congress, would you rely on bipartisanship and compromise to get things done, or use executive orders and the NIA to push your agenda through?”

Wellstone replied with “I’d try all avenues if it is what the people want. I don’t see what you have against the NIA, though. The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power [5] in this country, and the NIA helps that idea along. I have faith and trust in the American people. They are smart enough to make their own decisions. Do you not agree with that assessment?”

[snip]

Wellstone was considered the winner of the debate by Republicans, Democrats and even many Goetzites, who saw their candidate take a significant hit in the polls in the aftermath of the “gentiles only” gaffe – though not a blow big enough to disqualify him from the third and final debate…

– Billie Lofi’s The Wellstone Way: The Life of a Passionate Progressive, University of Minnesota Press, first edition, 2017



“Bob Ross’s afro gets bigger every year, it’s like the oppose of Jesse Jackson’s afro. ...But seriously, I'm backing Wellstone in this election because for eight years that man served under a Black man, and never once did he try to undermine him or play into stereotypes about him. That's loyalty. But Wellstone's also shown he's got what it takes to run the show now. ...I'm voting for Wellstone and I want everyone here to go out and vote in this election. Don't just say you're gonna vote, go and actually vote.”

– Chris Rock, 10/19/2008



WELLSTONE: “There are three vital aspects of our society that must be protected and maintained – education, healthcare and employment. We can reduce poverty, stabilize the shrinking middle class, lower crime, and increase the people’s participation in the democratic process if we focus on those three things.”

GOETZ: “Right now, America’s business tax is the third-highest in the world at 55%. Ireland, on the other hand, makes businesses in Ireland pay just 10%. Any business capable of moving overseas does so in order to afford larger staff sizes, improve their cash flow and make more investments. I want to cut the business tax in order to keep American businesses here in America, and let management and workers come to an understanding that does not involve the feds pressing their hand down on the other side of the scale to make things difficult for everyone who is not a member of the coastal elite.”

WELLSTONE: “Bernie, that makes no sense. The tax rate in the US in 1960 was 91%. If anything, the rate needs to be brought up to a higher rate.”

[snip]

WELLSTONE: “Too many loopholes were introduced under Presidents Dinger and Iacocca, as so President Jackson had to close those loopholes so billionaires would pay their fair share, the same billionaires who are backing your campaign, Bernie. You would cut the taxes and reinstate the loopholes so we go back to the lowest rates, back to when our economic class differences were even greater.”

[snip]

SNOWE: “…And, finally, to answer the question, yes, as President, I would cut down on wasteful spending.”

WELLSTONE: “Uh, may I say something?”

MODERATOR: “Thirty seconds.”

WELLSTONE: “While I agree in addressing wasteful spending, I want to get it clarified, you believe that social welfare programs are anything but wasteful, right, Olympia?”

SNOWE: “Yes, but we still have to be responsible stewards of the surplus.” [1]

[snip]

SNOWE: “We recognized in 2002 that, with progress in the field of genetics accelerating at a breathtaking pace, we need to ensure that advances in treatment and prevention of disease do not constitute a new basis or discrimination... People will have trouble keeping a job, or even getting a job if their genetic information gets to an insurer, a potential employer or even an employer.” [1]

– Snippets from the Third Wellstone-Snowe-Goetz Presidential Debate in Raleigh, NC, 10/22/2008



POLLING: SNOWE CONSIDERED THE WINNER OF LAST NIGHT’S DEBATE

…in light of multiple comments, survey and polls found on the most popular technet chat sites, it is safe to say that a majority of Americans believe that Senator Snowe did better than Vice President Wellstone last night, in 2008’s third and final Presidential debate, albeit slightly better overall…

– usarightnow.co.usa, 10/27/2008 e-article



…Aggregate polling still shows that the race is still very close. And with less than a week to go, all three major candidates are in the home stretch, and are crisscrossing the country trying to get votes. We now take you live to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which is the site of the Vice President’s latest campaign stop…

– CBS Evening News, 10/30/2008

[a] appeared as the “Strength” Party on three state ballots

[snip]

Tickets:
Paul Wellstone (MN) / Bob Ross (AS) (Democratic) – 66,991,423 (43.71%)
Olympia Snowe (ME) / Gary Johnson (NM) (Republican) – 67,865,024 (44.28%)
Bernie Goetz (CA) / Beverly J. Kilmer (VA) (Boulder) – 17,211,477 (11.23%)
Terry Bouricius (VT) / Nancy Barnett (NY) (Liberty Union) – 689,685 (0.45%)
Jello Biafra (CA) / Harley Mikkelson (MI) (Natural Mind) – 199,242 (0.13%)
Katherine “Kat” Swift (TX) / Jared Ball (MD) (Green) – 122,611 (0.08%)
Roger Lee Wrights (TX) / Carl E. Person (NY) (Liberty) – 107,284 (0.07%)
All other votes – 76,632 (0.05%)
Total Votes – 153,263,378 (100%)

[snip]

Goetz did very well for a third-party candidate, reaching double digits nationally, coming in second place in West Virginia, Alabama and Florida, and winning the states of Idaho and Montana, possibly due to him being endorsed by populist politicians from those states such as Governor Denny Rehberg (R-MT), US Senator Bo Gritz (R-ID), Governor Harley Davidson Brown (R-ID) and US Senator Helen Chenoweth (R-ID).

Another fairly prominent third-party ticket, in regards to media attention, was the Liberty Union ticket of political consultant Terry Bouricius (the former 2000 and 2004 Presidential campaign manager of US Senator Peter I. Diamondstone (LU-VT)) of Vermont and former party chairperson Nancy Barnett of New York. However, the ticket only received ballot access in states worth a total of 278 Electoral Votes and ultimately received less than 0.5% of the popular vote.

[snip]

The election was unique in that several states were won by less than a 5% margin, and roughly half of the states were won by a plurality. For example, the consistently Democratic-voting state of Vermont was much closer than typical due to the Liberty Union ticket siphoning 7% of the state’s total popular vote away from the Wellstone campaign. In fact, support for the Democratic party deflated in most of New England, where won Snowe won Connecticut, New Hampshire, and her home state of Maine. ...While Goetz's candidacy pulled conservative, religious, and populist voters (but not libertarian votes) away from Snowe, Snowe's centrist candidacy pulled certain voters (high-income white collar workers, white voters, college-educated voters, suburban women, etc.) away from Wellstone's progressive candidacy, resulting in a rare case of the winner of the Electoral College not being the winner of the popular vote...

[snip]

Wellstone had succeeded where incumbent Vice Presidents John C. Breckinridge, Richard Nixon, and William Scranton had all failed – he became the first sitting Vice President to become President through election instead of ascension since Martin Van Buren was elected President 172 years prior, in 1836...

– clickopedia.co.usa



November United States Senate election results, 2008
Date: November 4, 2008

Seats: 35 of 104
Seats needed for majority: 53

New Senate majority leader: Gary Locke (D-WA)
New Senate minority leader: Webb Franklin (R-MS)

Seats before election: 57 (D), 46 (R), 1 (I)
Seats after election: 56 (D), 47 (R), 1 (I)
Seat change: D v 1, R ^ 1, I - 0

Full List:

Alabama: Spencer Bachus III (R) over Vivian D. Figures (D); incumbent Albert Lee Smith Jr. (R) retired

Alaska: Kevin Meyer (R) over Ray Metcalfe (D); incumbent Jalmar “Jay” Kerttula (R) retired

Arkansas: incumbent Jim Guy Tucker (D) over Rebekah Kennedy (Green)

Colorado: Langhorne “Lang” Sias (R) over incumbent Josie Heath (D) and Donna Primavera (Green)

Delaware: incumbent Marjorie “Midge” Osterlund (D) over Christine O’Donnell (R)

Georgia: incumbent Bob Barr (R) over Vernon Jones (D)

Idaho: incumbent Helen Chenoweth (R) over Dave Sneddon (D)

Illinois: Kwame Raoul (D) over Anthony R. “Andy” Martin-Trigona (R); incumbent Jim Edgar (R) retired

Iowa: incumbent Terry Branstad (R) over Daryl Beall (D)

Kansas: incumbent Carla J. Stovall (R) over Nancy Boyda (D)

Kentucky: incumbent Martha Layne Osborne (D) over Daniel Essek (R)

Louisiana: incumbent Clyde Cecil Holloway (R) over Richard Phillip Ieyoub Sr. (D)

Maine: incumbent Angus King (I) over Tom Ledue (D) and Tom Connolly (R)

Massachusetts: incumbent Bill Weld (R) over Edward O’Reilly (D)

Michigan: incumbent Jack R. Lousma (R) over Bart Stupak (D)

Minnesota: Sharon Sayles Belton (D) over Jack Shepard (R)

Mississippi: incumbent Grady F. “Gray” Tollison (R) over Bootie Hunt (D)

Montana: incumbent Larry Williams (R) over Robert Kelleher (D)

Nebraska: incumbent Orrin Hatch (R) over Scott Kleeb (D)

New Hampshire: Kelley Ashby (R) over incumbent Beverly Hollingworth (D)

New Jersey: incumbent Mary V. Mochary (R) over Donald Cresitello (D) and Gregory “Greg” Pason (Socialist)

New Mexico: incumbent Roberto Mondragon (D) over Heather Wilson (R)

North Carolina: Margaret A. “Meg” Ryan (R) over incumbent Daniel Terry Blue Jr. (D)

Oklahoma: incumbent Steve Largent (R) over Jim Rogers (D)

Oregon: Jefferson Smith (D) over Gordon Smith (R); incumbent Norma Paulus (R) retired

Potomac: incumbent David Schwartzman (D) over Carol Schwartz (R)

Puerto Rico: incumbent Norma Burgos (R) over Jorge Santini (D)

Rhode Island: incumbent Elizabeth H. Roberts (D) over Robert Tingle (R)

South Carolina: incumbent Mark Sanford (R) over Michael Cone (D)

South Dakota: SuAnne Big Crow (R) over Scott Heidepriem (D); incumbent Larry Pressler (R) retired

Tennessee: incumbent Hillary Rodham-Clinton (R) over Bob Tuke (D)

Texas: Mac Thornberry (R) over Ahmad Hassan (D), Sylvia Garcia (LRU), and Tina Villanueva (I); incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)

Virginia: incumbent George Allen (R) over Tim Kaine (D)

West Virginia: Nick Rahall (R) over Sheirl Fletcher (D); incumbent Jon McBride (R) retired

Wyoming: incumbent Barbara Cubin (R) over Chris Rothfuss (D)

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



United States House of Representatives results, 2008

Date: November 4, 2008

Seats: All 441
Seats needed for majority: 221

New House majority leader: Barbara B. Kennelly (D-CT)
New House minority leader: H. Dargan McMaster (R-SC)

Last election: 217 (D), 224 (R)
Seats won: 226 (D), 215 (R)
Seat change: D ^ 9, R v 9

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



United States Governor election results, 2008
Date: November 4, 2008

Number of state gubernatorial elections held: 11

Seats before: 32 (D), 20 (R)
Seats after: 30 (D), 22 (R)
Seat change: D v 1, R ^ 1

Full list:

Delaware: John C. Carney Jr. (D) over William Swain Lee (R) and Robert Venables Sr. (Independent Democrat); incumbent Ruth Ann Minner (D) retired

Indiana: Rupert Boneham (R) over incumbent Jill Long Thompson (D)

Missouri: Perry B. Clark (D) over Kenny Hulshof (R); incumbent Cynthia Bowers (D) retired

Montana: incumbent Michael R. Cooney (D) over Rick Hill (R) and Benjamin Garrison (Boulder)

New Hampshire: Sherman Packard (R) over Mark Fernald (D); incumbent Kelley Ashby (R) retired

North Carolina: Fern Shubert (D) over Fred Smith (R); incumbent Jim Hunt (D) was term-limited

North Dakota: Heidi Heitkamp (D) over Tim Mathem (R); incumbent Tracy Potter (D) was term-limited

Puerto Rico: Hector Luis Acevedo (D/PD) over Kenneth McClintock-Hernández (D/NP); incumbent Rocky Versace (R/NP) was term-limited

Utah: Karl Rove (R) over Bob Springmeyer (D); incumbent Enid Greene (R) retired

Vermont: incumbent Deborah L. “Deb” Markowitz (D) over Brian Dubie (R) and Ben Mitchell (Liberty Union)

Washington: incumbent Lisa J. Simpson (D) [6] over Michael George Nelson (R)

West Virginia: David McKinley (R) over Lloyd M. Jackson II (D); incumbent Bob Wise (D) retired

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



ANN COULTER: “This was like reliving the 1988 election for me. For the second time in my life, the Republicans nominated a woman and for the second time, that nominee lost.”

JAN CRAWFORD: “It certainly gives merit to the claim that the Republican Party can’t win on the national level with a liberal nominee.”

ROLLAND SMITH: “But 2004 showed they can’t win with a neo-hippie nominee, either.”

MICHELE MARSH: “Yes, but how many people will remember that in 2012?”

JAN CRAWFORD: “That’s exactly right. The party needs to find a middle lane candidate in four years’ time, someone like the ‘Colonel Conservatives’ of yesteryear.”

ROLLAND SMITH: “I disagree. Olympia won the popular vote; that shows a stronger moderate is needed for 2012 because it’s what Americans and Republicans want.”

– CBS round-table discussion, 11/5/2008 broadcast



DATA SITES REPORT TECHNET SEARCHES FOR “ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE” AND “FAITHLESS ELECTORS” HAVE SKYROCKETED

...while all three major Presidential candidates are reportedly flummoxed in different ways by the election results, Snowe supporters are expressing more aggressive reactions, with many calling for the end of the US's current Presidential election process...

– usarightnow.co.usa, 11/6/2008 e-article



…And in political news, ontech calls for the Electoral College to be abolished via the use of the “National Initiative Amendment” have skyrocketed in the past several days, after Vice President Wellstone was elected President despite coming in second place. This has also led to a rise in technetter referring to the President-Elect as “Runner-Up Wellstone”…

– NBC News, 11/9/2008 broadcast



“I think it’s very clear that Snowe lost because her milquetoast brand of crony East Coast LID-elitism could not dupe Republican voters, or undecided voters, or honest, decent, hard-working America-loving Americans.”

– US Senator Bo Gritz (R-ID), 11/11/2008



MALCOLM X: “A certain part of the American population will always support hatred, and embrace darkness instead of letting in light, either due to ignorance, because they mistake change for threat, due to character, because they willingly choose to hate, to conspire, to suspect, to blame others for their own stupidity and misery.”

BERN SANDERS: “I am not so pessimistic, Malcolm. I believe that anyone can change, anyone can be won over. It’s just that it is a very difficult task, one that can’t be solved with a one-size-fits-all solution. Each neo-hippie got to that point in their life for a reason, and we on the progressive side of things have to approach their views with understanding in order to get them to understand our point of view. It’s difficult, very difficult, but not impossible. Especially for those – many of them, in fact, if not most of them – who turned to the neo-hippie brand of populist rhetoric because of their poor economic situations. When you’re hungry, you get angry, and you look for someone to blame it on. If you feed people, they won’t be miserable enough to turn on one another.”

MALCOLM X: “And the ones who are racist because they are just awful people? What about them?”

BERN SANDERS: “Just try to reach them. Just try. Even an attempt to do good is still better than doing nothing.”

– TON roundtable discussion between Bern Sanders, Malcolm X, and moderators, 11/15/2008 broadcast



…And in international news, Russian President Oleg Malyshkin and Polish President Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz today signed a new bilateral trade treaty resolving issues concerning oil and natural gas pipelines…

– BBC1, 22/11/2008 broadcast



IRELAND’S SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF BIG BUSINESS IN TAX LOOPHOLE CASE

…the immediate negative backlash to the ruling to could lead to a left-wing/pro-labor party’s victory in the next Taoiseach election...

– currentaffairs.co.uk, 1/12/2008 e-article



TRUMP: “When our movie came out on December 4th, 2008, it was on all those screens, screens across the country, so many screens, I honestly thought it was one of the greatest works of cinema I’d ever seen.”

WISEAU: “I don’t understand why most couldn’t see that.”

TRUMP: “It was the critics, I tell you. All of them are in bed with Big Cinema, a part of a big movie-industrial complex meant to keep the real, genuine makers of movie magic from inspiring the masses. That’s why we launched a counterattack, starting looking at the demographics that loved our movie.”

WISEAU: “A lot of male college students thought our movie was rad, so we cancelled further theater screens in some places and moved in to set up in theaters near colleges. We also looked into showing the movie on the air with the airing it on cable.”

TRUMP: “That went better than expected. There was a real, uh, what was the word for it – ”

WISEAU: “Polarizing.”

TRUMP: “Yeah, a polar icing of the reviews, with the critics nitpicking it and audiences loving it. We even got a congratulatory phone call from Michael Bay. It was good, so good. So great.”

WISEAU: “I still can’t believe we won a Razzie for Worst Film of 2008.”

TRUMP: “I can’t believe you actually went down to that awards ceremony and accepted it.”

WISEAU: “But it worked. It raised awareness about the movie, didn’t it?”

TRUMP: “Yeah, that is true. It may have been why we were able to break even after a few more months in circulation.”

WISEAU: “Sure, but what really helped was selling the movie to distributors in China. The Chinese ate the movie up!”

TRUMP: “It’s got what they’re calling a huge cult following over there! Huge!”

INTERVIEWER: “What is your favorite scene?”

TRUMP: “I’ve got to tell ya, the part where I personally kill a would-be Presidential assassin was a kind of mini passion project for me. Kind of based on kind-of-real events, too.”

WISEAU: “Mine was the big romance scene in the second act.”

TRUMP: “Oh yeah, I remember. How’d your bit in that part go again?”

WISEAU: (clears throat) “I put my heart on a table and it turned out to be a chopping block! I gave you everything, even when I couldn’t afford it and you didn’t deserve it and I still gave it to you. You betrayed me. Bullshit!”

TRUMP: “Great speech, Tommy. The Best, just about The Best, hands down.”

INTERVIEWER: “So what about the planned sequels? Are they still going to be made?”

WISEAU: “We’re working on them.”

TRUMP: “We’ll put out an update when we put out an update.”

– Donald Trump and Tommy Wiseau interview, the Hollywood Reporter, 9/9/2009

– A poster for a film considered by many critics to be one of the worst films ever made



CRYSTAL ISLAND MEGABUILDING AIMS TO BREAK SEVERAL RECORDS

…one of the world’s most ambitious building projects, Crystal Island will be a vast mega-structure with a total floor area of just under 2.5million square metres. At 450m, it will be one of the tallest single-building structures on the planet when construction is completed, which should be within the next ten years... This highly anticipated project is located on the Nagatino Peninsula in the Moscow River, 7.5km from the Kremlin. Possibly inspired by Walt Disney’s original vision for Epcot, the architecture company behind Crystal Island has revealed that the residents who work in the structure can also live within the building. …Regional weather conditions have been calculated into the structure, which partially explains its spiraling-mountain design bringing to mind the circus-top-shaped mountain and hill peaks of many a Dr. Seuss book such as Oh The Places You’ll Go… The architecture firm is calling the building’s complex inner design the start of “a new generation of architecture” meant to “inspire” people to think about the future of markets and residential housing design…

– The Financial Times, 12/12/2008



STATE SENATOR PROTESTS MISSOULA BASE SHUTDOWN

…Barack “Rocky” McCain, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Meredith, is making national headlines with his strong defense of military bases that are being closed, decommissioned and/or even dismantled across the United States, including an Air Force installation constructed north of Missoula just ten years ago. McCain, a centrist Republican currently in his first term representing a part of southeastern Montana, believes that such bases “are important economic structures [because] they provide education, training, opportunity and employment for local communities. If the President wanted to make room in the federal budget for social programs, he should have stripped away more funding from NASA. We already got to the moon and to Mars; how about we focus on the problems found here on Earth for a change?”…

– The Billings Gazette, Montana newspaper, 12/17/2008



FIRST LADY JACQUELINE HOSTS WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS FOR THE LAST TIME

…the popular First Lady graciously welcomed visitors and guests in the final hosting of Christmas at White House, wishing all to “have a merry holiday”…

– peoplemagazine.co.usa, 12/21/2008 e-article



NO, SHEILA WELLSTONE WILL NOT “CANCEL CHRISTMAS” IN 2009

…Paul Wellstone has not even been sworn into the Presidency yet, and there are already thread discussions on certain conservative-friendly netsites claiming that America’s next First Lady, Sheila Wellstone, will not host any Christmas celebrations at the White House next year. Mrs. Wellstone, who, with her husband, will be the first Jewish First Couple of the United States, has already stated that she will “retain time-honored traditions” (NYT, 10/10/2008) as well as add new ones that will represent other cultural traditions from this time of year (11/11/2008)…

– trueorfalse.co.uk, a rumor/conspiracy theory debunking website, 12/23/2008 e-article



Top Five Best and Worst Aspects of The Jesse Jackson Administration

Best Aspects

1 Handling of SARS – reacted swiftly to a deadly virus, minimizing the US’s death toll/mortality rate

2 Major Tax Reforms – reversed the Dinger tax laws and established new system to better help the poor at the expense of the rich

3 Restrained Foreign Policy – pulled troops out of Colombia in 2001, sent aid to India in 2004, and joined the UN in intervening in the DRC in 2006

4 Police Reform – His first A.G. addressed police militarization at the municipal level by working with local and regional leaders

5 Handling of Hurricanes – responded effectively to Katrina, Rita and other hurricanes

Worst Aspects

1 “Heavy” Social Programs – the Balanced Budget Amendment was put to the test with expensive programs that “weighed down” the Treasury and minimized the national surplus, making the US essentially break even; most credit the work of Treasury Secretary Tim Johnson for keeping the federal budget out of the red

2 GOP opposition – obstruction led by House Speaker H. Dargan McMaster minimized the number of bills passed during Jackson’s last two years in office

3 Lukewarm race relations improvements – a rise in racist activity after Jackson’s election fueled the Bernie Goetz campaigns of 2004 and 2008

4 The Jesse Junior Incident – the President’s oldest son was jailed for assaulting a report in a nervous breakdown that returned mental health to the national spotlight

5 Reluctance to Intervene in “failed states” – Sierra Leone, Myanmar and Mauritania continued to slide into hopelessness as they were overrun with drug lords, sweatshops, slavery, famine, death, disease, and corruption

– The American Presidential National Historic Society netsite, c. 2025



“…President Jackson, on behalf of America, thank you for your leadership during these past eight years. …The next four years will focus on the basic point of politics – to improve people’s lives; to advance the causes of peace and justice, both in America and throughout the world. …We will invest in the well-being, the talent, and the education of our children by improving education, protecting America’s universal healthcare system, and bolstering the Federal Jobs Guarantee program. …The future belongs to those who help the future along, not to those who criticize other people’s idea but offer no alternative solutions. No, the future belongs to those who make the future, to those who get up from the sidelines and pitch in, in any way that they can, big or small. …The future is always beginning now, you just have to believe in the beauty of things to shape how it turns out. You have to have faith in yourself and in those around you, and work with them to turn dreams and talk into real plans and action. That is how dreams turn from ideas into reality...”

– snippets from Paul Wellstone’s 1/20/2009 inaugural speech

Paul David Wellstone, the 44th President of the United States of America​

NOTE(S)/SOURCE(S)
[1] Italicized part is an OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[2] This is an OTL quote (and from 1999, too!): http://thinkexist.com/quotation/neither-beltway-party-is-going-to-drain-this/918411.html
[3] Based on a much more gruesome incident that is mentioned on Brown-Waite's wikipedia article
[4] This is also an OTL quote: https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-olympia-snowe
[5] This is an OTL Wellstone quote!
[6] Lisa J. Brown (D-WA; b. 1956) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Brown_(Washington_politician) ), ITTL, married fellow politician Arnold Simpson (D-KY; b. 1952) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Simpson ) in 1979, after he had moved to Washington State in 1970 to go to college.

The next chapter’s E.T.A.: December 10 at the earliest, December 17 at the latest

 

[Cmmdfugal]

Americana Overdrive I legit want to see that movie. its just so stupid that it has to work

 

[Igeo654]

Looks like the optimism and hope from the last 8 years gets to continue for another 4 at least. The GOP will just have to drift further towards Libertarianism overall if they want to stand a chance. In the meantime, Wellstone and Ross get to keep making the country better.

 

[Kennedy Forever]

Yes I knew Wellstone would win! Well done

 

[Bookmark1995]

President Wellstone is a world I would love to live in.

 

[CobiWann]

I can't even with that movie poster.

 

[glenn67]

Americana Overdrive I legit want to see that movie. its just so stupid that it has to work

Oh hi.

 

[Kennedy Forever]

President Wellstone is a world I would love to live in.

Same

 

[storysmith112358]

Spruced up the trope page for this fic a bit. Feel free to review and edit it.

 

[CobiWann]

Hey gap80, I think someone got inspired by your TL...

"Mario Lopez is...Colonel Sanders."

 

[HonestAbe1809]

Hey gap80, I think someone got inspired by your TL...

"Mario Lopez is...Colonel Sanders."

WHAT. THE. F*CK. DID. I. JUST. WATCH? Who thought that a sexy thriller about the KFC guy would be a good idea? This feels like a parody.