Kentucky Fried Politics: A Colonel Sanders Timeline

Rivercat893

Banned
2010 is coming up. I think that Dave Ramsey might make a gun for the Governor of Tennessee. Governor Grammer will run for re-election of course. I think that this puts both of them for 2012 and 2016 discussion.
gap80, the creator of this timeline, will release the next chapter of Kentucky Fried Politics likely on December 23. I would also like to see it published as a book but with a narrative/framing device to connect all of the events of the story from the 1950s to the present day.
 
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Chapter 98: July 2009 – December 2009
Chapter 98: July 2009 – December 2009

“Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement”

– Dr. Kerr L. White (but also attributed to Mark Twain and several others)



“Jesse,” the President sighed disappointingly, “what were you thinking?”

“I erroneously had assumed the references would not be printed because of my racial bond with [1] him,” Jackson answered. The two’s pic-phone e-chat the previous day had been inconclusive, so Jackson visited the Wellstone family home in Minneapolis. KNN’s D. Carlton Lemon’s shocking exposé needed to be addressed with kid gloves, lest Republicans use it as fodder for their calls to reverse the past nine years of work.

“Jesse, I think it’d be a good idea for everyone if you…went on vacation for a while.”

“Banishment, huh?”

“No, no, you’ll just be shying away from the limelight for a little while, just until things blow over.”

“I’m not running away from this like some coward.”

“You’d be putting your pride on hold for a few days,” Wellstone said more aggressively, “If you don’t you can kiss the Rainbow Coalition goodbye, and neither you nor me want that!”

The President rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back in his chair in frustration. “Jesse, did you know that when your comments came out, I didn’t even ask if it was some kind of scam? Because I knew it wasn’t. Even if the comments came from a less reputable source like that Teresa Strasser tabloid report, I still wouldn’t have asked. Because I know it’s true. You say those kind of things all the time. It’s only now finally caught up to you.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel better about this, please just stop now.”

“Jesse, Bill Dedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and investigative reporter for Newsday, wants to follow up on the allegations. Jim Paratore, that media tech wiz guy, he’s offering reward money for any audio or visual archive footage of you saying other things like that. If you don’t admit to this, Colonel Sanders style, and then lay low until the next news story come about, this media circus will only get uglier.”

“And what about you?” Asked the former President.

“What about me?”

“What will you be doing while I’m off in self-exile.”

“I’ll be reaching out to the Jewish community. I’ll do my best to convince them to continue to support me?”

“Why would you have to do that?”

“Because many Jewish leaders are calling me an ‘Uncle Tom,’ a ‘self-hating Jew,’ and a ‘meshugenah,’ even, just for staying in your corner during all this. You have got to help me out here, and apologize.”

“Alright, alright.” The President sighed, “You’re right. I’ve burned a really big bridge here. How can I help?”

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



Jackson’s hurtful comments strained race relations, and led to many political analysts questioning the viability of the ‘Black-Jewish entente’ that had been a prominent part of the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections. The decades-long trend of Black Antisemitism became a subject of much public debate, while many aspects of Jackson’s administration came under scrutiny, with Republicans and even Jewish Democrats questioning if any of his actions in office purposely favored African-Americans over Jewish-Americans.

Interestingly, certain members of the Republican populist right, such as the controversial (and allegedly anti-Semitic) THN pundit, journalist, former National Review columnist, and two-time Goetz endorser Joseph Sobran, actually came to the former President’s defense. In the wake of such neo-hippie-like individuals praising him for “speaking the truth,” Jesse Jackson Sr. allegedly remarked, “Dear God, those aren’t the people I want having my back. Sweet Jesus, what have I done?”

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



...While the controversy over the former President’s comments dominated the news cycle, on Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued on with the planned Supreme Court hearings unimpeded. However, even here, some Republicans did not hold back on their criticism of Jackson’s alleged comments.

For example, US Senator Stan Jones (R-MT), a member of the upper chamber’s Judiciary Committee, asked Denny Chin “In your judgment, and in your experience, do you consider controversial, inciting, or polarizing comments, like the former President’s recent comments, to be enough disqualify someone from serving or running for public office?”

The comment backfired, as Chin replied with “No, but if I did, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about, Mr. Jones – you aren’t up for re-election until 2012, so you’d have plenty of time to think up something.”

Both Jones and Chin were reprimanded for the exchange, though more Senators admonished the former for the “out of line” query, as US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-NE) put it...

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



JACKSON EXPRESSES “DEEP REGRET” FOR PAST COMMENTS

…The Reverend and former President Jesse Jackson acknowledged tonight that he had used “hurtful” language in a private conversation. Appearing at a synagogue here in New York City, Jackson sought to put to rest a controversy that has dogged him for several days now.

“It was not done in the spirit of meanness,” he told an overflow crowd in the synagogue, Temple Adath Yershurum. “However innocent and unintended, it was wrong.” [2]

The New York Times, 7/12/2009




FINE: “Wellstone and Jackson want to move on but can’t. The damage has been done, the can of worms has been opened. Relations between Blacks and Jews have been historically contentious, and now it is out in the open.

WILLIAMS: “I wouldn’t say they were damaged now by Jackson’s comments. They were always strained behind closed doors under his Presidency.”

FINE: “So it was an open secret of sorts.”

WILLIAMS: “Yes, but now the President and former President will have to work very hard to repair the long-standing damage. I think that will be the only way that the Democrats will have a fighting chance in the midterms next year.”

– CBS News, round-table discussion, 7/13/2009



...In Poland, much like with the rest of Europe overall, first-trimester abortion is legal, though there are some restrictions – albeit, restrictions that are much less severe than those found in Vatican City, Andorra, Monaco and Bulgaria. When it comes to late-term abortions, however, Europe has varying degrees of restrictions. Countries strongly observant of the Catholic religion are the most stringent.

Because of this religious connection, conservative Catholics voiced outrage when conscientious objection to abortion by doctors was made illegal in no longer allowed in Germany on July 10, 2009. Pope Patrick I lead the criticism with a speech given on July 14, in which the church leader condemned the German government’s “assault on the sanctity” of human life. However, Patrick also criticized a wider range of topics in the speech as well. “In many parts of the world, the family is under siege," Pope Patrick I said. “It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalised by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce[3]

The Pope’s comments sparked controversy of its own, with religious figures and leaders worldwide either commending or criticizing his stance. For instance, the Archbishop of Warsaw noted that, “even in places like Germany and Poland, abortion is legal, but access is still limited and is not at all a guarantee. …I think Pope Patrick needs to study the real-world dynamics a little better.”…

[snip] …Abortion was made legal in Italy in 1990, but the current national law still allows health professionals to refuse to perform an abortion as “conscientious objectors,” which has the practical effect of restricting abortion access…

– Mathias Le Bossé and Robert C. Ostergren’s The Europeans: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment, Guilford Press, 2011



ONTECH POLL: 65% of Americans Approve of Supreme Court Nominee Denny Chin

– Gallup, 7/15/2009



THE DONGTAN DAYS OF SUMMER: The Story Behind China’s Eco-City Vision Being Delayed

…China has pushed back the opening date of its planned eco-city mega-project “Dongtan” to 2015, after months of construction delays related to funding and political realities. Pitched as a showcase ultra-green city to be ready and functioning in time for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Dongtan was an ambitious joint project involving multinational engineering firm Arup and Chinese developers. Engineering firms began being contracted for the city’s development in 2005, in response to the increase in Shanghai’s population over the years. Approved by then-Premier Bo Xilai, the idea for the planned city was treated as if it could very well be a futuristic model for low-rise suburbs to accommodate spillover from supercities and house China’s emerging middle class. The project touted ‘zero emissions’ as one of its main selling points, and recycled waste was included in the myriad renewable energy systems planned for Dongtan.

Four years later and the spectacle of the groundbreaking has subsided, and the bustling construction sites have quieted down. China’s longest bridge and tunnel now connects the wetlands building site and its looming wind turbines to Pudong, in outer Shanghai, but the trucks and machinery do not use them are often as they used to. [4]

According to reports, the engineers and architects behind the incomplete buildings blame China’s new Premier for their financial shortfalls pausing construction. Last year, Premier Yang decided to redirect funds from Dongtan to anti-poverty programs in his effort to distance himself from Bo. The former Premier’s stunning and sudden fall from grace two years ago also frightened away many sponsors, worsening payment problems. Meanwhile, China’s top-down government system means that there is little that Shanghai and provincial politicians can do to move construction along.

For now, Dongtan, a promised eco-city on the island of Chongming in Shanghai, China, standing only half-built, will remain so until the PRC’s government allots the city more funds to cover construction costs, material transportation costs, and laborer wages...

Time Magazine, July 2009 issue



“Mr. Chin has a good head on his shoulders, and his while his ideology and interpretation of the Constitution is too extreme for me to vote yea on his confirmation, I acknowledge his credentials, I respect his character, and I wish him the best of luck in the final vote count.”

– US Senator Don Stenberg (R-NE), 7/19/2009



MALCOLM X TO GIVE SPEECH FOR JORDAN AT KFC SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM

…X became involved in Middle Eastern affairs in the 1960s. In the 1980s, X praised Colonel Sanders for his long-lasting work in the area, after being initially skeptical that the annual Chicken Dinner Summits would improve regional relations. “The accolades were pretty ironic given that X would criticize the Colonel for pretty much anything back in the 1960s and early 1970s,” says The Colonel’s grandson, businessman Harland Sanders III. …The praise was not limited to one Republican leader, though, as X later lauded President Dinger’s efforts, in the immediate aftermath of the Second Korean War, to minimize discrimination against Former Northerners in the new nation of United Korea, and to confront anti-Asian attacks back home in the US.

…X increased his involvement in community organizing in the Middle East in the 1990s, starting with serving as an unofficial advisor to regional leaders outside of the CDSiJs before working up to national leaders of Muslim countries – most notably Jordan, along with Lebanon and Oman to lesser extents – by the end of the decade. X sought to encourage the monarchs of Jordan and Oman not only to continued participation in the summits, but to also commit to more effective social justice measures to improve civil liberties in their respective countries…

…In his old age, X is seemingly embracing The Colonel’s notion to “always be more for things than against things”…

The New York Times, 7/20/2009



…Disney’s Newt was released on July 21, 2009. While not as popular as the two films it found itself sandwiched between in the Disney lineup of theatrically released films, it still gave us some good acting from William Shatner, Merryl Streep, Jason Patrick, Sarah Silverman, Carl Weathers, Bob Peterson, John Ratzenburg, and Jim Cummings. Not that very well-remembered today, this quaint story about a pair of newts – a guy and a girl who can’t stand one another – trying to find others like them in order to save their species. With underlying themes of destiny and fate, the film argues that, with perseverance and support from those around you, one can break free from the kind of life others want them to have. Directed by Gary Rydstrom, written by Rydstrom and Leslie Caveny, and produced by Richard Hollander, the film was considered by Disney to be a “modest” box office success and received generally favorable reviews from critics and audiences. In short the film wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as great as other recent films like The Lion King and Treasure Planet…

– film review video “Rick Reviews: Newt,” uploaded to ourvids.co.usa, 2/2/2021



…On July 23, the US Senate confirmed Denny Chin for the Supreme Court seat by a vote of 61-43, with the sole Independent (Angus King of Maine) and four Republicans (Bill Weld of Massachusetts, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Lyle Hillyard of Utah) siding with the Democrats, and with one Republican (David Marriott of Utah) abstaining. He was sworn in a week later…

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



SUPREME COURT COMPOSITION ON JULY 30, 2009

Chief Justice (since July 2, 2001): Alan Cedric Page (D-MN, liberal) – succeeded Frank M. Johnson – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 1 (since March 10, 1999): Larry Dean Thompson (R-GA, conservative) – succeeded Leon Higginbotham – appointee: Dinger

Associate Justice Seat 2 (since May 14, 2000): Emilio Miller Garza (R-TX, conservative) – succeeded Edward H. Levi – appointee: Dinger

Associate Justice Seat 3 (since April 3, 2008): Aida M. Delgado-Colon (D-PR, liberal) – succeeded Joseph Tyree Sneed III – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 4 (since June 23, 1974): William Joseph Nealon Jr. (D-PA, liberal) – succeeded William O. Douglas – appointee: Mondale

Associate Justice Seat 5 (since November 16, 1971): Sylvia Bacon (R-PO, centrist) – succeeded John M. Harlan II – appointee: Sanders

Associate Justice Seat 6 (since May 10, 2002): Michael Joseph Sandel (D-CT, liberal) – succeeded Herb Fogel – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 7 (since July 28, 2009): Check Kong “Denny” Chin (D-CA, liberal) – succeeded Miles W. Lord – appointee: Wellstone

Associate Justice Seat 8 (since October 1990): Mary Murphy Schroeder (D-CO, liberal) – succeeded William Brennan – appointee: Bellamy

– thesupremecourt.co.usa/court_compositions/by_date/7_30_2009



They met up again, quite serendipitously, at the Idlewild Airport in New York City.

“Where are you heading?” asked Donald but adding “I’ve got to get to a shooting location in Florida.”

His ex-wife quickly replied, “I just interviewed a retiring NFL player.”

“Who?”

“Some guy named Pat Tillman.”

“Never heard of him. Must be retiring because he’s a loser.”

Rolling her eyes, she noted “His fractured his leg, badly.”

“See?”

“Better way to leave the field than how you did.”

Donald scowled at the reminder of his career-ending altercation with the Houston Astros pitcher still serving as the Commissioner of Baseball. “Easy there, at least I didn’t break my frickin’ leg.”

She groaned aloud and began walking away, “Don’t forget next week is your week with our youngest – you remember Richie, don’t you, the angsty 16-year-old?”

Not catching the snarky sarcasm, he replied, “Sure, sure. But hey,” he began to walk with her, “You didn’t hear about the movie I’m making.”

“I’ll watch the making-of feature on its Micro-LD.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that. I’m trying to be nice here.”

“You’re doing as well as you did in the MLB,” she continued on into the food court.

“Oh, you know what? I was going to ask you if you wanted to be in the movie, but now I might take the offer off the table.”

Curious, his ex-wife slowed her walk, allowing Donald to finally catch up. “Curious. You seemed to run a lot better in that movie of yours.”

“Camera tricks are amazing. I can show you on the set, you know.”

“Why would you want me in it. Oh wait, is this because of my new job? You know, two of the main news co-anchors at THN?”

“It’s more than that,” he took a step back. “It’s just, I’ve got to tell ya, after all these years, you’ve held up pretty good.”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” She restarted her pace, walking past the row of diminutive fast-food outlets flanking the one side of the food court.

“You’re still hot, that’s all I’m saying!”

“You’ve said plenty.”

“Come on,” Donald then spotted a pizza shop to their left, “Listen, can’t we talk about this over a slice?” He then quickly added “I’m buyin’!”

The ex-wife stopped a turned around to face him. “Really? You’re going to try to get me to strut around in front of a camera in exchange for pizza? You really think that would work?”

“Maybe. Would it kill you or me to try?”

Rolling her eyes again, she agreed to the free meal. Both ordered plain cheese, with Donald saying, “They use topping to cover up cheese patches, that’s how they get you.”

“I remember, you told me on our first date.”

“I did? I mean, oh yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you were charming back then.”

“I’m still charming,” Donald whined.

“Subjectively,” she added.

They then collected their order, and as they both grabbed some utensils, and Donald caught her blush and smile slightly. “Heh, I see you picked up at least one good habit from me. You’re going to eat your slices with a fork and knife, too, huh?’

“Well,” she conceded, “after SARS, your germaphobia stopped looking so crazy to me. You were almost prophetic on that front.”

“See? It wasn’t all bad.”

“It wasn’t mostly good, either.”

Then they collected their drinks. As they sat down into a booth, Donald sat beside her instead of across from her; she inched away, but otherwise did not address another classic example of his awkward ways of interacting with people.

Donald continued, “Every couple goes through rough patches, hon. It all depends on how they handle them.”

“I suppose. But you did f*ck up. Royally.”

Deflecting the comment, he said “speaking of royalty – ”

“Please, don’t mention your ex-wife!”

“Which one? The one before you? The one after you – the royal one? Ericka Cruz? Or Oksana Fedorova?”

“Who were those last two again?”

“Beats me. I was married to them for such a short time I hardly got to know them – I think three months in ’02 with Cruz, and about a year, ’05 or ’06, with Oksana.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“And lonely.”

“Lonely, huh?”

“Lonelier than an ethnic dude in Wyoming.”

To this, she actually let out a bit of a snicker, to which Donald smiled and began to chuckle.

“Hehe! After all this time, I can still make you laugh! I miss your laugh. Do you miss me?”

She conceded, “only on occasion.”

He smiled, “I can work with that.”

SRvVYUi.png

[pic: imgur.com/SRvVYUi.png ]

Above: Donald and Sarah spotted eating pizza together at Idlewild Airport, NYC, c. August 5, 2009

– Kate Bohner’s The Art of The Don: The Unofficial Biography of Donald Trump, Times Books, 2017 edition



EUNICE KENNEDY-SHRIVER PASSES AWAY AT 88

…the decades-long pro-life progressive who was an early supporter of UHC and disability rights legislation was surrounded by friends and family during her final days… The firebrand feminist served in the US Senate from 1962 to 2001 and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1988, after declining to run in 1972, 1980 and 1984…

The Washington Post, 8/11/2009



“…former FBI Director Robert F. Kennedy spoke at the invitation-only Requiem Mass held for his older sister here at the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis. Sources close to the invitees have told us that the former Director delivered a stirring eulogy, one fitting for the beloved champion of feminist causes and defender of the disabled and the unborn. …Eunice Kennedy-Shriver’s other surviving brother, her younger brother and media mogul Ted Kennedy, was in attendance despite his own ailing health. In the past year, Mr. Ted Kennedy has had several grueling operations to combat a brain tumor and has been afflicted with seizures as well…”

– WNEV-TV News 7, independent TV station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, US; 8/14/2009 broadcast



KENNETH BACON, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE, IS DEAD AT 64

…Bacon was a former leading figure in the humanitarian organization Refugees International, and also had previously worked, in advisory and unofficial diplomatic functions, for the Presidencies of Jack Kemp, Carol Bellamy, and Lee Iacocca. Despite spending years of his career working as a columnist and journalist, often being critical of “wasteful military spending,” Bacon served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, a position considered to unofficially be the “public face” of said department, from 1991 to 1993...

The New York Times, 8/15/2009



The New New York Files
, often shortened to The NNY Files or TNNYF, and aired and marketed in Canada as Tales from New New York, is a spinoff of the long-running American TV series Futurama. TNNYF is an anthology series, with each episode focusing on minor side characters, creatures, planets, and other locations found in the Futurama series, but expanded upon in order to “flesh them out,” as put by series creator Matt Groening. The series also depicts the early lives of the major characters of Futurama prior to the start of the series, as well as presenting a collection of non-sequitor shorts in some episodes that the writers “failed to expand into full episodes,” as Groening put it. The series began airing on August 16, 2009, almost exactly 15 after Futurama began airing; Groening explained in a 2009 interview that “the delay” in TNNYF’s developed was because “it’s only now that we the manpower to pull it off.” With a less frequent release schedule than Futurama’s, TNNYF has received praised by audiences and given decent reviews by critics.

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 2011



LARGEST-EVER ANIMALS-ONLY OVERPASS BRIDGE OPENS IN WYOMING

…Animals-only highway overpasses have proven over the years to reduce traffic accidents caused by wandering animals. These sprawled-out structures that blend into the area’s natural elements help animals migrate above and over busy roads without interacting with the human activity on the pavement below. This is the largest one in the US, passing over the four lanes of US Route 26 that pass through Wyoming. The “nature overpass” is sprinkled with elements such as rocks, bushes, logs, shrubbery and small boulders to extend the local animals’ natural habitat across the bridge and increase the speed at which wildlife adjusts to using the bridge instead of taking their chances on the road. Typically, members of the wildlife may take up to two or even five years for the shift to fully occur, but recent trends suggest that the more common they are found, the sooner animals adjust to them. In the past five years, the average length of time between overpass opening and complete local wildlife acceptance has shortened by as much as 30%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency…

– knn.co.usa, 8/18/2009



…and in political news, President Wellstone continued to meet with Jewish-American community leaders to amend relations between Jewish and African-American communities…

– CBS Evening News, 8/19/2009



…According to sources close to both musicians, rapper Vanilla Ice and rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley plan release a collaboration album next month. …The two singer-songwriters began work on the album after lead singer Freddie Mercury of Queen publicly accused Ice of being “an unoriginal bore” for allegedly “ripping off” the music of Queen and other performers…

– thehollywoodreporter.co.usa, 8/21/2009



As Governor, Grammer also sought out an answer for what to do with the Salton Sea. Grammer visited the region in 2008 and found it to be a tragic site. With the backdrop of a breathtaking mountain range, he was shocked by the extent of dead animals and abandoned communities covered the artificial lake’s receding shoreline.

Accidently brought into existence in 1905 in a Colorado River water inflow effort gone awry, the large artificial sea in southern California was a popular place for the US military to conduct parachute training and testing after World War Two until the 1970s. The 1950s saw resort towns pop up along its shores, the most famous one being the Bombay Beach resort town. However, the mishandling of water apportionment over the decades had led to the sea’s waters slowly receding in a minor reflection of United Turkestan’s Aral Sea, creating an environmental disaster. Years of pollution from agricultural runoff had raised the Salton Sean’s salinity. In what has become a common and iconic image of the area, dead fish began washing up on beaches, creating noxious olfactory experiences that drove away the tourists and killed the local economy deader than the stinky fish. Worse, as the receding waters left the sea bed exposed to wind, toxic dust increased the risk of asthma and respiratory complications for the locals, brought on by particulate matter swept up into the air from the former shores of the Salton Sea and unintentionally breathed in by the people of Imperial County.

“As more of the sea dries, tens of thousands of silty shoreline is exposed,” explained Wendy Russell, the state’s inaugural Interior Secretary and the former Mayor of Palm Springs, a resort town less than thirty miles northwest of the dying lake, during Grammer’s first visit to the area. “And with it, the exposure of long-dormant, now-banned pesticides like DDT and other contaminants, that then get blown off to population centers by the wind.”

“Dear God, can’t anything be done about this?” the Governor asked.

“Poor air quality, habitat losses, human health risks, choking dust, and dying birds and fish do not appeal to prospective homeowners,” Russell shook her head. “It is problematic, but restoration would likely be our best course of action.”

“Then restoration efforts must be taken.”

Russell nodded, “We can’t let it be retaken by Mother Nature because the level of kicked-up toxic soil would be disastrous for living beings all across this whole region. And because the sea has no natural outlet, we have to prevent it from being used for waste storage.”

“So we’ll work with Nevada’s Governor to move this toxic soil out of our state and into theirs.” The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository is a radioactive waste storage facility in Nevada, set up in 1981, in the aftermath of the Trojan Tower Disaster of 1979, so that the federal government finally had a place to dispose of toxic waste.

“A small wetland project on the Torrez Martinez Tribal Land at the north of the valley may work. If it does, it may serve as a starting point or a springboard for more restoration projects,” opined Russell.

Grammer visited the Salton Sea again in early 2009, and lamented his administration’s failure to better address the growing crisis. He reportedly told his aides, “I think more movies could be made here. We could restore this place, renew its recreation opportunities, and foster economic development. It’s a beautiful place and it’s worth saving. Especially since it’ll be a huge public health disaster if we don’t.” Grammer soon formed a special Land Restoration Commission to discuss long-term, medium-range, and immediate goals. Grammer himself was more interested in the more immediate measures, figuring that local residents would not have the patience to wait for the fruits of a ten-year project. “I know I wouldn’t,” he reportedly told Secretary Russell.

The commission suggested establishing greenways and parks to rebuild the coast, town renewal efforts on the north end and “clean” lithium mining and geothermal energy projects on the south end. These medium-range goals would capitalize on both the scenic vistas and the deposits of minerals that are key ingredients in the production of lar phones and other modern electronic devices.

“We could bring back speedboat racing to the area and set up some solar panel farms maybe,” the Governor opined.

During one meeting with Governor Grammer in 2009, one commissioner questioned if redevelopment even be worth it in regards to it being economically sustainable, in the wake of health concerns. Grammer answered with “We’ll clear the waste away, then we’ll open the mineral mines, and then we’ll allow more people to begin moving in.” Grammer envisioned the re-establishing of working town in the area, of a working-class community for the geothermal production nearby, but a working-class community with a higher-class scenic view. And of improvements to the region becoming noticeable within the next five years. Grammer admitted, “Too idealistic? Maybe. But if we aim for an ‘A’ we could get a ‘B,’ and that’s a lot better than the ‘F’ we’ve got now.”

“There’s just one major problem with this,” Russell noted about the governor’s proposed five-year remove-redevelop-reopen plan.

“What’s that,” Governor Grammer asked.

“Geothermal energy extraction has been linked to earthquakes.”

Grammer thought for a moment, and politely attempted to brush off the concern by noting the size of the region’s proposed production and mining operation. “And, well, besides, we’re already on the San Andreas Fault. Earthquakes are already an expected part of the California experience. So the trick is to build houses that stand up to the ground-rattling. So…let’s not let anyone build any high-rises near the Salton Sea, shall we?”

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[pic: imgur.com/pB0BEgd.png ]

Pictured: An aerial view of the Salton Sea

The earthquakes and the Salton Sea, however, were only part of a bigger problem concerning California’s environmental and fiscal conditions. Red Tide along the coast and forest fires in the north had made for a state government that needed bigger rainy-day fund, but Grammar had lowered taxes with the promise to not raise them again. Instead of using the Treasury Department’s already-depleted funds to pay for the toxic soil removal, Grammer turned to the private sector, offering tax breaks to contractors who were willing to work for low salaries and commission to cart away the soil and invest in energy production. A similar scheme had played out successfully for Grammer’s efforts to improve the state’s maglev and subway train transportation systems, allowing businesses to invest in maintenance and advertising to make up for the cost of repairs, updates and renovations...

– Miriam Pawel’s The Golden State Under Governor Grammar, Doubleday, 2021



…And earlier tonight in South Africa, incumbent President Keorapetse Kgositsile of the ANC won election to a full term over challenger Narend Singh of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Singh was an early favorite to win due to President Kgositsile receiving criticism for pardoning former President Buthelezi, but managed to assemble what has proven to be a winning coalition of anti-IFP voters…

– BBC News, 25/8/2009 broadcast



Performers Who Have Portrayed Doctor Who:

In Television

1963-1966: 1) William Hartnell

1966-1969: 2) Patrick Troughton

1969-1974: 3) Jon Pertwee

1974-1981: 4) Richard Keith Johnson

1981-1988: 5) Sir Michael John Gambon

1988-1989: 6) Sir Sean Connery

1989-1999: 7) Pierce Brosnan

1999-2002: 8) Hugh Grant

2002-2012: 9) James Edward Fleet

2012-2015: 10) Richard Ellef Ayoade

2015-2020: 11) Sir Rowan Atkinson

2020-present: 12) Hayley Atwell

In Film

1965: Peter Cushing

1966: Peter Cushing

1987: Sir Michael John Gambon and Sir Sean Connery

2020: Sir Rowan Atkinson and Hayley Atwell

– mediarchives.co.usa



FORMER PRESIDENT DINGER ENDORSES “40% GOALPOST” BILL

The Des Moines Register, 8/29/2009



BIG VALLEY JAMBOREE CROWD BREAKS FESTIVAL’S ATTENDANCE RECORD

…the festivities were held later than usual due to a necessary postponement. The venue’s grounds required repairs after a major thunderstorm that Camrose experienced this summer significantly damaged grandstands and stages. Attention to these renovations many have contributed to this year’s crowd size, as more people learned of the annual fundraising event through news coverage of the repairs…

– calgaryherald.co.can, 1/9/2009 e-article



The Sweathogs (TV series)
is an ABC TV series that serves as a sequel to the 1976-1981 TV series “Welcome Back, Kotter” and to the 2009 film of the same name. It aired on September 3, 2009 and concluded on June 3, 2012.

SYNOPSIS

Immediately following the events of the 2009 movie, the four main characters – Juan Epstein, Freddie Washington, Vinnie Barbarino and Arnold Horshack, a.k.a. “The Sweathogs” – decide to permanently move to New York City. Washington begins teaching Gym at a local college, Horshack becomes the remedial class teacher after Epstein is promoted to VP, and Vinnie settles for working as the school nurse and janitor, though he does fill in for Washington from time to time. A visual gag in the pilot hints that Woodman is rolling over in his grave upon it becoming official that “Sweathogs now control the school,” and throughout the series horror movie clichés played for laughs suggest that his spirit intermittently haunts the school in malevolent and benevolent ways. As the series progresses, Vinnie’s perverted undertones are exaggerated to make the character a humorous critique of jock stereotypes [S1].

Along with improving the learning experience for the students of the school, the Sweathogs also help their families adjust to life in NYC. Washington, through his struggles to balance the responsibilities of teacher, father and husband, becomes the new levelheaded character, with new characters in the form of Washington’s wife Vernajean Williams (played by Vernee Watson-Johnson, who portrayed the same character in the film and original series), Horschack’s wife Mary, and Epstein’s longtime girlfriend all doing their best to keep the Sweathogs out of trouble.

CAST

The actors portraying Washington, Epstein, Horshack and Barbarian all reprised their roles and were part of the regular cast. New characters included Debralee Scott as Rosalee “Hotsi” Totsi; Helaine Lembeck as Judy Hingswiggle; Stephen Shortridge as Beau De LaBarre (her first film role in roughly twenty years); Susan Lanier (b. 1947) as Bambi, Vinnie Barbarino’s wife; Charles Fleischer as Carvelli, a former student of James Buchanan High School who is now an ex-convict and the shop teacher at the school, and serves mainly as a developed rival on the show; Melonie Haller as Angie Grabowski; Aquarius Bates as Maybelline Swanson, Epstein’s Teacher Assistant; and Angel Demapan as Yasmina Washington, Freddie Washington’s daughter, a high school senior in the first season and a college student afterward.

Actors Jamie Farr and Gabe Kaplan agreed to play recurring roles, though the latter appears in only 20% of the episodes, while the former appears in 60% of the episodes.

PRODUCTION, RELEASE AND RESPOSE

A wide variety of writers worked on the series, with at least one episode being written or co-written by Fran Drescher (comedienne), Bud York in (co-writer for The John Amos Show), Susan Harris (creator of Soap, Benson, and The Golden Girls), Seth MacFarlane (create of Larry and Steve), Gabe Kaplan, and several other recurring writers.

The show has been praised for its self-aware humor, clever fourth-wall breaks, and successful running gags. After ratings dropped during the third season as the main stars began looking to other projects, the show was wrapped up and ended in season 3 with a two-part finale. The finale included a scene where a large number of Mr. Kotter’s infamous anecdotal relatives finally show up to prove that at least some of them were, in fact, real the whole time.

– clickopedia.co.usa/The_Sweathogs_(TV_series)

[S1] note: think Old Man Herbert from Family Guy, but younger, more ego-driven, more pathetic and much dumber



“…And in political news, businessman and former U.S. Congressman Dave Ramsey today announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee…”

– WCLE (1570 AM) Tennessee radio, 9/7/2009 broadcast



Title: SAIL THROUGH MOUNTAINS

Performers: Elvis Presley with Vanilla Ice
Producer: Rick Hall
Record label: FAME Studios and Sony Music
Released: September 19, 2009
Genre: soft rock, country rock, rap rock, hip hop, doo-wop

REVIEW AVERAGE: 4.8-out-of-5

REVIEWS:

REVIEW 1:
I think the review average is inflated by the hype. I mean, this is Elvis – he could release the audio of his next colonoscopy as an album and it would be a hit single. 2-out-of-5.

REVIEW 2:
This was… decent. Certainly buoyed by Elvis, but serviceable. Though honestly, sometimes, the music styling of the two singers don’t mix that well IMO. 3-out-of-5.

REVIEW 3:
IT’s been interesting watching these two musicians mature and change over the years. Ice spending time with Elvis has made the King kind of rub off on him. V.I.’s music is getting more conservative in regards to subject matter. For American flags waving in the background of his music videos, lyrics with more religious reference; an overall more gospel kind of sound. This has got to be Ice’s cleanest album. 5-out-of-5.
- - -
REPLY 1 to REVIEW 3:
Clean is putting it lightly – he sounds almost neutered. I miss his more aggressive works.

REVIEW 4:
I’m surprised by how well these two perform together. Their voices really compliment each other. The result is this heavy lean into “Christian rap” on Vanilla’s side, and a lean to more hip hop styles on Elvis’s side. 5-out-of-5.
- - -
REPLY 1 to REVIEW 4:
I’m still surprised that Christian Rap is even a thing! I think this collab will make it more mainstream. I’m not sure how to feel about that.

– albumreviews.co.usa, a public music review site, 2009 post



…with China’s work on Dongtan being put on hold indefinitely, the Shimizu Corporation saw an opportunity to beat the PRC at its own game. As one of the largest general contracting firm for various architectural and civil engineering projects in Japan, Shimizu was able to propose several “megaprojects” to citywide and national officials during the late 2000s decade. These proposals included a sustainable city on the edge of Tokyo Bay, an artificial botanical island built with redistributed matter from the seabed, and a second and larger underwater/underground tunnel across Tokyo Bay to compliment Japan’s Aqua-Line.

City officials in Tokyo signed off on the latter two megaprojects, as they were less ambitious and, in the city government’s view, less likely to fall to the same variables that had stalled construction on Dongtan. Construction began on Green Spiral Island, the botanical island project, in September 2009. Tokyo residents hoped the projects would lower unemployment, environmentalists hoped it would come to serve as an inspiration for future humanity-biosphere co-existence endeavors, and wealthier investors predicted that these and other urban redevelopment projects would raise Japan’s chances of being selected to host the Summer or Winter Olympic Games in the near future. All the while, many (but not all) political officials sought to keep an eye out for yakuza syndicates trying to make themselves involved in the construction and labor aspects of these projects…

– Alec Dubro and David E. Kaplan’s Yakuza: Japan’s Criminal Underworld, University of California Press, 2021 edition



TINO DE ANGELIS, THE MAN BEHIND THE SALAD OIL RECESSION, DIES AT 94

…Anthony “Tino” De Angelis, the former commodities trader often described as the man who single-handedly crashed the US’s national economy in 1963, passed away today at the age of 94. De Angelis dealt in vegetable oil futures worldwide during the early 1960s, and ultimately swindled 51 banks out of more than $180million, or roughly $1.5billion in today’s money, in an ultimately-unsuccessful effort to corner the soybean oil market. The bombshell expose covering the investigation of the fraud, De Angelis’ arrest, and the revelations over it results in stocks crashing, and pulled the nation into a minor recession that many say contributed to President Lyndon Johnson losing re-election less than a year later.

The “Salad Oil Slicker” was sentenced to 25 years in prison in June 1964, but was released on bail in 1977, after serving for 12 years and seven months. During that time, De Angelis lost weight to improve his physical health and wrote an autobiography that was published in 1974. De Angelis was initially very popular among the prisoners, as the media had described him as “one of the greatest tricksters in American history,” as the Times reported in 1964. However, he had to be relocated to another prison in 1971, after his fellow prisoners discovered that he had been serving as a snitch for the warden for over six months, resulting in an attempt on his life. In the next prison, De Angelis reportedly kept a low profile.

After being released from prison, De Angelis attempted to return to commodities and stock trading, but could only find work in managing livestock transportation, “kept in charge but kept away from the till” as he later put it; when the economy entered recession in 1978, De Angelis famously told a Times reporter “I swear, I didn’t do it this time!”

In his later years, De Angelis served as a supervisor on several episodes of true-crime TV shows, with his name being credited on three episodes of Law and Order and five episodes of NCIS: New Jersey, but was not consulted for the 1979 Steve McQueen movie about “his recession,” or for the 2001 remake, leading to him criticizing both films and the way he was depicted in both

According to his nephew Joey, “Uncle Tino” died peacefully in his sleep from natural causes at his home in Bayonne, New Jersey. He is survived by several relatives, including two ex-wives, three children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

The New York Times, 9/26/2009



…On September 29, another issue arose out from the pacific in the form of an 8.1 earthquake, which triggered a massive tsunami that hit Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga with waves measuring as tall as 46 feet. American Samoa’s freshwater systems and electrical power generators were damaged. Applying what he had learned watching President Jackson handle Hurricane Katrina in 2005, President Wellstone declared a major disaster for thru dependent territory, allotting emergency federal funds to be used for rescue and clean-up efforts, and public health operations such as sending new generators and medical equipment to American Samoan hospitals. Samoa and Tongo gratefully accepted WELLSTONE’S offers to loan them assistance as well. The Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency (ODERCA) logistics teams oversaw basic needs being sent out with the assistance of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US National Guard.

In a rare moment of praising “the tax-and-spend Democrats,” as he often put it, Governor Harley Davidson Brown (R-ID) praised Wellstone’s use of the USACE on September 30. However, any possible attempts to win over other conservative Republicans were impeded on October 3rd, when the President took the opportunity to compliment his predecessor, saying that Jackson’s handling of Katrina helped prepare himself for these kind of emergency situations. The comment was meant to try and improve Jackson’s popularity, as the “one of the good ones” scandal was still fresh in the public’s minds; it instead was viewed as “pandering” by individuals such as Allan Dershowitz, a prominent lawyer and a friend of former Speaker McMaster. Dershowitz created some controversy of his own on October 4th, when he called Wellstone a “traitor to our people” over the President’s refusal to more harshly denounce the former President...

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



…The 1970s, 1908s, and 1990s were also dominated by the NHL’s rivalry with the World Hockey Association (WHA). Initially struggling to compete against the larger NHL, the WHA benefited from successfully recruiting athletes fleeing from communist countries during the late 1970s, allowing the WHA to survive the financial shortfalls of the US economy entering recession in 1978, a development that financial hurt the NHL. When the Iron Curtain fell in the 1980s, culminating in the Soviet Union collapsing in 1984, ex-pats from Russia and Eastern Europe preferred the WHA due to its pro-immigrant player reputation in recent years, making the WHA the most successful NHL challenger ever.

The tide began to turn in the NHL’s favor at the dawn of the 1990s, however, with many “America First”-minded businessmen and individuals such as President Lee Iacocca strongly supporting the NHL’s various financial development and recruitment improvement efforts. After years of declining popularity and mounting financial problems, combined with the loss of many star players to the NHL and contract arguments between players and managers, the WHA’s fate was sealed in 2002, when the global SARS pandemic financial impacted the WHA worse than the NHL. The WHA ceased operations in 2004…

…By the time of the 2009-2010 NHL season, which began on October 1, 2009 and ended on June 9, 2010, the NHL was close to eclipsing the NFL to become the fourth-wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue. They ultimately failed to do so, but they did come close to it nevertheless…

– forward/introduction section of John Chi-Kit Wong’s Lords of The Rinks, University of Toronto Press, 2005



List of Stanley Cup champions

[snip]

1975: Montreal Canadiens

1976: Philadelphia Flyers

1977: Montreal Canadiens

1978: Montreal Canadiens

1979: Montreal Canadiens

1980: Philadelphia Flyers

1981: New York Islanders

1982: New York Islanders

1983: New York Islanders

1984: New York Islanders

1985: New York Islanders

1986: Calgary Flames

1987: Montreal Canadiens

1988: Edmonton Oilers

1989: Edmonton Oilers

1990: Edmonton Oilers

1991: Boston Bruins

1992: Pittsburgh Penguins

1993: Minnesota North Stars

1994: Pittsburgh Penguins

1995: Pittsburgh Penguins

1996: Chicago Blackhawks

1997: Montreal Canadiens

1998: New Jersey Devils

1999: Detroit Red Wings

2000: Colorado Avalanches

2001: Anaheim Mighty Ducks

2002: Edmonton Oilers

2003: New Jersey Devils

2004: New Jersey Devils

2005: Edmonton Oilers

2006: Montreal Canadiens

2007: Seattle Seals

2008: Boston Snowflakes

2009: Detroit Red Wings

– clickopedia.co.usa



IOC Session No. 121

Date: October 2, 2009

Location: Turin, Italy

Subject 1 of 1: Bidding For Hosting The 8/5/2016-8/21/2016 (or XXXI) Summer Olympics

Inspection teams evaluated candidate cities based on accommodations, environmental impact, past hosting experiences, financing capabilities, legal issues, local public opinion, safety and security standards, transportation feasibility, infrastructure, and the newest high-ranking criteria, sanitation procedures. New Delhi, India withdrew the day before the session, as their prospects remained dim over the city’s negative reputation still being connected to its poor handling of the 2002-2004 SARS pandemic and more recent corruption scandals. Rio de Janiero, the initial frontrunner, experienced similar concerns, along with its location and other inhibiting factors. Ahead of the fifth round, Baku withdrew; its votes, and Rio de Janiero’s votes, were split almost evenly between Prague and New York City.

Results:

New York City, United States – 21 (Round 1) – 25 (Round 2) – 28 (Round 3) – 28 (Round 4) – 52 (Round 5)

Prague, Czechoslovakia – 20 (Round 1) – 24 (Round 2) – 26 (Round 3) – 26 (Round 4) – 51 (Round 5)

Rio de Janiero, Brazil – 22 (Round 1) – 23 (Round 2) – 24 (Round 3) – 24 (Round 4)

Baku, Azerbaijan – 12 (Round 1) – 13 (Round 2) – 20 (Round 3) – 25 (Round 4) (withdrew ahead of Round 5)

Tokyo, Japan – 17 (Round 1) – 11 (Round 2) – 5 (Round 3)

Madrid, Spain – 6 (Round 1) – 7 (Round 2)

Nairobi, Kenya – 5 (Round 1)

End Result: New York City won on the fifth round

– aldaver.co.usa/votes.html



“Why are we going to spend all this money on some elitist sports show nobody watches instead of spending that money where it’s needed? Do you not know how high the rent is in this city?!”

– politician Jimmy McMillan of New York City, 10/4/2009



…On October 7, 2009, the US Deputy Trade Representative and Mexico’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism signed the US-Mexico Trade Promotion Agreement, slashing tariffs even further in order to encourage domestic consumption and employment in Mexico. The agreement also served as a prelude to further US investment into Mexico’s electronics commerce and telecommunications industries. While privately critical of labor in Mexico, Wellstone believed strengthening US-Mexico relations would have a positive effect of Mexico’s workforce and encourage stronger labor rights south of the border.

Meanwhile, in D.C., the Democrats in congress passed the Federal Buildings And Grounds Improvement Act, which established additional public-sector “civilian” federal employee occupations in regards to landscaping, maintenance, security, and other aspects of maintaining locations belong…

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



SENATOR KENNEDY-ROOSEVELT INTRODUCES DISABILITY RIGHTS BILL

…the calls for a landmark bill to assist and protect Disabled Americans have risen in recent weeks, arguably sparked by the death of disability rights advocate and former US Senator Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, an aunt of Kennedy-Roosevelt…

– The Washington Post, 10/11/2009



JONES: So now let’s finish this up with your latest project, The Krusty The Clown Show, a live-action spinoff of Life In Heck And Other Fun Places.

GROENING: Yeah, it’s been a long time coming, this one.

JONES: Indeed! L.I.H. went off the air over 15 years ago.

GROENING: But it still has a strong cult following.

JONES: So is this, like, a cash grab or something?

GROENING: All shows are cash grabs. It’s just that the good ones don’t feel like cash grabs. We’re hoping The Krusty The Clown Show be will a real good one.

JONES: Well, Life In Heck didn’t feel like a cash grab either. Does that mean the rumors ontech are true, that a L.I.H. reboot is in the works?

GROENING: We’ll see how things go with Krusty first.

JONES: Well, personally I have a high amount of confidence in you, but what about audiences more familiar with Futurama than with L.I.H.? Will many even remember the cynical, chain-smoking, inappropriate, womanizing children’s entertainer Krusty the Clown from a TV show from the early 1990s?

GROENING: I will admit, it does seem like a gamble. Especially since that side character was a cartoon, and this is going to be live-action. Voice actor Dan Castellaneta’s also going to be doing his first major on-screen TV role, but, you know, I think that work in our favor. Because having it focus on cult favorite in a new format can re-introduce the character to a whole new generation in a brand new way. He’ll still be the same Krusty, but people are going to see more depth, more of who he is.

JONES: Yes, and you can use more technology and referential humor in it too, because, uh, if I recall accurately, the show takes place in the present, and years after the events of L.I.H. ended.

GROENING: That’s correct, Krusty has moved to L.A. to host his own talk show for a more adult audience, but he will keeps resorting to the same old childish antics and publicity stunts that made his old show so successful. Lots of meta jokes, too. Krusty will be looking for love, and struggling to break from his addictions in the more serious episodes, but mostly, he’ll be trying to win over viewers with comical schemes. Most of the time. We also plan to have lots of celebrity cameos, as he’ll be trying to, like, persuade or downright kidnap guest stars for his show. Sort of a major running gag.

JONES: Fascinating; and when will it premier again?

GROENING: Sometime next year.

JONES: I can’t wait!

– usarightnow.co.usa, 10/16/2009 interview



LOCAL MAN WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES APPREHEND AFTER “CONCERNING” ACTIVITY

…In accordance with the California Mental Health Protection Act signed into law by Governor Brown in 1996 [5], a one Edward P. Phillips, 63, formerly of Corydon, Indiana [6], has been “retained” for involuntarily mental health examination with permission from at least one family member. The retention occurred less than 48 hours after Phillips made violent threats in front of several witnesses at a public diner, whose owner described Phillips’ behavior as being “concerning and unnerving…he didn’t seem right.”…

The Sacramento Union, 10/21/2009



…Even as the House Minority Leader, former Speaker McMaster could still confer regularly with GOP Senate leaders and do his best to try and win over conservative Democrats to break from their party line. Congressional Republicans also did their part to oppose the Wellstone administration, scrutinizing opposition legislation, calling for deregulation of multiple aspects of the government, questing circuit court decisions influenced by justices appointed by Wellstone and Jackson, and strongly lambasting executive orders…

[snip]

…Furthermore, calls for the deceptively-entitled Middle Class Tax Relief Act and the Nation Defense Reform Act became rallying points for the GOP as 2009 wound down, but without the votes, both proposed laws were ultimately struck down by the majority Democrats before the end of October. However, this may in fact had been what McMaster wanted, as their rejections created fodder for the Republican party’s 2010 strategy…

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



RABBI OF AMERICA’S LARGEST SYNAGOGUE “FORGIVES” JESSE JACKSON; Accepts July Apology, Re-Endorses The Rainbow Coalition

The Chicago Tribune, 10/25/2009



FEEDING THE FUTURE: Why Automated Farming Is On The Rise

c8fWFTS.png

[pic: imgur.com/c8fWFTS.png ]

We have come a long way from automatic sprinklers. With a world population of roughly 7 billion people and rising, more analysts and businessmen are coming to agree with the notion that agricultural modernization is a must. Providing sustenance means improving farming systems, and this need, combined with technological developments, is the impetus behind farming becoming increasingly automated in recent years. Major food producers such as Perdue and Tyson are adopting computer automation and robotics to increase food production and availability, with smaller producers and farms following suit, and Kansas, a state at the forefront of “agritech” innovation, is at the center of it...

[snip]

…For more urban areas, indoor farming and vertical farming is on the rise as well. For example, Chicago’s Mayor Larry Wintersmith has recently greenlit plans for a high-rise in the south side of the city that will feature a 30-story façade of various vegetable running up and down the south side of the building exterior, in a project meant to demonstrate how crowded population centers can still contribute to growing their own foodstuffs.

There is also something to be said about the rise in “Concierge” jobs. Essentially, these are jobs in which robots do the physical work while human beings are the “faces” of it. A sort of go-between between robot-cautious customers and the new machinery. These occupations, along with farming mechanization overall, exploded under President Jesse Jackson’s Agriculture Secretary, the progressive Jim McGovern…

National Geographic, October 2009 issue



“…In the Garden state, incumbent New Jersey Governor Joe Louis Clark, a Democrat, successfully ran for a full term. Running against controversial right-wing Republican challenger Steve Lonegan, Clark, the state’s first African-American Governor, won by a margin of roughly 14%. Clark’s running mate was state senator Peter Benson Carlisle. …Governor Joe Louis Clark ascended from the Lieutenant Governorship in January of this year after New Jersey Governor Richard Codey resigned from office to join the Wellstone administration. Prior to entering elective politics, Joe Louis Clark was an educator, serving as the Principal of Eastside High in the 1980s and as a Superintendent in the 1990s…”

– CBS Evening News, 11/3/2009 broadcast



DEMOCRATS TAKE BACK GOVERNOR’S MANSION BY A HAIR

…Les Steckel (D) defeated Virgil Goode Jr. (R) with a plurality, winning by a margin of roughly 1.5%, and with the conservative independent candidate Harry Russell “Russ” Potts Jr. underperforming, but still pulling in roughly 3.7% of the vote... Steckel will be sworn in on January 16, 2010…

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11/3/2009



HAMBERG RE-ELECTED IN LANDSLIDE

…incumbent Meg Hamberg (the nominee of the Democratic, Liberal, and Working Families parties) has defeated Richard Parsons (the nominee of the Republican, Conservative, and Liberty parties) and Robert “Naked Cowboy” Burck (the nominee of the Independence party) by a whopping 40% margin. Mayor Hamberg received 67.1% of the vote, while Parsons received 26.4% and Burck received 5.6%, with the remaining .9% going to the several remaining independent and third-party candidates on the ballot. The most likely cause for the election blowout was the city winning the 2016 Summer Olympics earlier this year, and for the Mayor’s improving of subway sanitation quality, along with Parsons performing poorly in the penultimate pre-election debate. …Due to a 2006 city law establishing a limit of two terms per mayor, this will be Hamberg’s last term…

The New York Times, 11/3/2009



ALBANY MAYOR RE-ELECTED IN LANDSLIDE

…progressive firebrand Dr. Alice Green won a third term over her Republican opponent with over 80% of the vote…

– usarightnow.co.usa, 11/3/2009



Mayors of ALBANY (New York)

1942-1983: 72) Erastus Corning 2nd (D, 1909-1983) – former insurance salesperson; previously served in the state assembly and state senate; born into wealthy family with many political connections; Frank Salisbury Harris served as acting mayor during his military service (1944-1945) during WWII; unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1946; city’s longest-serving mayor, having served for over 41 years; oversaw political patronage machine; died in office from poor health at the age of 73

1941: Benjamin R. Hoff (R) and Morris Zuckerman (American Labor)

1945: Harold J. Murphy (R)

1949: Charles E. Walsh (R), Beryl Beach (Liberal) and Morris Zuckerman (Unity)

1953: Thomas E. Mulligan Jr. (R) and Scott K. Gray Jr. (American Labor)

1957: Edward J. Ray (R)

1961: Robert K. Hudnut (R)

1965: Jacob Olshansky (R)

1969: Albert S. Hartheimer (R), Joseph L. Kennedy (Conservative) and Edward Carhart (Liberal)

1973: Carl E. Touhey (R) and Vincent D. Bytner (Citizens)

1977: Howard C. Nolan (Liberal, b. 1932), E. Michael Ruberti (R), Kevin E. Kellogg (Workers’) and Christopher Lewis (Labor)

1981: Carl E. Touhey (R) and Fred Dusenbury (Citizens)

1983-2001: 73) Thomas Michael “Tom” Whalen III (D, 1934-2019) – ascended due to being Common Council President; focused on financial reform and improving the city’s image and bond rating; resigned to take a seat on a federal circuit court

1985: Louis M. Russo (R)

1989: Senley E. Jack (R)

1993: Gerald David "Jerry" Jennings (Liberal, b. 1948) and Phil Spiro (R)

1997: John J. McEneny (Liberal, b. 1943), Elizabeth J. Pearson (Green) and Joseph P. Sullivan (R, 1937-2019)

2001-2002: 74) Harold L. Joyce (D) – ascended due to being Common Council President; lost primary race six weeks after entering office in a stunning upset

2002-2014: 75) Dr. Alice Green (D, b. circa mid-1940s) – city’s first female mayor and city’s first African-American mayor; former social worker, political activist, city council member, and vice-chair of the NY chapter of the Jackson’00 campaign; backed prison reform, criminal justice, and social justice reform; endorsed by the Green party due to her pro-environment policies; established term limits; term-limited; later unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House in 2014; currently works in academia and as a public speaker

2001: Harold L. Joyce (D (write-in)) and Joseph P. Sullivan (R)

2005: Archie L. Goodbee Jr. (Liberal) and Paul Latimer (R)

2009: Nathan Lebron (R)

2014-present: 76) Patricia Fahy (D) – city’s second female mayor; former President of the city School Board and former common council member; previously served as an Associate Commissioner for the state Department of Labor; incumbent

2013: Theodore J. Danz Jr. (R, b. 1947) and Theresa Portelli (Green)

2017: Carolyn McLaughlin (Liberal), Frank Commisso Jr. (R) and Bryan J. Jimenez (Green)

– clickopedia.co.usa, 7/4/2021



BUFFALO MAYOR ELECTION RESULTS: Mickey Kearns (D) Defeats Two Challengers With Ease

The New York Times, side article, 11/3/2009



Mayors of BUFFALO (New York)

1/1/1958-12/31/1965: 56) Frank Albert Sedita (D, 1907-1975) – former attorney; previously served as a city court judge; promoted urban development projects; won re-election in 1961 due to the initial popularity of the Cuba War; lost re-election

1957: Chester A. Kowal (R) and Elmer Lux (I)

1961: Bernard Kurtz (R), Victor Manz (Liberal) and Peter Carr (People’s)

1/1/1966-9/28/1966: 57) Chester A. Kowal (R, 1904-1966) – previously served as city comptroller from 1951 to 1957; aggressively supported efforts to reign in wasteful spending; died in his sleep at the age of 62 from undisclosed causes

1965: Frank Albert Sedita (D), Jimmy Griffin (Conservative) and F. James Kane (Liberal)

9/28/1966-12/31/1969: 58) Stanley M. “Stan” Makowski (D, 1923-1977) – son of Polish immigrants; previously served on the common council; selected by the common council to complete Kowal’s term; lost bid for a full term and returned to serving on the common council

1/1/1970-5/2/1975: 59) Frank Albert Sedita (D, 1907-1975) – almost considered not running for a second term due to waning energy; supporters convinced him to complete his term and then retire amid declining health in late 1973 and again in 1974; died in office at the age of 67 from undisclosed causes

1969: Roland Benzow (R), John A. Westra (Conservative) and Ambrose I. Lane (Liberal)

1973: Alfreda Slominski (R, b. 1929), Stewart M. Levy (Conservative) and Chester Gorski (Liberal, 1906-1975)

5/2/1975-3/3/1977: 60) Stanley M. “Stan” Makowski (D, 1923-1977) – selected by the common council to complete Sedita’s term; died in office at the age of 53 from pneumonia a few weeks after the Great Blizzard of 1977 swept harsh winds and several feet of snow onto the city, during and after which he participated in emergency relief efforts

3/3/1977-12/31/1977: 61) Wilbur P. Trammell (D) – former city court judge; selected by the common council to complete Sedita’s term; lost last-minute bid for the Democratic nomination for a full term and retired

1/1/1978-12/31/1997: 62) Arthur O. Eve (D, b. 1933) – city’s first African-American mayor; previously served in the state assembly from 1967 to 1977; progressive; supported education reform; city’s longest-serving mayor; retired to successfully run for a U.S. House seat in 1998

1977: John J. Phelan (R), Patrick W. Giagnacova (Liberal) and Ira Liebowitz (Labor)

1981: Jimmy Griffin (R) and Joseph G. Giambra (Liberal) and Khushro Ghandi (Labor)

1985: Donald L. Tuchiarelli (R) and Alfred T. “Al” Coppola (Liberal)

1989: Carol Siwek (R) and William B. “Bill” Hoyt Jr. (Liberal, 1937-1992)

1993: Richard A. Grimm III (R), Eugene M. Fahey (Conservative, b. 1951) and Nicholas C. Constantino (Liberal)

1/1/1998-12/31/2001: James Donald “Jimmy” Griffin (R, 1929-2008) – previously served on the common council from 1962 to 1965, in the state senate from 1967 to 1997; ran for mayor in 1965, 1977, 1981, and 1989; campaigned as a moderate but supported conservative policies during his tenure; vocally opposed abortion; lost re-election in a landslide; city’s most recent GOP mayor

1997: George K. Arthur (D, 1934-2020), Dennis T. Gorski (Liberal, 1944-2021) and Sharon Caetano (Conservative)

1/1/2002-12/31/2009: William B. “Sam” Hoyt III (D, b. 1962) – previously served in the state assembly from 1992 to 2001; was known for being an ardent fighter for education, especially remote learning during the SARS pandemic; term-limited after the common council established term limits in 1999; unsuccessfully ran for Governor in 2014; currently served in the state senate

2001: Jimmy Griffin (R), Kevin P. Gaughan (Conservative, b. 1954), Anthony M. Masiello (Liberal, b. 1947) and Judith Einach (Green)

2005: Kevin J. Helfer (R), Beverley A. Gray (Liberal) and James Pitts (Independent)

1/1/2010-12/31/2017: Michael P. “Mickey” Kearns (D, b. 1969/1970) – served on the common council from 2006 to 2009; moderate; term-limited

2009: Bernie Tolbert (R) and Steve Calvaneso (Liberal)

2013: Sergio R. Rodriguez (R, b. 1981)

1/1/2018-present: Betty Jean Grant (D, b. circa 1970/1971) – city’s first female Mayor and city’s second African-American mayor; previously served on the city council from 1997 to 2005, in the state assembly from 2005 to 2011, and in the state senate from 2011 to 2017; currently focused on improving education and business development; incumbent

2017: Anita L. Howard (R) and Terrence A. Robinson (Green)

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021

MANCHESTER ELECTS ITS FIRST-EVER FEMALE MAYOR

… Jane Ellen Beaulieu, considered by some to be a “rising star” in the Democratic Party, will succeed incumbent Mayor Gatsas, who retired to run for the US Senate next year…

– The New Hampshire Union Leader, 11/3/2009



List of Mayors of MANCHESTER (New Hampshire)

1962-1964: 42) John C. Mongan (R, 1925-2013) – won in an upset with 51.2% of the vote, despite it being a year favorable to Democrats in general and the city being overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning, due to voter fatigue (Mongan’s predecessor, Josephat T. Benoit (D, 1900-1976) had been the city’s Democratic mayor for 16 years); lost re-election by a margin of 1%

1961: Roger Brassard (D)

1964-1966: 43) Roland S. Vallee (D, 1929-1997) – former city alderperson, businessperson, and building owner; known as “the singing mayor” due to being a former nightclub signer known for having a baritone voice; strongly supported President Lyndon Johnson; lost re-election amid allegations that he had manipulated lower tax assessments on his own personally-owned buildings

1963: John C. Morgan (R)

1966-1972: 44) Paul M. Martel (R) – former city alderperson; strongly supported President Harland Sanders; re-elected in 1967 and 1969 by comfortable margins, but waffled on responding to the Ms. Arkansas Scandal and subsequent “Ark Wave” in 1970; lost re-election

1965: Roland S. Vallee (D)

1967: William McCarthy (D)

1969: George Morrissette (D)

1972-1978: 45) Sylvio Dupuis (D) – former optometrist; strongly supported President Walter Mondale; retired to successfully run for a US House seat in 1978

1971: Paul M. Martel (R) and Angela Lafond (Liberal)

1973: Gerald Carmen (R)

1975: Frank Wageman (R), Norman Gauthier (Conservative) and Lloyd Basinow (Moderate)

1978-1982: 46) George Lacourse (R) – former city alderperson; won election and re-election by narrow margins each time due to the city’s growing Democratic-leaning population; often clashed with the Democratic-majority “Board of Aldermen”; lost re-nomination in an upset over his handling of the 1978 economic downturn

1977: Alphonse Bledeau (D)

1979: Robert F. Shaw (D) and Henry Naro (Conservative)

1982-1984: 47) Emile Dorilas Beaulieu Jr. (D, 1931-2016) – Catholic; moderate former business owner; previously served in the state House from 1973 to 1974 and as the city’s welfare commissioner from 1974 to 1981; was criticized for his spending record; lost re-election in an upset

1981: Richard Jacobs (R)

1984-1986: 48) Robert F. Shaw (R, 1934-2020) – former gas station owner; lost re-election by a narrow margin

1983: Emile Beaulieu (D)

1986-1988: 49) Emile Beaulieu (D) – former mayor; was strongly anti-abortion; lost re-election after raising property taxes to pay for redeveloping the city’s downtown business district

1985: Robert F. Shaw (R)

1988-2000: 50) Raymond Joseph Wieczorek (R, b. 1928) – US military veteran of the Korean War; former insurance agent/salesman and United Way chairman; former director and president of the Manchester Scholarship Foundation from 1973 to 1976 and previously served on the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority from 1984 to 1988; previously served as the chairperson of the city’s Republican Party chapter from 1980 to 1982; developed the city’s airport, mill yard, and civic center; increased the size of the city’s police force and increased police protection for areas dealing with crime; converted the city budget from a calendar year to a fiscal year; was so popular in 1997 that no Democrat ran against him; retired due to exhaustion

1987: Emile Beaulieu (D) and Peter Poirier (Liberal)

1989: Sylvio L. Dupuis (D, b. 1934) and Fernand “Fern” Gelinas (Liberal)

1991: John J. McDonough (D) and Leona Dykstra (Liberal)

1993: Robert H. Dennis (D)

1995: Robert A. Baines (D, b. 1946)

1997: Robert A. Howe (Libertarian), Thomas Colantuono (Conservative) and Richard H. Girard (I)

2000-2006: 51) Robert F. Shaw (D) – former mayor; switched parties in 1997, and his 1999 political opponent, who was also a former mayor, switched parties in 1991; supported public safety and education reform; improved the city’s waste disposal process by upgrading sewer and water systems, but was better known for clashing with many of the Jesse Jackson administration’s progressive policies; lost re-nomination in an upset and, after failing to file to run as in Independent ahead of filing deadlines, subsequently retired from public life

1999: Emile Dorilas Beaulieu Jr. (R) and Joseph Kelly Levassuer (Conservative)

2001: Carlos Gonzalez (R)

2003: Frank C. Guinta (R, b. 1970) and Jeff Kassel (I)

2006-2010: 52) Theodore “Ted” Gatsas (R, b. 1950) – city’s first Greek-American mayor; previously served as a state alderman from 2000 to 2005; best known for cutting taxes, supporting school vouchers and vocational schooling, and hosting a call-in radio/podcast program to interact directly and regularly with city residents; retired amid high approval ratings to successfully run for a US Senate seat

2005: Bobby Stephen (D) and Caitlin Curran (I)

2007: Mark E. Roy (D), Thomas “Tom” Donovan (I) and Richard N. Komi (Working Families)

2010-2020: 53) Jane Ellen Beaulieu (D, b. 1954) – city’s first female mayor; former businessperson and political organizer; previously served as a Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the “Hillsborough 17” district from 2004 to 2010; Catholic; moderate; daughter of a former mayor; supported bipartisan efforts to improve transportation, social programs, and incentives for local business development; won the 2017 after two recount; retired to successfully run for a state senate seat in 2020 after unsuccessfully running for a US House seat in 2018

2009: Frank Christopher Guinta (R, b. 1970)

2011: Glenn “R. J.” Ouellette (R) and Christopher J. “Chris” Herbert (Working Families)

2013: Ketherine Gatsas (R)

2015: Thomas H. DeBlois (R, b. 1945) and Patrick J. Arnold (Working Families)

2017: Jim Rubens (R), Joshua D. Dallaire (Working Families) and Alibaba Shaikh (I)

2020-present: 54) Victoria Sullivan (R) – city’s second female mayor; former moderate Democrat; former business owner; previously served as a city alderperson from 2014 to 2020; 2019 victory credited to voter fatigue and backlash to slowly rising tax rates; incumbent

2019: Joyce Craig (D/Working Families) and Tammy Simmons (Conservative)

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021



CHAMPS: Phillies Return To Glory With 27th World Series Title

…their first World Series win since 1981…

The Star-Ledger, New Jersey newspaper, 11/4/2009



Commissioners of Baseball:

1920-1944: 1) Kenesaw Mountain Landis

1945-1951: 2) Happy Chandler

1951-1965: 3) Ford Frick

1965-1968: 4) Eugene M. Zuckert

1969-1987: 5) Bowie Kuhn

1987-1992: 6) Lee Iacocca

1992-1994: 7) Yogi Berra

1994-present: 8) George W. Bush

– MLB.co.usa/history/commissioners/list, c. 2009



WHY COULDN’T WE NAME THIS DECADE?

…Written and phonetically pronounced in a variety of ways, the past ten years have an identity crisis of sorts. The decade sandwiched between the 1990s and the 2010s is referred to by an assortment of terms that often differ from place to place. For example, the 2000s decade is most commonly referred to as the “double ohs” or as the “oh-ohs” in Canada. In Britain, the “2000s” are called the “Noughties,” the “Aughties,” the “Oughties,” or the “Aughts.” …A contributing factor to this linguistic shortcoming is the fact that there is no universal census on decade-related terminology. …Even this decade’s spelling was not uniform, as it was written as “the 2000s,” “the ’00s,” or, to distinguish it from the 21st century, “the 2000s decade,” which was spoken as “the two-thousands decade”…

– newsweek.co.usa, 11/11/2009



MCCARTNEY: “I Still Ask John Lennon For Help Writing Songs” [7]

…the former Beatles band member admits that he maintains contact with the ex-bandmate/former Prime Minister John Lennon and ex-bandmate Ringo Starr, saying in a BBC2 interview “I talk to him about a bit I’m struggling with, and sometimes we’ll break the whole thing down and start it all up again from scratch.” McCartney continued, “I’ll VidCall him at wherever he is, but, uh, it can be harder to play bits out with him on some days than on others. He likes to travel around a lot nowadays, you know. At least twice I’ve called him up in the morning at one place, and just a few hours later, he’ll have travelled a continent or half-continent away and is too busy dancing with [John Lennon’s wife] Lyn or whatever to really focus on what I’m playing so I’ll just call back later. He’s got a lot of energy for a 69-year-old. I mean, I’m no spring chicken myself, but I know when to take it down a notch. John doesn’t. I’m not sure if that’s a bad or good thing. Guess it depends on the time of day, I guess.”

The Daily Express, UK newspaper, 16/11/2009



NO END IN SIGHT FOR SINGLE-FAMILY HOME BUILDING MOVEMENT

…Ever since the country was hit by months-long waves of emergency shutdowns and quarantines in 2002 and early 2003, centurions and Gen-X-ers have been moving out of the crowded cities and taking up residence in “the American countryside,” bringing new neighboring to the people of rural, suburban-rural and suburban communities across the United States.

Most of these movers, especially those who are endeavoring to start families of their own, see home-buying as being overall better than renting. “It costs more up front, but it’s worth the investment in the long run,” says one former Bostonian who has bought her own Cape Cod-style house in suburban-rural Barrington, New Hampshire. “I think the shutdowns made a lot of people reprioritize what kind of homes they want to live in. I mean, if something like that were to happen again,” the young woman and her fiancé furiously knocks on wood, “We’d rather have some elbow room, maybe even a decent-sized backyard to exercise in, than be stuck in some cramped flat.”

The ability of these Americans to just up and relocate is due to the advance of communication technology, which has allowed people to e-commute to work, or remote-work. Through VidCalls and doc-sharing tools employees can maintain contact with employers, customers and clients and interact with them in real-time from the comfort of their own homes – a technological ability that boomed during the SARS Pandemic. According to the US Department of Labor, the total number of e-commuters, or remote workers, at the height of the pandemic shutdowns (December 2002) was 3.5 million. While that number has since dropped considerably, it has not dropped below 2.1 million, which is still above the under 1.0 million remote workers reported prior to the pandemic. Thus, remote work has become an aspect of the American employment landscape. “One that is most likely to stick around for a good long while” says another Barrington Resident, who works remotely as a Content Writer and Editor for a marketing company headquartered in his former hometown of New York City.

Since 2002, many homebuilders have become more focused on single-family plots in a movement that has picked up the moniker “eco-sprawling,” an environmentally-conscious form of developing suburban communities near business centers without disrupting the area’s natural beauty.

One such housing development close to Albany, New York is New Schenectady, a “planned community” project funded by several wealthy environmentally-conscious New Yorkers and endorsed by Vice President Bob Ross. “I sometimes feel like I live in The Shire,” comments one new homeowner. Indeed, the homes almost seem to blend in to the landscape with the use of round design and “eco-centric” architecture.

The exodus of younger generations from urban centers was also experienced in places such as France, Italy and the UK, with hundreds of urban residents fleeing from dense apartments and condominiums for more open areas – and lower costs of living – found nearby. For example, according to the US Postal Service, roughly 150,000 New Yorkers made change of address requests between February 2002 and February 2004, with many of these people relocating to New Jersey and Connecticut during and after the SARS pandemic (though, according to a recent inquiry, roughly 30% of those residents ended up moving back to NYC by the end of 2008)...

Business Monthly magazine, November 2009 issue



IT’S MCTEER BY A HAIR

…the Prime Minister led her party to a narrow majority victory over Opposition Leader Jim Prentice of the Progressive Conservative Party, which gained 21 seats. The Maple Party lost seats, partially to due controversies concerning its national leader, Andre Boisclair. All three prominent minor parties that hold seats in parliament – the Quebec Party, led by Louise Harel; the Organized Grassroots Party, led by Maude Barlow; and the Green Party, led by Frank de Jong – lost seats as well…

The Vancouver Sun, Canadian newspaper, 11/23/2009



…Ahead on the 2009 UN GCD Conference in Brussels, Belgium, Niger became the last country of undisputed independent status ratify the UN’s Convention on The Rights of the Child, an international treaty often referred to as the CRC or the UN CRC for short. [8] First signed in 1989, with the Convention defining a child as being any human being under the age of 18, the international human rights treaty aimed to clarify the specifics of child rights, such age the “age of majority,” and the civil, social, economic/political, health and cultural rights of children. The treaty also included protocols addressing children in military conflicts, and attacking the production and distribution of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the implementation of these latter protocols was heavily encouraged by UN Secretary-General Carol Bellamy (1996-2006) and her successor, Kofi Annan… [snip] …The US ratified the CRC in 1992 under President Bellamy... with the ratification by Niger, every country on Earth except for unrecognized nations not have signed onto it, even rival major rival nations of debated independence status such as both China and Taiwan. [9]

[snip]

…The 2009 Conference also discussed the progress being made on the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Global Climate Disruption (or UNFCGCD, for short) and on the Kiev protocol of 1995-1996. Task Forces and GCD experts reported progress had slowed, with many industrialized nations – China and Russia in particular – falling behind scheduled “emission weaning” dates. The economic report blamed the recent sluggishness on the “upper echelons of the social classes,” noting that, typically, one millionaire’s private jet produced more emissions than one hundred layman gas-powered pickup trucks. Subsequent criticisms ontech toward wealthy lavishness led to ontech petitions and boycotts. Hoping to improve their customers’ reputations and their won business model in the process, private jet manufacturers Dassault and Cessna announced by the year of 2009 that they would begin designing more “economically conscious” modes of high-end transportation…

– Ramesh Thakur’s The United Nations, Peace And Security, Cambridge University Press, 2020 edition



WELLSTONE BACKS AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES BILL IN IMPASSIONED SPEECH

JwJgV6m.png

[pic: imgur.com/JwJgV6m.png ]

Pictured: President Wellstone, giving his endorsement to the proposed Kennedy-Roosevelt–Kerrey Bill, points out to “the people here and the people out there” who would benefit from the bill’s passage.

The Washington Post, 12/1/2009



HOUSE VOTES DOWN “40% GOALPOST” BILL

..voting on almost partisan lines, the bill was struck down 236-to-205. The bill called for a Constitutional Amendment that would establish a second election, or “runoff election,” between the top two vote receivers of a Presidential election if no candidates received more than 40% of the vote…

The New York Times, 12/5/2009



SUPREME COURT RULES SPORTS BETTING DOES NOT VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION

After months of delay, the Supreme Court decided to hand down opinions on a major ruling concerning sports betting. In a 6-3 majority decision (with Justices Thompson, Bacon and Garza dissenting), Justice Nealon today struck down a 1982 federal law that tightly regulated sports betting at the state level over its apparent confliction with the 10th Amendment, which allows for states’ rights. In the Wilson v. NCAA case, a federal appeals court said that Colorado could not legalize sports betting due to it affecting residents of states other than Colorado. The court has ruled against the appeals court in this decades-old case on the grounds of the initial law requiring states to request federal permission to legalize sports betting violated the Constitution’s provisions that limit federal government’s ability to regulate such activities at the state level.

Supporters of legalizing sports betting are voicing support for the decision, calling it “a preservation of the freedom of expression” despite the decision not focusing on that aspect of the controversy of legalizing sports betting. Opponents of the ruling are voicing concerning that the allure of betting will lead to “a horrid and harmful impact on communities and families, weakened by a vice that the federal government should have the right to protect the people from,” as one prominent technetter put in ontech. Other dissenting voices have expressed fear that the decision will “open up the floodgates, and lead to legalized sports betting being legal in all 50 states in less than that many years,” or that it will “destroy the very moral fiber of our country” [10]. More libertarian Republicans, however, are celebrating the decision, ignoring the fact that three Republican-appointed Associate Justices voted against the majority ruling. Prominent members of the “hedgehog” wing of the GOP are dismissing , such as Congressman Doug Wead (R-AZ), lauded the Supreme Court in general and noted that “Americans are a strong people who are capable of self-control.”

[snip]

…Despite President Wellstone shying away from the court case, some ontech conspiracy theories claim that the court purposely delayed their opinions and ruling announcement in order to minimize its impact on the elections held in November…

– The Washington Post, 12/10/2009



TED KENNEDY, CO-FOUNDER OF MEDIA EMPIRE, DIES AT 77

Sacramento, CA – Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy Sr., who with Ted Turner co-founded Turner-Kennedy Broadcasting, Inc. and the TV news juggernaut KNN, passed away earlier today after a nearly-two-years-long battle with declining health relating to a brain tumor. Kennedy, a relative of the Massachusetts-based Kennedy political family, was surrounded by his wife and children during his final moments. Ted Turner, a business partner and close friend of Ted Kennedy, said that the passing “marks the end of a great chapter in American television and the end of a great man”…

– The Boston Globe, 12/14/2009



The conspiracy theories peddled out by anti-Wellstone activists on radio and ontech were as expected. Despite Christmas being openly celebrated at the Wellstone White House, with America’s first Jewish President even explicitly wishing “Merry Christmas” in a “Seasons’ Greetings” video downloaded to the official White House netsite and shared on the popular video-sharing site Ourvids.co.can (despite it being a Canada-based netsite, many Americans visit it due to globalization trends making for uniform netsite compatibility across borders), false claims persisted.

Lou Dobbs of The Herring Network, for instance, stated on December 15, “Teddy Roosevelt once banned Christmas trees in the White House because of alleged ‘environmental concerns.’ [11] It is highly possible that Wellstone will use this precedence to ban all the Christmas decorations and replace them with Jewish decorations.” This line of attack was nonsensical, given that Wellstone had already participated in Jewish traditions in the days prior, as Hanukkah 2009 had lasted from December 11 to December 19, culminating with the annual White House Hanukkah Party [12]. (Sidebar: in a goodwill gesture meant to aid peace efforts overseas, Walter Mondale became the first US President to officially recognize Hanukkah in December 1977, by participating in a menorah-lighting ceremony in Lafayette Park. Kemp became the first President to host a menorah-lighting ceremony inside of the White House itself, doing so in December 1987; the first official White House Hanukkah Party was held four years later, in December 1991, under President Bellamy [13].)

On December 16, Rush Limbaugh chastised Wellstone on his radio show for often using the term “Judeo-Christian heritage,” even though that very terminology was first used by Lee Iacocca in December 1993. A President lionized by all factions of the Republican party, most media outlets were quick to condemn Limbaugh for the hypocrisy.

Fortunately for the festivities, First Lady Wellstone ignored the furor of the fringe and went forward with letting in reporters to document the Christmas preparations. Keeping with tradition established under Ladybird Johnson [14], the crystal chandelier of the Blue Room was removed to make room for the 19-foot-tall tree donated by the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) [15] and decorated with traditional tinsel and ornaments like it is every year [14]. The President, meanwhile, filled the grounds with dozens of trees that were meticulously cared for and replanted afterward. Wellstone did not “break with tradition by opening up” the White House, as every modern US President had done so. Wellstone’s first seasonal celebrations as President aimed to show that Christmas “is not just for Christian, because the idea of this holiday season is to be good to each other and to call for peace on Earth and goodwill towards all people everywhere,” as the President put it.

Wellstone also said, in a private meeting with the White House staff, that the modern message of the holiday season was to find “commonalities, shared goals, dreams, aspirations and forms of love with people across the religious spectrum. To understand and double down on the importance of family, of sharing the joy and the feeling of this special time of the year, when hope runs high and, in the dark of winter, the future can look brighter than ever before, because we reach out to those we know and love. We seek out hope, we seek out joy, and we hold onto that sense of hope and joy for as long as we can because hope and joy are stronger than despair and sadness. They are stronger that what ails the human condition. And when we have that feeling, that feeling of wellness, of family, of joy, we, as naturally social creatures, want to spread and share the laughter and the mirth. That’s what matters during this time of year, more so than the decorations or by the name or names of our respective faiths. My friends, a toast – not to labels, but to love and to life.”

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



…The culture of the 2000s went from several phases. The decade began with the Y2K Aesthetic Movement that had developed as the 1990s had come to a close. Originating in the U.K. before spreading out to the rest of the Western world, “YAM,” also known as the “bubble” aesthetic influenced architecture and the music scene until being eclipsed in 2002 by the rise in mask-punk, an offshoot of heavy metal and razor rock that “made the best of a bad situation” (the global SARS pandemic of the early Aughties) by making masks a fashion statement. Some fans of mask-punk credit this music scene with contributing to the global effort truncate SARS infection rates.

Throughout the decade, the country music scene experience a trend of collaborative works somewhat reminiscent of “The Scene That Celebrates Itself,” which was a prominent phenomenon during the early-to-mid 1990s. As technology allowed more musicians and artists to personally connect, communicate, and collaborate through the wonders of the technet, bands and individuals worked on several projects together, with arguably the most notable of these endeavors being the 2009 album jointly made by Elvis Presley and Vanilla Ice.

The entertainment industry responded to the SARS pandemic, national efforts at police precinct reform and the Marstronaut Mission in two ways – with optimism and with pessimism. Many films, songs, and TV shows were either uplifting and optimistic efforts to keep spirits high during the pandemic, or were bleak works that fed into the fear of the unknown and explored the effects of isolation on the mind, influencing horror movies in the latter half of the decade. Several films won awards for examining racial relations under America’s first Black President, and for exploring the uncomfortable world of police brutality. Most prominently, however, was the international response to humanity landing on the planet Mars in 2003. By 2006, franchises dealing with outer space dominated popular culture, leading to three Star Wars TV shows, renewed interest in Star Trek and Dr. Who, and a film adaptation of John Carter of Mars and other materials…

nwubUGa.png

[pic: imgur.com/nwubUGa.png ]

Above: a collage of some of the many aspects of the decade’s cultural eras, from the Y2K “bubble” aesthetics (from 2000 to 2002, and again, but to a lesser extent, from 2004 to 2010), to the “mask-punk” era of 2002-2005, to the rise in tech-centric cultural aspects in the post-SARS half of the decade.

[snip]

…International diplomatic cooperation was at a historic high in the early half of the decade, as heads of state and distinguished virologists from around the world worked to combat the SARS pandemic…

– clickopedia.co.usa/The_2000s_(decade)/popular_culture



1967 (I): Green Bay Packers (NFL)

1968 (II): Green Bay Packers (NFL)

1969 (III): New York Jets (AFL)

1970 (IV): Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)

1971 (V): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1972 (VI): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1973 (VII): Miami Dolphins (AFC)

1974 (VIII): Oakland Raiders (AFC)

1975 (IX): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1976 (X): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1977 (XI): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1978 (XII): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1979 (XIII): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1980 (XIV): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1981 (XV): Houston Oilers (AFC)

1982 (XVI): San Francisco 49ers (NFC)

1983 (XVII): Washington Redskins (NFC)

1984 (XVIII): Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)

1985 (XIX): Philadelphia Eagles (NFC)

1986 (XX): Chicago Bears (NFC)

1987 (XXI): New England Patriots (AFC)

1988 (XXII): New York Giants (NFC)

1989 (XXIII): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1990 (XXIV): Denver Broncos (AFC)

1991 (XXV): Buffalo Bills (AFC)

1992 (XXVI): New York Giants (NFC)

1993 (XXVII): New York Giants (NFC)

1994 (XXVIII): New York Giants (NFC)

1995 (XXIX): San Diego Chargers (AFC)

1996 (XXX): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1997 (XXXI): Denver Broncos (AFC)

1998 (XXXII): Carolina Panthers (NFC)

1999 (XXXIII): Seattle Seahawks (NFC)

2000 (XXXIV): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

2001 (XXXV): Baltimore Ravens (AFC)

2002 (XXXVI): Atlanta Falcons (NFC)

2003 (XXXVII): Tampa Bay Buccaneers (AFC)

2004 (XXXVIII): Denver Broncos (AFC)

2005 (XXXIX): Louisville Stallions (AFC)

2006 (XL): Tennessee Titans (AFC)

2007 (XLI): Washington Warriors (NFC)

2008 (XLII): Louisville Stallions (AFC)

2009 (XLIII): Detroit Lions (NFC)

– NFLstatistics.co.usa/Super_Bowl/winners [16]



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)

[1] Italicized line pulled from here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/jackson.htm

[2] The italicized parts were pulled from here: https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/27/us/jackson-admits-saying-hymie-and-apologizes-at-a-synagogue.html

[3] The bits in italics here are from this OTL article: https://www.smh.com.au/world/cardinals-speech-upsets-university-20030523-gdgt3t.html

[4] Italicized bits were pulled from this OTL article here: https://chinadialogue.net/en/cities/7934-why-eco-cities-fail/

[5] As mentioned in chapter 74

[6] Real person, mentioned in this article: www.articles.latimes.com/1989-07-20/local/me-5001_1_business-associates : “STUDIO SHOOTING BLAMED ON BUSINESS DEAL…The man who burst through a Lorimar Studios gate and emptied a shotgun into a sound stage before taking his own life had gone to the Culver City lot to confront “Dallas” television star Ken Kercheval, his foil in a bitter dispute over a popcorn business, police said Wednesday. Edward P. Phillips, 43, formerly of Corydon, Ind., apparently blamed Kercheval, who acquired full ownership of the popcorn company last year, for cheating him out of the business and causing his marriage to fail, investigators and associates said. Hoping to confront Kercheval, Phillips came to Los Angeles on Monday and drove to the Culver City lot in a rented truck Tuesday evening, police said. Unable to talk his way past a guard, he rammed through the gate, set fire to the truck and opened fire on the sound stage where ‘Dallas’ is filmed. When police closed in, Phillips turned the gun on himself. He died from a single blast to the chest. The sound stage was empty and no other injuries were reported.” (I meant to, but then forgot to, include this in the 1989 chapter. I could edit it back in, but I do like this actor, so I decided not to bump him off ITTL)

[7] OTL headline! (really!): https://www.truehollywoodtalk.com/paul-mccartney-i-still-ask-john-lennon-for-help-writing-songs/ (11/13/2020)

[8] OTL thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child

[9] In OTL, China and Taiwan both ratified it, but the US has not!

[10] Passage closely based on description found here: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-rules-for-sports-betting

[11] Story found here!: https://foresthistory.org/president-bans-christmas-tree/

[12] A real thing!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Hanukkah_Party

[13] In OTL, Carter recognized Hanukkah in 1979, Clinton hosted the first menorah-lighting ceremony to be performed at the White House in 1993, and Bush held the first official White House Hanukkah Party in 2001; Ibid.

[14] With a First Lady Jackie Kennedy, the OTL tradition of giving the main tree a specific motif is never established!

[15] This is an OTL thing!

[16] The 1982, 1983, 2004 and 2006 winners were previously mentioned in the chapters covering those years. Louisville, Kentucky grew large enough to acquire the St. Louis team in 1992.



The next chapter’s E.T.A.: New Year’s Eve, at the very latest.



vWPD4Q1.png

[pic: imgur.com/vWPD4Q1.png ]

From my family to all of yours… Merry Holidays, Everybody!
(Don’t ask about our tree, just…don’t ask… :) )
Nice update. I wonder how Argentina looks in this timeline. I think it was briefly adressed with the Falklands War.
Argentina was last mentioned back in Chapter 92 (February 2007), so I'll mention that country again in an update in the next chapter (early 2010). Thanks for asking!
 
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Rivercat893

Banned
Chapter 98: July 2009 – December 2009

“Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement”

– Dr. Kerr L. White (but also attributed to Mark Twain and several others)



“Jesse,” the President sighed disappointingly, “what were you thinking?”

“I erroneously had assumed the references would not be printed because of my racial bond with [1] him,” Jackson answered. The two’s pic-phone e-chat the previous day had been inconclusive, so Jackson visited the Wellstone family home in Minneapolis. KNN’s D. Carlton Lemon’s shocking exposé needed to be addressed with kid gloves, lest Republicans use it as fodder for their calls to reverse the past nine years of work.

“Jesse, I think it’d be a good idea for everyone if you…went on vacation for a while.”

“Banishment, huh?”

“No, no, you’ll just be shying away from the limelight for a little while, just until things blow over.”

“I’m not running away from this like some coward.”

“You’d be putting your pride on hold for a few days,” Wellstone said more aggressively, “If you don’t you can kiss the Rainbow Coalition goodbye, and neither you nor me want that!”

The President rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back in his chair in frustration. “Jesse, did you know that when your comments came out, I didn’t even ask if it was some kind of scam? Because I knew it wasn’t. Even if the comments came from a less reputable source like that Teresa Strasser tabloid report, I still wouldn’t have asked. Because I know it’s true. You say those kind of things all the time. It’s only now finally caught up to you.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel better about this, please just stop now.”

“Jesse, Bill Dedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and investigative reporter for Newsday, wants to follow up on the allegations. Jim Paratore, that media tech wiz guy, he’s offering reward money for any audio or visual archive footage of you saying other things like that. If you don’t admit to this, Colonel Sanders style, and then lay low until the next news story come about, this media circus will only get uglier.”

“And what about you?” Asked the former President.

“What about me?”

“What will you be doing while I’m off in self-exile.”

“I’ll be reaching out to the Jewish community. I’ll do my best to convince them to continue to support me?”

“Why would you have to do that?”

“Because many Jewish leaders are calling me an ‘Uncle Tom,’ a ‘self-hating Jew,’ and a ‘meshugenah,’ even, just for staying in your corner during all this. You have got to help me out here, and apologize.”

“Alright, alright.” The President sighed, “You’re right. I’ve burned a really big bridge here. How can I help?”

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



Jackson’s hurtful comments strained race relations, and led to many political analysts questioning the viability of the ‘Black-Jewish entente’ that had been a prominent part of the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections. The decades-long trend of Black Antisemitism became a subject of much public debate, while many aspects of Jackson’s administration came under scrutiny, with Republicans and even Jewish Democrats questioning if any of his actions in office purposely favored African-Americans over Jewish-Americans.

Interestingly, certain members of the Republican populist right, such as the controversial (and allegedly anti-Semitic) THN pundit, journalist, former National Review columnist, and two-time Goetz endorser Joseph Sobran, actually came to the former President’s defense. In the wake of such neo-hippie-like individuals praising him for “speaking the truth,” Jesse Jackson Sr. allegedly remarked, “Dear God, those aren’t the people I want having my back. Sweet Jesus, what have I done?”

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



...While the controversy over the former President’s comments dominated the news cycle, on Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued on with the planned Supreme Court hearings unimpeded. However, even here, some Republicans did not hold back on their criticism of Jackson’s alleged comments.

For example, US Senator Stan Jones (R-MT), a member of the upper chamber’s Judiciary Committee, asked Denny Chin “In your judgment, and in your experience, do you consider controversial, inciting, or polarizing comments, like the former President’s recent comments, to be enough disqualify someone from serving or running for public office?”

The comment backfired, as Chin replied with “No, but if I did, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about, Mr. Jones – you aren’t up for re-election until 2012, so you’d have plenty of time to think up something.”

Both Jones and Chin were reprimanded for the exchange, though more Senators admonished the former for the “out of line” query, as US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-NE) put it...

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



JACKSON EXPRESSES “DEEP REGRET” FOR PAST COMMENTS

…The Reverend and former President Jesse Jackson acknowledged tonight that he had used “hurtful” language in a private conversation. Appearing at a synagogue here in New York City, Jackson sought to put to rest a controversy that has dogged him for several days now.

“It was not done in the spirit of meanness,” he told an overflow crowd in the synagogue, Temple Adath Yershurum. “However innocent and unintended, it was wrong.” [2]

The New York Times, 7/12/2009




FINE: “Wellstone and Jackson want to move on but can’t. The damage has been done, the can of worms has been opened. Relations between Blacks and Jews have been historically contentious, and now it is out in the open.

WILLIAMS: “I wouldn’t say they were damaged now by Jackson’s comments. They were always strained behind closed doors under his Presidency.”

FINE: “So it was an open secret of sorts.”

WILLIAMS: “Yes, but now the President and former President will have to work very hard to repair the long-standing damage. I think that will be the only way that the Democrats will have a fighting chance in the midterms next year.”

– CBS News, round-table discussion, 7/13/2009



...In Poland, much like with the rest of Europe overall, first-trimester abortion is legal, though there are some restrictions – albeit, restrictions that are much less severe than those found in Vatican City, Andorra, Monaco and Bulgaria. When it comes to late-term abortions, however, Europe has varying degrees of restrictions. Countries strongly observant of the Catholic religion are the most stringent.

Because of this religious connection, conservative Catholics voiced outrage when conscientious objection to abortion by doctors was made illegal in no longer allowed in Germany on July 10, 2009. Pope Patrick I lead the criticism with a speech given on July 14, in which the church leader condemned the German government’s “assault on the sanctity” of human life. However, Patrick also criticized a wider range of topics in the speech as well. “In many parts of the world, the family is under siege," Pope Patrick I said. “It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalised by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce[3]

The Pope’s comments sparked controversy of its own, with religious figures and leaders worldwide either commending or criticizing his stance. For instance, the Archbishop of Warsaw noted that, “even in places like Germany and Poland, abortion is legal, but access is still limited and is not at all a guarantee. …I think Pope Patrick needs to study the real-world dynamics a little better.”…

[snip] …Abortion was made legal in Italy in 1990, but the current national law still allows health professionals to refuse to perform an abortion as “conscientious objectors,” which has the practical effect of restricting abortion access…

– Mathias Le Bossé and Robert C. Ostergren’s The Europeans: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment, Guilford Press, 2011



ONTECH POLL: 65% of Americans Approve of Supreme Court Nominee Denny Chin

– Gallup, 7/15/2009



THE DONGTAN DAYS OF SUMMER: The Story Behind China’s Eco-City Vision Being Delayed

…China has pushed back the opening date of its planned eco-city mega-project “Dongtan” to 2015, after months of construction delays related to funding and political realities. Pitched as a showcase ultra-green city to be ready and functioning in time for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Dongtan was an ambitious joint project involving multinational engineering firm Arup and Chinese developers. Engineering firms began being contracted for the city’s development in 2005, in response to the increase in Shanghai’s population over the years. Approved by then-Premier Bo Xilai, the idea for the planned city was treated as if it could very well be a futuristic model for low-rise suburbs to accommodate spillover from supercities and house China’s emerging middle class. The project touted ‘zero emissions’ as one of its main selling points, and recycled waste was included in the myriad renewable energy systems planned for Dongtan.

Four years later and the spectacle of the groundbreaking has subsided, and the bustling construction sites have quieted down. China’s longest bridge and tunnel now connects the wetlands building site and its looming wind turbines to Pudong, in outer Shanghai, but the trucks and machinery do not use them are often as they used to. [4]

According to reports, the engineers and architects behind the incomplete buildings blame China’s new Premier for their financial shortfalls pausing construction. Last year, Premier Yang decided to redirect funds from Dongtan to anti-poverty programs in his effort to distance himself from Bo. The former Premier’s stunning and sudden fall from grace two years ago also frightened away many sponsors, worsening payment problems. Meanwhile, China’s top-down government system means that there is little that Shanghai and provincial politicians can do to move construction along.

For now, Dongtan, a promised eco-city on the island of Chongming in Shanghai, China, standing only half-built, will remain so until the PRC’s government allots the city more funds to cover construction costs, material transportation costs, and laborer wages...

Time Magazine, July 2009 issue



“Mr. Chin has a good head on his shoulders, and his while his ideology and interpretation of the Constitution is too extreme for me to vote yea on his confirmation, I acknowledge his credentials, I respect his character, and I wish him the best of luck in the final vote count.”

– US Senator Don Stenberg (R-NE), 7/19/2009



…On July 23, the US Senate confirmed Denny Chin for the Supreme Court seat by a vote of 61-43, with the sole Independent (Angus King of Maine) and four Republicans (Bill Weld of Massachusetts, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Lyle Hillyard of Utah) siding with the Democrats, and with one Republican (David Marriott of Utah) abstaining. He was sworn in a week later…

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



SUPREME COURT COMPOSITION ON JULY 30, 2009

Chief Justice (since July 2, 2001): Alan Cedric Page (D-MN, liberal) – succeeded Frank M. Johnson – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 1 (since March 10, 1999): Larry Dean Thompson (R-GA, conservative) – succeeded Leon Higginbotham – appointee: Dinger

Associate Justice Seat 2 (since May 14, 2000): Emilio Miller Garza (R-TX, conservative) – succeeded Edward H. Levi – appointee: Dinger

Associate Justice Seat 3 (since April 3, 2008): Aida M. Delgado-Colon (D-PR, liberal) – succeeded Joseph Tyree Sneed III – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 4 (since June 23, 1974): William Joseph Nealon Jr. (D-PA, liberal) – succeeded William O. Douglas – appointee: Mondale

Associate Justice Seat 5 (since November 16, 1971): Sylvia Bacon (R-PO, centrist) – succeeded John M. Harlan II – appointee: Sanders

Associate Justice Seat 6 (since May 10, 2002): Michael Joseph Sandel (D-CT, liberal) – succeeded Herb Fogel – appointee: J. Jackson

Associate Justice Seat 7 (since July 28, 2009): Check Kong “Denny” Chin (D-CA, liberal) – succeeded Miles W. Lord – appointee: Wellstone

Associate Justice Seat 8 (since October 1990): Mary Murphy Schroeder (D-CO, liberal) – succeeded William Brennan – appointee: Bellamy

– thesupremecourt.co.usa/court_compositions/by_date/7_30_2009



They met up again, quite serendipitously, at the Idlewild Airport in New York City.

“Where are you heading?” asked Donald but adding “I’ve got to get to a shooting location in Florida.”

His ex-wife quickly replied, “I just interviewed a retiring NFL player.”

“Who?”

“Some guy named Pat Tillman.”

“Never heard of him. Must be retiring because he’s a loser.”

Rolling her eyes, she noted “His fractured his leg, badly.”

“See?”

“Better way to leave the field than how you did.”

Donald scowled at the reminder of his career-ending altercation with the Houston Astros pitcher still serving as the Commissioner of Baseball. “Easy there, at least I didn’t break my frickin’ leg.”

She groaned aloud and began walking away, “Don’t forget next week is your week with our youngest – you remember Richie, don’t you, the angsty 16-year-old?”

Not catching the snarky sarcasm, he replied, “Sure, sure. But hey,” he began to walk with her, “You didn’t hear about the movie I’m making.”

“I’ll watch the making-of feature on its Micro-LD.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that. I’m trying to be nice here.”

“You’re doing as well as you did in the MLB,” she continued on into the food court.

“Oh, you know what? I was going to ask you if you wanted to be in the movie, but now I might take the offer off the table.”

Curious, his ex-wife slowed her walk, allowing Donald to finally catch up. “Curious. You seemed to run a lot better in that movie of yours.”

“Camera tricks are amazing. I can show you on the set, you know.”

“Why would you want me in it. Oh wait, is this because of my new job? You know, two of the main news co-anchors at THN?”

“It’s more than that,” he took a step back. “It’s just, I’ve got to tell ya, after all these years, you’ve held up pretty good.”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” She restarted her pace, walking past the row of diminutive fast-food outlets flanking the one side of the food court.

“You’re still hot, that’s all I’m saying!”

“You’ve said plenty.”

“Come on,” Donald then spotted a pizza shop to their left, “Listen, can’t we talk about this over a slice?” He then quickly added “I’m buyin’!”

The ex-wife stopped a turned around to face him. “Really? You’re going to try to get me to strut around in front of a camera in exchange for pizza? You really think that would work?”

“Maybe. Would it kill you or me to try?”

Rolling her eyes again, she agreed to the free meal. Both ordered plain cheese, with Donald saying, “They use topping to cover up cheese patches, that’s how they get you.”

“I remember, you told me on our first date.”

“I did? I mean, oh yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you were charming back then.”

“I’m still charming,” Donald whined.

“Subjectively,” she added.

They then collected their order, and as they both grabbed some utensils, and Donald caught her blush and smile slightly. “Heh, I see you picked up at least one good habit from me. You’re going to eat your slices with a fork and knife, too, huh?’

“Well,” she conceded, “after SARS, your germaphobia stopped looking so crazy to me. You were almost prophetic on that front.”

“See? It wasn’t all bad.”

“It wasn’t mostly good, either.”

Then they collected their drinks. As they sat down into a booth, Donald sat beside her instead of across from her; she inched away, but otherwise did not address another classic example of his awkward ways of interacting with people.

Donald continued, “Every couple goes through rough patches, hon. It all depends on how they handle them.”

“I suppose. But you did f*ck up. Royally.”

Deflecting the comment, he said “speaking of royalty – ”

“Please, don’t mention your ex-wife!”

“Which one? The one before you? The one after you – the royal one? Ericka Cruz? Or Oksana Fedorova?”

“Who were those last two again?”

“Beats me. I was married to them for such a short time I hardly got to know them – I think three months in ’02 with Cruz, and about a year, ’05 or ’06, with Oksana.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“And lonely.”

“Lonely, huh?”

“Lonelier than an ethnic dude in Wyoming.”

To this, she actually let out a bit of a snicker, to which Donald smiled and began to chuckle.

“Hehe! After all this time, I can still make you laugh! I miss your laugh. Do you miss me?”

She conceded, “only on occasion.”

He smiled, “I can work with that.”

SRvVYUi.png

[pic: imgur.com/SRvVYUi.png ]

Above: Donald and Sarah spotted eating pizza together at Idlewild Airport, NYC, c. August 5, 2009

– Kate Bohner’s The Art of The Don: The Unofficial Biography of Donald Trump, Times Books, 2017 edition



EUNICE KENNEDY-SHRIVER PASSES AWAY AT 88

…the decades-long pro-life progressive who was an early supporter of UHC and disability rights legislation was surrounded by friends and family during her final days… The firebrand feminist served in the US Senate from 1962 to 2001 and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1988, after declining to run in 1972, 1980 and 1984…

The Washington Post, 8/11/2009



“…former FBI Director Robert F. Kennedy spoke at the invitation-only Requiem Mass held for his older sister here at the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis. Sources close to the invitees have told us that the former Director delivered a stirring eulogy, one fitting for the beloved champion of feminist causes and defender of the disabled and the unborn. …Eunice Kennedy-Shriver’s other surviving brother, her younger brother and media mogul Ted Kennedy, was in attendance despite his own ailing health. In the past year, Mr. Ted Kennedy has had several grueling operations to combat a brain tumor and has been afflicted with seizures as well…”

– WNEV-TV News 7, independent TV station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, US; 8/14/2009 broadcast



KENNETH BACON, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE, IS DEAD AT 64

…Bacon was a former leading figure in the humanitarian organization Refugees International, and also had previously worked, in advisory and unofficial diplomatic functions, for the Presidencies of Jack Kemp, Carol Bellamy, and Lee Iacocca. Despite spending years of his career working as a columnist and journalist, often being critical of “wasteful military spending,” Bacon served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, a position considered to unofficially be the “public face” of said department, from 1991 to 1993...

The New York Times, 8/15/2009



The New New York Files
, often shortened to The NNY Files or TNNYF, and aired and marketed in Canada as Tales from New New York, is a spinoff of the long-running American TV series Futurama. TNNYF is an anthology series, with each episode focusing on minor side characters, creatures, planets, and other locations found in the Futurama series, but expanded upon in order to “flesh them out,” as put by series creator Matt Groening. The series also depicts the early lives of the major characters of Futurama prior to the start of the series, as well as presenting a collection of non-sequitor shorts in some episodes that the writers “failed to expand into full episodes,” as Groening put it. The series began airing on August 16, 2009, almost exactly 15 after Futurama began airing; Groening explained in a 2009 interview that “the delay” in TNNYF’s developed was because “it’s only now that we the manpower to pull it off.” With a less frequent release schedule than Futurama’s, TNNYF has received praised by audiences and given decent reviews by critics.

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 2011



LARGEST-EVER ANIMALS-ONLY OVERPASS BRIDGE OPENS IN WYOMING

…Animals-only highway overpasses have proven over the years to reduce traffic accidents caused by wandering animals. These sprawled-out structures that blend into the area’s natural elements help animals migrate above and over busy roads without interacting with the human activity on the pavement below. This is the largest one in the US, passing over the four lanes of US Route 26 that pass through Wyoming. The “nature overpass” is sprinkled with elements such as rocks, bushes, logs, shrubbery and small boulders to extend the local animals’ natural habitat across the bridge and increase the speed at which wildlife adjusts to using the bridge instead of taking their chances on the road. Typically, members of the wildlife may take up to two or even five years for the shift to fully occur, but recent trends suggest that the more common they are found, the sooner animals adjust to them. In the past five years, the average length of time between overpass opening and complete local wildlife acceptance has shortened by as much as 30%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency…

– knn.co.usa, 8/18/2009



…and in political news, President Wellstone continued to meet with Jewish-American community leaders to amend relations between Jewish and African-American communities…

– CBS Evening News, 8/19/2009



…According to sources close to both musicians, rapper Vanilla Ice and rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley plan release a collaboration album next month. …The two singer-songwriters began work on the album after lead singer Freddie Mercury of Queen publicly accused Ice of being “an unoriginal bore” for allegedly “ripping off” the music of Queen and other performers…

– thehollywoodreporter.co.usa, 8/21/2009



As Governor, Grammer also sought out an answer for what to do with the Salton Sea. Grammer visited the region in 2008 and found it to be a tragic site. With the backdrop of a breathtaking mountain range, he was shocked by the extent of dead animals and abandoned communities covered the artificial lake’s receding shoreline.

Accidently brought into existence in 1905 in a Colorado River water inflow effort gone awry, the large artificial sea in southern California was a popular place for the US military to conduct parachute training and testing after World War Two until the 1970s. The 1950s saw resort towns pop up along its shores, the most famous one being the Bombay Beach resort town. However, the mishandling of water apportionment over the decades had led to the sea’s waters slowly receding in a minor reflection of United Turkestan’s Aral Sea, creating an environmental disaster. Years of pollution from agricultural runoff had raised the Salton Sean’s salinity. In what has become a common and iconic image of the area, dead fish began washing up on beaches, creating noxious olfactory experiences that drove away the tourists and killed the local economy deader than the stinky fish. Worse, as the receding waters left the sea bed exposed to wind, toxic dust increased the risk of asthma and respiratory complications for the locals, brought on by particulate matter swept up into the air from the former shores of the Salton Sea and unintentionally breathed in by the people of Imperial County.

“As more of the sea dries, tens of thousands of silty shoreline is exposed,” explained Wendy Russell, the state’s inaugural Interior Secretary and the former Mayor of Palm Springs, a resort town less than thirty miles northwest of the dying lake, during Grammer’s first visit to the area. “And with it, the exposure of long-dormant, now-banned pesticides like DDT and other contaminants, that then get blown off to population centers by the wind.”

“Dear God, can’t anything be done about this?” the Governor asked.

“Poor air quality, habitat losses, human health risks, choking dust, and dying birds and fish do not appeal to prospective homeowners,” Russell shook her head. “It is problematic, but restoration would likely be our best course of action.”

“Then restoration efforts must be taken.”

Russell nodded, “We can’t let it be retaken by Mother Nature because the level of kicked-up toxic soil would be disastrous for living beings all across this whole region. And because the sea has no natural outlet, we have to prevent it from being used for waste storage.”

“So we’ll work with Nevada’s Governor to move this toxic soil out of our state and into theirs.” The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository is a radioactive waste storage facility in Nevada, set up in 1981, in the aftermath of the Trojan Tower Disaster of 1979, so that the federal government finally had a place to dispose of toxic waste.

“A small wetland project on the Torrez Martinez Tribal Land at the north of the valley may work. If it does, it may serve as a starting point or a springboard for more restoration projects,” opined Russell.

Grammer visited the Salton Sea again in early 2009, and lamented his administration’s failure to better address the growing crisis. He reportedly told his aides, “I think more movies could be made here. We could restore this place, renew its recreation opportunities, and foster economic development. It’s a beautiful place and it’s worth saving. Especially since it’ll be a huge public health disaster if we don’t.” Grammer soon formed a special Land Restoration Commission to discuss long-term, medium-range, and immediate goals. Grammer himself was more interested in the more immediate measures, figuring that local residents would not have the patience to wait for the fruits of a ten-year project. “I know I wouldn’t,” he reportedly told Secretary Russell.

The commission suggested establishing greenways and parks to rebuild the coast, town renewal efforts on the north end and “clean” lithium mining and geothermal energy projects on the south end. These medium-range goals would capitalize on both the scenic vistas and the deposits of minerals that are key ingredients in the production of lar phones and other modern electronic devices.

“We could bring back speedboat racing to the area and set up some solar panel farms maybe,” the Governor opined.

During one meeting with Governor Grammer in 2009, one commissioner questioned if redevelopment even be worth it in regards to it being economically sustainable, in the wake of health concerns. Grammer answered with “We’ll clear the waste away, then we’ll open the mineral mines, and then we’ll allow more people to begin moving in.” Grammer envisioned the re-establishing of working town in the area, of a working-class community for the geothermal production nearby, but a working-class community with a higher-class scenic view. And of improvements to the region becoming noticeable within the next five years. Grammer admitted, “Too idealistic? Maybe. But if we aim for an ‘A’ we could get a ‘B,’ and that’s a lot better than the ‘F’ we’ve got now.”

“There’s just one major problem with this,” Russell noted about the governor’s proposed five-year remove-redevelop-reopen plan.

“What’s that,” Governor Grammer asked.

“Geothermal energy extraction has been linked to earthquakes.”

Grammer thought for a moment, and politely attempted to brush off the concern by noting the size of the region’s proposed production and mining operation. “And, well, besides, we’re already on the San Andreas Fault. Earthquakes are already an expected part of the California experience. So the trick is to build houses that stand up to the ground-rattling. So…let’s not let anyone build any high-rises near the Salton Sea, shall we?”

pB0BEgd.png

[pic: imgur.com/pB0BEgd.png ]

Pictured: An aerial view of the Salton Sea

The earthquakes and the Salton Sea, however, were only part of a bigger problem concerning California’s environmental and fiscal conditions. Red Tide along the coast and forest fires in the north had made for a state government that needed bigger rainy-day fund, but Grammar had lowered taxes with the promise to not raise them again. Instead of using the Treasury Department’s already-depleted funds to pay for the toxic soil removal, Grammer turned to the private sector, offering tax breaks to contractors who were willing to work for low salaries and commission to cart away the soil and invest in energy production. A similar scheme had played out successfully for Grammer’s efforts to improve the state’s maglev and subway train transportation systems, allowing businesses to invest in maintenance and advertising to make up for the cost of repairs, updates and renovations...

– Miriam Pawel’s The Golden State Under Governor Grammar, Doubleday, 2021



…And earlier tonight in South Africa, incumbent President Keorapetse Kgositsile of the ANC won election to a full term over challenger Narend Singh of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Singh was an early favorite to win due to President Kgositsile receiving criticism for pardoning former President Buthelezi, but managed to assemble what has proven to be a winning coalition of anti-IFP voters…

– BBC News, 25/8/2009 broadcast



Performers Who Have Portrayed Doctor Who:

In Television

1963-1966: 1) William Hartnell

1966-1969: 2) Patrick Troughton

1969-1974: 3) Jon Pertwee

1974-1981: 4) Richard Keith Johnson

1981-1988: 5) Sir Michael John Gambon

1988-1989: 6) Sir Sean Connery

1989-1999: 7) Pierce Brosnan

1999-2002: 8) Hugh Grant

2002-2012: 9) James Edward Fleet

2012-2015: 10) Richard Ellef Ayoade

2015-2020: 11) Sir Rowan Atkinson

2020-present: 12) Hayley Atwell

In Film

1965: Peter Cushing

1966: Peter Cushing

1987: Sir Michael John Gambon and Sir Sean Connery

2020: Sir Rowan Atkinson and Hayley Atwell

– mediarchives.co.usa



FORMER PRESIDENT DINGER ENDORSES “40% GOALPOST” BILL

The Des Moines Register, 8/29/2009



BIG VALLEY JAMBOREE CROWD BREAKS FESTIVAL’S ATTENDANCE RECORD

…the festivities were held later than usual due to a necessary postponement. The venue’s grounds required repairs after a major thunderstorm that Camrose experienced this summer significantly damaged grandstands and stages. Attention to these renovations many have contributed to this year’s crowd size, as more people learned of the annual fundraising event through news coverage of the repairs…

– calgaryherald.co.can, 1/9/2009 e-article



The Sweathogs (TV series)
is an ABC TV series that serves as a sequel to the 1976-1981 TV series “Welcome Back, Kotter” and to the 2009 film of the same name. It aired on September 3, 2009 and concluded on June 3, 2012.

SYNOPSIS

Immediately following the events of the 2009 movie, the four main characters – Juan Epstein, Freddie Washington, Vinnie Barbarino and Arnold Horshack, a.k.a. “The Sweathogs” – decide to permanently move to New York City. Washington begins teaching Gym at a local college, Horshack becomes the remedial class teacher after Epstein is promoted to VP, and Vinnie settles for working as the school nurse and janitor, though he does fill in for Washington from time to time. A visual gag in the pilot hints that Woodman is rolling over in his grave upon it becoming official that “Sweathogs now control the school,” and throughout the series horror movie clichés played for laughs suggest that his spirit intermittently haunts the school in malevolent and benevolent ways. As the series progresses, Vinnie’s perverted undertones are exaggerated to make the character a humorous critique of jock stereotypes [S1].

Along with improving the learning experience for the students of the school, the Sweathogs also help their families adjust to life in NYC. Washington, through his struggles to balance the responsibilities of teacher, father and husband, becomes the new levelheaded character, with new characters in the form of Washington’s wife Vernajean Williams (played by Vernee Watson-Johnson, who portrayed the same character in the film and original series), Horschack’s wife Mary, and Epstein’s longtime girlfriend all doing their best to keep the Sweathogs out of trouble.

CAST

The actors portraying Washington, Epstein, Horshack and Barbarian all reprised their roles and were part of the regular cast. New characters included Debralee Scott as Rosalee “Hotsi” Totsi; Helaine Lembeck as Judy Hingswiggle; Stephen Shortridge as Beau De LaBarre (her first film role in roughly twenty years); Susan Lanier (b. 1947) as Bambi, Vinnie Barbarino’s wife; Charles Fleischer as Carvelli, a former student of James Buchanan High School who is now an ex-convict and the shop teacher at the school, and serves mainly as a developed rival on the show; Melonie Haller as Angie Grabowski; Aquarius Bates as Maybelline Swanson, Epstein’s Teacher Assistant; and Angel Demapan as Yasmina Washington, Freddie Washington’s daughter, a high school senior in the first season and a college student afterward.

Actors Jamie Farr and Gabe Kaplan agreed to play recurring roles, though the latter appears in only 20% of the episodes, while the former appears in 60% of the episodes.

PRODUCTION, RELEASE AND RESPOSE

A wide variety of writers worked on the series, with at least one episode being written or co-written by Fran Drescher (comedienne), Bud York in (co-writer for The John Amos Show), Susan Harris (creator of Soap, Benson, and The Golden Girls), Seth MacFarlane (create of Larry and Steve), Gabe Kaplan, and several other recurring writers.

The show has been praised for its self-aware humor, clever fourth-wall breaks, and successful running gags. After ratings dropped during the third season as the main stars began looking to other projects, the show was wrapped up and ended in season 3 with a two-part finale. The finale included a scene where a large number of Mr. Kotter’s infamous anecdotal relatives finally show up to prove that at least some of them were, in fact, real the whole time.

– clickopedia.co.usa/The_Sweathogs_(TV_series)

[S1] note: think Old Man Herbert from Family Guy, but younger, more ego-driven, more pathetic and much dumber



“…And in political news, businessman and former U.S. Congressman Dave Ramsey today announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee…”

– WCLE (1570 AM) Tennessee radio, 9/7/2009 broadcast



Title: SAIL THROUGH MOUNTAINS

Performers: Elvis Presley with Vanilla Ice
Producer: Rick Hall
Record label: FAME Studios and Sony Music
Released: September 19, 2009
Genre: soft rock, country rock, rap rock, hip hop, doo-wop

REVIEW AVERAGE: 4.8-out-of-5

REVIEWS:

REVIEW 1:
I think the review average is inflated by the hype. I mean, this is Elvis – he could release the audio of his next colonoscopy as an album and it would be a hit single. 2-out-of-5.

REVIEW 2:
This was… decent. Certainly buoyed by Elvis, but serviceable. Though honestly, sometimes, the music styling of the two singers don’t mix that well IMO. 3-out-of-5.

REVIEW 3:
IT’s been interesting watching these two musicians mature and change over the years. Ice spending time with Elvis has made the King kind of rub off on him. V.I.’s music is getting more conservative in regards to subject matter. For American flags waving in the background of his music videos, lyrics with more religious reference; an overall more gospel kind of sound. This has got to be Ice’s cleanest album. 5-out-of-5.
- - -
REPLY 1 to REVIEW 3:
Clean is putting it lightly – he sounds almost neutered. I miss his more aggressive works.

REVIEW 4:
I’m surprised by how well these two perform together. Their voices really compliment each other. The result is this heavy lean into “Christian rap” on Vanilla’s side, and a lean to more hip hop styles on Elvis’s side. 5-out-of-5.
- - -
REPLY 1 to REVIEW 4:
I’m still surprised that Christian Rap is even a thing! I think this collab will make it more mainstream. I’m not sure how to feel about that.

– albumreviews.co.usa, a public music review site, 2009 post



…with China’s work on Dongtan being put on hold indefinitely, the Shimizu Corporation saw an opportunity to beat the PRC at its own game. As one of the largest general contracting firm for various architectural and civil engineering projects in Japan, Shimizu was able to propose several “megaprojects” to citywide and national officials during the late 2000s decade. These proposals included a sustainable city on the edge of Tokyo Bay, an artificial botanical island built with redistributed matter from the seabed, and a second and larger underwater/underground tunnel across Tokyo Bay to compliment Japan’s Aqua-Line.

City officials in Tokyo signed off on the latter two megaprojects, as they were less ambitious and, in the city government’s view, less likely to fall to the same variables that had stalled construction on Dongtan. Construction began on Green Spiral Island, the botanical island project, in September 2009. Tokyo residents hoped the projects would lower unemployment, environmentalists hoped it would come to serve as an inspiration for future humanity-biosphere co-existence endeavors, and wealthier investors predicted that these and other urban redevelopment projects would raise Japan’s chances of being selected to host the Summer or Winter Olympic Games in the near future. All the while, many (but not all) political officials sought to keep an eye out for yakuza syndicates trying to make themselves involved in the construction and labor aspects of these projects…

– Alec Dubro and David E. Kaplan’s Yakuza: Japan’s Criminal Underworld, University of California Press, 2021 edition



…On September 29, another issue arose out from the pacific in the form of an 8.1 earthquake, which triggered a massive tsunami that hit Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga with waves measuring as tall as 46 feet. American Samoa’s freshwater systems and electrical power generators were damaged. Applying what he had learned watching President Jackson handle Hurricane Katrina in 2005, President Wellstone declared a major disaster for thru dependent territory, allotting emergency federal funds to be used for rescue and clean-up efforts, and public health operations such as sending new generators and medical equipment to American Samoan hospitals. Samoa and Tongo gratefully accepted WELLSTONE’S offers to loan them assistance as well. The Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency (ODERCA) logistics teams oversaw basic needs being sent out with the assistance of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US National Guard.

In a rare moment of praising “the tax-and-spend Democrats,” as he often put it, Governor Harley Davidson Brown (R-ID) praised Wellstone’s use of the USACE on September 30. However, any possible attempts to win over other conservative Republicans were impeded on October 3rd, when the President took the opportunity to compliment his predecessor, saying that Jackson’s handling of Katrina helped prepare himself for these kind of emergency situations. The comment was meant to try and improve Jackson’s popularity, as the “one of the good ones” scandal was still fresh in the public’s minds; it instead was viewed as “pandering” by individuals such as Allan Dershowitz, a prominent lawyer and a friend of former Speaker McMaster. Dershowitz created some controversy of his own on October 4th, when he called Wellstone a “traitor to our people” over the President’s refusal to more harshly denounce the former President...

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



…The 1970s, 1908s, and 1990s were also dominated by the NHL’s rivalry with the World Hockey Association (WHA). Initially struggling to compete against the larger NHL, the WHA benefited from successfully recruiting athletes fleeing from communist countries during the late 1970s, allowing the WHA to survive the financial shortfalls of the US economy entering recession in 1978, a development that financial hurt the NHL. When the Iron Curtain fell in the 1980s, culminating in the Soviet Union collapsing in 1984, ex-pats from Russia and Eastern Europe preferred the WHA due to its pro-immigrant player reputation in recent years, making the WHA the most successful NHL challenger ever.

The tide began to turn in the NHL’s favor at the dawn of the 1990s, however, with many “America First”-minded businessmen and individuals such as President Lee Iacocca strongly supporting the NHL’s various financial development and recruitment improvement efforts. After years of declining popularity and mounting financial problems, combined with the loss of many star players to the NHL and contract arguments between players and managers, the WHA’s fate was sealed in 2002, when the global SARS pandemic financial impacted the WHA worse than the NHL. The WHA ceased operations in 2004…

…By the time of the 2009-2010 NHL season, which began on October 1, 2009 and ended on June 9, 2010, the NHL was close to eclipsing the NFL to become the fourth-wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue. They ultimately failed to do so, but they did come close to it nevertheless…

– forward/introduction section of John Chi-Kit Wong’s Lords of The Rinks, University of Toronto Press, 2005



List of Stanley Cup champions

[snip]

1975: Montreal Canadiens

1976: Philadelphia Flyers

1977: Montreal Canadiens

1978: Montreal Canadiens

1979: Montreal Canadiens

1980: Philadelphia Flyers

1981: New York Islanders

1982: New York Islanders

1983: New York Islanders

1984: New York Islanders

1985: New York Islanders

1986: Calgary Flames

1987: Montreal Canadiens

1988: Edmonton Oilers

1989: Edmonton Oilers

1990: Edmonton Oilers

1991: Boston Bruins

1992: Pittsburgh Penguins

1993: Minnesota North Stars

1994: Pittsburgh Penguins

1995: Pittsburgh Penguins

1996: Chicago Blackhawks

1997: Montreal Canadiens

1998: New Jersey Devils

1999: Detroit Red Wings

2000: Colorado Avalanches

2001: Anaheim Mighty Ducks

2002: Edmonton Oilers

2003: New Jersey Devils

2004: New Jersey Devils

2005: Edmonton Oilers

2006: Montreal Canadiens

2007: Seattle Seals

2008: Boston Snowflakes

2009: Detroit Red Wings

– clickopedia.co.usa



IOC Session No. 121

Date: October 2, 2009

Location: Turin, Italy

Subject 1 of 1: Bidding For Hosting The 8/5/2016-8/21/2016 (or XXXI) Summer Olympics

Inspection teams evaluated candidate cities based on accommodations, environmental impact, past hosting experiences, financing capabilities, legal issues, local public opinion, safety and security standards, transportation feasibility, infrastructure, and the newest high-ranking criteria, sanitation procedures. New Delhi, India withdrew the day before the session, as their prospects remained dim over the city’s negative reputation still being connected to its poor handling of the 2002-2004 SARS pandemic and more recent corruption scandals. Rio de Janiero, the initial frontrunner, experienced similar concerns, along with its location and other inhibiting factors. Ahead of the fifth round, Baku withdrew; its votes, and Rio de Janiero’s votes, were split almost evenly between Prague and New York City.

Results:

New York City, United States – 21 (Round 1) – 25 (Round 2) – 28 (Round 3) – 28 (Round 4) – 52 (Round 5)

Prague, Czechoslovakia – 20 (Round 1) – 24 (Round 2) – 26 (Round 3) – 26 (Round 4) – 51 (Round 5)

Rio de Janiero, Brazil – 22 (Round 1) – 23 (Round 2) – 24 (Round 3) – 24 (Round 4)

Baku, Azerbaijan – 12 (Round 1) – 13 (Round 2) – 20 (Round 3) – 25 (Round 4) (withdrew ahead of Round 5)

Tokyo, Japan – 17 (Round 1) – 11 (Round 2) – 5 (Round 3)

Madrid, Spain – 6 (Round 1) – 7 (Round 2)

Nairobi, Kenya – 5 (Round 1)

End Result: New York City won on the fifth round

– aldaver.co.usa/votes.html



“Why are we going to spend all this money on some elitist sports show nobody watches instead of spending that money where it’s needed? Do you not know how high the rent is in this city?!”

– politician Jimmy McMillan of New York City, 10/4/2009



…On October 7, 2009, the US Deputy Trade Representative and Mexico’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism signed the US-Mexico Trade Promotion Agreement, slashing tariffs even further in order to encourage domestic consumption and employment in Mexico. The agreement also served as a prelude to further US investment into Mexico’s electronics commerce and telecommunications industries. While privately critical of labor in Mexico, Wellstone believed strengthening US-Mexico relations would have a positive effect of Mexico’s workforce and encourage stronger labor rights south of the border.

Meanwhile, in D.C., the Democrats in congress passed the Federal Buildings And Grounds Improvement Act, which established additional public-sector “civilian” federal employee occupations in regards to landscaping, maintenance, security, and other aspects of maintaining locations belong…

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



SENATOR KENNEDY-ROOSEVELT INTRODUCES DISABILITY RIGHTS BILL

…the calls for a landmark bill to assist and protect Disabled Americans have risen in recent weeks, arguably sparked by the death of disability rights advocate and former US Senator Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, an aunt of Kennedy-Roosevelt…

– The Washington Post, 10/11/2009



JONES: So now let’s finish this up with your latest project, The Krusty The Clown Show, a live-action spinoff of Life In Heck And Other Fun Places.

GROENING: Yeah, it’s been a long time coming, this one.

JONES: Indeed! L.I.H. went off the air over 15 years ago.

GROENING: But it still has a strong cult following.

JONES: So is this, like, a cash grab or something?

GROENING: All shows are cash grabs. It’s just that the good ones don’t feel like cash grabs. We’re hoping The Krusty The Clown Show be will a real good one.

JONES: Well, Life In Heck didn’t feel like a cash grab either. Does that mean the rumors ontech are true, that a L.I.H. reboot is in the works?

GROENING: We’ll see how things go with Krusty first.

JONES: Well, personally I have a high amount of confidence in you, but what about audiences more familiar with Futurama than with L.I.H.? Will many even remember the cynical, chain-smoking, inappropriate, womanizing children’s entertainer Krusty the Clown from a TV show from the early 1990s?

GROENING: I will admit, it does seem like a gamble. Especially since that side character was a cartoon, and this is going to be live-action. Voice actor Dan Castellaneta’s also going to be doing his first major on-screen TV role, but, you know, I think that work in our favor. Because having it focus on cult favorite in a new format can re-introduce the character to a whole new generation in a brand new way. He’ll still be the same Krusty, but people are going to see more depth, more of who he is.

JONES: Yes, and you can use more technology and referential humor in it too, because, uh, if I recall accurately, the show takes place in the present, and years after the events of L.I.H. ended.

GROENING: That’s correct, Krusty has moved to L.A. to host his own talk show for a more adult audience, but he will keeps resorting to the same old childish antics and publicity stunts that made his old show so successful. Lots of meta jokes, too. Krusty will be looking for love, and struggling to break from his addictions in the more serious episodes, but mostly, he’ll be trying to win over viewers with comical schemes. Most of the time. We also plan to have lots of celebrity cameos, as he’ll be trying to, like, persuade or downright kidnap guest stars for his show. Sort of a major running gag.

JONES: Fascinating; and when will it premier again?

GROENING: Sometime next year.

JONES: I can’t wait!

– usarightnow.co.usa, 10/16/2009 interview



LOCAL MAN WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES APPREHEND AFTER “CONCERNING” ACTIVITY

…In accordance with the California Mental Health Protection Act signed into law by Governor Brown in 1996 [5], a one Edward P. Phillips, 63, formerly of Corydon, Indiana [6], has been “retained” for involuntarily mental health examination with permission from at least one family member. The retention occurred less than 48 hours after Phillips made violent threats in front of several witnesses at a public diner, whose owner described Phillips’ behavior as being “concerning and unnerving…he didn’t seem right.”…

The Sacramento Union, 10/21/2009



…Even as the House Minority Leader, former Speaker McMaster could still confer regularly with GOP Senate leaders and do his best to try and win over conservative Democrats to break from their party line. Congressional Republicans also did their part to oppose the Wellstone administration, scrutinizing opposition legislation, calling for deregulation of multiple aspects of the government, questing circuit court decisions influenced by justices appointed by Wellstone and Jackson, and strongly lambasting executive orders…

[snip]

…Furthermore, calls for the deceptively-entitled Middle Class Tax Relief Act and the Nation Defense Reform Act became rallying points for the GOP as 2009 wound down, but without the votes, both proposed laws were ultimately struck down by the majority Democrats before the end of October. However, this may in fact had been what McMaster wanted, as their rejections created fodder for the Republican party’s 2010 strategy…

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



RABBI OF AMERICA’S LARGEST SYNAGOGUE “FORGIVES” JESSE JACKSON; Accepts July Apology, Re-Endorses The Rainbow Coalition

The Chicago Tribune, 10/25/2009



FEEDING THE FUTURE: Why Automated Farming Is On The Rise

c8fWFTS.png

[pic: imgur.com/c8fWFTS.png ]

We have come a long way from automatic sprinklers. With a world population of roughly 7 billion people and rising, more analysts and businessmen are coming to agree with the notion that agricultural modernization is a must. Providing sustenance means improving farming systems, and this need, combined with technological developments, is the impetus behind farming becoming increasingly automated in recent years. Major food producers such as Perdue and Tyson are adopting computer automation and robotics to increase food production and availability, with smaller producers and farms following suit, and Kansas, a state at the forefront of “agritech” innovation, is at the center of it...

[snip]

…For more urban areas, indoor farming and vertical farming is on the rise as well. For example, Chicago’s Mayor Larry Wintersmith has recently greenlit plans for a high-rise in the south side of the city that will feature a 30-story façade of various vegetable running up and down the south side of the building exterior, in a project meant to demonstrate how crowded population centers can still contribute to growing their own foodstuffs.

There is also something to be said about the rise in “Concierge” jobs. Essentially, these are jobs in which robots do the physical work while human beings are the “faces” of it. A sort of go-between between robot-cautious customers and the new machinery. These occupations, along with farming mechanization overall, exploded under President Jesse Jackson’s Agriculture Secretary, the progressive Jim McGovern…

National Geographic, October 2009 issue



“…In the Garden state, incumbent New Jersey Governor Joe Louis Clark, a Democrat, successfully ran for a full term. Running against controversial right-wing Republican challenger Steve Lonegan, Clark, the state’s first African-American Governor, won by a margin of roughly 14%. Clark’s running mate was state senator Peter Benson Carlisle. …Governor Joe Louis Clark ascended from the Lieutenant Governorship in January of this year after New Jersey Governor Richard Codey resigned from office to join the Wellstone administration. Prior to entering elective politics, Joe Louis Clark was an educator, serving as the Principal of Eastside High in the 1980s and as a Superintendent in the 1990s…”

– CBS Evening News, 11/3/2009 broadcast



DEMOCRATS TAKE BACK GOVERNOR’S MANSION BY A HAIR

…Les Steckel (D) defeated Virgil Goode Jr. (R) with a plurality, winning by a margin of roughly 1.5%, and with the conservative independent candidate Harry Russell “Russ” Potts Jr. underperforming, but still pulling in roughly 3.7% of the vote... Steckel will be sworn in on January 16, 2010…

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11/3/2009



HAMBERG RE-ELECTED IN LANDSLIDE

…incumbent Meg Hamberg (the nominee of the Democratic, Liberal, and Working Families parties) has defeated Richard Parsons (the nominee of the Republican, Conservative, and Liberty parties) and Robert “Naked Cowboy” Burck (the nominee of the Independence party) by a whopping 40% margin. Mayor Hamberg received 67.1% of the vote, while Parsons received 26.4% and Burck received 5.6%, with the remaining .9% going to the several remaining independent and third-party candidates on the ballot. The most likely cause for the election blowout was the city winning the 2016 Summer Olympics earlier this year, and for the Mayor’s improving of subway sanitation quality, along with Parsons performing poorly in the penultimate pre-election debate. …Due to a 2006 city law establishing a limit of two terms per mayor, this will be Hamberg’s last term…

The New York Times, 11/3/2009



CHAMPS: Phillies Return To Glory With 27th World Series Title

…their first World Series win since 1981…

The Star-Ledger, New Jersey newspaper, 11/4/2009



Commissioners of Baseball:

1920-1944: 1) Kenesaw Mountain Landis

1945-1951: 2) Happy Chandler

1951-1965: 3) Ford Frick

1965-1968: 4) Eugene M. Zuckert

1969-1987: 5) Bowie Kuhn

1987-1992: 6) Lee Iacocca

1992-1994: 7) Yogi Berea

1994-present: 8) George W. Bush

– MLB.co.usa/history/commissioners/list, c. 2009



WHY COULDN’T WE NAME THIS DECADE?

…Written and phonetically pronounced in a variety of ways, the past ten years have an identity crisis of sorts. The decade sandwiched between the 1990s and the 2010s is referred to by an assortment of terms that often differ from place to place. For example, the 2000s decade is most commonly referred to as the “double ohs” or as the “oh-ohs” in Canada. In Britain, the “2000s” are called the “Noughties,” the “Aughties,” the “Oughties,” or the “Aughts.” …A contributing factor to this linguistic shortcoming is the fact that there is no universal census on decade-related terminology. …Even this decade’s spelling was not uniform, as it was written as “the 2000s,” “the ’00s,” or, to distinguish it from the 21st century, “the 2000s decade,” which was spoken as “the two-thousands decade”…

– newsweek.co.usa, 11/11/2009



MCCARTNEY: “I Still Ask John Lennon For Help Writing Songs” [7]

…the former Beatles band member admits that he maintains contact with the ex-bandmate/former Prime Minister John Lennon and ex-bandmate Ringo Starr, saying in a BBC2 interview “I talk to him about a bit I’m struggling with, and sometimes we’ll break the whole thing down and start it all up again from scratch.” McCartney continued, “I’ll VidCall him at wherever he is, but, uh, it can be harder to play bits out with him on some days than on others. He likes to travel around a lot nowadays, you know. At least twice I’ve called him up in the morning at one place, and just a few hours later, he’ll have travelled a continent or half-continent away and is too busy dancing with [John Lennon’s wife] Lyn or whatever to really focus on what I’m playing so I’ll just call back later. He’s got a lot of energy for a 69-year-old. I mean, I’m no spring chicken myself, but I know when to take it down a notch. John doesn’t. I’m not sure if that’s a bad or good thing. Guess it depends on the time of day, I guess.”

The Daily Express, UK newspaper, 16/11/2009



NO END IN SIGHT FOR SINGLE-FAMILY HOME BUILDING MOVEMENT

…Ever since the country was hit by months-long waves of emergency shutdowns and quarantines in 2002 and early 2003, centurions and Gen-X-ers have been moving out of the crowded cities and taking up residence in “the American countryside,” bringing new neighboring to the people of rural, suburban-rural and suburban communities across the United States.

Most of these movers, especially those who are endeavoring to start families of their own, see home-buying as being overall better than renting. “It costs more up front, but it’s worth the investment in the long run,” says one former Bostonian who has bought her own Cape Cod-style house in suburban-rural Barrington, New Hampshire. “I think the shutdowns made a lot of people reprioritize what kind of homes they want to live in. I mean, if something like that were to happen again,” the young woman and her fiancé furiously knocks on wood, “We’d rather have some elbow room, maybe even a decent-sized backyard to exercise in, than be stuck in some cramped flat.”

The ability of these Americans to just up and relocate is due to the advance of communication technology, which has allowed people to e-commute to work, or remote-work. Through VidCalls and doc-sharing tools employees can maintain contact with employers, customers and clients and interact with them in real-time from the comfort of their own homes – a technological ability that boomed during the SARS Pandemic. According to the US Department of Labor, the total number of e-commuters, or remote workers, at the height of the pandemic shutdowns (December 2002) was 3.5 million. While that number has since dropped considerably, it has not dropped below 2.1 million, which is still above the under 1.0 million remote workers reported prior to the pandemic. Thus, remote work has become an aspect of the American employment landscape. “One that is most likely to stick around for a good long while” says another Barrington Resident, who works remotely as a Content Writer and Editor for a marketing company headquartered in his former hometown of New York City.

Since 2002, many homebuilders have become more focused on single-family plots in a movement that has picked up the moniker “eco-sprawling,” an environmentally-conscious form of developing suburban communities near business centers without disrupting the area’s natural beauty.

One such housing development close to Albany, New York is New Schenectady, a “planned community” project funded by several wealthy environmentally-conscious New Yorkers and endorsed by Vice President Bob Ross. “I sometimes feel like I live in The Shire,” comments one new homeowner. Indeed, the homes almost seem to blend in to the landscape with the use of round design and “eco-centric” architecture.

The exodus of younger generations from urban centers was also experienced in places such as France, Italy and the UK, with hundreds of urban residents fleeing from dense apartments and condominiums for more open areas – and lower costs of living – found nearby. For example, according to the US Postal Service, roughly 150,000 New Yorkers made change of address requests between February 2002 and February 2004, with many of these people relocating to New Jersey and Connecticut during and after the SARS pandemic (though, according to a recent inquiry, roughly 30% of those residents ended up moving back to NYC by the end of 2008)...

Business Monthly magazine, November 2009 issue



IT’S MCTEER BY A HAIR

…the Prime Minister led her party to a narrow majority victory over Opposition Leader Jim Prentice of the Progressive Conservative Party, which gained 21 seats. The Maple Party lost seats, partially to due controversies concerning its national leader, Andre Boisclair. All three prominent minor parties that hold seats in parliament – the Quebec Party, led by Louise Harel; the Organized Grassroots Party, led by Maude Barlow; and the Green Party, led by Frank de Jong – lost seats as well…

The Vancouver Sun, Canadian newspaper, 11/23/2009



…Ahead on the 2009 UN GCD Conference in Brussels, Belgium, Niger became the last country of undisputed independent status ratify the UN’s Convention on The Rights of the Child, an international treaty often referred to as the CRC or the UN CRC for short. [8] First signed in 1989, with the Convention defining a child as being any human being under the age of 18, the international human rights treaty aimed to clarify the specifics of child rights, such age the “age of majority,” and the civil, social, economic/political, health and cultural rights of children. The treaty also included protocols addressing children in military conflicts, and attacking the production and distribution of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the implementation of these latter protocols was heavily encouraged by UN Secretary-General Carol Bellamy (1996-2006) and her successor, Kofi Annan… [snip] …The US ratified the CRC in 1992 under President Bellamy... with the ratification by Niger, every country on Earth except for unrecognized nations not have signed onto it, even rival major rival nations of debated independence status such as both China and Taiwan. [9]

[snip]

…The 2009 Conference also discussed the progress being made on the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Global Climate Disruption (or UNFCGCD, for short) and on the Kiev protocol of 1995-1996. Task Forces and GCD experts reported progress had slowed, with many industrialized nations – China and Russia in particular – falling behind scheduled “emission weaning” dates. The economic report blamed the recent sluggishness on the “upper echelons of the social classes,” noting that, typically, one millionaire’s private jet produced more emissions than one hundred layman gas-powered pickup trucks. Subsequent criticisms ontech toward wealthy lavishness led to ontech petitions and boycotts. Hoping to improve their customers’ reputations and their won business model in the process, private jet manufacturers Dassault and Cessna announced by the year of 2009 that they would begin designing more “economically conscious” modes of high-end transportation…

– Ramesh Thakur’s The United Nations, Peace And Security, Cambridge University Press, 2020 edition



WELLSTONE BACKS AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES BILL IN IMPASSIONED SPEECH

JwJgV6m.png

[pic: imgur.com/JwJgV6m.png ]

Pictured: President Wellstone, giving his endorsement to the proposed Kennedy-Roosevelt–Kerrey Bill, points out to “the people here and the people out there” who would benefit from the bill’s passage.

The Washington Post, 12/1/2009



HOUSE VOTES DOWN “40% GOALPOST” BILL

..voting on almost partisan lines, the bill was struck down 236-to-205. The bill called for a Constitutional Amendment that would establish a second election, or “runoff election,” between the top two vote receivers of a Presidential election if no candidates received more than 40% of the vote…

The New York Times, 12/5/2009



SUPREME COURT RULES SPORTS BETTING DOES NOT VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION

After months of delay, the Supreme Court decided to hand down opinions on a major ruling concerning sports betting. In a 6-3 majority decision (with Justices Thompson, Bacon and Garza dissenting), Justice Nealon today struck down a 1982 federal law that tightly regulated sports betting at the state level over its apparent confliction with the 10th Amendment, which allows for states’ rights. In the Wilson v. NCAA case, a federal appeals court said that Colorado could not legalize sports betting due to it affecting residents of states other than Colorado. The court has ruled against the appeals court in this decades-old case on the grounds of the initial law requiring states to request federal permission to legalize sports betting violated the Constitution’s provisions that limit federal government’s ability to regulate such activities at the state level.

Supporters of legalizing sports betting are voicing support for the decision, calling it “a preservation of the freedom of expression” despite the decision not focusing on that aspect of the controversy of legalizing sports betting. Opponents of the ruling are voicing concerning that the allure of betting will lead to “a horrid and harmful impact on communities and families, weakened by a vice that the federal government should have the right to protect the people from,” as one prominent technetter put in ontech. Other dissenting voices have expressed fear that the decision will “open up the floodgates, and lead to legalized sports betting being legal in all 50 states in less than that many years,” or that it will “destroy the very moral fiber of our country” [10]. More libertarian Republicans, however, are celebrating the decision, ignoring the fact that three Republican-appointed Associate Justices voted against the majority ruling. Prominent members of the “hedgehog” wing of the GOP are dismissing , such as Congressman Doug Wead (R-AZ), lauded the Supreme Court in general and noted that “Americans are a strong people who are capable of self-control.”

[snip]

…Despite President Wellstone shying away from the court case, some ontech conspiracy theories claim that the court purposely delayed their opinions and ruling announcement in order to minimize its impact on the elections held in November…

– The Washington Post, 12/10/2009



TED KENNEDY, CO-FOUNDER OF MEDIA EMPIRE, DIES AT 77

Sacramento, CA – Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy Sr., who with Ted Turner co-founded Turner-Kennedy Broadcasting, Inc. and the TV news juggernaut KNN, passed away earlier today after a nearly-two-years-long battle with declining health relating to a brain tumor. Kennedy, a relative of the Massachusetts-based Kennedy political family, was surrounded by his wife and children during his final moments. Ted Turner, a business partner and close friend of Ted Kennedy, said that the passing “marks the end of a great chapter in American television and the end of a great man”…

– The Boston Globe, 12/14/2009



The conspiracy theories peddled out by anti-Wellstone activists on radio and ontech were as expected. Despite Christmas being openly celebrated at the Wellstone White House, with America’s first Jewish President even explicitly wishing “Merry Christmas” in a “Seasons’ Greetings” video downloaded to the official White House netsite and shared on the popular video-sharing site Ourvids.co.can (despite it being a Canada-based netsite, many Americans visit it due to globalization trends making for uniform netsite compatibility across borders), false claims persisted.

Lou Dobbs of The Herring Network, for instance, stated on December 15, “Teddy Roosevelt once banned Christmas trees in the White House because of alleged ‘environmental concerns.’ [11] It is highly possible that Wellstone will use this precedence to ban all the Christmas decorations and replace them with Jewish decorations.” This line of attack was nonsensical, given that Wellstone had already participated in Jewish traditions in the days prior, as Hanukkah 2009 had lasted from December 11 to December 19, culminating with the annual White House Hanukkah Party [12]. (Sidebar: in a goodwill gesture meant to aid peace efforts overseas, Walter Mondale became the first US President to officially recognize Hanukkah in December 1977, by participating in a menorah-lighting ceremony in Lafayette Park. Kemp became the first President to host a menorah-lighting ceremony inside of the White House itself, doing so in December 1987; the first official White House Hanukkah Party was held four years later, in December 1991, under President Bellamy [13].)

On December 16, Rush Limbaugh chastised Wellstone on his radio show for often using the term “Judeo-Christian heritage,” even though that very terminology was first used by Lee Iacocca in December 1993. A President lionized by all factions of the Republican party, most media outlets were quick to condemn Limbaugh for the hypocrisy.

Fortunately for the festivities, First Lady Wellstone ignored the furor of the fringe and went forward with letting in reporters to document the Christmas preparations. Keeping with tradition established under Ladybird Johnson [14], the crystal chandelier of the Blue Room was removed to make room for the 19-foot-tall tree donated by the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) [15] and decorated with traditional tinsel and ornaments like it is every year [14]. The President, meanwhile, filled the grounds with dozens of trees that were meticulously cared for and replanted afterward. Wellstone did not “break with tradition by opening up” the White House, as every modern US President had done so. Wellstone’s first seasonal celebrations as President aimed to show that Christmas “is not just for Christian, because the idea of this holiday season is to be good to each other and to call for peace on Earth and goodwill towards all people everywhere,” as the President put it.

Wellstone also said, in a private meeting with the White House staff, that the modern message of the holiday season was to find “commonalities, shared goals, dreams, aspirations and forms of love with people across the religious spectrum. To understand and double down on the importance of family, of sharing the joy and the feeling of this special time of the year, when hope runs high and, in the dark of winter, the future can look brighter than ever before, because we reach out to those we know and love. We seek out hope, we seek out joy, and we hold onto that sense of hope and joy for as long as we can because hope and joy are stronger than despair and sadness. They are stronger that what ails the human condition. And when we have that feeling, that feeling of wellness, of family, of joy, we, as naturally social creatures, want to spread and share the laughter and the mirth. That’s what matters during this time of year, more so than the decorations or by the name or names of our respective faiths. My friends, a toast – not to labels, but to love and to life.”

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



…The culture of the 2000s went from several phases. The decade began with the Y2K Aesthetic Movement that had developed as the 1990s had come to a close. Originating in the U.K. before spreading out to the rest of the Western world, “YAM,” also known as the “bubble” aesthetic influenced architecture and the music scene until being eclipsed in 2002 by the rise in mask-punk, an offshoot of heavy metal and razor rock that “made the best of a bad situation” (the global SARS pandemic of the early Aughties) by making masks a fashion statement. Some fans of mask-punk credit this music scene with contributing to the global effort truncate SARS infection rates.

Throughout the decade, the country music scene experience a trend of collaborative works somewhat reminiscent of “The Scene That Celebrates Itself,” which was a prominent phenomenon during the early-to-mid 1990s. As technology allowed more musicians and artists to personally connect, communicate, and collaborate through the wonders of the technet, bands and individuals worked on several projects together, with arguably the most notable of these endeavors being the 2009 album jointly made by Elvis Presley and Vanilla Ice.

The entertainment industry responded to the SARS pandemic, national efforts at police precinct reform and the Marstronaut Mission in two ways – with optimism and with pessimism. Many films, songs, and TV shows were either uplifting and optimistic efforts to keep spirits high during the pandemic, or were bleak works that fed into the fear of the unknown and explored the effects of isolation on the mind, influencing horror movies in the latter half of the decade. Several films won awards for examining racial relations under America’s first Black President, and for exploring the uncomfortable world of police brutality. Most prominently, however, was the international response to humanity landing on the planet Mars in 2003. By 2006, franchises dealing with outer space dominated popular culture, leading to three Star Wars TV shows, renewed interest in Star Trek and Dr. Who, and a film adaptation of John Carter of Mars and other materials…

nwubUGa.png

[pic: imgur.com/nwubUGa.png ]

Above: a collage of some of the many aspects of the decade’s cultural eras, from the Y2K “bubble” aesthetics (from 2000 to 2002, and again, but to a lesser extent, from 2004 to 2010), to the “mask-punk” era of 2002-2005, to the rise in tech-centric cultural aspects in the post-SARS half of the decade.

[snip]

…International diplomatic cooperation was at a historic high in the early half of the decade, as heads of state and distinguished virologists from around the world worked to combat the SARS pandemic…

– clickopedia.co.usa/The_2000s_(decade)/popular_culture



1967 (I): Green Bay Packers (NFL)

1968 (II): Green Bay Packers (NFL)

1969 (III): New York Jets (AFL)

1970 (IV): Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)

1971 (V): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1972 (VI): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1973 (VII): Miami Dolphins (AFC)

1974 (VIII): Oakland Raiders (AFC)

1975 (IX): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1976 (X): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1977 (XI): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1978 (XII): Dallas Cowboys (NFC)

1979 (XIII): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1980 (XIV): Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)

1981 (XV): Houston Oilers (AFC)

1982 (XVI): San Francisco 49ers (NFC)

1983 (XVII): Washington Redskins (NFC)

1984 (XVIII): Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)

1985 (XIX): Philadelphia Eagles (NFC)

1986 (XX): Chicago Bears (NFC)

1987 (XXI): New England Patriots (AFC)

1988 (XXII): New York Giants (NFC)

1989 (XXIII): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1990 (XXIV): Denver Broncos (AFC)

1991 (XXV): Buffalo Bills (AFC)

1992 (XXVI): New York Giants (NFC)

1993 (XXVII): New York Giants (NFC)

1994 (XXVIII): New York Giants (NFC)

1995 (XXIX): San Diego Chargers (AFC)

1996 (XXX): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

1997 (XXXI): Denver Broncos (AFC)

1998 (XXXII): Carolina Panthers (NFC)

1999 (XXXIII): Seattle Seahawks (NFC)

2000 (XXXIV): Minnesota Vikings (NFC)

2001 (XXXV): Baltimore Ravens (AFC)

2002 (XXXVI): Atlanta Falcons (NFC)

2003 (XXXVII): Tampa Bay Buccaneers (AFC)

2004 (XXXVIII): Denver Broncos (AFC)

2005 (XXXIX): Louisville Stallions (AFC)

2006 (XL): Tennessee Titans (AFC)

2007 (XLI): Washington Warriors (NFC)

2008 (XLII): Louisville Stallions (AFC)

2009 (XLIII): Detroit Lions (NFC)

– NFLstatistics.co.usa/Super_Bowl/winners [16]



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)
[1] Italicized line pulled from here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/jackson.htm
[2] The italicized parts were pulled from here: https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/27/us/jackson-admits-saying-hymie-and-apologizes-at-a-synagogue.html
[3] The bits in italics here are from this OTL article: https://www.smh.com.au/world/cardinals-speech-upsets-university-20030523-gdgt3t.html
[4] Italicized bits were pulled from this OTL article here: https://chinadialogue.net/en/cities/7934-why-eco-cities-fail/
[5] As mentioned in chapter 74
[6] Real person, mentioned in this article: www.articles.latimes.com/1989-07-20/local/me-5001_1_business-associates : “STUDIO SHOOTING BLAMED ON BUSINESS DEAL…The man who burst through a Lorimar Studios gate and emptied a shotgun into a sound stage before taking his own life had gone to the Culver City lot to confront “Dallas” television star Ken Kercheval, his foil in a bitter dispute over a popcorn business, police said Wednesday. Edward P. Phillips, 43, formerly of Corydon, Ind., apparently blamed Kercheval, who acquired full ownership of the popcorn company last year, for cheating him out of the business and causing his marriage to fail, investigators and associates said. Hoping to confront Kercheval, Phillips came to Los Angeles on Monday and drove to the Culver City lot in a rented truck Tuesday evening, police said. Unable to talk his way past a guard, he rammed through the gate, set fire to the truck and opened fire on the sound stage where ‘Dallas’ is filmed. When police closed in, Phillips turned the gun on himself. He died from a single blast to the chest. The sound stage was empty and no other injuries were reported.” (I meant to, but then forgot to, include this in the 1989 chapter. I could edit it back in, but I do like this actor, so I decided not to bump him off ITTL)
[7] OTL headline! (really!): https://www.truehollywoodtalk.com/paul-mccartney-i-still-ask-john-lennon-for-help-writing-songs/ (11/13/2020)
[8] OTL thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child
[9] In OTL, China and Taiwan both ratified it, but the US has not!
[10] Passage closely based on description found here: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-rules-for-sports-betting
[11] Story found here!: https://foresthistory.org/president-bans-christmas-tree/
[12] A real thing!: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Hanukkah_Party
[13] In OTL, Carter recognized Hanukkah in 1979, Clinton hosted the first menorah-lighting ceremony to be performed at the White House in 1993, and Bush held the first official White House Hanukkah Party in 2001; Ibid.
[14] With a First Lady Jackie Kennedy, the OTL tradition of giving the main tree a specific motif is never established!
[15] This is an OTL thing!
[16] The 1982, 1983, 2004 and 2006 winners were previously mentioned in the chapters covering those years. Louisville, Kentucky grew large enough to acquire the St. Louis team in 1992.



The next chapter’s E.T.A.: New Year’s Eve, at the very latest.



vWPD4Q1.png

[pic: imgur.com/vWPD4Q1.png ]

From my family to all of yours… Merry Holidays, Everybody!
(Don’t ask about our tree, just…don’t ask… :) )​
Some feedback regarding your timeline:
* I know that you liked a post of mine regarding the Star Wars prequel trilogy cast. There's even a small image on the 2000s collage that has who I presume is Anakin and Obi-Wan dueling on Mustafar or a similar volcanic planet. We've even seen live-action Star Wars TV get an early start and a possible successful John Carter movie. So the mission to Mars means sci-fi will become even more popular than it already is.
* The NFL sure does look similar to OTL in terms of teams minus the Louisville Stallions and the Washington Redskins taking on the name of the Washington Warriors (a good enough substitute).
* From the brief mention of police brutality (a politically-charged term used by certain people), it's possible that we're going to see BLM emerge a decade early or at the very least a similar radical left-wing movement. There are likely already riots, unrest and protests in this decade especially since there were some movies made by specific lawmakers.

Hopefully, you shall be back soon and bring us more wonders and downsides of the 2010s in the world of Kentucky Fried Politics.
 
Last edited:
Chapter 99: January 2010 – June 2010
Chapter 99: January 2010 – June 2010

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

– Matthew 6:24



…Back in 1992, on September 29, the Disability Rights Bill failed to pass a Republican-held House. Seventeen years later, it looked as if history would repeat itself, but with a bit of a twist. While a clear majority of Senators supported the bill, Speaker Kennelly was struggling to maintain a united majority in thru lower chamber. The Democrats held 226 House seats, versus 215 Republican seats. A narrow majority, dependent on just five seats, the White House feared that ten moderate-to-conservative House Democrats, led by Ben Nelson of Nebraska, would break from the party over additional costs for the Disability Rights Bill being allocated away from the US military budget.

Wellstone took umbrage at GOP efforts to undermine the bill, especially House Minority Leader McMaster claiming that requiring all public buildings to have wheelchair accessibility to all floor levels would somehow “not produce more jobs [but instead] take away jobs.” One remark, made by freshman US Senator Lang Sias (R-CO), that “crippled people have to learn to stand on their own two feet” was considered too mean-spirited even by other Republicans; Sias ultimately apologized for the “off-color and hurtful” remark, but in the same apology maintained his opposition to the bill.

However, the bill did have the support of at least 75% of the US population accord to a January 2010 Gallup poll, and it received numerous endorsements from individuals and groups that spanned across the political spectrum. Even the socially conservative disability rights advocate Alec Jones supported the bill, telling reporters in that same January, “don’t believe the Republican bullish!t that protecting disabled Americans will somehow keep them unemployed or force them out of places like the military. You don’t need legs to shoot a gun, just like how you don’t need a brain or even a heart to serve on Capitol Hill.” In private talks at the White House, Jones encouraged Wellstone and Senators McGovern and Kennedy-Roosevelt to launch a sympathy campaign “bigger than Jerry’s Kids” if necessary to win back “wayward Democrats.”

Bob Ross joined in on the behind-the-scenes effort to restore faith in the bill among the conservative Congresspersons, meeting with a least three of them by the end of January 2010…

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



KFC REPRESENTATIVES ARE “SURVEYING…UNTAPPED” MARKETS IN AFRICA

– usarightnow.co.usa, 1/5/2010



HHS SECRETARY EXPANDS DEPARTMENT PAYROLL AFTER REDIRECTING “WASTEFUL SPENDING”

D.C. – Sylvia Mary Mathews Burwell, the incumbent US Secretary of Health and Humane Services, has receive bipartisan praise for her handling of her federal department. Burwell has credited her prior experience, as a HHS Undersecretary, and then as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, under President Jesse Jackson, for her ability to improve the application process for low-income families and individuals seeking federal assistance. In her most recent action at the HHS Department, Burwell has hired additional staff to coordinate operations, increasing payroll to 40% in the wake of the federal government expending social services overall…

Burwell, a Greek-American born in 1965 in West Virginia, has been involved in politics since her father ran for county commissioner when she was an adolescent. After working on the gubernatorial races of her home state in 1984 and 1988, the election of Carol Bellamy to the US Presidency inspired her to become even more involved, and in 1990, was elected to state congress. In 1996, in what was a bad year for Democrats, she was narrowly elected to the state senate. In 2001, she joined the Jackson administration as the US HHS Department’s Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources…

– The Washington Post, 1/6/2010



SIR RICHARD BRANSON – PUTTING INVESTMENTS INTO TOMORROW

…A forward-thinking business magnate, author, and philanthropist, Branson is the founder and primary investor of several high-tech companies concerning land, air, sea and space travel and transportation, humanitarianism, and music. His Virgin Group Ltd, a British multinational venture capital conglomerate and multi-industry company, is teaming up with Binyamin Alagem of Packard Bell and with Steve Jobs of NeXT to develop the latest in personal music-making applications and servos. Similar to the efforts of Vint Cerf, Bill Gates, and Bob Kahn, Sir Branson envisions a redeveloping of the labor-manager relationship that is beneficial to all parties involved and heavily reliant on technology without depleting natural resources faster than they can be replenished…

Time Magazine profile, early January 2010 issue


…We have a breaking news alert right now: a powerful earthquake has just rattled the Caribbean, reportedly damaging buildings and shaking communities across the region and especially in the nation of Haiti. Early seismology reports indicate that this was a 7.0m earthquake, with an epicenter within close proximity of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti…

– KNN Breaking News, 1/12/2010 broadcast



By January 24, no less than 52 aftershocks had succeeded the earthquake. By the end of the month, 200,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. Port-au-Prince’s seaport was rendered unusable, requiring all rescue and relief operations to be air-based. Worst of all, partially stemming from Haiti’s decades-long history of national debt and poor trade policies, the nation’s poverty and poor housing conditions contributed to the death toll being estimated to be between 50,000 and 200,000.

The situation prompted international humanitarian aid efforts. Wireless communications systems, transportation equipment, medical necessities, and rescue crews converged onto the nation’s capital. Even US Vice President Bob Ross traveled to the capital on the 15th, meeting with American UN personnel before return to D.C. to report to his boss, “It’s a calamity for them now, sir, but if we help them out as best we can, it will be a memory for them before they know it.”

While aid funding efforts and charity donation drives were initially largely leaderless, the Presidents of the US and Mexico soon took charge of early relief efforts after confusion developed over which emergency flights into Haiti held higher priority, culminating in an air traffic congestion crisis on January 19. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced a prioritization list the next day, placing rescue efforts in “phase one,” communication materials in the second phase, and medical and sanitation supplies in the third.

[snip]

Because Haiti has no building codes, many of its buildings were incapable of withstanding major earthquakes, let alone a quake of this magnitude. As survivors were left without homes, makeshift shantytowns appears in the rubble as cleanup efforts continued on for several more days and weeks. As UN officials and volunteers entered the city, the US Southern Command noted that violence in the capital actually decreased in the days immediately following the disaster…

[snip]

PCEG8pH.png

[pic: imgur.com/PCEG8pH.png ]

– Paul Farmer’s Haiti After The Earthquake: The Story of A Sudden Tragedy And A Slow Recovery, Hachette Book Group, 2012



FINNS PICK PEKKA OVER IKKA, OTHERS, IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

…The people of Finland take to the polls and in their wisdom they have given the incumbent President a second six-year term. Finland’s Head of State, Dr. Pekka Puska (b. 1945) won re-election on the Green/Liberal unity party ticket, and won in a landslide over former PM Ikka Kantola (b. 1957) of the Social Democratic party and Matti Vanhanen (b. 1955) of the Centre party, along other candidates. As Puska obtained over 50% in this initial round of voting, he has avoided a second round vote in February…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 16/1/2010



KFC put their bitter rivalry with other chicken sandwich-selling companies like Chik-fil-A on hold when Haiti was devastated in the 2010 earthquake. Continuing the company’s long reputation of contributing to assisted sufferers of humanitarian crisis, KFC-Caribbean began distributing free blankets, sandwiches and water bottles to survivors.

– Marlona Ruggles Ice’s A Kentucky-Fried Phoenix: The Post-Colonel History of Most Famous Birds In The World, Hawkins E-Publications, 2020



CHERI JO BATES

Born: Cheri Josephine Bates; February 4, 1948 (age 61); Omaha, Nebraska

Education: Riverside City College (1970); California Institute of Technology, summa cum laude (1973)

Background: originally aspiring to be a flight attendant, her employment at a bank led to a career analyzing data. Her most recent accomplishment concerns her cranial data-analyzing contributions to a government-funded MIT research team attempting to a make breakthrough in curing retinal blindness...

Scientific American, monthly popular science news magazine, “innovator” profile, January 2010 issue



WILLIAMS WALLOPS! Labor Gains Seats As Challengers Squabble

…Prime Minister Warren Williams led the Labor Party to victory over the Liberal Party, led by Joanna Gash, and the Christian Democratic Party, led by Alasdair Webster…

The Canberra Times, Australian newspaper, 2/2/2010



…The “India Movement” of the 2010s began with the election of N. Chandrababu Naidu, a left-of-center technocrat politician and former businessman, to the position of Prime Minister of India in February 2010. Naidu immediately sought to implement urban and rural revitalization programs, but by starting at the local, then regional levels. The idea was to convert the unsuccessful top-down wealth distribution efforts of yesteryear and encourage consumer spending at the lowest levels of society. The money would be spent on small businesses, which would then “cycle up” to larger businesses and so on. Another proposal of Naidu’s for improving the quality of life and the standard of living in his country was “material reclamation” projects. The first of these was plastic roads – roads that were paved with a material comprised primarily out of bamboo and not asphalt, tar or cement, as bamboo absorbs carbon better [1]

– David Tal’s US Strategic Arms Policy After the Cold War: Globalization & Technological Modernization, Routledge, 2020



HESELTINE DEFEATS BEITH: Tories Gains Seats As Labour Campaign Stumbles

LONDON – Prime Minister has secured a second term and has led the Conservative Party in its successful endeavor to gain more seats in Parliament. With Heseltine being praised for his effective response to the horrific Haitian earthquake, and with his personal popularity already being very high, he and the Conservative Party performed even better than expected tonight. The swing contrasts sharply with initial thoughts that Haiti could potentially make or break the election for Heseltine and his party. Instead, the people have voted for Heseltine, over Alan Beith of the Labor party and Charles Kennedy of the Liberal Democrats, to serve the next term at 10 Downing Street.

Since entering office in late 2006, Heseltine has reformed the Poll Tax, inviting the opposition parties to take part in reviewing options and working with moderate Labour MPs to implement a Local Income Tax in its stead, along with increasing VAT to 15% to provide subsidies that successfully brought down poll tax bills. However, Heseltine’s most unpopular action of late must be the successful privatisation of 30% of the Post Office. Though he initially wanted 40%, the end results nevertheless kept him popular among the Tory Right. Heseltine has also focused on industry and trade, capitalizing on domestic improvements to encourage entrepreneurial innovation. This included construction on the Millennium Dome for a wider variety of venues, and renovating the East Thames Corridor built in the 1990s (and dubbed “Lennontown” by only some of the locals).

Overall, Heseltine has focused on domestic concerns much more so than on foreign policy, for which the Labour had criticized his administration. Haiti changed that, and subsequently changed this general election from a potential narrow swing for either major party to a very comfortable swing for the Tories...

The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 5/2/2009



VP ROSS TRAVELS TO PORT-AU-PRINCE TO HELP CLEAR WRECKAGE, HAND OUT FOOD AND SUPPLIES

The Washington Post, 2/6/2009



…Overseeing the organizing and coordinating of international responses to the 2010 Haitian earthquake at the UN was José Maria Figueres, the former President of Costa Rica who was a strong advocate of combating GCD, and supporting sustainable development and agri-tech. Laura Chinchilla, the President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010, gave him his full support due to his record being stellar when it came go crisis management…

– Ramesh Thakur’s The United Nations, Peace And Security, Cambridge University Press, 2020 edition



…The first incident to spark ontech suggestions that the President’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis was more serious than he was letting on occurred on February 14, when Wellstone made an unplanned visit to a D.C. hospital after a “minor” collapse at a fundraiser held only a few block away from that same hospital. He was released from the hospital later that day, and only described the incident to reporters as a “quick checkup,” but the visit and it being unscheduled nevertheless sparked much discussion on conservative and Goetzite netsites and radio programs…

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



NOORY: “So anyway, what’s this legislation I hear you keep trying to get passed? Because it sounded interesting.”

ALBRECHT: “It’s called the Frequency Freedom And Consumer Privacy bill, George, and it will protect our nation’s youth from the harm of ‘spy chips.’”

NOORY: “Spy chips?”

ALBRECHT: “Spy chips. Also known as an RFID microchip implant. We officially use them to track animals like livestock and pets, but if the global elites and the Illuminati are not stopped, that will just be the beginning. First they say it’s smart to have your pets get a little chip shot into their skin. That it shows that you love them. Next thing you know they’ll be telling us that it’s smart to let them have our children get a little chip shot into their skin, to show that we’re good parents. This bill will prohibit local, state and federal officers from forcing parents to submit to such an order; parental consent is one of America’s most sacred institutions and it will not be discarded on my watch. We will not allow that ‘next thing.’ We will not be tagged like animals.”

NOORY: “Oh wow, so you mean to say that you have obtained evidence of some nefarious conspiracy of some sort?”

ALBRECHT: “Not exactly. I’ve talked to many people on The Hill here, and I can safely say that most of them are in the pocket of the Illuminati. All the signs are there. Their aura are completely unaligned. Some of my fellow lawmakers might even be tagged, but I’m not sure. What I am sure is that if this bill gets a private vote, you know, secret-ballot style, it will pass overwhelmingly.”

NOORY: “But what does this have to do with, um, frequency, I believe you said, and consumer privacy?”

ALBRECHT: “These things only work on certain frequencies. This bill will limit corporate ability to broadcast this frequency and its range of distance, and it will establish a federal watchdog committee to monitor and observe big businesses to make sure that they are not using radio and microwave frequencies to listen in on our conversations and commit identity theft and other crimes by using to the RFID chips they sneak into our homes and even into our products.”

NOORY: “Oh, they put them in our products, too?”

ALBRECHT: “Yes, and hat is the second peat of the bill’s title, George, the consumer privacy part.”

NOORY: “I see.”

ALBRECHT: “Many RFID chips are shoved into our products. But guess what? Here in America, no form of government and no form of business has the right to spy on you after you’ve left a public store’s premises. This bill will make RFID companies and stores have to label chip-having products with a clear and obvious label so consumers know what’s going on. This bill will also crack down on other RFID long-range capabilities, and go after the companies and mega-stores that take on this new and dangerous technology. And it is dangerous, George. These spy chip things may even be the Mark of the Beast!”

NOORY: “Oh Lordy!”

ALBRECHT: “Yes! But this bill will stop that! It will force companies to publicly disclose their patent documents, revealing how innocent people, our American citizens, are being watched, followed and listened in on when they go out, when they talk privately to people, and even when they are in the comfort of your own home, in a clear and obvious violation of our constitutionally-protected right to privacy.”

– Host George Noory and special guest freshman US Rep. Katherine Albrecht (R-NH), KDWN’s late night call-in political talk radio program Coast to Coast AM, Saturday 2/20/2010 broadcast



WELLSTONE GREETS PRESIDENT OF MEXICO AT WHITE HOUSE

…also in attendance was Mexico’s Attorney General, Elpidia Carrillo. Born into poverty in a high-crime area 1961, her father and later her brother were murdered when she was very young, possibly by recreadrug cartel members. After working her way through law school in the 1980s, she joined Mexico’s Justice Department, and played a key role in tracing recreadrug money trails under President Moctezuma…

The Washington Post, 2/22/2010



“We can consider ourselves very grateful and fortunate to be alive at this point in our nation’s history. Never before have we and our fellow countrymen enjoyed, concurrently, such an abundance of prosperity and social progress with so few internal crises or external threats. Never before have we had the ability to take on the national obligation to lend a helping hand to those in need, to right wrongs, to bring forth peace, to create the more perfect union envisioned by our fathers and grandfathers.”

– President Wellstone’s State of The Union Address, 2/25/2010



LOPEZ MURPHY REVERSES RUCKAUF TRANSPARENCY POLICY

…with the backing of former President Adolfo Perez Esquivel, incumbent President Lopez Murphy is aiming to improve the Argentine standard of living by restructuring foreign debt and increasing government transparency. Furthermore, his rejection of IMF injunctions are expected to improve the economy and lift more people out of poverty. Lowering unemployment and making amends with labor organizers has dominated his presidency so far, as part of his efforts to reverse the damage made by President Carlos Ruckauf, but now, with his economic proposals being passed, President Lopez Murphy is eyeing governmental issues, too. Alongside the new transparency law, Lopez Murphy’s Justice Department is expanding its investigations into the Ruckauf administration to include an additional five members of said administration, who may have been involved in the efforts to illegally break up labor organizations…

The Ambito Financiero, Argentina newspaper, 2/26/2010



List of Presidents of Argentina

[snip]

12 Oct 1973 – 1 Feb 1982: Juan Peron (Judicialist) – elected in 1973, re-elected in 1977; performed a self-coup in 1981; overthrown by military junta

1 Feb 1982 – 18 Jun 1982: Leopoldo Galtieri (Military) – led the military junta that overthrew Juan Peron; was overthrown by the military junta

18 Jun 1982 – 28 Jul 1982: Alfredo Saint-Jean (Military) – Interim/Acting Head of State

28 Jul 1982 – 1 Nov 1985: Juan Peron (Judicialist) – allowed to return to power after forging deal with the junta; died in office from natural causes

1 Nov 1985 – 9 Mar 1988: Isabel Martinez de Peron (Judicialist) – was Vice President under Juan Peron; lost election amid mounting pressure to end the junta

9 Mar 1988 – 9 Mar 1996: Adolfo Perez Esquivel (SERPAJ) – elected in 1988, re-elected in 1992; retired

9 Mar 1996 – 9 Mar 2000: Ramon Bautista Ortega (Judicialist) – elected in 1996; lost re-election but did not contest results

9 Mar 2000 – 15 Aug 2002: Domingo Cavallo (Action) – elected in 2000; resigned amid public protests to his handling of the SARS Global Pandemic

15 Aug 2002 – 9 Mar 2004: Alberto Rodriguez Saa (Action) – was Vice President under Domingo Cavallo; lost election to a full term

9 Mar 2004 – 9 Mar 2008: Carlos Ruckauf (Judicialist) – elected in 2004; lost re-election in a landslide amid multiple scandals and investigations

9 Mar 2008 – present: Ricardo Lopez Murphy (UCR) – elected in 2008; incumbent

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



In the early hours of 27 February, an intense shaking rattled the nation of Chile for three harrowing minutes. Felt by over 80% of the nation’s population, the 8.8m earthquake, the 12th largest earthquake in recorded history, and its subsequent tremors, tsunami and aftershocks unleashed terror onto the people of Chile. Entire apartment buildings and even major hospitals toppled and collapsed and roads were rendered unusable. Power outages cast cities into darkness. A chemical plant in Santiago shut down improperly, leading to a terrible fire that quickly engulfed several city blocks before it was contained. The quake triggered landslides that fatally buried dozens of quake survivors. The effects of the tsunami were felt as far away as San Diego, which received minor damage to its shoreline. 12 people went missing and 503 people died.

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[pic: imgur.com/CPI4VBb.png ]

Argentina played a major role assisting the people of Chile recover, as did the US and Mexico. The strongest earthquake to hit Chile since the Valdivia earthquake of 1960, the 2010 earthquake destroyed infrastructure across the country, leading to relief operators repeating the aerial feats first tried in Haiti just a few weeks earlier.

Unfortunately, the situation was initially much less orderly on the domestic front. Not wanting to “militarize the streets,” President Leonardo Farkas (2005-2013) let local police handle the rising cases of vandalism and looting; unfortunately, this led to the Chief of Police for Concepcion using tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons to disperse growing crowds demanding immediate assistance as basic supplies were quickly becoming depleted. By March 1, Farkas was compelled to reluctantly deputize 500 guardsmen to increase security forces and ensure that provisions were distributed fairly.

– Heriberta Castanos and Cinna Lomnitz’s Earthquake Disasters In Latin America: A Study of History, Springer Books, 2021



TRIUMPHANT GAMES END WITH PRIDE, RELIEF; US, Russia Top Medals Charts

…the XXI Winter Olympic Games, held near Thessaloniki, Greece, ended today with a grand closing ceremony…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 28/2/2010



…In Cambodia, voracious rubber barons are creating shell companies to acquire more hectares of land than legally allowed. Local government corruption is complicating the issue…

– BBC World News, 3/3/2010 broadcast



CHILE-HAITI DEATH TOLL DIFFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR ANTI-POVERTY EFFORTS AT HOME AND ABROAD

…The number of fatalities from Chile’s historically-large quake are a fraction of Haiti’s, despite Chile’s earthquake being 500 times stronger than Haiti’s. This tragic loss of life in Haiti is thus not entirely the fault of the earthquake – the government of Haiti is also to blame, for failure to invest in community development and infrastructure modernization. …Economic prosperity allowed the people of Chile to be better informed and educated in regards to how to properly react to an earthquake. Government involvement in community organizing would led to sturdier buildings being built. The establishing of building codes is one of the most basic tools a national government can develop. These sorts of top-down overseeing can be beneficial to the masses. For example, improper building materials can render an abode unfit for human habitation; the use of reinforced concrete in Haiti’s tallest buildings would have saved dozens of lives in Haiti…

The Los Angeles Times, 3/4/2010 [2]



Wellstone saved away the techdoc on his netpad and remarked “Alright, so with the Disability Rights Bill set to be voted on next week – Bob,” nodding to his Vice President, “you know what to do – on to the next order of business: land-grant university reform, centralizing regulation the state-run colleges and those largely under state mandates. How’s the legislation coming along on that?”

“We’re planning to vote on whether or not to vote on its current form next week,” answered House Majority Whip Ed Markey (D-MA).

“Can I get a copy of the – ”

“I’ll have it sent to your inbox, sir.”

“Thank you very much. Alright, so that’s lunch, yeah?”

The present members of the US Cabinet nodded in agreement, save for Agriculture Secretary Huerta. “One more thing,” she stretched out both of her hands in a way that said hold everything. “Just so we’re clear, the Institute of Food Technologists in Chicago is or isn’t getting a land grant?”

“We’re going to grant them funding in lieu of actual land. That will allow them to achieve ‘land-grant status,’” answered Markey.

“Better now than when McMaster’s in power again,” Huerta said.

If that ever happens,” proposed US Interior Secretary Larry J. Echo-Hawk.

“You mean when that happens, Larry,” suggested US Education Secretary Jim Hunt with a pessimistic groan.

Wellstone let out a groan of agreement to this. “McMaster is still so incredibly intransigent. He keeps refusing to change his mind on so many things.” He sighed, and contemplated aloud, “Maybe people like Evan Bayh and Ben Nelson are right, and we should be making concessions to win over Republicans.”

“That would do more harm than good,” offered US Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Corrine Wood of Illinois, who was the highest-ranking Republican in the Wellstone White House at the time. “They’ll still stick to their own party line, and independents would see us as being uncommitted to our causes. Apolitical people don’t understand how complicated the process is in their own country!”

“Well then,” the President propound, “I guess we should continue the campaign effort to get them more involved, maybe not so low-key more, though, huh?”

“I wouldn’t worry,” offered US Secretary of State Jones. “I am confident that the Democrats will retain the House and Senate in November!”

“And if we don’t?” Asked the pessimistic Hunt.

“Then we pass as much legislation as we can beforehand,” the President answered. “Maybe passing so much will show voters how productive we are.”

“Or give more fodder to the list of things McMaster has a problem with.”

“Well, what do you expect?” queried US Transportation Secretary Richard Codey, “Obstructionism is an intrinsic part of the G.O.P.”

“Easy,” Wood somewhat whined at the remark.

“Present company excluded,” Codey added.

“Like how I will probably be when it comes to the 2012 RNC,” Wood said, almost to herself, with s tone of mild resignation and acceptance of her life trajectory. “But while they write the obsequies for my political career on the national stage, I’ll remember and take comfort in the fact that I’ll always have Ambassadorships to lobby for. Not too bad a deal.”

“Regardless of what awaits us in November and the years beyond,” Wellstone concluded the meeting, “Every one of us must be assiduous to the copious tasks still at hand. National problems can’t fix themselves.”

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



WELLSTONE INCREASES PUSH FOR FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE NATIONWIDE, EXPANDING EDUCATION INVESTMENTS

…The proposed bill to cover tuition for accepted students of four-year colleges is currently working its way through congress, but due to state-by-state differences in tuition policy, making community college free nationwide will be complicated – and costly. For example, some states have four-year schools that offer bachelor’s degrees. Would free tuition be federally covered in these schools or not? Tuition rates vary from state to state as well, so the proposed law may end up including a cost-sharing section. This may complicate how these free colleges would financially handle expenditures.

US Rep. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a longtime D.C. lawmaker and a close confidant of the President despite some ideological differences [3], has expressed confidence that the bill will be passed “within the year.”

Harkin stood beside Wellstone earlier today when the President spoke to reporters outside the White House to express his support for the free college bill in particular and for further investments into all levels of education in general: “There is no better investment than the education of our children. No speech will lower class size. No promise will fix a school without heat. No exhortation will create high quality early childhood education opportunities for all of our children.” Possibly signaling his goals for the 2010-2011 congressional budget, the President added that “The federal budget should reflect our values,”… [4]

The Washington Post, 3/7/2010




Bob sat down with Rep. Ben Nelson (D-NE), the leader of the “House holdouts,” Ben Nelson on the merits of the disability rights bill.

“How many people in Omaha would benefit from this?” asked the longtime Congressman.

After a quick second of thought, Ross replied, “Well, that city didn’t earned the nickname ‘The Gate City of the West’ by staying out of the way of travelers. Transportation’s still a big employer over there, and so is the railroad, and hospitals, too, right?

“Yes, you clearly studied ahead of this meeting. Congrats.” Nelson said curtly but not exactly impatiently.

“My point is that Omaha’s train stations will need to renovate to install wheelchair ramps, service animals, and special auxiliary aids. That means more jobs for construction workers.” Seeing an opportunity to win Nelson over with thru potential to create more jobs, Bob added, “Renovating public transportation and buildings, plus the hiring of paratransit services for trains, would all lower unemployment. The new requirements could even require city buses to be redesigned, that means more manufacturing jobs!”

“Hmm. True. Even if some of those things are just temporary work. Hm. Well, Mr. Ross, let me ask you this: What about all the people with conditions that make them commit crimes – I’m talking kleptos, and people who have split personalities and one of their personalities is a menace to society – what about them? Will they be protected by this bill? Will they just be able to say, ‘Oh, you can’t fire me or arrest me – I have a disorder!’”

Ross immediately spoke. “Of course not – we went over this with the other conservatives. Right here,” holding up his netpad to show the congressman the legislation in question. “See?” he carefully zoomed in on one of the first passages in the document. “Right above the Job Application Protection Section, found in ‘Title 1: Employment,’ right above that, it reads, ‘certain specific condition widely considered to be anti-social or tending to result in illegal activity, including but not limited to kleptomania, pedophilia, exhibitionism and voyeurism, are to be excluded from protection in order to prevent the purpose of the statute from being abused.’ Same goes for gender identity. Because the idea is to help people, Ben.”

Bob pressed on as the meeting continued, with the Vice President trying to convince Nelson that the core of the bill – that it would prohibit disability-related discrimination in the hiring process – would not inhibit employment-hiring itself, and would not encourage disabled people to live off of welfare for the rest of their lives.

Still, Nelson rebuked the bill. As a pro-life, fiscally-conscious Democrat, he was too concerned that the bill contained some sort of ulterior motive. “Why would we pass such an expensive bill at a time when we should be appealing to conservatives?”

“Is that what this is about, your re-election odds?” before the man across from him could answer, Bob leaned in and said “Because at the moment you don’t have the Democratic party on your side. But if you back this bill, I will personally campaign for you, as will other Democrats.”

After a moment of contemplation, Nelson replied, “I’ll talk to the other hold-outs.”

“Is that a ‘yes’?”

“It’s a maybe.”

“That’s better than nothing, I guess.”

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



NATURAL RECREADRUGS AROUND THE WORLD

For those who think marijuana is “passé,” heroin is too dangerous, and Hikfik and Fyjyt are too synthetic and “artificial,” are several “natural” recreational drugs rising in popularity across the globe:

[snip]

…One hallucinogenic recreadrugs is growing in prominence in recent years in Jimson Weed. A flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae and found across Central America, Jimson Weed can produce deliriant, LSD-like hallucinogenic episodes when eaten…

[snip]

…South America is the source of several other hallucinogens – such as Ayahuasca (“The Red Med Slider”) originating from the psychoactive brew of the same name used in ceremonial medicine by natives of the Amazon basin; San Pedro Cactus (“Dino Nudge”) found across Latin America that contains psychedelic properties and entheogen in its skin; and Anadenanthera (“Acid Conda”) with its “active” amount of bufotenin – that have gained prominence in Australian and eastern Asian areas…

[snip]

…In the American West, Lobelia Inflata, better known as Indian tobacco or puke weed by past generations, is making a comeback among white upper-class college students. When smoked, this species of plant released “stimulants” to brain that – according to its users – improves classwork productivity on campus. Another trend of late is an investment in Yaupon Holly and Ilex Cassine (also known as Yopo and Eye-Lex). As they are the only known plants endemic to North America that produce caffeine, these two plants are – unsurprisingly – being added to and paired with several other elements – not just coffee – to provide extra stimulation. Another plant being used as an effective stimulant is Guarana, a dietary herb native to the Amazon basin known for having seeds that contain twice the concentration of caffeine found in traditional coffee beans. Already being capitalized on by energy drink and soft drink manufacturers, a rising trend for ontech customers and onsite providers is the purchasing and supplying of the Guarana plant’s herbs and/or seeds directly in order to cut out “the middleman” of the energy drink companies. Due to this trend, Brazil, one of the largest consumers of soft drinks in the world, uses Guarana as often as Americans use coffee – a trend that is also catching on the many parts of Europe and North America…

[snip]

…The Sonoran Desert Toad, found in northern Mexico and the American Southwest, exudes psychoactive toxins from its skin glands. The exploitation of these animals has been widely known by the American public since the Denton administration’s “crusade” against them (enough though they have been used by Mesoamerican natives for centuries). Most of the subsequent anti-recreadrug laws from that era are still on the books in 14 states, effectively outlawing the possession and/or use of this species of toad outside of testing facilities. Nevertheless, SDT extract can still be purchased in the dark corners of the technet, according to a 2008 report from the US HHS Department…

[snip]

…Australia is also becoming a destination point for recreadrug users and sellers. This increased focus on the Land Down Under is due to the rise of Pituri, a mixture of locally-sourced leaves and wood ash chewed as a stimulant by the Aboriginal Australians. Pituri is being “fused” with other stimulants and being sold in Asian markets as the region’s newest “snake oil” (he metaphorical kind, not to be confused with the literal snake oil being sold in the area as well)…

[snip]

…Ethiopia’s Khat, also known as Jimaa in several markets, is a flowering plant containing stimulant properties and said to create excitement, euphoria, and loss of appetite among users, meaning to has multiple uses and applications. The inhabitants of the landlocked kingdom have been customarily chewing the alkaloid cathinone of this plant for literally thousands of years, often leading to this item being described as “Ethiopia’s Best-Kept Secret”…

[snip]

…Other natural buzz-sources that are less prominent in recent years but are still worth noting due to ontech discussions concerning their potential to acquire their own niches of supporters are the following items:

Argemone – a flowering plant growing in use in Hawaii, Argemone is said to be helpful in treating cataracts; tests are ongoing in Honolulu to better determine its usefulness as a recreadrug and as a medical supplement

Kratom – alleged to be a therapeutic agent, this tropical member of the coffee family has been poorly researched, meaning the efficacy, safety, and effectiveness of its opioid properties and stimulant effects are not well known; however, that is not stopping recreadrug lords from selling its leaves across Indonesia and other countries

Salvia Divinorum – better known as seer’s sage, this plant native to Oaxaca, Mexico received some attention during the late 1990s for the transient psychoactive properties of its leaves; only very recently has the plant been studied in high-quality clinical research, and the early results of those tests so far suggest promising aspects relating to its toxicology, but the jury is still out regarding its adverse effects and safety over long-term consumption; nevertheless, many of its supporters in western Europe are calling for it to be used more often to solve a host of health issues

Lattie Juice – also known as lactucarium or lettuce opium, this is one of the more unusual trends of recent years; a drug first used by the ancient Egyptians, Lattie Juice is a milky fluid secreted by the base of the stems of the lettuce species “Lactuca virosa” and can be drunk, eaten, smoked or inhaled, pending how it is treated and processed; Lattie Juice is said to have sedative and analgesic (painkiller) properties as well as providing its user a sense of euphoria, thus making this a product a highly sought-after item by both recreadrug enthusiasts and by supporters of alternative medicine

Mandrake – this root plant, capable of being grown in many warm climates, is garnering support among those enthusiastic for its deliriant hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids…

– snippets from a controversial article published in Tumbleweed Magazine, early March 2010 issue



KFC VENTURES INTO LIBYA, SEEKS TO “EXPAND OPERATIONS” IN RIVAL NATIONS

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[pic: imgur.com/UP1OSJQ.png ]

…the global fast-food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken has announced that it is opening several additional outlets in Indonesia and East Timor, as well as open up their very first outlet in the conservative and “west-sceptic” nation of the Islamic Republic of Libya. As tensions between Indonesia and East Timor have been heating up in recent years over a dispute concerning the region’s natural resources, K.F.C.’s spokesperson explains that “Historic precedence has shown that when the economies of nations are closely joined, they are very unlikely and even more unwilling to engage in conflict with one another. We hope to continue the policy established by the late, great Colonel Sanders and bring people together by letting them have the shared experiences of good times, and good meals at good prices.”…

The Wall Street Journal, 3/14/2010



HOUSE (BARELY) PASSES DISABILITY RIGHTS BILL, 222-219

The Washington Post, 3/21/2010



POPE PATRICK VISITS MEXICO CITY, WELCOMED BY CHEERING CROWDS

The Miami Herald, 3/24/2010



SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE JUST FOUND TH KEY TO DELAYING AGING!

San Diego, CA – Scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have made a notable inch closer to one day being able to delay the human aging process. The team of scientists in question participated in a government-funded research study of the aging process in yeast -- chosen because its cells can be easily controlled and influenced – in order to try and see if different cells age at the same rate, for the same reason.

What they found was intriguing. Even cells made of the same genetic materials and within the same environment aged in "strikingly distinct ways," according to the scientists, who published their findings in the journal “Science.” About half of the yeast cells aged because of a gradual decline in the nucleolus, a round body located in the nucleus of a cell, the scientists learned, by using techniques including microfluidics and computer modeling.

However, the other half aged because of a dysfunction of mitochondria, which produce a cell's energy
(Read More Here). The researchers also say that the cells go down one of two paths -- nuclear or mitochondrial -- early in life, and they continue with the aging route until they ultimately decline and die. The scientists then performed further tests to understand how the cells behaved.

"To understand how cells make these decisions, we identified the molecular processes underlying each aging route and the connections among them, revealing a molecular circuit that controls cell aging, analogous to electric circuits that control home appliances
," explains the said senior author of the study. “And after modeling the ‘aging landscape,’ we discovered that we could actually manipulate -- and optimize -- the process of aging, using computer simulations to reprogram the master circuit and modify its DNA. Next, we were able to create a ‘novel aging route,’ with a dramatically extended lifespan. We believe that this research, and the further study of and experimentation with this aging process, could very well ultimately lead to the controlled delaying of the human aging process.”

"This is an aging path that never existed, but because we understand how it is regulated, we can basically design or regulate a new aging path," the second-most senior author of the study tell us. "Our study raises the possibility of rationally designing gene or chemical-based therapies to reprogram how human cells age, with a goal of effectively delaying human aging and extending human healthspan.” The scientists also explained that they plan to test their model in complex cells, organisms, and eventually, humans, as well as testing how combinations of therapeutics and drugs could lead to further longevity.

"Aging is a fundamental biological question. We know very little about the aging process
," the senior author admits. However, in regards to this study’s current and short-term medical relevance, she says, "aging is related to many diseases so if we can help slow aging or promote longevity, it will be beneficial for society.”

The New York Times, 3/25/2010 [5]



…an independent investigation is collaborating with the California Justice Department to investigate sexual pestering allegations that have been made against Democratic congressional candidate Bill Clinton. Clinton is a Democrat who previously served as the Governor of Alaska from 1978 to 1986, and unsuccessfully running for the Democratic nomination for President in 1984, during which time his campaign was plagued by a sexual pestering claim and government corruption allegations. After moving to California in 1985, he entered private practice, but in recent years has become more politically active, and last year announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for an opening congressional seat in southern California…

The Overmyer Network, 3/26/2010 broadcast



CA DEMOCRATIC PARTY RESCINDS ENDORSEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL PESTERING

…Clinton claims the allegation is “pure hogwash,” and has refused to bow out of the congressional primary race…

The Sacramento Union, 3/29/2010



WELLSTONE TALKS TRADE, TOURISM WITH CUBAN PRESIDENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE

…President José Ramon Balaguer was joined by his Chief of Staff Mariela Castro Espin, the only child of Raul Castro...

The Orlando Sentinel, 3/30/2010



Pope Patrick visited North America – Cuba, the US, and Mexico – from March 24 to April 5. It was his first state visit to all three countries and the sixth papal visit to the US since US President Fritz Mondale had re-established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1979.

After receiving a warm welcome in Mexico City on the 24th, Pope Patrick flew to Havana on the 29th, becoming only the second Pope ever (the first after his predecessor, Pope John Paul II) to visit the island nation of Cuba. After that, he flew to the US for a visit of three cities/areas – D.C./Potomac, New York, and Boston.

On April 2, he met with President Wellstone at a welcome ceremony at the White House. This made him only the second Pope to ever visit the White House (with the first one also being his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in 1979, with President Mondale).

The crescendo of the apostolic visit was on the penultimate day, when Pope Patrick gave a sermon/speech for Easter Sunday Mass on, April 4, at the Cathedral of The Holy Cross, Boston, the largest Roman Catholic church/cathedral in New England. In his speech, the conservative Pope offered a noticeably conciliatory tone in an effort to win back Catholics and Catholic Church leaders that he had upset with divisive rhetoric in recent year. Despite this, protestors opposed to the church leader’s stances on gay marriage and abortion did chant and jeer during his stops, but with the Pope’s security being among the best in the world, these protests had no real or immediate effect on his tour.

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[pic: imgur.com/xl5IyCX.png ]

– Robert Blair Kaiser’s A Church In Search of Itself: Pope Patrick And The Battle For The Future, Knopf Books, 2019



MARY CREAGH WINS LABOUR LEADERSHIP ELECTION

…the race to replace Alan Beith ultimately came down to Creagh (b. 1967), a MP since 2001; Ed Balls (b. 1967), a MP since 2003; and Jackie Ballard (b. 1953), a MP since 1997. Despite Ballard being an early favorite, she finished in third place, just behind Balls…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 5/4/2010



…it has just been confirmed: Otis Redding, the longtime award-winning musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and talent scout, has died from heart disease at the age of 68. Redding was best known for contributions to soul music and R&B during the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. …The accomplished artist had experienced poor health in the final years of his life. His last public performance was at President Wellstone’s Inaugural Ball on January 20, 2009...

– ABC News, 4/6/2010 broadcast



FARMING CORPORATION UNDER FIRE FOR CONTRACT BREACHES

…In 2004, the Italian company Unigra partnered with the nation of South Africa to cultivate cereals and raise cattle in South African lands, mainly for the company to export them to other markets in exchange for South Africa’s national and local governments getting a generous share of the profits. However, in the years since the deal’s process began in 2005, locals have continuously accused the company of not respecting the contracts. They claim Unigra management is not honoring promises concerning the locals’ share in financial revenue, and are accusing them of destroying forests and archeological sites and cultural sites, as well as disrupting regional water supplies and polluting rivers with pesticide runoff…

The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 7/4/2010



SENATE PASSES DISABILITY RIGHTS BILL WITH EASE, WELLSTONE TO SIGN IT INTO LAW “IMMEDIATELY”

The Washington Post, 4/9/2010



"GREEN RIVER" UNNERVES AUDIENCES AMID CRITICAL PRAISE

…In this chilling biopic/thriller, Johnny Depp depicts Gary Leon Ridgway, a real-life sadistic murderer who was one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. In real life, Ridgway killed at least 42 women in the state of Washington during the 1980s before he was arrested in 1987…

Variety, TV/film review section, 4/10/2010



SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE KILLS GOP BILL TO ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE OUTRIGHT

The Washington Post, 4/11/2010



On April 14, 2010, Mount Eyjafjallajokull, a small caldera in Iceland, began erupting profusely. Despite the volcano’s diminutive size, it produced an enormous volcanic ash cloud – an accumulation of volcanic materials so vast and dense that communities across Iceland were plunged into premature nighttime. Farms were sprinkled with ash while the heat of the explosion melted surrounding ice, leading to minor flooding. A number of geographical and meteorological factors propelled the cloud directly into some of the busiest airspace on Earth. That development resulted in the largest air traffic shut down in Europe since World War Two. For the next six days, the shutdowns stranded millions of travelers worldwide and additional flights were cancelled. To help grounded fliers cope, technet carrier services cut rates, while hotels and airports slashed prices for various services, and encouraged community activities to promote feelings of goodwill during such a tense, gloomy and apprehensive time. These tactics were markedly similar to ones these businesses and travel services had developed in the early months of the 2002 SARS pandemic.

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[pic: imgur.com/TJkL4GB.png ]

The eruption would continue on until October, but no more lava or ash was produced after 21 May 2010. In the meantime, locals suffered from mild respiratory and eye irritation, but not above the rate of occurrence typical of people living in such a geothermic area…

– Bente Lilja Bye’s Volcanic Eruptions: Science And Risk Management, Doubleday Books, 2019 edition



…The next cabinet meeting, though, did not end so smoothly. In fact, it was cut short abruptly.

The President was discussing how to best respond to the volcanic ash cloud crisis in northern Europe with his cabinet members when it occurred.

Transportation Secretary Richard Codey queried “All these flight cancellations might hurt insurance companies.”

The Treasury Secretary David Curson replied, “Insurance?! Richard these cancellations could bring about a recession!”

“Then it’s a good thing teleconferencing is a viable alternative nowadays. International meetings can still be held on schedule,” noted John Ventor, the US Secretary of Energy, Innovation and Technology.

“So should we push for airports to suspend cancellation charges or no?” asked Codey.

“Of course!” answered Commerce Secretary Gloria Tristani, “right Mr. President?”

The cabinet members only then realized that, amid their discussion, their boss had slumped a bit over to the side of his seat. He was now resting his elbow on the chair arm to support his head with his hand.

"Mr. President?" asked Codey, worriedly.

"Paul, are you alright?” US Secretary of State Harvey Gantt practically exclaimed as he and the rest of those present found themselves upright in their seats and leaning closer to see what was wrong. Tristani, who was positioned closest to Wellstone, sat at the edge of her seat, ready to get up to help if necessary.

“I’m… just feeling a little… dizzy.”

“I’ll get some water,” Tristani practically pounced out of her position and walked over to the side of the room before one of the interns or aides present could. Surely, at least one cabinet member thought of the words “brown” and “nose.”

After a few sips, Wellstone explained, “Sorry for that, everyone, I just suddenly wasn’t feeling that well.”

“Don’t worry about us, Paul,” said HHS Secretary Burwell, “I’m more concerned about you. Not that this sort of thing isn’t unexpected.”

“How do you mean?” asked Wellstone.

“You just felt dizzy and very tired, right?”

The President hesitantly nodded, “Yes…?”

“Anything else?”

“Um, well, to be honest, I think I had some double vision there for a moment.”

Burwell nodded, and explained flatly but sympathetically, “These sort of things happen during a flare-up of multiple sclerosis, as I’m sure your doctors have told you.”

“They have, and to be honest,” he admitted, “This wasn’t my worst flare-up. Still…”

Burwell nodded. Soon, Wellstone was exiting the room to teleconference with his doctors, cutting the meeting short and leaving the cabinet members with the feeling of trepidation over the President’s health.

A month prior, the President had experienced partial blindness in his left eye late one night in the White House’s Executive Residence, almost prompting an emergency hospital visit before the blindness subsided during a VidCall with doctors. Nevertheless, Wellstone feared the incident would end up leaking to the press. This fear returned, and in grater magnitude, with the truncated cabinet meeting. Anticipating a leak, Wellstone outlined a draft of what he would say to members of the press.

Between MS attacks, symptoms can completely vanish while their impact on the body and mind remain, because the disease simply continues to advance even while seemingly remaining dormant. Thankfully for the President, the mild nature of his MS meant that it was advancing very slowly. But the dreary fact remained – it was advancing nevertheless.

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



GERMANY GETS A NEW CHANCELLOR

…Incumbent Petra Kelly (SPD/Green) saw her coalition fall apart tonight, resulting in the ascension of Gerhard Schroder (SPD). Schroder, who was Kelly’s former Finance Minister, retains a smaller coalition than his predecessor, having barely enough seats to form a majority in the Bundestag. …Polls show that Schroder’s zero-tolerant stance against conservative populist groups – and relevant individuals, such as politician Alex Gauland, banker Thilo Sarrazin, activist Eva Herman, intellectual Gotz Kubitschek, and anti-immigrant writer Udo Ulfkotte – is popular among an overwhelming majority of German citizens, and thus his as pension will most likely mean even harsher rules and punishments concerning such rhetoric…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 26/4/2010



...Ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in New York City, East River revival efforts are underway, with Mayor Hamburg attending a groundbreaking ceremony earlier today at the future site of the Olympic Village on the East River, across from the UN Headquarters...

– TON News, 4/27/2010 broadcast



“That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. ...We cannot close the achievement gap until we close the gap in investment between poor and rich schools no matter how "motivated" some students are. We know what these key investments are: quality teaching, parental involvement, and early childhood education, to name just a few. …When we say we are for children, we ought to be committed to invest in the health, skills and intellect of our children. We are not going to achieve our goals on a tin cup budget.” [6]

– President Wellstone, calling on Congress to pass the College Tuition Payment Reform Bill and the more recently-introduced K-12 Funding Bill, 4/28/2010




WITH THE UPMOST DISCRETION

Premiered: April 29, 2010

Genre(s): drama/political thriller/biopic/period piece

Directed by: Andrew Cheng
Written by: J. C. Pollock and Liz Hannah
Produced by: Amy Pascal

Cast:
John Goodman as Jeremiah Denton
Jada Pinkett Smith as Anna Mason
Nafi Thiam as Sidney Mason
Natalie Imbruglia as Janice R. Fine
James Spader as Buz Lukens
James Woods as Mark Felt
Val Kilmer as Bob Packwood
Tommy Lee Jones as Senator Richard Nixon
See Full List Here

Synopsis:
An attempt to hide a scandalous proposition concerning a White House confidant leads to a cover up that spirals out of the President’s control. A political thriller based on true events.

Reception:
While audiences gave this depiction of the Lukens Hush Money Scandal generally positive reviews, critics were mixed. Due to its star-studded cast, the film cost $50million, but it grossed $71million worldwide at the box office.

Trivia Facts:

Trivia Fact No. 1:
The film’s depiction of Director Felt was considered its most controversial aspect, as Director Felt wasn’t at all innocent and idealist as he is as presented as being. In real life, he backed "black bag" operations during his tenure, though he did still oppose what Denton and his allies were doing as well.

– mediarchives.co.usa



…Wellstone’s inner circle of advisors suggested “testing the waters” of public opinion ahead of the midterms. With Senator Gravel’s backing, Wellstone considered publicly suggesting that he would push for a partial Federal Aid Dividend in 2011. Hoping to energize voters, Wellstone ultimately made the suggestion in a radio interview on May 1. Another part of this planned suggestion was “testing” GOP pushback to the mere proposal of an F.A.D. Program being installed. Wellstone’s inner circle of researchers found that reactions were more positive among citizens than among lawmakers. To Wellstone’s surprise, a little over a quarter of Democrats on Capitol Hill expressed reluctant or hesitance to support even a partial F.A.D. Act.

Interestingly, the “water testing” turned out to have coincided with the Connecticut legislature passing a bill that made it the fifth state in the Union – after Alaska, New Jersey, Wyoming, and Maine – to pass a FAD or FAD-like program. Wellstone praises the law soon after, but nevertheless held off on pushing for a nationwide version of one of these programs until after the midterms had passed. Meanwhile, Gravel suggested that if Wellstone failed to pass it through congress, he could always endorse some sort of similar project proposed through the National Initiative Amendment...

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



Which Pizza Company Is The Best?

POLL:
Pizza Hut – 23.1%
Little Caesar’s – 17.0%
Boston’s – 15.9%
Domino’s – 12.2%
Figaro’s – 11.8%
Pizza Corner – 7.4%
Eatza Pizza – 4.2%
Sbarro – 3.4%
Pizza Express – 1.7%
Pizza Nova – 1.2%
Pizza Delight – 1.1%
Gerlanda’s – 0.5%
Pizza Haven – 0.2%
Pizza Shack – 0.1%
Papa Murphy’s – 0.1%
Topper’s Pizza – 0.1%

COMMENTS SECTION:

Comment 1:
Can’t go wrong with Pizza Hut, the creators of Stuffed Crust!

Comment 2:
I voted for Eatza Pizza, it’s an all-buffet style place that’s fun and interactive. They all had to shut down during the pandemic, but they did come back in 2004. It’s just not as big as it used to be. But the one near me opened back up, so there’s that at least.

Reply 1 to Comment 2:
A lot of buffet style places went belly-up b/c of SARS. Eatza Pizza was just one of those that got resurrected afterward in the booming economy that followed.

Comment 3:
Pizza Nova should be higher up on the poll/list. They’re great, and greatly underrated!

Comment 4:
Surprised Sbarro polled as well as it did. I know absolutely nobody who likes them.

Reply 1 to Comment 4:
I think a lot of these are regional tastes. I don’t think anybody in the American South has even heard of the Pizza Delight chain!

Comment 5:
I voted for Boston’s. Their dipping sauces are phenomenal, even if you can find more variety at places like Pizza Corner and Eatza Pizza.

Reply 1 to Comment 5:
I know, right?!

– mystrawpoll.co.can, 5/5/2010 query [7]



COLONEL SCHNATTER?: The Founder of The Fledgling “Johnny Supreme’s” Still Seeks Success, Sanders-Style

I meet up with the original Johnny Supreme in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at a coffee shop across the street from one of the last Johnny Supreme’s Chicken Sandwiches outlets in existence. The remains of the regional fast-food chain is noticeable not by any mascot, since it has none, but instead by its bright neon red and green paintjob. Some call it an eyesore, some call it catchy. I call it the place where I meet up with its founder for an interview. However, we sit at a public park table across the street from the building because no JSCS outlets have indoor seating.

“That should have saved it during the pandemic,” the company founder reflects, “If it weren’t for the court case and the proving grounds closing, we would have been at the forefront then, and I’d be on top of the world now.”

John H. Schnatter is an American businessman and entrepreneur, born in November 1961 to a judge and wealthy businessman named Robert Schnatter and to Mary Schnatter, a real estate agent. Growing up under the Sanders administration, and being born in the same Clark County, Indiana that The Colonel was born in 71 years prior, the young and impressionable Schnatter was inspired by Sanders’ success, and announced in his 1979 high school yearbook that he himself would have a “billion-dollar chicken empire” of his very own someday.

Schnatter’s vision began to enter the realm of reality in 1982, when his father co-purchased “Harold’s Lounge” a bar/casual restaurant in nearby Madison, Indiana. Its close proximity to the Jefferson Proving Ground, a munitions testing facility for the US Army, the US Defense Department, and multiple private contractors, led to it becoming a popular go-to place for said facility’s personnel and users. After graduating from Ball State University in Muncie with a business degree, John Schnatter began selling “Johnny Supreme’s” chicken sandwiches at the establishment.

I first tried one of these concoctions in 1997, at the company’s height, at an outlet in Springfield, Illinois. I still remember being surprised by its flavor – a hearty slab of fried chicken, treated with a mixture of butter, garlic and salt, between a spread of a marinara-like sauce, high-quality lettuce, and two halves of Italian bread. The sauce made it almost taste like a chicken pizza. That was part of its charm.

In 1984, Schnatter worked with his mother to acquire an adjacent lot, and opened the first JSCS outlet there in 1985. From there, a solid business method of using high-quality ingredients from a small number of commissaries, and tying the outlets to other military bases, allowed the chain to greatly expand across the Rust Belt. The chain saw a spike in sales during the early 1990s as conflict with North Korea escalated into war and thus led to an increase in military base use. At its height in 1997, there were 318 JSCS outlets strewn across the Midwest and northeast, with even a few being found in the Upper South. Schnatter says his franchise reaching Florence, Kentucky, “the front doorstep of KFC, was very rewarding. I was very proud of that.”

I ask, “was Johnny Supreme’s relationship with KFC competitive in nature?”

Schnatter replies, “Nobody will ever push KFC off of its current mantle. It is the largest chicken franchise on the planet, and unless it somehow collapses in on itself, nobody will ever beat, no fast-food company will come close to mirroring its size and influence. But I thought I could give Chick-fil-A a run for its money.”

For all we know, JSCS could have become a national institution like Chick-fil-A, but alas, 1997 was the Golden Era, while 1998 was the start of its decline. The original location in Madison saw its income begin to drop as munitions testing was shifted to larger facilities out west. Then, the Jesse Jackson administration identified the nearby Jefferson Proving Ground for base closure under BRAC in 2001. It was closed in 2005, and converted into a wildlife refuge. The “Harold’s Lounge” bar/restaurant was closed in 2006.

In fact, many military installations were shut down in 2001 as the federal government changed its military priorities. Soon Johnny Supreme locations shrank down to just over 100, but Schnatter was optimistic: “We just had to get some investors in, shake up our business model, and we’d be back on track in no time.” But then, in early 2002, John Schnatter was accused of sexual pestering by a 19-year-old marketing employee. She alleged that he had groped her and tried to slide his fingers down the front of her pants back in 1996, during an office party celebrating the opening of the chain’s 300th outlet. She said she clearly told him to cease, but Schnatter did not comply, resulting in her running away from him. Schnatter countersued her for defamation, claiming innocence throughout the incident. The lawsuit was settled in a confidential settlement in 2003, but the damage was done. Not wanting to be a part of what many thought could potentially be that long-feared (or long-awaited, depending on whom one asks) “Third Ark-Wave,” JSCS’s new and remaining sponsors immediately pulled their support. Sales continued to drop.

To save the chain from going bankrupt and petering out of existence, Schnatter stepped down as CEO, but did not give up all of his shares in the company, in 2007.

John Schnatter currently works as a marketing consultant for the Indiana Department of Commerce, and has critical things to say about the people in charge of “Johnny Supreme’s” chain. “It’s on life support. It can bounce back, but they are already shoveling dirt onto it.” Nursing his fourth coffee in three minutes, he laments, “It could have been big, not…well, hey, hope springs eternal, or something like that, right?” Sounding optimistic, Mr. Schnatter adds a more self-encouraging remark: “When your dream dies, you don’t. You just make a new dream.”

This prompts me to ask him, “So what’s your new dream?”

Looking out the window at the JSCS outlet across the street, one of the only 33 locations still in operation, Schnatter smiles and expresses interest in continuing to follow in the Colonel’s footsteps. “I might run for public office. Maybe something small, like a US Congressional seat. I’m not sure. I mean, hey, The Colonel didn’t make KFC into a franchise until he was in his sixties, and then he didn’t become President until he was 74. I’m only 48. And I won’t be 74 until it’s 2035. So what I’m saying is that I don’t know for sure what I’m going to do with the rest of my life, but I think I’ve got plenty of time to figure it out.”

– proudsoutherner.co.usa/food, 5/8/2010 article



WICHITA LANDS MAJOR INDIA-BASED COMPANY

…thanks to Governor Lynn Jenkins’ pro-business policies, the Sunflower State’s major cities – most notably, Kansas City and Wichita – have continued to build up their reputation on the national stage. Currently minor, or “second-tier,” tech hubs, Kansas’ urban area are becoming increasingly attractive to out-of-state companies and individuals, including many urban-exhausted Chicagoans. This recent international trade deal only highlights how our state has come a long way from its humble origins as an almost entirely agricultural state…

The Topika Capital-Journal, 5/9/2010



…In a tech-centric update of laws passed under President Iacocca, President Wellstone today signed into law the Federal Transparency Accountability Act, a piece of legislation that saw little resistance from the minority party in either chamber…

– CBS Evening News, 5/11/2010 broadcast



FIRST LADY SHEILA CHAMPIONS WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S PROTECTION ACT

…pointing out that women also suffer from police brutality as well as from human trafficking and illicit narcotic peddling, First Lady Sheila Wellstone, well-known for her work on domestic violence prevention and assistance for survivors, spoke last night at the University of Minnesota-Duluth as part of UMD’s Women’s History Seminar series. A passionate supporter of human rights, Sheila described how “poverty and despair can drive people into taking these jobs just to survive. It’s even more common in other countries, especially in several Asian countries, where families will sell their young daughters to make ends meet. While many trends were upended during the SARS Global Pandemic, one horrifying trend that increased among some families in China was sending daughters out to work in workplaces potentially compromised by SARS while sons stayed home where it was safe. Tuberculosis and the ISF Virus join SARS, along with murder and drug abuse, on the list of the dangers to the lives of young women.”

The First Lady’s criticisms came amid praise for Congress recently passing the Women And Children’s Protection Act, a large piece of legislation that aims to curb domestic violence and human trafficking victims and improve protective and preventative measures pertaining to these two subjects. Passing earlier this year with bipartisan support in both chambers, and with Senator Helen Chenoweth (R-ID) calling it “one of the most significant piece of human rights legislation ever passed,” President Wellstone signed it into law one week ago. First Lady Sheila Wellstone was an early and passionate advocate for the WCP Act and it’s anti-domestic abuse programs and potentially preventive pilot programs.

Since becoming First Lady last year, Sheila Wellstone has only ramped up her attacks on violence against women and children, calling it her “top priority” when she was serving as Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. “I know that it can seem almost impossible to comprehend that these kind of things are still happening in this day and age, but they are, and we have to commit as a nation to be a part of the solution to these problems that plague the global community.”

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[pic: imgur.com/gqbfQSI.png ]

Pictured: First Lady Sheila Wellstone

The Duluth News Tribune, 5/16/2010



TACOMA MAYOR MEETS WITH CHINA’S YANG GANG TO TALK TRADE, INVESTMENTS

...Marilyn Strickland, an African-American/Korean-American Democrat born in 1962 in what is now United Korea, who was elected Mayor of Tacoma last November, today traveled to Beijing and sat down with PRC Chairman Yang Gang in an effort to encourage the nation to invest in her city’s growing tech services industry. Strickland also met with the People’s Republic’s Trade Minister in this bid to woo over what would be a major foreign investor for her constituents…

– The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Washington newspaper, 5/21/2010



…and in political news, we can now confirm a major development, an upheaval of sorts, in the race for the US Senate seat from Idaho, where longtime state lawmaker Carlos Bilbao has defeated incumbent US Senator Bob Gritz in tonight’s Republican primary. He has unseated Gritz. Gritz, as you may recall, ran for President in 2008, and given how heavily Republican and how populist the state of Idaho is, Gritz was expected to win this contest despite Bilbao’s impressive legislative experience. In fact, most polls showed Bilbao trailing Gritz by 10 points, but tonight, the margin of victory is 5 points, and it is for Bilbao, not Gritz. Senator Gritz had been endorsed by Governor Harley Brown and other populists such as Bernie Goetz, so this major upset suggests that perhaps Goetz’s brand of Republicanism is neither as strong nor as long-lasting as it may appear to be…

– KNN, 5/25/2010 broadcast



…While polls showed that a majority – though, tellingly, a small majority – of Americans supported the landmark pair of two “education investment” bills working their way through Democrat-led committees to become law, many large private colleges strongly opposed them. The threat of enrollment declining and these wealthy schools entering relative financial hardship led to their lobbyists trying painstakingly to convince conservative and moderate Democrats to not vote to approve the bill for free college. One alternative offered by conservative TV talking heads was a “compromise” of simply capping tuition charges, but Wellstone did not see this as a compromise of any sort, reportedly considering it “not nearly as effective as” the two education bills…

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



CONTACT: The “Discovery” Of America Through The Eyes of The Original Americans

Premiered: May 30, 2010

Genre (s): action/horror/period piece/satire

Directed by: Jennifer Kent
Written by: Charles C. Mann and Samuel Eliot Morison
Produced by: Stephen McEveety

The makers of this horror film found the right balance between spoofing “alien invasion” films and presenting a story of family and survival in the face of catastrophic change. Filmed in the Caribbean with Hispanic and Caribbean actors and actresses, “Contact: The Arrival of Columbus” depicts a group of indigenous Taino natives and their respective families on the island of Hispaniola and how they and their coastal community react to “the invasion” of “The Deadskins,” referring to the arrival of Christopher Columbus and company, and their lighter skin shade. Columbus, and the rest of “the deadskins,” are depicted in an almost exaggerated manner, presented as monster-type villains, cruel and heartless to the native inhabitants. The story then follows the main Taino characters reconnect with their family members amid the melee of deadskins grotesquely killing the natives with superior weapons and the spreading of disease in their efforts to conquer and enslave the Taino people. The terror brought about by the deadskins culminates in an attempt by the native leaders to try and launch an attack on the base of the heartless and malicious invaders. The film ends on a depressing note, with the plan failing, and most of the leads meeting gruesome fates. The surviving family members make their escape across the interior of Hispaniola and sail away to an uncertain destiny, but hoping to warn other tribes of “the spreading evil.”

This movie will undoubtedly prove controversial, polarizing and divisive due to its depiction of Columbus, but in this case, that is not a bad thing. There is merit to scrutinizing the legacy of Columbus and the effects his expeditions had on indigenous populations. Additionally, while this movie’s subject matter – more historically accurate than other depictions of Columbus, as sad as that is to say – will raise awareness of the atrocities not covered in grade school, its execution is noteworthy as well. With superb cinematography and exceptional acting from non-Hollywood thespians, the pacing, music score, and story will keep audiences engaged throughout its 1hour-45minute run-time…

Variety, 5/31/2010 review



MAYOR KANG RE-ELECTED

…The incumbent mayor of Irvine, California won a second term of two years tonight with a plurality of just 42% of the vote…

The Sacramento Union, California newspaper, 6/1/2010



Mayors of IRVINE (California)

12/28/1971 – 7/1/1976: 1) William Leonard Pereira (I, 1909-1985) – the L.A.-based architect who co-designed the city’s layout; selected by city council (5-0) for the largely ceremonial position, which was established and filled on the same day that the city was formally incorporated in 1971, after The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s; the position was originally offered to Raymond L. Watson, former President of The Irvine Company and future Chair of Walt Disney Productions, but despite expressing interest he ultimately declined; Pereira purposely took a hands-off approach to city government due to his perfectionist tendencies clashing with the limitations of the office; retired better focus on several architectural projects on which he was working

7/1/1976 – 7/1/1978: 2) Bill Vardoulis (D) – engineer by trade; former President of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and member of the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission; served as Director of the County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, and on the Orange County Transportation Commission; selected by city council (4-1) for the largely ceremonial position; promoted the city as a center for top-quality education and as a safe community for raising families; retired to found an engineering firm; later worked as a business consultant; served on the city council from 1974 to 1976, from 1982 to 1984, and from 1990 to 1992; briefly ran for mayor again in 1984 and 1992 before retiring from election politics

7/1/1978 – 7/1/1980: 3) David George Sills (R, b. 1938) – former lawyer; selected by city council (4-1) for the largely ceremonial position after majority of Republicans were elected to the city council; previously served on the city council from 1976 to 1980; also was a member of the CA-GOP State Central Committee from 1966 to 1968 and was Chair of the Republican Associates of Orange County from 1968 to 1969; is the former husband of US Senator Maureen Reagan, and worked on the California division of her 1988 Presidential campaign; lost re-election

7/1/1980 – 7/1/1982: 4) Lawrence Alan “Larry” Agran (D, b. 1945) – former public interest attorney; previously served on the city council from 1978 to 1982; selected by city council (3-2) after Democrats retook majority control of the chamber; co-founded LEONA (Local Elected Officials of North America), an international organization and network of city-level officials advocating for municipal priorities that had an international scope such as ending the arms race, reducing U.S./NATO defense spending, and prioritizing national spending for economically disadvantaged cities, in 1981; convinced city council to outlaw several pesticides to promote environmental protection, and to outlaw all forms of sex/gender-based discrimination; lost re-election after Democrats lost majority control of the city council

7/1/1982 – 7/1/1984: (3)) David G. Sills (R, b. 1938) – former Mayor; selected by city council (4-1) after Republicans regained a majority in the chamber; supported The Irvine Company’s contracts with the US military during the Libya War; lost re-election after Democrats gained majority control of the city council in an upset

7/1/1984 – 7/1/1986: (4)) Larry Agran (D) – former Mayor; selected by city council (3-2) after Democrats retook majority control of the chamber; supported expanding recreation and cultural programs for the city; lost re-election after Democrats lost majority control of the city council in an upset

7/1/1986 – 7/1/1988: (3)) David G. Sills (R) – former Mayor; selected by city council (3-2) after Republicans reclaimed majority control of the chamber; pushed for the mayor’s seat to be popularly-elected to stop the recent “revolving door” of Agran-Sills administrations; lost re-election due to spending much of his time in office outside of Irvine, working on his ex-wife’s campaign for the US Presidency; after an unsuccessful rematch in 1990, he retired from election politics and entered private practice

7/1/1988 – 7/1/1994: (4)) Larry Agran (D) – former Mayor; won the city’s first “direct” mayoral election; praised for handling a rare tornado touching down in the city in March 1991; longest-serving mayor; faced criticism for openly embracing the label “Democratic Socialist”; retired to successfully run for a US House seat

1988: David Sills (R)

1990: David Sills (R)

1992: Barry J. Hammond (I) and Hal Maloney (I)

7/1/1994 – 7/1/2000: 5) Helen T. Cameron (R) – former lawyer and political activist; previously served on the city council from 1990 to 1994; city’s first female mayor; moderate-to-conservative; doubled the number of city police officers and improved street lighting and maintenance by rising taxes on low-income residents while also overseeing tax cuts for the wealthy and middle-class; almost lost the 1998 election to the city manager in a bad year for Republicans; retired to unsuccessfully run for a US House; later retired from election politics and entered private practice

1994: Sally Anne Sheridan (R), Marc Goldstone (D), Paula Werner (I)

1994: William A. “Art” Bloomer (I), Albert E. Nasser (D), Mike Ward (I), and Les Racey (I)

1996: Paul Johnson (I), Sally Anne Sheridan (R)

1998: Paul O. Brady Jr. (D)

7/1/2000 – 7/1/2006: (4)) Larry Agran (D) – former Mayor; previously served in the US House from 1995 to 1997 (losing re-election in 1996, which was a bad year for Democrats in general); reversed many of his predecessor’s policies, and welcomed Asian-American immigrant families moving to California since 1996 (due to the initial instability of the Korean peninsula in the aftermath of the Second Korean War and then the economic woe brought about by the late 1990s “double dip” recession that left a greater impact in Asian nations such as Indonesia and United Vietnam than in the US; lauded for managing several crisis but was criticized for managing post-crises taxation issues; lost re-election by a 5% margin in an upset

2000: Christina L. Shea (R), Guy E. Mailly (R) and Mike House (I)

2002: Ronald Eugene Allen (I)

2004: Earle Zucht (R) and Mike Ward (I)

7/1/2006 – 7/1/2008: 6) John Duong (R) – city’s first Asian-American mayor; former businessman and member of the city council from 2004 to 2006; covered costs for city programs, without raising taxes, cutting “too many” services, or going into debt, by using the city’s “rainy day reserves” in a highly controversial move; supported city plan to turn the El Toro Marine Corps Base, which was shut down in 2006, into an industrial park center; lost re-election by a comfortable margin

2006: Larry Agran (D)

7/1/2008 – 7/1/2016: 7) Sukhee Kang (D, b. 1952) – city’s second Asian-American mayor; born and educated in Seoul and immigrated to the US in the 1970s; previously worked as a sales and customer service representative for Circuit City from the 1970s to the 1990s; first got involved in politics following the wave of racist attacks and hate crimes that were made against Asian-Americans during and after the Second Korean War (1996); served as Chairperson of the Korean American Coalition of Orange County and the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (Western Region) during the late 1990s and early 2000s; previously served as a member of the city council from 2004 to 2008; focused on improving housing and implementing the latest state-of-the-art methods of and designs for public transportation; defeated a city plan for an industrial park and replaced it with plans for what became Orange County’s Humanity Park in 2015; retired to successfully run for a US House seat in 2018 and again in 2020

2008: John Duong (R)

2010: Christopher J. Gonzalez (R) and Christina L. Shea (R)

2012: Katherine Daigle (R)

2014: Mary Ann Gaido (R) and Ing Tiong (I)

7/1/2016 – 7/1/2020: 8) Christopher J. Gonzalez (R) – city’s first Hispanic-American mayor; former businessman and political activist; previously served on the city council from 2000 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2016; with a unanimous vote, the city council implemented a two-tier voting system in 2017 after Gonzalez won with only 29% of the popular vote in 2016; often feuded with the city council on deregulation issues in his efforts to shift some “maintenance duties” onto community volunteer groups and homeowner associations; retired to successfully run for a state senate seat, entering office in January 2021; may run for a US House seat in 2022

2016: David Chey (D), Donald P. Wagner (R) Mike Carroll (R) and Ing Tiong (I)

2018 (primary): Ed Pope (D), Tammy Kim (D) and Ing Tiong (I)
2018 (runoff): Ed Pope (D)

7/1/2020 – present: (4)) Larry Agran (D) – former Mayor; previously served on the city council from 2008 to 2020; despite being openly progressive, he won over some Republican voters after he and a fellow progressive Democratic-Socialist advanced to the runoff due to the Republican share of the vote being divided among four candidates in the blanket primary, with the most likely explanation for Agran winning over conservatives in the runoff being that older residents that remembered his past times in office better “trusted” the “Agran version” of socialism, while all other city conservatives sat out the election in protest, thus explaining the runoff’s low voter turnout; Agran is currently working to make college more affordable, if not outright free for all; incumbent

2020 (primary): Luis Huang (D), Katherine Daigle (R), Christina L. Shea (R), Anthony Kuo (R) and Mary Ann Gaido (R)
2020 (runoff): Luis Huang (D)

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021



TURKEY OFFICIALLY JOINS THE EU IN SPITE OF RUSSIAN OBJECTIONS

…After a lengthy process lasting over a decade, the nation holding a corner of southeastern Europe has officially become a full member of the European Union, with plans to adopt the Euro currency “as soon as possible,” says Turkey’s Prime Minister. The official entrance marks a major step in Turkey’s shift away from the “Middle Eastern Bloc”…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 2/6/2010



…The Prey Lang Forest is one of the largest contiguous lowland evergreen stretches in Southeast Asia. It’s current protection status is often credited to Interior Minister Chut Wutty, whom some regional sources have called “the only honest man” in his country’s government. …However, this ecologically significant forest is being threatened by corruption as a rise in demand from Chinese cities for sugar is leading to the deregulating of sugar cultivation laws and to a rise in illegal logging and human rights abuse incidents popping up around edges of the forest…

– National Geographic, June 2010 issue



BISHOP BECOMES ACTING OPPOSITION LEADER

…After Joanna Gash announced that she was stepping down from leading the Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Isabel Bishop was next in line… The young and energetic first-term MP Nickolas Varvaris has already announced that he plans to challenge Bishop in the upcoming Liberal Party leadership election. Two other MPs, Karen McNamara and Dr. Sharman Stone, have publicly expressed interest in running…

The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian newspaper, 6/6/2010



US House of Representatives, California, District 23

Primary Elections, 6/8/2010:
Turnout (3.30% Total Population):

Democratic Party Results:

Monica Lewinsky – 55.8%
William J. Clinton – 44.2%

Republican Primary Results:

Darrell M. Stafford – 33.4%
Tom Watson – 26.2%
Carole Lee Miller – 15.8%
John Harper – 12.7%
Clark Vandeventer – 11.9%

– ourcampaigns.co.usa



ANCHOR: “…After Japan’s general elections held earlier yesterday led to an inconclusive deadlock, negotiations between several party leaders have led to the ruling minority government of Japan to lose power, as a demographic shift in several Diet seats have allowed the opposition to take power, albeit with a minority government of their own. Our newest geopolitical correspondent has more on this.”

CORRESPONDENT (recorded audio, shown over footage of post-election celebrations, Diet members conversing in hallways and outside of buildings, stock footage of a generic handshake, and schools): After only two tumultuous years in power, Ichiro Ozawa of the Centrist Coalition has lost the Prime Ministership to popular challenger Mizuho Fukushima of the left-wing Social Democratic Party. After entering office in 2008, Ozawa managed to get the Diet to restructure civil services and worked with Diet members from other parties to both pass income support for farmers and pass a pilot program offering free tuition for public high schools. However, a lack of upward social mobility and dimming job prospects for young Japanese citizens despite the growing economy made Ozawa unpopular among the younger generation of Japanese voters, who ralled behind Mizuho Fukushima her promise to raise the minimum wage to 1000 yen and implement a much stronger jobs guarantee program.”

ANCHOR: “The election result is also historic, in that Fukushima will become Japan’s first-ever female Prime Minister…”

– CBS Evening News, 6/14/2010 broadcast



WE LIKE LYLE: Utahans Buck Challenger Buck

…In the closely-watched US Senate primary contest dubbed the “fight for Utah’s soul” by many media outlets, a competition between two starkly different personalities and conservative ideologies has come to a close. With a whopping 59% of the vote, the incumbent US Senator, the soft-spoken moderate-conservative Lyle Hillyard, a backer of this year’s Disability Rights Bill and the GOP nominee for Vice President in 2008, defeated his "Bernie Bro" challenger, the populist-conservative retiring US Congressman and former professional football player Jason Buck…

– The Desert News, Utah newspaper, 6/17/2010



REPLY 231: So it looks like Sam Granato’s winning the Democratic nomination for Utah's US Senate seat that's up for grabs this November. Am I seeing that right?

REPLY 232: Yes, Granato won over Chris Stout, link here. He got it with over 70% of the vote. No need for any second vote or runoff or recount any other detracting BS

REPLY 234: Who cares which Democrat got it? The state’s too red to even turn purple leave alone blue!

REPLY 235: Well it was a landslide for Granato, so the UT-DEMs could tout having a more united state party

REPLY 236: So you think Hillyard’s 59% isn’t unifying? Cause it’s a way bigger margin than the one Olympia had in 2008 and she was supposed to be all about unity!

REPLY 237: I’m just saying that if Buck’s followers refuse to vote for Hillyard and sit the election out, there is very small chance that it could hurt Hillyard’s performance in November

REPLY 238: I think Hillyard should have retired

REPLY 239: Then Buck would be our next Senator!

REPLY 240: No, the UT-RNC would have had someone else run instead like Dick Richards or Jerry Stevenson

REPLY 241: Who?

REPLY 242: I think Greg Hughes, Bruce Call or Mark Shurtleff would have run if Hillyard hadn’t

REPLY 243: Who are those guys?

REPLY 244: Nah, my money would have been on Norm Bangerter or Curt Bramble jumping into the race if that had been the case

REPLY 245: Are you people making up these names or something?

REPLY 246: Though I don’t see why Lion Lyle would have retired given he seems to be in very good shape for a 70-year-old

REPLY 247: More like Lyin’ Lyle

REPLY 248: Again, how does that “insult” make any sense?

REPLY 249: #Hillyard2012!

REPLY 250: Eh, if Hillyard hadn’t run, I would not have been surprised in Curt Oda or Ryan Wilcox or even Carl Wimmer had run.

REPLY 251: Bastards

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa, 6/17/2010 news feed thread



CatDog
was an animated American television series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2002 to 2005 on Ton-o’-Toons from 2006 to 2010. Having seven seasons and 203 episodes (409 segments), CatDog was considered one of the “flagship” shows of ToT from 2006 to 2009.

[snip]

PRODUCTION

The series was in “development hell” from at least as early as 1995, with the show’s premise, setting, and characters going through several rewrites before animation work on a promotional short featuring the two main characters finally began in 2000. The short, “Fetch,” was released in 2001 and was well-received. Work on the first season began around this same time. One major addition to the premise that script revisions brought about was the character Cat attending night school as a recurring setting, as part of a deal with the network to promote education to the children viewing the series. Revisions also expanded the use of multiple stock side characters with “thin” personalities, such as a Ossium, the Lion police chief who is too afraid of The Greasers (a trio of thugs who often harass the main characters) to arrest them or fine them for their many crimes and misdemeanors, though Rancid Rabbit remained in his original multi-purpose role. The setting of the series – primarily, a small city in the throes of economic recession – and the characters’ relations to one another were amended during this period as well, which reportedly allowed the series’ writers to keep the main focus of the series’ on its humor.

Initially, the heads of the Nickelodeon feared that many audiences, especially very young viewers, would be turned off by the show’s dark and mean-spirited mood, atmosphere, and tones, but this led to creator Peter Hannan pushing the show’s gloom even further in its third season, as, by that time, it was already developing a strong cult following. In reaction to this action, the series was cancelled in January 2005, and Hannan was released from his contract.

In late 2005, Hannan managed to get the series picked up by the The Overmyer Network. Hannan decided to add hopeful undertones to each character and episode for Season 4, hoping to not upset and turn away too many people like what had happened with Season 3. However, in order to avoid losing its cult followers, elements of mystery were added as well by assistant writer J. J. Abrams (who left the series in the middle of Season 6 for other projects). Because many of these mysteries were never explained within the series, many onliners have formed numerous theories as to their meanings.

By Season 7, the series had turned to presenting a noticeably more lighthearted tone, which increased its appeal in some demographics but turned away many of it’s original viewers. Several crossover episodes with other ToT animated TV shows aired in this season, but all received mixed reviews. In June 2010, Hannan announced that the show had not been picked up for an eighth season, but that a TV movie was in the works to conclude the franchise. According to Hannah, “it will explicitly reveal how CatDog go to the bathroom, but the rest of it will be so jam-packed with action, humor, and controversy that it may actually overshadow the big reveal.” The TV movie is expected to be released sometime in either 2011 or 2012.

[snip]

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. mid-2010



…In Havana, Cuba, US Secretary of State Harvey Gantt met with Cuban President Jose Ramon Balaguer, and Gantt’s diplomatic counterpart, Cuban Secretary of State Zulima Farber [8] to discuss specifics concerning additional aid for the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti back in February…

– NBC News, 6/22/2010 broadcast



…a trio of Baptist missionaries have been arrested in Haiti and have been charged with kidnapping for smuggling children out of Haiti in the days after the January 2010 Haitian earthquake. The missionaries have essentially confessed to the kidnapping charges, claiming that they were rescuing orphans to give them better lives in the US. However, of the 45 children discovered to have been taken out of Haiti since January, only seven of them were orphaned by the quake...

– CBS Evening News, 6/25/2010 broadcast



SENATE PASSES FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE BILL; House To Vote On K-12 Improvement Bill After Summer Recess

…meant to expand education access and repair historic inequities concerning low-income citizens, the Higher Education Accessibility Bill was today passed by the US Senate 54-50. President Wellstone lauded the accomplishment, as he strongly backed the bill in an effort to ease ability for low-income Americans to achieve higher learning…

The Washington Post, 6/28/2010



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)

[1] Plastic roads are on OTL thing their own wikipedia article and everything!

[2] More details can be found in this small article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8543324.stm

[3] OTL, Tom Harkin was “one of Wellstone’s closest friends in the Senate,” according to this: https://all4ed.org/articles/nation-mourns-senator-paul-wellstone-champion-of-education-and-the-little-guy/

[4] Italicized bits are OTL Wellstone remarks; Ibid.

[5] Italicized bits are passages pulled from this article on this very real thing!: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/health/slow-aging-intl-scli-scn/index.html

[6] Passages are OTL Wellstone comments pulled from here: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2013/12/paul-wellstone-is-more-prescient-than.html

[7] Reportedly, in OTL 2020, the top four pizza companies in the U.S. are Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa John’s!

[8] ITTL, her family returned to Cuba after a 7-year absence, and she herself ultimately moves back there as well in the 1970s.



The next chapter’s E.T.A.: January 7 (or January 12, at the very latest)

Have a Happy And Better-Than-2020 New Year, everyone!
 
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PNWKing

Banned
Boston's Pizza. I'd never heard of that one. John Schnatter is an a** who deserves to lose probably. I've never heard of Zulima Farber.
 
Would be interesting to see Eddie Izzards attempts to break into politics are more effective in this timeline. Can probably be justified or handwaved that after Lennon’s time as PM, the British public are a little more comfortable with celebrity politicians or her career getting a boost from a Lennon endorsement.

On a related not, I’m imagining Trans Rights in the Sanders-verse are roughly equivalent to what they were in OTL at the same point but it would be nice if some of the worst of the 2010’s transphobia was avoided and stuff like the TERF movement never becoming mainstream
 
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Chapter 100: July 2010 – December 2010
Chapter 100: July 2010 – December 2010

“Finality is not the language of politics.”

– Benjamin Disraeli, Speech to the House of Commons, London, 1859



…The state of Washington became the first state in the union to legally recognize non-binary people today, with Governor Lisa Brown signing documentation making it official that non-binary is a valid option on driver’s licenses in the state. The move in a major step in the increasingly prominent transgender rights movement…

– CBS Evening News, 7/2/2010 broadcast



TMkkLUB.png

[pic: imgur / TMkkLUB.png ]

– Bob Ross with some young members of his Vice Presidential staff, c. July 2010



IT’S TIME TO HANG UP THE CAPES, HOLLYWOOD, UNTIL YOU LEARN HOW TO FLY AGAIN

…just to be clear, I do not blame Elisa Donovan for the failure of “Poison Ivy: The Injustice Gang.” The starring actress made the best that she could out of what little this spinoff film’s script had to offer. Not even the recast roles of Batman (David Boreanaz) and Bane (Bill Goldberg) could improve it. No, I blame the directing and the writing. This filming environmentalist message is too over-the-top to be taken seriously, and its anti-war emphasis is so heavy-handed that it should make Tom Laughlin blush. And the thing is, we should have seen this coming – you know you have a terrible (in this case, bland, passé, trope-filled, convoluted, confusing, nonsensical, and so very, very boring) script when not even Nicolas Cage will resume his role as Batman for it (though, admittedly, maybe the Ethan Hawke version, or even the Eion Bailey version, would have been more suitable, given this film’s usually-dark tone).

One positive thing that could be said about this box office bomb of a movie, though, is that its disastrous execution and reception may finally be what gets Hollywood to pump the brakes on making more superhero movies. Maybe now, studios can take a step back to recognize the very real “superhero fatigue” that has overtaken popular culture. Perhaps this film will finally lead to a long-needed break from these types of movies and allow the movie magic makers to actually put in the hard work necessary to finally make a superhero movie that actually excites us again...

– Variety magazine, TV/film review/editorial section, 7/5/2010 op-ed



US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO “STAY OUT” OF HAITI MISSIONARY KIDNAPPING CASE

The Orlando Sentinel, 7/7/2010



ROYAL, LEOTARD ADVANCE TO RUNOFF ELECTION

Paris, FRANCE – Marie-Segolene Royal, the Socialist incumbent President of France since 2003, and Francois Leotard, a conservative from France’s Republican party, came in first and second place, respectively, in tonight’s first-round contest of the French Presidential election. As neither won a majority, the two will advance to a runoff election, which will be held on the 23rd.

Several candidates failed to qualify for the runoff election, including the far-left, eco-socialist, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the Democratic Socialist Party’s nominee, who came in third place; the center-right nationalist Charles M. J. V. Napoleon, the Mayor of Nemours and the Centrist Party’s nominee, who came in fourth place; and right-wing activist Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the center-right Sensible Party’s nominee, who came in fifth place.

The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 9/7/2010



MOTHER-POST by @CuriouserCarmen: What Does “F.R.A.T.” Mean?
I’ve been seeing this term pop up on a few sites but I’m not quite sure what it means. I think it has something to do with trans rights. What does it stand for?

>REPLY 1:
It’s a new term

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1:
Yes, but what does it mean?

>REPLY 2:
It’s short for “Feminist Radicals Against Transwomen.” It’s a fringe part of feminist radicalism, split from the main group over concerns that transwomen are somehow detrimental to feminist causes.

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 2:
‘Detrimental to feminist causes’? How does that make any sense? The more the merrier – if more people want to support your cause, I say let them in. Especially if you’re already a group like the R.F.s!

>REPLY 3:
The FRATs – or Feminist Radicals Against Transwomen – are not anything you should concern yourself with, dearie. They’re centered primarily on the technet, with little actual activities in the real world. Little to no recognition in mainstream media, either. Most often, they spend their time feuding on chat forums with other feminist radicals. Where did you even learn about them, @CuriouserCarmen ?

>REPLY 1 to REPLY 3 (by MOTHER-POSTER):
I, um, I went to a feminist radical chat forum. I was curious because my college roommate is an RF. I don’t think I’ll be joining their local chapter.

>REPLY 2 to REPLY 3:
I actually saw a bit about these radicals on TV the other day, they were angrily protesting outside of some government building in Seattle. They were claiming that the state government had recently done something that unfairly addressed the rights of ‘brand-new genders’ ahead of addressing the rights of the female gender or some s#!t like that.

– euphoria.co.usa, a public pop-culture news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 7/18/2010 posting



THE FRENCH CHOOSE THE LEOTARD! Francois Leotard Wins French Presidential Election

…the right-leaning centrist politician has defeated incumbent President Marie-Segolene Royal by a margin of roughly 4%... …the brother of French actor and singer Philippe Leotard, Francois Leotard’s political career began with his election to Mayor of Frejus in 1977, a position he held for nearly twenty years before joining the French Parliament and briefly serving as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2008. ...Leotard, age 68, will be sworn in as France’s newest President on July 30...

– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 23/7/2010



…which brings us to the latest Russian election. Despite political opponents accusing him of abusing the powers of his office to break up the gas industry’s workers’ strike in 2008, incumbent President Oleg Malyshkin, a member of the right-wing National Party, and endorsed by the far-right Iron Fist party, remained overall popular, and was expected to win re-election as the year began.

However, as the criticisms mounted, his standing in the polls began to drop. Soon, Valentina Matviyenko was within striking distance of him. Matviyenko, b. 1949, was the Motherland Party’s nominee; a conservative nationalist, she ran in 2005 and underperformed, but had since developed more name recognition and thus fared much better than five years prior. Right behind Malyshkin and Matviyenko was Viktor Aleksandrovich Tolokonsky, b. 1953, the Democratic Party’s nominee from Novosibirsk, Siberia, who ran a conservative nationalist ticket that was more moderate than Matviyenko’s. Three prominent “second tier” candidates impacted the polls and threatened to siphon votes away from thru three main candidates. Anatoly Kvashnin, b. 1946, the retired Army General and former Chief of the Russian General Staff was the Strong Arm party’s nominee; Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova, b. 1953, the most left-wing candidate in the race, ran under the Progressive party banner; and Sherig-ool Oorzhak, b. 1942), the leader of Tuva Province from 1990 to 2007, ran on the centrist National party ticket.

In the first round of voting, on July 13, Malyshkin unexpectedly came in second place, with Matviyenko besting Tolokonsky for the opportunity to face the incumbent in the subsequent runoff round. With Malyshkin seemingly losing momentum, he was suddenly being expected to lose the runoff round. However, “Uncle Oleg” was not one to give up so easily. The incumbent reacted by releasing a string of no-budget videos onto OurVids and RusVids, Russia’s answer to the larger, more western-oriented OurVids video-hosting site. These videos were each under a thirty seconds, and consisted of the President meeting with various citizens from across the working classes and industries while noting how he’d improved their lives. While Matviyenko repeated attacks on Oleg’s actions during a feud with Poland over pipeline uses in 2008, Malyshkin’v videos successfully portrayed him a leader responsible for the rising economy and thus worthy of re-election.

In the July 27 runoff round, Oleg Malyshkin defeated Valentina Matviyenko in a slight upset, obtaining a second five-year term with roughly 5% of the vote…

– Maskim Gorky’s After the Iron Curtain: Eastern Europe, 1984-to-Today, Academic International Press, 2010 edition



Baptist Minister and political activist DALE HUCKABEE: “These Trans Rights people are complicating too many things. The need to have to redo so much documentation – immigration records, military service records, taxes, marriage licenses, numerous identity documents – it’s setting a dangerous precedence. Before you know it, ex-cons will go through the same channels so they can trick employers into hiring them under a new identity.

US Rep. FRED KARGER (R-CA): “I highly doubt that this all will lead to that.”

HUCKABEE: “Ho-ho, just wait, it’ll happen.”

KARGER: “Dale, most of what is being proposed on the hill right now is the bare-bones important stuff – protection of reproductive rights, protection from discrimination, the whole restroom access debate we’re hearing so much about nowadays – ”

HUCKABEE: “And I have plenty to say on that subject.”

KARGER: “I’m sure you do, but what I’m getting at is that we’re talking about hate crime legislation, protecting Americans from hatred and harm, and other aspects of T-life, such as ensuring they have access to UHC once they get their new ID documentation.”

HUCKABEE: “But you know what all this lawmaking and document amending will lead to, though, right?”

KARGER: “What?”

HUCKABEE: “Complete and total justification for the Democrats to inflate big government even further, and require all American people, both BLUTAG and regular, to document and record for the feds every single aspect of their lives! This is how we get Big Brother – by letting him dress up as a Little Sister.”

KARGER: “Dale, hold up. Okay? Okay, firstly, I don’t know how to respond to that Little Sister comment. But, secondly, what about one’s own right to freedom of expression? I get that you’re on the country conservative side of the party, but we’re both Republicans, and I have to say, as a Republican, the idea of denying these things to trans people goes against the core of libertarianism. The idea of letting people be people.”

HUCKABEE: “But that’s exactly my point. Minimum government, maximum freedom. So how on Earth is requiring all these documentation changes not a violation of the pro-American stance of less government interference in people’s lives?”

KARGER: “It’s a protection of people’s rights, to protect BLUTAGOs like me from persecution from non-government groups like religious fanatics and bigots.”

HUCKABEE: “Hogwash. People can wear whatever they want to in their own homes and use whatever pronouns they want to behind closed doors. There just needs to be a clarification on what is appropriate to be expressed in public places. First we’ll have BLUTAGOs in dresses, then they’ll demand to walk around in public without anything on at all! It’s a slippery slope, my gay friend!”

KARGER: “Okay, let’s cross that nudism bridge when we come to it – ”

HUCKABEE: “And another thing – what about parental rights?”

KARGER: “Yes! Let’s talk about that.”

HUCKABEE: “Why shouldn’t parents have a say in what their BLUTAG kids want to do to themselves? I say do as your parents say until you’re 18 and then hit the road, Jack!”

KARGER: “Oh. I thought you meant the parental rights of trans people. As in, you know, trans people wanting to adopt and/or raise children?”

HUCKABEE: “They want to do what?!”

– The Herring Network, news "expert examination" debate segment, 7/28/2010 broadcast



Sudan had been a minor player in the formation of the “delicate peace” of the Middle East, and had otherwise maintained a relatively small presence on the world stage until the late aughts, when government-led action against the indigenous people of eastern Sudan brought the nation to the headlines of newspapers worldwide.

Non-Arab members of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan had been claiming since the 1990s that they and others were victims of a system instigated by the Arab-led Sudanese government and military that aimed to segregate Arabs and non-Arabs. Stemming from water scarcity and land disputes between farmers and nomadic herders, the conflict coincided with a breakdown in relations between the north-based Arab government and the non-Arab groups and communities of the nation’s southern half. This essentially made for a three-sided situation between the persecuted Darfur people of the east, the non-Arab “rebels” of the south, and the Arab-led government of the north.

After years of on-again, off-again waves of massacres and attempts at ethnic cleansing, Israeli officials attempt to intervene with peace negotiations in early 2008, but talks slows as all sides were critical of Israel’s “delayed” response. “They ignored our suffering in exchange for having good relations with the wealthier people of the Middle East,” alleged Dr. Khalil Ibrahim in a 2012 interview. “Peace is a two-sided sword. To forgive your enemies when your enemies attack others is not worthy of praise or honor. But I will concede that Israel’s efforts at assistance, as little as they were, were still better than not receiving any assistance at all.” According to The Associated Press, coverage of “NoKo2,” the Global Pandemic, warfare in the DRC, and the 2008 Presidential election all overshadowed Sudan’s civil strife, causing coverage of it to become lost in the news cycles, and in turn prompting politicians to continuously put addressing the issue on the backburner.

Even the Wellstone administration did not begin to address the conflicts in Darfur and Southern Sudan until roughly a year and a half into his time in office…

[snip]

9PsFB05.png

[pic: imgur.com/9PsFB05.png ]

Above: The three regions of Shamal Darfur, Gharb Darfur, and Janub Darfur, while together form the region of Darfur, with the city of Al Fashir being at the geographic center of the civil conflict.

– David Tal’s US Strategic Arms Policy After the Cold War: Globalization & Technological Modernization, Routledge, 2020



…“The Darfur Crisis” caught the attention of the Wellstone White House in the summer of 2010, after The Daily Telegraph published an expose on the level and extent of human rights violations occurring in eastern Sudan. With mainstream media discussing trans rights and not Darfur, Wellstone believed that he could address the situation without garnering the attention of critics. In late July, Wellstone sent US Secretary of State Harvey Gantt to Cairo to try and lead peace talk negotiations between representatives for the Sudanese government and the Darfur and South Sudan people, who were each threatening to secede by this point.

With the Sudanese government being reluctant to end their policies, Gantt saw a long and grueling process ahead for all involved. The complexity of the situation was heightened after rumors of the Israeli and Libyan governments quietly backing business boycotts of Sudan began to spread around. Not even threats of economic attack, real or fabled, could get the Sudanese government to agree to the demands of the Darfur people (primarily, relinquishing of traditional Darfur land back to the local people, and ending the “apartheid”-like system separating Arabs and non-Arabs at public amenities). The bickering among delegates continued on both sides, with both Sudan and South Sudan representatives at one point actually siding with one another to criticize the United States for trying to be “a referee for the world.”

Back in Washington, D.C., Wellstone contemplated if more than just foreign aid would be needed in Sudan in the near future. Herein was the downside to American noninterventionist policy – a line had to be drawn on how far atrocities that had little effect on the US could be allowed to occur before morality and common decency demand that something simply has to be done to end the human suffering of strangers...

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



PAKISTAN ASKS U.N. FOR HELP AMID “HISTORIC” FLOODING

…harsh rain has created flash floods across Pakistan for the third day in a row, overwhelming the nation’s infrastructure…

The Guardian, UK newspaper, 31/7/2010



UTAH CONGRESSMAN SWITCHES TO GOETZ’S BOULDER PARTY TO CONTINUE RUN FOR SENATE

…after losing a bid for the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in June, retiring US Representative Jason Buck believes that he can still win the upper chamber seat – by running under the populist label used by Bernie Goetz during his third-party bid for President in 2008. …Prior to entering politics, Jason Ogden Buck was a defensive lineman in the NFL from 1987 to 1993...

The Washington Post, side article, 8/2/2010



“Pancreatic cancer’s a b!tch,” she’d say. Millie was on, as she put it, “her last legs,” but despite her ailing health – or, perhaps, because of its waning quality – she was greatly concerned over the future of the company. As automation continued to crawl across the payrolls of industries, debate over quality control and employee training was intensifying.

“The process is too long and time consuming,” argued one member of the FLG Inc. Board of Directors. “The articulate process put into making the birds requires careful and extensive training, gobbling up time and resources. This was acceptable thirty years ago, but the social dynamics have changed. Customers are more impatient than ever.”

“I know what you mean,” chimed in one of the older directors. “There used to be one-hour photo drop-offs; yesterday my grandson complained when his larphone took, I want to say, about four seconds to develop a picture he took. Couldn’t even wait four seconds,” the man shook his head, almost in a shame manner.

“Exactly,” the younger director continued his pitch, “We need to modernize to keep up with the modern public’s demands for instantaneity. We need to replace these training excursions with technicians who repair and operate automated machinery that will prep and pressure-fry the birds. Such machinery would cut down on time spent on employee training, and in the long run save the company time and money. Furthermore, the new machinery would potentially create additional tech service jobs, mooting claims of our corporation killing jobs, when it would in fact be making new ones.”

“There’s just two problems,” Millie observed. “What will become of the employees already trained to prep the meat?”

“They could apply to work as the new machinery maintainers.”

“What if they can’t handle modern tech. Who here knows how to code? Show your hands,” she asked as she scanned the room. Only one Director raised hers. “What if cooking is all they knows because they didn’t plan on becoming mechanics or coders?”

“Well, um, they could always be trained, uh – ”
“So you want to replace the grueling process of teaching people how to put egg wash and eleven herbs and spices onto chicken and pressure fry it, with the grueling process of teaching people how to operate robots? You want to replace one process with another process? Sonny, if you want to keep yourself busy, I suggest getting some kind of hobby.”

“But ma’am, the new process would free up time, make the process more efficient, and speed up customer service, which would improve customer satisfaction.”

“I’m not too sure about that, which brings me to the second problem – customers might not like knowing that a bot is making their food. Where’s the heart? Where’s the love and care that goes into each batch of KFC? Other companies may be trying to cash in on robotification of the American workforce, but here at KFC, we put people before ’puters. Because people like knowing that their fellow people are at the core of our company’s ideals and goals. Even outside of the charity work, it is a vital part of our reputation.”

The suggested automation had been in response to more recent efforts to create a cheaper alternative to “the Harland method” for making Kentucky Fried Chicken. In a 2009 R&D tryout at select KFC locations, an “Original Recipe 2.0” was offered, and veteran customers were quick to tell the difference. Immediately, an overwhelming amount of feedback was negative, with comments essentially forming a consensus – that the original variant from the beginning was still superior, that the Colonel’s process was, tried and true, the better process.

Millie managed to put the question down for the time being, but what about tomorrow? As the last surviving child of The Colonel, she had much influential and sway over the board. But dead people aren’t so persuasive.

In the subsequent weeks, between hospital visits and checkups, Millie divided her time between family, friends, and meetings with company loyalists. In July 2010, on a hot summer night in Kentucky, Millie sat down with several adult family members whom were also involved in FLG, Inc. With all sincerity, she asked “the next generation of preservers” to promise to maintain quality control at KFC. “The Colonel did not build with company from out the side room of a gas station for it go back to turn to s#!t. I know keeping a board of rich folk in line is a big task, it’s a big thing to ask of you, but here’s the thing. This isn’t about my legacy anymore, or my father’s. It’s about your lives. You’re the ones who are going to be living through the next several decades. You have the ability to keep this company on the straight and narrow. You have the power to make sure the right things are done. It’s not a birthright but an opportunity that few people can get handed to them on a Kentucky-fried platter. All I ask is – will you choose to accept such an important responsibility?”

Much to the old giantess’ delight, nearly all of those assembled agreed to become more involved in the company’s inner workings and its relationship to its employees and customers.

– Marlona Ruggles Ice’s A Kentucky-Fried Phoenix: The Post-Colonel History of Most Famous Birds In The World, Hawkins E-Publications, 2020



“Are you sure it’s medically necessary?” Wellstone asked.

“Who’s the doctor, here?” replied the head of the President’s team of physicians and experts. Wellstone began taking physical therapy sessions in mid-2010, shortly after his MS health scare in the Cabinet Room. He had assumed that the stretching and exercising of his legs would be enough, but his doctors were not so optimistic. “We do not want to take any chances with you. You’re an important client, don’t you know?”

“But a walker? I’m only 66.”

“I know, I was at you’re birthday party last month. Such a small shindig.”

“You don’t have to use it 24/7,” explained the head therapist, “Just whenever you feel physically stressed. Do not overextend yourself.”

“That’s kind of a tall order, ma’am,” Wellstone said, “but, I guess I can keep it on standby. Use it on the upstairs residence and whenever the press isn’t around. You know, I’m starting to understand how FDR felt.”

Before the checkup ended, the President once more shied away from medication because he wanted to “keep a clear head while on this job, which is practically a 24/7 one.” He noted that even top-tier MS medication were only modestly effective anyway, can often have adverse side effects, or can even be poorly tolerated by the patient’s body. “It’s just too risky,” Wellstone concluded.

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



…As the 2010 midterms approached, most Republicans increased their reactionary push for what they dubbed a “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact,” an agreement where states joined a compact to pledge their Electoral College electors to the winner of the national popular vote in the next Presidential Election. Questions over the legality of the compact ranged from whether or not joining the compact – via governor order, statewide referendum, or state legislation action – was legally binding to whether or not the compact would even be effective if the compact did not receive a pledge from enough states to control a majority (273) of the Electoral College’s 545 electors.

Furthermore, several scholars suggested that Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the US Constitution suggests that this “NPVIC Plan” may not be enforceable or even legal, as it requires congressional consent due to it impacting the Electoral College. This theory simply added the NPVIC Plan to the reasons that many Republicans gave for why the GOP had to reclaim both chambers of congress in November. The theory also gave fodder to the many Democratic counterpoints that defended the Electoral College, such as the counterpoint that the political apparatus served as a bulwark against dangerous and unqualified candidates from winning the election on a plurality, individuals such as Bernie Goetz and other neo-hippies…

– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016



“You know, the other day I was confronted by one of those Bernie Bros, someone with one of those eldritch-like neo-hippy radio programs. He actually complained that the proposed Capital Gains Tax Reform Bill would disproportionately impact higher-earning individuals. Like you, he asked me if I was okay with this, and, like now, I said, ‘Of course I am!’ Why would I not support this bill? It cuts the Average Joe some slack and shifts more of the burden of taxes onto those who can afford it – and can afford to work harder to make up for the money they’ll lose with this bill – the rich, especially the stinkin’ rich!”

– US Senator Mike Gravel to reporters, 8/8/2010



“One thing that very much concerns me, um, more and more every day, is this phenomenon that’s been dubbed ‘greenwashing.’”

“What’s that, Mr. Nader?”

“It’s a form of marketing spin where companies falsely claim to support ‘green values.’ They use green packaging or misleading slogans and phrases to make consumers think that they care about the environment while they continue to do more to damage the ozone layer and make more contributions to pollution in one fiscal quarter than the average American can make over the course of their entire lifespan.”

“Oh hey, yeah, I’ve heard about this.”

“No doubt. The rise in this is an increasingly serious problem. It is contributing to a rise in consumer skepticism of all green claims, and this can only curtail the power of consumers to push companies to retain true green values in their business operations.”

“Well you can do something about it, right?”

“Yes. As the Attorney General of the United States, I can direct the Justice Department to look into the legality of these actions. That’s why, next week, I will be back in D.C. to call for more corporate disclosure laws. I will also be backing efforts being made by a growing number of independent researchers to obtain reform on external company monitoring policies and claim verification policies at the state and federal levels. Because this goes beyond mere bottled water and low-emission SUVs. We’re talking about the fate of the planet here.”

“You take your job very seriously, Mr. Nader, sir.”

“Well, if you were in my shoes and you saw and knew just how greatly corporate action can damage communities, you’d take this job seriously, too.”

– Ralph Nader and host, WEDW-FM, 88.5 FM, Connecticut radio interview, 8/12/2010



KFC LAUNCHES CHARITY DRIVE FOR VICTIMS OF THE DARFUR CRISIS: “Donate For Darfur” Will Accept Food, Clothing For Refugees, Victims

The New York Times, 8/14/2010



…even with assistance from the U.N. and several nations, the government of Pakistan fears that recent flooding may have left behind lasting damage, inhibiting food production next year and impacting Pakistani life as waters recede from over 17 million acres of once-fertile crop land…

– CBS Evening News, 8/16/2010 broadcast



THN NEWS ANCHOR SARAH HEATH TO APPEAR IN AMERICANA OVERDRIVE SEQUEL

…the independently-made follow-up to the 2008 cult film is expected to release in 2011 or 2012…

The Hollywood Reporter, 8/17/2010



US MISSIONARY LEADER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR KIDNAPPING 45 CHILDREN IN HAITI COURT CASE

The Miami Herald, 8/20/2010



DAVE RAMSEY WINS GOP NOMINATION FOR GOVERNOR

– The Kingsport Times-News, Tennessee newspaper, 8/21/2010



SENATE PASSES K-12 IMPROVEMENT BILL, 56-48

The Washington Post, 8/23/2010



SECRETARY OF STATE GANTT BACK IN CAIRO AFTER CLOSELY-GUARDED TALKS WITH SUDANESE OFFICIALS “RESTART”

Associated Press, 8/25/2010



CDC CLEARS NEW SARS VACCINE

…Because the SARS virus can mutate quickly, vaccines will have to be updated yearly and given regularly, especially if – everyone knock on wood – we ever see a massive return of SARS. Even still, the effective distribution of just one vaccine can significantly temper off another SARS pandemic. …Scientists believe that within another decade or two, infection and fatality rates will likely be much lower thanks to both shots and antibodies protecting survivors of the 2002 pandemic. …The past several years have proven that early scientific predictions were correct; in most parts of the world, SARS has become very much like the seasonal flu in regards to how commonly it occurs and how it is treated...

The Ledger-Enquirer, Georgia newspaper, 8/27/2010



TOBY KEITH KICKS BACK WITH LATEST ALBUM

…“I’m in a good place right now. I think I’ve written somewhere around 30 or 40 songs in the past year or so. Now some of the songs are a bit more political than usual, but their positive, not pushy. I got some real fun ones in here too, some real happy ones. And overall, this is the kind of album that you can just kick back to, probably because I was just kickin’ back when I wrote most of them.”…

– billboard.co.usa, 8/30/2010



CAMMIE KING DIES AT 76; Former Child Actress Had Served In Congress Since 1975

Fort Bragg, CA – Eleanor Cammack “Cammie” King (D-CA), a child actress who turned to public relations and then politics as an adult, today passed away from lung cancer at the age of 76. As a child, King was known for portraying Bonnie Blue Butler in the 1939 film “Gone With The Wind,” and for voicing Feline (the fawn varsion) in Disney’s 1942 film “Bambi.” In Congress, King was known for her support of copyright extension laws, tourism reform, and child star payment protection laws. However, King is possibly best known for coming to the defense of US Secretary of Defense Don Dunagan in 1988, when it became public knowledge that he had not disclosed to a US Senate committee – either unintentionally, or out of embarrassment – that he was the original voice of Disney’s Bambi character. Dunagan later praised King for her “bravery before the court of public opinion.” …King is survived by her two children and three grandchildren…

The Sacramento Union, 9/1/2010



…Ahead of the midterms, one more major work of legislation – the Mental Health Treatment Improvement Bill – was narrowly pushed through both chambers of congress. “We all owe a great deal of debt and gratitude to Terri McGovern and the rest of the activist humanitarians and hard workers out there who have helped shatter the stigma surrounding mental illness to make this country more receptive to taking mental health as seriously as cancer and broken bones,” Wellstone noted upon its passage in the Senate. “Poor mental health can affect anyone regardless of party affiliation or material wealth. It is something where the sooner we improve how it is viewed, the better it can be addressed.”

For the President, protecting the rights of the mentally impacted is a personal mission – his older brother was diagnosed with severe mental illness at the age of 18. As a 12-year-old boy, as the story was told on the campaign trail, the future President would visit his brother at the mental hospital, calling it a ‘snake pit.’ That experience led him to vow he would change the way the mentally ill are mistreated in this country. [1]

Unfortunately, the proposed passage of this bill did nothing to fend off the GOP message of taxes being just too high for The American Worker already, and that additional federal worker protection would be at the taxpayers’ expense...

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



…we can now confirm that, late last night, central New Zealand was in fact struck by an earthquake that is measuring in at roughly 7.1 on the Moment magnitude scale…

– KNN Breaking News, 9/5/2010 broadcast



“Listen, I understand why some people are concerned. There have been lots of earthquakes this year. But the thing is, the average earthquake rate means that some years have more earthquakes than others. This is just one of those years. It’s not a sign of the end-times, it’s a sign of the law of averages.”

– Jeff Markley, Administrator of the Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency (ODERCA), 9/6/2010



LEGO UNVEILS LIMITED-EDITION COLONEL SANDERS MINIFIGURE

…The Lego Group is celebrating the 120th birthday of Colonel Sanders in two days with the limited release of a special-edition minifigure...
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[pic: imgur.com/jpsi9pE.png ]

Above: an image of the elusive new Lego minifigure

– usarightnow.co.usa, 9/7/2010



ROGERS MAKES HISTORY: BLACK CANADIAN MO WINS P.C. LEADERSHIP

…Tonight’s Progressive Conservative leadership election saw Rogers defeat four fellow MPs. Lisa Raitt (NS) came in last place in the first round, with Alison M. Redford (AB) coming in last place in the second round. Rogers defeated Tony Clement in the final round. …George Arthur Rogers, an MP for Leduc, Alberta since 2001 and the Mayor of Leduc, Alberta from 1994 to 2001, is the first Black Canadian to be elected leader of a major federal party in Canada…

The Toronto Sun, 9/9/2010



SpongeBob’s Undersea Cuisine began to increase its rate of expansion at the start of the 2010s. Between 2005 and 2010, its number of locations grew from 118 in 29 states to 357 in all 52 states; between 2005 and 2015, the number of countries with SBUC locations grew from just two (the US and Canada) to 25 (North America and most of Europe, plus some countries in Asia and the Middle East).

Domestically, the SBUC brand compete primarily with Red Lobster and Boston Sea Party, but maintained the advantage of being seen as the most kid-friendly. “We never aimed for high-end clientele,” co-founder Bryan Hillenburg once explained in an interview, “We instead treated the families that walked through our doors with dignity, like they were high-end clientele. And they liked that so they come back for it – and the good food – again and again. That’s why we have so many repeat customers.”

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[pic: imgur.com/XDeXH8m.png ]

Above: a waiter delivers food to the rooftop section of a SpongeBob’s outlet in Seattle, Washington, overseeing the city’s scenic waterfront skyline.

– clickopedia.co.usa/SpongeBob’s/disambiguation/restaurant_franchise



HOUSE PASSES K-12 IMPROVEMENT BILL; Wellstone Pledges To Sign It Into Law “Within A Month”

The Washington Post, 9/20/2010



…In what has been a busy week for D.C., the House today passed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Bill introduced and passed in the Senate earlier this year. The bill, which was strongly endorsed by Attorney General Ralph Nadler among many other advocates of free speech, government accountability and privacy rights, will most likely be signed into law by President Wellstone relatively soon…

– CBS Evening News, 9/22/2010 broadcast



“Every day is a gift. To live to see the next new day while others lie in the ground is a blessing regardless of how that day goes or what you do in it. A bad day or a boring day is better than no day at all. So cherish every day. Be thankful for every moment of life that you get here on this beautiful Earth of ours. Because life itself is infinite, but you yourself are not.”

– Mildred “Millie” Sanders Ruggles, 9/23/2010 (multiple sources)



MILLIE SANDERS RUGGLES, THE LAST “GREAT ELDER” AT KFC, DIES AT 91

…Mildred Sanders “Millie” Ruggles passed away from the long-term effects of pancreatic cancer at the Harland David Sanders Memorial Hospital in Florence, Kentucky. The youngest daughter of The Colonel and Josephine King, Mildred was instrumental in starting the Ruggles Sign Company and was responsible for training KFC franchisees and restaurant promotion in the early decades of the company’s growth and development. Much like her stepmother, US First Lady Claudia Sanders, Mildred was an embodiment of Southern hospitality, a host of everything from small social gatherings to international charity drives. Her daughter, Marlona Ice, describes her as “the life of the party” as well as being the more studious and “workaholic” of the three children of Colonel Sanders, especially in her older years. “She was driven, she was passionate, and she was very compassionate, too.” …Mildred was the wife of the late John F. Ruggles Jr.; she is survived by her daughters Marlona and Ariela, her son John III, five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Private funeral services will be held at Central Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky…

– The New York Times, 9/25/2010



…In the days immediately following my mother’s passing, Finger Licking’ Good, Inc. Presented itself as being more confident in its future. The messaging that its financial status could only continue to improve in the 2010s was backed by reports that the company had been prepared for this inevitable day for years, even more so than how they have been ahead of my grandfather’s passing nearly twenty years earlier. However, financial planning did not lessen Millie’s impact on work culture. A general sense of sadness was still felt among labor and management, from company headquarters to the farthest reaches of the KFC World Family. And that was no exaggeration, either – while locations around the world lowered their flags to half-mast to honor Millie’s passing, KFC’s lone outlet in Antarctica held a moment of silence. Footage of the moment, of four KFC employees standing outside the entrance to the Antarctic food court of McMurdo Base, with the giant image of the smiling Colonel behind them and a mountain of snow to their side, was widely shared on OurVids.

It was the end of an era, and the start of a new one. And everyone involved and invested in my grandfather’s brainchild were uncertain if the start of this new era – a giantess’ passing – would be an apt or ironic start-off.

– Marlona Ruggles Ice’s A Kentucky-Fried Phoenix: The Post-Colonel History of Most Famous Birds In The World, Hawkins E-Publications, 2020



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– Jesse Jackson Sr., Jesse Jackson Jr., and one of the President’s grandchildren, c. autumn 2010



WELLSTONE SIGNS K-12 REFORM BILL, WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION BILL INTO LAW

The Washington Post, 10/3/2010



“Our state’s nickname is The Golden state, but right up until Grammer got on the case and started helping Californians from the bottom up, the only thing golden in our cities was the little puddles left behind by all the publicly urinating drunks and druggies. Grammer helped vagrants get jobs and got the addicts to go to these new places that are like halfway houses. I think they’re called Withdrawal Centers. It’s like rehab, but better. Before, an addict would go get sober, get a little card of something to celebrate getting clean, and they’d go ‘Bye, have a good life,’ and close the door. The guy’d have no direction, no clue what to do next, so twenty minutes later he’s around the corner getting high again. WCs, though, have a second have, where after you’re flushed out, they reintroduce you into society. They help you learn a skill or a trade, they help you find housing and a job. They stay in regular contact with the bums for up to two years, maybe more if needed. And you know what? I think it’s working! I’m seeing less homelessness on the streets than I used to!”

– populist talk radio host William Edward “Bill” Simon Jr., endorsing Governor Kelsey Grammer (R-CA)’s re-election bid, 10/5/2010



JERUSALEM CHICKEN DINNER SUMMIT PAYS TRIBUTE TO MILLIE SANDERS

…the 35th annual Chicken Dinner Summit in Jerusalem tonight honored the recently-deceased Millie Sanders, the daughter of Colonel Sanders, with a moment of silence and a short film celebrating her years contributing to the organizing of these multinational summits. Attendees also gave speeches praising Millie Sanders’ work behind the scenes, meeting with dignitaries to help find common ground among the diverse people and cultures of the Middle East. The yearly gathering of local community leaders for a simple sharing of food, drink and ideas in an “international community conference” has become a tradition of sorts for this city. Merchants capitalized on the event with commemorative paraphernalia, and schools mark the occasion with a host of activities meant to promote the concept of “the delicate peace”…

…However, not all of the speeches were of a panegyric tone. The Libyan delegation broke the good but somber spirits of the summit with a scathing condemnation of the Sudanese government for the atrocities escalating in Darfur and the rising civil war-like conflict brewing in South Sudan. The summit was on tenterhooks until the Sudanese delegation spoke. To the relief of all present, the head of the Sudan delegation, the current Deputy Mayor of Khartoum, agreed with the Libyan delegation’s summation. Furthermore, he added that “my nation’s government has abandoned the core point of a national government – to promote, protect and defend all of the people of its nation. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be fired for saying this, and I may even be arrested for saying this, but this needs to be said – what the Sudanese government is doing to its own citizens is a national disgrace that puts me and all peace-looking Sudanese people to shame.”

The New York Times, 10/7/2010



MANSON AND JONES

Paramount Pictures
Premiered: October 10, 2010
Genre(s): drama/action
Directed by: David Jacobson
Written by: David Jacobson
Produced by: Emma Thomas

Cast:
Ashton Kutcher as Charles Manson
Bobby Cannavale as Jim Jones
Celeste Heche as Marceline Jones
Ryan Gosling as John Lennon
Shiri Maimon as Cynthia Powell Lennon
Taylor Kitsch as Paul McCartney
Adriana Lima as Leslie Van Houten
Allison Tolman as Patricia Krenwinkel
Kim Bledel as Susan Atkins
Simon Helberg as Ringo Starr
Thomas Middleditch as George Harrison
See Full List Here

Synopsis:
Bared on real events, the film portrays the chance meeting and subsequent acquaintanceship of two disturbed men and their impact on the lives around them, culminating in an explosive confrontation. After failing to have The Beatles assassinated, aspiring musician Charles Manson and his cult flee to a compound in Brazil where former pastor Jim Jones and his followers await the End of Days. Tensions rise between the followers of Manson and Jones as INTERPOL closes in and the two deranged would-be Messiahs prepare for their next and final move.

Reception:
While audiences were generally positive, critics gave the film higher ratings on most netsites. The film’s directing, camerawork and acting were praised, especially that of Ashton Kutcher, whose casting was a gamble as it was against type. Others, however, criticized its pacing, with the general consensus being that it lost steam during the second act before picking up in speed and excitement during the third. At the box office, the film nearly doubled what it cost to make, and thus Paramount considered it to be a success.

Trivia Facts:

Trivia Fact No. 1:
For his portrayal of Charles Manson, Kutcher won an Academy Award for Best Lead Thespian at the 83rd Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, California, on February 27, 2011.

Trivia Fact No. 2:
While the film is generally considered to be a faithful portrayal of real-life events, one of the more noticeable inaccuracies is Manson’s height in the film. The actor portraying Manson is 6-foot-2, but in real life Manson was actually only 5-foot-2.

– mediarchives.co.usa



…Wellstone may have been right to describe the Balanced Budget Amendment as a “millstone…a chain around the neck of progress.” While the Mental Health Bill of 2010 was finally passed in October of that year, this happened only after adjustments were made to spending projections for it, and after once again scraping more money off of the military’s budget to cover for it. It was either that, or raise taxes. However, either option would still garner a negative reaction from the GOP. Thus, when Wellstone turned the bill into a law with the simple stroke of a pen, Republicans used the military budget cutbacks as yet another anti-Wellstone talking point. The President naturally found this to be quite irritating, especially given the fact that it was that Republicans who lead the charge for the BBA to be implemented. However, many Republican lawmakers did praise fiscally conservative Democrats such as US Senator Paul Simon of Illinois for backing the BBA when it was in its infancy; this only made the anguish of the Democrats ironic…

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



Even as October drew to a close, Jesse Jackson was still very reluctant to maintain a low profile. He disliked taking a step back at such an important time in his party’s history. He believed he could do more harm than good on the campaign trail. “Black turnout is expected to drop sharply next month, and for the first time since 1996, too,” he explained to the DNC Chairman in an October teleconference.

But the party leadership was firm. “Yes, we understand that you could shore up African-American voters,” said the Chairman, “But so can all the other surrogates we have lined up. Senators Hall, Wheat, and Thurmond, and even former President Mondale are all great at fundraising. And we even have celebrity endorsements.”

“Poor people don’t care what celebrities have to say about politics,” countered the former President, “Would you buy a jalopy just because a mechanic tells you it’s actually a Rolls-Royce? No, because you care more about what you see with your own eyes than what’s flying out of the mouth of just another guy going wallet-fishing on you.”

The party leaders were not convinced. “Polling and hypothetical analysis suggests that for every minority vote you’d bring in, we’d lost at least two white votes and three Jewish votes. You are still building the bridge you burned with those comments, Mr. President, sir.” The Chairman said sternly but not insultingly. “Your donations and private fundraising are way more effective than running the risk of Republicans returning the spotlight to you and your comments. That would only hurt.”

Jackson rolled his eyes, “So how much longer will I be in exile, huh? How many times can someone apologize before it becomes a numb and meaningless routine? You can’t keep me silent forever!”

“Just until after these midterms,” answered the DNC Chairman. “Please, sir,” he pleaded, “Just a few more weeks.”

With great reluctance, Jackson agreed to comply with the party’s request. “You say it is for the best, but I still personally think that I would be a benefit, not a determine. Mark my words, Black turnout will underperform next month. But what do I know? I’m just a former President!”

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



RUSSIA’S ROSCOSMOS RESPONDS TO RECENT ROCKETRY RECOMMENDATIONS

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Above: the Baikonur Cosmodrome Spaceport in southern Kazakhstan, United Turkestan; good Russian-UT relations allow cosmonauts to launch from here, while Russian relations with Saudi Arabia may inhibit collaborative space efforts with the SSC.

…with last week’s launching of Russia’s newest rocket (the details of its test flight in nighttime liftoff can be found here), the head of Star City is in contact with leading scientists from NASA and the Saudi Space Center of the future of collaborative international space projects. …the Director of Roscosmos is skeptical of Middle Eastern efforts to someday return to the Moon on its own. “I doubt they will push on ahead with further programs in the immediate future. They were lucky more weren’t hurt or killed in their ’08 mission,” she says. The Director emphasizes that the priorities of the Saudi Space Center “should be redirected to safety” and that their long term goal of establishing a permanent base on the moon should be pushed back to a later date. “I am hopeful that world space agencies will ultimately conglomerate data and work with each other and with other organizations to create and launch a common lunar base and some common orbital vehicles and stations. Maybe even a common Martian base. At the moment, though, the Middle Easterners have to earn how to build a better Saudi spacecraft.” …The Director also reiterated the policy implemented by the current President of Russia – that Roscosmos only takes part in projects concerning lunar or Martian base on parity terms with NASA, similar to the current collaborative experiments and other projects being done on the International Space Station...

– popularmechanics.co.usa/space/news, 10/21/2010



ANDERSON COOPER: “…With the latest polls suggesting that this Tuesday’s midterm elections heavily favor Republicans, Democrats across the country are scrambling to minimize their losses. While some seats are considered safe – for example, the Senate race in Vermont will most likely go to popular incumbent Democrat Will Sorrell, and Republican nominee Sherry Sealy Martschink is expected to win the race to replace retiring incumbent Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings in South Carolina – these are most likely not demonstrative of the Democratic Party’s prospects next week, are they, Tim?”

TIM RUSSERT: “Not at all. In fact, it seems that the Democrats have run on the defense most of the time this year, because of the concern that many of the party’s higher-ups reportedly have; they are bracing for more defeats than pick-ups. Ten years in control of the White House and a majority control of at least one congressional chamber each session since 1999 could very well end on Tuesday due to party fatigue.”

MARLENE WILLIAMS: “These races are about more than party fatigue, though. This is also a mandate on the Wellstone administration. An administration that lost the popular vote in 2008 and has been accused by the right of damaging the country with high taxes. Next week will show if the American people agree with these statements.”

JANICE FINE: “Well I’m less apprehensive about all of this, personally, I don’t think they have anything to worry about because the Cult of Bernie Goetz’s War on Progressivism has so far been a complete and total failure. Not a single congressional candidate of the Boulder party has stood out this whole election cycle! Furthermore, consider this – people don’t vote along a party line so much as they vote for a specific candidate that speaks to them, and then they vote for that candidate’s party. That’s why voter registration is at a historic high, but party affiliation is still as low as it was in 1980. And since Wellstone is not on the ballot, the Democrats will have to rely on the charisma and messages of their congressional candidates this year, and I think they have a good very assortment of candidates, especially for the governor races.”

MARLENE WILLIAMS: “Well I do agree with you there, the Democrats are polling better at the gubernatorial levels than at the Congressional levels…”

– CBS News, round-table discussion, 10/29/2010



November United States Senate election results, 2010

Date: November 2, 2010
Seats: 37 of 104
Seats needed for majority: 53

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

Seats before election: 47 (R), 56 (D), 1 (I)
Seats after election: 55 (R), 48 (D), 1 (I)
Seat change: R ^ 8, D v 8, I - 0

Full List:

Alabama: incumbent Doug Jones (D) over Clint Moser (R)

Alaska: J. R. Myers (R) over incumbent Kevin Danaher (D)

Arizona: Jan Brewer (R) over Cathy Eden (D); incumbent Eddie Najeeb Basha Jr. (D) retired

Arkansas: incumbent F. Winford Boozman III (R) over Bill Halter (D)

California: incumbent Mike Gravel (D) over Elizabeth Emken (R)

Colorado: incumbent Mark Udall (D) over Jane Norton (R)

Connecticut: William Tong (D) over Daniel E. “Dan” Carter (R); incumbent Chris Dodd (D) retired

Florida: Gus Bilirakis (R) over Janet Cruz (D); incumbent Michael Bilirakis (R) retired

Georgia: incumbent Herman Cain (R) over Michelle Nunn (D)

Hawaii: incumbent Daniel Inouye (D) over John Roco (R)

Idaho: Carlos Bilbao (R) over Tom Sullivan (D) and incumbent Bo Gritz (R) (write-in); Gritz lost re-nomination

Illinois: incumbent appointee Sheila Simon (D) over Kathleen Thomas (R)

Indiana: incumbent Evan Bayh (D) over Becky Skillman (R)

Iowa: Robert Lee Vander Plaats (R) over incumbent Patty Jean Poole (D)

Kansas: incumbent Bob Dole (R) over Lisa Johnston (D)

Kentucky: Daniel Mongiardo (D) over incumbent Patrick “Kelly” Downard (R)

Louisiana: incumbent Chris John (D) over Chet Traylor (R), Neeson Chauvin (D) and Nick Accardo (R)

Maryland: incumbent Barbara Mikulski (D) over Jim Rutledge (R)

Missouri: incumbent Wayne Cryts (D) over Chuck Purgason (R)

Nevada: incumbent Dina Titus (D) over Sue Lowden (R)

New Hampshire: Ted Gatsas (R) over incumbent Lou D’Allesandro (D)

New Mexico (special): incumbent appointee over Debbie Jaramillo (D) over Retta Ward (R)

New York: incumbent Allyson Schwartz (D) over Gary Berntsen (R), Colia Clark (Green/Natural Mind) and Randy Credico (Liberty)

North Carolina: Rand Paul (R) over Elaine Marshall (D); incumbent Nick Galifianakis (D) retired

North Dakota: Kelly Schmidt (R) over Joan Heckaman (D); incumbent Kent Conrad (D) retired

Ohio: Randy Brock (R) over incumbent Peter Lawson Jones (D) and Eric Deaton (Constitutionalists’)

Oklahoma: Evelyn Rogers (R) over incumbent Brad Carson (D)

Oregon: incumbent Walter Leslie “Les” AuCoin (D) over Jim Huffman (R)

Pennsylvania: incumbent Bob Casey Jr. (D) over John Kennedy (R)

South Carolina: Sherry Sealy Martschink (R) over A. Victor “Vic” Rawl (D); incumbent Fritz Hollings (D) retired

South Dakota: incumbent Teresa McGovern (D) over James A. “Jim” Lintz (R)

Utah: incumbent Lyle Hillyard (R) over Jason Buck (Boulder) and Sam Granato (D)

Vermont: incumbent William Sorrell (D) over Len Britton (R) and Darcy Troville (LU)

Washington: incumbent Gary Locke (D) over Paul Akers (R)

West Virginia: incumbent appointee Betty Ireland (R) over Brooks F. McCabe Jr. (D)

Wisconsin: incumbent Bronson La Follette (D) over David Westlake (R)

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



112TH CONGRESS SET TO BE THE MOST DIVERSE YET

…With the election of four more women to the Senate, the total number of women who will be serving in upper chamber after January 3rd will be a record-breaking 31. 17 Republican female Senators (Brewer, Chenoweth, Stovall, Snowe, Cafferata, Ashby, Mochary, Ryan, Schmidt, Rogers, Burgos, Martschink, Big-Crow, Rodham-Clinton, Granger, Ireland and Cubin) and 14 Democratic female Senators (Hirono, Simon, Hall, Osborne, Mikulski, Kennedy-Roosevelt, Belton, Titus, Jaramillo, Schwartz, Norton, York, Roberts, and McGovern)… [snip] …The next session of the Senate will also be the most ethnically diverse session in American history. Ten US Senators will be Black (Cain, Raoul, Hall, Steel, Belton, Wheat, Brock, Norton, Thurmond, and Rice), seven will be Hispanic (Penelas, Bilbao, Mongiardo, Jaramillo, Mondragon, Fortuno, and Burgos), six will be Asian (Deukmejian (Armenian), Tong, Hirono, Inouye, Locke, and Rahall (Lebanese)), five will be Jewish (Osterlund, Schwartz, Schwartzman, Sorrell, and Feingold), and four will be Greek (Bilirakis, Snowe, Titus, and Gatsas)...

The Los Angeles Times, 11/2/2010



United States House of Representatives results, 2010

Date: November 2, 2010
Seats: All 441
Seats needed for majority: 221

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

Last election: 215 (R), 226 (D)
Seats won: 249 (R), 192 (D)
Seat change: R ^ 34, D v 34

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



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– US President Paul Wellstone, upon hearing the extent of Democrat losses, 11/3/2010



US House of Representatives, California, District 23

General Election, 11/2/2010:
Turnout (30.27% Total Population):

Monica Lewinsky (Democrat) – 67,692 (52.9%)

Darrell M. Stafford (Republican) – 55,664 (43.5%)

John V. Hager (Independent) – 4,607 (3.6%)

Total Votes: 127,963 (100.0%)

– ourcampaigns.co.usa



VIRGINIANS GIVE BLUTAG EX-CONGRESSMAN A SECOND CHANCE IN COMEBACK BID

…Congressman-Elect Jon Clifton Hinson (b. 1942) originally served in the US House from Mississippi, from his election in 1978 until his resignation in 1981 over his attempts to hide his sexual presence in an incident deemed scandalous at the time. After this, he became an activist in D.C. and Virginia… Hinson’s election may mark the longest period between non-consecutive terms served in the US House, and makes Hinson the first openly-BLUTAG politician elected to federal office from Virginia…

– roanoketimes.co.usa, 11/2/2010 e-article



29-YEAR-OLD ACTIVIST ELECTED YOUNGEST US HOUSE MEMBER

…Last night, Democratic political neophyte Alexandra Lugaro, who was born in San Juan on June 10, 1981, defeated 75-year-old incumbent US Representative Baltasar Corrada del Rio (b. 1935, R/New Progressive) for the seat of the 51st State’s Fifth US Congressional District. …Lugaro was prompted by the anti-immigration rhetoric of the Bernie Goetz campaign of 2004 to become a political activist, working on several Democratic campaigns in 2004 and 2006. …Lugaro received a college bachelor’s degree in business administration with minors in finance, marketing, and economics, and is still working on a master’s degree in constitutional law, though she has also been an attorney practicing law since 2006. …At the age of 29, she is the youngest woman ever elected to congress; she ran on a progressive platform that appealed to and mobilized young voters at a grassroots level. Her campaign also emphasized education and economic development. Despite praising President Wellstone for his smooth handling of this year’s destructive earthquake in Haiti, she has voiced support for working “across the aisle” on a multitude of issues, blaming partisanship for worsening economic woes in the past and in the present. Mobilized youngsters. …She supported Puerto Rican independence early in her career, but has since moderated... Given that she is currently expecting her first child, she will most likely join the small list of US Congresswomen who have given birth while serving in office…

The Orlando Sentinel, 11/3/2010



United States Governor election results, 2010

Date: November 2, 2010
Number of state gubernatorial elections held: 37

Seats before: 22 (R), 30 (D), 0 (I)
Seats after: 28 (R), 22 (D), 2 (I)
Seat change: R ^ 6, D v 8, I ^ 2

Full list:

Alabama: David Woods (R) over Beth Killough Chapman (Boulder) and Sadie Moore Stewart (D); incumbent Jim Folsom Jr. (D) was term-limited

Alaska: Willie Hensley (Democratic-Green-Union) over Jerry Ward (LRA) and Clyde Baxley (AIP); incumbent Niilo Emil Koponen (DGU) retired

Arizona: Russell K. Pearce (R) over incumbent Debbie McCune Davis (D)

Arkansas: incumbent Mark Darr (R) over Jim Lendall (D) and Elvis D. Presley (I)

California: incumbent Kelsey Grammer (R) over Steve Peace (D) and Tommy Chong (Green)

Colorado: William “Bill” Thiebaut Jr. (D) over Sandra D. Johnson (R); incumbent Jane E. Norton (R) retired

Connecticut: Nancy Lee Johnson (R) over incumbent Nancy S. Wyman (D)

Florida: Bob Smith (R) over Katherine Castor (D) and Nancy Argenziano (I); incumbent Antoinette “Toni” Jennings (R) retired

Georgia: Shirley Franklin (D) over Alveda King (R); incumbent Karen Christine Walker (R) retired

Hawaii: incumbent Muliufi Francis “Frank” Hannemann (D) over George G. Peabody (R)

Idaho: incumbent Harley Davidson Brown (R) over Robert C. Huntley (D)

Illinois: incumbent Roland Burris (D) over Kirk W. Dillard (R)

Iowa: incumbent Fred Grandy (R) over Pam Jochum (D)

Kansas: incumbent Lynn Jenkins (R) over Jill Docking (D)

Maine: incumbent Peter E. Cianchette (R) over Barbara Merrill (D) and Lynne Williams (I)

Maryland: incumbent John Peter Sarbanes (D) over Dean Ahmad (R/L) and Dan Bongino (I)

Massachusetts: incumbent Michael Dukakis (D) over Patrick Guerriero (R)

Michigan: Michael Moore (D) over Cornelius Pieter “Pete” Hoekstra (R); incumbent Ronna Romney (R) retired

Minnesota: Alex Kozinski (IRL) over Rick Nolan (DFL), D. J. Tomassoni (Green) & Rick Staneck (Boulder); incumbent Nancy Elizabeth Lee Johnson (DFL) retired

Nebraska: Ernie Chambers (I) over John W. DeCamp (R) and Brenda J. Council (D); incumbent Lowen Kruse (D) retired

Nevada: Oscar Goodman (D) over incumbent Dennis Hof (R)

New Hampshire: Rushern L. Baker III (D) over incumbent Sherman Packard (R)

New Mexico: Gary Earl Johnson (R/L) over Jim Baca (D/LRU); incumbent Martin Chavez (D) was term-limited

New York: Tom Golisano (I) over incumbent Matthew Driscoll (D/Liberal), Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Working Families/Green), William Christie Samuels (Progressive), John Edward Sweeney (R/Conservative), and Robert “Naked Cowboy” Burck (Independence/Natural Mind)

Ohio: incumbent Maureen O’Connor (R) over Robert L. Burch Jr. (D)

Oklahoma: Rebecca Hamilton (R) over Randy William Bass (Boulder) and Susan Savage (D); incumbent Gary Richardson (R) retired

Oregon: incumbent Mary Starrett (R) over John Kitzhaber (D)

Pennsylvania: Barry Goldberg (D) over Jane M. Earll (R); incumbent Lynn Swann (R) retired

Potomac: incumbent Vincent Bernard Orange Sr. (D) over David William Kranich (R)

Rhode Island: incumbent Lincoln Davenport Chafee (R) over Frank Caprio (D)

South Carolina: Andre Bauer (R) over Jim Rex (D); incumbent Lindsey Graham (R) was term-limited

South Dakota: Stephanie Herseth (D) over Mike Rounds (R); incumbent George S. Mickelson (R) retired

Tennessee: Dave Ramsey (R) over Jim Henry (Independent), Mark E. Clayton (D) and Daniel T. Lewis (Liberty); incumbent Jim Bryson (R) was term-limited

Texas: incumbent Bill Owens (R) over Felix Alvarado (D/LRU)

Vermont: incumbent Deborah L. “Deb” Markowitz (D) over Mark Snelling (R) and Michael Parenti (Liberty Union)

Wisconsin: Mark Green (R) over Barbara Lawton (D); incumbent Kathleen Falk (D) retired

Wyoming: incumbent W. Richard West (D) over Matthew Hansen Mead (R)

– knowledgepolitics.co.usa



“Heh. I told them that Black voter turnout would not stay up without me.”

– Former US President Jesse Jackson Sr., 11/9/2010 (allegedly)



ST. LOUIS MAYOR RESIGNS: Ted Brown Preps For New Career In D.C.

– The Springfield News-Leader, Missouri newspaper, side article, 11/11/2010



List of Mayors of ST. LOUIS (Missouri)

1953-1970: 38) Raymond Tucker (D, 1896-1970) – former mechanical engineering educator from 1921 to 1934; worked in various city government positions from 1934 to 1953; previously served as Chair of Washington University in St. Louis’s mechanical engineering department from 1921 to 1951; oversaw city improvements through a bond issue in his first term; increased city’s Earnings Tax in his second term; signed civil rights legislation concerning employment and housing into law during his third term; won an unprecedented fourth term by getting work started on a new airport close to downtown, lowering city’s unemployment rate; won a fifth term narrowly; died in office suddenly on November 23, less than two week before he could turn 74; longest-serving mayor

1953: Carl G. Stifel (R)

1957: Richard J. Mehan (R)

1961: Ben Lindenbusch (R)

1965: Maurice R. Zumwalt (R)

1969: Gerald “Jerry” Fischer (R)

1970-1981: 39) John Noel (D, 1914-1998) – previously worked in city government from 1961 to 1970; ascended to the office because the president of the Board of Aldermen becomes mayor when the office becomes vacant until a special mayoral election can be held; focused on race relations, community housing, crime, and city finance; updated city street lighting and founded several after-school, weekend, and summer programs for at-risk youth; often feuded with the city’s comptroller over multiple issues; raised taxes to cover civil servant wages and city’s losses during the 1978 economic crash; retired due to waning popularity but continued to be involved in city politics by commenting on local affairs and donating to campaigns throughout the 1980s and 1990s

1971 (special): Jerry Fischer (R), John H. Poelker (D, 1913-1990), Alfonso Cervantes (D, 1920-1983) and James F. Conway (D, b. 1932)

1973: Joseph L. Badaracco (R) and Dudley C. Higginson (I)

1977: William “Bill” Clay Sr. (I, b. 1931), James A. Stemmler (R) and Helen Savio (Natural Mind, 1922-1988)

1981-1993: 40) Vincent C. Schoemehl Jr. (D, b. 1946) – previously served as a city alderman from 1975 to 1981; promoted “public-private partnerships” for urban development projects and beautification programs; amid rising crime rates in his first term, strongly advocated “home safety” measures in order to avoid shifting funds away from social programs to police precincts without losing the support of the police unions; encouraged small business development in his second term; despite supporting historic preservation, approved the demolition of historic buildings, leading to claims that his ZED-style “gentrification” projects were behind the rise in the city’s homeless population during his third term; implemented the city’s current blanket primary election system in 1991; resigned after being elected Lieutenant Governor in November 1992; served as Lieutenant Governor from 1993 until resigning in 1996 over allegations of violating campaign finance laws; briefly ran for the 1996 Democratic nomination for US President; city’s most recent non-African-American mayor; has served as a Member of the Tri-State Development Agency Board of Commissioners since 2007

1981: Jerry B. Wamser (R, 1946-2012) and Lewis F. Rolen (I)

1985: Curtis C. Crawford (R, 1921-2021), Eugene Camp (I), Bruce Kimball (Workers’) and William Jackson (I)

1989: Bernard Elking (R), Michael V. Roberts (I), Ron Gregory (Natural Mind) and Dennis Lang (I)

1993-1993: 41) Fred E. Williams (D, 1935-1994) – city’s first African-American mayor; ascended to the office because the president of the Board of Aldermen becomes mayor when the office becomes vacant until a special mayoral election can be held; previously served in the state House from 1969 to 1987 before entering municipal politics; completed predecessor’s term; retired due to poor health

1993-2005: 42) Freeman Bosley Jr. (D, b. 1954) – city’s first elected African-American mayor; was previously the first African-American St. Louis Circuit Clerk for the city’s 22nd Judicial Circuit for ten years; also served as the 3rd Ward Democratic Committeeman, Chair of the St. Louis City Democratic Central Association, and the first African-American Chair of the Democratic Party of St. Louis; almost lost the 1997 over tax increases and almost lost the 2001 election over him laying off civil servants during the late 1990s recession; his tenure during the SARS pandemic was controversial; retired to successfully run for a US House seat; served in the US House from 2007 until 2011 (he lost re-election in 2010, a bad year for Democrats overall, in a narrow upset); currently operates his own law firm in St. Louis

1993 (primary): Thomas Albert “Tom” Villa (D, b. 1945), John P. O’Gorman (R), Clarence Harmon (D, b. 1940) and James A. Garrison Jr. (Workers’)
1993 (runoff): Tom Villa (D)

1997 (primary): Marit Clark (D) and Jay Dearing (R)
1997 (runoff): Marit Clark (D)

2001 (primary): Michael A. “Mike” Chance (R) and Anthony D. “Tony” Ribaudo (D, 1941-2020)
2001 (runoff): Mike Chance (R)

2005-2010: 43) Theodis “Ted” Brown Sr. (R) – previously worked as the city’s sheriff from 1989 to 1997; previously served as a city alderman from 2001 to 2005; first Republican mayor since 1949; elected due to backlash to “restrictive” safezoning laws and high taxes; ran a moderate libertarian administration; supported small businesses and gun rights; negotiated the construction of the city’s new sports stadium; cut taxes overall, affecting social services in his second term, but struggled to implement other efforts due to opposition from the city government; resigned after narrowly winning a seat in the US House of Representatives; served in the US House from 2011 until 2019 (he lost re-election in 2018); currently works as a senior advisor for a St. Louis-based security systems company

2005 (primary): Irene J. Smith (D), Willie Marshall (G), Paul J. M. Wekenborg (I) and Maida Coleman (Boulder, b. 1954)
2005 (runoff): Irene J. Smith (D)

2009 (primary): Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman (D), Elston K. McCowan (G), Don De Vivo (Natural Mind) and Robb E. Cunningham (Liberty)
2009 (runoff): Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman (D)

2010-2021: 44) Lewis E. Reed (D, b. 1962) – ascended to the office because the president of the Board of Aldermen becomes mayor when the office becomes vacant until a special mayoral election can be held; previously served as an alderman of the city's sixth ward from 1999 to 2010; oversaw residential redevelopment efforts; improved city’s “green space” areas; known for taking up several controversial positions and for making several controversial comments; retired due to several scandals that were negatively impacting his approval ratings

2011 (special): Michael V. “Mike” Roberts Jr. (D), James Osher (R), James Eldon McNeely (G), Doyle Samuel “Sam” Dotson III (D) and Jimmie Mathews (D)

2013 (primary): Andrew M. Jones Jr. (R), Larry Rice (I), Johnathan McFarland (G) and Tyrone Austin (I)
2013 (runoff): Andrew Jones (R)

2017 (primary): Antonio French (D, b. 1977), Jeffrey L. Boyd (D), Robert P. “Bob” McCulloch (D, b. 1951), Andrew “Andy” Karandzieff and Wesley Bell (D)
2017 (runoff): Antonio French (D)

2021-present: 45) Jamilah Nasheed (D, b. 1972) – city’s first female mayor and city’s first Muslin mayor; previously served in city government from 2007 to 2021; incumbent

2021 (primary): John Collins-Muhammad, Jr. (D, b. 1991), Jeanette Mott Oxford (D, b. 1954) and Bryan Spencer (R, b. 1967)
2021 (runoff): John Collins-Muhammad, Jr. (D, b. 1991)

– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021



GOP GOVERNOR-ELECTS CLASH OVER ATTITUDES TO WELLSTONE

…David Woods (b. 1957), a conservative broadcaster and former Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, whose father was Alabama Governor Charles Woods, opposes Wellstone’s approach to law enforcement, and won election to the Alabama governorship on an anti-crime campaign that involved supporting Crime Victim Rights. Despite all that, his stance that governors are “obliged to respect the President” is being challenged by fellow Governor-elect Russell K. Pearce of Arizona. Pearce is even further to the right than Woods, calling for Congress to establish a Cabinet position for a “Secretary of Domestic Defense” and a complete shutdown of the US-Mexican border and of nearly all immigration to the US “until domestic unemployment reaches 0%.” Additionally, Pearce has publicly stated that he refuses to work with President Wellstone, and has more than once declared that Wellstone “is not a legitimate President” due to him losing the popular vote in 2008. “If he visits my state, I will not welcome him. If he somehow passes something through congress that hurts Arizona, I will fight him on it.”

…Woods has entered ontech arguments with Pierce and Governor-Elect Alex Kozinski (R-MN) in recent months, with Woods defending his views on political courtesies and centrist immigration policies. Years prior to running for Governor, Woods partook in several church mission trips to Latin America, leading to him learning how to speak Spanish and being able to appeal to Hispanic voters as well as former Bernie Bros in the general election last month...

The Washington Post, 11/21/2010



KHARTOUM DEPUTY MAYOR, CRITIC OF SUDAN GOVERNMENT AT THIS YEAR’S CHICKEN DINNER SUMMIT, DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT

Associated Press, 11/29/2010



STOCKS TORN AMID GOP PROMISES OF “BOLD CHANGES”

…with rumors abound that the incoming Republican-majority congress will seek to reverse the past ten years of legislation led by the Jackson and Wellstone administrations, stockholders and shareholders of hundreds of companies are responding in a myriad of ways. Investments into oil and gas companies have risen, while companies focused on renewable energy are gripping with the fear that Republicans in the House and Senate will oppose their business efforts. However, overall, Wall Street responding more positively than negatively to the upcoming changing of the legislative guard..

The Wall Street Journal, 12/2/2010



KENNELLY TO STEP DOWN AS LEADER OF THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS

…after her party lost the majority share of members of the US House of Representatives in last month’s midterm elections, outgoing House Speaker Barbara Kennelly (D-CT) today announced that she will not be a candidate for House Minority Leader in January. However, she will not resign from her congressional seat. …House Democrat Whip Ed Markey, who is notably to the left of Kennelly, is considered to be the frontrunner candidate to succeed her as leader of the Democratic Party in the House…

The Washington Post, 12/7/2010



IN DEFENSE OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

All Incoming Republican Senators Back Abolishing The Electoral College – Here’s Why They’re Wrong

The Huffington Post, 12/11/2010



UNITED TURKESTAN ELECTS ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

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[pic: imgur.com/EjQbgRp.png ]

Above: Roza Otunbayeva

…Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgystan (and of the Social Democratic party) bested former Kazakhstan Governor Zharmakhan Tuyakbay of the center-left Unity Party, Mukhtar Ablyazov of the Democratic Choice Party, and Galymzhab Zhakiyanov of the Bright Path Party for the position, making her the first-ever head of state for the country… …In the time that has passed since the assassination of President Karimov on July 7, 2008, internal divisions within United Turkestan have cooled considerably, thanks to the leadership of President Tasmagambetov, who declined to run for a full term of his own this year. Tasmagambetov, hailing from Kazakhstan and a member of the Unity party, ascended to the Presidency due to being Head of the National Gathering at the time of Karimov’s death… …Otunbayeva will enter office on January 5…

Kommersant (The Businessman), Russian newspaper, 12/14/2010



WILL WE EVER GET ANOTHER FEMALE PRESIDENT?

…It is a tragedy that Carol Bellamy is increasingly being seen less as a competent voice of the progressive early 1990s and more as an enigma brought into office on a wave of feminist rage against the Denton administration’s sexism, a condition symbolized by the campaign of third-party candidate Glen Bell. Bellamy was not an exception to the nonexistent rule of law in D.C. – that only men can sit behind the Resolute Desk. She was a trailblazer, and while the likes of Snowe, Rodham-Clinton and Richards all lost in their endeavors to follow her trail, this is no excuse for The American Woman to give up hope. We can reclaim the White House and set forth another example of woman leadership for another generation of American Women.

The rights of all women – including transgender women – is an issue that spans across the political spectrum, and thus, no female leaders should be discounted or disqualified because of their political affiliation. With this in mind, debate over who will be America’s next female president should not limited the view of prospective candidates to just The Party of Carol, Jesse and Paul – or even the Party of Maureen, Olympia and Hillary, either! One cannot rule out the hard work and ideals of the female leaders found in the Democratic and Republican parties, or of the female leaders found in the Liberty, Green, Country, Boulder, and Natural Mind parties. After all, Carol Bellamy was just a city councilman in early 1981 – eight years later, she was sworn into the Presidency. So who knows where the next female President is right now, in this moment? She could be a celebrated politician titan right now. She could be a rising third-party organizer right now. She could be an aspiring activist right now. She even could be reading this very article right now…

– Radical feminist Catharine Alice MacKinnon, The Atlantic, 12/21/2010 op-ed



Fast food trends as the start of this decade are a mix of worrisome and promising developments. Liquid accompaniments to the pre-made meals of our times are taking a nutritional hit with the rise of energy drinks, with the most prominent brands at the moment being “Gatorade” and “Brisk,” the latter being a much newer brand that has adopted the term for a cold but fresh and enlivening wind for a drink that only tastes slightly better than Gatorade because it uses more sugars and artificial sweeteners than Gatorade.

Endeavors to promote drinks that provide consumers with quick and sharp energy appear to be the attempts of companies to placate health concerns. A host of studies show that the more fast-food one consumes, the less one exercises. But in an industry of such inelastic demand – especially in the US, where fast-food demands continued to stay steady during the prosperous 1990s, the troubling turn of the century, and even the SARS pandemic – little can scare the corporate giants into believing that customers will walk away from tasty food at affordable prices.

Not even the processes made at healthier fast food menu options has significantly shaken up the industry. Salads and no-cal options are available and are even promoted, but studies show that an overwhelming majority of fast-food customers still purchase the less-healthy items.

[snip]

Pizza, burgers and chicken still dominate this landscape, but other groups have their share of the industry. While Ollie’s Trollies seems to be fading in both prominence and in the public’s mi d, other artisanal joints are filling up its unique niche, with the spices of Indian food and the rising appearance of Kebab Houses leading the charge in that endeavor. Kebab House are at the front of the recent rise in the ethnic food lane as well, alongside East Asian noodle shops. Hopefully, these newer entries into the fast food world will play a part in improving the healthiness of the pre-prepared meals of Americana…

– Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation Revisited: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012



2010: total world population: 7,125,276,000

– clickopedia.co.usa/world_populations/history [2]



SOURCE(S)/NOTE(S)
[1] Italicized passages are from this OTL article: https://www.mankatofreepress.com/ne...cle_aa260a30-c13a-11e8-9890-53af31a782f5.html
[2] I combined OTL population growth trends with what the world population was in this TL's 1990 to get this number; if it seems too high or too low, given other factors (KW2, SARS, advances made in medicine and warfare/diplomacy), etc., please let me know.

What's Biden, Obama, and Bill Clinton up to these days?
As mentioned in previous chapters:

Joe Biden lost the 1972 US Senate race, but then served as Delaware's Governor from 1977 to 1985 before winning that Senate seat in 1984. He declined to run for President 1988 after a health scare and won re-election in 1990, but lost a bid for a third term in the Red Wave of 1996. His political career over, he currently works for the political "think tank"/lobbying group "Centrist Circle," is on the Amtrak Board of Directors, and is a part-time lecturer for the University of Delaware.

Barack "Rocky" McCain has been a centrist Republican state senator from Montana since 2007, but is considering running for either the Governorship or the US Congress.

Bill Clinton, inspired by Mike Gravel's quick ascension to the Vice Presidency in 1972, moved to Alaska in 1973, and served as Governor from 1978 to 1986. His administration was rocked by scandal after scandal, and he failed to even come close to winning the Democratic nomination for President in 1984. Reaching a dead-end, politics-wise, he moved to California in 1985 and joined a law firm. Maintaining a low profile, he's amassed considerable wealth despite two divorces, and in 2010, unsuccessfully tried to return to politics with a bid for an open US Congressional seat.

Can I ask how certain events played out or didn't play out during the new 00s?

Sure! Ask away!

- Was there still a Columbine school shooting (or an equivalent?) If not, where are those kids involved now?

- Determining the exact circumstances of the birth of someone who is basically a stranger is very tricky business. You really must know how their parents met, and the factors and events that led up to them coming into existence in order to have a better understanding of whether or not they would exist in an alternate timeline.

For example, Dwayne Johnson’s parents lived on opposite ends of the world, but met because his dad became a pro wrestler, and his maternal grandfather is one as well (“Maivia and Johnson were tag team partners in a match on the independent circuit” (Wikipedia)); thus, is it very possible that The Rock was born in TTL, because the POD doesn’t affect professional wrestling until the 1980s (I mentioned Hulk Hogan being more prominent due to the collapse of the USSR in 1984 being “written into” wrestler “storylines”). In another example, Andrew Yang’s “parents emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. in the 1960s, and met while they were both in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley” (Wikipedia). It is very likely that they still would have emigrated ITTL, but whether they still would have met is unclear; the defeat of the Viet Cong and the earlier student activism era could have affected who teaches at the school and want students apply. Less soldiers dead in Vietnam could equal more students applying for college classes; thus, until the circumstances of how they met are disclosed, the odds of Yang existing ITTL are, I’d say, 50/50. A third example: my parents possibly never met ITTL because their meeting was a chance encounter with multiple variables at play – my Dad, after immigrating from Greece in 1971, found work in New Jersey despite entering the US via Maryland because that is where his brother had moved to years earlier; my mother, an introvert who disliked going to places unfamiliar to hear, agreed to go out with friends to a restaurant, where my Dad just so happened to be working; the two met just as my Dad was exiting from the kitchen and my mother was entering through the front entrance. They were not in the same social circles and did not live or work near to one another. Only if it were destiny for me to be born would them meeting, marrying and multiplying still occur ITTL.

But I’m getting off-topic. My point is that for the Columbine shooters in this particular timeline, we’re talking about a POD of 1932 and perpetrators who were born in 1981, 49 years later, though things don’t really begin to change until the early 1950s. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there’s little info on how Eric and Dylan’s respective parents met (according to Wikipedia, Harris’ “parents were both born and raised in Colorado,” and Klebold’s “parents had met when they were both studying art at Ohio State University. The two quickly became smitten. After they both graduated, they married in 1971,” meaning Klebold’s parents could have not met ITTL (maybe they went to different colleges or classes for reasons similar to those given for Yang’s parents in the previous paragrpah). So let’s just assume for the sake of argument that they were born anyway. Because Harris’ father worked “in the United States Air Force as a transport pilot,” the family moved “around the country sporadically.” Because of the wars in Libya, Nicaragua, and the militant response to recreadrug-related crime in Mexico (“the Reacredrug Wars”), Harris’ career may look much different here. He could have died in a plane crash, or saved up enough for early retirement, allowing them to move to Colorado sooner than 1992, and thus possibly affecting Harris’ psychological development. The lives of the Klebolds may have also been affected by the butterflies of the POD; they may not have moved to Colorado in 1980, given that the US was still bouncing back from the Recession of 1978-1979 at that point in the TL. Possibly different employment ITTL means that Klebold could have grown up in Ohio or even Wisconsin, where his mother went to college in 1975. With all the factors at play here, it’s very possible that the two never meet in the seventh grade in CO. And even if they somehow do, they are still not likely going to shoot up a school due to the lower odds of school shootings occurring in general due to the conditions of this TL’s developments. They may not feel so persecuted; they may be bullied less; they may have more helpful school therapists or stronger supportive groups of friends and families; again, lots of factors at play here.

School shootings in general were affected by the attack on the US President’s life in 1986, and by the 1995 assassination of Lee Iacocca. These two events were the catalysts necessary for tighter gun control measures to be implemented under Presidents Denton, Kemp and Dinger. Mental health reform also was big development of these events as well, with California having the strongest mental health state laws, as covering in the corresponding chapters. As a result, educators and students are more informed of how to take preventative measures.

Thus, we can come to the following conclusions. It is unlikely that they were born. If Eric and Dylan were born, they likely never met. If either of them attempt to shoot up their respective schools, the anti-gun scare, and the mental health awareness frenzy of the latter half of the 1990s would have likely nipped the incident in the bud, or at least have been more successful at addressing their psychoses (if they even have them here) than the “diversionary program which included community service and psychiatric treatment” they agreed to take part in after a legal incident in January 1998 in OTL (Wikipedia).

Now as for a Columbine equivalent, I believe that shootings or violent incidents at schools would still happen because of how often it happens worldwide and because such incidents have been around for decades if not centuries. However, due to the aforementioned reforms concerning guns and mental health awareness, the numbers ITTL are way lower than in OTL. Thus, school campuses are not so dangerous in TTL.

And finally, to answer your question. There was no Columbine School Shooting, but the odds are that there were smaller, far less deadly school shooting incidents ITTL than there were in OTL. And to answer the second half of your question, if Eric and Dylan exist, they likely were sent to mental health centers/therapy if they are suspected to be a threat to the other students, and/or they could end up in jail for assault or attempted murder when they are adults. But hey, maybe things turned out all right for them in the end ITTL. Maybe the circumstances of their upbringing was more supportive of their mental health. Maybe they have channeled their anger into more constructive activities. Harris was apparently very good a soccer; maybe he goes pro (but doesn’t end up like that Aaron Hernandez guy). Maybe they become professional bowlers, or demolition derby champions, or demolitions experts/weapons specialists for the military. Since Harris was IOTL diagnosed as a psychopath with narcissistic traits, and “often bragged about his ability to deceive others” (Wikipedia), maybe he becomes a politician, or a lawyer, or a TV network executive.

With a POD that is 68 years old at this point in the TL, the possibilities are endless.

- Pop star Selena's fatal shooting?

- I mentioned Selena Quintanilla-Perez near the end of Chapter 65 as playing Mary Jane Watson in a 1992 Spiderman movie; it’s her film debut. She’s had supporting roles in other US films and a few starring roles in some US and Mexican movies as well since then, but at the moment she is mostly sticking to music. Currently (2010) 49 years old, she married in 1993 (but not to Chris Perez, who she never met (ITTL, he died in the 1991 DUI incident for which he was arrested IOTL)), and has one son (Abraham, b. 1995) and two daughters (Marcelina, b. 2000, and Susanna, b. 2003).

- I can't quite remember, but the US still has yet to suffer a significant terrorist attack on its home soil in this timeline, either domestic (a la Oklahoma City) or foreign (a la 9/11), right?

- Right.

- Is Steve Irwin still kicking?

- Yep!

- So we know that Monica Lewinsky beat Bill Clinton to be the Democratic Candidate for a California House seat, but what happened after that? Did she make it to the House?

- D’oh! I knew I forgot something from November. I’ve gone back and edited a bit to that month (just below the picture of Wellstone). Thanks for pointing that out!

Hm. And regarding Australia's current environmental woes, ever think he might think to try wrangling the folk in parliament to get things back in shape? Maybe not now, but after a few years, he probably needs a challenge that's tougher than crocs!

Hey, TTL has had a fried chicken mogul as US President and a rock star as British PM; having a famous naturalist as Australian PM can't be that far-fetched!

And for that matter, does Canada have any candidates for OTL celebrity -> TTL politician? (Or has there already been one and I haven't noticed?)
Maybe when he gets to a certain age he'll hand the reigns of the show over to his family and apprentices, similar to OTL, and then turn to politics if not political activism. It worked for TTL's Bob Ross, after all! For which seat in Australian parliament would he run?

As for Canada, well...does Leslie Nielsen's brother Erik serving as Prime Minister count?

@gap80 I just have to say that this TL is one of the best I have read on this site, and I'll admit that it has inspired me to develop TLs of my own (as you have probably seen). So thank you for that I guess lol.
Shucks, thanks for the compliment!
 
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Can I ask how certain events played out or didn't play out during the new 00s?
- Was there still a Columbine school shooting (or an equivalent?) If not, where are those kids involved now?
- Pop star Selena's fatal shooting?
- I can't quite remember, but the US still has yet to suffer a significant terrorist attack on its home soil in this timeline, either domestic (a la Oklahoma City) or foreign (a la 9/11), right?
- Is Steve Irwin still kicking?
- So we know that Monica Lewinsky beat Bill Clinton to be the Democratic Candidate for a California House seat, but what happened after that? Did she make it to the House?
 
@gap80 I just have to say that this TL is one of the best I have read on this site, and I'll admit that it has inspired me to develop TLs of my own (as you have probably seen). So thank you for that I guess lol.
 
Hm. And regarding Australia's current environmental woes, ever think he might think to try wrangling the folk in parliament to get things back in shape? Maybe not now, but after a few years, he probably needs a challenge that's tougher than crocs!

Hey, TTL has had a fried chicken mogul as US President and a rock star as British PM; having a famous naturalist as Australian PM can't be that far-fetched!

And for that matter, does Canada have any candidates for OTL celebrity -> TTL politician? (Or has there already been one and I haven't noticed?)
 
Here's just a little something to hold y'all over until the next chapter's E.T.A. (which should be January 24, or no later than January 31). Enjoy!



World Leaders from some of the countries discussed in this TL so far (1960-2010):

Secretary-General of the United Nations
1946-1952: 1) Trygve Lie of Norway – resigned
1953-1961: 2) Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden – died in a plane crash
1961-1971: 3) U Thant of Myanmar – retired
1972-1981: 4) Max Jakobson of Finland – retired
1981-1986: 5) Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania – lost re-election
1986-1996: 6) Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan of Iran and Switzerland – withdrew from re-election bid
1996-2006: 7) Carol Bellamy of the United States – term-limited but did not wish to seek a third term anyway
2006-present: 8) Kofi Annan of Ghana – incumbent

Presidents of ARGENTINA
12 Oct 1973 – 1 Feb 1982: Juan Peron (Judicialist) – overthrown by military junta
1 Feb 1982 – 18 Jun 1982: Leopoldo Galtieri (Military) – overthrown by military junta
18 Jun 1982 – 28 Jul 1982: Alfredo Saint-Jean (Military) – interim Head of State
28 Jul 1982 – 1 Nov 1985: Juan Peron (Judicialist) – died in office from natural causes
1 Nov 1985 – 9 Mar 1988: Isabel Martinez de Peron (Judicialist) – lost election to a full term
9 Mar 1988 – 9 Mar 1996: Adolfo Perez Esquivel (SERPAJ) – retired
9 Mar 1996 – 9 Mar 2000: Ramon Bautista Ortega (Judicialist) – lost re-election
9 Mar 2000 – 15 Aug 2002: Domingo Cavallo (Action) – resigned
15 Aug 2002 – 9 Mar 2004: Alberto Rodriguez Saa (Action) – lost election to a full term
9 Mar 2004 – 9 Mar 2008: Carlos Ruckauf (Judicialist) – lost re-election
9 Mar 2008 – present: Ricardo Lopez Murphy (UCR) – incumbent

Prime Ministers of AUSTRALIA
1966-1972: 17) Harold Holt (Liberal)
1972-1976: 18) John McEwen (Country)
1976-1978: 19) Eric Reece (Labor)
1978-1981: 20) Doug Anthony (Country)
1981-1985: 21) Manfred Cross (Labor)
1985-1987: 22) Sir Billy Snedden (Liberal)
1987-1987: 23) Shirley de la Hunty (Liberal)
1987-1989: (21)) Manfred Cross (Labor)
1989-2001: (23)) Shirley de la Hunty (Liberal)

1992: Bob Ellicott (Labor) and Charles Blunt (National)
1995: Bob Ellicott (Labor)
1998: Michael Ignatieff (Labor) and Ben Carson (Country)
2001-2002: 24) Barry Goldwater Jr. (Liberal)
2002-2009: 25) Michel Ignatieff (Labor)

2002: Barry Goldwater Jr. (Liberal), Ben Carson (Country), Bob Brown (Greens) and Pauline Seccombe (Greatness)
2007: Alexander Michael Somlyay (Liberal) and Alasdair Webster (Christian Democratic)
2009-present: 26) Warren Williams (Labor)
2010: Joanna Gash (Liberal) and Alasdair Webster (Christian Democratic)

Presidents of BELARUS
1984-1991: 1) Stanislav Shushkevich (Independent) – lost re-election
1991-1996: 2) Vyacheslav Kebich (Independent) – lost re-election
1996-2006: 3) Zianon Pazniak (Conservative Christian) – retired
2001: Alaksander Dubko (Independent)
2006-present: 4) Sergei Gaidukevich (Liberal Democratic) – incumbent
2006: Uladzimir Hancaryk (Unity (endorsed by Conservative Christian))

Presidents of BRAZIL
1974-1980: 29) Ernesto Geisel (ARENA) – the dictator regime ended relatively peacefully thanks to intervention from US Secretary of State Jimmy Carter
1980-1984: 30) Tancredo Neves (PMDB) – announced he would resign due to poor health, but of died from diverticulitis before he could step down
1984-1985: 31) Barbosa Lima Sobrinho (MDB) – retired due to advanced age
1985-1993: 32) Ulysses Silveira Guimaraes (MDB) – helped structure the country’s post-dictatorship constitution; died in office from a heart attack, age 77
1993-1995: 33) Plinio de Arruda Sampaio (PT) – lost election to a full term
1995-2000: 34) Marco Maciel (PSDB) – lost re-election
2000-2005: 35) Hamilton Mourao (PRTD) – lost re-election over his “dictatorial” handling of the 2002-2005 SARS Pandemic
2005-present: 36) Heloisa Helena (PT) – incumbent; just won re-election and so is term-limited

Prime Ministers of CANADA
7/21/1957-11/18/1965: 13) John George Diefenbaker (Progressive Conservative-SK)
11/18/1965-12/17/1969: 14) Paul Theodore Hellyer (Liberal-ON)
12/17/1969-1/26/1980: 15) Robert Lorne Stanfield (PC-NS)
1/26/1980-6/25/1980: 16) J. J. Jean Chretien (L-QC)
6/25/1980-11/2/1980: 15) Robert Lorne Stanfield (PC-NS)
11/2/1980-9/29/1989: 16) J. J. Jean Chretien (L-QC)
9/29/1989-3/30/1990: 17) Sheila Copps (L-ON)
3/30/1990-9/4/1992: 18) Erik Hersholt Nielsen (PC-YK)

1990: Nielsen (PC) over Sheila Copps (L), Audrey McLaughlin (Progressive Tomorrow) and Pierre-Marc Johnson (Quebec)
9/4/1992-4/3/1999: 19) Margaret Anne Mitchell (PT-BC)
1992 (minority government coalitioned with the Liberals): Mitchell (PT) over Paul Martin Jr. (L), Erik Nielsen (PC) and TBD (Quebec)
1995 (minority government coalitioned with the Liberals): Mitchell (PT) over Paul Martin Jr. (L), Dianne Cunningham (PC), Lucien Bouchard (Quebec), Paul Hellyer (Action), Roger S. Bacon (Canadian) and Bob Ringma (Alberta/Frontier)
4/3/1999-12/15/1999: 14) Paul Theodore Hellyer (Action Alliance(A)-ON)
1999 (minority government coalitioned with the PCs, Quebecois, and Baconites): Hellyer (Action) over Margaret Anne Mitchell (PT), Paul Martin Jr. (L), Dianne Cunningham (PC), Lucien Bouchard (Quebec) and Roger S. Bacon (Canadian)
12/15/1999-5/19/2001: 20) Jean Charest (Action Alliance(PC)-QC)
5/19/2001-present: 21) Maureen Anne McTeer (Progressive Liberal Alliance(PT)-ON before 2010, Progressive Liberal-ON after 2010)

5/5/2001: Jean Charest (PC), Pierre-Marc Johnson (Quebec), Dwain Lingenfelter (Frontier), Stephen Harper (True Conservative)
2/2/2006: Belinda Stronach (PC), Pauline Marois (Quebec), Michaelle Jean (Maple)
11/23/2009: Jim Prentice (PC), Andre Boisclair (Maple), Louise Harel (Quebec), Maude Barlow (Organized Grassroots), Frank de Jong (Green)

Presidents of CHILE
3 Nov 1958 – 3 Nov 1964: Jorge Alessandri (Independent (conservative-leaning)) – term-limited
3 Nov 1964 – 3 Nov 1970: Eduardo Frei Montalva (Christian Democratic (conservative wing)) – term-limited
3 Nov 1970 – 3 Nov 1976: Radomiro Tomic (Christian Democratic (progressive wing)) – term-limited
3 Nov 1976 – 3 Nov 1982: Gen. René Schneider (Constitutionalist (conservative)) – term-limited; implemented harsh austerity measures after the economy entered recession in 1979, leading to riots, and an alleged coup attempt later that year; kept Chile neutral during the Falklands War
3 Nov 1982 – 3 Nov 1988: Arturo Alessandri Besa (Centrist Alliance (conservative wing)) – term-limited
3 Nov 1988 – 12 Dec 1988: Hernan Buchi (Centrist Alliance (far-right wing)) – ousted in a coup after raising taxes on the lower classes to improve the still-poor economy; his removal from office prompted the brief 1988-1989 Chilean Civil War; having fled to Mexico, he was tried in absentia and found guilty of treason; allowed to return to Chile in 2004, and unsuccessfully ran for President again in 2007
12 Dec 1988 – 24 Jul 2002: Francisco Javier “Fra-Fra” Errazuriz (Progressive Union (progressive wing)) – suspended elections, restructured the government and nationalized most industries; was opposed by the CIA from 1993 to 2001; ousted in a coup amid his poor handling of the SARS Global Pandemic
24 Jul 2002 – 6 Feb 2003: Gen. Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba (Independent (centrist)) – head of an “emergency interim” military government; resigned over unpopularity and inability to unify various intergovernmental factions
6 Feb 2003 – 3 Nov 2003: Gen. Ricardo Izurieta (Independent (centrist)) – head of a “transitional” military government; retired
3 Nov 2003 – 3 Nov 2007: Joaquin Lavin (Democratic Union (centrist)) – lost re-nomination and retired
3 Nov 2007 – present: Leonardo Farkas (Independent (left-leaning)) – incumbent

Chairpersons/Premiers of THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
3/20/1943-11/24/1975: Mao Tse-Tung (Communist)
Vice-Chairman: Zhou Enlai (C) (since 1969)
11/24/1975-12/1/1975: Zhou Enlai (C)
Vice-Chairman: none
12/1/1975-12/1/1987: Deng Xiaoping (C)
Vice-Chairman: Bo Yibo (C) (since 1977)
12/1/1987-6/21/1992: Li Xiannian (C)
Vice-Chairman: Lee Teng-hui (C) (since 1988)
6/21/1992-6/21/2004: Zhu Rongji (C)
Vice-Chairman: Lee Teng-hui (C) (since 1988)
6/21/2004-10/15/2007: Bo Xilai (C, until 9/16/2007)
Vice-Chairman: Yang Gang (C) (since 2004)
10/15/2007-present: Yang Gang (C)
Vice-Chairwoman: Guo Jianmei (C) (since 2007)

Presidents of the REPUBLIC OF CUBA
9/17/1961-7/24/1966: Jose Miro Cardona (Independent)
7/24/1966-7/24/1972: Rufo Lopez-Fresquet (Conservative)
7/24/1972-7/24/1978: Erneido Oliva (Conservative)
7/24/1978-7/24/1984: Pedro Luis Boitel (Stability)
7/24/1984-7/24/1990: Armando Valladares (Conservative)
7/24/1990-7/24/1996: Gustavo Arcos (Stability)

1990: Arcos over Jorge Mas Canosa (Conservative)
7/24/1996-7/24/2002: Alfredo Abon Lee (Stability)
1996: Lee over Albio B. Sires (Conservative)
7/24/2002-3/1/2003: Sebastian Arcos Bergnes (Conservative)
2002: Felix Rodriguez (Stability)
3/1/2003-7/24/2008: Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Conservative)
2003 (special): Felix Rodriguez (Stability)
7/24/2008-present: Jose Ramon Balaguer (Progressive)
2008: Orlando Sanchez (Conservative)

Presidents of FRANCE
8 Jan 1959 – 16 Jan 1965: 18) Charles de Gaulle (Union for the New Republic (UNR))
16 Jan 1965 – 7 Mar 1965: Acting) Alain Poher (Popular Republican Movement (MRP))
7 Mar 1965 – 7 Mar 1979: 19) Francois Mitterrand (Convention of Republican Institutions (CIR)), Unified Socialist Party after 1 May 1965)
7 Mar 1979 – 7 Mar 1986: 20) Pierre Mauroy (USP)
7 Mar 1986 – 17 May 1989: 21) Jean-Marie Le Pen (National Front (FN))
17 May 1989 – 30 July 1989: Acting) Alain Poher Popular (Republican Movement (MRP))
30 July 1989 – 30 July 2003: 22) Claude Estier (Socialist Alliance (SA))

9 July 1996 (first round): Jean-Claude Gaudin (Republican), Edith Campion Cresson (Independent Socialist), Jean-Pierre Stirbois (National Front), and others
23 July 1996 (runoff): cancelled – Estier received over 50% in the first round
30 July 2003 – 30 July 2010: 23) Marie-Segolene Royal (Socialist Alliance (SA))
9 July 2003 (first round): Marie-Segolene Royal (SA) over Francois Bayrou (Centrist), Jean-Louis Debré (Republican), Marie-France Stirbois (National Front), and others
23 July 2003 (runoff): Marie-Segolene Royal (SA) over Francois Bayrou (Centrist)
30 July 2010 – present: 24) Francois Leotard (Republican)
9 July 2010 (first round): Marie-Segolene Royal (SA) over Francois Leotard (Republican), Jean-Luc Melenchon (Democratic Socialist), Charles M. J. V. Napoleon (Centrist), Jean-Pierre Raffarin (Sensible), and others
23 July 2010 (runoff): Francois Leotard (Republican) over Marie-Segolene Royal (SA)

Chancellors of GERMANY
1974-1976: Helmut Schmidt (SPD)
1976-1992: Helmut Kohl (CDU/CSU)
1992-2000: Oskar Lafontaine (SPD)
2000-2007: Edmund Stoiber (CDU/CSU)
2007-2010: Petra Kelly (SPD/Green)
2010-present: Gerhard Schroder (SPD)

Presidents of IRAQ (elected by the Council of Representatives by a 2/3rds majority until the implementation of the Electorate College-based indirect presidential elections system in 1989-1991 reforms):
7/14/1958-2/8/1963: 1) Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba’i (1904-1965) Independent – deposed
2/8/1963-4/13/1966: 2) Abdul Salam Arif (1921-1966) ASU – died in office
4/13/1966-11/2/1975: 3) Abdul Rahman Arif (1916-2007) ASU – retired due to waning popularity
11/2/1975-1/20/1979: 4) Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1914-1985) Iraqi Ba’ath/Independent – rejected from Ba’ath Party in early 1978 for participating in Atlanta Peace Talks; retired, officially due to “my failure to handle the national recession”
1/20/1979-3/4/1986: 5) Tahir Yahya (1915-1986) Iraqi Ba’ath – retired due to waning popularity; passed away soon after leaving office
3/4/1986-5/8/1991: 6) Abdul Rahman Arif (1916-2007) ASU – retired due to waning health
5/8/1991-5/8/2003: 7) Abd ar-Razzaq Said al-Naif (1934-2010) ASU (“Pro-West” faction) – retired despite popularity, establishing a precedence
5/8/2003-5/8/2009: 8) Saleh Muhammed al-Mutlaq (b. 1947) ASU (“moderate” faction) – former Ba’ath Party member, rejected for supporting justice reform; lost re-election but did not contest election results, establishing a precedence
5/8/2009-present: 9) Nouri al-Maliki (b. 1950) People of Iraq – incumbent; controversial for past anti-Zionist comments despite his current political stances

Presidents of IRELAND
19/12/1974-21/3/1978: Cearbhall O Dalaigh (All-Party Nomination) – died in office
22/5/1978-21/5/1992: Patrick Hillery (Fianna Fail) – term-limited
22/5/1992-21/5/2006: Senator Mary Robinson (Independent) – term-limited
22/5/2006-present: Avril Doyle (Fine Gael) – incumbent
Taoiseachs of IRELAND
1993-1997: Dick Spring (Labour)
1997-1999: John Bruton (Fine Gael)
1999-2003: Maire Geoghegan-Quinn (Fianna Fail)
2003-2009: Ruairi Quinn (Labour)
2009-present: Dermot Ahern (Fianna Fail)

Prime Ministers of INDIA
1984-1989: 6) Rajiv Gandhi (INC) – lost election over rising geopolitical tensions
1989-1995: 7) V. P. Singh (JD/NF) – initially popular for signing landmark peace accord with Pakistan that ended conflict over Kashmir
1995-1997: (6)) Rajiv Gandhi (INC) – removed from office after being convicted of embezzlement
1997-1998: 8) P. V. Narasimha Tao (INC) – lost re-election amid economic downturn
1998-2001: 9) Lalu Prasad (JD/UF) – lost re-election after struggling to maintain a coalition government
2001-2004: 10) Lal Krishna Advani (BJP) – forced out of office by his own party over his very poor and very divisive handling of the 2001-2004 SARS pandemic
2004-2005: 11) Aral Bihari Vajpayee (BJP) – entered office at the age of 79; lost election in a landslide
2005-2010: 12) Sonia Maino Gandhi (INC) – established fixed terms; lost re-election over controversial taxes and business regulations; wife of a former PM
2010-present: 13) N. Chandrababu Naidu (TD) – left-of-center technocrat and former businessman

Prime Ministers of ISRAEL
1969-1974: 4) Golda Meir (Labor) – retired due to declining popularity
1974-1977: 5) Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) – lost election
1977-1985: 6) Menachem Begin (Likud) – retired due to declining health
1985-1988: 7) Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) – lost re-election
1988-1990: (5)) Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) – lost re-election
1990-1991: (7)) Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) – lost re-election
1991-1994: 8) Shulamit Aloni (Meretz) – lost re-election
1994-1996: (5)) Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) – retired after cancer diagnosis
1996: 9) Teddy Kollek (Labor) – interim leader until Labor’s factions could agree on a single compromise leader candidate
1996-1997: 10) Ami Ayalon (Labor) – lost election
1997-2000: 11) Ariel Sharon (Likud) – lost re-election
2000-2001: 12) Yossi Sarid (Meretz) – lost re-election
2001-2004: (11)) Ariel Sharon (Likud) – lost re-election
2004-2010: 13) Dr. Yosef “Yossi” Beilin (Labor/Meretz coalition) – lost re-election
2010-present: 14) Moshe Feiglin (Likud/Libertarian coalition) – incumbent

Prime Ministers of JAPAN
1989-1991: Toshiki Kaifu (LDP)
1991-1993: Kiichi Miyazawa (LDP)
1993-1994: Morihiro Hosokawa (New)
1994-1994: Tsutomu Hata (Renewal)
1994-1995: Tomiichi Murayama (Socialist)
1995-1999: Ryutaro Hashimoto (LDP)
1999-2000: Takeo Hiranuma (LDP)
2000-2001: Shintaro Ishihara (LDP)
2001-2002: Junichiro Koizumi (LDP)
2002-2008: Ryutaro Hashimoto (LDP)
2008-2008: Taro Aso (LDP)
2008-2010: Ichiro Ozawa (Centrist Coalition)
2010-present: Mizuho Fukushima (Social Democratic)

Presidents of MEXICO
1958-1964: 55) Adolfo Lopez Mateos (PRI)
1964-1970: 56) Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (PRI)
1970-1976: 57) Luis Echeverria (PRI)
1976-1982: 58) Jose Lopez Portillo y Pacheco (PRI)
1982-1988: 59) Miguel de la Madrid (PRI)
1988-1994: 60) Luis Alvarez (PAN)
1994-2000: 61) Luis Colosio (PRI)
2000-2006: 62) Esteban Moctezuma (PRI)
2006-present: 63) Marcela Guerra Castillo (PRI)

Presidents of PALESTINE
The Transfer of Authority from Israel to an interim Palestinian Authority (headed by Arafat as “Interim President”) occurred after the landmark 1978 Peace Treaty, and the transfer process was completed in 1982, with an independent Palestinian state co-establishing and co-sustaining a “special relationship” (i.e., a complicated but functioning and relatively peaceful one) with Israel and Jordan.
1982-1994: 1) Nasser Arafat (Popular Palestinian Democratic Front) – retired
1994-1995: 2) Samir Ghawshah (PPDF) – lost re-election
1995-1999: 3) Yasser Abed Rabbo (Strength Through Peace) – lost re-election
1999-2007: 4) Sari Nusseibeh (independent) – retired
2007-present: 5) Farouk Kaddoumi (Fatah) – incumbent

Presidents of SOUTH AFRICA
1984-1989: Nelson Mandela (ANC) – succeeded P. W. Botha
1989-1994: Steve Biko (BCM/Inkatha Freedom (People’s)) – lost re-election
1994-2004: Chris Hani (ANC) – term-limited
2004-2008: Mangosuthu Buthelezi (People’s) – impeached and removed from for his involvement in the 2007 I.O.C. Bribery Scandal
2008-present: Keorapetse Kgositsile (ANC, Independent after 11/2/2010) – was elected Deputy President in 2004; elected to a full term in 2009

Presidents of SYRIA
1971-1997: 18) Hafez al-Assad – died
1997-1999: -- Bassel al-Assad (claimed office)
1997-2009: 19) Abdul Halim Khaddam – retired
Vice-President (since 2000): Farouk al-Sharaa
2009-present: 20) Farouk al-Sharaa – Khaddam’s preferred successor; incumbent
Vice-President (since 2009): Ghazi Kanaan

Prime Ministers of The UNITED KINGDOM
10 Jan 1957 – 18 Oct 1963: Harold Macmillan (Conservative)
18 Oct 1963 – 27 Aug 1965: Alec Douglas-Home (C)
27 Aug 1965 – 15 May 1968: George Brown (Labour)
15 May 1968 – 10 Oct 1968: John Stonehouse (Labour)
10 Oct 1968 – 3 Dec 1968: Michael Foot (Labour)
3 Dec 1968 – 28 Mar 1973: Enoch Powell (C)
28 Mar 1973 – 15 Sept 1983: Dingle M. Foot (Labour)
15 Sept 1983 – 26 Nov 1987: Shirley Williams (Labour)
26 Nov 1987 – 4 Feb 1992: Alastair Goodlad (C)
4 Feb 1992 – 8 Mar 2004: John Winston Lennon (Labour)

29 Jan 1992: Lennon over Goodlad (C), Paddy Ashdown (Liberal Democrats), and Jeremy Corbyn (UK Intrepid Progressive)
27 Oct 1995: Lennon over Jill Knight (C), Paddy Ashdown (LD), and Jeremy Corbyn (UKIP)
5 May 2000: Lennon over Nigel Lawson (C), Charles Kennedy (LD), and Rosemary Byrne/Tommy Sheridan (UKIP/Socialist Alliance)
29 May 2002: Beckett over Ken Clarke (C), Charles Kennedy (LD), and Belinda Lee (UKIP)
8 Mar 2004 – 28 Nov 2006: Harriet Harman (Labour)
15 Sept 2005: Beckett over Ken Clarke (C), Charles Kennedy (LD), and Belinda Lee (UKIP)
28 Nov 2006 – present: Michael Heseltine (C)
17 Nov 2006: Heseltine over Harman (Labour), Charles Kennedy (LD), and Belinda Lee (UKIP)
5 Feb 2010: Heseltine over Alan Beith (Labour) and Charles Kennedy (LD), and Peter Bevan-Baker (UKIP)

Presidents of The Republic of UNITED KOREA (formed in 1996)
1996-1998: Kim Young-sam – was president of South Korea from 1993 to 1996
1998-2003: Kim Dae-jung – term-limited
2003-2008: Hong Sook-ja – first female President
2008-present: Lee Hoi-chang – incumbent

Presidents of The UNITED STATES of AMERICA
1/20/1961-1/20/1965: 35) Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic-TX)
VP: 37) Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. (D-MN)

1960 Democratic primaries: Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Pat Brown, George H. McLain, Humphrey, George Smathers, Mike DiSalle, Adlai Stevenson II, Stuart Symington
1960 Republican primaries: Richard M. Nixon, Cecil Underwood, James M. Lloyd, George H. Bender; Nelson A. Rockefeller, Barry M. Goldwater (unofficial)
1960: Johnson/Humphrey over Richard M. Nixon/Walter Judd (R)
1/20/1965-1/20/1973: 36) Harland D. “Colonel” Sanders (Republican-KY)
VP: 38) William Scranton (R-PA)

1964 Democratic primaries: Lyndon B. Johnson, John M. Patterson, Wayne Morse, Pat Brown, Sam Yorty, John W. Reynolds Jr.
1964 Republican primaries: Colonel Sanders, Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, Jim Rhodes, Lodge, Byrnes, Walt Judd, William Scranton, Margaret Chase Smith, Harold Stassen
1964: Sanders/Scranton (R) over Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey (D) and John M. Patterson/C. Farris Bryant (Heritage and Independence Party)
1968 Democratic primaries: Jack Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Carl Sanders, George Wallace, Mario Biaggi, Wayne Morse, Mike Gravel, Sam Yorty, Pat Brown, Pat Lucey
1968 Republican primaries: Colonel Sanders, Harold Stassen
1968: Sanders/Scranton (R) over Jack Kennedy/Grant Sawyer (D)
1/20/1973-1/20/1981: 37) Walter Frederick “Fritz” Mondale (D-MN)
VP: 39) Maurice Robert “Mike” Gravel (D-AS)

1972 Democratic primaries: Fritz Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Mike Gravel, Mario Biaggi, Shirley Chisholm, Bob Casey, Wayne Morse, Grant Sawyer, Scoop Jackson, Terry Sanford, Coya Knutson, Phil Hoff, Patsy Mink
1972 Republican primaries: William W. Scranton Sr., Barry M. Goldwater, Rubel Philips, Harold Stassen
1972: Mondale/Gravel (D) over William Scranton/Mike Stepovich (R)
1976 Democratic primaries: Fritz Mondale, Elmo Zumwalt
1976 Republican primaries: Ronald Reagan, George W. Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, Barry Goldwater, Ray Kroc, John Ashbrook, John M. Robsion Jr., Charles Evers, Harold Stassen
1976: Mondale/Gravel (D) over Ronald Reagan/William Westmoreland (R)
1/20/1981-12/28/1986: 38) Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. (R-AL)
VP: 40) Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (R-TN)
, then none (between 8/15/1985 and 11/14/1985), then 41) Jack French Kemp (R-NY)
1980 Democratic primaries: Scoop Jackson, Mike Gravel, Walter Nixon, Larry McDonald
1980 Republican primaries: Jeremiah Denton, Ron Paul, Ed Brooke, Buz Lukens, Aloha Eagles, Lamar Alexander, Harold Stassen, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, James H. Meredith, Paul Laxalt
1980: Denton/Alexander (R) over Scoop Jackson (D)/Jimmy Carter (replaced Jake Butcher) (D) and Phil Hoff/Pete McCloskey (Progressive/“Far-Left coalition”)
1984 Democratic primaries: Mike Gravel, John Glenn, Jimmy Carter, Louis Stokes, Daniel Inouye, Peter Kyros, Mario Biaggi, Nick Galifianakis, Bill Bradley, Jim Florio, Coya Knutson
1984 Republican primaries: Jeremiah Denton, David Bergland, Pete McCloskey
1984: Denton/Alexander (R) over Mike Gravel/J. Charles Jones (D)
12/28/1986-1/20/1989: 39) Jack French Kemp (R-NY)
VP:
none (until 4/2/1987), then 42) J. J. Polonko Jr. (R-NJ)
1/20/1989-1/20/1993: 40) Carol Bellamy (D-NY)
VP: 43) Jerry Litton (D-MO)

1988 Democratic primaries: Carol Bellamy, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, John Glenn, Jean Sadako King, Clifford Alexander Jr., Andrew Young, Peter Kyros, James Taylor, Endicott Peabody
1988 Republican primaries: Maureen Reagan, Jack Kemp, Thyra Thomson, Billy Ervin McCormack, Ed Brooke, Barry Goldwater
1988: Bellamy/Litton (D) over Maureen Reagan/Richard Lugar (R) and Glen Bell/Bill Daniels (Independent)
1/20/1993-5/9/1995: 41) Lido A. “Lee” Iacocca (R-CA)
VP: 44) Larry Miles Dinger (R-IA)

1992 Democratic primaries: Carol Bellamy, Bill Lipinski
1992 Republican primaries: Lee Iacocca, Estus Pirkle, Susan Engeleiter, Doug Wead, James H. Meredith, J. J. Polonko, William Scranton
1992: Iacocca/Dinger (R) over Bellamy/Litton (D)
5/9/1995-1/20/2001: 42) Larry Miles Dinger (R-IA)
VP:
none (until 10/12/1995), then 45) James Howard Meredith (R-MS)
1996 Democratic primaries: John Glenn, Jesse Jackson, Roberto Clemente, Mickey Leland, Jerry Litton, Jim Slattery, Ann Dunham
1996 Republican primaries: Larry Dinger, Tom Laughlin
1996: Dinger/Meredith (R) over John Glenn/Raymond Eugene Green (D)
1/20/2001-1/20/2009: 43) Jesse L. Jackson Sr. (D-SC)
VP: 46) Paul David Wellstone (D-MN)

2000 Democratic primaries: Jesse Jackson, Ann Richards, Paul Wellstone, Jim Blanchard, Bob Ross, Harry Braun, Jerry Litton, Peter Diamondstone
2000 Republican primaries: Larry Miles Dinger Jr., Ron Paul
2000: Jackson/Wellstone (D) over Dinger/Meredith (R)
2004 Democratic primaries: Jesse Jackson, Peter Diamondstone
2004 Republican primaries: Bernie Goetz, James H. Meredith, Jon Huntsman Sr., Bill Weld, Hillary Rodham-Clinton, Ben Nighthorse Campbell
2004: Jackson/Wellstone (D) over Bernie Goetz/Eldon Bargewell (R)
1/20/2009-present: Paul David Wellstone (D-MN)
VP: 47) Robert Norman “Bob” Ross (D-AS)

2008 Democratic primaries: Paul Wellstone, Lars Herseth, Peter Diamondstone
2008 Republican primaries: Olympia Snowe, Hillary Rodham-Clinton, Gary Johnson, Bo Gritz, Mario Biaggi, Lynn Swann, Jim Edgar, Ronna Romney
2008: Wellstone/Ross (D) over Olympia Snowe/Gary Johnson (R) and Bernie Goetz/Beverly J. “Bev” Kilmer (Boulder/Strong/Action)

Premiers of The U.S.S.R. (Soviet Russia)
14 Oct 1953 – 5 Feb 1963: Nikita Khrushchev (Communist)
5 Feb 1963 – 10 Dec 1968: Alexander Shelepin (C)
10 Dec 1968 – 21 Apr 1969: Gen. Aleksi Inauri (C)
21 Apr 1969 – 7 Dec 1976: Alexei Kosygin (C)
7 Dec 1976 – 12 March 1977: Nikolai Tikhonov (C)
12 March 1977 – 25 Jan 1982: Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (C)
25 Jan 1982 – 12 Jan 1983: Nikolai Podgorny (C)
23 Jan 1983 – 9 May 1984: Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (C)
9 May 1984 – 15 May 1984: Vladimir Orlov (C)
15 May 1984 – 16 Sept 1984: Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev (C)

Presidents of The N.D.R.R. (Russian Republic)
16 Sept 1984 – 17 Aug 1985: 1) Vladimir Orlov (independent)
17 Aug 1985 – 17 Aug 1995: 2) Vladislav Volkov (Democratic)

13 July 1985 (“primary round”): Vladislav Volkov (Democratic) over Sergey Sokolov (independent), Gennady Burbulis (National), Vladimir Bukovsky (Progressive), Oleg Baklanov (independent), Vasily Arkhipov (Communist (“conservative” faction)), Mikhail Gorbachev (Communist (“glasnost” faction)), and Vladimir Chub (independent)
27 July 1985 (“runoff round”): Vladislav Volkov (Democratic) over Sergey Sokolov (independent)
13 July 1990: Vladislav Volkov (Democratic) over Boris Yeltsin (independent), Nikolai Ryzhkov (independent), Albert Makashov (National), Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Communist), and Vladimir Kirillovich (Imperial)
27 July 1990 (“runoff round”): Vladislav Volkov (Democratic) over Boris Yeltsin (independent)
17 Aug 1995 – 17 Aug 2000: 3) Viktor Chernomyrdin (Motherland)
13 July 1995: Viktor Chernomyrdin (Motherland) over Anatoly Lukyanov (Democratic), Yevgeny Primakov (independent), Vladimir Bukovsky (Progressive), and Dzhokhar Dudayev (Independence)
27 July 1995 (“runoff round”): Viktor Chernomyrdin (Motherland) over Anatoly Lukyanov (Democratic)
17 Aug 2000 – 17 Aug 2005: 4) Nina Lobkovskaya (independent)
13 July 2000: Nina Lobkovskaya (independent) over Vyacheslav Maltsev (Motherland), Irina Khakamada (Democratic), and Sergei Mavrodi (National)
27 July 2000 (“runoff round”): Nina Lobkovskaya (independent) over Vyacheslav Maltsev (Motherland)
17 Aug 2005 – present: 5) Oleg Malyshkin (National/Iron Fist)
13 July 2005: Oleg Malyshkin (National/Iron Fist) over Vladimir Potanin (independent), Grigory Yavlinsky (Progressive), Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Strong Arm), Sergey Shoygu (Democratic), Mikhail Prokhorov (independent) and Valentina Matviyenko (Motherland)
27 July 2005 (“runoff round”): Oleg Malyshkin (National/Iron Fist) over Vladimir Potanin (independent)
13 July 2010: Valentina Matviyenko (Motherland) over Oleg Malyshkin (National/Iron Fist), Anatoly Kvashnin (Strong Arm), Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova (Progressive), Viktor Aleksandrovich Tolokonsky (Democratic) and Sherig-ool Oorzhak (Protectionist)
27 July 2010 (“runoff round”): Oleg Malyshkin (National/Iron Fist) over Valentina Matviyenko (Motherland)



Governors in this TL so far:

Governors of Alabama
1959-1963: John Malcolm Patterson (D)
1963-1967: George Wallace (D)
1967-1971: Ryan DeGreffenried Sr. (D)
1971-1971: George Wallace (D) - died
1971-1975: Sam Engelhardt (D, then HIP in 1972)
1975-1979: Jeremiah Denton (R)
1979-1981: Elvin McCary (R) - died
1981-1983: Charles Woods (D)
1983-1987: Ann Bedsole (R)
1987-1991: Bill Baxley (D)
1991-1995: Shorty Price (R)

1990: Joseph Charles McCorquodale Jr. (D) and John Logan Cashin Jr. (Alabama)
1995-1999: Bettye Frink (R)
1994: Lambert Mims (D)
1999-2003: Winton Blount (R)
1998: Lenora Pate (D)
2003-2006: Ryan DeGraffenried Jr. (D) – died
2002: Richard Shelby (R)
2006-2007: Lowell Ray Barron (D) – ascended to office as president pro tempore of the state senate after the Gov. and Lt. Gov. died
2007-2011: Jim Folsom Jr. (D) – ascended to office as Lt. Gov.-Elect after Lt. Gov./Gov.-Elect Baxley died
2006: Lucy Baxley (D) over Roy Moore (R) and Tony Petelos (Integrity)
2011-TBD: David Woods (R)
2010: Beth Killough Chapman (Boulder) and Sadie Moore Stewart (D)

Governors of Alaska
1959-1962: 1) William A. Egan (D)
1962-1970: 2) Mike Stepovich (R)
1970-1978: 3) Jay Hammond (R)
1978-1986: 4) Bill Clinton (D)
1986-1988: 5) Tom Fink (R)
1988-1994: 6) Bob Ross (I)

1990: Wally Hickel (R), Tony Knowles (D), Joe Vogler (AIP), Rick Halford (Liberty), and Michael O’Callaghan (I)
1994-1998: 7) Nora Dauenhauer (Green)
1994: Robin L. Taylor (Liberty), Red Boucher (D), J. H. Lindauer Jr. (R), and Joe Vogler (AIP)
1998-2002: 8) Kenneth James Fanning (Libertarian-Republican Alliance)
1998: Samuel R. Cotton (D), Jim Sykes (Green) and Joe Vogler (AIP)
2002-2010: 9) Niilo Emil Koponen (Democratic-Green-Union)
2002: Kenneth James Fanning (LRA), Don Wright (AIP), W.A.R. Ross (Defense), and Ralph Winterrowd (Patriots’)
2006: Loren Leman (Libertarian-Republican Alliance) and Daniel DeNardo (Independent/AIP)
2010-TBD: 10) Willie Hensley (GDU)
2010: Jerry Ward (LRA) and Clyde Baxley (AIP)

Governors of Arizona
1959-1969: Paul Fannin (R)
1969-1971: Jack Williams (R)
1971-1975: Raul Hector Castro (D)
1975-1983: Sam Steiger (R)
1983-1987: Richard Kleindienst (R)
1987-1995: Carolyn Warner (D)

1990: Fife Symington III (R) and Max Hawkins (Life)
1995-1999: Samuel Goddard III (D)
1994: Barbara Barrett (R) and John A. Buttrick (Liberty)
1999-2007: David Fraser Nolan (R)
1998: Samuel Goddard III (D), Paul Johnson (I) and Scott Malcolmson (I)
2002: Betsey Bayless (D)
2007-2011: Debbie McCune Davis (D)
2006: Brenda Burns (R)
2011-TBD: Russell K. Pearce (R)
2010: Debbie McCune Davis (D)

Governor of Arkansas
1955-1965: Orval Faubus (D)
1965-1972: Winthrop Rockefeller (R) - died
1972-1973: Footsie Britt (R)
1973-1975: Dale Bumpers (D)
1975-1979: David Pryor (D)
1979-1987: Orval Faubus (D)
1987-1991: Lynn Lowe (R)
1991-1999: Mike Beebe (D)

1990: Lynn Lowe (R)
1994: James Douglas Johnson (R)
1999-2003: Nicky Daniel “Nick” Bacon (D)
1998: E. Sheffield Nelson (R)
2003-2009: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (R) – died in office from cancer
2002: Nick Bacon (D)
2006: Mike Ross (D)
2009-TBD: Mark Darr (R)
2010: Jim Lendall (D) and Elvis D. Presley (I)

Governors of California
1959-1971: Pat Brown (D)
1971-1979: Ronald Reagan (R)
1979-1983: Phillip Burton (D)
1983-1987: George Christopher (R)
1987-1995: Donald Kennedy (D)

1990: Mary K. Shell (R), Peter Camejo (Green) and Maria Elizabeth Munoz (La Raza Unida)
1995-2003: Kathleen Brown (D)
1994: Carol Boyd Hallett (R)
1998: Dennis R. Peron (R)
2003-2003: 38) Dana Rohrabacher (R)
2002: Kathleen Brown (D), Peter Camejo (Green) and Van Vo (Liberty)
2003-2005: 39) John L. Burton (D)
2005-2007: 40) Debbie Cook (D until 2005, then G)
2007-present: 41) Kelsey Grammer (R)

2006: Debbie Cook (Green), Laura Wells (D) and Leonard Padilla (Liberty)
2010: Steve Peace (D) and Tommy Chong (Green)

Governors of Colorado
1957-1963: Stephen McNichols (D)
1963-1975: John Arthur Love (R)
1975-1979: Dick Lamm (D)
1979-1987: Bill Daniels (R)
1987-1991: Byron L. Johnson (D)
1991-1995: John Andrews (R)

1990: Byron L. Johnson (D)
1995-2007: Wellington Webb (D)
1994: John Andrews (R)
1998: Gene Nichol (R)
2002: Bo Callaway (R)
2007-2011: Jane E. Norton (R)
2006: Gail Schoettler (D)
2011-TBD: William “Bill” Thiebaut Jr. (D)
2010: Sandra D. Johnson (R)

Governors of Connecticut
1955-1963: Abraham Ribicoff (D)
1963-1971: John N. Dempsey (D)
1971-1975: Fiske Holcomb Ventres (R)
1975-1980: Ella T. Grasso (D)
1980-1981: William Ross Cotter (D)
1981-1991: Robert K. Killian (D)
1991-1995: Eunice Groark (R)

1990: Bill O’Neill (D)
1995-2003: Bruce Morrison (D)
1994: Jodi Rell (R)
1998: Jodi Rell (R) and Sandra Bender (Independent Democratic)
2003-2009: Phyllis Busansky (D)
2002: John Rowland (R)
2006: Bill Curry (D) and Roberta Scaglione (I)
2009-2011: Nancy S. Wyman (D)
2011-TBD: Nancy Lee Johnson (R)

2010: Nancy S. Wyman (D)

Governors of Delaware
1961-1965: Elbert N. Carvel (D)
1965-1969: David P. Buckson (R)
1969-1977: Russell W. Peterson (R)
1977-1985: Joseph R. “Joe” Biden Jr. (D)
1985-1992: Michael Castle (R)
1992-1993: Shien Bau Woo (D)
1993-2001: Janet Rzewnicki (R)

1992: John Carney (D)
1996: Midge Osterlund (D)
2001-2009: Ruth Ann Minner (D)
2000: John Burris (R)
2004: William Swain Lee (R)
2009-TBD: John C. Carney Jr. (D)
2008: William Swain Lee (R) and Robert Venables Sr. (Independent Democrat)

Governors of Florida
1961-1965: C. Farris Bryant (D)
1965-1967: LeRoy Collins Sr. (D)
1967: Robert King High (D)
1967-1971: Verle Allyn Pope (D)
1971-1979: Louis Bafalis (R)
1979-1987: Jack Eckerd (R)
1987-1995: Bruce A. Smathers (D)

1990: Bill McCollum (R)
1995-2003: LeRoy Collins Jr. (D)
1994: Tillie K. Fowler (R)
1998: Joe Scarborough (R)
2003-2011: Antoinette “Toni” Jennings (R)
2002: Gary Pajcic (D)
2006: Bill McBride (D)
2011-TBD: Bob Smith (R)
2010: Katherine Castor (D) and Nancy Argenziano (I)

Governors of Georgia
1959-1963: Ernest Vandiver (D)
1963-1967: Carl Sanders (D)
1967-1971: Bo Callaway (R)
1971-1975: Lester Maddox (D)
1975-1977: Bert Lance (D)
1977-1979: Benjamin W. Fortson Jr. (D)
1979-1983: John Skandalakis (D)
1983-1987: Hal Suit (R)
1987-1988: Billy Carter (D)
1988-1995: Jimmy Lee Jackson (D)

1990: Guy Millner (R)
1995-2003: Eston Wycliffe “Wyc” Orr Sr. (D)
1994: Sonny Perdue (R)
1998: Mike Bowers (R)
2003-2011: Karen Christine Walker (R)
2002: Roy Barnes (D)
2006: Connie Stokes (D)
2011-TBD: Shirley Franklin (D)
2010: Alveda King (R)

Governors of Hawaii
1959-1962: 1) William F. Quinn (R)
1962-1970: 2) John A. Burns (D)
1970-1978: 3) Thomas Ponce Gill (D)
1978-1981: 4) Alema Leota (Independent) - impeached
1981-1982: 5) Tokio Ige (I)
1982-1990: 6) Jean S. M. King (D)
1990-1997: 7) Fred Hemmings (R)
– resigned for ambassadorship
1990: John D. Waihee III (D), John P. Craven (I) and Peggy Ross (Natural Mind)
1994: Malama Solomon (D) and Frank Fasi (I)
1997-2002: 8) Pat Saiki (R)
1998: Jackie King (D)
2002-2004: 9) Mike Gabbard (R) – resigned to manage the Goetz’04 campaign’s western division
2002: Roseanne Barr (D)
2004-2006: 10) John Carroll (R)
2006-TBD: 11) Muliufi Francis “Frank” Hannemann (D)

2006: John Carroll (R)
2010: George G. Peabody (R)

Governors of Idaho
1955-1963: Robert E. Smylie (R)
1963-1966: Vernon K. Smith (D)
1966-1967: William Edward Drevlow (D)
1967-1975: Charles Herndon (D)
1975-1983: Jay S. Amyx (R)
1983-1991: Larry Jackson (R)
1991-1995: Larry LaRocco (D)

1990: Roger Fairchild (R)
1995-1999: Butch Otter (R)
1994: Larry LaRocco (D)
1999-2007: Larry J. Echo Hawk (D)
1998: Dirk Kempthorne (R) and Peter Rickards (I)
2002: Daniel Adams (R)
2007-TBD: Harley Davidson Brown (R)
2006: Jerry Brady (D)
2010: Robert C. Huntley (D)

Governors of Illinois
1961-1965: Otto Kerner Jr. (D)
1965-1973: Charles Percy (R)
1973-1981: Paul Simon (D)
1981-1991: John B. Anderson (R)
1991-1999: Jim Edgar (R)

1990: Frank Annunzio (D)
1994: Dawn Netsch (D)
1999-2003: Darrell Issa (R)
1998: Glenn Poshard (D)
2003-2004: Jim Cantalupo (R) – died
2002: Pat Quinn (D)
2004-2008: Corrine J. Wood (R) – resigned for a position in Wellstone Administration
2006: Edwin Eisendrath (D)
2008-TBD: Roland Burris (D)
2010: Kirk W. Dillard (R)

Governors of Indiana
1961-1965: Crawford Fairbanks Parker (R)
1965-1969: Richard O. Ristine (R)
1969-1973: J. Irwin Miller (R)
1973-1977: Robert L. Rock (D)
1977-1981: Danny Lee Burton (R)
1981-1989: Dan Quayle (R)
1989-1997: Evan Bayh (D)

1992: Lindley Pearson (R)
1997-2005: Steve Goldsmith (R)
1996: Frank O’Bannon (D)
2000: Joe Kernan (D)
2005-2009: Jill Long Thompson (D)
2004: David Martin McIntosh (R (official write-in)), Ken Gividen (Liberty) and Jonathon Sharkey (R/VWP)
2009-TBD: Rupert Bonham (R)
2008: Jill Long Thompson (D)

Governors of Iowa
1961-1963: Norman A. Erbe (R)
1963-1967: Harold Hughes (D)
1967-1967: Robert D. Fulton (D)
1967-1971: Robert D. Ray (R)
1971-1979: Armour Boot (D)
1979-1983: Chuck Grassley (R)
1983-1991: Jo Ann McIntosh Zimmerman (D)
1991-1999: Joy Coming (R)

1990: Donald Avenson (D)
1994: Bonnie Campbell (D)
1999-2007: Sally Pederson (D)
1998: Tom Tauke (R)
2002: Kim Reynolds (R)
2007-TBD: Fred Grandy (R)
2006: Mike Blouin (D)
2010: Pam Jochum (D)

Governors of Kansas
1961-1965: John Anderson Jr. (R)
1965-1967: William H. Avery (R)
1967-1975: Robert B. Docking (D)
1975-1987: Robert Frederick Bennett (R)
1987-1995: Jim Slattery (D)

1990: Mike Hayden (R) and Christina Campbell-Cline (I)
1995-2003: Martha Keys (D)
1994: Jan Meyers (R)
1998: Bill Graves (R)
2003-2007: Nancy Boyda (D)
2002: Tim Shallenburger (R)
2007-TBD: Lynn Jenkins (R)
2006: Nancy Boyda (D)
2010: Jill Docking (D)

Governors of Kentucky
1947-1950: 47) Earle Clements (D)
1950-1955: 48) Lawrence Wetherby (D)
1955-1959: 49) Harland David “(The) Colonel” Sanders Sr. (R)
1959-1967: 50) Bert T. Combs (D)
1967-1975: 51) John M. Robsion Jr. (R)
1975-1979: 52) Mary Louise Foust (R)
1979-1980: 53) John B. Breckinridge (D)
1980-1987: 54) Martha Layne Osborne (nee Hall) (D)
1987-1995: 55) Bucky Ray Jarrell (D)

1991: Larry Forgy (R)
1995-1999: 56) Sonny Landham (R)
1995: Bob Babbage (D)
1999-2007: 57) Gatewood Galbraith (D)
1999: Sonny Landham (R) and Louie Nunn (I)
2003: Rebecca Jackson (R)
2007-TBD: 58) Darryl Owens (D)
2007: Donna Walker Mancini (R) and Jackson W. Andrews (Independent Democrat)

Governors of Louisiana
1960-1964: Jimmie Davis (D)
1964-1968: Gillis Long (D)
1968-1972: John J. McKeithen (D)
1972-1976: Jimmie Davis (D)
1976-1980: Edwin Edwards (D)
1980-1984: James Edward “Jimmy” Fitzmorris Jr. (D)
1984-1985: Gillis Long (D)
1985-1988: Robert Louis Freeman Sr. (D)
1988-1992: Edith Kirkpatrick (D)
1992-1996: W. Fox McKeithen (R)

1991: Kathleen “Kat” Blanco (D)
1996-2000: Cleo Fields (D)
1995: T. Lee Horne III (R)
2000-2004: W. Fox McKeithen (R)
1999: Melinda Schwegmann (D)
2004-2008: Harry Shearer (D)
2003: Huntington Downer (R)
2008-TBD: Steve Scalise (R)
2007: Foster Campbell (D), Walter Boasso (D) and Charles Emile “Peppi” Bruneau Jr. (R)

Governors of Maine
1959-1959: Clinton A. Clauson (D)
1959-1971: John H. Reed (R)
1971-1979: Peter N. Kyros (D)
1979-1983: Linwood E. Palmer Jr. (R)
1983-1987: Helen Longley (Progressive)
1987-1995: Libby Mitchell (D)

1990: Andrew Adam (R) and John Menario (Progressive)
1995-2003: James B. Longley Jr. (I)
1994: Andrew Adam (D) and Richard David Hewes (R)
1998: Tom Connolly (D) and William Clarke (R)
2003-2007: Matthew Dunlap (D/DSA)
2002: Tom Connolly (R), Jonathan Carter (G) and John Michael (I)
2007-TBD: Peter E. Cianchette (R)
2006: incumbent Matthew Dunlap (D/DSA) and Jonathan Carter (G)
2010: Barbara Merrill (D) and Lynne Williams (I)

Governors of Maryland
1959-1967: J. Millard Tawes (D)
1967-1971: Spiro T. Agnew (R)
1971-1977: Marvin Mandel (D)
1977-1987: F. P. Blair Lee III (D)
1987-1990: William Oswald Mills (R)
1990-1991: Melvin A. Bilal (R)
1991-1999: Decatur “Bucky” Trotter (D)

1990: Melvin A. Bilal (R)
1994: Ellen Sauerbrey (R)
1999-2007: Eileen M. Rehrmann (D)
1998: Helen Delich Bentley (R)
2002: Spear Lancaster (R)
2007-TBD: John Peter Sarbanes (D)
2006: Bob Ehrlich (R)
2010: Dean Ahmad (R/L) and Dan Bongino (I)

Governors of Massachusetts
1961-1963: John Volpe (R)
1963-1965: Endicott Peabody (D)
1965-1971: John Volpe (R)
1971-1977: Pierre Salinger (D)
1977-1991: Michael Dukakis (D)
1991-1999: Evelyn Murphy (D)

1990: Steven Pierce (R)
1994: Paul Tsongas (Liberty) and Argeo Paul Cellucci (R)
1999-TBD: Michael Dukakis (D)
1998: George Bachrach (R) and Paul Loscocco (I)
2002: Daniel Grabauskas (R)
2006: Christy Mihos (R)
2010: Patrick Guerriero (R)

Governors of Michigan
1961-1963: John Swainson (D)
1963-1971: George W. Romney (R)
1971-1979: Martha Griffiths (D)
1979-1983: Soapy Williams (D)
1983-1989: Elly M. Peterson (R)
1989-1991: James H. Brickley (R)
1991-2003: James J. Blanchard (D)

1990: James H. Brickley (R)
1994: Connie Binsfeld (R)
1998: Allen Alley (R)
2003-2011: Ronna Romney (R)
2002: James J. Blanchard (D)
2006: David Bonior (D)
2011-TBD: Michael Moore (D)
2010: Cornelius Pieter “Pete” Hoekstra (R)

Governors of Minnesota
1955-1963: Orville Freeman (DFL)
1963-1967: Donald Orr Wright Sr. (R)
1967-1975: Coya Knutson (DFL)
1975-1976: Odin Langen (R)
1976-1979: Clark MacGregor (R)
1979-1991: Coya Knutson (DFL)
1991-1995: Rudy Perpich (DFL)

1990: Bill Frenzel (R), Jerome M. Hughes (Independent), and Arlan Stangeland (Liberty)
1994: Harveydale Maruska (IRL (Independence-Republican-Liberty))
1995-2000: Paul Wellstone (DFL)
1998: Frank Germann (IRL) and Warren Limmer (Sanctity)
2000-2011: Nancy Elizabeth Lee Johnson (DFL)
2002: Steven Sviggum (IRL)
2006: Tom Emmer (IRL)
2011-TBD: Alex Kozinski (IRL)
2010: Rick Nolan (DFL), David Joseph Tomassoni (Green) and Richard Staneck (Boulder)

Governors of Mississippi
1960-1964: Ross Barnett (D)
1964-1968: Paul B. Johnson Jr. (D)
1968-1972: Ruben Phillips (R)
1972-1976: Walter Nixon (D)
1976-1980: William Winter (D)
1980-1984: Evelyn Gandy (D)
1984-1986: Cliff Finch (D)
1986-1988: Evelyn Gandy (D)
1988-1996: Ray Mabus (D)

1991: Pete Johnson (R)
1996-2000: Estus Pirkle (R)
1995: Dick Molpus (D)
2000-2004: Unita Zelma Blackwell (D)
1999: Eddie Jerome Briggs (R)
2004-2008: James Earl Chaney (D)
2003: Cecil Ray Price (R)
2008-TBD: Hudson Holliday (R)
2007: Louis Fondren (D)

Governors of Missouri
1957-1965: James T. Blair Jr. (D)
1965-1973: Ethan A. H. Shepley (R)
1973-1977: James W. Symington (D)
1977-1985: Bill Bradley (D)
1985-1993: Betty Cooper Hearnes (D)
1993-2001: Mel Carnahan (D)

1992: William L. Webster (R)
1996: Margaret Blake Kelly (R)
2001-2009: Cynthia Bowers (D)
2000: Jim Talent (R) and Bob Holden (I)
2004: John Swenson (R)
2009-TBD: Perry B. Clark (D)
2008: Kenny Hulshof (R)

Governors of Montana
1961-1962: Donald G. Nutter (R)
1962-1973: Tim Babcock (R)
1973-1981: Thomas Lee Judge (D)
1981-1985: Martin J. “Red” Beckman (D, I after losing re-nomination)
1985-1993: Dorothy Bradley (D)
1993-1997: Gordon McOmber (D)

1992: Marc Racicot (R)
1997-2005: Denny Rehberg (R)
1996: Gordon McOmber (D)
2000: Mark O’Keefe (D)
2005-2006: Thomas Lee Judge (D)
2004: Bob Brown (R)
2006-TBD: Michael R. Cooney (D)
2008: Rick Hill (R) and Benjamin Garrison (Boulder)

Governors of Nebraska
1959-1960: Ralph G. Brooks (D)
1960-1961: Dwight W. Burney (R)
1961-1971: Frank B. Morrison (D)
1971-1979: J. James Exon (D)
1979-1987: Charles Thone (R)
1987-1995: Helen Boosalis (D)

1990: David Domina (R)
1995-2003: Kay A. Orr (R)
1994: Maxine B. Moul (D)
1998: Kim Robak (D)
2003-2011: Lowen Kruse (D)
2002: Mike Johanns (R) and Stormy Dean (I)
2006: Dave Nabity (R)
2011-TBD: Ernie Chambers (I)
2010: John W. DeCamp (R) and Brenda J. Council (D)

Governors of Nevada
1959-1971: Grant Sawyer (D)
1971-1983: Rex Bell Jr. (R)
1983-1995: Joseph Yale Resnick (D)

1990: Charles Woods (R)
1995-2007: Doug Swanson (R)
1994: Sue Wagner (D)
1998: Jan Laverty Jones (D)
2002: Joe Neal (D)
2007-2011: Dennis Hof (R)
2006: James B. Gibson (D)
2011-TBD: Oscar Goodman (D)
2010: Dennis Hof (R) and “None Of These Candidates” (15.5%)

Governors of New Hampshire
1959-1963: Wesley Powell (R)
1963-1967: John William King (D)
1967-1973: Harrison Reed Thyng (R)
1973-1981: Malcolm McLane (D)
1981-1985: Walter Rutherford Peterson Jr. (R)
1985-1991: Calvin Warburton (R)
1991-1993: Bob Smith (R)

1990: J. Joseph Grandmaison (D) and Miriam F. Luce (Liberty)
1993-1997: Chris Spirou (D)
1992: Bob Smith (R) and Miriam Luce (Liberty)
1994: Steve Winter (R)
1997-1999: Ovide Lamontagne (R)
1996: Chris Spirou (D)
1999-2005: George Condodemetraky (D)
1998: Ovide Lamontage (R)
2000: John Babiarz (R)
2002: Craig Benson (R)
2005-2009: Kelley Ashby (R)
2004: John Lynch (D)
2006: John Lynch (D)
2009-2011: Sherman Packard (R)
2008: Mark Fernald (D)
2011-TBD: Rushern L. Baker III (D)
2010: Sherman Packard (R)

Governors of New Jersey
1954-1962: 44) Robert B. Meyner (D)
1962-1970: 45) Richard J. Hughes (D)
1970-1978: 46) Francis X. McDermott (R)
1978-1986: 47) James J. Florio (D)
1986-1993: 48) Gloria A. Decker (D)
– resigned for cabinet post
1993-1994: Acting) Richard J. Codey (D)
1994-1997: 49) Maryanne Trump Giuliani (R)
– resigned for circuit court seat
1993: Peter Shapiro (D)
1997-1998: Acting) Richard J. Codey (D)
1998-1999: 50) Richard Pucci (D)
– resigned over scandal
1997: José F. Sosa (R)
1999-2002: Acting) Richard J. Codey (D)
2002-2003: 51) John P. O’Neill (R)
– resigned for cabinet post
2001: Wilbur Ross (D)
2003-2008: 52) Richard J. Codey (D) – resigned for cabinet post
2005: Bret D. Schundler (R) and Joan Little (Green)
2008-TBD: 53) Joe Louis Clark (D)
2009: Steve Lonegan (R)

Governors of New Mexico
1961-1962: Edwin L. Mechem (R)
1962-1963: Tom Bolack (R)
1963-1967: Jack M. Campbell (D)
1967-1971: David F. Cargo (R)
1971-1975: Bruce King (D)
1975-1979: Jerry Apodaca (D)
1979-1983: Joe Skeen (R)
1983-1987: Toney Anaya (D)
1987-1991: Fabian Chavez Jr. (D)
1991-1995: Ben Lujan Sr. (D)

1990: Frank M. Bond (R)
1995-1999: Richard P. “Rick” Cheney (R)
1994: Paul G. Bardacke (D) and Bill Richardson (La Raza Unida)
1999-2003: Richard “Cheech” Marin (D/La Raza Unida)
1998: John Dendahl (R)
2003-2007: Gary Earl Johnson (R/Liberty)
2002: Martin David Bacon (D/Green/DSA/LRU)
2007-2011: Martin Chavez (D/La Raza Unida)
2006: John A. Sanchez (R)
2011-TBD: Gary Earl Johnson (R/Liberty)
2010: Jim Baca (D/La Raza Unida)

Governors of New York
1/1/1959-1/23/1965: 49) Nelson Rockefeller (R)
1/23/1965-12/31/1966: 50) Malcolm Wilson (R
)
1/1/1967-1/3/1981: 51) Mario Biaggi (D until 1978, Conservative 1978-1979, D after 1979)
1/3/1981-12/31/1998: 52) Mario Cuomo (D)

1990: Pierre Andrew Rinfret (R), Herbert London (Conservative), and Louis P. Wein (Life)
1994: Tom Golisano (Conservative) and Herbert London (R)
1/1/1999-12/31/2002: 53) Bernadette Castro (R)
1998: Mary Anne Krupsak (D), Tom Golisano (Independence), Roy Innis (Working Families), Rudy Giuliani (Conservative), Al Lewis (Green), Evan Galbraith (Liberal), and Lenora Fulani (Natural Mind)
1/1/2003-2/21/2009: Andrew Cuomo (D)
2002: Bernadette Castro (R)
2006: James Bacalles (R)
2/21/2009-12/31/2010: Matthew Driscoll (D)
1/1/2011-TBD: Blase Thomas “Tom” Golisano (I)

2010: Matthew Driscoll (D/Liberal), Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Working Families/Green), William Christie Samuels (Progressive), John Edward Sweeney (R/Conservative), and Robert “Naked Cowboy” Burck (Independence/Natural Mind)

Governors of North Carolina
1961-1965: Terry Sanford (D)
1965-1969: Daniel K. Moore (D)
1969-1973: James Carson Gardner (R)
1973-1977: Walter B. Jones Sr. (D)
1977-1985: Jim Hunt (D)
1985-1989: Elizabeth Hanford “Liddy” Gardner (R)
1989-1997: Harvey Gantt (D)

1992: Scott McLaughlin (R)
1997-2001: James Carson Gardner (R)
1996: Lacy Thornburg (D)
2001-2009: Jim Hunt (D)
2000: James Carson Gardner (R)
2004: Patrick Ballantine (R)
2009-TBD: Fern Shubert (D until mid-2009, then R)
2008: Fred Smith (R)

Governors of North Dakota
1961-1973: William L. Guy (D)
1973-1981: Aloha Pearl Taylor Brown Eagles (R)
1981-1987: Ruth Meiers (D)
1987-1993: George A. Sinner (D)
1993-2001: Edward Thomas Schafer (R)

1992: Nicholas Spaeth (D)
1996: Eliot Glassheim (D)
2001-2009: Tracy Potter (D)
2000: John Hoeven (R)
2004: Roland Riemers (R)
2009-TBD: Heidi Heitkamp (D)
2008: Tim Mathem (R)

Governors of Ohio
1959-1963: Michael V. DiSalle (D)
1963-1971: Jim Rhodes (R)
1971-1979: Buz Lukens (R)
1979-1987: Jim Rhodes (R)
1987-1995: Jerry Springer (D)

1990: George Voinovich (R) and Ron Daniels (I)
1995-1999: William J. Brown (D) – died in office
1994: Bob Taft (R)
1998: Greg Lashutka (R)
1999-2003: Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. (D) – died in office
2002: Paul Eugene Gillmor (R)
2003-2007: Sherrod Brown (D)
2007-TBD: Maureen O’Connor (R)

2006: Michael B. Coleman (D)
2010: Robert L. Burch Jr. (D)

Governors of Oklahoma
1959-1963: J. Howard Edmondson (D)
1963: George Patterson Nigh (D)
1963-1971: Henry Bellmon (R)
1971-1979: David Hall (D)
1979-1987: George Patterson Nigh (D)
1983-1987: Neal McCaleb (R)
1987-1991: Mike Turpen (D)
1991-1995: Bill Price (R)

1990: Mike Turpen (D) and Thomas D. Ledgerwood II (I)
1995-2003: Robert S. Kerr III (D)
1994: Wes Watkins (I) and incumbent Bill Price (R)
1998: Hoppy Heidelberg (R)
2003-2011: J. C. Watts Jr. (R)
2002: Brad Henry (D)
2006: Constance Johnson (D)
2011-TBD: Rebecca Hamilton (R)
2010: Randy William Bass (Boulder) and Susan Savage (D)

Governors of Oregon
1959-1967: Mark Hatfield (R)
1967-1975: Tom McCall (R)
1975-1979: Edith Green (D)
1979-1987: Victor Atiyeh (R)
1987-1995: Norma Paulus (R)

1990: Barbara Roberts (D), David B. Frohnmayer (Independent Republican) and Al Mobley (Independent)
1995-1999: John Lim (R)
1994: Rod Monroe (D) and Ed Hickam (Country)
1999-2007: John Elwood “Bud” Clark (I)
1998: John Kitzhaber (D) and Bill Sizemore (R)
2002: Ted Kulongoski (D) and Kevin Mannix (R)
2007-TBD: Mary Starrett (R)
2006: Harry Lonsdale (D)
2010: John Kitzhaber (D)

Governors of Pennsylvania
1959-1963: David Lawrence (D)
1963-1965: William W. Scranton II (R)
1965-1967: Raymond Shafer (R)
1967-1971: Robert Casey Sr. (D)
1971-1975: Milton Shapp (D)
1975-1979: Martin P. Mullen (D)
1979-1983: Milton Shapp (D)
1983-1987: Stewart Greenleaf (D)
1987-1995: William W. Scranton III (R)

1990: Ed Rendell (R)
1995-2003: Lynn Yeakel (D)
1994: Marguerite Ann “Peg” McKenna Luksik (R)
1998: Ernie Preate (R)
2003-2011: Lynn Swann (R)
2002: Catherine Baker Knoll (D)
2006: Marjorie Margolies (D)
2011-TBD: Barry Goldberg (D)
2010: Jane M. Earll (R)

Governors of Potomac (since statehood, 7/4/2006)
2006-2007: Charlene Drew Jarvis (D)
2007-TBD: Vincent Bernard Orange Sr. (D)

2006: Michael Kevin Powell (R)
2010: David William Kranich (R)

Governors of Puerto Rico (since statehood, 7/4/2005)
2001-2009: Rocky Versace (R/NP)
2009-TBD: Hector Luis Acevedo (D/PD)

2008: Kenneth McClintock-Hernández (D/NP)

Governors of Rhode Island
1961-1965: John A. Notte Jr. (D)
1965-1971: John Chafee (R)
1971-1979: J. Joseph Garrahy (D)
1979-1987: Lincoln Almond (R)
1987-1994: Buddy Cianci (R)

1990: Francis X. Flaherty (D) and Joe Trillo (I)
1994-1999: Robert A. “Bob” Weygand (D)
1994: Bob Healey (Cool Moose) and Lincoln Almond (R)
1999-2003: Bob Healey (Independent)
1998: Jack Dennison Potter (D) and Lincoln Almond (R)
2003-2007: Sheldon Whitehouse (D)
2002: Ken Block (R)
2007-TBD: Lincoln Davenport Chafee (R)
2006: Sheldon Whitehouse (D)
2010: Frank Caprio (D)

Governors of South Carolina
1959-1963: Fritz Hollings (D)
1963-1965: Donald Stuart Russell (D)
1965-1967: Robert McNair (D)
1967-1971: Joseph O. Rogers Jr. (R)
1971-1975: John West (D)
1975-1979: William Westmoreland (R)
1979-1983: Richard Riley (D)
1983-1987: Nancy Stevenson (D)
1987-1991: Jesse Jackson (D)
1991-1995: Nick Theodore (D)

1990: David Beasley (R)
1995-1999: Robert Durden “Bob” Inglis Sr. (R)
1994: Theo Mitchell (D)
1999-2001: Jesse Jackson (D)
1998: Carroll Campbell (R) and Jim Hodges (I)
2001-2003: Elizabeth J. “Liz” Patterson (D)
2003-2011: Lindsey Graham (R)

2002: Jim Hodges (D)
2006: Tommy Moore (D)
2011-TBD: Andre Bauer (R)
2010: Jim Rex (D)

Governors of South Dakota
1961-1963: Archie Gubbrud (R)
1963-1967: Ralph Herseth (D)
1967-1971: Frank Farrar (R)
1971-1975: George S. McGovern (D)
1975-1983: Benjamin “Ben” (Lone Feather) Reifel (R)
1983-1987: Clint Roberts (R)
1987-1991: Lars Herseth (D)
1991-1999: Gus Hercules (R)

1990: Lars Herseth (D)
1994: Jim Beddow (D) and Nathan Barton (Liberty)
1999-2003: Susan Wismer (D)
1998: Jack Billion (R)
2003-2011: George Speaker Mickelson (R)
2002: Susan Wismer (D) and Nathan Barton (Liberty)
2006: Scott Heidepriem (D)
2011-TBD: Stephanie Herseth (D)
2010: Mike Rounds (R)

Governors of Tennessee
1953-1959: Frank G. Clement (D)
1959-1963: Buford Ellington (D)
1963-1967: Frank G. Clement (D)
1967-1971: Buford Ellington (D)
1971-1975: Frank G. Clement (D)
1975-1979: Lamar Alexander (R)
1979-1983: Jake Butcher (D)
1983-1987: Buford Pusser (R)
1987-1991: Frank G. Clement (D)
1991-1995: Hillary Rodham-Clinton (R)

1990: Phil Bredesen (D) and Charles Vick (Liberty)
1995-1999: Frank G. Clement (D)
1994: Don Sundquist (R) and Dick Fulton (Independent D)
1999-2003: Bill Haslam (R)
1998: John Jay Hooker Jr. (D)
2003-2007: Bart Gordon (D)
2002: Ron Ramsey (R)
2007-2011: Jim Bryson (R)
2006: Mike McWherter (D) and Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
2011-TBD: David Lawrence “Dave” Ramsey III (R)
2010: Jim Henry (Independent), Mark E. Clayton (D) and Daniel T. Lewis (Liberty)

Governors of Texas
1957-1967: Price Daniel (D)
1967-1971: John Connally (D before 1969, R after 1969)
1971-1974: Waggoner Carr (D)
1974-1979: Frances Farenthold (D)
1979-1983: Bill Clements (R)
1983-1987: Ross Perot (I)
1987-1995: Rick Perry (D)

1990: Warren G. Harding (R), Jack Rains (Country) and Ramsey Muniz (La Raza Unida)
1995-2003: Henry Cisneros (D)
1994: Henry Cisneros (D/La Raza Unida) over Keary Ehlers (Liberty), Clayton Williams (R) and Ramsey Muniz (Natural Mind)
1998: Ray Hollis (R)
2003-2007: Kinky Friedman (D)
2002: Tom Loeffler (R)
2007-TBD: Bill Owens (R)
2006: Kinky Friedman (D), Jim Hightower (Green), Guadalupe Valdez (LRU) and Larry Kilgore (Liberty)
2010: Felix Alvarado (D/LRU)

Governors of Utah
1957-1965: George Clyde (R)
1965-1973: Mitchell Melich (R)
1973-1977: K. Gunn McKay (D)
1977-1985: Vernon Bradford Romney (R)
1985-1989: Wayne Owens (D)
1989-2001: Jon Huntsman Sr. (R)

1992: Stewart Hanson (D) and Rita Gum (Populist)
1996: James Bradley (D)
2001-2009: Enid Greene (R)
2000: Bill Orton (D)
2004: Scott Matheson (D)
2009-TBD: Karl Christian Rove (R)
2008: Bob Springmeyer (D)

Governors of Vermont
1961-1963: F. Ray Keyser Jr. (R)
1963-1973: Phil Hoff (D)
1973-1975: Consuelo Bailey (R)
1975-1977: Harry H. Cooley (D)
1977-1981: Stella Hackel (D)
1981-1989: Richard A. Snelling (R)
1989-1993: Jan Backus (D)

1990: David Atkinson (R) and Richard F. Gottlieb (Liberty Union)
1993-1995: John McClaughry (R)
1992: Jan Backus (D) and August Jaccaci (Liberty Union)
1995-2005: Howard Dean (D)
1994: John McClaughry (R) and Dennis Lane (Liberty Union)
1996: John Gropper (R) and Mary Alice “Mal” Herbert (Liberty Union)
1998: Ruth Dwyer (R) and Richard Gottlieb (Liberty Union)
2000: Richard Gottlieb (Liberty Union), Ruth Dwyer (R), and Anthony Pollina (Progressive)
2002: Jim Douglas (R) and Cornelius Hogan (I)
2005-TBD: Deborah L. “Deb” Markowitz (D)
2004: Peter Plympton Smith (R)
2006: Benjamin Clarke (R) and Robert Skold (LU)
2008: Brian Dubie (R) and Ben Mitchell (Liberty Union)
2010: Mark Snelling (R) and Michael Parenti (Liberty Union)

Governors of Virginia
1958-1962: James Lindsay Almond Jr. (D)
1962-1966: Albertis S. Harrison Jr. (D)
1966-1970: Linwood Holton (R)
1970-1974: Vince Callahan (R)
1974-1978: Elmo Zumwalt (D)
1978-1982: John N. Dalton (R)
1982-1986: Harrison Wilson Jr. (D)
1986-1990: Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. (D)
1990-1994: Stanford Elmer “Stan” Parris (R)
1994-1998: George Allen (R)

1993: Owen Pickett (D)
1998-2002: Jim Gilmore (R)
1997: Don Beyer (D)
2002-2006: Meyera Oberndorf (D)
2001: J. K. Katzen (R)
2006-2010: E. W. Jackson (R)
2005: Terry McAuliffe (D)
2010-TBD: Les Steckel (D)
2009: Virgil Goode Jr. (R)

Governors of Washington
1957-1965: Albert Rossellini (D)
1965-1975: Daniel J. Evans (R)
1975-1977: Arthur Fletcher (R)
1977-1981: Julia Butler Hansen (D)
1981-1989: Daniel J. Evans (R)
1989-2001: Ellen Craswell (R)

1992: Booth Gardner (D)
1996: Mike Lowry (D)
2001-2007: Norm Rice (D)
2000: John Carlson (R)
2004: Michael Patrick Shanks (R) and Ruth Bennett (Liberty)
2007-TBD: Lisa J. Simpson (D)
2008: Michael George Nelson (R)

Governors of West Virginia
1961-1965: Wally Barron (D)
1965-1969: Cecil Underwood (R)
1969-1977: Arch A. Moore Jr. (R)
1977-1985: Jay Rockefeller (D)
1985-1989: Cecil Underwood (R)
1989-1997: Gaston Caperton (D)

1992: Jack Fellure (R) and Charlotte Pritt (Green)
1997-2005: Cecil Underwood (R)
1996: Joe Manchin (D) and Wallace Johnson (Liberty)
2000: Denise Giardina (D)
2005-2009: Bob Wise (D)
2004: Monty Warner (R)
2009-TBD: David McKinley (R)
2008: Lloyd M. Jackson II (D)

Governors of Wisconsin
1959-1963: Gaylord A. Nelson (D)
1963-1965: John W. Reynolds (D)
1965-1967: Warren P. Knowles (R)
1967-1975: Patrick Lucey (D)
1975-1983: Bronson La Follette (D)
1983-1995: Paul R. Soglin (D)

1990: Steve Gunderson (R)
1995-1999: Margaret Farrow (R)
1994: Martin J. Schreiber (D)
1999-2011: Kathleen Falk (D)
1998: Margaret Farrow (R)
2002: Mary E. Panzer (R)
2006: Mark Green (R)
2011-TBD: Mark Green (R)
2010: Barbara Lawton (D)

Governors of Wyoming
1961-1967: Jack R. Gage (D)
1967-1975: Teno Roncalio (D)
1975-1983: Thyra Thomson (R)
1983-1987: Dick Casull (R)
1987-1995: Thyra Thomson (R)

1990: Mike Sullivan (D)
1995-2003: Harriet Elizabeth Byrd (D)
1994: Richard Bruce Cheney (R) and Mary Mead (Conservative)
1998: Bill Taliaferro (R)
2003-2007: Mary Mead (R)
2002: Paul Hickey (D)
2007-TBD: W. Richard West (D)
2006: Mary Mead (R)
2010: Matthew Hansen Mead (R)



House Speakers:
1955-1961: Sam Rayburn (D-TX)
1961-1967: John W. McCormack (D-MA)
1967-1971: Charles Halleck (R-IN)
1971-1975: Morris K. Udall (D-AZ)
1975-1977: Robert H. Michel (R-IL)
1977-1981: Morris K. Udall (D-AZ)
1981-1987: Robert H. Michel (R-IL)
1987-1991: Hale Boggs (D-LA)
1991-1995: Robert Smith Walker (R-PA)
1995-2001: David F. Emery (R-ME)
2001-2007: Barbara Kennelly (D-CT)
2007-2009: H. Dargan McMaster (R-SC)
2009-2011: Barbara Kennelly (D-CT)
2011-TBD: H. Dargan McMaster (R-SC)



Senate Majority Leaders:
1961-1977: Mike Mansfield (D-MT) – retired from the Senate
1977-1979: Robert Byrd (D-WV) – party lost majority
1979-1987: Howard Baker (R-TN) – party lost majority
1987-1997: Robert Byrd (D-WV) – party lost majority
1997-1999: Bob Dole (R-KS) – party lost majority
1999-2000: Robert Byrd (D-WV) – party lost majority
2000-2001: Bob Dole (R-KS) – party lost majority
2001-2005: Robert Byrd (D-WV) – retired from position but retained Senate seat
2005-2011: Gary Locke (D-WI) – party lost majority
2011-TBD: Webb Franklin (R-MS) – incumbent



US Senators in this TL so far:

US Senators from Alabama’s Class 2 Seat
1946-1973: John J. Sparkman (Democratic)
1973-1976: John L. LeFlore (D)
1976-1985: John J. Sparkman (D)
1985-2003: Albert Lee Smith Jr. (R)

1990: John Glen Browder (D)
1996: Roger Bedford (D)
2003-TBD: Spencer T. Bachus III (R)
2002: Susan Parker (D)
2008: Vivian D. Figures (D)
US Senators from Alabama’s Class 3 Seat
1938-1963: J. Lister Hill (D)
1963-1981: James D. Martin (R)
1981-1984: Walter Flowers (D)
1984-1987: Jack Edwards (R)
1987-2005: Mary Texas Hurt Garner (D)

1992: Dick Sellars (R) and Jerome Shockley (Liberty)
1998: Jerome Shockley (R)
2005-TBD: Doug Jones (D)
2004: Tim James (R) and Bettye Frink (Rational Republican)
2010: Clint Moser (R)

US Senators from Alaska’s Class 2 Seat
1959-1968: Bob Bartlett (D)
1968-1970: Ted Stevens (R)
1970-1973: Mike Gravel (D)
1973-1979: Eben Hopson (D)
1979-1991: Hazel P. Heath (R)
1991-2009: Jalmar “Jay” Kerttula (R)

1990: Sarah J. “Sally” Smith (D) and Kathryn Poland (Green)
1996: Frank Vondersaar (D)
2002: Jim Sykes (D)
2009-TBD: Kevin Meyer (R)
2008: Ray Metcalfe (D)
US Senators from Alaska’s Class 3 Seat
1959-1974: Ernest Gruening (D)
1974-1975: Ted Stevens (R)
1975-1981: Clark Gruening (D)
1981-2005: Frank Murkowski (R)

1992: Mary Jordan (D)
1998: Tony Knowles (D), Billy Toien (L), Jeffrey Gottlieb (G) and Marc Millican (I)
2005-2011: Kevin Danaher (D)
2004: Jerry Sanders (R), Marc Millican (I), and Jim Dore (HIP)
2011-TBD: J. R. Myers (R)
2010: Kevin Danaher (D)

US Senators from Arizona’s Class 1 Seat
1953-1995: Barry Goldwater Sr. (R)
1995-TBD: Harry Braun (D)

1994: Scott Grainger (R/Liberty)
2000: Doug Wead (R), Barry Hess (Liberty), William Toel (I), and Vance Hansen (Green)
2006: David F. Nolan (R/Liberty) and Richard Mack (Country)
US Senators from Arizona’s Class 3 Seat
1927-1969: Carl Hayden (D)
1969-1987: Paul Fannin (R)
1987-2011: Eddie Najeeb Basha Jr. (D)

1992: Kiana Delamare (R)
1998: Robert Lee Park (R)
2004: John Wayne Bobbitt (R)
2011-TBD: Jan Brewer (R)
2010: Cathy Eden (D)

US Senators from Arkansas’s Class 2 Seat
1943-1977: John L. McClellan (D)
1977-1979: Kaneaster Hodges Jr. (D)
1979-TBD: Jim Guy Tucker (D)

1990: Tim Hutchinson (R)
1996: Virginia Johnson (R)
2002: Jim Bob Duggar (R)
2008: Rebekah Kennedy (Green)
US Senators from Arkansas’s Class N Seat
1945-1995: J. William Fulbright (D)
1974: John H. Jones (R)
1980: William Clark (R) and Walter McCarty (I)
1986: Asa Hutchinson (R)
1992: Mike Huckabee (R)
1995-1996: Harriet Mayor Fulbright (D)
1996-TBD: F. Winford Boozman III (R)

1995 (special): Patrick Henry Hays (D)
1998: Lottie H. Shackelford (D)
2004: Winston Bryant (D)
2010: Bill Halter (D)

US Senators from California’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1964: Clair Engle (D)
1964-1965: Alan Cranston (D)
1965-1994: Richard Nixon (R)
1994-1995: Augustus Hawkins (D)
1995-TBD: George Deukmejian (R)

1994: Peter Camejo (D/Green/La Rada Unida)
2000: Georges Eshoo (D) and Medea Benjamin (Green)
2006: Tony West (D) and Meredith “Murdock” Hunter (Green/Natural Mind)
US Senators from California’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1953: Richard Nixon (R)
1953-1981: Thomas Kuchel (R)
1981-1987: Maureen Reagan (R)
1987-1999: Mario Obledo (D)

1992: John Seymour (R), Gore Vidal (Natural Mind), Genevieve Torres (Green) and Merton D. Short (Country)
1999-TBD: Mike Gravel (D)
1998: Edward C. Nixon (R)
2004: Howard Kaloogian (R) and Marsha Feinland (Natural Mind)
2010: Elizabeth Emken (R)

US Senators from Colorado’s Class 2 Seat
1955-1979: Gordon L. Allott (R)
1979-1991: William L. Armstrong (R)
1991-1997: Hank Brown (R)

1990: Josephine Ward “Josie” Heath (D) and Carlos F. Lucero (La Raza Unida)
1997-2003: Bernie Goetz (R)
1996: Nancy E. Dick (D) and Wayne Allard (I)
2003-2009: Josie Heath (D)
2002: Joseph Bernard Rogers (R)
2009-TBD: Langhorne “Lang” Sias (R)
2008: Josie Heath (D) and Donna Primavera (Green)
US Senators from Colorado’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1963: John A. Carroll (D)
1963-1975: Peter H. Dominick (R)
1975-1987: George L. Brown (D)
1987-1993: Pat Schroeder (D)
1993-2005: Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R)

1992: Pat Schroeder (D)
1998: Dottie Lamm (D)
2005-TBD: Mark Udall (D)
2004: Bob Schaffer (R)
2010: Jane Norton (R)

US Senators from Connecticut’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1971: Thomas J. Dodd (D)
1971-1995: Antonina P. Uccello (R)
1995-2007: Ralph Nader (I)

1994: Daniel C. Esty (D) and Gary Franks (R)
2000: Richard Blumenthal (D) and Chris Shays (R)
2007-TBD: Warren Mosler (D)
2006: Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (I) and Alan Schlesinger (R)
US Senators from Connecticut’s Class 3 Seat
1963-1981: Abraham Ribicoff (D)
1981-2011: Chris Dodd (D)

1992: Gary Alvin Franks (R) and Robert Giaimo (Independent Democratic)
1998: Wildley Moore (R) and Clarine Nardi Riddle (True Republican)
2004: Jack Orchulli (R)
2011-TBD: William Tong (D)
2010: Daniel E. “Dan” Carter (R)

US Senators from Delaware’s Class 1 Seat
1947-1970: John J. Williams (R)
1970-2001: William Victor Roth Jr. (R)

1994: Charles Oberly (D)
2001-TBD: Daniel S. Frawley (D)
2000: William Victor Roth Jr. (R)
2006: Jan Ting (R)
US Senators from Delaware’s Class 2 Seat
1961-1985: J. Caleb Boggs (R)
1985-1997: Joe Biden (D)

1990: M. Jane Brady (R)
1997-2003: Raymond J. Clatworthy (R)
1996: Joe Biden (D)
2003-TBD: Marjorie “Midge” Osterlund (D)
2002: Raymond J. Clatworthy (R)
2008: Christine O’Donnell (R)

US Senators from Florida’s Class 1 Seat
1946-1971: Spessard Holland (D)
1971-1998: Lawton Chiles (D)

1994: Tom Gallagher (R)
1998-2001: Rhea Chiles (D)
2001-TBD: Alexander Penelas (D)

2000: John Thrasher (R)
2006: Daniel “Dan” Webster (R)
US Senators from Florida’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1969: George Smathers (D)
1969-1981: William Cato “Bill” Cramer Sr. (R)
1981-1987: Paula Hawkins (R)
1987-2011: Michael Bilirakis (R)

1992: Harry A. Johnston (D)
1998: Franklin B. Mann (D)
2004: Nan Rich (D)
2011-TBD: Gus Bilirakis (R)
2010: Janet Cruz (D)

US Senators from Georgia’s Class 2 Seat
1933-1971: Richard Russell Jr. (D)
1971-1973: Ernest Vandiver (D)
1973-1977: Jimmy Carter (D)
1977-2003: Sam Nunn (D)

1990: unopposed
1996: John Gregory Cashin (R)
2003-TBD: Bob Barr (R)
2002: Terry Coleman (D)
2008: Vernon Jones (D)
US Senators from Georgia’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1963: Herman E. Talmadge (D)
1963-1981: John William Davis (D)
1981-1987: Mack Mattingly (R)
1987-2005: John Skandalakis (D)

1992: Dr. Paul Broun (R)
1998: Paul Coverdell (R)
2005-TBD: Herman Cain (R)
2004: John W. Carter (D), Denise Majette (Green), and Allen Buckley (Liberty)
2010: Michelle Nunn (D)

US Senators from Hawaii’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1977: Hiram Fong (R)
1977-2007: Patsy Mink (D)

1994: Maria Hustace (R)
2000: John S. Carroll (R)
2007-TBD: Mazie Hirono (D)
2006: Cynthia Thielen (R)
US Senators from Hawaii’s Class 3 Seat
1959-1963: Oren E. Long (D)
1963-TBD: Daniel Inouye (D)

1992: Linda Martin (Green) and Richard O. Rowland (R)
1998: Crystal Young (R)
2004: Campbell Cavasso (R)
2010: John Roco (R)

US Senators from Idaho’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1962: Henry Dworshak (R)
1962-1963: Len Jordan (R)
1963-1964: Gracie Pfost (D)
1964-1973: Len Jordan (R)
1973-1979: Richard H. Stallings (D)
1979-1997: George Vernon Hansen (R)

1990: Ron Twilegar (D)
1997-TBD: Helen Chenoweth (R)
1996: Susan Vegors (D)
2002: Alan Blinken (D)
2008: Dave Sneddon (D)
US Senators from Idaho’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1984: Frank Church (D)
1984-2005: Bethine Clark Church (D)

1992: Dirk Kempthorne (R)
1998: Mike Crapo (R)
2005-2011: Bo Gritz (R)
2004: Lawerence Denney (Rational Republican), Wendy Jaquet (D), and Scott F. McClure (Independent Democrat)
2011-TBD: Carlos Bilbao (R)
2010: Tom Sullivan (D) and Bo Gritz (R (write-in))

US Senators from Illinois’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1973: Paul Douglas (D)
1973-1985: Charles Percy (R)
1985-1997: Paul Simon (D)

1990: Lynn Morley Martin (R)
1997-2003: John Bayard Anderson (R)
1996: Paul Simon (D)
2003-2009: Jim Edgar (R)
2002: Arthur Simon (replaced Rod Blagojevich) (D)
2009-TBD: Kwame Raoul (D)
2008: Anthony R. “Andy” Martin-Trigona (R)
US Senators from Illinois’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1969: Everett Dirksen (R)
1969-1970: Ralph Tyler Smith (R)
1970-1981: Adlai Stevenson (D)
1981-1999: Alan J. Dixon (D)

1992: Lynn Morley Martin (R) and J. Quinn Brisben (Socialist)
1999-2009: Paul G. Vallas (D)
1998: George Ryan (R)
2004: Steve Rauschenberger (R)
2009-TBD: Sheila Simon (D)
2010: Kathleen Thomas (R)

US Senators from Indiana’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1983: Vance Hartke (D)
1983-1989: Earl Landgrebe (R)
1989-TBD: Katie Beatrice Hall (D)

1994: Barbara Bourland (R)
2000: Paul Hager (R)
2006: John Herman Cox (R)
US Senators from Indiana’s Class 3 Seat
1945-1963: Homer E. Capehart (R)
1963-1975: Birch Bayh (D)
1975-1999: Richard Lugar (R)

1992: Tom Carper (D)
1999-TBD: Evan Bayh (D)
1998: Richard Lugar (R)
2004: Marvin Scott (R)
2010: Becky Skillman (R)

US Senators from Iowa’s Class 2 Seat
1961-1973: Jack Miller (R)
1973-1979: Dick Clark (D)
1979-1991: Roger Jespen (R)
1991-1992: Larry Miles Dinger (R)

1990: Berkley Warren Bedell (D)
1992-TBD: Terry Branstad (R)
1994 (special): David R. Nagle (D)
1996: Jim Ross Lightfoot (D)
2002: Tim Hathan (D)
2008: Daryl Beall (D)
US Senators from Iowa’s Class 3 Seat
1945-1965: Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper (R)
1965-1967: Henry Oscar Talle (R)
1967-1993: Harold Hughes (D)
1993-1999: John William Judge (R)

1992: Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones (D
1999-2011: Patty Jean Poole (D)
1998: John William Judge (R)
2004: Jerry Kohn (R) and Albert Franzen (I)
2011-TBD: Robert Lee Vander Plaats (R)
2010: Patty Jean Poole (D)

US Senators from Kansas’ Class 2 Seat
1949-1962: Andrew F. Schoeppel (R)
1962-1979: James B. Pearson (R)
1979-1997: Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R)

1990: Joan Finney (D)
1997-TBD: Carla J. Stovall (R)
1996: Sally Thompson (D)
2002: John W. Carlin (D)
2008: Nancy Boyda (D)
US Senators from Kansas’ Class 3 Seat
1950-1969: Frank Carlson (R)
1969-TBD: Bob Dole (R)

1992: Gloria O’Dell (D)
1998: Gloria O’Dell (D)
2004: Lee Jones (D)
2010: Lisa Johnston (D)

US Senators from Kentucky’s Class 2 Seat
1952-1955: John Sherman Cooper (R)
1955-1956: Alben W. Barkley (D)
1956-1956: James Stephen Golden (R)
1956-1973:
John Sherman Cooper (R)
1973-1991: Lawrence W. Wetherby (D)
1991-TBD: Martha Layne Osborne (D)

1990: Jim Bunning (R)
1996: Dennis L. Lacy (R)
2002: Jeff Hoover (R)
2008: Daniel Essek (R)
US Senators from Kentucky’s Class 3 Seat
1950-1957: Earle Clements (D)
1957-1982: Thruston Morton (R)
1982-1984: Charles Rowland Peaslee “Charlie” Farnsley (D)
1984-1993: Harland David “Harley” Sanders Jr. (R)
1993-2011: Patrick “Kelly” Downard (R)

1992: Jim Whitlock (D)
1998: Scotty Baesler (D)
2004: Paul E. Patton (D)
2011-TBD: Daniel Mongiardo (D)
2010: Patrick “Kelly” Downard (R)

US Senators from Louisiana’s Class 2 Seat
1937-1972: Allen J. Ellender (D)
1972-1985: Jack P. F. Gremillion Sr. (D)
1985-TBD: Clyde Cecil Holloway (R)

1990: William Jennings Jefferson (D) and David Duke (Heritage)
1996: Richard Ieyoub (D)
2002: Mary Landrieu (D)
2008: Richard Ieyoub (D)
US Senators from Louisiana’s Class 3 Seat
1948-1987: Russell B. Long (D)
1987-2005: Buddy Roemer (“D” until 1991, then “R” after 1991)

1992: Chris John (D)
1998: Marty James Chabert (D)
2005-2006: John Georges (D)
2004: Buddy Roemer (R)
2006-TBD: Chris John (D)
2006 (special): Chet Traylor (R)
2010: Chet Traylor (R), Neeson Chauvin (D) and Nick Accardo (R)

US Senators from Maine’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1996: Ed Muskie (D)
1994: John R. McKernan Jr. (R) and Plato Truman (I)
1996-TBD: Olympia Snowe (R)
1998 (special): Sean Faircloth (D)
2000: Mark Lawrence (D)
2006: Dawn Hill (D)
US Senators from Maine’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1973: Margaret Chase Smith (R)
1973-1979: William Hathaway (D)
1979-1985: William Cohen (R)
1985-1989: Peter Kyros (D)
1989-1991: Nancy Nye Masterton (D)
1991-TBD: Angus King (I)

1990: Nancy Nye Masterton (D) and Bob Nutting (R)
1996: Susan M. Collins (R) and John Rensenbrink (D)
2002: Chellie Pingree (D) and J. D. Libby (R)
2008: Chandler Woodcock (R) and Tom Connolly (D)

US Senators from Maryland’s Class 1 Seat
1953-1971: James Glenn Beall (R)
1971-1977: Rogers Clark Ballard Morton (R)
1977-2007: Paul Spyros Sarbanes (D)

1994: Constance “Connie” Morella (R)
2000: Paul Rappaport (R)
2007-TBD: Michael Steele (R)
2006: Ben Cardin (D) and Kevin Zeese (G)
US Senators from Maryland’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1963: John Marshall Butler (R)
1963-1969: Daniel J. Brewster (D)
1969-1987: Charles Mathias Jr. (R)
1987-TBD: Barbara Mikulski (D)

1992: Martha Scanlan Klima (R)
1998: Ross Pierpont (R)
2004: E. J. Pipkin (R)
2010: Jim Rutledge (R)

US Senators from Massachusetts’ Class 1 Seat
1953-1961: John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy (D)
1961-1962: Benjamin Smith (D)
1962-2001: Eunice Kennedy-Shriver (D)

1994: John Lakian (R)
2001-TBD: Kathleen Hartington Kennedy-Roosevelt (D)
2000: Carla Howell (R)
2006: Kenneth Chase (R)
US Senators from Massachusetts’ Class 2 Seat
1945-1967: Leverett Saltonstall (R)
1967-1991: Ed Brooke (R)
1991-TBD: Bill Weld (R)

1990: Ken O’Donnell (D)
1996: Robert Stowe (D) and Susan Gallagher (Conservative)
2002: Tom Birmingham (D)
2008: Edward O’Reilly (D)

US Senators from Michigan’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1971: Philip Hart (D)
1971-1989: George W. Romney (R)
1989-1995: Elly Maude Peterson (R)
1995-2001: W. Mitt Romney (R)

1994: Bob Carr (D)
2001-2007: Barbara-Rose Collins (D)
2000: W. Mitt Romney (R) and Matthew Abel (Green)
2007-TBD: Andrew “Rocky” Raczkowski (R)
2006: Barbara-Rose Collins (D)
US Senators from Michigan’s Class 2 Seat
1955-1966: Patrick V. McNamara (D)
1966-1985: Robert P. Griffin (R)
1985-TBD: Jack R. Lousma (R)

1990: Barbara-Rose Collins (D)
1996: William Roundtree (D)
2002: John D. Cherry Jr. (D) and John S. Mangopoulos (Reform)
2008: Bart Stupak (D)

US Senators from Minnesota’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1971: Eugene McCarthy (D)
1971-1985: Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. (D)
1985-2001: Joan Growe (D)

1994: Rod Grams (R) and Dean Barkley (I)
2001-TBD: Hubert Horatio “Skip” Humphrey III (D)
2000: Carol Molnau (R) and Jim Gibbons (I)
2006: Mark Kennedy (R)
US Senators from Minnesota’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1960: Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. (D)
1960-1961: Roy Weir (D)
1961-1972: Walter Mondale (D)
1972-1982: Bob Short (D)
1982-1997: Mark Dayton (D)

1990: Vin Weber (R)
1997-2003: Gilbert Gutknecht Jr. (R)
1996: Mark Dayton (D)
2003-TBD: Sharon Sayles Belton (D)
2002: Carol Molnau (R)
2008: Jack Shepard (R)

US Senators from Mississippi’s Class 1 Seat
1947-1989: John C. Stennis (D)
1989-TBD: William Webster “Webb” Franklin (R)

1994: Ken Harper (D)
2000: Troy Brown (D)
2006: Erik Fleming (D)
US Senators from Mississippi’s Class 2 Seat
1943-1979: James Eastland (D)
1979-1995: James H. Meredith (R)

1990: George Raymond Jr. (D)
1995-1997: James E. Chaney (D)
1997-2004: Kirkwood Fordice (R)

1996: James E. Chaney (D)
2002: Gilbert Fountain (D)
2004-2006: Erik R. Fleming (D)
2006-TBD: Patrick H. “Pete” Johnson (R)

2005 (sp): Erik R. Fleming (D)
2008: Grady F. “Gray” Tollison (Independent R) and Bootie Hunt (D)

US Senators from Missouri’s Class 1 Seat
1953-1961: Stuart Symington (D)
1961-1963: Albert S. J. Carnahan (D)
1963-1977: Leonor Sullivan (D)
1977-1989: Jerry Litton (D)
1989-1993: Margaret Blake Kelly (D)
1993-1995: Thomas M. Keyes (D)
1995-TBD: Alan Wheat (D)

1994: Bill Johnson (R)
2000: Grant Samuel Stauffer (R)
2006: Jim Talent (R)
US Senators from Missouri’s Class 3 Seat
1960-1975: Edward V. Long (D)
1975-1987: Thomas B. Curtis (R)
1987-2005: Bill Bradley (D)

1992: Jeanne Bojarski (R)
1998: Tamara Millay (R) and Wayne Cryts (D write-in)
2005-TBD: Wayne Cryts (D)
2004: Mike Steger (R)
2010: Chuck Purgason (R)

US Senators from Montana’s Class 1 Seat
1953-1977: Mike Mansfield (D)
1977-1983: John Melcher (D)
1983-1989: Ron Marlenee (R)
1989-2007: Jack Mudd (D)

1994: Tom Faranda (R)
2000: Rick Hill (R)
2007-TBD: Stan Jones (R)
2006: Jack Mudd (D)
US Senators from Montana’s Class 2 Seat
1961-1973: Lee Metcalf (D)
1973-1979: Henry S. “Hank” Hibbard (R)
1979-TBD: Larry R. Williams (R)

1990: John Patrick “Pat” Williams (D)
1996: Stephen Heaton (D)
2002: Hal G. Harper (D)
2008: Robert Kelleher (D)

US Senators from Nebraska’s Class 1 Seat
1954-1971: Roman Hruska (R)
1971-2007: Ted Sorensen (D)

1994: Jan Stoney (R)
2000: Don Stenberg (R)
2007-TBD: Don Stenberg (R)
2006: Maxine Moul (D)
US Senators from Nebraska’s Class 2 Seat
1955-1965: Carl Curtis (R)
1965-1973: Dwight W. Burney (R)
1973-TBD: Orrin Hatch (R)

1990: John J. Cavanaugh III (D)
1996: Ben Nelson (D) and John DeCamp (Liberty)
2002: Charlie A. Matulka (D)
2008: Scott Kleeb (D)

US Senators from Nevada’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1965: Howard W. Cannon (D)
1965-1995: Paul Dominque Laxalt (R)
1995-2007: Anna Nevenic (D)

1994: Kenny Guinn (R)
2000: Jim Gibbons (R)
2007-TBD: Patricia Anne “Patty” Cafferata (R)
2006: Anna Nevenic (D)
US Senators from Nevada’s Class 3 Seat
1954-1974: Alan H. Bible (D)
1974-1999: Barbara Vucanovich (R)

1992: Lois Avery (D) and Joe Garcia (Country)
1999-2005: Patricia Anne “Patty” Cafferata (R)
1998: James Bilbray (D)
2005-TBD: Dina Titus (D)
2004: Patricia Anne “Patty” Cafferata (R)
2010: Sue Lowden (R)

US Senators from New Hampshire’s Class 2 Seat
1937-1961: Styles Bridges (R)
1961-1967: Maurice Murphy (R)
1967-1973: Thomas J. McIntyre (D)
1973-1979: Harrison Reed Thyng (R)
1979-1981: Carmen C. Chimento (I)
1981-1981: Wesley Powell (R)
1981-1982: Lane Dwinell (R)
1982-1985: Hugh Gregg (R)
1985-1997: Endicott Peabody (D)

1990: Harold Burns (R)
1997-2003: Ken Blevens (R)
1996: Dick Swett (D)
2003-2009: Beverly Hollingworth (D)
2002: Ken Blevens (R)
2009-TBD: Kelley Ashby (R)
2008: Beverly Hollingworth (D)
US Senators from New Hampshire’s Class 3 Seat
1954-1987: Norris Cotton (R)
1987-1993: Emile Dorilas Beaulieu Jr. (D)
1993-1999: Katherine M. Alexander (R)

1992: Emile Dorilas Beaulieu Jr. (D)
1999-2011: Lou D’Allesandro (D)
1998: Katherine M. Alexander (R)
2004: Sharon Carson (R)
2011-TBD: Ted Gatsas (R)
2010: Lou D’Allesandro (D)

US Senators from New Jersey’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1982: Harrison A. Williams (D)
1982-1983: Frank Lautenberg (D)
1983-2007: Frank X. McDermott (R)

1994: Herb Klein (D)
2000: Jon Corzine (official write-in) (D) and John A. Lynch Jr. (withdrew amid scandal) (D)
2007-TBD: Thomas Kean Jr. (R)
2006: Gina Rose Genovese (D)
US Senators from New Jersey’s Class 2 Seat
1955-1982: Clifford P. Case (R)
1982-1983: Richard J. Coffee (D)
1983-TBD: Mary V. Mochary (R)

1990: Barbara Wright McConnell (D)
1996: Robert Torricelli (D)
2002: Rob Andrews (D)
2008: Donald Cresitello (D) and Gregory “Greg” Pason (Socialist)

US Senators from New Mexico’s Class 1 Seat
1935-1962: Dennis Chavez (D)
1962-1964: Edwin L. Mechem (R)
1964-1978: Joseph Manuel Montoya (D)
1978-1981: Mary Coon Walters (D)
1981-2007: Pedro “Pete” Jiménez (D)

1994: Robin Dozier Otten (R)
2000: William T. Redmond (R)
2007-2009: Gloria Tristani (D)
2006: Joseph J. Carraro (R)
2009-TBD: Debbie Jaramillo (D)
2010 (special): Retta Ward (R)
US Senators from New Mexico’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1973: Clinton Presba Anderson (D)
1973-TBD: Roberto Mondragon (D)

1990: Manuel Lujan Jr. (R)
1996: Bruce M. Bush (R)
2002: Orlin G. Cole (R)
2008: Heather Wilson (R)

US Senators from New York’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1971: Kenneth Keating (R)
1971-1983: Paul O’Dwyer (D)
1983-1995: Michael Rockefeller (R/Liberal)
1995-2007: Gabriel “Gabe” Kaplan (D/Labor/Working Families/Progressive/Green)

1994: Michael Rockefeller (R/Liberal), and Henry F. Hewes (Conservative/Life)
2000: Rick Lazio (R) and John O. Adefope (Conservative/Life)
2007-TBD: Tom Suozzi (D)
2006: Edward Ridley Finch Cox (R)
US Senators from New York’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1981: Jacob Javits (R)
1981-2005: Mario Biaggi (D/Conservative until 2000, then R/Conservative)

1992: Norma Segal (R/Liberal) and Mohammad T. Mehdi (Green)
1998: William P. McMillen (R)
2005-TBD: Allyson Schwartz (D)
2004: Howard Mills III (R)
2010: Gary Berntsen (R), Colia Clark (Green/Natural Mind) and Randy Credico (Liberty)

US Senators from North Carolina’s Class 2 Seat
1958-1973: B. Everett Jordan (D)
1973-1991: Terry Sanford (D)
1991-2003: James Grubbs “Jim” Martin (R)

1990: Terry Sanford (D)
1996: Harvey Gantt (D)
2003-2009: Daniel Terry Blue Jr. (D)
2002: James Grubbs “Jim” Martin (R)
2009-TBD: Margaret A. “Meg” Ryan (R)
2008: Daniel Terry Blue Jr. (D)
US Senators from North Carolina’s Class 3 Seat
1954-1975: Sam Ervin (D)
1975-2011: Nick Galifianakis (D)

1992: Robert Cannon Hayes (R)
1998: Barbara Howe (R)
2004: John Ross Hendrix (R)
2011-TBD: Rand Paul (R)
2010: Elaine Marshall (D)

US Senators from North Dakota’s Class 1 Seat
1960-1965: Quentin N. Burdick (D)
1965-1971: Thomas S. Kleppe (R)
1971-2001: Arthur Albert Link (D)

1994: Ben Clayburgh (R)
2001-2007: Eliot Glassheim (D)
2000: Duane Sand (R)
2007-TBD: John Hoeven (R)
2006: Eliot Glassheim (D)
US Senators from North Dakota’s Class 3 Seat
1945-1981: Milton R. Young (R)
1981-1987: Mark Andrews (R)
1987-2011: Kent Conrad (D)

1992: Steve Sydness (R) and Darold Larson (I)
1998: Donna Nalewaja (R)
2004: Mike Liffrig (R)
2011-TBD: Kelly Schmidt (R)
2010: Joan Heckaman (D)

US Senators from Ohio’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1965: Stephen M. Young (D)
1965-1971: Robert A. Taft Jr. (R)
1971-2001: John Glenn (D)

1994: Paul E. Pfeifer (R) and Joseph Slovenec (I)
2001-2007: Terry A. Anderson (D)
2000: Frank A. Cremeans (R)
2007-TBD: Sherrod Brown (D)
2006: David Smith (R)
US Senators from Ohio’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1969: Frank J. Lausche (D)
1969-1987: William B. Saxbe (R)
1987-1994: Carl Stokes (D)

1992: Mike DeWine (R), Martha Grevatt (Country) and Douglas DeGood (Independent Democrat)
1994-2003: Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. (D)
1994 (special): Phyllis Goetz (R)
1998: George Voinovich (R)
2003-2011: Peter Lawson Jones (D)
2004: Nancy Putnam Hollister (R) and Tony Patrick Hall (Independent Democrat)
2011-TBD: Randy Brock (R)
2010: Peter Lawson Jones (D) and Eric Deaton (Constitutionalists’)

US Senators from Oklahoma’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1963: Robert S. Kerr (D)
1963-1965: J. Howard Edmondson (D)
1965-2003: Bud Wilkinson (R)

1990: Dave McCurdy (D)
1996: Glen D. Johnson Jr. (D)
2003-TBD: Steve Largent (R)
2002: David Walters (D)
2008: Jim Rogers (D)
US Senators from Oklahoma’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1969: A. S. Mike Monroney (D)
1969-1981: Henry Bellmon (R)
1981-2005: Marvin Henry “Mickey” Edwards (R)

1992: Steve Lewis (D)
1998: Laura Boyd (D)
2005-2011: Brad Carson (D)
2004: Marvin Henry “Mickey” Edwards (R)
2011-TBD: Evelyn Rogers (R)
2010: Brad Carson (D)

US Senators from Oregon’s Class 2 Seat
1960-1967: Maurine Brown Neuberger (D)
1967-1997: Mark Hatfield (R)

1990: Harry Lonsdale (D)
1997-2009: Norma Paulus (R)
1996: Peter DeFazio (D)
2002: Bill Bradbury (D)
2009-TBD: Jefferson Smith (D)
2008: Gordon Smith (R)
US Senators from Oregon’s Class 3 Seat
1945-1974: Wayne Morse (D since 1955, I 1952-1955, R before 1952)
1974-1975: Earl T. Newbry (R)
1975-1981: Tom McCall (R)
1981-1987: John R. Dellenback (R)
1987-TBD: Walter Leslie “Les” AuCoin (D)

1992: Dennis Alan “Denny” Smith (R)
1998: Tonie Nathan (R) and Aaron Dixon (Green)
2004: Al King (R)
2010: Jim Huffman (R)

US Senators from Pennsylvania’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1977: Hugh Scott (R)
1977-1983: Bill Green (D)
1983-1989: Elmer Greinert “Bud” Shuster (R)
1989-2001: Darcy Richardson (D)

1994: Dick Santorum (R), Diane G. Blough (Country) and Donald Ernsberger (Liberty)
2001-2007: Paul Kanjorski (D)
2000: Patrick J. Toomey (R)
2007-TBD: H. J. Heinz III (R)
2006: Paul Kanjorski (D)
US Senators from Pennsylvania’s Class 3 Seat
1957-1969: Joseph S. Clark (D)
1969-1975: Herman T. Schneebeli (R)
1975-2000: Bob Casey Sr. (D)

1992: Wayne Curtis Weldon (R) and John Perry III (I)
1998: Barbara Hafer (R)
2000-TBD: Bob Casey Jr. (D)
2000 (special): Philip Sheridan English (R)
2004: Betsy Summers (R)
2010: John Kennedy (R)

US Senators from Potomac’s Class 1 Seat
2006-TBD: Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)
2006: Carol Schwartz (R)
US Senators from Potomac’s Class 2 Seat
2006-TBD: David Schwartzman (D)
2008: Carol Schwartz (R)

US Senators from Puerto Rico’s Class 1 Seat
2006-TBD: Luis Fortuno (R)
2006: Rafael Hernandez Colon (D)
US Senators from Puerto Rico’s Class 2 Seat
2006-TBD: Norma Burgos (R)
2008: Jorge Santini (D)

US Senators from Rhode Island’s Class 1 Seat
1950-1977: John Pastore (D)
1977-1989: Robert Owens Tiernan (D)
1989-2001: Claudine Schneider (R)

1994: Linda Kushner (D)
2001-TBD: Myrth York (D)
2000: Claudine Schneider (R)
2006: Ellerton Pratt “Mark” Whitney III (“Liberty” Republican) and Steve Laffey (Independent Republican)
US Senators from Rhode Island’s Class 2 Seat
1961-1997: Claiborne Pell (D)
1990: Robert Machtley (R)
1997-2003: Nancy J. Mayer (R)
1996: Donald Gill (D)
2003-TBD: Elizabeth H. Roberts (D)
2002: Nancy J. Mayer (R)
2008: Robert Tingle (R)

US Senators from South Carolina’s Class 2 Seat
1954-1956: Strom Thurmond (Independent Democrat)
1956-1956: Thomas Wofford (D)
– appointee; retired
1956-2005: Strom Thurmond (D until 1962 / R after 1962)
1990: Bob Cunningham (D)
1996: Elliot Close (D)
2002: Alexander Sanders (D)
2005-2006: Strom Thurmond Jr. (R) – appointee; lost election
2006-TBD: Mike Thurmond (D)
2005 (sp): Strom Thurmond Jr. (R)
2008: Mark Sanford (R) and Michael Cone (I)
US Senators from South Carolina’s Class 3 Seat
1945-1965: Olin D. Johnston (D)
1965-2011: Fritz Hollings (D)

1992: Thomas F. Hartnett (R)
1998: Richard Quillian (R)
2004: Jim DeMint (R)
2011-TBD: Sherry Sealy Martschink (R)
2010: A. Victor “Vic” Rawl (D)

Senators from South Dakota’s Class 2 Seat
1948-1973: Karl Earl Mundt (R)
1973-1979: James Abourezk (D)
1979-2009: Larry Pressler (R)
– retired
1990: Ted Muenster (D) and Dean L. Sinclair (Independent)
1996: Gene N. Lebrun (D)
2002: Herman Eilers (D)
2009-TBD: SuAnne Big-Crow (R)
2008: Scott Heidepriem (D)
Senators from South Dakota’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1962: Francis H. Case (R)
1962-1975: Joseph H. Bottom (R)
1975-1981: George McGovern (D)
– lost re-election
1981-1994: Frank Farrar (R) – died in plane crash
1992: Franklin Edvard Denholm (D)
1994-1995: Carole Hillard (R) – appointee
1995-TBD: Teresa McGovern (D) – incumbent
1994 (special): Carole Hillard (R)
1998: Ron Schmidt (R)
2004: John Thune (R)
2010: James A. “Jim” Lintz (R)

US Senators from Tennessee’s Class 1 Seat
1953-1998: Albert Arnold “Al” Gore Sr. (D)
1982: Robin Beard (R)
1988: Bill Anderson (R)
1994: Bill Frist (R) and John Jay Hooker (I)
1998-2001: Charles V. Brown (D)
2001-TBD: Bob Clement Jr. (D)

2000: Mae Beavers (R) and Jeff Clarke (I)
2006: Van Hilleary (R)
US Senators from Tennessee’s Class 2 Seat
1949-1963: Estes Kefauver (D)
1963-1964: Herbert S. Walters (D)
1964-1991: Howard Baker (R)
1991-1997: Marilyn Lloyd (D)

1990: William R. Hawkins (R)
1997-present: Hillary Rodham-Clinton (R)
1996: Marilyn Lloyd (D)
2002: Jim Cooper (D)
2008: Bob Tuke (D)

US Senators from Texas’s Class 1 Seat
1957-1971: Ralph Yarborough (D)
1971-1983: Lloyd Bentsen (D)
1983-1989: James M. Collins (R)
1989-2001: Ann Richards (D)

1994: Harry “Steve” Bartlett (R), Mary J. Ruwart (Liberty) and Jose Angel Gutierrez (La Raza Unida)
2001-2007: Mickey Leland (D)
2000: Joe Barton (R) and Adrian Garcia (La Raza Unida)
2007-TBD: Kay Granger (R)
2006: Mickey Leland (D)
US Senators from Texas’s Class 1 Seat
1949-1961: Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
1961: William A. Blakley (D)
1961-1967: John G. Tower (R)
1967-1975: Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
1975-1979: J. J. Pickle (D)
1979-1991: Ron Paul (R)
1991-2009: Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)

1990: Kathryn J. Whitmire (D) and Gary Johnson (Liberty)
1996: Richard W. Fisher (D) and Victor Morales (La Raza Unida)
2002: Ron Kirk (D/LRU) and Roy H. Williams (Green)
2009-TBD: Mac Thornberry (R)
2008: Ahmad Hassan (D), Sylvia Garcia (LRU), and Tina Villanueva (I)

US Senators from Utah’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1995: Frank E. Moss (D)
1995-TBD: David D. Marriott (R)

1994: Patrick A. Shea (D)
2000: Gary Van Horn (Country)
2006: Pete Ashdown (D)
US Senators from Utah’s Class 3 Seat
1951-1975: Wallace F. Bennett (R)
1975-1993: Jake Garn (R)
1993-1996: Rex Edwin Lee (R)

1992: Bill Orton (D)
1996-TBD: Lyle Hillyard (R)

1996 (special): Karen Hale (D)
1998: Scott Leckman (D)
2004: Paul Van Dam (D)
2010: Sam Granato (D)

Vermont Senators from the Class 1 Seat
1959-1971: Winston L. Prouty (R)
1971-1973: Thomas P. Salmon (D)
1973-1983: Robert Theodore Stafford (R)
1983-2001: Phil Hoff (Progressive until 1987, I 1987, D after 1987)

1994: Jim Jeffords (R) and Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union)
2001-2001: Fred Tuttle (R)
2000: Ed Flanagan (D)
2001-TBD: Anthony Pollina (D)
2002 (sp): William Meub (R)
2006: Greg Parke (R)
Vermont Senators from the Class 3 Seat
1941-1984: George Aiken (R)
1984-1987: Peter Plympton Smith (R)
1987-1999: Madeleine M. Kunin (D)

1992: Jim Douglas (R) and Jerry Levy (Liberty Union)
1999-2005: Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union)
1998: Bob Melamede (D) and Hugh Douglas (R)
2005-TBD: William Sorrell (D)
2004: Peter D. Moss (R) and Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union)
2010: Len Britton (R) and Darcy Troville (Liberty Union)

US Senators from Virginia’s Class 1 Seat
1933-1965: Harry F. Byrd Sr. (D)
1965-1995: Harry F. Byrd Jr. (D before 1970, I after 1970)
1995-2001: Frank Wolf (R)

1994: Rick Boucher (D)
2001-2007: Bobby Scott (D)
2000: Frank Wolf (R)
2007-TBD: Ben Lewis Jones (R)
2006: Bobby Scott (D)
US Senators from Virginia’s Class 2 Seat
1946-1971: A. Willis Robertson (D)
1971-1973: William Lloyd Scott (R)
1973-1979: John Otho Marsh Jr. (D)
1979-2003: Richard Dudley Obenshain (R)

1990: Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. (D)
1996: Leslie Byrne (D)
2003-TBD: George Allen (R)
2002: Meyera Oberndorf (D)
2008: Tim Kaine (D)

US Senators from Washington’s Class 1 seat
1953-1987: Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D)
1987-1989: Norm Dicks (D)
1989-2007: Jolene Unsoeld (D)

1994: Rod Chandler (R)
2000: Mike McGavick (R)
West Virginia’s Class 1 Seat
1959-2010: Robert C. Byrd (D)
1994: Stanley L. Klos (R)
2000: David T. Gallaher (R)
2006: Hiram Lewis (R)
2010-TBD: Betty Ireland (R)
2010 (sp): Brooks F. McCabe Jr. (D)
US Senators from West Virginia’s Class 2 Seat
1958-1985: Jennings Randolph (D)
1985-1997: John Raese (R)

1990: Harley O. Staggers Jr. (D)
1997-2009: Jon McBride (R)
1996: Joseph P. Albright (D)
2002: Jim Lees (D)
2009-TBD: Nick Rahall (R)
2008: Sheirl Fletcher (D)

US Senators from Wisconsin’s Class 1 Seat
1957-1989: William Proxmire (D)
1989-2001: Susan Engeleiter (R)

1994: Alvin Baldus (D)
2001-TBD: Russ Feingold (D)
2000: Susan Engeleiter (R) and James Powers Moody (I)
2006: Robert Lorge (R)
US Senators from Wisconsin’s Class 3 Seat
1939-1967: Alexander Wiley (R)
1967-1973: Philleo Nash (D)
1973-1975: Gaylord Nelson (D)
1975-1987: Roman Blenski (R)
1987-TBD: Bronson La Follette (D)

1992: Scott L. Klug (R)
1998: Stephen B. “Steve” King (R)
2004: Tim Michels (R)
2010: David Westlake (R)

US Senators from Wyoming’s Class 1 Seat
1959-1965: Gale W. McGee (D)
1965-TBD: John S. Wold (R)

1994: Susan Anderson (D)
2000: Mel Logan (D)
2006: Dale Groutage (D)
US Senators from Wyoming’s Class 2 Seat
1961-1962: John J. Hickey (D)
1962-1967: Milward L. Simpson (R)
1967-1991: Gale W. McGee (D)
1991-TBD: Barbara Cubin (R)

1990: Kathy Helling (D)
1996: Kathy Karpan (D)
2002: Joyce Jansa Corcoran (D)
2008: Chris Rothfuss (D)



And, since KFC gets so much attention in this TL, here’s a breakdown of some of the other fast-food chains of TTL:

(hotdogs) BEAR’S HOTDOGS Head Executives (founded in 1971):
1971-present: Bear McSavory – a proud but camera-shy man who publicly goes by a moniker to protect his privacy

(artisanal burgers) BURGER CZAR Head Executives (founded in 1997):
1997-present: Marc Benioff – founded the company, but “borrowed” its name and its tagline (“Burger Czar, Where The Burgers Are”) from a 1970s episode of “Welcome Back, Kotter”

(burgers) BURGER KING head executives (founded in 1953):
1953-1959: Keith J. Kramer and Matthew Burns – co-founders of Insta-Burger King in Florida
1959-1976: James McLamore and David R. Edgerton – co-purchased Insta-Burger King when it faltered and renamed it
1976-1978: Donald N. Smith and David R. Edgerton – standardized outlet designs
1978-1979: Donald N. Smith – restructured corporate practices amid economic recession; left the company over plummeting sales
1979-1991: Norman E. Brinker – improved cash flow by launching attack ads on rivals to gain attention
1991-2003: Jerry W. Levin – oversaw fluctuating strength in the company’s brand
2003-2006: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – ousted by the board of directors over his expensive overhauling of the company’s sanitation procedures and cooking techniques over concerns of Toxic Metal Accumulation (TMA)
2006-2009: John Walker Chidsey – stepped down after the company was hit by a class-action lawsuit concerning TMA (a lawsuit that was later settled out of court)
2009-present: Donald “Don” Thompson – first African-American CEO; redirecting brand to lower-income customers

(chicken) CHICK-FIL-A Head Executives (founded in 1946):
1946-present: S. Truett Cathy – his second-in-command is his son Daniel Truett Cathy, and his third-in-command is his other son, Donald M. “Bubba” Cathy

(burgers) MCDONALD’S Head Executives (founded in 1940):
1940-1961: Richard J. McDonald and Maurice J. McDonald – brothers, co-founders and co-owner’s during the enterprise’s early days
1961-1969: Ray Kroc – nationalized and globally expanded the company; stepped down to run the San Diego Padres (1969-1975)
1969-1991: June Martino – universally liked due to overseeing the company’s period of steady, continuous growth; retired in January at age 73
1991-2003: Frederick Leo “Fred” Turner – continued expansion into other countries but criticized for slow response to SARS concerns in 2002; retired
2003-present: Ballard F. Smith – Ray Kroc’s son-in-law and former PA-based D.A.; currently overseeing the introduction of healthier menu options

(niche burgers) OLLIE’S TROLLEYS Head Executives (founded in 1935):
1935-2002: Oliver “Ollie” Gleichenhaus – founded the franchise, oversaw operations until his death
2002-present: Muktesh “Micky” Pant – has expanded menu options in order to try and keep the company afloat; chain now offers a simpler, cheaper-to-make alternative to the Ollieburger (informally dubbed the “Newlyburger”) as well as the now-more-expensive classic original (informally dubbed the “Oldyburger”)

(pizza) PIZZA HUT Head Executives (founded in 1958):
1958-1981: Dan Carney and Frank Carney – brothers and co-founders; Frank retired
1981-1999: Dan Carney – retired
1999-2007: Greg Creed – entered office at age 41; modernized outlets and was quick to convert them to “drive-thru only” during the 2002 SARS pandemic
2007-present: Barry Gordon – former S.A.G. President and former two-term US Congressman (D-CA); formerly did voice acting work intermittently; second-in-command at the company is Greek-American attorney and businessman Peter Rokkos

(sandwiches) DR. SUB’S Head Executives (founded in 1946):
1965-present: Dr. Peter Buck and Frederick Adrian De Luca – company co-founders and serve as co-CEOs; their Chairman of the Board is Robert D. Walter

(seafood) SPONGEBOB’S UNDERSEA CUISINE Head Executives (founded in 1991 and expanded in 1993):
1991-present: Stephen Hillenburg – chain founder
 
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Even the non chapters are long and complicated. I love it! This may be one of the most creative political TLs I’ve seen. I’m only in 1956 yet it looks like it’ll be a fun read. Unfortunately my man Rick Nolan didn’t get elected governor. At least Mondale was president, Wellstone is president, Gravel was VP, and after Jesse Jackson too. Humphrey would be proud. Great work!
 
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