alternatehistory.com
Gore Administration- Summer 2002
Sorry ths took a while, but work was a hassle! Here we go!
Summer 2002
"The kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart serves as a warning to Americans that security comes first at home along with who can really be the dangers."
"The WorldCom bankrupcy follows the Enron scandal in a growing line of corporate skullduggery and incompetence, a pattern that is causing the people to prompt Congress to enact rules to hold the individuals and groups accountable."
The summer of 2002 began horrifically with the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. The 14 year old taken from her home sparked a panic among famlies over the security and safety of their children. For the past few months, since the capture of many heads of Al-Queda along with their subsequent exeuction, the nation had been recovering mentally and there was a greater state of optimism. While there was a brief rise in hate crimes aimed at peoples of Middle Eastern descent, the photoshots of Afghani soldiers fighting alongside US soldiers helped bring order. That they were just a group of outliers. A case greater proven when several Pakistani Muslims gave their lives to successfully prevent a car bomb at a US consulate, likely the remnants fo Al-Queda. The kidnapping and sub-sequent search for Elizabeth Smart though tapped into the panic and families cancelled vacations or called for greater security along with investigations on the girl's whereabouts.
Missing Persons flyer for Elizabeth Smart
Meanwhile, the business world was rocked with the news of WorldCom declaring bankrupcy, especially with the news of Enron just fading from the public conscious. And of course this led to the investigation by the Justice Department into potential scandals or ties, given the past experience with Enron. Before long, it would be revealed the news of the largest accounting scandal within thus far in the history of the United States. The initial figures showed over $3 billion dollars worth of fruad convered with more investigations to be detailed within. For many, this additionally soured the view toward corporations. Microsoft being cut down, the fate of Enron and now this... there were growing rallying cries to try and prevent these sort of issues. The pop culture lexicon would grow to reflect this as white collar crime became a bit mroe common in television shows and the growing skepticism over the lack of regulations in companies. Of course, there was no real public discourse, but the growing signs of which politicians were covering which topic were sowing the seeds for future battlegrounds to be fought over in the political arena. Growing calls within the more leftist groups of the Democrts begin pushing their more right-leaning colleagues to get involved, and while there was a general consensus of something needed to be done, it was not as major a priority, though the upcoming elections did mean that the candidates were being pressured to addresss the issue. The fact that Qwest udnerwent something similar meant this growing distrust against corporations and high-ranking members of the businesses was spreading.
Political cartoon regarding Qwest and reflecting on what many are percieving the lack of proper punishment toward CEOs and other high-ranking corporate leaders.
Beyond the cavalcade of bad news though, good news continue to peer and go forward. One was such on the beloved television personality and minister, Fred Rogers. Having recieved his Presidental Medal of Freedom from President Al Gore, Mr. Rogers was enjoying some quiet retirement though he also spoke to President Al Gore in regards to the end of DADT along with the protection for the LGTBQ community from hate crimes. Gore even confided perhaps one day soon that they will be able to married within the United States. These talks gave Mr. Rogers ideas...
Summer 2002
"The kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart serves as a warning to Americans that security comes first at home along with who can really be the dangers."
"The WorldCom bankrupcy follows the Enron scandal in a growing line of corporate skullduggery and incompetence, a pattern that is causing the people to prompt Congress to enact rules to hold the individuals and groups accountable."
The summer of 2002 began horrifically with the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. The 14 year old taken from her home sparked a panic among famlies over the security and safety of their children. For the past few months, since the capture of many heads of Al-Queda along with their subsequent exeuction, the nation had been recovering mentally and there was a greater state of optimism. While there was a brief rise in hate crimes aimed at peoples of Middle Eastern descent, the photoshots of Afghani soldiers fighting alongside US soldiers helped bring order. That they were just a group of outliers. A case greater proven when several Pakistani Muslims gave their lives to successfully prevent a car bomb at a US consulate, likely the remnants fo Al-Queda. The kidnapping and sub-sequent search for Elizabeth Smart though tapped into the panic and families cancelled vacations or called for greater security along with investigations on the girl's whereabouts.
Missing Persons flyer for Elizabeth Smart
Meanwhile, the business world was rocked with the news of WorldCom declaring bankrupcy, especially with the news of Enron just fading from the public conscious. And of course this led to the investigation by the Justice Department into potential scandals or ties, given the past experience with Enron. Before long, it would be revealed the news of the largest accounting scandal within thus far in the history of the United States. The initial figures showed over $3 billion dollars worth of fruad convered with more investigations to be detailed within. For many, this additionally soured the view toward corporations. Microsoft being cut down, the fate of Enron and now this... there were growing rallying cries to try and prevent these sort of issues. The pop culture lexicon would grow to reflect this as white collar crime became a bit mroe common in television shows and the growing skepticism over the lack of regulations in companies. Of course, there was no real public discourse, but the growing signs of which politicians were covering which topic were sowing the seeds for future battlegrounds to be fought over in the political arena. Growing calls within the more leftist groups of the Democrts begin pushing their more right-leaning colleagues to get involved, and while there was a general consensus of something needed to be done, it was not as major a priority, though the upcoming elections did mean that the candidates were being pressured to addresss the issue. The fact that Qwest udnerwent something similar meant this growing distrust against corporations and high-ranking members of the businesses was spreading.
Political cartoon regarding Qwest and reflecting on what many are percieving the lack of proper punishment toward CEOs and other high-ranking corporate leaders.
Beyond the cavalcade of bad news though, good news continue to peer and go forward. One was such on the beloved television personality and minister, Fred Rogers. Having recieved his Presidental Medal of Freedom from President Al Gore, Mr. Rogers was enjoying some quiet retirement though he also spoke to President Al Gore in regards to the end of DADT along with the protection for the LGTBQ community from hate crimes. Gore even confided perhaps one day soon that they will be able to married within the United States. These talks gave Mr. Rogers ideas...
- CountDVB
- Word Count: 630