Autumn 2008
"I feel almost a little sorry for whoever has to fill in President Gore's shoes... he'll go down as one of the best."
"Hopefully the next president can deal with some of these worrying new economic troubles. What are the banks doing?"
"That was crazy over in Pakistan"
The leaves changing color seemed more fitting this year as the elections were coming up. The political landscape had changed drastically since Gore first took office; political gerrymandering was removed and there was a greater sense of bipartisanship than ever before. On the other hand, both parties were beginnign to struggling with growing factions. In the GOP, the neoconservatives were desperate to cling onto power as the green conservatives were taking on center stage, plus there was the gradual shift toward the center, moderates becoming preferred. In the Dems, the more progressive and socially liberal were rising for the need of more drastic actions against larger companies as well as progressive liberties. More than a few politicians have begun taking note of this and are wondering what the future as the people are heading to go and vote. Much had changed since the removal of political gerrymandering and it led to more voting stations being propped up to deal with the voters. The polls were split though some were predicting a victory for the GOP, if namely because of people looking for a change after 16 years of Democrats. Meanwhile, there was an increased sense of urgency over House and Senate seats though predictions indicated they would likely remain a Democrat majority. The Russo-Georgian War became another discussion point regarding foreign policy regarding Russia's aggressive behavior and the undertones of fossil fuel-based motivations. Some have eve begun combining the growing green movement with patriotism, noting that gas was of the past and Americans always built the future and said future would be built on green policies, renewable energy and ecological repsonsability. It would be the American Way. Meanwhile, the Gore policy was also ramping cyber secruity after the cyberattacks on Georgia by Russia and reviewing some of the older legislature regarding computera and the digital age that would likely be in need of some serious updating.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act and
COPPA were among the acts that were being revisited and plans were being made to try and update them for the new more digital world. The former was done to give greater respect to the first amednment and fair usage while also trying to respect copyright. However, it also became noted that because of how quick the internet was growing and how much work would be needed, that anything otuide of brute force could possibly be used and even then, the brute force would be crude and ineffective, as noted how Mr. Rogers would end up in part of the discussions in updating the rules, noting his own court cases on making sure shows could be taped along with how somethign similar could be done for the internet.
COPPA meanwhile was trying to be updated for more efficiency and respect, with some people laughing at the antiquated language in the bill. It sparked a trend regarding how out-of-touch certain politicians were on how the internet worked along with the more serious matters on ignorance though it did lend Gore more credence, both in his past as an Atari Democrat and present for his Digital Cabinet, which had been expanded a bit to include consultations on social media developments. Furthermore, the copyright talk had grown to develop into growing criticisms and complaints at the copyright system in the US or at least its tendency to favor large companies. This i turn added to a growing anxiety as some economists were predicting a potential recession over in the next few years.
Presdiential candidate John McCain, the predicted favorite to win
Meanwhile, in international affairs, it seemed things were dying down beyond what was going on over in Russia. The Middle East had begun settling down though both Palestine and Israel had been actively avoiding the question of Jerusalem for a while. While the older officials were not willing to give it up, the growing tension was on contrast to the growing sense of unity between the Israeli and Palestinian youth and was signalling a shift toward perceptions. Terrorism had been going down as there were fewer funding than ever and there was the growing consensus on the last major source of funds. However, this did not mean that there were not other problem states. Over near the end of the fall, Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the last prominent Islamic terrorist groups based in Pakstain, began a series of attacks on Mumbai though they would be caught and neutralized due to efforts of Indian authorities along with American and Iranian backup. This did bring up the question of Jammu and Kashimir up front regarding the two nations with some plans being to hold elections to decide the fate of the region, including it forming its own seperate nation. It was a growing issue given how both China and the USA were working together to try and enforce a peaceful outcome between the two on this, especially as Pakistan had been burning its goodwill with the US and China as of late and were trying to rebuild the bridges as a result. It was an overall reminder there was still work to be done.
Map of targets of 2008 Mumbai attacks. Only Taj Mahal Hotel and Leopold Cafe targets were successful