2018 Presidential Election

[ajm8888]

May 1st, 2019

Full text of Emperor Akihito’s speech from the abdication ceremony

Today, I am concluding my duties as the Emperor.

I would like to offer my deep gratitude to the words just spoken by Prime Minister Ayeka Jūchirō on behalf of the people of Japan.

Since ascending the throne 30 years ago, I have performed my duties as the Emperor with a deep sense of trust in and respect for the people, and I consider myself most fortunate to have been able to do so. I sincerely thank the people who accepted and supported me in my role as the symbol of the State.

I sincerely wish, together with the Empress, that the Reiwa era, which begins tomorrow, will be a stable and fruitful one, and I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world.


Naruhito: Japan's new emperor prays for peace in new era

Japan's Emperor Naruhito has given his first address after ascending the throne, expressing his hope for happiness and world peace. His ascension was formalised earlier on Wednesday in a ceremony that saw him inherit the Imperial Treasures.

A new imperial era called Reiwa - which means order and harmony - has begun and will last throughout his reign.

His 85-year-old father Akihito became the first emperor to abdicate in more than 200 years on Tuesday. In a short speech at the Imperial Palace, Emperor Naruhito said he hoped "for the happiness of the people... progress of the country, and world peace".

Naruhito, 59, also expressed gratitude towards his father Emperor Emeritus Akihito, his voice breaking when he talked about Akihito's service to his country. "[He] performed each of his duties in earnest for more than 30 years," he said. "He showed profound compassion through his own bearing. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and appreciation."

What happened at the ceremony?

Naruhito, became emperor at midnight on Tuesday when the new era began in Japan, but he then took part in a ceremony that formalises his ascension to the Chrysanthemum throne. The Kenji-to-Shokei-no-gi -or Ceremony for Inheriting the Imperial Regalia and Seals began at 10:15 local time (01:15 GMT) on Wednesday. Female royals are not allowed to be there so Empress Masako, Emperor Naruhito's wife, was not present.

Naruhito symbolically received two objects - a sword and a gem - which are passed down through generations of emperors and are seen as the symbols of imperial power.

The Emperor-to-be waving to people on his way to the Imperial Palace.

There is one additional object, a mirror, and together the three make up the Imperial Treasures or Regalia. However, the mirror - considered the most precious of the treasures - which is believed to be kept at the Ise Grand Shrine in Mie prefecture, never leaves its resting place. However, as Prime Minister Ayeka Jūchirō was allowed to witness the ceremony due to her position. She is now not only the first female Prime Minister in Japan's history but the first woman of three women recorded to watch the Ceremony for Inheriting the Imperial Regalia. She was also joined with Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Hideko Ogawa and Special Minister from the Cabinet Office to Counter Declining Birthrates Akio Yoshihara.

Female royals were allowed to attend the second part of the ceremony, where the emperor gave his first audience after ascending the throne.

Japan's New Emperor, and New Era.

"I would like to express my heartfelt respect and appreciation of the comportment shown by His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people of Japan," he said.
"I also swear that I will act according to the Constitution and fulfill my responsibility as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people of Japan."

"I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world."

Prime Minister Ayeka Jūchirō made a brief statement with her cabinet. "Emperor, we are looking up to you as a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people, and we are filled with hope for peace and prosperity, a bright future of Japan. Everybody is uniting together in heart and building up our new culture in the future."

The Full formal Enthronement ceremony will occur in October.

 

[ajm8888]

I copied the Emperors' speeches and tweaked very little as the phrasing was generic enough that really it did not need to be changed. Also, I felt it would be a dishonor to change them completely.

 

[lord caedus]

Wednesday, May 1st 2019

GOP wins Oregon special House election

Cody Zucker, the Republican Party nominee for yesterday's special election in Oregon's 4th congressional district, has been declared the winner with 85 percent of votes counted. Zucker, a Republican Party operative and child rights activist, carried the seat with around 52 percent of the vote compared to roughly 47 percent for former lieutenant governor Callum Hinchcliffe, the Democratic nominee. At age 26, Zucker will become the youngest member in Congress and the youngest person to flip a House seat since 25 year-old Thomas Downey in 1974.

The district, which encompasses Oregon's southern coast, had been represented for five terms by Democrat Will Bailey, who resigned in January to become White House Chief of Staff to President Sam Seaborn. Zucker ran an unconventional campaign, centering his campaign on his personal integrity and convictions and by his impressive performances in both the Republican primary and general election debates. In his victory speech, Zucker thanked his wife Elisha and daughter Landry, as well as his campaign staff and volunteers. "Our campaign proved that all the big donors and national endorsements can't compare to what happens when ordinary people come together and reject 'politics as usual'," Zucker said in his victory speech. "I promise that I will try, every day, to live up to the faith you all have put in me."

Former lieutenant governor Hinchcliffe announced his concession at his campaign headquarters, congratulating his opponent on the victory and for "shaking things up". "I want to thank Representative-elect Zucker for injecting new ideas into the political arena that we have ignored for too long," Hinchcliffe said. "I wish him and his family well in their next endeavor and pray that his presence will inspire more young people to get involved in government."

House Minority Leader Mitchell Harris (R-IN) issued a statement saying that the pickup in the swing state denotes a "strong rebuke" to the "left-wing agenda of President Seaborn and Speaker [Nathan] Maddox", and congratulates Zucker on a "historic victory". "The massive budget increases under President Seaborn's proposed budget would burden future generations of Americans with impossibly high debt, and today, the voters and youth in Oregon rejected that idea." Harris said in a statement.

However, Zucker, who will be the first person born in the 1990s to serve in Congress, has bristled at being associated with Harris and much of the Republican congressional leadership. He has come out as a vocal supporter of the proposed Civil Rights Act of 2019 that would ban all forms of anti-LGBT discrimination, and has pushed for more funds to be appropriated to combat climate change—both stances diametrically opposed to Harris, who has a long record of (until relatively recently) denying climate change, and voting against additional protections and rights for LGBT people. His pet issue of children's rights also rubs against Republican orthodoxy on several points, including issues surrounding the vote (Zucker has said that states should lower their voting ages to 16, while the Republicans have uniformly balked at the idea when it has been raised in Congress) and the ability of parents to discipline their children (while many Republicans support allowing parents to use corporal punishment such as spanking, Zucker is adamantly opposed to the idea, although he has not stated if he would vote to ban it).

Results of the US House Special Election for Oregon's Fourth District
Cody Zucker (R): 52.58%
Callum Hinchcliffe (D): 47.42%​

 

[Marky Bunny]

Cody Zucker for President in 2030!!!

 

[lord caedus]

Friday, 3 May 2019

Iran expels pro-democracy activists across "Stop Line"

The Iranian military forced three men and one woman who it had accused of sedition for attempting to update the country's electoral register in the city of Himms across the "Stop Line" that marks the border between the Iranian-occupied portion of Qumar and the area controlled by the Qumari Ruling Council with the support of American, British and Chinese forces. The four, Muhammad al-Himm, Daoud Qablahn, Rafeef Hamid and Farida bint Zafir, had been scheduled for trial in February, but international outrage led to the government delaying the trial while mediation with the European Union and United States was ongoing. The military court that the group was being tried in reconvened earlier this week and gave all four suspended sentences of death (al-Himm, who was the main organizer of the registration drive) or life imprisonment (Qablahn, Hamid and bint Zafir) in exchange for releasing them across the "Stop Line" and forbidding them from returning to the Iranian-occupied portions of Qumar.

Foreign Secretary Fiona Wallace praised the decision as "judicious". Prime Minister Richard Samuels echoed this in a statement, saying that the Iranian willingness to negotiate with the international community "signals that the government in Tehran, like the ones in Washington, Beijing and [London], does not wish to see a return to violence and chaos in the Persian Gulf." The prime minister did say that the framework European Union negotiators had set up for the situation would hopefully serve as another way to prevent "unfortunate situations" like this incident from repeating.

Elections for the Parliament of Qumar are scheduled to begin on 22 July for Qumari refugees outside of either Qumar or Iran, and end on 26 July. Iran, which claims Qumar as its rightful territory (a claim not recognized by any other nation), has stated that any efforts towards participation in the upcoming elections in the area of Qumar it controls will be met with "military justice." The parliament elected in July will be tasked with deciding the country's system of government (either to restore the sultanate or establish a republic) and creating a new constitution, with diplomat and former US Secretary of Education Lawrence Lessig scheduled to serve as an adviser and facilitator in constitutional debates.

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Friday, May 3rd 2019

President Seaborn to give commencement speech at Duke after security scare

President Sam Seaborn will make his first commencement speech as president at his alma mater of Duke University at that university's graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 12th. White House Press Secretary Cassie Tatum told reporters Friday that the FBI had informed the Secret Service of a "potentially very serious" white nationalist group active near Durham (where the Duke University campus is located) that the FBI had been monitoring as stockpiling weapons and ammunition and were reported as making threatening remarks about the president and members of his administration. The Secret Service then advised the White House and Duke University to either cancel the president's appearance there, or not to publicize his appearance beforehand.

"This morning, FBI Director [Marcus] Blakemore informed the President and the Secret Service that the individuals in question had been arrested on several charges, including but not limited to: possession of illegally modified firearms, illegal possession of firearms by a convicted felon, terroristic threats, possession of explosives, and threatening the President of the United States," Tatum told reporters. "We are happy to report that thanks to the swift and decisive action of the FBI and local law enforcement, all these men were taken into custody without incident. Directors Blakemore and [Secret Service Director James] Burke have informed us that there is now no security risk in announcing the plan for the president to give the commencement address at Duke University."

Duke University had previously said that university president Lyndon Price would be the speaker, but Tatum revealed that this was at the direction of the Secret Service, and that the university had alternative candidates to speak if the president were unable to appear safely. President Seaborn attended the Duke University School of Law, briefly serving as deputy editor on the Duke Law Journal before graduating with his Juris Doctor (JD) in 1993. He notably continues to support the university's Blue Devils basketball team, notably sending an Instagram picture out of himself wearing a Duke jersey before the Blue Devils' most recent national championship in 2015.

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Friday, May 3rd 2019

Venezuelan President Luna decries "imperialism with a human face" in speech to Latin American leaders

Caracas — Venezuelan President Reinaldo Luna warned leaders of other Latin American nations of "imperialism with a human face", his description of a more conciliatory approach taken by the Seaborn administration in its dealings with left-wing Latin American regimes. Broadcasting the speech from Caracas, Luna decried recent American negotiations with Cuba as a plot to "corrupt and destroy" the Cuban government, and "divide Latin America, allowing the corporations that control the American regime free reign over the hemisphere."

Luna has been a vocal critic of the United States and its foreign policy since he seized power in 2013, and has emerged as the largest supporter of left-wing guerrilla groups in the Americas, displacing a Cuban regime that moderated slightly after the overthrow of Raúl Castro by a new generation of communist leaders. Venezuela has been suspended from several international organizations, including Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (USAN) over the Venezuelan government's anti-democratic crackdown in the wake of Luna's coming to power and the government's funding of leftist guerrilla groups in Peru and Colombia, some of which are also involved with drug trafficking and are considered terrorist groups by the United States and most of Latin America.

Cuban President Miguel Cueto-Díaz, in a statement, said he had listened to Luna's speech, but did not comment on whether he believed Luna's assertions about the United States. Cueto-Díaz has been meeting with Vice President Jack Hunter and Secretary of State August Adair in negotiations about outstanding issues such as refugees from the nation's recent civil war. Many economic and foreign policy experts have said that the explosion in Cuban refugees fleeing to the United States since the war began in 2014 has not abated due to the five-decade trade embargo the United States has on Cuba, greatly slowing the nation's economic recovery from the war.

 

[lord caedus]

Friday, May 3rd 2019

Editorial: Ahead of 2020 midterms, redistricting lawsuits may decide control of House

The Southern District of Ohio has become the latest federal court to strike down some or part of a state's congressional districts. Today, a three-judge panel whose members were appointed by Presidents Lassiter, Bartlet and Santos, respectively, ruled unanimously that the state's congressional district map was an illegal partisan gerrymander that attempted to discriminate against Democratic voters and ordered the state to draw new districts by June 14 [see: Federal court tosses out Ohio congressional map for partisan gerrymandering]. The Ohio Republican Party has said it will take the case to the Supreme Court, where it will join several other state parties whose partisan gerrymanders have been ordered replaced, in whole or in part, by federal judges.

Ohio's 16 House districts make up the most seats that could potentially change wildly if the Supreme Court upholds the rulings in separate cases that it heard oral arguments for in March. One case revolved around North Carolina, whose 15 districts were ruled unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders meant to favor Republicans by a three-judge panel in January 2018, and the state was ordered to redraw its maps before the 2018 elections. The Supreme Court granted a stay while its parties prepared for an appeal, and last years' elections were run on the current districts. The second case involves Maryland, where a federal court found that the Democrats under then-governor Joe Derrick (now the state's junior senator) had violated the rights of Republican voters in the state's 6th congressional district by attempting to gerrymander it to unseat then-congressman Owen Wells (now the state's Republican governor; the seat went Democratic by over ten percentage-points once Wells retired to run for governor in 2016). Finally, last Thursday saw nine of Michigan's 14 congressional districts were ruled to have violated Democratic voters' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by either "packing" them into overwhelmingly Democratic districts or "cracking" them by dispersing their votes into Republican-leaning ones in order to benefit Republicans [see: Federal judges rule over 30 Michigan state and federal districts unconstitutional].

For those keeping track, like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), that is 41 House districts (nearly one-tenth of the total House) whose boundaries may change between now and when voters go to the polls on November 3, 2020. Depending on if the Supreme Court upholds all or some of the lower courts' rulings, the redrawing of boundaries will affect everything from candidate selection, to where the parties prioritize spending money next year, to the possibility of incumbent members of Congress having to compete against each other in a new district's primary.

With Republicans favored to improve on their performance last year, the redistricting battles take on a whole new importance. With the overwhelming majority of seats in play being ones that have been found to have been drawn to favor Republicans, the DCCC have been energized by the possibility of defying political gravity and keeping their slim majority in 2020. Rumors on Capitol Hill have it that several Democratic incumbents thought to be considering retirement have been making noises about staying on if it becomes clear that the party has a fighting shot of the party staying in power.

The question everyone is asking is: how will the Supreme Court rule? Last year, they punted on this question, sending back similar redistricting lawsuits on technical grounds. Now, without the possibility of causing chaos while the nation selects its president, we might finally get an answer. The court has moved to the right in recent years after President Walken was able to put three justices on the bench, but only one of the newer justices (Howard Weston) is a member of the court's bloc that is expected to rule against partisan gerrymandering being unconstitutional. A verdict, or lack thereof, could determine how next year's midterms shake out. Another decision shying away from ruling one way or another on the central question of partisan gerrymandering will likely frustrate everyone and set up another fight after the 2020 Census redistricting. Let's hope that this time, the court takes a stand, one way or another.

 

[WestWingNut]

BBC News

Sunday, 5th May 2019

Leo the cat installed as Downing Street Chief Mouser

Richard Samuels gave a warm welcome to the four-year-old moggy – who promptly fell asleep on a sofa rather than getting to work tackling the rat infestation which has plagued Downing Street in recent weeks.

Leo came highly recommended as a ratter by the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where he lived after being found as a stray, because of his alert temperament and fondness for playing with toy mice.

After being delivered in a van by staff from the rescue centre, the Prime Minister issued an official greeting, saying: "I'm delighted to welcome Leo to his new home. I'm sure he will be a great addition to Downing Street and will charm our many visitors."

Leo was recruited to tackle the rat problem after rodents were first spotted by television cameras a few weeks ago. While Downing Street initially rejected calls for a cat to be brought in, Mr. Samuels’s spokesman later admitted defeat, saying: “There was a group of people in Downing Street who thought it was a jolly good idea.”

Leo will be the first Chief Mouser to serve at Number 10 in over 20 years. The last cat to serve in the position was Churchill who served from 1989 – 1996 under Prime Ministers Thatcher, Reed and briefly Meyer before retiring from the position amid rumors that Miranda Meyer was allergic to cats. But unlike previous incumbents, Leo will not drain the taxpayer, with civil servants offering to pay for his upkeep.

Spoiler: Notes

• Leo's information is based on OTL's current Chief Mouser Larry who came to power when he was four years old.
• Leo's predecessor Churchill is based on RL Chief Mouser Humphrey who served under three Prime Ministers starting with Thatcher and retiring early into Blair's tenure as his wife Cherie was rumored to be allergic to cats.
• Leo's name is a reference to the Latin word for Lion, a national symbol of Britain.

 

[lord caedus]

OOC: Made this for an introduction to the current "main cast" of The West Wing in the first "season" of the Seaborn presidency ("season 20" if the show had never gone off-air).

​

Connie Tate (Connie Britton) is the current Director of Legislative Affairs who is married to DNC Chair Stephen Collins.
Cassie Tatum (Claire Coffee) is the White House Press Secretary who appeared in a few episodes in season 4 as a White House intern.
Kevin De Vost (Sharlto Copley) brings his roots as the son of liberal South Africans who fled the apartheid regime to the role of White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Policy.
Jason "Jace" Manning (Jordan Fisher) had hoped to be a star MLB pitcher. But nerve damage to his throwing arm and an interest in politics led the former fireballer to his position as the "body man" for President Seaborn.
C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) had a rocky return to the main cast after last season's Franklin Hollis debacle. But her new role as Senior Advisor to the President hopes for her to utilize her decades of experience as a mentor for the new president.
Will Bailey (Joshua Malina) returns to the main cast as the new White House Chief of Staff after appearing as a guest star in his role as a member of Congress throughout the previous 11 seasons.
John Edwards (Billy Miller) makes his White House debut as Deputy Communications Director after serving as communications director for former Texas governor John Hoynes and contributor for NBS (the latter where he made his debut as a reoccurring character in season 19).
Mark Sterns (Chris Rock) takes over the position of White House Communications Director and outspoken advocate within the administration for policies to benefit the poor and African-Americans.
Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) has finally achieved the role viewers had imagined for him when he made his debut way back in the series' pilot as an idealistic White House staffer. Now in the first year of his presidency, he hopes to lead the new cast and the nation in an exciting, new direction.

 

[WestWingNut]

I didn't know Chris Rock was in this. Has he ever been in a serious role before? I just had flashbacks of the movie Head of State.

 

[lord caedus]

I didn't know Chris Rock was in this. Has he ever been in a serious role before? I just had flashbacks of the movie Head of State.

I don't think he's been in a movie that's at least not part comedy, no. But it's not like there's a large pedigree of comedians who have seamlessly transitioned into dramatic acting roles before.

Head of State is what inspired Mark to cast him as Sterns.

 

[lord caedus]

OOC: Something just for fun: timeline of living presidents & vice presidents from the point where TTL meets up with OTL

Spoiler: Living president timeline

Spoiler: Living vice presidents timeline

Spoiler: Notes

• Acting presidents are not included on the timeline, hence George Bush (reminder, not OTL GHW Bush) not being included on the presidential timeline and Walken not appearing until his first inauguration in 2011.
• All of the dates of death had previously been established, except for Mondale's. I had previously said that Mondale died when Pierce (his clear analogue) clinched the Democratic nomination in 1994 similar to how Jimmy Carter died the day his analogue (D. Wire Newman) became president. Since there wasn't a Democratic convention in 1994, I approximated the last day of the 1994 DNC from the last day of the 1996 convention.
• As mentioned previously, having 8 vice presidents alive at one time (Bush, Eisenhower, Hoynes, Russell, Baker, Tripplehorn, Clark & Hunter) is a record both ITTL and IOTL.

 

[Marky Bunny]

(With thanks to @lord caedus)

 

[KingCrawa]

So no Brexit means the Lib Dems are having a harder time getting their message across (what's their seat count like in Parliament).

Is the NPP eurosceptic?

 

[Marky Bunny]

So no Brexit means the Lib Dems are having a harder time getting their message across (what's their seat count like in Parliament).

Is the NPP eurosceptic?

Oh yes. At the General Election they won in total 15 seats they now have 14 seats after losing the seat of Bermondsey and Old Southwark by-election in March to Labour.
The NPP is deeply Eurosceptic, they campaigned for a Leave vote in 2013, and now want to leave again without a second referendum, saying that the vote is invalid because the EU said in 2013 that it would not seek a "United States of Europe" now they are saying they do by 2025.

Current make-up of the House of Commons
Conservative 335
Labour 257 (+1)
Liberal Democrat 14 (-1)
National Peoples 13
DUP 10
SNP 8
SF 5
PC 4
SDLP 2
UUP 1
Speaker 1
Conservative Majority: 20 seats
Working Conservative Majority: 27 seats*
* Excludes the Speaker, three Deputy Speakers (two Labour and one Conservative) and the five Sinn Féin members (who follow a policy of abstentionism).
(+/ on last General Election includes the two by-elections held on 28/03/19)

 

[Marky Bunny]

BBC.CO.UK/Sport
Friday May 10th 2019

Leicester City appoint Matt Smith as permanent manager

Matt Smith has been appointed Leicester City manager on a two-year contract.The former England midfielder, 36, was promoted from first-team coach to caretaker boss in February after Claude Puel was sacked.

Smith has won six of his ten games in charge and are currently in ninth place in the Premier League table with one game left to play on Sunday. Smith who started and ended his playing career with the club was also capped by England twenty times between 2005 and 2013.

(Top Photo)Smith in the stands prior to his side beating Arsenal 3-0 on April 28th.
(Bottom Photo) Celebrating the victory.
(Photo by Matt Smith-as established Matt Smith in this universe never got his bad football injury & so never went into acting).
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/2018-presidential-election.446643/page-97

 

[TPL99]

"I like being a manager. Managers are cool", Smith supposedly said.

 

[NotA_Potato]

BBC.CO.UK/Sport
Friday May 10th 2019

Leicester City appoint Matt Smith as permanent manager

Did Leicester win the league back in 2015/16 ITTL?

 

[Marky Bunny]

Did Leicester win the league back in 2015/16 ITTL?

Yes, everything the same, just Matt Smith was appointed from the coaching staff rather than Brendan Rodgers. (I have based this appointment on Scott Parker taking over at Fulham, Smith's career is based on Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell's)

 

[RRusso1982]

I hope everything went ok for the President's commencement address in North Carolina

 

[lord caedus]

I hope everything went ok for the President's commencement address in North Carolina

It did. It was considered a good speech by all who heard it, but other than a nod to the peculiar circumstances surrounding his booking, nothing to write home about.