A Thousand Points of Light: An Alternate History TL
- Thread starter LordRedVine
- Start date
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...This Must Be Belfast
"Mr. Sands was a common street thug, a terrorist who starved himself for the selfish reason of Irish Republicanism. I don't consider him to be anything other than a criminal, exactly like that loony who assassinated President Reagan."
-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in response to a journalist's question on her thoughts of Bobby Sands, 6 May, 1981
"Belfast was already a powder keg doused in gasoline. If the death of Bobby Sands was the fuel for the massive firestorm that would follow, Ms. Thatcher's comments, equating Sands, who had been seen as a hero by the Irish minority in Ulster, with the crazed assassin of Ronald Reagan, was the match."
-Larry Mullen Jr., narrator of the 2003 BBC Panorama special This Is Ireland: A Short History of The Troubles
"Prime Minister...
-Yes, Clive?
Yes, have you heard? There's a situation down in Belfast..."
-Exchange between Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Clive Whitmore and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on the eve of 6 May, 1981
"We... are in Belfast, right now... [Gunshots] And it is a literal war-zone here..."
-Brian Barron, BBC War Correspondent reporting from Belfast, 7 May, 1981
"Remember 1916, boys! Tans out!"
-Overheard statement from an IRA member leading a charge into the predominantly Protestant district of Shankill, Belfast
"On that night alone, 150 buildings were torched. Mass charges of enraged Republicans stampeded into Protestant neighborhoods, the Loyalists fought back. By morning, 37 had died on both sides, and thousands were injured. The Battle of Belfast, as the Republicans called it, was a giant slap in the face to the British Government, who immediately went into damage control."
-Larry Mullen Jr., narrator of the 2003 BBC Panorama special This Is Ireland: A Short History of The Troubles
“Send them in, Ed.
-What?
You heard me, send the men in. Now.”
-Excerpt from a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Thatcher and Chief of the General Staff Sir Edwin Bramall
"PRIME MINISTER SENDS ARMY INTO BELFAST"
-The Washington Post, 9 May, 1981
“The city, which has been the epicenter for sectarian violence for decades, lit up two days earlier. The British government has declared the situation, which has killed an estimated 50 people and destroyed or damaged around a quarter of the town, a nation-wide state of emergency.”
-CBS Evening News, 10 May, 1981
"The most important thing to note during all this is that, although Mrs. Thatcher could have been better versed in her opinion of Mr. Sands, he was a terrorist, who did, after all, willingly kill himself. We do not wish to stir up the pot even more, but I, and President Bush, believes that martyrdom of a terrorist."
-Secretary of State Alexander Haig in a statement to the Press, 10 May, 1981
“I swear, if you’d put pictures of Belfast west of the Lough and pictures of Baghdad… you’d find them to be exactly the same.”
-Retired British Army Lance-Corporal David Jones, interviewed on the 2003 BBC Panorama special This Is Ireland: A Short History of The Troubles
Edward IX
Banned
I just wanted to say,I think you're running a great time line here. I admire you for doing it.
I have never had the guts to do one. My main knowledge runs modern Politics and the Civil War (which everyone on this board knows about.) But, bully for you on this being well done. I
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"The newsletter of hope"
Op-Ed from Le Monde, 19 October, 1998 (translated from the original French)
"On May 10, 1981, I was 18 years old and I was voting for the first time. I had the deep feeling that my little ballot, placed in the ballot box and bearing the name of François Mitterrand, went with so many others, to turn France into a new era, a modern era to finally bring it out. right-wing conservatism that I had always known. It was the newsletter of hope.
At 8 pm, in front of my screen, when the top of the new president's empty skull appeared in an untenable suspension, for a second, I thought it was Giscard's Estaing. During this second decomposed slow motion, I had time to feel a violent disappointment, a misunderstanding. And then, suddenly the rest of the face was revealed and I shouted my joy. "François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic!"
When I think of all the disappointments that followed, I see the face of Mitterrand on my television screen; the face of happiness, a symbol of 'today, everything is possible.' A feeling which unfortunately only lasted a short time."
PARTI SOCIALISTE WINS FRENCH ELECTIONS
-The Guardian, 11 May, 1981
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13 May, 1981
"Mr. Hinckley, if you would stand, please."
Hinckley, sprung back to attention from staring into space by Judge Green, complied, standing up, two District of Columbia police officers standing right next to him.
A thin, bespectacled man with curly brown hair, seated in the jury box, stood up as well, and produced a sheet of paper from his lounge suit jacket. He began reading off it:
"The jury has unanimously condemned you to death for your actions in the murder of Ronald Reagan, thus distinguishing your culpability for said act from your culpability for other criminal acts. That is a reasoned moral judgment. It is my Case duty to impose the sentence that the jury has designated with respect to the capital counts."
Judge Green nodded her head, and then continued.
"It is my duty to determine the sentences to be imposed on the non-capital counts in accordance with the relevant statutes and after consideration of relevant sentencing factors, including Guidelines recommendation, and as I have indicated, I accept and apply the Guidelines recommendation generally as to those counts. So accordingly, as to Count 1, I sentence you to the penalty of death by execution."
The Court Security Officer then stood up. "Everyone please remain seated."
And with that, the two District of Columbia police officers grabbed Hinckley by his shoulders and escorted him out of the courtroom. Hinckley looked around the room as he was being taken away, scanning past the gallery, full of yelling protesters bashing at the bulletproof windows, and over to the one he wanted to see.
His beloved Jodie.
In the witnesses' booth, the 18-year old actress, and her father, Lucius, were seated. Jodie was in tears, consoled by her father and fellow witness and victim of Hinckley Thomas Delahanty.
The twitching 25-year old assassin gave a grimaced smile, and was walked out.
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"REGGAE LEGEND BOB MARLEY DIES, AGED 36"
-NME Magazine, 16 May, 1981
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Prime Minister Thatcher spoke at Chequers, accompanied by her husband Denis, on the morning of the 15th of May to a crowd of dignitaries and journalists.
"Good morning.
As you all likely know, about a week ago, riots sprung up in Northern Ireland, mostly in response to the death of Irish Republican Army member and Minister of Parliament Robert Sands. Now, the curious thing about riots is that they tend to erupt around a chance moment — a perceived threat, a lone miscarriage of justice, one arrest too many, or a single act of violence freighted with history, which means a riot can symbolize many different and sometimes contradictory things, depending on the prism through which one regards it.
And the convulsion of violence in Belfast is no different.
Some people are stating that the riots were sparked by apparent derogatory comments uttered by myself about Mr. Sands. I did say that Mr. Sands was, in fact, a murderer of British people in Ulster. Whether or not said comments were worthy of people losing respect for the law and an outgrowth of public disobedience is fully up to the people's interpretation. But, there are no excuses for wanton violence and revolution.
This is why I decided to launch the peacekeeping operation into Belfast. I have come here to announce that our great men in the British Army have mostly broken up the unrest in the city."
The crowd applauded.
"We must show the terrorists like the IRA that we will not take massacres, unspeakable carnage, doomsday chaos lightly. And we will keep the peacekeepers in Belfast until we feel, until we know, that the situation in Ulster has descaled enough that this never happens again.
I still stand by my opinions. The IRA are tyrants and criminals. Their attacks are meant to harm the name of world democracy, no better than the creeping menace of Soviet terrorism and espionage. But the outrage in which we have all shared in the aftermath of this is a sign not only that this attack has failed, but that all attempts to destroy the efforts of the free world by terrorism and fear tactics will fail.”
"Just read Mrs. Thatcher's speech today in the News Letter. Inspiring how,even when pressured, she doesn't give in to the provos."
-Diary entry of UDA (later UFF) leader Andy Tyrie on 16 May, 1981
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WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS VICE-PRESIDENT TO BE SWORN IN "BY THE END OF THE WEEK"
The New York Times, 18 May, 1981
The White House has released a press statement confirming that President Bush will nominate a vice-president to the Senate by the end of the week. The statement comes amid hemorrhaging approval rates, which is likely a combined result of his failed tax bill, which is apparently under revision with the aid of Democratic representatives and senators, and the current economic climate.
Although the White House has declined to give any further comment on the nomination, it is likely that the moderate Bush will likely choose a politician that adheres to his political leanings. As a result, rumors claim that Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and Vermont Governor Richard A. Snelling have been shortlisted.
"The newsletter of hope"
Op-Ed from Le Monde, 19 October, 1998 (translated from the original French)
"On May 10, 1981, I was 18 years old and I was voting for the first time. I had the deep feeling that my little ballot, placed in the ballot box and bearing the name of François Mitterrand, went with so many others, to turn France into a new era, a modern era to finally bring it out. right-wing conservatism that I had always known. It was the newsletter of hope.
At 8 pm, in front of my screen, when the top of the new president's empty skull appeared in an untenable suspension, for a second, I thought it was Giscard's Estaing. During this second decomposed slow motion, I had time to feel a violent disappointment, a misunderstanding. And then, suddenly the rest of the face was revealed and I shouted my joy. "François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic!"
When I think of all the disappointments that followed, I see the face of Mitterrand on my television screen; the face of happiness, a symbol of 'today, everything is possible.' A feeling which unfortunately only lasted a short time."
PARTI SOCIALISTE WINS FRENCH ELECTIONS
-The Guardian, 11 May, 1981
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13 May, 1981
"Mr. Hinckley, if you would stand, please."
Hinckley, sprung back to attention from staring into space by Judge Green, complied, standing up, two District of Columbia police officers standing right next to him.
A thin, bespectacled man with curly brown hair, seated in the jury box, stood up as well, and produced a sheet of paper from his lounge suit jacket. He began reading off it:
"The jury has unanimously condemned you to death for your actions in the murder of Ronald Reagan, thus distinguishing your culpability for said act from your culpability for other criminal acts. That is a reasoned moral judgment. It is my Case duty to impose the sentence that the jury has designated with respect to the capital counts."
Judge Green nodded her head, and then continued.
"It is my duty to determine the sentences to be imposed on the non-capital counts in accordance with the relevant statutes and after consideration of relevant sentencing factors, including Guidelines recommendation, and as I have indicated, I accept and apply the Guidelines recommendation generally as to those counts. So accordingly, as to Count 1, I sentence you to the penalty of death by execution."
The Court Security Officer then stood up. "Everyone please remain seated."
And with that, the two District of Columbia police officers grabbed Hinckley by his shoulders and escorted him out of the courtroom. Hinckley looked around the room as he was being taken away, scanning past the gallery, full of yelling protesters bashing at the bulletproof windows, and over to the one he wanted to see.
His beloved Jodie.
In the witnesses' booth, the 18-year old actress, and her father, Lucius, were seated. Jodie was in tears, consoled by her father and fellow witness and victim of Hinckley Thomas Delahanty.
The twitching 25-year old assassin gave a grimaced smile, and was walked out.
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"REGGAE LEGEND BOB MARLEY DIES, AGED 36"
-NME Magazine, 16 May, 1981
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Prime Minister Thatcher spoke at Chequers, accompanied by her husband Denis, on the morning of the 15th of May to a crowd of dignitaries and journalists.
"Good morning.
As you all likely know, about a week ago, riots sprung up in Northern Ireland, mostly in response to the death of Irish Republican Army member and Minister of Parliament Robert Sands. Now, the curious thing about riots is that they tend to erupt around a chance moment — a perceived threat, a lone miscarriage of justice, one arrest too many, or a single act of violence freighted with history, which means a riot can symbolize many different and sometimes contradictory things, depending on the prism through which one regards it.
And the convulsion of violence in Belfast is no different.
Some people are stating that the riots were sparked by apparent derogatory comments uttered by myself about Mr. Sands. I did say that Mr. Sands was, in fact, a murderer of British people in Ulster. Whether or not said comments were worthy of people losing respect for the law and an outgrowth of public disobedience is fully up to the people's interpretation. But, there are no excuses for wanton violence and revolution.
This is why I decided to launch the peacekeeping operation into Belfast. I have come here to announce that our great men in the British Army have mostly broken up the unrest in the city."
The crowd applauded.
"We must show the terrorists like the IRA that we will not take massacres, unspeakable carnage, doomsday chaos lightly. And we will keep the peacekeepers in Belfast until we feel, until we know, that the situation in Ulster has descaled enough that this never happens again.
I still stand by my opinions. The IRA are tyrants and criminals. Their attacks are meant to harm the name of world democracy, no better than the creeping menace of Soviet terrorism and espionage. But the outrage in which we have all shared in the aftermath of this is a sign not only that this attack has failed, but that all attempts to destroy the efforts of the free world by terrorism and fear tactics will fail.”
"Just read Mrs. Thatcher's speech today in the News Letter. Inspiring how,even when pressured, she doesn't give in to the provos."
-Diary entry of UDA (later UFF) leader Andy Tyrie on 16 May, 1981
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS VICE-PRESIDENT TO BE SWORN IN "BY THE END OF THE WEEK"
The New York Times, 18 May, 1981
The White House has released a press statement confirming that President Bush will nominate a vice-president to the Senate by the end of the week. The statement comes amid hemorrhaging approval rates, which is likely a combined result of his failed tax bill, which is apparently under revision with the aid of Democratic representatives and senators, and the current economic climate.
Although the White House has declined to give any further comment on the nomination, it is likely that the moderate Bush will likely choose a politician that adheres to his political leanings. As a result, rumors claim that Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and Vermont Governor Richard A. Snelling have been shortlisted.
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Ch-Ch-Changes
May 23
Washington D.C.
Secretary of State Alexander Haig nervously lit a cigar.
"Well? What the fuck are we gonna do?"
Haig, Chief of Staff James A. Baker, White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and National Security Advisor Richard Allen were seated on a table in the smoke-filled Roosevelt Room. On the table were stacks of pictures of prominent Republican senators, governors and representatives.
Baker spoke up. "Senator Quayle," passing the Polaroid copy of the official portrait of the Indianan towards the middle of the antique oak table.
"Seriously?" Weinberger replied.
"He's a moderate. I think he's the best choice."
"Yeah, and so was Anderson. Your point being?”
Fielding added in: “He’s an idiot. Nice haired, mind you, but an idiot.”
Allen drew an ‘x’ on the picture and slid it to a pile of similarly crossed-out pictures.
Haig spoke up. “Well? anyone else?”
Baker sighed, and pulled out yet another photograph.
“Senator Stevens.”
Haig took the cigar out of his mouth, and sighed out a puff of smoke as he nodded to the Chief of Staff. He put the picture onto another, much smaller stack of photographs.
By the end of the day, the vice presidential shortlist was passed to President Bush.
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Moscow
Chairman of the Committee for State Security Andropov was seated in an armchair in his dacha, reading from a dispatch from Lubyanka. He felt a headache brewing in his head as he tried to focus in on the pale grey letters on the piece of paper in the darkness from the Russian twilight.
Andropov continued to read through his progressively intensifying neuralgia, until an officer came up to him.
"Comrade Andropov."
The Chairman replied in a semi-slurred tone. "At ease."
"General Petrov wishes to speak with you on the telephone."
"Well, bring him in."
The chairman left the living room of the summer home for the telephone, and Andropov returned to reading the KGB dispatch. The pain in his head felt even stronger, the Cyrillic letters on the sheet of India paper had become smudged and fuzzy. He put down the sheet onto a counter and held his eyes, his ears picking up a high-pitched ringing sound.
"Comrade Andropov,"
The officer held a teal-colored rotary phone in his hands, a black cord coming from behind it and into the kitchen of the dacha.
"Thank you."
Andropov picked the handset up.
"Privet, General."
Vasiliy Ivanovich Petrov noticed the Chairman's garbling tone in his voice.
"Comrade, are you okay?"
"What?"
"You sound..."
At that moment, Chairman Andropov's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped into his armchair, spilling his glass of coffee onto the wooden floor and the telephone onto the tan-colored carpet. He had just had a severe embolic stroke.
But General Petrov was unaware of this from his office in Stavropol. Neither was the officer tending to the Chairman's needs, lighting a cigarette in the nearby kitchen.
"Comrade?"
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Vatican City
A massive crowd had gathered in St. Peter's Square. Pope John Paul II was to pass through the square, full of adoring supporters.
The Pope emerged from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, ready for his weekly audience in the square. Thousands of people, from all corners of the globe, were waiting for a glimpse, a photo or perhaps even a touch from the adored spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. At about 4:50 p.m., the Pope stepped into the white open jeep, a brand-new Fiat Campagnola, specifically made for him, often nicknamed as the “Popemobile,” and rode around the elliptical-shaped plaza, weaving through the festive crowd.
The jeep stopped on the southwest side of the Basilica steps, just as it always did. Hands, cameras and crosses extended from the crowd.
And so did an explosion.
A pressure cooker bomb, hidden inside a black backpack in the southeast corner, behind one of the Basilica's multiple colonnades, exploded in a frightening blast, sending the crowd of nearly 550,000 people bolting away in fear and causing severe damage to the entrance of the nearly 500-year old building.
At the same time, Pope John Paul II clutched his chest and slumped into the arms of his aids in the Popemobile as bright red stains slowly extended across his white cassock. Karol Józef Wojtyła had been shot.
The assassination of the Pope brought back painful memories of the Reagan assassination, just months before. Joint-Italian and Vatican gendarmerie were on the scene by 6:00, desperately pouring over the scene to try find evidence of the assassin or assassins.
But the assassins, two Turkish men, in fact, who had in fact planned the attack ten days earlier, had already escaped.
The international manhunt that followed was unprecedented at its scale, and the largest ever; that is, until the nineties.
Washington D.C.
Secretary of State Alexander Haig nervously lit a cigar.
"Well? What the fuck are we gonna do?"
Haig, Chief of Staff James A. Baker, White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and National Security Advisor Richard Allen were seated on a table in the smoke-filled Roosevelt Room. On the table were stacks of pictures of prominent Republican senators, governors and representatives.
Baker spoke up. "Senator Quayle," passing the Polaroid copy of the official portrait of the Indianan towards the middle of the antique oak table.
"Seriously?" Weinberger replied.
"He's a moderate. I think he's the best choice."
"Yeah, and so was Anderson. Your point being?”
Fielding added in: “He’s an idiot. Nice haired, mind you, but an idiot.”
Allen drew an ‘x’ on the picture and slid it to a pile of similarly crossed-out pictures.
Haig spoke up. “Well? anyone else?”
Baker sighed, and pulled out yet another photograph.
“Senator Stevens.”
Haig took the cigar out of his mouth, and sighed out a puff of smoke as he nodded to the Chief of Staff. He put the picture onto another, much smaller stack of photographs.
By the end of the day, the vice presidential shortlist was passed to President Bush.
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Moscow
Chairman of the Committee for State Security Andropov was seated in an armchair in his dacha, reading from a dispatch from Lubyanka. He felt a headache brewing in his head as he tried to focus in on the pale grey letters on the piece of paper in the darkness from the Russian twilight.
Andropov continued to read through his progressively intensifying neuralgia, until an officer came up to him.
"Comrade Andropov."
The Chairman replied in a semi-slurred tone. "At ease."
"General Petrov wishes to speak with you on the telephone."
"Well, bring him in."
The chairman left the living room of the summer home for the telephone, and Andropov returned to reading the KGB dispatch. The pain in his head felt even stronger, the Cyrillic letters on the sheet of India paper had become smudged and fuzzy. He put down the sheet onto a counter and held his eyes, his ears picking up a high-pitched ringing sound.
"Comrade Andropov,"
The officer held a teal-colored rotary phone in his hands, a black cord coming from behind it and into the kitchen of the dacha.
"Thank you."
Andropov picked the handset up.
"Privet, General."
Vasiliy Ivanovich Petrov noticed the Chairman's garbling tone in his voice.
"Comrade, are you okay?"
"What?"
"You sound..."
At that moment, Chairman Andropov's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped into his armchair, spilling his glass of coffee onto the wooden floor and the telephone onto the tan-colored carpet. He had just had a severe embolic stroke.
But General Petrov was unaware of this from his office in Stavropol. Neither was the officer tending to the Chairman's needs, lighting a cigarette in the nearby kitchen.
"Comrade?"
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Vatican City
A massive crowd had gathered in St. Peter's Square. Pope John Paul II was to pass through the square, full of adoring supporters.
The Pope emerged from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, ready for his weekly audience in the square. Thousands of people, from all corners of the globe, were waiting for a glimpse, a photo or perhaps even a touch from the adored spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. At about 4:50 p.m., the Pope stepped into the white open jeep, a brand-new Fiat Campagnola, specifically made for him, often nicknamed as the “Popemobile,” and rode around the elliptical-shaped plaza, weaving through the festive crowd.
The jeep stopped on the southwest side of the Basilica steps, just as it always did. Hands, cameras and crosses extended from the crowd.
And so did an explosion.
A pressure cooker bomb, hidden inside a black backpack in the southeast corner, behind one of the Basilica's multiple colonnades, exploded in a frightening blast, sending the crowd of nearly 550,000 people bolting away in fear and causing severe damage to the entrance of the nearly 500-year old building.
At the same time, Pope John Paul II clutched his chest and slumped into the arms of his aids in the Popemobile as bright red stains slowly extended across his white cassock. Karol Józef Wojtyła had been shot.
The assassination of the Pope brought back painful memories of the Reagan assassination, just months before. Joint-Italian and Vatican gendarmerie were on the scene by 6:00, desperately pouring over the scene to try find evidence of the assassin or assassins.
But the assassins, two Turkish men, in fact, who had in fact planned the attack ten days earlier, had already escaped.
The international manhunt that followed was unprecedented at its scale, and the largest ever; that is, until the nineties.
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I think the Bulgarian (Zilo Vassilev I think his name was?) was the leader of the whole plot IOTL, and guess ITTL too.
That Andropov bit, will he die early in this TL? That should shake up Soviet politics in this ATL when Brezhnev dies, I wonder what it will lead to and if Gorbachev rises to power earlier because of this.
And Pope John Paul II assassinated? Oof, this timeline really is turning dark.
Good timeline so far. Keep it up!
And Pope John Paul II assassinated? Oof, this timeline really is turning dark.
Good timeline so far. Keep it up!
Great post I wonder how many Americans and though the the Sullivan Brothers that's mentioned in it?
Ch-Ch-Changes
"Good evening. I'd intended to make some remarks about the decision-making process in this historic determination, but, uh, no. [Laughter]
I've instead decided to instead make some remarks about my predecessor; Mr. Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan was a kind man, one who I was grateful to work under. He had a vision, a clear vision to pull America out of the crises that we were stuck with by the Carter administration. And, I promise, to all you you here, to all American people, that I will continue to hold that torch, and not let the spirit of the American people be snuffed out.
And that's what led my decision; who will continue the legacy of the ideals of Reagan. And I believe I have made the correct decision.
And, without further ado, I announce my new vice-president: Mr. Howard Baker."
[Cheering]
-Statement by George H. W. Bush at the Vice-Presidential Nomination ceremony, 25 May, 1981
"There were ten other candidates: Senators Ted Stevens, Bob Dole, Charles Mathias, and Charles Percy, Governors James R. Thompson and Dick Thornburgh, Representatives Guy Vander Jagt and Jack Kemp, White House Chief of Staff James Baker, Secretary of Transportation Andrew L. Lewis Jr. and Director of the CIA William J. Casey. Did Bush choose the right person? Probably. Who knows what a Thornburgh vice-presidency, or a Dole vice-presidency would look like? I don't think there's anyone who can really answer that."
-Quotation from Mississippi Boy: Life in the White House 1981-1988 by Former White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes
"TENS OF MILLIONS ATTEND FUNERAL OF POPE JOHN PAUL II"
-L'Osservatore Romano (translated from the original Italian), 27 May, 1981
"Good. I am fully glad that this devil-worshipping, spiritual-fornicating Romanist is in Hell! Now's only hoping that those Irish Republican Army madmen Adams and McGuiness join him and their communist friend Sands sooner than later!"
-Remarks by Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley on the death of Pope John Paul II, 28 May, 1981
"PAPAL ELECTIONS 'UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE,' VATICAN INSIDER SAYS"
-The Times, 29 May, 1981
"BAKER VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PASSES SENATE 67-33"
-The Washington Post, 30 May, 1981
"BANGLADESHI PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED, RIOTS REPORTED IN CAPITAL OF DHAKA"
-The Guardian, 30 May, 1981
"I do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
-Howard Baker giving the Oath of Office during his Swearing-In at the Western Front of the U.S. Capitol, 1 June, 1981
"We have just gotten in reports that the British Embassy in Bangladesh has been forced to evacuate following violence in the midst of a brutal spasm of violence as a result of the assassination of Bangladeshi Premier Ziaur Rahman..."
-Transmission from BBC Radio 4, 2 June, 1981
"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Giuseppe Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Siri,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Gregorius."
-Statement by Protodeacon Umberto Mozzoni, upon the election of the Pope, 2 June, 1981
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The papal conclave of 1981 was triggered by the assassination of Pope John Paul II on the 23rd of May. The conclave to elect John Paul II's successor began on the 30th of May, and ended three days later, on the 2nd of June, after four ballots.
Three days after the funeral of Pope John Paul II, on the 26th of May, the doors of the Sistine Chapel were sealed and the conclave commenced. It was divided between three particularly strong candidates for the papacy: Giuseppe Siri, the more conservative Archbishop of Genoa, the moderate figure Franz König, the Archbishop of Vienna and the more liberal Giovanni Benelli, Archbishop of Florence.
Siri ultimately defeated Benelli and König on the eighth ballot on the third day with, according to the Italian press, 91 votes from the 111 participating electors. He accepted his election with these words: "With obedience in faith to Christ, my Lord, I fully accept."
The cardinals elected Siri as the new pope. He accepted his election and took the pontifical name of Gregory XVII.
Jello Biafra sat on the phone, confused and wide-eyed.
"Wait, what the hell?"
"That's right. They said they wanted in."
Jello snorted. He set the phone down right next to the bottle of Anchor Steam beer that he had spat out when first hearing the news. For some, strange, screwed-up reason, a label wanted them. Not just any label, RC-goddamned-A. The monolithic mega-label. The label with the dog on it. 'Big Music,' many in the scene called it.
He was almost instinctively obligated to refuse. After all, nothing would be more sell-out, more establishment, more anti-resistance, than siding with big business. Why the hell did the same label that published shit like Cher and George Strait want to sign the Dead Kennedys, of all bands?
Little did any of the San Francisco hardcore punk four-piece know, the fateful day Reagan was assassinated, a bootleg copy of one of the band's songs, "Moon Over Marin,” had floated around before inexplicably landing on the desk of one of the offices of the Music Corporation of America in Sunset Strip. Somehow this track wasn't immediately discarded and was actually sent up to the higher-ups. The head of RCA's California branch, loving the track, decided to reach their label manager, Michael Bonanno, and offered them a record deal, thinking of them as some American version of The Clash, left-wing political lyrics over atmospheric, reggae-infused punk, a massive difference considering the band had compared Governor Jerry Brown to Adolf Hitler and whose lead singer had ran for mayor under a platform of forcing businessmen to wear clown suits and building statues of Dan White to throw fruit at.
But then Biafra, sitting in his small, cluttered San Francisco apartment overlooking the bay, had an epiphany. Why the fuck not? If some dickhead in L.A. was stupid enough to think that the Dead Kennedys of all bands was worth signing, go right ahead.
Why not subvert the whole system inside out? Why even bother with releasing material on Alternative Tentacles? A small label isn't more or less capitalist as a giant. Both of them want to make money, after all.
"Y'know what, let's do it, Mike."
"Y'sure?"
"Yeah. Why the hell not? Let's have some fun while we still can, piss about with the 'kings of music.'"
Bonanno was also just as confused, if not more so by Biafra's unexplained enthusiasm to apparently happily sell out.
"Okay... I-I'll tell them that."
"This year is going to be fun, alright."
I've instead decided to instead make some remarks about my predecessor; Mr. Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan was a kind man, one who I was grateful to work under. He had a vision, a clear vision to pull America out of the crises that we were stuck with by the Carter administration. And, I promise, to all you you here, to all American people, that I will continue to hold that torch, and not let the spirit of the American people be snuffed out.
And that's what led my decision; who will continue the legacy of the ideals of Reagan. And I believe I have made the correct decision.
And, without further ado, I announce my new vice-president: Mr. Howard Baker."
[Cheering]
-Statement by George H. W. Bush at the Vice-Presidential Nomination ceremony, 25 May, 1981
"There were ten other candidates: Senators Ted Stevens, Bob Dole, Charles Mathias, and Charles Percy, Governors James R. Thompson and Dick Thornburgh, Representatives Guy Vander Jagt and Jack Kemp, White House Chief of Staff James Baker, Secretary of Transportation Andrew L. Lewis Jr. and Director of the CIA William J. Casey. Did Bush choose the right person? Probably. Who knows what a Thornburgh vice-presidency, or a Dole vice-presidency would look like? I don't think there's anyone who can really answer that."
-Quotation from Mississippi Boy: Life in the White House 1981-1988 by Former White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes
"TENS OF MILLIONS ATTEND FUNERAL OF POPE JOHN PAUL II"
-L'Osservatore Romano (translated from the original Italian), 27 May, 1981
"Good. I am fully glad that this devil-worshipping, spiritual-fornicating Romanist is in Hell! Now's only hoping that those Irish Republican Army madmen Adams and McGuiness join him and their communist friend Sands sooner than later!"
-Remarks by Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley on the death of Pope John Paul II, 28 May, 1981
"PAPAL ELECTIONS 'UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE,' VATICAN INSIDER SAYS"
-The Times, 29 May, 1981
"BAKER VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PASSES SENATE 67-33"
-The Washington Post, 30 May, 1981
"BANGLADESHI PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED, RIOTS REPORTED IN CAPITAL OF DHAKA"
-The Guardian, 30 May, 1981
"I do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
-Howard Baker giving the Oath of Office during his Swearing-In at the Western Front of the U.S. Capitol, 1 June, 1981
"We have just gotten in reports that the British Embassy in Bangladesh has been forced to evacuate following violence in the midst of a brutal spasm of violence as a result of the assassination of Bangladeshi Premier Ziaur Rahman..."
-Transmission from BBC Radio 4, 2 June, 1981
"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Giuseppe Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Siri,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Gregorius."
-Statement by Protodeacon Umberto Mozzoni, upon the election of the Pope, 2 June, 1981
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The papal conclave of 1981 was triggered by the assassination of Pope John Paul II on the 23rd of May. The conclave to elect John Paul II's successor began on the 30th of May, and ended three days later, on the 2nd of June, after four ballots.
Three days after the funeral of Pope John Paul II, on the 26th of May, the doors of the Sistine Chapel were sealed and the conclave commenced. It was divided between three particularly strong candidates for the papacy: Giuseppe Siri, the more conservative Archbishop of Genoa, the moderate figure Franz König, the Archbishop of Vienna and the more liberal Giovanni Benelli, Archbishop of Florence.
Siri ultimately defeated Benelli and König on the eighth ballot on the third day with, according to the Italian press, 91 votes from the 111 participating electors. He accepted his election with these words: "With obedience in faith to Christ, my Lord, I fully accept."
The cardinals elected Siri as the new pope. He accepted his election and took the pontifical name of Gregory XVII.
(Accessed from Nupedia, The Online Encyclopedia, 2018)
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Jello Biafra sat on the phone, confused and wide-eyed.
"Wait, what the hell?"
"That's right. They said they wanted in."
Jello snorted. He set the phone down right next to the bottle of Anchor Steam beer that he had spat out when first hearing the news. For some, strange, screwed-up reason, a label wanted them. Not just any label, RC-goddamned-A. The monolithic mega-label. The label with the dog on it. 'Big Music,' many in the scene called it.
He was almost instinctively obligated to refuse. After all, nothing would be more sell-out, more establishment, more anti-resistance, than siding with big business. Why the hell did the same label that published shit like Cher and George Strait want to sign the Dead Kennedys, of all bands?
Little did any of the San Francisco hardcore punk four-piece know, the fateful day Reagan was assassinated, a bootleg copy of one of the band's songs, "Moon Over Marin,” had floated around before inexplicably landing on the desk of one of the offices of the Music Corporation of America in Sunset Strip. Somehow this track wasn't immediately discarded and was actually sent up to the higher-ups. The head of RCA's California branch, loving the track, decided to reach their label manager, Michael Bonanno, and offered them a record deal, thinking of them as some American version of The Clash, left-wing political lyrics over atmospheric, reggae-infused punk, a massive difference considering the band had compared Governor Jerry Brown to Adolf Hitler and whose lead singer had ran for mayor under a platform of forcing businessmen to wear clown suits and building statues of Dan White to throw fruit at.
But then Biafra, sitting in his small, cluttered San Francisco apartment overlooking the bay, had an epiphany. Why the fuck not? If some dickhead in L.A. was stupid enough to think that the Dead Kennedys of all bands was worth signing, go right ahead.
Why not subvert the whole system inside out? Why even bother with releasing material on Alternative Tentacles? A small label isn't more or less capitalist as a giant. Both of them want to make money, after all.
"Y'know what, let's do it, Mike."
"Y'sure?"
"Yeah. Why the hell not? Let's have some fun while we still can, piss about with the 'kings of music.'"
Bonanno was also just as confused, if not more so by Biafra's unexplained enthusiasm to apparently happily sell out.
"Okay... I-I'll tell them that."
"This year is going to be fun, alright."
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Nice TL, LordRedVine
note on Jean-Paul II actually there were TWO Assassination attempts in 1981
the first in Rome here successful in TL and one in Portugal were priest Juan Maria Fernandez Krohn try to stab him with Bayonet on 12 may 1981.
What about George H.W. Bush Space Exploration Initiative ?
he proposed in 1989 a huge gigantic Space program, that died quietly after several months do Capitol Hill and NASA ! lack of interest and extrem cost of $500 billion to spend over next 30 years.
will he propose S.E.I. instead of S.D.I ?
note on Jean-Paul II actually there were TWO Assassination attempts in 1981
the first in Rome here successful in TL and one in Portugal were priest Juan Maria Fernandez Krohn try to stab him with Bayonet on 12 may 1981.
What about George H.W. Bush Space Exploration Initiative ?
he proposed in 1989 a huge gigantic Space program, that died quietly after several months do Capitol Hill and NASA ! lack of interest and extrem cost of $500 billion to spend over next 30 years.
will he propose S.E.I. instead of S.D.I ?
i forgot
So far i know Washington D.C. used Electric Chair for Execution, last in 1957.
goes same for John Hinckley Jr. ?
So far i know Washington D.C. used Electric Chair for Execution, last in 1957.
goes same for John Hinckley Jr. ?
"ASTROS LF CESAR CEDENO POPS 5 HITS, GOES ON TO BEAT UP L.A. 3-1 AT ASTRODOME"
-The New York Post sports section, 6 June, 1981
"Vice President Baker, what are your views on the Bush tax plan?
-Well, in my opinion, I think that President Bush's plan would work well. I've heard rumors that it's being reformulated, but I can't exactly confirm that.
Would you change anything in it?
-Pardon?
If you could reintroduce it... to the house, would you change anything in the plan?
-Well, I'd support adding equal cuts to medium and lower-class citizens' taxes, but to keep the, er, "super-rich," their taxes, keep theirs the same.
Interesting.
-Anything else?
Yes, where'd you get that jacket?"
-Exchange between a Wall Street Journal reporter and Vice President Howard Baker (R-TN)
"ALEXANDER HAIG IN UK"
-The Telegraph, 9 June, 1981
"Secretary of State Alexander Haig met with Prime Minister Thatcher today at 10 Downing Street. The session was mainly called to discuss the British peacekeeping occupation of Belfast, underway since the Shankill Riots last April, but the topics of Soviet might and American military involvement in the Lebanese Civil War and in Libya were also apparently discussed."
-The Guardian, 9 June, 1981
"Vice President Baker's idea for the tax plan might not be a bad idea. Not saying it's good, but I'd be okay to support it if it came down to it. I do believe politics works best when it's a bipartisan force."
-Statement by Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (D-MA-8)
"RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK PREMIERES TO MOSTLY POSITIVE RECEPTION"
-The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 1981
"If you want an idea on how crazy this lizard-brain-moral-hive-mind movement was after the gunning down of the Gipper, the Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark, there was a scene in which there's a fair bit of violence. Some dude's head explodes in a fireball, some dude's face melts off. And the "moral majority" crowd in the audience were pissed. They walked out, and actually began protesting the goddamned film being shown at all. Because a fictional goddamned character's head exploded because of some God bullshit or something."
-From The Right to Remain Silent: A Short History of Censorship by William M. Hicks
"There is this movie, a horrific, disgusting movie. It is called Raiders of the Lost Ark. Parents, we at Focus on the Family implore you: do not let your children watch this film. It is full of disgusting, vile, violent imagery, very, very oblique... references to Satanism, Paganism and witchcraft, astral projections... i-i-it's just a disgusting film. Do not watch it, do not let your children watch it."
-Excerpt from Focus On The Family radio broadcast, 14 June, 1981
"President Bush met with Speaker of the House O'Neill and other Congressional leaders today to discuss the tax plan, a "skinny version" of which failed last month. The leaders apparently drew support from Vice President Baker's support of the bill, with an equal tax cut towards lower-income and the middle-class,. According to meeting insiders, by the end of the meeting, the outcome looked immensely positive and the likelihood of bipartisan cooperation on such a deal appears likely."
-The New York Times, 15 June, 1981
"WILLIAM WRIGLEY III SELLS CUBS, ENDS DECADES-LONG FAMILY ASSOCIATION"
-The Chicago Tribune, 16 June, 1981
"REVISED BIPARTISAN TAX PLAN AWAITS HOUSE VOTE"
-The Washington Post, 17 June, 1981
"My dad knew that most of the Democrats were under the iron grip of O'Neill. But he was persistent. The odyssey that was the journey my father's tax plan went on taught me valuable lessons on life. It taught me that cooperation between sides is sometimes necessary. It taught me that persistence is key. But most of all, above all else, It taught me to never give up on anything. And that, dear reader, is what is most important."
-From An American Son: Memories from the First Son by George W. Bush
"TAX BILL PASSES VOICE VOTE IN HOUSE"
-C-SPAN Update, 21 June, 1981
"NASCAR UPDATE: DARRELL WALTRIP WINS THE 1981 SONOMA 300 AT GOLDEN STATE RACEWAY, SECOND PLACE- BOBBY ALLISON, THIRD PLACE- NEIL BONNETT, FOURTH PLACE- RICKY RUDD, FIFTH PLACE- JOE RUTTMAN"
-NASCAR on CBS, 22 June, 1981
-The New York Post sports section, 6 June, 1981
"Vice President Baker, what are your views on the Bush tax plan?
-Well, in my opinion, I think that President Bush's plan would work well. I've heard rumors that it's being reformulated, but I can't exactly confirm that.
Would you change anything in it?
-Pardon?
If you could reintroduce it... to the house, would you change anything in the plan?
-Well, I'd support adding equal cuts to medium and lower-class citizens' taxes, but to keep the, er, "super-rich," their taxes, keep theirs the same.
Interesting.
-Anything else?
Yes, where'd you get that jacket?"
-Exchange between a Wall Street Journal reporter and Vice President Howard Baker (R-TN)
"ALEXANDER HAIG IN UK"
-The Telegraph, 9 June, 1981
"Secretary of State Alexander Haig met with Prime Minister Thatcher today at 10 Downing Street. The session was mainly called to discuss the British peacekeeping occupation of Belfast, underway since the Shankill Riots last April, but the topics of Soviet might and American military involvement in the Lebanese Civil War and in Libya were also apparently discussed."
-The Guardian, 9 June, 1981
"Vice President Baker's idea for the tax plan might not be a bad idea. Not saying it's good, but I'd be okay to support it if it came down to it. I do believe politics works best when it's a bipartisan force."
-Statement by Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (D-MA-8)
"RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK PREMIERES TO MOSTLY POSITIVE RECEPTION"
-The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 1981
"If you want an idea on how crazy this lizard-brain-moral-hive-mind movement was after the gunning down of the Gipper, the Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark, there was a scene in which there's a fair bit of violence. Some dude's head explodes in a fireball, some dude's face melts off. And the "moral majority" crowd in the audience were pissed. They walked out, and actually began protesting the goddamned film being shown at all. Because a fictional goddamned character's head exploded because of some God bullshit or something."
-From The Right to Remain Silent: A Short History of Censorship by William M. Hicks
"There is this movie, a horrific, disgusting movie. It is called Raiders of the Lost Ark. Parents, we at Focus on the Family implore you: do not let your children watch this film. It is full of disgusting, vile, violent imagery, very, very oblique... references to Satanism, Paganism and witchcraft, astral projections... i-i-it's just a disgusting film. Do not watch it, do not let your children watch it."
-Excerpt from Focus On The Family radio broadcast, 14 June, 1981
"President Bush met with Speaker of the House O'Neill and other Congressional leaders today to discuss the tax plan, a "skinny version" of which failed last month. The leaders apparently drew support from Vice President Baker's support of the bill, with an equal tax cut towards lower-income and the middle-class,. According to meeting insiders, by the end of the meeting, the outcome looked immensely positive and the likelihood of bipartisan cooperation on such a deal appears likely."
-The New York Times, 15 June, 1981
"WILLIAM WRIGLEY III SELLS CUBS, ENDS DECADES-LONG FAMILY ASSOCIATION"
-The Chicago Tribune, 16 June, 1981
"REVISED BIPARTISAN TAX PLAN AWAITS HOUSE VOTE"
-The Washington Post, 17 June, 1981
"My dad knew that most of the Democrats were under the iron grip of O'Neill. But he was persistent. The odyssey that was the journey my father's tax plan went on taught me valuable lessons on life. It taught me that cooperation between sides is sometimes necessary. It taught me that persistence is key. But most of all, above all else, It taught me to never give up on anything. And that, dear reader, is what is most important."
-From An American Son: Memories from the First Son by George W. Bush
"TAX BILL PASSES VOICE VOTE IN HOUSE"
-C-SPAN Update, 21 June, 1981
"NASCAR UPDATE: DARRELL WALTRIP WINS THE 1981 SONOMA 300 AT GOLDEN STATE RACEWAY, SECOND PLACE- BOBBY ALLISON, THIRD PLACE- NEIL BONNETT, FOURTH PLACE- RICKY RUDD, FIFTH PLACE- JOE RUTTMAN"
-NASCAR on CBS, 22 June, 1981
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