For a Gore Prosperous Tomorrow

Gore Administration- Summer 2007
  • Summer 2007

    "With California fires and the heatwave in southern Europe... we should've been trying to fix this years ago."

    "Anyone else have a bad feeling on the banking stuff going on in Europe?"

    The summer of 2007 was one felt with some mild concerns and worry, even if it was still mitigated by the pre-existing ride of good feelings and optimism for a better tomorrow. There was a new sort of cycle. Many new weather phenomena and trends were being attributed or at least possibly linked to climate change. While the debate on human-driven climate change has died down after the fall of Exxon-Mobil and the admission of defeat by fossil fuel companies and their paid-off scientists, the scope and scale remained a discussion trend. The heat wave over in southern Europe was a large example, as tempatures shot up beyond the normal range and remained there for an extensive period of time. Greece in particular suffered due to the spread of heatstroke, the outbreak of wild fires and the near collapse of the power grid due to demand. Like many other climate-related phenomena, the Gore administration took note alongside the rest of the world. It seemed like a glimpse into a potential future where if things were not changed, then it would go for the worse. This hit closer to home due to the wildfire happening in California in South Lake Tahoe. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this led to the massive participation of the Live Earth event. Inspired by the Live Aid concert of years ago, Live Earth was a series of large-scale events aimed to increase environmental awareness and climate change through entertainment. Through a series of integrated events and media, it brought more attention and awareness. While more people were driven to become aware of the concerns, Live Earth served to try and be as comprehensive and expansive as possible. Beyond just media, panels and debates were held, serving as an examination of such matters. Perhaps one of the largest contributers to Live Earth was Project MAY, allowing people to access the videos and screenings through Youtube, discuss through Myspace and donate through ArtistShare. While a majority were up and coming talent or indie bands who threw in the lot, a few other voices on Youtube made their way here or in discussions. One prominent discussion was on long-term sustainability, criticizing the corn industry and certain other "agribuisnesses" who were contributing to climate change through deforestation to grow crops. Another meanwhile used video games as a way to promote environmentalism and pointed out several examples, such as Final Fantasy VII, the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and Mother 3, all of whim have evironmentalist themes and motifs central to the plot though others noted their Japanese origin and perhaps was a nudge for western developers to try and capitalize on this potential. Beyind that, it also was a large success for Project MAY, showing off the contribution people of the internet could make for a cause without necessarily having to rely on large companies.

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    Live Earth logo 2007

    Of course, despite the growing optimism underlined by urgency, life continued on over for people to work. At the same time, there was a sense of unease developing. The housing market had been looking pretty unwell for a while now and then there was the growing news of banking stuff going on over in Europe. The French global bank BNP Paribas in the United Kingdom blocks withdrawals from three hedge funds heavily committed in sub-prime mortgages. While many people were not paying attention, there was a sense of concern about it and something the Gore administration also took note of to try and prevent or at least minimize the results. After all, the Clinton yearsd manage to pull out the economy well and the Gore administration's economic recovery was tepid, but stable and the early gridlock meant that certain plans were put into the backburner and would not be pulled out until later. There was a sense of concern for some people. At the same time, many people believed they would get through it. Perhaps in a darklhy humorous sign for it,at the height of rush hour in New York City on July 18, a major steam pipe bursts, releasing millions of gallons of boiling water and super heated steam. More than a few people would consider it a sign for what would happen and the problems up ahead. Yet at the same time, the news continued on for people trying to discuss and figure out. One was on how NBA referee Tim Donaghy surrenders to police and pleads guilty to charges brought up by the FBI investigation that he placed bets on games that he refereed. Another was on how the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin re-strengthen into a tropical storm over Oklahoma, causing widespread flooding and wind damage. The optimism that perpuated the 2000s thanks to the successes of the Gore administration was beginning to be dampened yet Gore remained determined and steadfast, encouraging the American populace.

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    Tropical Storm Erin near landfall
     
    Gore Administration- Autumn 2007
  • Autumn 2007

    "We need to do more for the marginalized people, bit by bit..."

    "The Taiwan question is gonna be looming over our heads for a while."

    "Weather is becoming harder to deal with."

    As the summer troubles begin winding down, people began focusing more on each other. While celeberating in the good times, it was the natural disasters and troubles that was truly binding people together. Starting with Katrina and continuing with the support being sent across thr world in overcoming storms, tsunamis and earthquakes, there was a growing emphasis to support one another and overcome the trials of nature at her angriest. As such, there was a growing need for understanding one another, not just as nations, but as culture. Unsurprisingly, The United Nations General Assembly adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, was a cause for celeberation yet at the same time, a disturbing wake up call. Not everyone was on board and the nations with the biggest complaints were subject to the biggest scrutiny. While the matters were supposedly based on legal wording and the rammifications of such wording, the underlying tone and history associated betrayed their hesitation in confronting the deep-rooted issues. Austrailia became a target of criticisms as reports on the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and New Zealand would also fall under this regading the Maori as well. Unsurprisingly, also Canada and the United States also displayed their concerns for similar reasons though the United States was the first to support it after they were modified a bit though also in trying to ensure reparations. While the declaration would be passed, there would be a sense of agitation in the Anglosphere as various elements weren't happy for the delay of the implentations and the footdragging gave them an unpleasant appearance. However, a week later, there was a period of levity brought over by the The Universal Forum of Cultures, opening in Monterrey, Mexico. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the appearance of President Al Gore himself and a few other representatives. Gore himself spoke in a video conference during the segment of sustainabiltiy, promoting interculture cooperation for combating human-made climate change and adopting sustainable practices for the good of the planet. Unsurprisingly, the promotion and speech by President Gore caused the attention and attendance at the event to skyrocket. So much so that plans were being hand for mroe cooperation and donations for the next one in a few years.

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    Universal Forum of Cultures Monterrey 2007 logo

    However, not everything was rosy. After all, around the same time though a bit earlier, there was also a protest for the recognition of Taiwan, both in the nation itself and in the US with Taiwan-Americans. It also brought back attention to Sino-American relations. While cautiously optimistic, there was still some underlying tensions. Trade and the economy needed to be resolve, but there was also the need to for greater climate change on both sides, especially regarding the standard of living within China. On the other hand, free trade has been a prominent discussion along with China's relations with WTO and normalizing trade relationships with China though it has been on the back burner for a while and thus, hammering out the details would take more time than predicted. Furthermore, projects like the Golden Shield and Internet censorship practices in China began further straining relationships between the two, concerning Gore. While he wished to maintain the amicable business relationships, he began fearing that the Internet censorship may lead to further trouble down the line, especially if more businesses with to do business with China. It would be careful business moving in. Taiwan deserved to have their voice heard, but China was still a juggernaut when it came to power and influence in the UN and on the world stage.

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    Taiwanese demonstrators hold signs during a mass rally supporting Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007, in the southern port city of Kaohsiung

    At the same time, the concerns over whether continued over with a large 8.0 earthquake impacting Peru and the west coast of South America needed to prepare for the ensuing tsunamis that would be coming as a result of such. Additionally, Georgia's governor Roy BArnes declares a state of emergency due to drought conditions. While he had been rpeparing for such potential problems, he also appealed for assistance with the presidency. However, Georgia needed to cope also with how California's wildfires has become even more dangerous with President Gore sending federal aid and various fire fighters came over to deal with the damages being done. Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and unusually strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 85 mph (140 km/h). California's "fire season," which traditionally runs from June to October, has become a year-round threat, due to a mixture of perennial drought and the increasing number of homes built in canyons and on hillsides, surrounded by brush and forest. For the next couple weeks from late October to the middle of November. The growing responses led to more discussions on the future of fighting fires while also wondering what else could be done given the increaae of hazardous working conditions. Others were worried regarding the housing market in California and were looking elsewhere. The housing market was a bit on the nebulous side. Rates were still the same and while some bought houses and whatnot, the environmentalist concerns have shifted gears a bit and whatnot and the disasters were making people wonder where to buy houses. Regardless, people chipping in to deal with the fire and later the cyclone in Bangladesh was a fresh reminder of the call and need for unity and support.

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    October 20November 9: Flames burn Santa Clarita, California during the California wildfires of October 2007.
     
    Gore Administration- Overview 2007
  • 2007 in Review

    In retrospect, many saw 2007 as foreshadowing for the events to come near the end of the 2000s. However, in the there and now, it was a cotninuation of optimism and hope for the future though underlined with a sense of urgency and duty toward the environment as raging fires and natural disasters brought people together to confront them against the crueler aspects of Mother Nature. A greater sense regarding gun violence had begun awakening in the nation with discussions beginning to rage in regards to such a thing. A notion that made more than a few conservatives nervous given how the case could end up in the Supreme Court. Virginia Tech's shooting and the others remained a haunting spectre and it became another focal point to rail against. While shooter games have no longer been blamed as such except by conservatives, there was a shift away from them or at least from realistic situations of them. The economy was also shifting a bit, with some worrying about a potential recession though it did not seem like there was anything really bad at first. The focus on investments into renewables had been a good deal of focus, especially with the fall of Exxon-Mobil. Cars have been focusing back on their diesels or rather more biodiesals while investments into biogas has been growing alongside with research into associated fuels. In fact, many were looking to see if there were varying byproducts that could be used as a form of synergy. At the same time, Gore has been it clear that it is a stop-gap and electric cars are still the to be researched and many noted that more work needed to be done to truly overhaul the system though the optimism remained. There were growing discussions over biofuel being a stop gap while mroe radicals noted just overhauling the system by having the government mobilizing the whole industry. Indeed, such was the topic in one of the events of the Live Earth. Of course, there were still troubles around the world regarding elections and politics, but bit by bit, there was still the hope the world was getting better. There was still faith and belief in the system, it just needed to be updated was all. Right?

    Meanwhile across the world, the folks were wondering who the US will elect after Al Gore, especially with how he has defined the first years of the new millenium. The Kenyan general election took center stage in the last days of the year with massive rioting and controversey that appeared as a result. Beyond that, the various collaborations with a common goal such as dealing with climate change have been helping to heal the rift between the peoples of the world while also working more and more toward dealing with climate change. However, not all nations were working at the paces and some were causing trouble. Russian relations with the West continued to grow cooler and more aloof along with the divide between the USA and Saudi Arabia, especially with the latter's policies.

    The film industry also began seeing some growing shifts and changes as well. One of the big news was how Spider-Man 3 would ultimately be cancelled after months of delay, contract disputes and staff quitting, showing how the production snowballed. One notable problem was the forced inclusion of Venom led to a crux of the new problems along with other writing issues. Ultimately, the film would remain incomplete and be considered another failure in some of Sony's rougher years. Additionally, the film industry showed off some more surprises. Riding off the success of their previous animated works, Disney decided something bolder with Wally's Secret Life, an adaptation of another Thurber's works, The Secret Life of Walter Milly. However, it was a looser adaptation, with the protagonist being a dreamy middle schooler named Walter Milly and the creative inspirations in his head from the mundane bits around his life. Unlike its more satrical origin, it's wholeheartedly celeberating the beauty of the dreamer within and encouraging them to unleash their imagination, as Wally is portrayed as a budding cartoonist. Perhaps more daringly was the usage of many different animation styles for the various fantasies going through Wally's head, all done vividly. Perhaps more notably is the final one regarding an examination of the future, done in CGI, which many have seen that Disney accepting CGI animation becoming part of the future. Ironically enough, the bit was done by Pixar, who found it interesting enough to work on it. Ratatouille still did very well, but lost barely over to Wally's Secret Life. Both films did better than Shrek III. A film who's development was delayed by the diffeing zeitgeist, it was a strange mix of focusing on Shrek's past and origins along with his future as he struggles with future fatherhood. At the same time, it still did very well as it continued to develop what happens after the "Happily ever After" and dealing with changing times as Fiona notes that perhaps Far, Far Away changing for the times as well. Additionally, the big animated picture to catch attention was The Simpsons Movie, due to the massive news associated with it. Namely that the film would serve as a series finale for The Simpsons. This was following a decline in viewership and as noted, the changing zeitgeist though some also speculated that it was because of the return of Futurama. Regardless, The Simpsons Movie would close the chapter for the The Simpsons and airing over during Winter Break. It's a return to form as it starts with a Christmas pagent with the family struggling as they realize their life has gotten nowhere and wondering what the future holds. Many fan favorite characters are shown off in the loving tribute to the show in its 150 minute run (with many characters who have not been seen in the film given send-offs over in the final season of the show, which they managed to get many of the original writers back on.) The film explores the relationship dynamics of the family as they, led by Homer, successfully save the day and finally bonds with Bart. The epilogue reveals a timeskip of memories as the family grows up and Bart and Lisa heading of college or wheever in the future, with Bart telling the audience affectionately "Don't have a cow, man." THe film also announced the return of Futurama through an animated short beforehand. While The Simpsons as a show ended, Groening has noted the comics will continue and likely be used to fill in the blanks while noting that they may do long specials involving the characters much how they did films for Futurama. Beyond that, various film news appeared, such as the Transformers film being postponed due to Bay's lack of interest and noting the unlikelihood of the success in the current times while various other films were pushed back or rushed because of the The Simpsons Movie Christmas date. However, this did have an effect on the film Ghost Rider as rumors speculated that the film may be part of a bigger deal.

    As for video games, well, many of the best games would be unleashed. Nintendo gave the world Super Mario Galaxy, which won the hearts and minds of many players while also providing Super Paper Mario, which may ave changed the formula up, but also grabbed many players attention. SEGA at Microsoft meanwhile unleashed a new mainstream game and a spin-off game for Sonic: Sonic Rush II and Sonic Rivals. The former was a sequel to Sonic Rush, with the return and expansion of the new "Boost" mechanic. In Sonic Rush II, Blaze the Cat returns and tries to stop the notorious Captain Whiskers and his crew from stealing the Cane of Jewels, a powerful artifact connected to the land. However, things go wrong when she learns that the crew has been augmented by Eggman and in trying to take bake the Cane, it breaks and splits her nation into several island nations. She's saved by Marine the Raccoon, a sailor who fishes her out of the water and upon seeing the state of her land, she travels to recruit Sonic for his help against Eggman, with Tails coming along at Marine's insistence (impressed by his technological skills.) Players go from island to island to clear stages to reclaim pieces of the cane from one of Eggman's robots or members of the crew. Sonic Rivals meanwhile is a racing spin-off games where the heroes can race across various tracks to claim the various prizes at the end, whether it be Chaos Emeralds or pieces of the Master Emerald, with the plot being instigated by the Eggrobo, who rebuilt himself and used the races as a distraction to try and take over Eggman's robots and uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Other games included a new NiGHTs game and a new Crazy Taxi among other games. However, many other games have made their mark such as Team Fortress 2, Portal, Mass Effect, Bioshock, and most notably Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, a spin-off focused in the modern warfare where soldiers going into the Middle East are embroiled into a secret conflict involving mercenaries, private military companies and petrol states. The idea was capitalizing on the growing "green" movement in culture while also serving as a critique on the industrial-military complex. It was criticially acclaimed and praised for its gameplay as well as its story in regards to how military conflicts are prolonged for the sake of profit and on certain groups oppising the green change (such as how the final boss is a Russian oligarch.) Sony would still be struggling along, but manage some success with the PSP and other games on it and the PS3. However, the XBox 360's SEGA influence in Japan has led to hurting sales for the PS3, which affected some of the spread of some games. One notable example was on how Persona 3 would end up being ported to the Xbox 360 to try and make up for sales for it among various other developments. Some see this as further unpleasant news for Sony. Online gaming began seeing more through the release of Team Fortress 2 and the expansion for World of Warcraft Burning Crusade, which included new races, such as the draenai for the Alliance and the tauren for the Horde, with them bringing formerly side-exclusive classes with them, such as draenai shamans and tauren paladins.

    In world of comic books meanwhile, Marvel was beginning to fully organize the new status quo of their characters after the M-Day debacle led to the formation of a new universe for the mutants. This allowed them to begin paying more attention to lesser known groups or heroes. One in particular were the Inhumans, who got a bit more attention. However, they weren't a replacement for mutants, functioning far differenty (being a cousin race to humanity and served to display a divide between groups of people.) Other heroes began getting more prominence with some having been tweaked a bit. Heroes like Mantis (who was becoming Vision's new love interest) and Monica Rambeau (who many have noticed has been getting closer to Black Panther) have been getting more attention. Marvel decided to showcase the new rules in their cosmos with the Annihilation storyline, showing Annihilus and his forces beginning to ravage and attack various worlds while returning to prominence, cosmic characters like Quasar and Richard Rider as Nova among others while having the heroes of Earth help explore the greater cosmos. Meanwhile, the folks at DC Comics have been preparing for something else. After the various Crisises and whatnot, they were planning to once more try and give a fresh start, leading up to what is being called Final Crisis.
     
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    Gore Administration- Winter 2008
  • Winter 2008

    "Well, well, this presidential race should be interesting..."

    "The tornados I don't think are climate change... least I hope not, but I'm sure this is God's way of telling us we need to take better care..."

    With the beginning of 2008, the buzz was in regards to the next Presidential elections. After 16 years of Democrat dominance, people felt it was time for a change, especially with how the Gore Administration's policies and subsequent metamorphisis of the zeitgeist followed changed the political landscape. Going green was no longer limited to the left-wing politicians in the mainstream and combined with the growing skepticism and suspicion of voters toward corporations, there was a sense of unity in the maintanance and well-keeping of the environment. Religious leaders quoted scriptures on how humanity werre the custodians of the Earth and needed to hold the "followers of Mammon" accountable. Others noted how the storms and disasters was a sign that they needed to be prudent in adoption. This perhaps was enough to help balance the unease and inconvienence of changing lifestyles. With the growing widescale acceptance of climate change and environmenalism in the mainstream, the shift led to the exploration of what was otherwise more obscure branches to be discussed. Things such as the impracticality of recycling plastics, the issues of bottled water (many noting the Nestle case was a rare case of circumstances), balancing agriculture and renewable needs and so on. Sides were taken over whic biofuels were best suited, the growing possibility on wholly electric cars and so on.Unsurprisingly, the environment became a topic for the Presidential debates among other issues. Democrat candidates included rising star Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hilliary Clinton, all of them running. Obama would end up dropping fairly early on and became more of a supporter for Joe. Clinton was a mixed bag as she did not a favored position and it became known more publically the rivalry the two possessed during the Clinton years and beyond. This left Joe Biden who seemed like a relatively safe bet. At the same time, Democrats knew they would likely not win so it was a matter of who to support. Biden did drum up some support for his love of Amtrak and its possibility of merging it with green technology and when asked about gay marriage, referring to on how Gore managed to end DADT, in a potential gaffe, Biden came out in support of gay marriage, For the Republicans meanwhile, it was a toss-up. McCain was the clear favorite though. His reputation as a maverick in the GOP assisted him when it came to the Feingold-McCain act along with other moments that made him standout. Few other Republicans were given serious credence and those that tried seemed more to symbolize the last vestiges of the dying neoconservative dogma that doinated the Republicans since the time of Reagan. The closest contender McCain had was Kasich in regards to the Republican candidate.
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    2008 Presidential Logos for predicted favorites Biden for the Democrats and McCain for the Republicans

    However, while the presidential election may rage on, there were other things that heralded in the new year. January was plagued with a freak outbreak of tornadoes along with recordbreaking temperatures over in the easter part of Canada. While not exactly considered to climate change, the mentality of changing weather and its potential worst case scenarios brought a new feeling in the atmosphere. One of grim determination and wariness over the power of nature. There was a greater acknowledgment of the patterns at play and on how to better deal with the powerful storms and what approaches could be done. Meanwhile, there was a lack of fatalities, but people had to rebuild anew though the comfort of the medical care of children, free of charge, brought a sense of comfort to people thanks to Medikare for Kids. President Gore delayed a visit to the Middle East in regards to the situation going on back home and would visit Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Iran among others. The greater emphasis of Jordan and Iran over other nations, especially Saudi Arabia signalled some controversy though the reminders of the connection of 9/11 and the public conscious being more aware of Wahhabism meant there was a sense of acceptance as to why and just signaled the great rift between the US and Saudi Arabia and the chilling of relations led to more trouble of the Royal Family and certain members up in the government. And when Gore came back, what awaited him was a fresh hell. Super Tuesday provided the wrst tornado outbreak in over 20 years, killing over 30 people and causing plenty of disaster though it was noted the death toll was lower than expected due to preparations and a more proactive approach. Regardless though, the powerful storms brought a sense of concern and urgency on addressing this among with a growing sense of seriousness. Tragedy came in the form of the murder of Larry King by his classmate and the shooting became a defining moment in regards to LGTBQ treatment and over in th handling of firearms. Public opinion was largely in support regaridng Larry though some have noted that Larry provoked his classmate into overreacting. Pundits clung onto noting that by that logic, women should be free to shoot any rando who flirts with them and notes they would probably be more justified. Unsurprisingly, the court case would be a haunting spectre in the year over gun rights. Something that became even worse with a shooting over at Northern Illinois University

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    Lawrence "Larry" King, victim of the E.O. Green School shooting
     
    Gore Administration- Spring 2008
  • Spring 2008

    "Rising food prices and fuel prices from drought... damn, we need to be even more proactive..."

    "It looks like the stage is set for who will be running in office this year..."

    "Cannot believe that same-sex marriage wasn't legalized sooner in California..."

    The Spring thaw brought some unsettling news from Third world nations, as people would wake up to see reports of food shortages and fuel shortages due to drought, leading to social unrest and instability. While it was nothing apocalyptic, it was a chilling reminder to people over the threat of climate change and indeed, food insecurity was a threat years in the making. The world once more came together to assist either in donations as well as begin problem-solving operations. Ideas such as greenhouses, desalination and other things were being scaled. Perhaps more notably was on how on social media, surprisingly Facebook for the first time, was the complaints by workers in the fast food and grocery industries on food being thrown away. This followed by Twitter caused a growing backlash on the practice, especially as more and more people were encouraged to share stories or practices of perfectly good food thrown away. The sudden rise of stigma did not cause some chains to begin working on donating food ot whathot though others noted that they reason they did so was potentially because to prevent food sickness lawsuits. The issue did go dormant for a while as other issues would come as the news did, but the uneasiness that came with this news did not go away and indeed, it would be continued to be discussed for a while as a few Congress members have considered outlining bills. The most prominent bit of news was the accusations of biofuels being behind the rise of the potential food shortages though when the Gore Administration was confronted, they noted that the main fuel was ethanol, produced by corn. Many would look back as the first time they heard of the "corn lobbyists." Others instead noted it may have been the result of prices, subsidies and trade restrictions. Ultimately, this did not have any immedate effects outside of fundraisers and charities rushing to provide food for people and people donated, there was a bit of a shift in thinking as other biofuels were being examined. After all, the news of rainforests and other natural lands beign converted or such was surprising and concerning when ti seemed it was a catch-22 situation. However, the shift did turn to more matters such as biodiesal and biogas, both of whom could be from waste biomass or from biomass grown on abandoned agricultural lands incur little to no carbon debt. Algae was also becoming more of an interest in creating renewable fuel and in Russia, a paper would come out regarding fungi as being promising. Overall, the food shortages returned to public conscious that dread of humanity against nature. Even as other events aroumd the world pop up such as the incident with Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia, Bhutan's transition from an absolute monarchy to a democracy, the devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the establishment of the Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental organization between states in South America.

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    Chart of global trade volume in wheat, coarse grain and soybeans 1990 to 2008, and projected to 2016. United States Department of Agriculture, 2008.


    Unsurprisingly, the discussions regarding this became a dominant discussion point over in the 2008 election discussions. Human-caused climate change has been fully embraced and the perception of denialists have been sinking to that of anti-vaxxers or other conspiracy theorists. However, the point remained in how to deal with it. Some consider working with businesses on the matter while others advocate for more government oversight on them. While the topic did go over to what the individual can do, companies were brought up more often because of their influence. Many would note that most candidates were hesitant to go rather harshly after the companies though it was not considered a main issue by people at the time. By the end of May, the Presidential candidates have been decided. Joe Biden narrowly beat out Hilliary Clinton for the Democrats. While it was initially rumored that Barack Obama would take the role of running mate, he would end up declining, with Joe Biden choosing Bill Bradley as his running mate. Meanwhile, at the Republican side, John McCain managed to secure the victory after a tight race between him and Mitt Romney. As a show of unity though, McCain would choose Romney as his running mate. The battleground was being chosen though some noted a few third party candidates as well. The Green Party had been recieving a fair bit of support since Gore's administration and became a gathering place for it, especially since some who would prefer more drastic actions drew to it while the Libretarian party was... well the Libretarian party. Overall, it was shaping to be an interesting election race

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    Democrat candidate Joe Biden & running mate Bill Bradley; Republican candidate John McCain and running mate Mitt Romney

    Meanwhile, while the world turns over throgh various events and the US chooses its leaders, people keep going through. Relatives of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre report that the government of Virginia will offer victims compensation of $100,000 to forestall lawsuits. With the Virginia Tech massacre now brought back, so did the issue of gun control laws and what stance people are falling on them. It was a question that many would see be brought up quite soon over this summer as among the various Supreme Court cases, one of them would change things for the USA for generations to come. Meanwhile, more uplifting news were heard as the Newseum was opening, celeberating the right for free speech and its history. On personal request of President Gore, the internet wing was expanded moreso to include how the budding social media was having an effect in free speech and how it was presented and spread. The visitation of the Pope also promoted some interest as he went to various important sites during his tour. Perhaps most notably was the news from California. California becomes the second state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional. In reflection, the LGTBQ community was somewhat divided on the support of which candidate as both Biden and McCain have shown interest and there was a hope that one of them could bring the long-awaited ruling of homosexual marriage being legalized federally. Other news included New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation (effective March 17) days after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson succeeds the governorship of New York and on NASA's Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars.

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    Panorama of rocks near the Phoenix Lander (May 25, 2008).
     
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    District of Columbia v Heller
  • And yes, this gets its own thing after all! Happy Thanksgiving!

    District of Columbia v. Heller

    Often times, there are large landmark cases that define and set a path for the nation within the judicial system. While the Gore administration has had a fair bit over the years, including the case with gerrymandering, one of the biggest was none other than the District of Columbia v. Heller. The case revolved around the handgun ban and ordinance regarding certain other firearms within Washington DC. The case was a bit tenous as the driving force behind it was the CATO Institute, a Libretarian think tank and was doing so in order tot ry and challenge firearm bans and result in the 2nd Amendment being proven of protecting firearms rights for the individual. However, matters certainly changed over the years as the Supreme Court swung decidingly to the left, which left the Institute in a bit of a pickle as the case was being moved further on up to the Supreme Court.

    Additionally, the increase of school shootings and the growing demand for gun control laws unsurprisingly brought this case a large number of views and opinions, especially with this being an election year. However, the Fair Coverage doctrine meant that the entirely thing was covered on both sides and additionally, pundits noted that for the entire issue to be decided on a court case is messed up given how it's not just about the guns, but on the details regarding everything else. When the case was being moved up, Al Gore met up with Congress to prepare some laws on gun control. Namely in background checks, safety training, licenseing and other issues such as making it illegal to wield guns while drunk. Regardless of the case, they would need to be prepared. After all, the House and Senate were still primarily controlled by the Democrats and while they and the GOP were a little more big tent than they have been in several years, there was still underlying factors. Gore noted how the driving force was the CATO Institution, driven by the Koch brothers, who had spats over with the Gore Administration's green policies.

    From how it was covered, the case was divided into its two base parts. On the ban of handguns and on the equirement that lawfully owned rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" violated this guarantee. That both of these things violated the Second Amendment. Within the Supreme Court cast itself, it was the second part that was decided relatively quickly. After all, the "well-regulated" part was noted and having gun be in basic safety was viewed as common sense. However, what stood out from this relatively smooth process was in arguing its inconvienence. Counteracting this argument was the presence of the US military, who was asked how firearms were kept for them. As was noted: "In the Army, firearms are stored under lock, key, and sometimes guard, and god help you if one goes missing—the post shuts down and a frenzied search bordering on a religious quest begins. After basic training, soldiers are required to go through a few hours of refresher training with practical drills before they are even allowed on a range for individual shooting qualification." As such, the notion that keeping the rifles and shotguns disassembled or with trigger locks was unconsitutional was utterly dismantled. Even "originalist" proponents were counteracted with how guns worked back then, with black powder and bullets and how they were maintained. After all, if a trained military person can do this on the field of battle following strict rules, then a citizen with basic training should be able to do it with less stringent rules.

    Though that left the first part, in regards to the banning of handguns. And namely, the focus remained more on the rammifications. If they noted the 2nd amendment didn't protect it, the backlash would be massive to say the least and there would be plenty of questioning and legal problems. Of course, there was the issue of how far banning arms and what are considered arms should go. There was also the natue of the ban. The ban was in possession though examining the Second Amendment noted that while the language did note on keeping and bearing arms, nothing was mentioned on actually building or buying them.

    Ultimately, the Supreme Court came down with a surprising decision for alot of people. That banning the possession of handguns was a violation of the 2nd Amendment (many people were initially confused on the emphasis at first) while the ordinance over keeping rilfes and shotguns unloaded/disassembled or trigger-locked was not a violation of the 2nd Amendment (noting the "well-regulated" part along with the historical context.)

    The result was unsurprisngly startling. There was the fact that firearms used for protection of the individual were indeed guranteed by the Constitution was upheld by a liberal Supreme Court; it was something that blew more than a few minds and stereotypes. The ordinances being maintained was attempted to be appealed though the appeal would en up failing in part because of the miltiary's standards being measured.

    Not long after the ruling, the Gore Administration proposed a few gun control bills. While differing in a few details, they all proposed the same basic principles: stringent background checks, high-capacity magazine limitations and licensing processes among a few others, such as dealing with drunk shooting. For the most part, it was still a bit difficult despite the ruling. Namely, some argument toward states rights and whatnot, though the 2nd Amendment was held above that, plus the fact was that so close to election year that no one wanted to jeopardize anything, especially as the past tragedies done by firearms, especially in schools, haunted the zeitgeist. After all, regulations and proper safety were part of the Second Amendment as much as being able to use those arms in the first place. Denying the responsabilities that came with the rights was a disservice and the the conditions proposed werre certainly not as stringent as the military's though a few Democrats cheekily proposed if they should apply the same sort of standards. There was enough agreement for the bills to pass, though the most noteworthy was on how people with a history of domestic abuse/animal abuse be barred from being able to purchase firearms. Other details included on pay and processing in dealing with the licensing as well as crime and fees for gunshops, shooting ranges and other places that violated the rules.

    With rights came responsability and with the constitutional right of individual citizens being able to possess firearms came the constitutional-mandated responsability of being well-regulated with them. With the decision would come the hope of reducing violent crime and allowing people to best protect themselves.
     
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    Gore Administration- Summer2008
  • Summer 2008

    "Well, unsurprising the Expo in Spain to be turning out so big..."

    "So Bill Gates is stepping down then.."

    Summer started out and with it, came the concerns of hurricane season. The hauntings of Katrina and other storms remain and so while summer maintained its view of fun and splendor, there was also a new sense of grim detemrination and preparation as a result. Additionally, the food shortages just months prior also weighed heavily in the public consciousness. As such, in the summer was the Expo 2008, an international exposition held from Saturday, 14 June to Sunday, 14 September 2008 in Zaragoza , Spain, with the theme of "Water and Sustainable Development". The exposition was placed in a meander of the river Ebro and coordinated by the Bureau International des Expositions, the organization responsible for sanctioning World's Fairs. However, the last few years have made the Expo larger and more prounounced with climate change scientists coming in and giving talks in the various areas along with neighboring areas as well. Moreover there was also the growth of the usage of the internet. Being an Atari Democrat, it was unsurprising how much President Gore pushed for the development and relevancy of the internet in these times. Steams were being held and shown on social media pages with input and comments being filled here and spread across, with sites like Facebook and collaborations like Project MAY allowed the greater spread and influence of the expo to reach common person. Additionally, with the main usage of the internet being young people, inspired them to challenge, explore and critique, the dialogue course regarding climate change to begin exploring more radical options that were not considered. Especially wiith Hurricane Gustav and Hanna coming in nearby. While hurricanes and other storms were more predictable thanks to the Gore adminsitration's satellite and the greater sense of preparedness that came with it, it was still a large burden for people to go and end up facing.

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    Expo 2008 official logo


    However, news in the summer was also rocked by Bill Gates stepping down from his positions to focus on his charity foundation. It has been nearly a decade since the Microsoft Division. From there, there was Microsoft Operations or MicroOpps for short, in charge of developing Windows and misc and later development of Xbox and merger with SEGA. And then there was MS Applications or MSApps for short, which creates MSOffice (formerly Microsoft Office), Internet Explorer, MSN, MS Visual Studio and miscellanous products such as MSDraw (formerly Microsoft Paint). Despite the company being split into two and diverging into various routes and fields, they were still manging to do well for themselves and Gates still had a controlling position in both of them, but his retirement signaled a new era for the two successor companies as they delve into a new future. Microsoft Opperations' new OS, Windows Six, has been doing fairly well despite the delay while branching out more in their union with SEGA. They have also been more careful with purchases and aquisations since then, working to ensure to make better choices. MSApps meanwhile has found success in porting MSOffice, Internet Explorer and their other programs across the various operating systems and still shares a close relationship with MicrosoftOpps. What the future would hold is pretty hard to say. Some wonder if they would be doing more with MSN, much like how Google Docs was going out of beta-testing and thus some are wonderin if MSApps would be trying to do implement MSOffice with a web-based version.

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    Bill Gates in 2008

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    "Mr President! Mr President! Russia has just indicated war with Georgia!"
     
    2008 Russo-Georgian War
  • The Russo-Georgian War and Beyond

    "I thought the Cold War was over, but then you realize what sort of person Putin is..."

    "A new global conflict, one brought by how to live... One we need to stand by..."

    "Looks like this is a new age..."

    In the early days of August, just before the start of the Summer Olympics of 2008, the world became surprised when the tensions between Georgia and Russia exploded into a short war. The nature of the war was revolving around two potential sovereign states, that of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who were wanting to seperate from Georgia. However, while the short war lasted with the regions being recognized by Russia and there being displaced people, the rammifications would be massive. Foreign policy experts of the Gore Administration noted that it was not just about two regions for Russia. It was about Russian influence. While Al Gore's influence in pushing for cleaner power and green energy had been reaching to Europe and beyond, he was being met with a road block and that was the large petrol power that was Russia. Containing large amounts of natural gas, coal and petroleum, it was little surprise that they would see Gore's call in reducing the usage as potentially problematic. Tensions between the Gore Administration and the Putin Administration had been growing over the early 2000s. The Russian leadership blamed U.S. officials for encouraging anti-Russian revolts during the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine a year later that were seen by the Putin administration as intrusions into Russia's geographic sphere of interest. Further accusations about trying to get Central Asian natural gas and oil came... then matters went sideways with the Exxon-Mobil Scandal. This realization that the dangers of fossil fuel burning would lead to increased CO2 levels and its connection to climate change had redefined the conversations. Climate change denial shot down, further more with the discovery that coal knew even earlier, since the 60s. There was outrage, brought about by prior years of corporate scandals and the Gore Administration transformed that anger into change. For the most part, Russia did not pay much attention to this though perhaps they did show some concern in at least investigating opportunities for their own biofuel concerns.

    However the end of the Russo-Georgian War and Russia's assertation would be met with retaliation. During and after the actual war, Russia engaged in cyberwarfare in trying to sway and convince the masses it was for liberation. Georgian government websites were brought down and pandemoium ensues weeks after the actual fighting stopped. The Gore Administraton condemned the attacks and led the world to do the same in trying to do so. The reactions were expected though the Americans did note that some nations, like Germany and France, were hesitant in blaming a guilty party. It was a reminder that Russia still had some prominent sway over in Europe and that Russia still saw the Americans as a threat. That NATO was a threat to Russia's goals of maintaining hegemony there. However, the Americans did get one surprising ally in regards to blaming hostilities onto Russia, and it was none other than Iran. Sure, Iran was subtle about it, but their inclusion was surprising. Since the end of the United States' sanctions against it and an introduction to the Western market, attitudes were shifting. More notably though, was Iran's growing cultural change. At the same time, the matter was one of pragmatism and of ambition. Iran had been growing more well-off and working on reforms. Their relations with the US had been growing more cordial over time. However, there was the ambitious side of Iran... one that sought to grow their influence over in the Middle East and Central Asia. It was a gamble to be sure though their growing bonds with the US was working and it was not as if they were in dire straits with Russia. Most of the western nations did not see reason to aggravate tensions with Russia, but the United States, it was a matter of not just principle, but of pragmatism. Who's to say this would stop Russia from whenever they may try next? That for them, if they went against Russia's wishes, would they instigate violence.

    The Gore Administration, beyond leading the charge to condemn Russia, also used the opportunity to showcase the dangers of cyberwarfare and how the United States would need to be prepared to combat a new age where misinformation and propaganda would be weaponized. While the Pentagon and the various information organizations would begin undergoing reforms to update their cyber security, the Gore Administration would invite the heads of various companies and social media groups for future coordination and dealings on the matter. It was a surprising time of unity between everyone within the nation. Meanwhile abroad, tensions continue to sour between the Untied States and Russia though some of it was allievated in the Olympics. However, some questioning regarding Gore's past with a certain petrol mogul, Armand Hammer, was brought up during the need for discussions. It was a subtle jab and perhaps an attempt at hypocrisy at Gore, though Al Gore did not let it get to him. Instead, he reaffirmed his convictions and noted on his own changes and growth as a person, hoping to improve. He questioned whether Russia was doing the same, as Gore expressed concerns on Russia's own issues with political corruption, vast economic disparity and growing human rights violations and that a matter of priorities was in order to secure the safety and well-being of everyone. With this sincerity came the obvious counterattack; that for all of Russia flexing its muscles, it was a deeply flawed state who spent its time messing with their neighbors and trying to assert its hold on them rather than improving the quality of living and making light of the Medvedev Doctrine. Additionally, the US had begun emphasizing growing relations with China during the Olympics. There was concerns about whether China would begin siding with Russia or the US, so the US pushed more, knowing they were at the disadvantage. Gore's commit to climate change rang true, plus, the administration's history had served it well and there was a signal for real hope and change outside of realpolitik.

    However, the big questions were coming, and that was whether sanctions should be put on Russia, especially during such times. The Americans and EU debated this along with the Americans bringing along others for discussion, including some key players within the Middle East and even China. As for the Georgian refugees, Gore managed to broker a commitment with Prime Minister Harper of Canada to try and take in some of the Georgian refugees to settle if they so desired, a decision met well by their voters for the most part. The sanctions were not taken lightly and perhaps for the first time, it was under a different tone. The Gore Administration saw no future in fossil fuels, seeing them as a crutch or necessary evil that ought to be worked to be rid of. They did not have much interest if any regarding fossil fuels. The only interest they had was in lithium and it was mainly for the development of rechargable batteries in the hopes for vehicles while also expanding into other hroizons for renewable energies. For many nations, the USA remaining on this trend provided the possibility of a US being less keen on its economic neoimperial ways of being. For others, it meant dealing with them would be harder since they wanted different reasons and the same accusations wouldn't work.

    This short-period war would change everything...

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    This was a sudden thing, but I had to do it. Also, you think Gore would lead to place sanctions on Russia or no?
     
    Gore Administration- Autumn 2008
  • 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.

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    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.

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    Map of targets of 2008 Mumbai attacks. Only Taj Mahal Hotel and Leopold Cafe targets were successful
     
    2008 Elections
  • 2008 Election Results

    After 16 years of presidental Democrat dominance, the voters decided it was time for a change. Besides, with the greater sense of bipartisan cooperation and the growing consensus of environmental awareness and social progress, there was less pressure to vote. At the same time, with the end of politicla gerrymandering, it was also a test for some of the new departments and electoral systems. It was not without drama as there was some news on faulty machines, more limited voting times or other minor issues that some have speculated is part of a pattern to dissuade certain voters or make it harder for minorities to vote. For the most part, such considerations were downplayed though some were looked into in the event of some serious rulebreaking.

    For the House and Senate, it went somewhat as expected. A few politicians retired and some lost their seats. Overall, the Democrats made some slight gains, on seats that had become vulnerable, but who's elections were in 2002. The most infamous of this was the downfall of Senator Mitch McConnell, who earned himself the dishonor of being the least-liked politician within the United States. His considerable defeat at the hands of his Democrat opposition after the Republicans failed to remove him in the primary was considered a turning point and unsurprisingly, McConnell's reactions were ridiculed by and large. To some, it also was considered a large nail in the coffin of the prominence of second-wave neoconservatives. While some retained their seats either by shifting alliances or being flexible enough to hold their seat down, it was showing the Republican party was in a time of serious transitions though others note it would lead to the remaining reactionary elements trying to fight back by whatever needs. Similar reactions were going on in the Democrats though namely in a growing power struggle between the more moderate Democrats/Blue Dogs and the increasing progressive presence. While the Green Party did overall grow in prominence and popularity, they also had some of their prominent members go to the Democrats to try and continue Al Gore's work in the party and mixing in with the growing voice for more radical social change such as wage increases, legalizing gay marriage on the federal level and decriminalizing drugs and ending the Drug War.

    For most people though, it seemed things were business as usual and in the 2008 Presidental Election, it was a close one. Surprisingly enough, winning more votes, albeit by a slim margin, was none other John McCain and Mitt Romney, John McCain will become the 44th President of the United States of America. President Gore congratulated his successor and would later privately have a discussion with him regarding some advice Gore insisted. One of which was on the continuation of the Digital Cabinet, something which McCain not only agreed upon, but expanded. While he kept most of the people (some decided to retire), he also brought in people more focused on security. McCain acknowledged Gore's passion on computers and the importance of the internet, having become more prominent in the last 8 years and will likely more so in his tenure, so he needed to be informed. Additioanlly, talks were held regarding Russia. McCain and Romney both were of the opinion that Russia was the primary threat to the United States, citing the aggressive behavior over in Georgia along with the growing concern of cyberwarfare. It would be a new age to be sure.

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    Presidental victor John McCain shaking hands with Mitt Romney
     
    Gore Administration- Overview 2008
  • 2008 In Review

    The final year of the Gore Administration was marked with significant changes, likely showing that the upcoming new decade would be defined by new policies though also a motivation to build upon what Al Gore did. No greater case was this for than for environmental protections and responsabilities. The droughts and fuel shortages that started the year off seemed like diluted microcosms of what sort of dystopian future could await the world if they did not live up to the diligences needed to do. Under normal circumstances, it would serve to further unify the planet together to combat the climate change that was going on and how to limit and counteract the influence it could have on humanity. However, Russia's involvement in Georgia's affairs was a bitter reminder in the geopolitical climate that not every nation is willing to cooperate, at least in the terms of equality. This shaking of the pot agitated certain radicals on the end. While technically working toward similar goals, the means were not as similar. Realpolitik, the word that came to defined some decades prior returned, but now came back though with a different context. Realpolitik is defined as "a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations." It was why dubious deals were made and why strange bedfellows came to be. However, the Gore Administration in its last years would begin to challenge this approach, namely in the limits of its applications. After all, Gore got his rise into his political status through alliances and help from groups that were not on his camp, recalling what was said on the support of Armand Hammer to the Gores. Yet, the Exxon-Mobil Scandal changed everything. After all, even practical principles or ends were motivated by ideology, morales or ambitions. Exxon-Mobil was motivated by profit and self-preservation. Yet, in their attempts to maintain their hold, they were also endangering the lives of many people and maintaining a system that would only become more difficult to change as the window of opportunity to make necessary changes were shrinking. That from a long-term perspective, realpolitik positions would often result in impractical means, compromised goals and other failures. As such, the ideala of maintaining realpolitik were becoming more difficult and tarnished. Some were advocating for forceful means; after all, politics and economics would mean jackshit if the world was going to get screwed. Others meanwhile maintained faith in the system for the most part, some even doubling down for the most part due to the successes of the Gore Administration though still openly acknowledged the problems needed in trying to get everyone needing to do what was needed to do.

    While the environmentalist message went from a secondary message to a primary one, other issues remained prevelant. Foreign policy had been relatively quiet beyond improving relations with China until Russia's spat with Georgia, one that was coated with political muscle-flexing and underseated with a fear of irrelevance in the growing post-USSR age. Cybersecurity became a larger and more prominent discussion point as the new internet whiz kids were being looked to to try and help establish new rules to protect themselves in a world where the Internet would grow more powerful, more available and more versatile. Cyberwarfare would become a revived facet in the media, seen in a growing number of literature, television and unsurprisingly video games. In fact, some have begun tying in foreign policy with the environmentalist message, especially once the sides were being reviewed under a microscope. Russia, the powerful petrostate relied on exporting fossil fuels and tried to bully the rest of Europe into tolerating its belligerent behavior by being the primary lifeline of petrol and natural gas. As such, the call to switch to renewable energy and more environmentally friendly policies to wean off of fossil fuels became increasingly louder and more frequent. The Green parties and their allies in Europe and over the Western World were becoming louder and meanwhile, the formerly neutral nations were getting behind it, seeing this as a way to stave economic neoimperial policies. Corporations for the most part have been doing all right and many have observed that American auto companies have been slowly bouncing back after Gore's new policies and them taking advantage of the investing in green to get to them to try and get up. However, as the environmentalist messages became mainstream, it would be follwoed up with the more fringe ideas and radical thoughts.

    Meanwhile, the film industry was also reflecting on its own upcoming trends and phenomenon. The successes of The Dark Knight and Iron Man was showing that comic book films could not just be profitable, but also very impactful in their storytelling and meaningful in their story and morals. While The Dark Knight continued to show the everlasting popularity and importance of Batman, namely as he combatted the most dangerous and manic version of the Joker for the soul of Gotham as well as showing the difficulties in dealing with crime families. Additionally, it included some suprising references over to Metropolis. It also reemphasized the importance of being Bruce Wayne, given his charity work and developments play an important secondary role (including that a former Wayne executive, one who took Wayne Enterprises into military work, was the one who worked with the Joker after he was fired for going against company policy.) Interesingly enough, the dangers of the military-industrial complex was further examined in Iron Man. Starring Robert Downey Jr as the titular hero,it has Tony Stark confront his company's past legacy as a former arms manufacturing facility (back under his father Howard Stark) after being sold out by his older cousin and former confidant, Morgan Stark, who's final words to Tony was that he was the "top brass", a reference to his name. Morgan was characterized as a brilliant but entitled man who preferred easy ways (which is noted in his gambling addiction and his ties to the military) rather than radical development that was needed; an embodiment of the unsavory aspects of scientific development in the USA and critique of the 80s Reagan military build-up. Tony escaped his captivity by working with Ho Yinsen, a Chinese scientist also kidnapped somewhere within the Middle East, that he created the Iron Man armor, a powerful weapon to protect people yet also emphasizing Tony's work in renewable energy and the film has even framed Tony and Morgan's struggle as that for America's soul, noting Tony's Iron Man triumph over Morgan's Brass armor as signaling the triumph of the better way in a display of hope. The superhero films also gave attention to the comic books. Marvel currently had the Secret Invasion plot, where the heroes tri to discovery which of them is actually a Skrull agent, sent to sow chaos on the world and used as a convienent way to excuse/justify uncharacteristic behavior or phenomenon. It was also being used as a retelling of the Death of Mar-Vell, who was given an even more heroic death after a somewhat surprisingly successful comic run and setting up for Ms Marvel to take his stead and truly shine in ways he couldn't. DC meanwhile was unleashing their ultimate work in Final Crisis. Headed by Grant Morrison, it was described as the Book of Revelations for the DC multiverse and was being used for a reboot of the DCU, done in order to take advantage how comic books were being taken more seriously. Beyond the superhero films, there were plenty of other successful films. Dreamworks showed what they could really do with Kung-Fu Panda, Quantum of Solace brought a return of James Bond in a time where epsionage was becoming more interesting, especially in a time of the need for cyberwarfare. Meanwhile, WALL-E came out on top against Disney's animated film, a surprisingly and quirky cult classic kown as Mothastra. Based on yet another one of Thurber's works, it was based on a short story known as "The Moth and the Star", about a moth seeking to fly to the stars while his fsmily instead got burnt on the flames of lamps. Here, the film expanded on the story on that of dreaming big, going through hardship to achieve and that even in failure, one may succeed. The film also became known for returning the phrase "Per aspera ad astra", Latin for "through hardships to the stars" to the popular lexicon, becoming a tagline of the film and even a saying of the main moth character. While quirky and lovable, it did not do as well as WALL-E though still better than the Narnia adaptation, which while good, was not as well-recieved.

    For video games, Nintendo's big hit of the year was Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. It had a return of old characters, but also some new ones, if in exchange for some old ones not appearing. Some notable replacements included Young Link being replaced with Toon Link. However, Brawl would get a running joke regarding "Rare women" in regards to the RARE company's representation within Super Smash Bros Brawl and most of them being women. It included Krystal (likely due to a sequel to Dinosaur Planet having come out on the Nintendo Wii), Kameo the shape-shifting elf from Kameo: Elements of Power (due to the sequel), Joanna from Perfect Dark (mildly controversial given the sort of game), Banjo & Kazooie (who's games have Nintendo Wii remasterings along with a third game in dev known as Banjo & Kazoothree), and King K. Rool. However, the big surprise was none other than inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog within the game, likely as a result of grandfathering a deal between SEGA and Nintendo, though also because Nintendo and Microsoft's current positive relationship. The game was rumored to have Snake make an appearance though some have noted the rumors were likely more due to Joanna's inclusion in the game. Other Nintendo games included the new Animal Crossing game, a new Mario Kart game and a few others, including Megaman 9. Sony meanwhile has been recooperating from their bad luck streak, but little signs of it ending. Persona 4 was released onto the Playstation 3 and while faring better than its prequel, it was still not as good and the surprise news came in releasing Persona 4 onto the Xbox 360 months later. While they did also cope from losses, they also began getting more feedback on Persona 4 and were taking note of it. ATLUS meanwhile was considering perhaps even one day bringing it to Nintendo though these are just mere rumors for the time being. Some Sony exclusive games still did quite well though, such as God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. Xbox 360 continued to do very well with its union with SEGA. Sonic Adventure 3 came out and began turning the conventions. This included Dr. Eggman waking up the sealed entity known as Dark Gaia to cause havoc on the world, his ambitions being to let Dark Gaia begin wrecking the world while he would rebuild his forces after his latest "setback" and then offer his services to rebuild the world in exchange for global domination. The game also followed in its predecessor games to have multiple characters in dealing with the Gaia Crisis in differing approaches. The eight playable characters being Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadows, E-123 Omega, Rogue and surprisingly Blaze the Cat. Despite this, the game actuall has four "playstyles" with the two characters having subtle differences per play style: Sonic and Shadow play much like they do in Sonic Adventure 2 albeit with a few more differences in tricks and stats, Tails returns in his Cyclone walker with his section being a run-and-gun much like the previous game and the same with Omega. Knuckles and Rouge focused on exploration and treasure-hunting in expansive levels while Amy and Blaze meanwhile have platforming levels using their unique tricks to navigate. The characters' stories are different, depending on their goals. Sonic and Shadow (by order of GUN) are trying to reach the Gaia Temples to activate them, Tails and Omega are assisting by combating Eggman's robots and gathering intel, Knuckles and Rouge go to investigate (Knuckles because of how the Master Emerald detected the awakening and Rouge by GUN as well) and find out more on the Manuscripts while Amy and Blaze go out to help out (Blaze goes because her nation got endangered by Dark Gaia while Amy goes to save Sonic.) More notably was a day and night system, with certain characters playing at day and others at nights during the stage. Other Sonic games that came out was Sonic Riders Zero Gravity and SEGA Tennis Superstars along with other SEGA games such as Golden Axe and Yakuza 2. Meanwhile, Wrath of the Lich King would be released over for World of Warcraft, introducing the new Death Knight hero class as the characters try and fight as the Hero class against the Lich King and his forces. Beyond the new class, new rumors on potential new races were speculative abound.
     
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    Pop Culture 2004-2008
  • Pop Culture in the Gore Administration Pt. 2: 2004-2008

    Pop culture of the mid-2000s, if it had to be defined by one feature, it was the Exxon-Mobil scandal. While the ordeal itself regarding the company lying to investors and to the public by suppressing information and then spreading misinformation was not entirely surprising (it was viewed as similar to the tobacco industry after all), it was the rammifications and implications that caused it to spire into a colossal cultural force that transformed the American zeitgeist. Major companies knew what they were doing was wrong, that it would be having disasterous effects on peoples' lives yet they disregarded it. Why? For the sake of profit. The later discovery of how the coal industry knew as well just cemeneted it. The Gore Administration fanned these flames and it led to a sense of outrage, but also one of concern. Suddenly, it became more difficult to mock along of the environmentalists with the knowledge that not only were they not lying, but it was on such a level that companies went to lengths to hide it. It was, at the heart of it all, a conspiracy. A cold conspiracy based on profits over people. As such, there was a great sense of urgency to tackle climate change and the optimism and hope brought by the Gore Administration's work helped bring that to an extent. That the system can be fixed. It reinforced the percepton Americans had of him as the America's Dad for the 21st century; responsible, patient and intelligent, possessing foresight and acknowledging past mistakes and complications such as with Hammer's connections to the Gore family. The optimism remained though it carried with it a sense of duty to be more responsible.

    Another large change for pop culture was the growing relevancy of the Internet. The release of sites like Youtube, Facebook, Myspace and so on would help begin changing the way people connected and interacted and then Project MAY came along, providing a new model for artists and creators to remain in touch with their fans and help spread awareness of songs along with other bits of news. The tone of the Internet was set up by two prominent figures seperately; one was Fred Rogers. He saw the Internet as a way for people to connect and tried to promote the good behavior and polite tones within people. Even some of the most hardened people or mischevious gadflies would begin toning down their rhetoric or apologizing for past transgressions and behaviors after seeing Fred Rogers' videos or his name being invoked. Mr. Rogers Online Neighborhood had become a very popular Youtube channel and where the comments were quite civil. Humorously enough, this was contrasting against Hunter S Thompson's show, who encouraged his infamous gonzo journalism out there, and given the recent revelations, capitalized on it. Hunter S Thompson regained prominency and popularity, advocating for the legalization of drugs as well as advocating for gun rights. Regarding the Supreme Court ruling, he noted that the entire thing started from a think tank's attempts to corrupt gun rights with the worst of the free market. He even was noted for being a large supporter of Karl Marx and even began a bit of an environmentalist bent after the Exxon-Mobil scandal, though Thompson went green the way someone like him could go green. He's an ardent supporter of gun rights though he did note how the increasing school shootings showed a failure in handling people who had them or get them, commenting on how someone was arrested on New Years for plans to shoot up his ex-wife and family along with burning the house down, who was only stopped when the new gun control policies led to a delay on getting something and the clerk's suspicions based on the would-be murderer's reaction. Despite this, both men would help shape the culture of the internet and of the youth who was becoming its notable audience.

    Additionally, there was the greater call for serious stories. Rather than looking for escapism per say, there was a search for inspiration as well as stories needing to challenge people. It was considered a surprisingly good time for shows to try and push the envelop on storytelling and options, even if not all of them worked as well in execution. In a sense, many have referred to it as a more refined and perhaps more solemn tone than what was being done in the 90s. Yet also a bit more hopeful and more optimistic. However, the issue regarding Russia and Georgia was a reminder of the Cold War and while fiction did not return to Russia being the villain, many would note that more than a few villains would be remiscent of Putin.

    Video Games
    Video games continued to change and grow. The advent of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii would bring about the potential for what video game consoles could become with touch screens and motion-based gameplay. Additionally, games like Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and other games would be finding success on the Nintendo Wii and showcasing a triumphant score for the ever popular company in their works. For Nintendo, they would be close winners of the seventh generation of video game consoles, following up closely by the Xbox 360. Nintendo expected Microsoft Operations to do well, but no one, not even MicrosoftOpps themselves expected to perform so well and be so close to Nintendo. The various Sonic games, celeberating the 15th anniversary of the SEGA mascot along with other breakout hits on the Xbox like Yakuza, courtesy of SEGA, brought surprising attention and more Japanese homes had Xboxes than people would expect. Additionally, it did bring attention to more "Western" franchises and style of games for Japanese video gamers, as shown how Rare-Ubisoft games were becoming more popular in Japan, a surprisingly delight. It was this trend that led to Super Smash Bros Brawl having new characters come from RARE. Sony meanwhile was not doing so well in comparison to their rivals in video games or in general. While the PSP was fairing pretty well for the most part, the PS3 was underperforming, especially with the surprise support that the Xbox 360 was getting over and the company has been wondering what could be done to regain the losses. Despite, games such as Persona 4 were still popular on there and other big Sony games were like Star Wars Force Unleashed, Mirror's Edge and other games. Meanwhile, MMORPGs are becoming more popular to play and some haven taken to begi recording the sessions of their parties to make mini-adventures on Youtube. Overall, video games continued to grow and change. Western developers were also taking the environmentalist themes into their work, including some shooters who have begun combining the ecodefender themes with the recent growing antagonistic relationship against Russia alongside the declining relations with Saudi Arabia.

    Film
    Film began entering a new period of cultural relevancy as the rise of works aimed toward young adults began. Harry Potter was slowly going through to finish as a film series while the rise of superhero films was becoming the name of the game thus far. Things like the Dark Knight and Iron Man were becoming big hits and before that was Superman Returns and Batman Begins. There was this sense that there would be big surprises and ideas coming for the future of films. Beyond that, there was also the search for the next big hit and some were looking to see if that hit would be Twilight. A popular if divisive supernatural romance involving vampires, it was likely that the film would be successful though some wondered if it would be enough given the slowly changing zeitgeist of the youth in part because of climate change, the Gore Administration and various other factors such as Medicare for Kids. Additionally, there was also the rise in indie films and this was noted with the potential rumored partner of Project MAY with OpenFilm, a website devoted to to finding and distributing independent films. While talks were still being had, it did seem it could work and would open up the possibility over perhaps being able to support independent films by being supported through interested patrons and being distributed through a devoted network without the reliance on the standard Hollywood formula. Overall, film had been progressing more and while the trend seemed to be going toward superheroes, there was some new ideas. Meanwhile, traditional animation remained afloat longer than anyone expected and thrived well thanks to Disney adpating the works of Thurber, who's strange, satirical yet whimiscial charm managed to match well with Disney while also providing plenty of freshness to keep audiences interested in to keep going and for showing up more the naysayers who insist traditional hand animation is dead. Despite this and the fair bit of merchandise made, it is clear that CGI will become the main driving force in animation if mainly because of costs with some turning to see if things like Project MAY could assist or the new website such as Indiegogo. Ultimately, it did seem that film would still continue to do and there would be a potential future option for further work.

    Television

    Television followed in the footsteps of film in the sense of focusing on more mature themes and emphasis on serious matters though also humor remained. All That, the cultural symbol of the 90s, ended in early 2005 after lower ratings regarding the replacement of the main cast back in 2000. As such, the decade began to further take its own shape and identity. The Office began taking the place of Friends of a show that was becoming beloved by many people. New shows like NUMB3RS, Grey's Anatomy and Big Bang Theory began making their birth while many people were excited for the triumphant return of Doctor Who with a brand new 9th Doctor gracing the screen. However, what was the culture-defining moment was the ending of The Simpsons and the return of Futurama. However beloved the latter show, many feel it won't be able to replace what The Simpsons did and with Family Guy having ended years ago (and Seth McFarlene working on other projects like MAD TV for the time being), people wondered where else to look for adult animation beyond South Park, who continued to march to the beat of their own beat. Some shows were able to "fill the void" to an extent such as King of the Hill though not really enough. Some have noted this likely led to the more serious animated shows that were for all ages, such as Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, which gained surprising news on the young social media outlets over the 5th Season being its last and fans rushed to try and save the show, especially with the final episode feeling unsatisfactory. The surprise came when fans attemped to raise money after a light-hearted comment made by a writer spread about providing money and while they did not raise enough for a whole season, the effort made and publicity behind the action moved a good deal of the cast and workers and was enough for Warner Bros to greenlight one last season in early 2008. Season 6 was focused on Starfire (as fans and writers noted she lacked a seasonal arc) and her growth along with the Titans' after stopping the Brotherhood of Evil The season became noted for introducing more obscure space heroes in the latter half of the season, such as Captain Comet and more notably, the Omega Men. The season also had a redemption arc for Blackfire in whcih she would join the Omega Men for atonement. A theme of the final season was on change and handling it, which has the Titans note that even if they take seperate paths as adults, they are still Titans. Many note the series was given a more satisfying ending as a whole. Supposedly, a made-for-TV film was to be made taking place in Tokyo, but would not be made as elements (such as Robin and Starfire's romance) were incorporated into the final season. Others wondered what the future may hold though they note that there was a potential growing emphasis for action-based shows and the successful resurrection of shows like Teen Titans and to a lesser extent Futurama did mean there was a change for the audience to have a greater voice thanks to the rise of internet celeberities, instant fandom communication through social media and the possibility of crowdfunding.

    Other
    Music meanwhile was undergoing a large thanks to Project MAY. More Indie groups and singers were using it to connect to their fans and using it as a feedback loop to grow and earn decent success while expanding the viewership on Youtube and the users of Myspace and promoting Artistshare. More crowdfunding websites would appear, though for more general purposes and would serve as an outlet to help grow the economy, especially with the modest increase of the minimum wage prior by the Gore Administration meant young people had a little bit more spending money and thus put it back into the economy through this and the support of other entertainers. Perhaps the big name of Project MAY was a young Canadian singer named Justin Bieber. Discovered and spresd like wildfire, he would become an obvious pick for Project MAY, but his age did mean they would need to be far more careful given he was 14. Ultimately, his rise to stardom would be supervised and guided by Justin Timberlake, who was a prominent stockholder in Myspace and made the argument based on his own past experiences and relability though the rise would be gradual due to age and to prevent issues associated with child stars. Nonetheless, a few were excited to see what Justin's protege would acocmplish when he was ready. Other big names that arose from Project MAY was Tay Zonday with his famous hit of "Chocolate Rain" and expanded to various songs, all centering on the sufferage and liberation of African-Americans in different forms and fashions. Beyond vocals though, more secret successes came as sometimes Project MAY would invite people based on pre-existing work and videos on Youtube, such as the music of Mark Hadley, who composed several 8-bit songs for the webcomic Kid Radd by Dan Miller. Not only was Mark Hadley offered part into Project MAY, but it did lead to a resurgence of popularity into Kid Radd and a renewed interest into sprite comics as a venue. The music scene did remain rleatively upbeat and hopeful though grew more serious over time with ecological and green themes slipping into some songs and other works. While Project MAY was the big name of this new movement, they were not the only name in town. Facebook would end up partnering up with Veoh in the hopes of dealing with the powerful juggernaut and beforehand, infamous site Newgrounds would end up partnering with relative new kid on the block Reddit to try and both expand and grow each other out to a similar extent. Comics also were changing as Marvel had undergone a massive change after M-Day and after a few years, a new Marvel continuity had been born in the ashes of the old one. Largely in tact, though with elements of the defunct Ultimate Marvel in it such as the modern setting yet with the classic characters and heroes along with bringing some second-stringers such as Ms Marvel, Captain Mar-Vell, the Inhumans and others back into prominence while Marvel X comics, the new home of the mutants, would be the feeding ground to see if the mutants would be able to survive on their own in a new world and free from the constraints of following the other Marvel rules, letting authors try and do things. DC meanwhile would be preparing to do something with the finishing up of Final Crisis and looking for a relatively clean slate to start anew and gain old fans and new fans.
     
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    Gore Administration Looking Back Pt1
  • Feel free to ask questions or whatnot since I probably won't get everything right on the first time.

    The Accomplishments of the Gore Administration Pt. 1


    800px-Al_gore_nobel.jpg


    President Al Gore (2001-2009)

    When Al Gore assumed office that winter in 2001, people were not sure what the future would hold. After all, while the Clinton years did bring economic relief and joy, the impeachment hearings remained somewhat on people's minds. Additionally, there was the fact it would be the new millenium. It would be a heavy mantle of responsability to come onto someone, especially with an election that was indirectly decided by a court case. Even if the controversey surrounding Gore's victory was mitigated with the fact that he did win the popular vote (and thus showing that if Bush won, he would've only by electoral office), it still seemed like it would be a difficult road for Al Gore. However, fate has strange ways of defining set paths. Even early on, Gore made such surprising choices, such as sowing the seeds for the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell early on because of growing public disapproval and was marked with large surprises such as the finalization of the division of Microsoft into two companies. One which developed the actual Windows operating system (which would branch out into gaming with the merger with SEGA) and the other company producing the apps and programs such as Internet Explorer and MSOffice.

    Everything changed with 9/11.

    Thanks to intel from Gore, he worked to try and prevent it and while total prevention failed, the tactics surprised the terrorists enough to force them to improvise. The only building to be seriously damaged was the Pentagon as the Twin Towers suffered a grazing blow while the one aimed at the White House was averted. The public untied under the Gore Administration to fight these terrorists and indeed, before the end of the year, the head of the plot, Osama Bin Laden, would be captured, tried and then killed. Months later would see the decimation of Al-QUeda and the Taliban through quick yet extensive operations in Afghanistan, known as Operation Root along with assistance in the reparation of infrastructure, all by Spring of 2002. THe extensive successes of this would further shape the perception of the Gore Administration and allowed them to push more changes and more ambitious plans. However, another event followed that would shape the Gore Administration, perhaps more personally than 9/11 would.

    The Exxon-Mobil Scandal.

    While 9/11 would be something that Bush or any other President would've have to face over when they would be elected (and it has become a trend among alternate history buffs and certain pundits 9/11 would've been handled worse under President Bush), the Exxon-Mobil Scandal was a proactive matter, having been something that was kickstarted by President Gore and likely not repeated under other Presidents. Having started as part of a broad inspection/investigation over certain companies after the Enron Scandal, finding the information led to Gore pressing further and before long, successfully using the RICO Act on Exxon-Mobil for misleading the public on climate change and how it is influenced and perpuated by human activity such as burning fossil fuels. While environmentalist causes and concerns were getting gradual attention, it was always treated with half-hearted effort or light teasing on how serious it was being taken. The Exxon-Mobil scandal changed all of that. The conspiratorial nature of the fossil fuel company's deception and the revelations that they along other groups like coal and frieght trains knew about the dangers and proceeded to suppress the knowledge and even launch a misinformation campaign for the sake of profit was absolute wildfire for the American imagination. Gore's status as a stoic intelligent champion of fortitude and American determination was cemented here and policy began following along with a much greater public attention and change in mindset that would influence many decisions to come. The two major events among others such as the handling of Hurrican Katrina, the approach/ruling on gun laws and others presented the Gore Administration of the basis of intelligetn security. They had the best interests of the American people to provide a safe, stable and even prosperous future for the next generation.

    As such, people reflect back on some of the major aspects of the Gore Administration.

    Enviroment
    Unsurprisingly, the environmental accomplishments of the Gore Administration remain by and large among the most prominent. This included reinforcements of the EPA, expansion and better protections for national parks, stricter standards for air and water and most notably was a carbon tax. While carbon credits were considered, a firmer hand was considered better in the wake of Exxon-Mobil. Another noteworthy aspect was the removal of federal subsidies toward fossil fuels. The money would instead go to a tax break aimed at the middle and lower classes along with investments toward renewable energy, green jobs and other aspects such as biofuel. Another accomplishment, albeit one primarily pushed by luck, was on the decline of water bottling as a result of the problems with Nestle. Despite his environmental aims, he aimed at a compromising approach of it with the economy as according to him, market capitalism could be an ally in environmentalism, though it was a stance that was not shared by some of his fellow environmentalists. Other more indirect environmental impacts included the expansion of high-speed Amtrak rail systems though delayed to try and make more environmentally-friendly along with other policies to fight urbant sprawl. Additionally pushed for research into biofuels such as biogas and biodiesal; concerns over ethanol as a biofuel became somewhat mitigated as the Gore Adminsitration switched gears over to Cellulosic ethanol, a form of ethanol produced from the cellulose or plant fibers rather seeds or fruits of the plant. Plans for the research of lowering the prices of development along with assistance from groups like the Institute for Local Self-Reliance showed promise in this and other technologies.

    Economy
    President Gore managed, for the most part, to maintain the economic growth established by his predecessor. It was fairly turbulent in part because of the environmental policies put into place and certain rammifications, but it was not damaging enough to dent the prestige on Gore though and it did maintain growth overall in his time in office. His increase on the minimum wage did lead to some further price increases across the United States and did force more than a few jobs to increase it a bit more to be a bit morecompetetive. Focus was maintained also on combining economics and the environment, such as promoting new ecologically friendly jobs or solutions that would require future economic input and opportunities. The most notable example of this was Gore's handling of the American automobile industry during and after the Exxon-Mobil scandal. Additionally, many credit the Gore Administration for assisting in establishing or at least accelerating and reinforcing the foundations of independent creators on and through the Internet. Project MAY came about because its three constinuent companies met together in one of the Gore Adminsitrations' gatherings on internet-based companies with Youtube noting that had they not met, the company likely would've sold itself to Google. While there were some periods of stagnation due to the changes, the overall positive reception meant that people were willing to bear it and they would be rewarded for their efforts. Maybe the American Dream wasn't dead after all, but it needed some changes to itself. Another noteworthy economic impact was on Fair Trade. While of prominent if subtle importance, the corporate skepticism in the atmosphere along with environmental policies led to Nestle being targeted for its unethical policies and started a highly unexpected chain reaction. As such, Fair Trade standards were becoming more commonplace, especially as it was being to environmental causes though at the same time, still examined due to the problems within Fair Trade. Nonetheless, the increasing in standards and the awareness of the cause did lead to progress. However, near the end, there were some concerns on the housing market regarding loans. Initially, Gore planned on lowering federal rates so more people, especially the poor, could get loans for homes, but impeded by the Republicans at the time and by the time of his second term, other matters had captured his attention that were higher on the priority list. However, he did begin noticing the potential for foreclosure problems and rates were still lowered if not as much. Additionally, a notice was being taken in regards with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    Foreign Policy
    The Gore Administration has been ranked consistently highly by America's allies and has been a lean in environmental global policy

    - Europe: Al Gore and Tony Blair were on reportedly very good terms, possessing similar goals and agendas and their cooperation assisted in maintaining the Blairites' popularity over the years, even if said popularity begin dwindling over the years over due to certain questionable actions on the part of the Blairites near the end. Nonetheless, American support for green support proved vital for the British and to the rest of Europe in general. However, questions over fossil fuels became more prominent after Exxon-Mobil and tensions began escalating in regards to the reliance of fossil fuels and the need to move away from. Said questions became more political in part because of influence from Russia. Putin's Russia seemed to view the Gore Administration with respect if disdain as they the growing connection of Eastern European nations being drawn into NATO as a threat to Russia's hegemony. Furthermore, after Exxon-Mobil, accusations over capitalizing on fossil fuels became hollow and thus became more difficult for Russia to maintain control. The Russo-Georgian War made matters worse as the accusations of sovereignty flew then followed by Gore's critiques in Russia's pursuit of ensuring their neighbors relying predominantly on them while noting the numerous problems within Russia and for the population. Perhaps more scathingly, was Gore noting that Russia could contribute to the climate change crisis positively thanks to the farm land and even pointed out some of the past accomplishments the former USSR did. The underlying tone was one of challenge over to Putin and how Russia would fare under him, especially when he is gone. Overall though, relations between Europe and the United States improved under the Gore Administration and the cooperation toward environmental protection intiatives and global stability proceeded.

    - North America: The Gore Administration grew warm relations with their neighbors and improved on them in contrasting with how things were in the past. The Gore Administration and Mexico cooperated on matters of immigration, the War on Drugs and on renewable energy as potential deals were drawn for nothern Mexico to invest in solar power in the future. Beyond that, other talks were being held regarding other environmental concerns and even certain cultural aspects such as the rise of acceptance of LGBTQ peoples. Meanwhile, relationships between Canada and the US also remained close with the Liberal party working with the Gore Administration on addressing climate change problems though pressure remained regarding Alberta. However, relations declined a bit under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, voted in with a minority government and began drawing unfavorable comparisons between him and Gore. In the last year of his administration, Al Gore also had talks with rising political star, NDP leader Jack Layton. Additionally, the Gore Administration became notable for improving on relations with more American-skpetic governments within the Americas such as helping Jean-Bertrand Aristide against a rightwing military coup although tensions remained with Cuba.

    - South America: The more leftist governments were pleasantly surprised by the Gore Administration. While Al Gore remained neoliberal in his stances of business-friendly approaches, his genuine commitment to the environment alongside of fair trade meant that he was deemed as good to get along with. Given the importance of the Amazon Rainforest, it would be unsurprising that it was a topic of discussion between the United States and Brazil along with the other nations containing the rainforest and how to ebst protect it along with dealing with illegal logging and the damage done to the indigenous peoples. Another discussion point was that of Eva Morales and Al Gore regarding the environment. For the most part, South America let out a sigh of relief as they did not have to concern themselves with the Gore Administration and it provided some hope in improving matters with them to benefit people. However, Venezuela remained the troubled spot given their dependence on oil for the economy along with Hugo Chavez's own behavior. However, Chavez did end up toning down th behavior and there were at least a couple of discussions. Some saw this as hope for Venezuela for the US while others noted it could be Chavez's last ditch attempts to remain prominent as discontent with his regime continued.

    - The Middle East: Iran and Palestine... two of the Gore Administration's largest accomplishments regarding foreign policy. Iran's deal made to Gore was on the grounds to try and end the economic sanctions plus concerns that the US military would invovle themselves in Iraq. However, the deal and arrangements made have led to considerable increases in amicability for one another and Iran's increase in prominence began displacing Saudi Arabia gradually. Additionally, Iran assisted in various matters such as combatting terrorism and assisting in the Palestine question. Palestine, now an officially recognized nation, has a colossal respect for the Gore administration for the work done. Israel for the most part is on good terms with the US still though the Palestine thing is a complicated one as well as the lingering issue on Jerusalem. Some have speculated Israel is waiting for a Republican president in the hopes of more preferential treatment on whenever someone decides to approach the "Jerusalem question." However, the large tension point was Saudi Arabia. The revelations on Wahhabism, its connection to House of Saud and how most of the 9/11 perpetrators came it, the Gore Administration began leading the cooling of relations, which began causing more internal friction within Saudi Arabia.

    - China: Unsurprisingly, the US and China began gradually getting closer fo economic purposes while also to try and improve on the environment, especially notable with the pollution found within the nation. Additionally, US foreign policy at the time favored the nation to try and seperate it from Russia. China for the most part was taking note of this, though they were surprised like everyone else on how Exxon-Mobil went. However, it did lead them to consider the affair more seriously since if the Amercians were willing to defy expectations for them to do so, China should do the same. For the most part, China has been also looking into alternate fuel resources such biogas and the cellulose ethanol though a subsititute for coal was also a primary focus. Additionally, the matter of recycling was discussed as studies were showing that it was impractical recycling plastic and China nor the rest of Asia would be able to take it all in. Proposed solutions included biodegradable plastic, switching from plastic to different materials and so on though the hope was that it would help China.
     
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    Gore Administration: American Automobiles
  • May add or update this later, depending ig I got anything wrong.

    American Automobiles and Al Gore

    The American automobile industry was in an era of decline and problems in the early 2000s. Having recovered in the 90s after the problems of the Oil Crisises of the 70s, they were seeming to do pretty well. While they may have bounced back with fuel efficient cars, the SUV was becoming their cash crop. Chrysler's Rams, Ford's F-series, and GM's -ados series. Additionally, pick up trucks were given laxer fuel economy standards as a result of being classified as work vechicles. Overall, it seemed that the American automobile industry would be capable of humming along. However, the gravy train would come to a gruel and painful stop because of the Exxon-Mobil scandal, specificially the end of fuel subsidies, the growing standards for the EPA and the changing tastes would raise the red flags and Al Gore called them in, knowing that the American automobile industry would be most affected. Ford, GM and Chrysler would be called in to talk with the White House. While there were initial attempts to try to dissuade Gore, they quickly resigned to the end of the fuel subsidies and began compromising with Gore on assistance for modernizating for this time, especially with the likely futuristic calls of green guel. General Motors had the advantage in technology with hybrids, but Ford had the advantage of finances. However, Chrysler lacked either of them and thus were in the worst position. To that end, they had one massive request... the assistance of Lee Iacocca, the man who bailed out Chrysler decades prior.

    Iacocca had been enjoying his retirement before he became surprised by a call by the President himself, asking him to come over to the White House for counsel. More surprising still was seeing the Big Three automobile companies there upon his arrival. However, it wasn't long before he knew why he was brought over. The American automobile companies would be in serious trouble with the end of the fuel subsidies and even disregarding that, the changing buy habits of people and the precarious situation they were in. Chrysler mentioned Iacocca and President Gore brought him in over to assist in the period as an advisor. Iacocca looked over what would be some of the new rules and regulations along with the court findings and information. He himself noted was a little disturbed at the implications and noted Gore's own ambitions while respecting the markets. However, the sooner the started, the less drastic action would be needed in the long run. As for the car companies, the rules was to make afforadble, practical and fuel-efficient cars. Additionally, the Gore Administration would begin accelerating the adoption of alternate energy and fuel sources, encouraging other businesses to assist in the endeavor. The luxury pick-ups and the large SUVs would be shelved until such time and the Gore Administration carefully invested.

    Ford and GM had an easier time, namely by reaching out to their European divisions and looking to see what they had there that could transport over here while Chrysler needed to get mroe creative. Regardless, the Gore Administration assisted the Big Three in the changes, which helped in presenting them in a positive light in helping American businesses transistion to the new times. Biodiesal was becoming more prevalent as the Gore administration was providing incentives for stores and restaurants to donate oil and grease for the creation of biodiesal along with other potential options for things thrown away (though this did lead to a growing outcry to how much food and so on is thrown away that is still very edible.)

    By the end of 2005, the new models of fuel-efficient cars were coming out along with a model for biodiesal cars. Meanwhile, more states are being encouraged to come up with tax incentivies for biodiesal and other green fuels were incentivizing new companies. Granted, this was over a period of a few years and even by the end of 2008, it was just starting to stabilize. Nonetheless, the introduction of smaller more fuel-efficient cars along with the promotion of healthier lifestyles and environmental awareness was having a gradual positive effect. Beyond the profits going over to sustain the companies, they were also investing into the future per recommendation of Gore. While biogas and ethanol was first considered, the carbon budget analysis meant that it would be more difficult to sustian with infrastructure without the development of something like algae fuel or cellulose ethanol. Electric cars meanwhile were also being sketched and outlined, but the different approaches presented their own problems. Lithium battery cars were considered a bit better right now, but suffered from a lack of support infrastructure as well as cost. Hydrogen fuel cell meanwhile, while more expensive upfront, could be better in the long run. At the same time, there was also the need to address that creating these green fuels through fossil fuel means (such as electricity through coal or natural gas) needed to be addressed and added to the priority of adopting things like solar power and wind power. Nonetheless, the hope was still there and by near the end of 2008, the car companies were managing to do well for themselves.
     
    Gore Administration Looking Back Pt2
  • The Accomplishments of the Gore Administration Pt. 2

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    Immigration
    The Gore Administration's stance on immigration was a mroe refined version of what Gore had as Vice President. While his Citizenship USA program was remembered for its emphasis of quantity over quality, the process became a bit more streamlined this time around and was made a bit easier and more efficient to let people immigrate into the nation. Fees were lowered and the process was beig examined to try and computerize more to make it more efficient. Additionally, Gore also put more work on emphasizing fitting the immigration policy to the likely applicants. While Spanish speakers would be rewarded with easier access, they were not the only ones as Middle Eastern immigration was gradually growing though Gore noted private concerns that the situation in the Middle East could blow up and in turn, start a refugee crisis. It was a discussion point he brought up in 2007 and 2008 privately amongst his fellow leaders, both in the European Union and in the Middle East alongside others such as Canada and Mexico. For the most part, immigration was given modest reforms over time that made the process easier. There was mixed reception in regards to the increased immigration though it became noted that illegal immigration went down as it became easier to apply for the legal process. Gore also began expanding to see if third parties could assist in accelerating the process while maintaining high standards and accountability.

    Housing/Homelessness
    Housing was a bit of a contentious issue in the early years of the Gore Administration as troubles deciding ow low to keep interest rates would prevent much effort on the front before the attempts were shelved in favor of dealing with more immediate crisises such as 9/11, Exxon-Mobil and Katrina along with mroe ambitious and immediately noticed changes such as Medicare for Kids. Howeverm tackling housing issues did return in the last couple years of the Gore Administration, now with some trepediation given the potential signs of financial troubles. Nonetheless, interest rates were lowered and it was made easier for people to try and begin buying homes through mortages. Additionally, plans were made to reduce homelessness, especially among the veterans, through job programs and low income housing though the difficulty came through the troublesome aspects of the housing market, which became a point of mild controvesey when a Gore associate made a scathing point on part of the housing market and the growing spread of discontentment regarding the housing market as a while as a result. Nonetheless, homelessness did go down for the most part and one route was simply making it easier for the homeless to go to areas where it would be cheaper to live off. The person or faily in question would apply to go to a new locale and try and apply there, with things like having family, work opportunites or whatnot that would bump them up the waiting list to be transported there. Some towns and cities partook more in the program as some saw it as an alternative to immgiration though those comments raised further scrutiny.

    Fair Labor Practices
    Al Gore was a neoliberal and still believes in working with corporations rather than use governmental power to force their hand. That being said, the Exxon-Mobil Scandal did force him to realize that sometimes more forceful methods would be needed, at least with companies that would not be willing to try and play ball. The minimum wage was raised from $7.25 to $8.50 back in 2006 along with a few other proposals such as a bill to have the minimum wage be calculated or tied to dynamic economic patterns, reflecting the state of the economy or one to have minimum wage be increased to $10 in 2010, a point that was discussed over in the general elections. Both McCain and Biden noted that they were unsure if $10 would be reachable, the idea of a wage increase by that point was not dismissed and noted it would depend on the state of the economy. Somewhat tied to this was the rise in fair trade practices, a result of the Gore Administration stumbling into taking Nestle over unsavory business practices that expanded to include questionable labor practices and environmental practices, one that would see Nestle be torn several notches. Additionally, there was the successful repeal of some of the worse of the striker replacement laws. While seen as a point of friction, it was pushed through thanks to public support for the bill and the growing skepticism toward corporations, especially after Exxon-Mobil.

    Corporations and Companies

    While the Gore Administration maintained neoliberal policies that favored the so-called job creators, the Exxon-Mobil scandal and its fallout was the culimination of the various financial scandals that plagues the early 2000s and thus, they were not viewed with as much favor and now replaced with skepticism. Additionally, the rise of social media and how the public took to it meant they were in need of change. While the American automobile industries would be given a kick in the rear regarding their projects thanks to Iacocca and funds from the green incentives of the Gore Administration, other companies needed to deal with the change in the decade on their own. Stricter rules on financial transactions and whatnot were made to try and prevent similar chicanery from the beginning of the year. However, it seemed like everything was fine though some troubles later on were hinted with the bank and other businesses were entering the period of decline thanks to the rise of new technologies. Video rental stores were graduall losing income with the rise of the internet and the potential of accessing the material from anywhere. Entertainment companies also needed to deal with such new things along with the growing changes in the zeitgeist. It was becoming gradually more difficult for advertisement to influence people, at least in the way to their liking. All in all, while corporations and companies saw their profits increase in the Gore industry, the growing prevelance of going green in the mainstream has been a little concerning since it would mean creating disposable goods and other related matters would be no longer profitable.

    A large example of this was how in the aftermath of Katrina, there was plenty of oil spilt all over the place and while it was being cleaned up by a mix of people, private companies and the government, who should foot the lion's share of the bill was debated. While the Gore Administration did offer a chunk, the oil companies instead tried to demand financial compensation for the product lost. The keyword being "tried." Being so close to the Exxon-Mobil scandal, it just reignited anger at the oil companies' who quickly backdown and negotiated terms. While they would be forced to help pay for clean-up through administrative arm-twisting, their initial reaction of the demands for financial compensation and the later revelation of how they tried to make up for the loss through underhanded tactics such as downsizing and cutting worker pay led to further disdain toward the oil company and fossil fuels, leading to a doubling down effect of finding solutions, especially with plastics.

    Education
    Education unsurprisingly recieved a nice boost from the Gore Administration. While the "No Child Left Behind" Act was passed with a bit of trouble, if namely to ensure the arts and such weren't cut and making accessability easier, some saw it as not enough to really be wholly beneficial. Overtime though, new programs and financial incentives would make the pursuit of higher education more feasible to people. Tax breaks for students going to college along tax deductibles for college tuition would be promoted and managed to be passed through. A large part of this was connected to Gore's green incentives, albeit indirectly. Namely, he started out by giving the tax breaks and deductibles over to vocational colleges, with the emphasis of getting more young folk into blue collar jobs with the direction of making blue collar jobs green, an incentive that was wholly welcomed by the voters. The tax breaks and deductibles would then be expanded to include anyone within the medical field (including dentistry) along with the sciences and engineering. Eventually though, the rest of the fields such as law, the arts and humanities would be included with tax breaks and deductibles by the end of the reforms around 2006. As such, many young folk would find themselves in greater economic opportunity and not feel as worried about student loans and debt. Despite this, not all of Gore's plans foe education were passed. Things such as making two years of university and college free were rejected, albeit barely and people were willing to accept it for the most part. However, Gore would still manage to find some other ways to lower student expenses, namely by targeting other huge sources of financial sinks. Student housing was considered a big money sink and approaches were made with housing and whatnot to make student housing cheaper along with methods of making transportation to campus easier. Unsurprisingly, computer sciences and emphasis on the internet was also placed heavily as mroe and more schools got access to internet with quality speed. However, the arts and humanities were fortunately not neglected and efforts were made to put more attention on them as well, especially once Project MAY got off the ground and people saw possibilities with having their own creative career and not be so shackled by advertisements.
     
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    Gore Administration Retrospective
  • The Gore Administration in Retrospect

    The Gore Administration would be remembered for be a large turning point in American history and politics along with that of the world. Coming from the heels of a close election decided by a court case and from the scandal of Clinton, it seemed unknown what the post-Cold War world would look like. Yet the Gore Adminsitration would have more impact and influence than even the Clinton Administration before it.

    The 9/11 Attacks, the subsequent campaign against Al-Queda and the Taliban, the new deal between US and Iran, the recognition of Palestine, the Exxon-Mobil scandal, Katrina and so many other events happened and influenced Gore and the nation along with their responses to those. The rise of religious extremism was a reminder that the world would not be at peace merely with just one superpower and was a bitter reminder of the imperial past of the Western world, something which President Gore acknowledgd. The Exxon-Mobil scandal, the economic scandals that preceded it and the events following it turned peoples' attention back to economics and corporations. After the closure brought about by the capture of Bin Laden and the defeats of Al-Queda and the Taliban, people still felt lost in the brave new world following the attacks. Yes the Twin Towers remained tall, but the fears of what-ifs still spread throughout the populace's subconscious. To that end, that nervous energy born from that anxiety began turning toward whatever. Fortunately, the Exxon-Mobil scandal provided a more than acceptable outlet for that. After all, a conspiracy of a major company suppressing information and spreading propaganda only to be foiled by the US president was something that captured the imagination. Additionally, as the months went by and it all unfurled, the further speculations came out regarding certain Congress members promoting war with Iraq and Iran for the purpose of the oil fields. That connection just further cemented the growing discontent toward fossil fuels.

    It helped establish a new foundation on the public perception of "going green." What some saw as basically mild lifestyle changes began cementing as something more serious and with answers that would not come easily. Yet, Gore's own confidence and intelligence provided people with security and in turn, inspired them to do their part on making lifestyle changes, albeit in different ways. Some advocated for living off the grid and created more down-to-earth communities. Others went more into futurtistic venues such as green houses or geoengineering. It was not entirely organized, but it did get the ball rolling for many ideas and additionally, created more critical-thinking. People began confronting more problems they would've otherwise neglected. Issues such as the difficulties of certain biofuels over others (along with the lobbying entailed), the usage of some materials over others (such as plastic) and some even began debaingthe fact that the lifestyles and infrastructure surrounding them were based on consumption and thus, perhaps the true root of this.

    Another foundation was on the Internet. Al Gore was a massive advocate and his inclusion of a "digital cabinet" along with inviting some of the new "wiz kids" that would appear with new websites and media to the White House helped accelerate the adoption of the Internet. People began going on it more to develop communities and the internet flourished in strange ways such as with flash animation or sprite comics. Others was through the promotion of products. One of the biggest movers and shakers was Project MAY, where Myspace, ArtistShare and Youtube collaborated to assist the other and beyond helping Youtube fourish and thus the competition began working to keep up. Veoh, under the advisement of Eisner, began collaborating with Facebook and began aiming more toward a younger audience, given the age restrictions put in place on Youtube and in trying to make Veoh a more "kid-friendly" counterpart. Meanwhile, more niche material and animation began growing in the underground when Newgrounds partnered up with Reddit. The idea of the audience directly donating money to content creators without having to rely on advertisements sounded like a dream come true. Youtube remained on top though, especially when influencing early Internet media culture. Fred Rogers was one of the early influences, reminding his children, both young and old, to be civil, mindful and be the person he knoews they can be, allowing to counter the "GIFT phenomena" that was present on some other hostile sites to a degree. Another was Hunter S Thompson, who stoked the fires of the public and influenced a series of young adults to spread the news over on the new platforms as he called out the BS he saw going on.

    Despite this, life went on. The film industry began shifting from fantasy to superheroes. There was a desire to try and catch the growing YA market to replicate the success of Harry Potter. Television began shifting to focus on new forms of comedy, white collar crime shows began increasing, animated shows were showing a greater preference toward action shows as adult animation began declining (notably the end of the Simpsons and prior to that, Family Guy). Additionally, adult animation was undergoing a period of recession as the new age of young adults were shunning raunchy comedy and toliet humor for action shows and more serious animation, including the growing popularity of anime, in part because of blocs like Toonami. Video games began spreading more in popularity and capability as Microsoft went all-in with SEGA and produced a strong foothold in Japan along with working on other Sonic products such as the comic books, manga and even animated shows. They grew to the detriment of Sony, who's misfires had been putting the company in need some cash flow. Nothing dire though rumors have been circulating about what can and will be done. The comic book industry has been experiencing a brief revive as DC and Marvel have rebooted their universes to try and keep up with the new modern world and the expectations of steamlined management of the franchises.

    At the same time, life has been getting better for people. Medicare for Kids secured universal healthcare for children up until 22 (due to how the program was put in) while the modest increases in minimum wage brought hope to the economy to keep it humming along. Court rulings have led to various decisions that led to the introduction of new gun laws and new legislation has been working to help people. There is a sense of bipartisanism in the air as the neocons' grip on the GOP has been slipping thanks to a mix of conservative Democrats switching to them along with the rise of the "greencons", conservatives with an emphasis on conservation and environmentalism.

    Of course, not everything was perfect. Russian-American tensions have increased in part becasue of the former's reliance on exportation, especially fossil fuels and the Georgian-Russian War made matters worse. Iraq has been acting a mix of erratic and quiet in part with Iran allying with the Americans and the miltiary has been noting that Syria and Iraq are ticking timebombs. Saudi Arabian-American relations have been decreasing as more people become aware of Wahhabism, its connection to the House of Saud and its influence on Islam as a whole, making supporting them more difficult. Other groups like the European Union and other nations like China and India, have been forcing mroe to confront this, leading to increaed tension. On top of that, there have been concerns over a recession, namely due to economic cycles, but it cannot be that bad, right? Whatever happens, the people will make it through. The system still works... right?

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    Coming soon...

    The Years of McCain and Suffering
     
    McCain Administration Winter 2009
  • Winter 2009

    "Well, these certainly aren't omnious omens at all..."

    "And the corporate chicanery returns. Anyone got a bad feeling about this?"

    "We gotta be using these International Courts more..."


    While the introduction of President McCain seemed to promise a new opportunity, especially after 16 years of Democrats dominating the political field, the first events of the years led to pundits making cracks on how it was a sign of things to come. The New Year was marked with protests after the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed man. As such, talks of police brutality and the treatment of colored people and minorities in comparison to whites was brought up to attention and indeed, one of the first issues that President McCain would need to tackle upon his entry into the Oval Office, upon being sworn in on January 20th. However, there was also positive news as days prior, the Miracle of Hudson River occurred in which a pilot was hailed as a hero for his quick thinking saving the lives of everyone on board. McCain's early months over as President of the United States was one based on a "business as usual" sort of mentality. He did follow some of the advice of his predecessor, which included the maintainance of the digital cabinet and even expanded to include more cybersecurity and military personnel. This was done in response to the actions of how Russian hackers and propagandists possessed an influence during and in the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War. This included a meeting of McCain and various social media websites along with former President Gore himself coming in to discuss potential problems and threats, both domestic and foreign that could be done through cyberspace. This included bots, especially social bots. Perhaps hilariously, in Febuary 10th, a privately owned U.S. satellite and a Russian military satellite collide over Siberia, scattering space debris in orbits 300 to 800 miles (480 to 1,290 km) above Earth, potentially threatening satellites in nearby orbits. Pundits noted that it seemed like a large metaphor over what could happen if things go wrong. On the other hand, McCain also celeberated the successful execution of one of former President Gore's final projects, the launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a new $280 million NASA satellite designed to precisely measure atmospheric carbon dioxide levels for climate change research after it was delayed for last minute check-ups and fixes.

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    Screenshot of Grant pinned down as police try to handcuff him, moments before the shooting (captured from a video that recorded the police incident)

    Meanwhile, another issue was on the economy. While it continued to go on, the concerns over potential recessions loomed in the air and a few have questioned McCain's intiatives to further lower rates to try and get more people to buy homes without some potential reforms needed regarding the lending practices. On Febuary 17, Peanut Corp, a peanut butter processor implicated in nine deaths and over a thousand poisonings due to salmonella, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy just days after its CEO uses the Fifth Amendment to avoid questioning by Congress. However, that was not going to be enough to stop the oncoming onslaught of investigations and the oncoming massive recall. One note was on the surprising number of salmonella cases though it was noted that normally, many salmonella cases go on reported though thanks to Medicare For Kids, children afflicted by it were all handled and the data sent to the government. The surprise sent another jolt of frustration and anger at corporations, especially over the low health standards, which led to calls of greater safety inspections, corruption charges and harsher penalities toward corporate goons in charge of such. Days later, further financial chicanery occurred when James Nicholson, the manager of an unregistered hedge fund, Westgate Capital Management, is arrested and charged in federal court with defrauding hundreds of investors in a Ponzi type scheme. Pundits took note of this clearly and the anti-corporate sentiment that was in the air continued.

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    Icon of now defunct Peanut Corporation of America

    Across the world, various new developments were going on, especially as the world needed to get used to do the new American President and his potentially new direction. The nations of the Indian Ocean experienced an annular solar eclipse. Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council. Asunción, Paraguay becomes the American Capital of Culture and Vilnius while Linz, Austria became the European Capitals of Culture and Slovakia adopts the euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna. Meanwhile,, the first trial at the International Criminal Court opens. Former Union of Congolese Patriots leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is accused of training child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape. Speaking of courts, former Serbian president Milan Milutinović is acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes during the Kosovo War. However, perhaps in a way to try and make a mark, President McCain insisted on the international community to do something in regards to the Bangladesh Rifles revolt, especially as the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights noted their concerns over the lack of fairness within the trials.

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    Partial from Riversdale, South Africa
     
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    McCain Administration Spring 2009
  • Spring 2009

    "Anyone else getting really worried with everything going on in Africa?"

    "Piracy?!"

    "A church bombing... oh my god..."


    As President McCain began going into the swing of things, the McCain Administration began going over. It consisted of moderate Republican old-timers, a few "Blue Dog" Democrats and even some of the new "greencon" Republicans in among various others. For the msot part, they would be focusing more on economy while also touting issues on security, especially with Russia. McCain did try and maintain the efforts main by Gore made in certain affairs abroad, like with Iran, if namely for pragmatic reasons. At the same time, they did maintain a more proactive approach, such as discussions for how the US and Iran could deal with Iraq should the issue come up, which both agree was inevitable. In the meanwhile, more matters abroad spiraled out internationally. With issues at home okay for the most part, the people turned to foreign policy with concern. The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in Bissau. Just days later, the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Many have reported that al-Bashir wass the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment back in 2002. This led to McCain calling for increased US forces presence in troubled areas to help maintain peace and security and working with international organizations to do so. This became more prevalent with the esclating tensions and problems going on over in Madagascar. Specifically, the President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, being overthrown in a coup d'état, following a month of unrest in Antananarivo. The growing concerns and instability have been leading for calls of greater communication to peacefully to resolve tensions and deal with problems.

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    Protests in Antananarivo, Madagascar

    However, not everything was negative over abroad. Albania and Croatia are admitted to NATO, becoming the newest members of the organization. However, this would lead to increased tension between the Western nations and Russia, something that President McCain alluded to in working for a safer and better world, especially from people who seek to unstablize the world for the sake of political points (making jabs over to Russia.) Additionally, the people came togther over for the 6.3 magnitude earthquakethat hit near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 308 and injuring more than 1,500. While people were going over to try and help out, UNESCO launched The World Digital Library a couple weeks later. The WDL caused a chain reaction of more itnrest in similar projects, especially Project Gutenberg as the American public domain grown thanks to the past laws. Lastly, after 25 years, the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the total military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Bit by bit, the world was looking to get calmer, despite the numerous setbackss caused. However, the supposed tests by North Korea remain a large sore spot and talks between the United States and China have been going under way in regards. Addtionally, the situation involving Somali pirates was resolved within days with action on part of the crew and because of the McCain Administration after days of a tense stand-off.

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    The damaged Santa Maria Church in the town of Paganica

    Back home, the news was quite complicated to say the least. Several would-be shooters were apprehended and stopped, which has been attributed to the new gun laws though there have also been noted how some gun shops did not follow through on reporting the issues with some of the people though some employees did do so. Would-be gunmen in Geneva County, Alabama and Carthage, North Carolina were apprehended before they could hurt anyone, which provided more support for firearm regulations, especially in southern states. The later investigations revealing the ammount of ammo and backstory behind the almost shooters did provide in some of the problems these people had, though others were more caustic in the commenting on some. Other positive news came in how more and more people were coming in support for same-sex marriage state by state, especially thanks to the gains done by Democrats over in the Gore years. As such, it was floated hte possibility of a bipartisan movement to try and promote same-sex marriage, something which caused friction in both parties, albeit for different reasons. Within the Democrats, there was a mild concern of doing so over during a Republican presidency alongside with some doubts over its feasability. However, the conflict was greater for the Republicans though, there was greater tensions. The old guard against the new blood; the religious right clawing to try and maintain their hold against the more moderate groups with the precarious balance. However, the partisan tensions ceased momentarily as the concerns over "swine flu" began coming out and tracing to ensure it could not lead to a large scale problem. Despite this, partisanship returned when talks of healthcare involving swine flu came out. However, the full force came out with the assassination of Dr. George Tiller by Scott Roeder. The latter was an anti-government radical with a turbulent history. He became moreso after he was barred from purchasing firearms due to his anti-government history and after threatening his wife. After the court case of Dr. Tiller, he attempted to assassinate him by driving his car, filled with a bomb into the church, attempting martyrdom. Roeder leapt out of the car moments before though was damaged by the bomb. The entire ordeal was a media firestorm of the highest degree. President McCain among otheers condemned the attack and then it spiraled further into controversey when Roeder confessed to the target being Tiller and showing no remorse for the other people who were killed with the attack, viewing them as necessary casualities. The refusal to label Roeder a domestic terrorist, especially after his past, resulted in criticism at certian politicians and the media in regards to it. Some brazen pundits even noted that "religious extremism isn't terrorism if you're white and Christian". Roeder would be given life in prison for the death of the people he killed, including Tiller. Meanwhile, the pro-choice and pro-life movements doubled down on their stances though the comparison of the histories of both camps alongside with what professionals said led to to the latter becoming more discredited as more moderate opponents of abortion would seperate from the hardliners. While mainstream mass media were criticized for the handling, online newscasts began growing more in prominence, especially Hunter S Thompson experiencing a resurgence.

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    Mug shot of Scott Roeder, jailed from July 11, 1997, to March 26, 1998, for violating parole on a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk.
     
    McCain Administration Summer 2009
  • Summer 2009

    "RIP Micheal Jackson..."

    "What the hell, Honduras?"

    "McCain is a military man so unsurprising we would consider this..."


    The first summer of the McCain administration was a complicated one, especially with how rough the year started and the regrowing tensions between the political parties over what McCain wanted to. While he moderated his stance even more over the years to where he could be considered a centralist, some of his policies, such as on regarding abortion and tackling teen pregnancy was met with irritation and disagreement, especially as the numbers showed the current program of educating teenagers and so on worked. On the other hand, he did have a mixed voting record on some stuff. Despite this, people were still willing to work together as things like removing the power of gerrymandering and that one of Gore's final acts was ensuring that the FCC Fairness Doctrine was updated and maintained for the next few years, to endure a Republican presidency. Overall, while the veneer of bipartisanship was being maintained, the various sub-groups were causing cracks as the new blood and their supporters were determined to not let anyone undo what President Gore accomplished. Calls for same-sex marriage grow some more with Governor John Lynch signs a bill allowing for same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. A white nationalist was arrested for plans to attack the US Holocaust Museum after trying to steal a gun. McCain announced that Analog television broadcastswould end in the United States by this time in the next year, giving people more time to go and shift to digitial. However, the biggest news was on the death of legendary musician and "King of Pop" Micheal Jackson from overdose. After the scandals from the previous years, he was planning to make a comeback tour known as This is It after briefly returning to prominence with his involvement of environmental awareness raising an impressive amount of money. The world of entertainment mourned the lost of one of its biggest stars, including what could've been with his final show. Micheal Jackson songs flew off the shelves such as his classics, though his environmentalist themed songs were especially noteworthy in part of the influence of the Gore administration prior.

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    Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, surrounded by barriers and covered with flowers

    However, while the world continued to mourn the loss of Micheal Jackson and struggle with the aftermath and his legacy, the world got up in arms internationally when the Military of Honduras went and under the Supreme Court, ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The entire ordeal was condemned worldwide as a coup and questions began running rampant. The entire thing started when Zelaya began plans to try and rewrite the constitution and was met with problems from the Supreme Court and Congress on it. It led to the military to be ordered to oust him and replace him. Unsurprisingly, given the politics such as Zelaya's left winged leanings, foul play was considered involved. While President McCain called out the entire ordeal, he hesitated to called it a coup; as the Secretary of State noted, this is because that under U.S. law, officially declaring a coup would oblige the U.S. to cut off most foreign aid to Honduras. Something that would escalate the situation to worse problems. On the other hand, giving money to an unrecognized government brought in by violence would likely result in more violence and some of that blood being on American hands. Many note it would be an important for how the McCain Administration would decide on policy. In the end, the McCain Administration decided to take the more aggressive route and refer to what happened in Honduras a military coup, thus halting most foreign aid over to Honduras. It was mentioned that nongovernmental independent bodies could still donate to the people of Honduras, but the Honduran "government" would not be recieving funds from the US. The reception was across the board. Some called it out for making the problem worse, others noted that giving money to the new government would be recognizing them as legitimate and making the McCain Administration look weak. Surprisingly, McCain's aggressive decision would come to be validated in the upcoming months as the interim government would come to be charged with human rights violation with curfews, media blackouts and other violations along with the development of a constitutional crisis. As such, McCain's strong approach nets them some positive reception though it comes with the hilarious side-effect of McCain ending up on a similar side to Chavez. While Zelaya's practices may have been in violation, the Supreme Court's decision was very much violation. With the problems of captured ambassadors and Honduras' neighbors rejecting more the interim government, tensions were escalating. Other voices had their say, including that of former President Gore. Perhaps a notable line that would become repeated is: "Two wrongs don't make a right and military coups are not democratic in their nature." Plans were discussed such as perhaps different elections while wrestling with Zelaya's fate though some say if new elections are permitted, whether he should run or not. After all, could a military-coup government be trusted to run free and fair elections?

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    Deposed president Manuel Zelaya

    Moreover though, the McCain Administration would gain an opportunity to go and try and gain further popularity points. In late July, the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram initiates an uprising in Bauchi State, Nigeria and quickly spreads throughout the northern part of the country. The 2009 uprising grabbed by surprise, especially with ho relatively quiet matters have been regarding Islamic terrorism. The groups movement from a nonviolent movement to that of a terrorist group. Additionally, concerns were displayed regarding the Nigerian government and miltiary's capabilities in doing so, with Presidet McCain extending a deal for assistance in ammunitions, supplies and even potentially manpower should the need arise though for the most part, it appeared as things would be all right for the time being. However, not all was bad news abroad. Bolivia, perhaps in a pronounced counteract move, Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Al Gore meets with Kim in North Korea. Iran holds more elections and the Reformists enjoy their lead with Mehdi Karroubi being reelected once more, hoping to continue to improve relations with the new President of the United States, a sentiment shared by President McCain. Said sentiment also followed with President McCain sharing the sorrow in the people who lost their lives in the crash of Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 in Qazvin, Iran, killing all 168 on board.
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    Memorial of victims at Tehran's Burastan Cemetery
     
    McCain Administration Autumn 2009
  • It's coming...

    Autumn 2009

    "What the fruad is going on here?!"

    "Journalism is more important than ever now..."


    Autumn of 2009 was filled with an unusual sense of dread for some reason. Rumors of economic disparity was talked upon within the upper echeleons. Concerns over housing loans, the banks, money bubbles and so much more filled the air with anxiety. And perhaps nothing else signaled this than the case in which Pfizer pleaded guilty to the illegal marketing of the arthritis drug Bextra for uses unapproved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and agreed to a $2.3 billion settlement, the largest health care fraud settlement at that time. However, people remained hopeful and determined. There was some good to look forward to after all, especially as some tensions in the Middle East were cooling down. The Israel government and people began a gradual shift leftward with a basic framework to Palestine statehood and while Jerusalem remained a hot button topic, the question was pushed to the side until Palestine would be ready to begin negotiations, having paused them. Said negotiations were paused primarily of logistical reasons as the Palestinians, taking Gore's words regarding Bin Laden those years ago to heart, worked first to have a stable state that could run on its own first. So even with the potential economic troubles, things looked okay. In other news, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is chosen by the International Olympic Committee chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, which got some excitement though the US felt some disappointment since Chicago was the early favorite.

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    The Guardian photograph from the article

    Meanwhile though, the year continued with strife and stress for people domestically and abroad. Near the end of September, at least 157 demonstrators are massacred by the Guinean military at the Stade du 28 Septembre during a protest against the government that came to power in a coup d'état the previous year. Greater calls for democracy were made and a couple days later, A 7.6 Mw earthquake strikes Sumatra, Indonesia, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving at least 1,115 people dead. As volunteers and aid went to try and help the people of Sumatra recover from such a disasterous Earthquake. However, the most horrific incicident was that known as the e Maguindanao massacre . In the Philippines, at least 58 people are abducted and killed in the province of Maguindanao, in what the Committee to Protect Journalists called the single deadliest attack on journalists in history. The entire reason for such a horrific event was that the 58 victims were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan, when they were kidnapped and later killed. Mangudadatu was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and member of one of Mindanao's leading Muslim political clans. The 2010 elections were postponed and the probince was put into martial law to handle the colossal incident while arrests and investigations were made. Calls were made to honor the fallen journalists and some have even began spreading a campaign to raise awareness

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    Monument, National Press Club of the Philippines


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    "We are in the midst of a global financial crisis..."

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    "The real estate bubble has burst... what the hell is going?!..."

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    "There is a crisis regarding subprime mortages..."


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    "Experts are calling it The Great Recession..."
     
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