Kentucky Fried Politics: A Colonel Sanders Timeline
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@gap80 I would like to think that Alex did get at least one project off the ground ITTL before he made GF. Maybe Imaginary Friend became an adult animation series under the name ''Friendgate'' or something like that. Since Touchstone is still a Disney owned studio and since The Chaps DID do significant work with Alex and others, I still believe that the cast could cameo in the HR movie, mainly because I'd love to think that in the flic, Bill Cypher brings a fully sized Trogdor into reality in Gravity Falls as a representative Punishment of Strong Bad's egotism, and because It'd be funny as hell, in the end, it was Homsar that ended up finishing Bill off. I'd also like to think that the whole Homestar having arms thing is a fan overreaction and it doesn't happen until the end for some reason, with Homestar keeping them, much to the disgust of everyone.
Also, glad you loved the song. I figured that, despite its age, the song would still make a good opening number, which would start with some unseen guy typing the opening studio credits into his browser before typing the Homestar Runner site address into the upper bar, clicking the site's intro button and leading us into the full opening proper. I also think that They Might be Giants would have a massive involvement in the film's OST. They were HR fans too and even had the Chaps' make a music video for their song ''Experimental Film.''
Also, glad you loved the song. I figured that, despite its age, the song would still make a good opening number, which would start with some unseen guy typing the opening studio credits into his browser before typing the Homestar Runner site address into the upper bar, clicking the site's intro button and leading us into the full opening proper. I also think that They Might be Giants would have a massive involvement in the film's OST. They were HR fans too and even had the Chaps' make a music video for their song ''Experimental Film.''
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Glad my quote made it into the canon. Should have seen it hurting his image a little though, but I suppose there's worse things he could be dealing with. I always liked Kelsey with a beard but I understand how it tends to make him look more villainous and there being more pictures of him clean shaven then not, especially if you use his screenshots from his more modern shows like Boss.
I'm also kind of confused as to who Lloyd Havaw Reese is. Who are they otl?
I'm also kind of confused as to who Lloyd Havaw Reese is. Who are they otl?
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"Lloyd Havaw Reese" is more than likely an anagram for Lee Harvey Oswald. You can kinda make out the features on his picture if you look close enough.
Your welcome you deserve it the amount of research and details put in TTL is amazing it's literally up there with Blue Skies in Camelot by President Lincoln imao
I see it now. I was so confused googling “ Lloyd Havaw Reese” and getting nothing, I was starting to suspect they might have a cameo of someone gap80 knew or even gap80 themselves
And I guess seeing that gap80 himself liked my post about the anagram pretty much confirms it.
For one hand, that would avoid all the "#ChangeTheChannel" and the pain I suffered for days due to that (Yeah, those days were rough to me. Doug Walker was a world to me, and on a few days all changed)
For other hand, It would have affected me A LOT the non-existence of "Channel Awesome". Before to the Nostalgia Critic, I was dumb about Internet: Never seen a Youtuber, never interested on content... Discover the Nostalgia Critic helped me to discover other reviewers, and learn more about the world of the Internet
Chapter 104: August 2012 – January 2013
Chapter 104: August 2012 – January 2013
“I think that we’re all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better, after all.”
– Stephen King (OTL)
The two Governors met at Brown’s office in Idaho’s capital of Boise. Grammer held back a slight feeling of antipathy toward his situation, of trying to appeal to the unkempt Idahoan before him. But, the man had done his homework, researching motorcycles and watching Harley’s purportedly favorite film in order to develop some “common ground” ahead of the meeting.
The two men discussed Brown’s role in a potential Grammer administration, with Grammer promising Brown that the VP would participate in “all major cabinet meetings,” then proceeded to watch the 1967 movie “Hells Angels on Wheels.” After doing lunch (KFC, naturally), the two men concluded the meeting with a brief exchange in Brown’s inner office.
“Harley, you understand that the extensive vetting process will not be some astringent assault on your background.”
“Hey, I’m an open book, Kels,” Harley smiled, “I’m done nothing to be ashamed of, and the stuff people say I should be ashamed of just don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“Yes, well,” replied Kelsey, “Pending the discovery of some skeleton so massive that it would make Jake Butcher blush, I think I’ve found my running mate.” The California Governor feigned a smile and reached his hand out to his Idahoan counterpart. He only winced internally at the surprisingly greasy and sweaty feel of Harley’s recently-washed palm as they shook hands on it.
“Glad to be on board, sir,” Harley chuckled.
“Likewise,” Kelsey lied.
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
Kelsey visited my office in Boise, desperate that I join his ticket. He knew he wouldn’t be able to win over the Goetzites, but I could convince them to give the GOP another chance. I walked right in and began practically begging me, almost on his hands and knees, to take on the important role of second-in-command. It was a good thing for his sake that I sort of liked Kelsey. Sure, his alleged charm came off too often as him being a smug enlist, but I appreciated his stance on law-and-order, and his devotion to improving the American landscape.
To see if he was worthy of my time and energy, I made him sit down and watch the 1967 movie “Hells Angels on Wheels,” one of the greatest films ever made. He watched his reacts and we talked about it afterward. He seemed very accepting and supportive of the rugged frontier culture. I was surprised to learn how much he actually already knew about motorcycles and the Mud Marines. I was impressed. So I figured, “Why not?”
– The Wildest Ride: The Autobiography of Harley Brown, 2021
GRAMMER PICKS HARLEY BROWN FOR RUNNING MATE
…while several other politicians were rumored to be considered, Grammer has chosen Brown to be his running mate in what may be a move to appeal to dissatisfied members of other factions of the Republican party and unite the GOP. ...While such "unity" tickets have worked to secure victory in the past, history also suggests that such tickets do not make for stable White House administrations. The best example of this from modern history would undoubtedly be the "unity" ticket of Walter Mondale and Mike Gravel, the pairing of a moderate with a progressive that resulted in the President and Vice President having a cold, icy, and rocky relationship that only worsened as their time in office worsened…
– The Washington Post, 8/8/2012 [1]
On August 10, a saw mill exploded near Great Falls, Montana, killing six workers. The incident was a tragic example of bureaucratic oversight, of a state government that had grown to become too big for its britches. I made note of this in my very next newsletter, and called for higher worker rights. …I think I only wanted state-level attention, but when my comments caught the attention of technetters, my words went fervid. Suddenly, I was receiving more attention than ever before. I find it to be thrilling and uplifting, but at the same time absolutely terrifying… Maybe I wanted to get caught. Maybe I was just tired of living a lie for twenty years. Well, at least I caught the attention of some people, and convinced at least some of my fellow members of humanity to oppose all systems that do not work for them, the people…
– Lee Harvey Oswald’s autobiography Call Me By My Real Name: Confessions From a Fallen Hero, published posthumously
…The inability of the Wellstone administration to resolve the Sudanese Conflict peacefully had somewhat damaged the President’s image and reputable abroad despite his administration essentially pinning the blame on the State Department, with there being serious internal discussions of replacing US Secretary of State Harvey Gantt with the US Ambassador to Egypt, or with former diplomat Bill Gwatney. Regardless, the violence unfolding in Darfur had the potential to significantly hinder Wellstone’s re-election bid that year, and as a result, in August 2012, Wellstone called on the leading members of the UN, especially Western European leaders such as UK and France, as well as Canada and Australia, to “carry the weight” of the peace talks process. While the UK’s Mary Creagh was enthusiastic, her Parisian counterpart was reluctant in contributing to rising accusations in Sudan of “western imperialism…returning” to Africa…
– Walter Allen McDougall’s The Promise And Potential Of US Foreign Policy In The 21st Century, Dove Books, 2019
TEHRAN OLYMPICS END WITH RECORDS BROKEN, FRIENDSHIPS FORMED, AND MEMORIES MADE
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 12/8/2012
…The Governor’s image consultants went to the archives to dig up footage from when Colonel Sanders had visited the set of Cheers in 1980s. Being a teetotaler, The Colonel did not approve of the setting or the show’s handling of alcoholic characters such as Norm, the former President did appreciate the humor, and visited the set as part of a larger tour of the studio. The consultants seized upon one image from the visit, a photograph of The Colonel standing alongside Kelsey Grammer on the stage of Cheers. The image was the perfect way to visualize Grammer’s message of dignity and “compassionate and rational” conservative, and a way of suggesting that Grammer was destined for the White House by drawing parallels between the two Republicans in the photo. The image ended up being placed throughout the convention, covering walls and posters in a celebration of what the GOP was, what the GOP is, and what the GOP could be…
[pic: imgur.com/KOfFb7g.png ]
– Anne Meagher Northup’s Chicken and Politickin’: the Rise of Colonel Sanders and Rational Conservatism in the Republican Party, 2015
“Good evening America, I’m listening.”
“This campaign is all about truthfulness. And the truth is that I oppose hateful rhetoric being it is not productive. If we are to have a meaningful conversation with the American public this autumn, it must be a conversation focused on the issues – the benefits of smaller government, the rewards of lower taxes, the need to assure that all Americans can pursue prosperity.”
“I said earlier that I’m listening, but, you know what, was a sound bite, people. For a President does more than simply listen – to the people, to advisors, to experts, to what their own heart, head and guts have to say. He reacts. He takes action.”
“I believe that everyone wants to be responsible for it themselves. I truly don’t believe that everyone wants the government to take care of every problem they have, I truly don’t believe that. But that’s the story that the Democrats sell and that is what we are fighting at.”
“I am not Dr. Frasier Crane. I am not Dr. Schwarzchild. I am not Ebenezer Scrooge and I am not General Patton. I am Kelsey Grammer. I am a patriot who has the experience to serve in the Oval Office. The Presidency is not a role for which I am auditioning, it is a job for which I am applying, and the primaries have shown that no less 10,305,032 people have taken a look at my resume and think I am the right person for the job!”
– snippets from Kelsey Grammer’s acceptance speech at the 8/14-17/2012 Republican National Convention, 8/17/2012
FORMER US REP. JASON BUCK ANNOUNCES POPULIST BID FOR PRESIDENT!
…Jason Buck (b. 1963), a former NFL player, was elected to congress from Utah’s most conservative House district in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, and was succeeded by Jonathan E. Johnson III in 2010. …Buck proclaimed, “This is a bid not just for those who feel betrayed or unsatisfied with the nominee of Kelsey Grammer. This is not just for those who feel that Harley Brown has become a sellout. This is a bid for everyone who is sick of the two-party system, for everyone who is sick of congressional gridlock, sick of American weakness abroad, and sick of America continuing down the wrong path year after year. America is not meant to be this weak. America is a strong nation, a nation built and preserved by strong people. We were like that before and we an be like that again. …Genuine leadership is lacking in our capital and in our actions overseas, and when I am in the White House, we will return strength to the capital, to the military, and most importantly to the workers, the hardworking core of America’s greatness!”
– The New York Times, 8/16/2012
THE COMPLEXITY OF BALLOT ACCESS
When running for President as a third-party candidate, one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is not debate access, but something even more basic, something that is right at the start of it all – ballot access. The hurdles a candidate must go through to get their name on a state ballot vary from state to state, and range from signatures to monetary charges to deadline clearances. These hurdles are even more challenging for last-minute entrants, who must scramble to gain access before deadlines lock them out.
For example, when Jason Buck entered the race for President in 2012, half the states had already finalized their ballots, giving Buck only two months to get on at least 273 Electoral College Votes worth of state ballots (one of the two requirements needed to get into the major-party Presidential debates, the other one being an average of at least 10% in certain polls).
As a result of this short window, Buck’s campaign had to act quickly, and work in tandem with state-level affiliates and allies. He ended up running on the official Boulder Party ticket in only 14 states. In West Virginia, Buck was listed as the nominee of the Strong Party, which was the Boulder Party’s state affiliate. In five states where the Boulder Party was not “officially recognized” due to failing to gather enough signatures, Buck was endorsed by, and received the nominations of, the state versions of older minor conservative third-party organizations and labels such as the Defense Party, the Country Party, and the Exposure Party. And in Minnesota, the local Action party convinced its nominees to drop out and be replaced by Buck’s ticket, requiring the ballots to be redone. Additionally, Buck received write-in access in six states.
For all of Buck’s efforts, the candidate ended up on the ballot in only 21 states, which totaled 289 EC votes. Concurrent with these efforts, though, came the even more daunting challenge of the race – climbing to at least 10% in the national polling…
– minorpartiesmatter.co.usa/history/2010s/article#47863095
OAKLAND MAYOR CAUGHT UP IN D.U.I. SCANDAL
…Mayor of Ignacio De La Fuente of Oakland, California was given a “moving violation” citation after being pulled over by Oakland Police for reportedly “swerving back and forth”… De La Fuente subsequently failed to pass a sobriety test…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 8/26/2012
Mayors of OAKLAND (California)
5/1/1966-6/30/1977: 44) John H. Reading (R, 1917-2003) – former businessman; previously served on the city council from 1961 to 1966; was instrumental in the expansion of the Oakland International Airport; appointed by city council to finish predecessor’s term after he resigned; was on good terms with President Colonel Sanders and with US Senators Thomas Kuchel and Richard Nixon; retired; later served in the Denton administration as a special advisor for the Small Business Administration
1967 (special): Sam K. Cook Jr. (I) and Paul Montauk (I)
1969: Lawrence A. Joyner (Natural Mind) and Henry H. Haight III (I)
1973: Bobby X (Black Rights) and Otho J. Green (I)
7/1/1977-6/30/1997: 45) Lionel Joseph Wilson (D, 1915-1998) – previously served on the Alameda County Municipal Court and as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court; city’s first African-American mayor; worked to develop the city’s downtown area and improve city transportation (supported the 1995-to-2001 multi-state proposal to introduce maglev train station linking San Diego to Seattle during his final term); praised for his handling of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, visiting hospitals and working with the city council and experts to address repair and rebuilding efforts to improve safety features in new buildings; won in 1993 after main opponent jokingly promised “fried chicken in every pot,” which he later claimed was an attempt to reach out to Republicans (alleging it was a reference to President Colonel Sanders) but was still considered by many to be a “racist” and “demeaning” comment, allegations which Harris challenged due to him being African-American; retired over declining health due to cancer
1977: John J. Miller (D)
1981: Hector “Reno” Reyna (I) and Dave Tucker (I)
1985: Armand Leo Choinard (I) and George W. Sams Jr. (Black Rights)
1989: Hugh E. Bassette (D), Cestra E. “Ces” Butner (D) and Alex Rackley (Black Rights)
1993: Elihu M. Harris (D)
7/1/1997-11/11/2008: 46) Wilson Riles Jr. (D, b. 1947) – city’s second African-American mayor; began his political career by working on Shirley Chisolm’s 1972 campaign for President; served on the city council from 1979 to 1996; worked on neighborhood non-profit housing, alternatives to incarceration, bilingual education, and addressing the root causes of city homelessness such as housing rates and an apparent lack of city rehab centers; resigned after winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (and served from 2009 until losing re-nomination in 2017); currently works as a special advisor for an Anaheim-based law firm
1997: Leo Bazile (D), Audrey Ricer Oliver (D), Hector “Reno” Reyna (I) and Shay X (Black Rights)
2001: Mary V. King (D)
2005: Desley Brooks (D)
11/11/2008-6/30/2009: 47) Edward J. Blakely (D) – city’s third African-American mayor; former educator and urban planner; previously served on the city council from 2001 to 2008; appointed by city council to succeed Riles; lost bid for a full term; later elected back to the city council
7/1/2009-6/30/2013: 48) Ignacio De La Fuente (D, b. 1949) – born in Mexico and immigrated to California at the age of 21; previously worked as a union representative and served on the city council from 1992 to 2009; opposed recreadrug legalization measures amid concerns over “abuse as well as control, certification, and monitoring of caregivers”; known for criticizing President Paul Wellstone's handling of numerous issues; lost re-election over a scandal involving him driving recklessly while intoxicated; currently works for a Mexican-American rights lobbying firm
2009: Edward J. Blakely (D) and Hector “Reno” Reyna (I)
7/1/2013-6/30/2021: 49) Don Richard Perata (D, b. 1945) – son of Italian Immigrants; previously served in the state assembly from 1996 to 1998 and in the state senate from 1998 to 2012; staunchly supported efforts to improve gun control, support mental health improvement efforts, better regulate the legal recreadrug industry, and support immigrant workers; investigated by the FBI in 2018 but was cleared of campaign fund misuse in 2020; retired due to low approval ratings
2013: Ignacio De La Fuente (D)
2017: Libby Schaaf (D)
7/1/2021-present: 50) Sheilagh “Cat” Polk Brooks (D) – city’s first female Mayor and city’s fifth African-American Mayor overall; former progressive political activist, theater artist, poet, businesswoman, and talk radio show host; ran on a platform focused on education and racial justice; incumbent, having entered office just three days ago
2021: Pamela Price (D)
– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021
ISAAC MOVES IN: Hurricane Winds, Rain Envelop Metro Areas
– The Times-Picayune, Louisiana newspaper, 8/29/2012
…Hurricane Isaac dissipated on September 3, leaving in its wake 23 direct deaths, 4 indirect deaths, and nearly $3billion in damages, primarily across the states of Florida, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as Cuba, Hispaniola, The Bahamas and the Leeward Islands…
– clickopedia.co.usa/Hurricane_Isaac_(2012)
Neurotically Yours: How Foamy the Squirrel Is Already A “Cult Classic”
…the smoothly-animated series with crude, disturbed and foul-mouthed characters only just began its second season, but already the show has accrued a strong base of fans. While rather small when compared to other fan bases, “Foamers” are passionately invested in the semi-syndicated lives of the show’s characters, with the Fourth-Wall-breaking Foamy being a clear favorite among these fans…
– Vice, Canadian-American arts/lifestyle/culture magazine, September 2012 issue
WELLSTONE/ROSS RE-NOMINATED ON FINAL NIGHT OF DNC
…the party’s platform calls for a greater focus on education in a second Wellstone term, calling for college student loan debt forgiveness for low-income graduates in order to discourage dropouts. The platform also calls for even bolder steps to combat Global Climate Disruption, as well as promoting more job creation via a stronger FJG program, a stronger green energy policy, empowering labor, more affordable housing, and “a return to the subject of police reform,” which could mean a return to the police precinct reform efforts attempted during the Jesse Jackson administration…
– The Minneapolis Star, 9/5/2012
…After the 2012 DNC concluded, Grammer laid out a specific outline for revenue and spending for his tenure if elected. He explained that he would simplify the tax code and change the tax bracket system from nine brackets to six. President Wellstone’s inner circle immediately began considering releasing a tax plan of their own to combat its media presence, and ultimately release a less detailed outline three weeks later...
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
“America is at its best when it has no major foreign enemy, when it can’t blame its internal problems on external affairs. We are at our best when we focus not on pop culture or paranoid claims, but on systemic issues still unresolved. Four years is not enough time for any politician to amend such deeply-rooted woes.”
– former Vice President Jerry Litton (D-MO), Wellstone’2012 surrogate, 9/8/2012
SENATORS BACK WELLSTONE’S CALL FOR A CLEAN ELECTRICITY STANDARD
…the plan to have all us electricity standards come from clean sources by 2030, and to make the US power sector carbon-free by that same year, are a part of Wellstone’s re-election platform. US Senator Charles Dean (D-VT) pledges to see the US adopt the standard under a second Wellstone term. …The proposed bill to implement a policy/standard would allow for homeowners who generate solar power and other clean energy to earn tax credits for zero-emission electricity, including through means that are renewable and/or hydropower in nature. …Opponents claim such a policy will damage the economy by trying to control the energy market, which is responsible for over a quarter of the US’s greenhouse gas emissions at the moment…
– The Washington Post, 9/10/2012
FORMER WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR JOINS JASON BUCK’S 3RD PARTY TICKET
…Bob Wise was the conservative Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2009, and served in the US House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001. …According to an anonymous former member of the Buck campaign, another consideration for the position of running mate was Louis Barletta, the conservative Republican mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania since 2000 who was one of the first elected officials to endorse Buck’s populist candidacy. However, Buck, who served in the US House as a Republican from Utah for eight years (retiring to unsuccessfully run for the US Senate in 2010, reportedly wanted a running mate with “more weight, but without taking attention away from himself.” Other rumored considerations for the Buck ticket included US Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), former US Rep. Barbara Coe (R/B-CA), US Senator and former NASA astronaut Jon McBride (R-WV), and former Governor Doug Swanson (R-NV)…
– Associated Press, 9/12/2012
“Do not underestimate the power of the Boulderites to influence the results of this election. Trying to resolve issues concerning trade and market freedoms are virtuous pursuits, but the wealthy backers of Jason Buck use scapegoating tactics to ignore the economic woes that afflict us all.”
– Bern Sanders, Wellstone’2012 surrogate, 9/13/2012
…the Republican Party sought to frame the election as a referendum on the incumbent, while the Democrats sought to frame it as a choice between two candidates and what the next four years should look like. Biggest benefit to the Democrats was the possibility that the Buck/Wise ticket would split the anti-Wellstone vote in enough states to spoil the election in their favor. Republicans were very much aware of this potential result, given that internally polling revealed that, even with the populist Harley Brown on the ticket, Grammar’s campaign was not winning over “unwanted” support from white supremacists, who instead flocked to the likes of Buck and other third-party candidates – a trend that gave many in the GOP mixed emotions…
– Richard Wolffe’s The Message: Reselling the Wellstone Way, Hachette Book Group, 2013
…As the 2010s continued, the notion of KFC expanding into Africa became more palatable as early reports indicated that markets in Morocco, Tanzania, Mozambique and even the once war-torn Rwanda would not be hostile to a western/American franchise. Even Angola and Uganda, two countries that the US briefly invaded in the mid-1970s, were reportedly open to the idea of allowing the franchise to open an outlet in their respective national capitals on a trial basis. The consensus among analysts was that the promises of hospitality stemmed from KFC reputation of being a symbol of peace. The 1979 Atlanta Peace Treaty that stabilized the Middle East, and The Colonel’s famous contributions to the temporary ceasefire between India and Pakistan, that had lasted for much of the 1990s, had convinced many that the Eleven Secret Herbs And Spices had a way of calming hostilities in a way that would be welcomed to troubled regions. These reports led to the FLG Board of Directors taking an even closer look at expansion into the few remaining countries on Earth that were without at least one KFC outlet…
– Marlona Ruggles Ice’s A Kentucky-Fried Phoenix: The Post-Colonel History of Most Famous Birds In The World, Hawkins E-Publications, 2020
WELLSTONE/ROSS: 46%
GRAMMER/BROWN: 43%
BUCK/WISE: 7%
OTHER/UNDECIDED: 4%
– Gallup national poll, 9/16/2012
“This country’s going to hell under Paul Wellstone and it won’t get that much better under another Republican administration. Vote Buck/Wise.”
– actor Dean Cain, endorsing the Buck/Wise ticket, 9/17/2012
“Both Democrats and Republicans are wolves in sheep wool. But of the two wolves, the Democrats are more obvious, and so are the lesser of two evils. I will vote for the Green party candidate, but I understand it if my supporters and followers go and vote for Wellstone. I understand. He has been a more active, pragmatic and productive President than I expected him to be. Of the corrupt pack of selfish wolves making their den out of the federal district, Wellstone seems to be the least heinous.”
– Former US Senator Peter Isaac “Pete” Diamondstone (LU-VT), 9/19/2012 interview
…Republican Senators have vote down a proposed bill that would have allowed the federal government to overview billion-dollar transactions, and also increase the Federal Inheritance Tax…
– ABC News, 9/21/2012 broadcast
“Maybe the Democrats are purposely introducing legislation, knowing we’ll vote it down, in order to have these rejections to run on in the general election. To paint us as the party of ‘no,’ like what Grammer said in one of the debates a while back.”
– US House Majority Whip to House Speaker McMaster (allegedly, possibly anecdotal), c. 9/21/2012
…In response to Wellstone’s tax outline going public, Grammer reiterated his own proposals in stump speeches – especially in the Rust Belt, where residents were becoming increasingly critical of what they were viewing as “wasteful” government spending – highlighting the benefits of his aforementioned outline for revenue and spending for his tenure if elected...
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
LEBANON ELECTS A NEW PRESIDENT, ENDING LEADERSHIP VOID
…the nation’s leadership crisis came to a close with the election of Albert Mansour over Suleiman Frangieh. Mansour, b. 1939, is Lebanese Greek Catholic who has served in Lebanon’s parliament since 1972, and has been heavily involved in Lebanese issues concerning Treasury and Defense for decades…
– The Daily Telegraph, 23/9/2012
SIMON & SCHUSTER’S NEWEST KW2 BOOK SALUTES THE CONFLICT’S HEROES
…Commander Ken Armstrong’s 1996: The Second Korean War offers a gripping and detailed overview of the conflict that defined the mid-1990s and forever changed the face of the Korean peninsula. The experienced author covers the subject from multiple angles to lay out a rich and comprehensive understanding of how the conflict unfolded, how it concluded, and who was involved in the liberating of an imprisoned nation…
[pic: imgur.com/f6glLx8.png ]
Above: Commander Ken Armstrong
– The New York Times, book review section, 9/24/2012
TAOISEACH OF IRELAND CALLS FOR CLOSING OF “HEINOUS” TAX LOOPHOLES
…Dermot Ahern (Fianna Fail) is trying to get the Irish government to reassess the nation’s treatment of foreign businesses versus domestic producers, despite the country’s courts already voting in favor of the major corporations four years ago. The sudden push may be a political tactic, given that Ireland’s next parliamentary elections are to be held next month…
– The Daily Guardian, UK newspaper, 25/9/2012
…While Harley Brown worked vigorously to help the GOP reabsorb voters that had splintered away to vote for the Boulder Party in 2008 and, to a far lesser extent, in 2010 as well, Kelsey Grammer was faced with the juggling act of appealing to anti-Democrat voters while concurrently reaching out to conservative Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents that could make or break the election even without a prominent showing from the Boulderite nominee...
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
McTEER’S APPROVAL RATING AVERAGE IS DROPPING OVER NEW TAX HIKES
…The Prime Minister has placed herself in a precarious position, and is increasingly vulnerable to political criticism from opposition leader George Arthur Rogers (PC-AB)…
– The Vancouver Sun, Canadian newspaper, 9/28/2012
ON THE LIGHTFOOT TRAIL: Following The Gordon Lightfoot Tour of All Ten Provinces in Ten Hectic Days
– The Walrus, Canadian general-interest magazine, September 2012 issue
CHICK-FIL-A’S NEW SANDWICH SELLS OUT JUST THREE WEEKS AFTER ITS LAUNCH!
…Crispy, crinkly, and crunchy, with a golden-brown texture, this delightfully tender, robust, flavorful, and juicy new chicken sandwich has a unique kick. Few chicken sandwiches work without pickles, but the culinary development team at Chick-fil-A have made a breakthrough with a new sauce that has a “prickly” taste to it, along with it having a creamy, rich Cajun-style that is decidedly spicy without being too spicy…
– knn.co.usa, 10/1/2012
MODERATOR: “Gentlemen, foreign policy has taken a backseat in this election, so let’s discuss it for a moment. Right now, Darfurian forces are fighting off Sudanese soldiers in the city of El Daein while South Sudanese separatists fend off a similar attack from Khartoum on their city of Aweil. President Wellstone, your efforts to end the conflicts have not been as successful as you had hoped they would be over a year ago. In light of all this, what can we expect from a second Wellstone term in regards to the Sudanese conflict.”
WELLSTONE: “What is happening in Sudan, Darfur and South Sudan is an atrocity because of the actions of the peace at the top. The Sudanese government refuses to negotiate, and the people of Darfur and South Sudan have lost hope in the idea of the pen being mightier than the sword. But the answer to bloodshed is rarely ever more bloodshed. In a second term, this administration will work with allies in the region and around the world to pressure the Sudanese into a meaningful ceasefire so talks on a lasting peace deal can resume.”
MODERATOR: “Thank you for your reply. Governor Grammer, the situation in Sudan requires foreign policy experience. Do you have any?”
GRAMMER: “Yes, actually I do. As the Governor of one of the largest economies in the world, I worked with the head of states of several major countries in order to obtain binational and international trade deals that benefited American workers. That required me to meet with diplomats and important figures from around the world. As for the situation in Sudan, well, the great thing about being in charge is that you’re never alone. The President can always surround himself with the leading diplomatic experts that America has to offer, which is something that the President has unfortunately failed to do.”
[snip]
GRAMMER: “In short, the size and responsibilities of government are reflective of the freedoms its people enjoy at the state, community and individual levels.”
[snip]
WELLSTONE: “While I appreciate Governor Grammer’s enthusiasm for my job, the fact remains that history has shown time and again that small-government policies only benefit the rich.”
[snip]
MODERATOR: “Governor Grammer, how would you approach human rights violations such as those occurring in places such as Tajikistan and Myanmar?”
GRAMMER: “I would handle them similar to how I handled the human rights violations in L.A. sweatshops. I worked with law enforcement to crack down on corruption and enforce the worker rights laws that are meant to protect workers from such atrocities. I also promoted business transparency, because every single government system can be corruptible, from socialism to anarchism to fascism to monarchism. Libertarianism works best when businesses are honest and principled, and business transparency in California has worked to combat the corrupt businesspersons that soil the reputation of the good businesspersons.”
WELLSTONE: “Can I reply? Thank you. I believe Grammer’s comments are misleading. According to the corruption watchdog group, the Public Integrity Agency, corruption in California has only decreased 0.9% since 2007 – ”
GRAMMER: “So you admit it’s decreasing!”
[snip]
WELLSTONE: “We’ve talked quite a lot about the value of human life tonight, about suffering, about the maligned, the mistreated, and the massacred. Both of us here on this stage tonight have experience of these points, different experiences, but experiences nonetheless. And while I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Kalashnikov and a Carcano, I see that as a plus, because it allows me to take a step back from cold calculating military tactics and see the humanity of the problem. I let military experts help me determine how best to approach a conflict, but only after all avenues, opportunities and attempts at negotiating peace have fallen through. And we still have opportunities and avenues to peace in Sudan. I have not given up, I still have hope and faith in the American peacemaking process.”
[snip]
GRAMMER: “One major difference between the President and I is that I am less willing to cling to negotiations when obvious elements do not want peace. If a hostile element refuses to even come to the table for a peace deal, it is our moral duty to do whatever we have to do to end the carnage, even if it ironically means greenlighting the carnage of war.”
– snippets from the First Grammar-Wellstone Presidential debate, Tuesday 10/2/2012
GRAMMER/BROWN: 48%
WELLSTONE/ROSS: 44%
BUCK/WISE: 6%
OTHER/UNDECIDED: 2%
– Gallup national poll, 10/4/2012
…Paul McCartney’s latest album, “Reunion,” is a collaborative effort by McCartney, Martin Glover and Denny Seiwell, among other contributors, to try and recapture the energy and rigor of their youth, at which they have mixed success…
– Variety, review section, 10/5/2012
MODERATOR: “Governor Brown, how can the people trust you to be an ally of and not undermine a Grammer Presidency when you have gone on record saying that God told you that you are destined for the Presidency?”
BROWN: “Now that’s a factual lie, ma’am! God never used the word ‘Presidency.’ He told me I was, quote, ‘you will be destined to lead this country to glory,’ end-quote. And, you know, look at Vice President Ross, and his leadership on preserving America’s natural beauty. Look at Wellstone, when he was VP and he was in charge some important stuff – important to Democrats, that is. And VPs, uh, Meredith, Litton, and even Mike Gravel at times. They all played important roles in their respective administrations. The VP is not just an understudy position, it’s a tactical position. It’s a platform for maneuvering the make sure everything on the administration’s agenda, it, uh, what on it that the President can’t get to, the VP finishes up. It’s a tag-team effort. I can do a lot of good to promote real American values while Kelsey deals with taxation and regulations. I’ll preside over the Senate, he’s preside over the White House stuff.”
[snip]
ROSS: “I’ve often said that everyone sees nature in their own way. There are summer people, there winter people. The same goes for politics. I think that people in charge have a responsibility to help all people, to lend a helping hand. I believe it should be a generous hand, and Harley believes it should be a tiny little hand, and that’s okay. That’s why we’re here, to talk about what he supports, what I support, and what the good people of America want.”
[snip]
ROSS: “I’m happy that Harley agrees with me on the importance of land conservation and forest restoration. But that is the very reason why I think it’s a good idea to have a strong central government, to set up some ground rules for how to best go about it, make sure nature isn’t being protected in only some states, and ignored and discarded in others. I agree with Harley’s comment that a lot of good work is done at the state and local levels, where implementing these policies are a lot more visible, but at those levels, it’s the responsibility of each and every one of us to do our part to make a better world for each other. That’s a big responsibility. And a strong government can really help with that.”
– snippets from the Brown-Ross Vice President debate, 10/9/2012
…The VP debate showcased the sharp contrast between the boisterous Brown and the soft-spoken Ross. Brown refrained his colorful language as best he could and for the most part kept his cool, while Ross easily maintained a patient demeanor throughout the discussion. With Ross promoting “kindness” and Brown supporting “good ol’ American rugged individualism,” it was debate was surprisingly cordial. While Ross’s closing line, which suggested, either in an offering of unity or in a moment naiveté, that “this country belongs to all of us – so let’s make it the way all of us want it to be,” did cause some head-scratching from some analysts who over-thought the comment, post-debate polling showed that a slim majority of viewers believed that it was the Vice President who “won” the debate. And after Wellstone’s poor performance in the first Presidential debate, the Democratic Party needed such a “victory” to pull them up in the polls…
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
BURGER COMPANIES INCREASING ADVSPENDING AS MARKETS KEEP WIDENING
…The comptetion among fast-food franchises is heating up. ...Most recently, Wendyburger has rolled out a new sandwich, and just weeks after rival chicken seller Chick-fil-A released a new sandwich of their own. Wendyburger’s is a chicken filet topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise (optional), homestyle, and a brand-new sauce recipe!
– usarightnow.co.usa, 10/11/2012
WELLSTONE BOUNCES BACK IN SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
…Notable comments from Grammer included “Separation of church and State doesn’t mean separating state from human decency” and other attempts to try and appeal to religious voters, and discussing how Thomas Jefferson warned that the “bigger the government gets, the smaller the people’s individual rights get” in his closing statement...
– The Washington Post, 10/16/2012
…A last-minute blow to the Buck/Wise ticket came in the form of audio resurfacing on October 19 and quickly going fervid ontech in a moment that proved polarizing and damaging. The audio was from a 2008 interview on KDWN’s late night political call-in talk radio program Coast to Coast AM, in which the former Governor described his experience of a UFO sighting at O’Hare International on November 7, 2006 [2]. Circulation of the audio clip increased coverage of and ontech discussions over Wise’s 2006 UFO sighting. Suddenly, instead of attracting disgruntled conservatives currently or formerly in the Democratic column such as Toby Keith and Bart Gordon (which was the original intention of having a former Democrat on the ticket), Wise’s presence was attracting ufologists, cryptid enthusiasts, and fans of paranormal paraphernalia, leading to some critics joking that the ticket was that of “The Bigfoot Party” while technetters discussed the merits of the sighting and what this said about Bob Wise, with some applauding his honesty, while other claimed it delegitimized the ticket. Nevertheless, the Buck/Wise remained popular in formerly heavily Goetzite places such as Idaho, Montana and Wise’s home state of West Virginia…
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
IRELAND PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS: Fianna Fail Majority Gains Even More Seats
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 21/10/2012
GRAMMER: “Nobody should have to pay more in taxes than they do on food, shelter and clothing combined. I’m not making monstrous mountains out of milquetoast and mundane molehills, I’m talking about the real bread-and-butter, salt-of-the-earth, Mom-and-Pop-shop issues here!”
[snip]
WELLSTONE: “Government intervention in the private sector is what got rid of slavery and child labor, and gave the American workforce and workplace things like woman worker protections, the 80-hour work week, minimum wage, and sick leave. And a strong federal government is needed to maintain and protect these rights!”
[snip]
GRAMMER: “As President, I will support Victim’s Rights legislation to make louder the muted voices of the survivors of tragedy and what they want to have happen to perpetrators found guilty of heinous acts. Now I will admit, this is a personal issue for me, because my father was killed in a home invasion. …A killer may live with remorse for the rest of their lives, but the next-of-kin have to live with tragedy for the rest of theirs.”
– snippets from the Third Grammar-Wellstone Presidential debate (considered a “draw” by most viewer polls), Monday 10/22/2012
GRAMMER/BROWN: 47%
WELLSTONE/ROSS: 47%
BUCK/WISE: 3%
OTHER/UNDECIDED: 3%
– Gallup national poll, 10/22/2012
Hurricane Sandy, also unofficially referred to as Superstore Sandy, was the deadliest, strongest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season, costing billions of US dollars in damage and killing 195 people [3] across eight countries. …The storm formed on October 22, developing from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea before quickly strengthening; it became a hurricane on October 24, and made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica a few hours later…
– clickopedia.co.usa
TONIGHT’S GOVERNOR DEBATE: Candidates Try And Fail To Take Down McCain
...frontrunner Barack “Rocky” McCain, a moderate-to-conservative Republican state senator, proclamation “What I believe in is a tax system that is fair. I don’t think government can solve every problem. I think that we should make sure that we’re helping young people go to school. We should make sure that our government is building good roads and bridges and hospitals and airports so that we have a good infrastructure here in Montana,” was well received by the debate audience [4]. …Schweitzer flopped, while Independent candidate Lloyd H. Reese was the surprise breakout candidate, calling for a form of government that all three other candidates labelled “socialistic.” …Garrison subjectively had the worst performance of the night. At one point in the debate, he began a spiel that almost led to him uttered the N-word, only for him to immediately claim he was somehow mentioning a Italian beverage called a “Negroni cocktail” in the middle of a sentence about McCain’s voting record. Then, in his closing remarks, Garrison claimed both McCain and Schweitzer are “socialistic control freaks,” advocated for the Gold Standard and for the abolition of seatbelt laws and background checks on guns, and opined “If Montanans need to secede from the union to retain their freedom, then so be it.”…
– The Billings Gazette, Montana newspaper, 10/24/2012
…I still can’t believe I got onto that stage. The state of Montana’s Election Committee Board decided to allow all four candidates on the ballot to participate, and, after fearing that my absence would raise suspicions, I readied myself for the opportunity to get my ideas – but not necessarily my face – out there, onto my biggest-ever soapbox. I am very proud of my performance that day. It was my first real time in the spotlight and it really wasn’t that bad!…
– Lee Harvey Oswald’s autobiography Call Me By My Real Name: Confessions From a Fallen Hero, published posthumously
[pic: imgur.com/epurJ0C.png ]
– still/frame from a Rocky McCain For Governor advertisement (commercial), c. October 2012
STATE FORECAST: A CATASTROPHE!
…With parts already flooded, many coastal communities are evacuating. Governor Clark is coordinating with ODERCA and state emergency organizers in preparation for what is expected to be one of the worst storms to hit the Garden State in recent memory…
– The Star-Ledger, New Jersey newspaper, 10/29/2012
Hurricane Sandy reached a top speed of 109mph as it swept through The Garden State, tearing up communities, disabling power lines and ultimately killing 29 people in the state before flooding parts of New York City and beyond… [5]
– clickopedia.co.usa
…Wellstone traveled to New York and then New Jersey to inspect the extent of the damage. A 40-foot chunk of New Jersey’s Atlantic City Boardwalk had been washed away, and National Guardsmen were actively working to help those hit in places such as Hoboken and Bergen County. In both states, hundreds of thousands remained without power, and dozens of thousands of homes had been damaged beyond repair or obliterated by the wrath of the storm.
In a showing of bipartisanship, Grammer and Wellstone placed country over politics and agreed to a 48-hour truce in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, in order to assist charitable organizations seeking to raise relief money in obtaining better news coverage. Both candidates visited areas that had been hit worst by Sandy and met with victims as well as with members of ODERCA and the National Guard...
– Richard Wolffe’s The Message: Reselling the Wellstone Way, Hachette Book Group, 2013
WELLSTONE/ROSS: 49%
GRAMMER/BROWN: 48%
BUCK/WISE: 2%
OTHER/UNDECIDED: 1%
– Gallup national poll, 11/5/2012
…Well, it’s just turned 2:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, and it looks like we just might be able to call the Senate before the Presidency…
– CBS Evening News, 11/6-7/2012 broadcast
November United States Senate election results, 2012
Date: November 6, 2012
Seats: 35 of 104
Seats needed for majority: 53
New Senate majority leader: Webb Franklin (R-MS)
New Senate minority leader: Gary Locke (D-WA)
Seats before election: 55 (R), 48 (D), 1 (I)
Seats after election: 56 (R), 47 (D), 1 (I)
Seat change: R ^ 1, D v 1, I - 0
Full List:
Arizona: Grant Woods (R) over David Garcia (D), Richard Mack (Liberty) and Jim Pederson (I); incumbent Harry Braun (D) retired
California: incumbent George Deukmejian (R) over Judy May Chu (D)
Connecticut: incumbent Warren Mosler (D) over Penny Bacchiochi (R)
Delaware: Ruth Ann Minner (D) over Kevin Wade (R); incumbent Daniel Frawley (D) retired
Florida: Allen West (R) over incumbent Alexander Penelas (D)
Hawaii: incumbent Mazie Hirono (D) over Linda Lingle (R)
Indiana: Jackie Walorski (R) over Brad Ellsworth (D); incumbent Katie Hall (D) retired
Maine: incumbent Olympia Snowe (R) over Benjamin Pollard (D) and Andrew Ian Dodge (Independent)
Maryland: Carl Frank Stokes (D) over incumbent Michael Steele (R)
Massachusetts: incumbent Kathleen Hartington Kennedy-Roosevelt (D) over Brian Paul Lees (R)
Michigan: Hansen Clarke (D) over incumbent Andrew “Rocky” Raczkowski (R)
Minnesota: incumbent Hubert Horatio “Skip” Humphrey III (D) over Rod Grams (R) and Michael C. Colley (Country)
Mississippi: incumbent William Webster “Webb” Franklin (R) over Roger Weiner (D)
Missouri: Sarah Hearne Steelman (R) over incumbent Alan Wheat (D)
Montana: Denise Juneau (D) over incumbent Stan Jones (R)
Nebraska: incumbent Don Stenberg (R) over Chuck Hassebrook (D)
Nevada: incumbent Patricia Anne “Patty” Cafferata (R) over Barbara Buckley (D)
New Jersey: Upendra Chivukula (D) over incumbent Thomas Kean Jr. (R)
New Mexico: incumbent Debbie Jaramillo (D) over Greg Sowards (R)
New York: incumbent Tom Suozzi (D) over George Maragos (R)
North Dakota: incumbent John Hoeven (R) over Pam Gulleson (D)
Ohio: incumbent Sherrod Brown (D) over Larry Lee Householder (R)
Pennsylvania: incumbent H. J. Heinz III (R) over Jason Altmire (D)
Potomac: incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) unopposed
Puerto Rico: incumbent Luis Fortuno (R) over Cirilo Tirado Rivera (D)
Rhode Island: incumbent Myrth York (D) over Barry Hinckley (R)
Tennessee: Mae Beavers (R) over incumbent Bob Clement Jr. (D) and Zach Poskevich (Independent Republican)
Texas: incumbent Kay Granger (R) over Henry Cisneros (D), Gene Kelly (I) and Rick Noriega (La Raza Unida)
Utah: incumbent David D. Marriott (R) over Benjy McAdams (D)
Vermont: incumbent Anthony Pollina (D) over H. Brooke Paige (R) and Boots Wardinski (Liberty Union)
Virginia: incumbent Ben Lewis Jones (R) over Harris N. Miller (D)
Washington: incumbent Norm Rice (D) over Mike Baumgartner (R)
West Virginia: incumbent Betty Ireland (R) over Natalie Tennant (D)
Wisconsin: incumbent Russ Feingold (D) over Kris Kobach (R)
Wyoming: incumbent John S. Wold (R) over William Bryk (D)
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
…The addition of five more women elected to the US Senate rose the number of female lawmakers in that chamber to a new record of 36 – 20 were from the Republican Party (17 incumbents, plus newcomers Jackie Walorski, Sarah Hearnes Spellman and Mae Beavers) and 16 were from the Democratic Party (14 incumbents, plus newcomers Denise Juneau and Ruth Ann Minner)…
– clickopedia.co.usa
…The new Senators suggested a shift in the ideological factions of both parties. In the Republican camp, former state Attorney General Grant Woods of Arizona promised moderation in a campaign that contrasted with the rest of the incoming GOP freshman. Senators-Elect Allen West of Florida, Jackie Walorski of Indiana, Sarah Hearne Steelman of Missouri, and Mae Beavers of Tennessee introduced a more “strongheaded” element to the chamber with their aggressive and relatively populist campaigns... Meanwhile, Democratic newcomers indicated that rural populism and urban progressivism were still prominent parts of the Democratic base. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, Carl F. Stokes of Maryland, Hansen Clark of Michigan, and Upendra Chivukula of New Jersey reflected Democratic gains in their respective states, while Senator-Elect Denise Juneau of Montana had narrowly achieved victory by appealing to fiscally-conscious voters via libertarian-leaning talking points that won over Republican-leaning independents and undecided voters…
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
United States House of Representatives results, 2012
Date: November 6, 2012
Seats: All 441
Seats needed for majority: 221
New House majority leader: H. Dargan McMaster (R-SC)
New House minority leader: Barbara B. Kennelly (D-CT)
Last election: 249 (R), 192 (D)
Seats won: 239 (R), 202 (D)
Seat change: R v 10, D ^ 10
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
…In the House of Representatives, Democrats performed better than they had anticipated for tonight, gaining a net total of ten seat. These results go against initial projections suggesting that the party could end up with a net loss of anywhere between 5 and 15 seats...
– CBS Evening News, 11/8/2012 broadcast
[pic: imgur.com/aLppaja.png ]
…non-profit organizer and former Miss Indiana pageant winner Shelli Renee Yoder (D) defeated businessman John H. Schnatter (R)…
– clickopedia.co.usa
United States Governor election results, 2012
Date: November 6, 2012
Number of state gubernatorial elections held: 12
Seats before: 29 (R), 21 (D), 2 (I)
Seats after: 28 (R), 22 (D), 2 (I)
Seat change: R v 1, D ^ 1, I - 0
Full list:
Delaware: incumbent Jack Carney (D) over Jeff Cragg (R)
Indiana: John R. Gregg (D) over incumbent Rupert Boneham (R)
Missouri: incumbent Perry B. Clark (D) over Dave Spence (R)
Montana: Barack “Rocky” McCain (R) over Brian Schweitzer (D), Lloyd Havaw Reese (I) and Ben Garrison (Boulder); incumbent Michael R. Cooney (D) retired
New Hampshire: incumbent Rushern L. Baker III (D) over John Henry Sununu (R) and William Byrk (I)
North Carolina: James V. Taylor over incumbent Fern Shubert (R)
North Dakota: incumbent Heidi Heitkamp (D) over Rick Berg (R)
Puerto Rico: incumbent Hector Luis Acevedo (D/PD) over Dr. Ivan F. Gonzalez Cancel (D/NP)
Utah: Robert Wood Young (R) over Jim Matheson (D); incumbent Karl Christian Rove (R) retired
Vermont: Bernard Peters (R) over Charles Dean (D); incumbent Deborah L. “Deb” Markowitz (D) retired
Washington: incumbent Lisa J. Simpson (D) over Rob McKenna (R)
West Virginia: Charlotte Pritt (D) over incumbent David McKinley (R)
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
[pic: imgur.com/cLGj6Uk.png ]
– clickopedia.co.usa, 2012
PRITT PROMISES PRAGMATIC POLICY AS POPULIST POPULACE PREPS FOR PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL PUSH
…Governor-Elect Charlotte Pritt “is the refreshing change of pace that our state so badly needs,” says one of her supporters…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 11/8/2012
[pic: imgur.com/ChQeShn.png ]
– A promotional image of Governor-Elect Charlotte Pritt (D-WV), c. November 2012
…In the gubernatorial races, both parties essentially broke even. While Democrat John Gregg unseated Republican incumbent and former Presidential candidate Rupert Boneham in an upset, Republican “darling” Rocky McCain cruised to victory in Montana’s open race. …Wealthy businessman and politician Robert Wood Young, a descendant of the LDS Church leader Brigham Young, was elected Governor of Utah with almost 80% of the vote... Bernard Peters’ election to the governorship of Vermont over Democrat Charles Dean was one of the biggest surprises of the night. After nearly a decade of Democrat Governor Deb Markowitz’s rising tax rates and business regulations allegedly driving away small business owners and struggling families, the conservative Republican former state legislator Bernard Peters capitalized on the sense of voter fatigue by running on a moderate platform. His low-cost TV, radio, and technet ads highlighted his non-political life as a hunter and logger to appeal to blue-collar Vermonters. Meanwhile, his general election opponent did more harm to his own campaign than he realized by praising Markowitz and reminding voters that he was the brother of another state lawmaker, the less-popular Howard Dean. Depicting Dean as a corporate elitist who would continue Markowitz’s tax hikes, Peters successfully mobilized middle-class and rural Vermonters to turn out in droves. Peters pledged to lower taxes and promote small business growth to “make sure the next generation of Vermonters won’t have to leave the state to find work and start families,” while Dean seemed to run a very vague campaign filled with generic platitudes. Furthermore, polls showing Charles Dean winning by a margin anywhere between 10% and 5%, plus Dean’s own lackluster campaigning – essentially dismissing the general election due to how easily he won his party’s primary election – supposedly contributed to Democratic turnout being below average on Election Night. The result was Peters edging out Dean, 51% to 48%...
– John Sides and Lynn Vavreck’s A National Gamble: Choice And Chance In The 2012 Presidential Election, Princeton University Press, 2014
…The President has performed better in the Midwest due to him doubling down on his local roots in the final weeks of the campaign over concerns that Grammer and Brown were targeting ‘vulnerable’ states such as Iowa and Wisconsin. However, the President’s campaign team seems to have underestimated libertarian strength out west, and the complete deflation of the Buck/Wise ticket in the final weeks and days of the campaign... With all but two of the states called, but with neither candidate receiving a majority of Electoral College votes, the election now falls onto Pennsylvania and, of all places, New Jersey. While Pennsylvania is typically a swing state, New Jersey voters have usually leaned toward Democratic candidates in recent election cycles, so it is possible that this election could be a realigning moment. Either that, or, as New Jersey’s Governor Clark pointed out on our program yesterday, results are slow to come in due to the Garden State still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy…
– KNN, 11/8/2012 broadcast
ELECTION UPDATE: RECOUNT REQUIRED IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA!
…many polling stations had to be relocated after the storm, while voting ontech, a more recent alternative to mail-in ballots, does not have a strong infrastructure in New Jersey…
– The New York Times, 11/11/2012
13 November 2012: On this day in history, a total solar eclipse occurs in parts of Australia and the South Pacific.
– onthisday.co.uk
…In an interesting development, the Presidential recount in New Jersey will continue for longer than initially thought, as several early-voting ballots have been found in a sunken mail truck in Burlington County. The mail truck was most likely hit by Hurricane Sandy. The whereabouts of its driver remain unknown...
– The Overmyer Network, 11/14/2012 news broadcast
“This whole thing with the mail truck being overlooked, it could be a ploy to steal the election for Wellstone. I don’t have any more evidence than the police do, I’m just pointing out that it’s all very fishy, and not because the storm threw fish on everything. I just think that this needs to be investigated further.”
– Harley Brown (R-ID), 11/15/2012 KNN interview
…This just in – in the Presidential election, the state of New Jersey has been called for President Wellstone, narrowing the contest down to Pennsylvania... If Grammar wins the recount in PA, he will become President despite having lost the popular vote, albeit by razor-thin margin…
– KNN Breaking News, 11/17/2012
“What I want to know is, well, where is the driver of that mail truck? Was he paid off, was he bumped off, is he innocent, or is he guilty? Where is the driver?”
– Harley Brown, 11/18/2012 KNN interview
BODY OF MAILMAN FOUND IN PINE BARREN SWAMP IDENTIFIED
…he was last seen driving the mail truck found in a river in Burlington County that was at the center of several controversies concerning the Presidential recount in the Garden State. It is most likely that he and his truck were swept off the road by the destructive wind of Hurricane Sandy, with the driver being blown roughly one mile away from the truck…
– The Star-Ledger, New Jersey newspaper, 11/21/2012
PENN RECOUNT ENDS: GRAMMER WINS ELECTION!
– The New York Times, 11/29/2012
[pic: imgur.com/Z9p9yLv.png ]
Tickets:
Gov. A. Kelsey Grammer (CA) / Gov. Harley Davidson Brown (ID) (Republican) – 68,896,770 (47.7%)
Pres. Paul D. Wellstone (MN) / VP Robert Norman “Bob” Ross (AS) (Democratic) – 70,630,023 (48.9%)
Fmr US Rep. Jason Ogden Buck (UT) / Fmr Gov. Robert E. “Bob” Wise Jr. (WV) (Boulder (Strong on the WV ballot)) – 3,033,191 (2.1%)
Mr. Peter Coors (CO) / Fmr Lt. Gov. Warren Mosler (VI) (Moderate) – 722,288 (0.5%)
Mr. Rich Whitney (IL) / Mr. Harley Mikkelson (MI) (Green) – 587,750 (0.4%)
Pstr. Terry Jones (FL) / Ms. Susan Gail Ducey (OK) (Salvation) – 433,313 (0.3%)
All other votes – 134,238 (0.1%)
Total Votes – 144,437,674 (100.0%)
– clickopedia.co.usa
“Ay Caramba!”
– Katherine Soucie (the voice of Bart Farnsworth, enemy of Dr. Schwarzchild (a retired recurring character voiced by Kelsey Grammar) on the long-running TV series “Futurama”), public comment on the social blogging site FriendLink.co.usa, 11/29/2012
“So, he isn’t going to be in the 2014 Frasier Reunion Special, is he?”
– David Hyde Pierce, FriendLink.co.usa, 11/29/2012
“Now THIS is some bullcrap!”
– Dan Butler, portrayer of Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe on Frasier, PalChat.co.usa, 11/29/2012
“If they had just given him an Oscar for playing Patton in that drama movie, this all wouldn’t have happened.”
– former political analyst James Carville, 11/30/2012
GOVERNOR-ELECT MEETS WITH OUTGOING GOVERNOR
…incumbent Governor Karl Christian Rove (Republican; b. 1950) is leaving office after a single term. Rove had retired last year to run for President, but declined to try for a second term after dropping out of that race early, before the primaries had even begun, due to poor fundraising and low polling...
…Our next governor will be Robert Wood Young (Republican; b. 1947), a conservative with a diverse background. Young is an author and former broadcast journalist who served as the Mayor of Augusta, Georgia from 1999 to 2005, and as the Regional Director of the US HUD Department for the Atlanta Region from 2005 to 2006. President Jackson appointed him to the President’s bipartisan Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2007, the year before Young left D.C. and moved to Utah to become the President and CEO of the Southwestern Natural Sciences Academy. Young is a conservative and a direct descendent of Brigham Young…
– The Standard-Examiner, Utah newspaper, 11/30/2012
The Story Behind The Collapse Of The GOP In West Virginia
…With the incumbent Republican Governor failing to address the issues of mining-related health issues, irresponsible and underage recreadrug use, and poor road infrastructure, voters opted for either the Democratic of Boulderite nominee. With former Governor of West Virginia Bob Wise being Jason Buck’s running mate, the Buck/Wise ticket received more attention and appeared more appealing to conservative voters as an alternate to the Republican Party. The subsequent splitting of the non-Democratic vote was a boon to the campaign of Charlotte Pritt… At the Presidential level, West Virginia voters preferred Buck to Grammer and Wellstone, but at the gubernatorial level, the Boulderite/Strong Party candidate, Clark Barnes, was uninspiring and a poor debater. As a result, voters in the state split their tickets, dividing the conservative vote enough for Pritt to be elected Governor, while support for the “squeaky-clean elitist” Grammer, as Governor McKinley call him, plummeted enough for Buck/Wise to win a narrow plurality and win the state’s Electoral College votes…
– thewashingtonpost.co.usa, 11/30/2012
“There is legitimate fear on the American Left that the ‘New Progressive Era’ that we’ve been living in since 2001 – an era of compassionate governance, of civil service reform, and of some trustbusting here or there – has suddenly come to an end.”
– political commentator Janice Fine, 12/1/2012
…There were few incidents of Wellstone supporters reacting to the election results with violence, with the most passionate of Wellstone’s supporters being seen crying into their hands beside discarded stickers, banner and signs showcasing their approval of the now-outgoing President. Nevertheless, THN exaggerated the moments. The network’s most legitimate point, however, was their argument that, since the total number of votes for both the Democratic Party and Green Party did not equal 50%, but the total number of votes for all conservative tickets did, then Grammer is mathematically the people’s choice, and would have won a majority of the popular vote if the election had been held either with ranked-choice voting or in a two-round system.
…Calls for EC abolition went into overdrive on both sides of the political aisle, with Republicans now being joined by Democrats. However, it was still noticeable that many Republicans stopped complaining about the E.C., while others with the G.O.P. supported it over the notion that third-parties would no longer be able play spoiler to their party’s candidates under seemingly any E.C.-free system…
– Roberta Gillespie’s Watershed: An Assessment of The Wellstone White House, Princeton University Press, 2016
REP. JACK BROOKS, DEAN OF THE HOUSE, PASSES AWAY AT 89
...Jack Bascom Brooks (D-TX) had just won re-election to what he swore would be his last term. Brooks had served continuously in the US House of Representatives for almost 60 years, starting on January 3, 1953. The new Dean of the House is Al Quie (R-MN), who has been serving in the House for almost 55 years (since entering office on February 18, 1958), and was planning on retiring from his seat in 2014, at the age of 91...
– The Washington Post, 12/4/2012
4 December 2012: On this day in history, Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in this year, makes landfall on the island of Mindanao; no casualties are reported, but many are reported injured by flying debris and falling trees, and multiple homes and buildings are destroyed, cutting power and forcing the cancellation of flights and ferry services for several days.
– onthisday.co.uk
HANNON OUT, R&D HEAD MCNAUGHTON IN AT KFC HQ
…While the energetic Mary Lolita Starnes Hannon, age 81, has retired from the position of CEO of Finger Lickin’ Good, Inc., but will remain "actively invested" in the company as a Senior Advisor…
– usarightnow.co.usa/business, 12/5/2012
…and in a curious and interesting development, the Federal Election Commission has revealed that they are working with law enforcement agencies as part of an investigation into former Independent gubernatorial candidate Lloyd Havaw Reese…
– KTVQ Channel 2, local news station for Billings, Montana, 12/8/2012 broadcast
VARVARIS LEADS LIBERALS TO VICTORY!
…At the age of 38, Nick Varvaris has lead the Liberal Party to returning to power. ...The election was set in the midst of rising taxes from the Warren Williams administration in response to rising inflation rates, which Varvaris has claimed is being brought on by an increase in international trade and outsourcing jobs to India... The Liberal Party received a comfortable majority of seats of the Labor Party, meaning they will not have to work with the Christian Democratic Party (led by Alasdair Webster) or with the Outsiders Party (led by Mark Latham) to form a working government…
– The Northern Territory News, Australian newspaper, 12/12/2012
…In political news, Prime Minister Mary Creagh is promising to work with incoming American President Kelsey Grammer to form a, quote, “meaningful partnership,” unquote, in the hope of working with him on concerns relating to trade, commerce and foreign affairs…
– BBC, 14/12/2012 broadcast
SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR BOB ROSS?
At 70, the cancer survivor describes himself as “fit as a new fiddle,” but when asked if he will run for President in 2016, he suggested that it was “premature” to say, and suggested that his political career is effectively over with the comment “This job has tired me out, and I have seen the number Paul [Wellstone]’s job has done on him. It’s not something anyone can do, or do lightly. …I think I’ve have enough of this place.”
…In 2008, Ross handed over his instructional art TV show to his son and other instructors. He may simply appear on that series on occasion as a guest, or begin hosting a new series to continue spreading joy to new generations of aspiring artists…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 12/16/2012 e-article
…A December 2012 report on how the SARS lockdowns affected Indian student learning revealed that early education in India from 2002 to 2005 was impacted far more greatly than initially feared. To sum up the report bluntly, only 10% of Indian families could afford homeschooling, while most school districts had to choose between holding schools at parks and sports fields or cancel the school year entirely. Many parents who sought to continue their children’s education relied textbooks donated to them, but those without charity suffered the most. The report clearly shows a correlation between poor test scores and districts hit worst by the pandemic. Uttar Pradesh was the worst affected region, where school was effectively cancelled for 2.5 years...
– Rajiv Ahir and Kalpaha Rajaram’s A Brief History of Modern India, Borders Books, 2021
UNITED KOREA ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT
…Han Myeong-sook, 68, who previously served as the country’s Prime Minister, will become United Korea’s second female President …Han won over Kim Jung-sook, 64, a lawyer and member of parliament whose candidacy was inhibited by assumptions from uninformed voters that he is related to the former Kim Family Regime despite Kim being a very common surname in Korea...
– The Daily Telegraph, side article, 19/12/2012
>MOTHER-POST: Wait, Wasn’t The World Supposed to End Yesterday?
I remember a lot of people saying in, like, 2009 and 2010, that something called a Mayan Long Count calendar predicted that the world would come to an and yesterday. Did Earth miss the memo or something?
>REPLY 1:
It was just another Y2K-level scare, only with less clout. And like how most people freaked out over Y2K in 1997 and 1998 and less so in 1999, talk of 2012 being the End of Days lost momentum as the date approached. Guess it’s only fun to talk about everyone dying when the date isn’t right around the corner or so.
>REPLY 2:
I remember I kept saying that the Mayans ended their calendar there and just continued with the dates on some other tablet or what-have-you that we just haven’t found yet.
>REPLY 3:
I’m surprised no big-time Hollywood people tried to make it into a movie. The closest we got was the 2009 Alex Proyas film “Knowing.”
>REPLY 4:
There were lots of people praying last night. Several channels covered how hundreds traveled to the Yucatan to pray at the temples there. Personally, I think the power of prayer prevented the world from coming to an end last night. Our fear of losing all the beauty of this world, combined with great strides toward peace and universal brotherhood in recent years, convinced The Powers That Be to spare us from destruction.
>REPLY 1 to REPLY 4:
Or maybe the End of Days is meant to begin yesterday and slowly come about. Maybe the wheels are in motion and things will only worsen in the upcoming days, weeks, months or even years.
>REPLY 5:
I remember there being a lot of Anti-Semitism attached to this prediction after Wellstone won re-election. A lot of now-banned people on this site claimed he would help Israel take over the Middle East somehow and kill all the non-Jewish people there for some reason, somehow leading to a global thermonuclear war. Glad to see that none of the theories were even remotely close to reality!
>REPLY 6:
I completely forgot about this end-of-the-world claim! I remember it being kind of prominent in like 2008. Oh well, it morbidly fun to imagine what it would look like at the time while it lasted. So, when’s the next time the world’s to come to an end?
>REPLY 1 to REPLY 6:
I heard some religious fundamentalist somewhere say that 2020’s a good bet.
>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1 to REPLY 6:
Huh.
– conspiracytheoriesforum.co.usa, 12/22/2012 thread
“Friends, as we close this year and this chapter in American history, I am reminded of a quote that has motivated me throughout my life. It is my favorite quote. It is from Wendell Phillips, an abolitionist from the 1840's. At that time both political parties were very weary of the slavery issue and they weren't sure how to confront it. But not Wendell, he just said slavery was a moral outrage, that it was unconscionable, and he wouldn't equivocate. He wasn't afraid to speak out.
After he gave a particularly fiery speech about abolition, a friend came up to him and said, "Wendell, why are you so on fire?"
And Wendell turned to his friend and said, "Brother May, I'm on fire because I have mountains of ice before me to melt."
As long as we still have blood pumping through our veins, we too will always have the ability to melt whatever mountains of ice lie before us.
Thank you all for your energy, for your time, and for your contributions to fulfilling the American promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you all for your love for your country, for your love for your fellow Americans, and for your love for your fellow human beings. And thank you for your passion to do what is right. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve here. Thank you all, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.”
– US President Paul Wellstone’s private address to staff, White House Office Christmas Party, 12/23/2012 (published 2015) [6]
FUTURAMA DRAMA: I MISS DR. SCHWARZCHILD
His last speaking role, all the way back in early 2006, wasn’t that stellar, and the character’s next appearance after that was in a non-speaking bit in 2007, showing he’d taken over a planet in a clear reference to his voice actor becoming Governor of California. He then appeared in minor line-free cameo appearances, typically as a background character or on a poster. In the most recent episode [of the long-running animated TV series Futurama], the Semi-Mad Doctor’s wordless cameo was even smaller than the 2007 one, showing he had “promoted himself” to controlling a solar system of 52 planets “and an asteroid designated for federal administrative use.” The bit just reminded me of the show’s slow decline in quality over the years. I really think that they should have just done a recast with a Grammer sound-alike, instead effectively retiring the role, because at this point, I think it’s very unlikely that Grammer will come back to give the character the proper send-off that he (and, I dare say, his fans) so definitely deserved. A real shame.
– euphoria.co.usa, a public pop-culture news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 12/27/2012 posting
“I was getting briefed on an update on the cleanup stuff happening in the Garden State, and apparently, and I know you’re going to tell me if I’ve got this wrong because the media usually knows more about these things, but according to the data stuff I’ve seen, over seventy people drowned, died by drowning, during Hurricane Sandy. I think that’s just awful, it’s awful that New Jersey’s Governor, uh, a Democrat, uh, basically just let that many people drown during that storm. I’m all about government leaving people alone, but there’s a difference between minding your own business and letting your own people die.”
– Vice President-Elect Harley Davidson Brown (R-ID), KNN interview, 12/28/2012 gaffe
“I would just like to apologize for some comments I made yesterday, not because I said them, but because of how I said them. They may have come off the wrong way. I did not mean to offend, and in light of additional information, um, coming to light, I would like to apologize to Governor Clark for misunderstanding the nature of the situation still ongoing in his state.”
– Vice President-Elect Harley Brown, 12/30/2012 statement
“NO CLEAR END IN SIGHT”: Post-Sandy Cleanup Efforts Expected To Continue For “Several More Months”
…Hurricane Sandy slammed into New Jersey and New York almost three months ago, and the tiresome recovery efforts are still ongoing, as homes and businesses are repaired, rebuilt and reopened. However, many are still struggling in the aftermath of one of the most ferocious storms to hit the region, and due to the extent of the damage, it does not look like the cleanup crews with be celebrating a job well done in the immediate future...
– The Wall Street Journal, 1/3/2013
WELLSTONE SIGNS $48BILLION HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF AID BILL INTO LAW
– The Washington Post, 1/5/2013
…President Wellstone met with President-Elect Grammer and New Jersey Governor Joe Louis Clark in Trenton, New Jersey today to assure locals that help is being delivered, as parts of New Jersey are still reeling from the disastrous Hurricane Sandy. The trip to the Garden State was the fourth time that the outgoing and incoming Presidents have met to discuss foreign and domestic policy in what has been, apart from some comments by Vice President-Elect Harley Brown, an overall smooth and genteel transition of power…
– KNN, 1/7/2013 broadcast
…The president’s brother is dead at 76. Stephen Wellstone of Minneapolis passed away on January 9, the family of President Wellstone announced earlier today. An avid gardener and dog lover, Stephen Wellstone taught elementary school for 24 years in Arlington, Virginia before working at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis for 14 years. He is survived by several nephews and nieces, his brother Paul, and by many close friends. His funeral service will be a private affair on the 12th...
– ABC News, 1/10/2013
FORMER GOVERNOR CANDIDATE LLOYD HAVAW REESE MAY BE INDICTED
…documents and records of his existence only going back to 1992 has raised questions over the former candidate’s background. …While Reese has proclaimed he has a “right to privacy,” the fact that law enforcement have reportedly requested that he not leave the country until the F.E.C. matter is resolved is concerning…
– The Washington Post, 1/14/2013
NET TRAFFIC REPORT: Electoral College Abolition Petition Gaining Thousands Of Signatures
…a petition funded by the Americans For Lawful Electoral Change Committee is calling for the abolishing of the U.S. electoral college is circulating ontech. The action is similar those taken by conservative-leaning netsites four years ago, except now the petition is receiving heavy circulation on both conservative-leaning sites and liberal-leaning sites as well. Furthermore, this petition’s number of signatures has already surpassed the number of signatures that had been gathered for the AFLECC’s 2008 petition by the end of May 2009…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 1/16/2013
MOTHER-POST: My opinion:
The Top Five Best and Worst Aspects of the Wellstone administration
BEST
1 – Major Tax reform – passed legislation that benefitted the poor at the expense of the rich
2 – Electric Power push – launch massive electric power grid projects to back green energy and create jobs
3 – Intervention in Africa – Wellstone being anti-interventionist meant that he send diplomats instead of military ground troops to troubled areas abroad
4 – Strengthened Universal Healthcare and the NITR – worked to ensure anti-UHC members of congress could not easily dismantle the popular institutions
5 – Combated Racist and Anti-Semitism – collaborated with his Attorney General to combat voter suppression and other issues
WORST
1 – Put the Balanced Budget Amendment to the test – paying for social programs was expensive, so Wellstone has relied on a healthy economy and low unemployment to get by (though many credit the work of Treasury Secretary Timothy Johnson for keeping things in check)
2 – GOP Obstruction – Wellstone failed to pass several laws in 2011 and 2012 due to GOP opposition
3 – Race relations did not improve – If anything, his predecessor’s comments led to a rise in racist activities under his term
4 – Controversial Comment – First Lady Sheila’s comments and VP Bob Ross’s actions were also heavily criticized by the likes of THN
5 – Unfinished Business – failed to address “the Doomed State of Sierra Leone,” and its regional refugee crisis – the place is a virtually lawless state overrun with recreadrug lords, warfare, slavery, famine, death, disease, and corruption, leading to millions fleeing to neighboring countries.
Thoughts, anyone?
COMMENTS SECTION:
Comment 1: You can't really blame the obstructionism on Wellstone. Sierra Leone is going to be too big of a Gordian knot for any President to try to untangle. And as for point #4... THN, really? You're sourcing those guys?
Comment 2: I think the BBA was his biggest inhibitor, not a "failure"
Comment 3: I can't tell if this list is biased in favor or against Wellstone
– whitehouserankings.co.usa, thread opened 1/18/2013
“I, Allen Kelsey Grammer, do solemnly swear… People, you don’t spend six years as the governor of one of America’s largest states without learning a few things about politics. …“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not to blame the past but instead accept our own responsibility for assuring the brightness of the future. …The time has come for our national lawmakers to show America and the world was successful bipartisanship looks like. We have to showcase fiscal responsibility with unity and rationality, not obstructionism to the detriment of the American citizen. We have to reign in wasteful spending without depriving people of badly needed programs. We are a moral people, and so our good consciences compel us to help those that cannot help themselves. To use a limited government to support those who are truly without, and to allow the individual freedom of each American citizen to flourish and determine the path of their life. …Humanitarian fiscal conservatism has come at last to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!”
– Kelsey Grammer inaugural address (abridged), 1/21/2013
QUERY:
Why Was The 2013 Inauguration A Day Late? (And does it mean Speaker McMaster was President for 1 Day?)
TOP ANSWER:
The official inaugural ceremony was delayed by one day because January 20, 2013 fell on a Sunday. This sort of delay has happened seven times before, in order to not upset or interfere with Christian services that occur every Sunday. However, while the inaugural ceremony is delayed, the swearing-in of the new President is not. President-Elect Kelsey Grammer and Vice President-Elect Harley Brown were both sworn into their respective offices by Chief Justice Alan Page at noon on January 20, 2013, in a private, official ceremony hosted in the Blue Room of the White House. The public, formal ceremony was held at the US Capitol Building the next day.
– queries.co.usa, 2013 query
26 January 2013: On this day in history, DC goes back to being Washington, DC. In one of his first actions as US President to be done via an Executive Order, US President Kelsey Grammer officially changes the name of the US Federal Capital District, reverting it from “District of Columbia” back to “Washington, District of Columbia.” Grammer cites the name’s historical significance, and that the name is not used by the state of Potomac, the state which surrounds the nation’s capital, and thus should not have been retired after all.
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
…Grammer is the first US President to have been married four times. First, to dance instructor Doreen Alderman from 1982 to 1990 (with whom he had two children), then to makeup stylist Barrie Buckner from 1991 to 1995 (producing one child), and next to Tammi Baliszewski from 1997 to 2001 (also producing one child), before finally (after being briefly engaged to French actress Juliette Binoche) marrying actress-turned-First Lady Marissa Joan Hart [M1].
Best known for her role as the titular character in the TV franchise “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (1996-2003), Hart met Grammer while both of them were working on the Steven Spielberg film “Bandito: The Life of Patton” in 2002, in which Hart played the love interest in a B-plot; she and Grammer, who played General George S. Patton in the film, shared two scenes together. The two soon began dating and were married on January 7, 2004 in Hart’s home town of Sayville, New York. Grammer was 49; Hart was 28. The marriage has produced three children (in 2005, 2007 and 2010, totaling seven for Grammer) as of the publication of this book.
Their time in the White House is not the first time that there was a two-decade age difference between the President and the First Lady. President Grover Cleveland had caused a stir marrying someone roughly 27 years younger than himself, and President John Tyler set the record by marrying someone thirty years younger than himself (and younger than three of his children from his previous marriage). Up until their entrance into the Presidential residence, though, the most recent example of such a wide age gap was the twelve-year age difference between Claudia Sanders and The Colonel.
First Lady Marissa Joan Hart is known for having a very energetic personality, redecorating the Executive Residence to give it a “more modern and lived-in feel,” in contrast to First Lady Sheila Wellstone’s retention of its more traditional aesthetics. A gracious host like the First Ladies before her, Marissa is a passionate supporter of a number of causes, charities and organizations, including March of Dimes, several conservation societies, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, anti-bullying measures, Feeding America, The Art of Elysium, and IFS Virus research. However, her most prominent actions have concerned “child protection” causes such as eliminating child hunger, child homeless, child abuse, child neglect and child poverty...
– Kate Andersen Brower’s FLOTUS: The Grace And Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, Book on the First Ladies, Harper-Collins Publishers, 2013
REESE DISAPPEARS! The Secluded Publisher Vanishes From Cabin Home Near Missoula Amid Investigation Into Background!
“Innocent people don’t flee,” says one anonymous member of the F.E.C.’s investigative task force team…
– The Missoula Independent, Montana newspaper, 1/29/2013
THE KELSEY GRAMMER ADMINISTRATION AT THE START OF 2013
Vice President: Governor Harley Davidson Brown (R-ID)
CABINET
Secretary of State: campaign advisor and former Dean of Stanford University’s Institute for International Studies Richard L. Morningstar (R-NY)
Secretary of the Treasury: US Senator William Floyd “Bill” Weld (R-MA)
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury: former Democratic Party of Maryland Treasurer Osman “Oz” Bengur (D-MD)
Secretary of Defense: USAA Chairman, US Air Force Colonel (ret.), retired NASA astronaut and former US Air Force test pilot Eileen Collins (I-TX)
Deputy Secretary of Defense: Lawyer and general counsel for the US Veterans’ Affairs Department Ivan Kenneth Fong (I-PO)
Attorney General: state Attorney General, former District Attorney and former Assistant District Attorney Susana Martinez (R-NM)
Deputy Attorney General: lawyer and state deputy attorney general Boyd Rutherford (R-MD)
Postmaster General: outgoing US Attorney General, former US Senator, former Administrator of the National Roadways Safety Administration, former US Transportation Secretary, former EPA Administrator and former US Labor Secretary Ralph Nader (I-CT)
Secretary of the Interior: former US Deputy Secretary of Community Development Alphonso R. Jackson (R-TX)
Secretary of Agriculture: businessman and entrepreneur Harold Lee Scott Jr. (R-KS)
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture: US Representative and former West Kendall, Florida councilwoman Martha Bueno (R-FL)
Secretary of Commerce: businessman, banker and former CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. R. Severin Fuld (I-NY)
Secretary of Labor: US Representative Steven Craig Gunderson (R-WI)
Secretary of Education: Dean of Texas A&M and former state Secretary of Education Margo Spellings (R-TX)
Secretary of Health and Humane Services: US Representative Michelle Eunjoo Park Steel (R-CA)
Secretary of Transportation: US Representative and former businessman Frank Alo LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs: outgoing US Deputy Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs and former US Representative Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Secretary of Energy and Technology: businessman Harold Glenn Hamm (R-OK)
Secretary of Community Development: physician and former Marstronaut Patricia Consolatrix Hilliard “Doc” Robertson (I-PA)
CABINET-LEVEL POSITIONS
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): US Marine Corps Commander (ret.) and former state senator Winsome Sears (R-VA)
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): former IRS Commissioner and former state Lieutenant Governor Wilford V. Oveson (R-UT)
US Trade Representative: former US Deputy Secretary of Community Development Catherine Austin Fitts (R-PA)
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA): biochemist, inventor, businessman and philanthropist Robert L. Barchi (I-NY)
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Administrator of the California Environmental Protection Agency Terry Tamminen (D-CA)
Administrator of the Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency (ODERCA): businessman John W. Hickenlooper (I-CO)
THE PRESIDENT’S EXECUTIVE OFFICE
White House Chief of Staff: gubernatorial Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy (D-CA)
White House Deputy Chief of Staff: gubernatorial Deputy Chief of Staff Patricia Clarey (R-CA)
Counselors to The President: campaign Chief of Staff Paul Wachter and campaign strategist Steve Schmidt
Chief Domestic Policy Advisor: “conservative healthcare” advocate and former nurse Renee Amoore (R-NY)
Chief Economic Policy Advisor: venture capitalist and Wall Street securities analyst Mary Meeker (I-IN)
Chief Foreign Policy Advisor: Kansas-born Iranian-American energy lecturer Rob Sobhani (R-MD)
Chief National Security Advisor: Seattle Chief of Police, former Los Angeles Chief of Police, and former Boston Police Commissioner William J. Bratton (D-WA)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff (I-CT)
Director of the Domestic Policy Council: former US Deputy HHS Secretary and former Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Claude Allen (R-PA)
Other Counselors, Advisors, and Key Personnel: speechwriter Peter Grigsby and John Decker; finance professor Murray Sabrin (R-NJ); former US Representative and attorney for political malpractice and toxicology Nancy Lord (R-SC); economists Larry Summers and Frederic Mishkin; staffers Mona Mohammadi, Daniel Ketchell, Greg Dunn, Karen Baker, Daniel Zingale, and Gary Delsohn
White House Communications Director: author, columnist and campaign communications coordinator Armstrong Williams (R-SC)
White House Assistant Communication Directors: campaign communications directors Adam Mendelsohn and Rob Stutzman
White House Appointments Secretary: campaign appointments secretary and hemophilia awareness advocate Ryan Wayne White (R-IN)
White House Press Secretary: campaign Chief of Protocol Charlotte Schultz (I-CA)
OTHER MEMBERS
Solicitor General (representative of the Federal Government before the Supreme Court): US Representative Tom Campbell (R-CA)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: US Navy Admiral and Commander of the US Pacific Fleet Derwood Clayiborne “D.C.” Curtis (I-IL)
Secretary of the Army: former Governor and former Major General of the Mississippi Army National Guard Hudson Holliday (R-MS)
Secretary of the Navy: US Navy Admiral James George Stavridis (D-FL)
Federal Reserve Chairman: banker, businessman and former CEO of Goldman Sachs Henry Paulson (R-FL)
NASA Administrator: Deputy NASA Administrator and former Aeronautics Research Mission Director John McAfee (Liberty-CA)
NOTABLE AMBASSADORS
To the United Nations: banker, conservationist, former US Ambassador to Belgium and US Navy Commander (ret.) Theodore Roosevelt IV (R-FL)
To Argentina: former Treasurer of the US Bay Buchanan (R-VA)
To Australia: former US Representative and former Crabb, TX Mayor Brian Christopher Zimmerman (R-TX)
To Bangladesh: former Special Assistant to the US Secretary of State James Francis Moriarty (I-PO)
To Brazil: former RNC Chair Ralph Reed (R-GA)
To Canada: outgoing Chair of the US President’s Auto Industry Task Force Harry J. Wilson (R-NY)
To China: former Federal Reserve Chair, former US Representative, and former Chair of the US International Trade Commission John Kasich (R-OH)
To Egypt: former US Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau and former US Ambassador to Senegambia Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (D-NJ)
To France: President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute libertarian think tank Imad-ad-Dean “Dean” Ahmad (R-MD)
To Germany: Governor Mary Starrett (R-OR)
To India: former US Ambassador to China and former US Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord (R-NY)
To Indonesia: businessman and former CEO of Marvell Technology Group Sehat Sutardja (I-CA)
To Iran: former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan and husband of Zeyno Baran Matthew James Bryza (I-PO)
To Italy: former US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
To Japan: former Governor Kenneth James Fanning (Liberty-AS)
To Korea: historian and Oberlin College professor Sheila Miyoshi Jager (I-OH)
To Mexico: businessman, inventor, entrepreneur and professional survivalist John Ellis “Jeb” Bush (R-FL)
To New Zealand: businessman, political activist, former US House nominee and US Army Brigadier General (ret.) Keith Russell Judd (R-AZ)
To Nigeria: former US Ambassador to Bangladesh and former US Ambassador to The Philippines Harry Keels Thomas Jr. (I-NY)
To Pakistan: former Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Anne Woods Patterson (I-AR)
To The Philippines: former US Representative John Eric Ensign (R-NV)
To Russia: former Los Angeles Chief of Police and libertarian political activist Norma Jean Almodovar (R-CA)
To South Africa: addiction treatment advocate and former Deputy Director for the Office of Nation Recreadrug Policy Andrea Barthwell (R-IL)
To Spain: outgoing Governor Kelley Ashby (R-NH)
To Tanzania: former US Ambassador to Cameroon, former US Ambassador to Peru, former US Ambassador to Colombia, former US Ambassador to Morocco, and former US Ambassador to Kenya Myles Robert Rene Frechette (I-PO)
To Thailand: former state Representative, former City Council member, and former US Representative Charles Kong Djou (R-HI)
To Turkey: scholar, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank, and wife of Matthew James Bryza Zeyno Baran (I-PO)
To the U.K.: investment bank director, lecturer, and former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence George John Tenet (R-NY)
To Vietnam: former state Representative and former US Representative Hubert Vo (D-TX)
To Yugoslavia: outgoing US Ambassador to South Africa Jenean Michelle Hampton (R-MI)
– KelseyGrammerPresidentialLibraryAndPerformingArtsCenter.org.usa/cabinet_composition/2013
NOTE(S)/SOURCE(S)
[1] Based on the results of the poll as of 2/10/2012
[2] The full comment can be found in Chapter 92!
[3] The hurricane is less deadly ITTL due to earlier administrations more actively/aggressively/pragmatically addressing Global Climate Disruption (climate change) here.
[4] The italicized line is an OTL quote from the article “Obama says he’d be seen as moderate Republican in 1980s” by Ian Swanson, 12/14/2012 (the hill.com)
[5] The hurricane is slightly less powerful here due to the same explanation given in note/source #3
[6] Italicized parts are from here: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2013/12/paul-wellstone-is-more-prescient-than.html
[7] IOTL, Melissa Joan Hart was named after the 1972 Allman Brothers song “Melissa,” which was named that due to serendipitous circumstances (according to the sources that were linked on Wikipedia, Gregg Allman was struggling with finding the right name for it, and when he went to a grocery store one day, a woman there was talking to someone named Melissa. What are the odds that those exact events still occur so many years after this TL’s POD?), so here, different events unfold, and either the song is called something similar, or Hart is named after something or someone different...
The next chapter’s E.T.A.: February 26 at the very latest!
Good grief!
I'll cover the history of ontech videos and the monetization issue in the next chapter for ya. I admit, I don't know that much about video game histories but since I mentioned some games many chapters ago I'll write up an update. Thanks for the compliments!
The Soviet Union collapsed in 1984, as covered in the 1984 chapters
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Wonderful updates as usual. I loved what you did with Doug and James there. My interest in the Technet is how the timeline version of YouTube looks like. Does it have the same problems of monetization? Does it have similar trends? I think it would also be interesting to see how the videogame industry looks like here. Excellent story and I hope it wins the Turtledove.
Another great update. I kinda feel bad for President Wellstone first he loses the election and then his brother dies 
I liked Grammer's inaugural address and his cabinet seems pretty good too. Also glad "Rocky" Barry won too!
I liked Grammer's inaugural address and his cabinet seems pretty good too. Also glad "Rocky" Barry won too!
The Electoral College strikes again! Really curious to see if any reforms regarding it come about. I can’t see the US scrapping it entirely, but reforming it to have less of an influence on the election but keeping it around as a backup in case of possible future election weirdness.
Brown seems like they’re going to be a consent source of consternation for Grammer, if not outright political scandal if Brown goes too far. Won’t be surprised if Grammer seriously considers replacing him before 2016.
And regarding the Fraiser reunion, such an episode would have to be very Fraiser light, with Grammer’s appearances limited to one or two scenes that could be shot in a day or few hours and the rest of the main characters being the primary focus of the episode. Maybe everyone is travelling to go see some new production Fraiser has been involved in, with him being primarily interacting with that main cast via cellphone voiceover before finally showing up in person at the end. Said production in the end turns out to be a homage to Cheers (but maybe with the names changed to avoid being too meta)
Brown seems like they’re going to be a consent source of consternation for Grammer, if not outright political scandal if Brown goes too far. Won’t be surprised if Grammer seriously considers replacing him before 2016.
And regarding the Fraiser reunion, such an episode would have to be very Fraiser light, with Grammer’s appearances limited to one or two scenes that could be shot in a day or few hours and the rest of the main characters being the primary focus of the episode. Maybe everyone is travelling to go see some new production Fraiser has been involved in, with him being primarily interacting with that main cast via cellphone voiceover before finally showing up in person at the end. Said production in the end turns out to be a homage to Cheers (but maybe with the names changed to avoid being too meta)
Chapter 105: February 2013 – June 2013
Chapter 105: February 2013 – June 2013
“Gotta have opposites, light and dark and dark and light, in painting. It’s like in life. Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come. I’m waiting on the good times now.”
– Bob Ross, shortly after the death of his wife, 1992 (OTL/TTL)
SIGNS OF DISMAY LINGER AT SHORE: Rebuilding Forces Some To Put Storm-Ravaged Homes On Market
…As post-Hurricane Sandy cleanup efforts continue in the Garden State, “For Sale” signs have replaced towering piles of debris in the front yards of flood-damaged homes…
– The Star-Ledger, New Jersey newspaper, 2/2/2013
...the US Ambassador to the United Nations has proposed a Security Council Resolution as a means of addressing the ongoing situation in Sudan. The resolution demands an immediate ceasefire occur between the nation of Sudan and the partially recognized breakaway nations of Darfur and South Sudan within 30 days, or the UN will establish a no-fly zone and take swift action to protect civilians in the troubled region…
– CBS Evening News, 2/3/2013 broadcast
US MULLING MILITARY OPTIONS IN LIBYA
– thedailytelegraph.co.uk, 2/4/2013
US-LED COALITION ENFORCING SANCTIONS, EMBARGOES ON SUDAN IS “NOT ENOUGH,” SAYS DARFUR LEADERS
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 5/2/2013
PEARCE DEFEATED IN RECALL ELECTION: Don Goldwater Unseats Controversial Incumbent
…In a multi-candidate race, state senator Donald H. Goldwater (R) has defeated Mayor Neil Giuliano (D), incumbent Russell K. Pearce (R) and several less prominent candidates with a plurality of 46% of the vote. …While Governor Russell K. Pearce (R) avoided being convicted and removed from office in last year’s impeachment trial, anti-Pearce sentiment among voters led to Republican candidates underperforming in the 2012 midterms. Pearce’s controversial and divisive rhetoric and unpopular actions while in office possibly contributed to Kelsey Grammer only barely winning Arizona in last year’s presidential election. Furthermore, in the state legislative elections of that November, state Democrats flipped the state House and Senate, leading to alleged talks behind closed doors that a second impeachment trial would be held by Democratic lawmakers in a few months if the recall election was unsuccessful…
…Before entering politics, Pearce worked in law enforcement for nearly 20 years. In the 1990s, he ran the state Department of Motor Vehicles before serving as a state representative from 2000 to 2006. Pearce was also state senator, from 2006 to 2011, prior to being elected Governor in the pro-Republican 2010 midterms. Running on a heavily conservative campaign of opposing UHC, police precinct reform, and high taxes (and, low-key, all forms of immigration into the US), Governor Pearce’s tenure began with him trying to implement racist policies, and feuding with the state’s department of education over “the teachings of Western civilization,” trying to remove “anti-American ideologies” from schools. He openly supported the idea of the forced deportation of millions of Hispanic immigrants “and their children…as a safety measure” as his tenure continued. By 2012, his approval rating was below 30%; his ties to eugenics organizations and endorsements from white supremacists only lowered these numbers further, inhibiting his efforts to attract businesses favoring the for-profit prison industry to the state.
Efforts to recall him from office began in 2011, with signature petitions being circulated ontech and in-person across Arizona. Last September, the state Secretary of State verified that the number of signatures required to trigger a recall election had been collected, and after copies of the petitions were sent to all Arizona counties for further verification, a recall election was officially called for in December. This recall effort was led by several prominent Arizona Republicans, including Pearce’s own ex-wife, who divorced him amid domestic abuse allegations that were settled out of court back in 1982. …The winner of the recall election is whoever receives a plurality, even if the plurality winner is the candidate whose recall is sought, as they also appear on the ballot...
...Pearce possibly undermined his own efforts to win the recall election two weeks ago when he suggested to a crowd of supporters the poor, unemployed and mentally impaired should receive forced sterilization. After Tom Fink of Alaska, Pearce is only the second Governor in modern American history to be recalled from office. …Don Goldwater will enter office next week...
– The Arizona Republic, 2/6/2013
Our first official cabinet meeting went as expected, with the people picked for the important posts each having a level head, a stick up their asses, an ego the size of a small planet, and a bunch of their own ideas about what to do about certain issues and policies. I didn’t know what Kelsey saw in most of them. Each had differing ideas on what was of high priority and of what could be placed on the back burner.
For example, Agriculture Secretary Scott wanted to curb illegal immigrant protections, but most saw it as a minor issue given that, at the time, over 80% of all immigrants entered the US legally. Instead, trade and regulations were discussed at length at the meeting. I got my two cents in by calling for allowing states to have more say over gun control measures, and to expand the exit options available for Americans wishing to opt out of our communistic UHC healthcare system. I think it was well received because Kelsey brought them up again after talking to all of us about how to address GCD, how to keep Social Security solvent, and – most importantly for the administration from the get-go – how to implement the tax cuts that Kelsey promised on the campaign trail.
Secretary of Energy Harold Hamm then brought up job creation in private industry, versus the US’s FJG program, and also brought up the best way to implement the administration’s energy policy, on which he, Scott and Commerce Secretary Fold disagreed. The strongest endorser of Grammer’s clean energy proposals, apart from myself, naturally, was Postmaster General Ralph Nader, a man who had served in all but two of every last US Presidential Cabinet since The Colonel was in office. This did not surprise me in the slightest, though – Nader had always backed empowering labor, affordable housing, police reform, and ending gerrymandering. And he was the former head of the EPA. Why wouldn’t he back a proposal to convert old factories in the Rust Belt into eco-friendly shopping centers, apartments and office space?…
…We had an interesting cross-section of the American population represented in the cabinet. Secretary of State Rich Morningstar was a bookworm of a man, a thinker who got along well with Treasury Secretary Bill Weld, another scholarly type. They stood for all the bibliophiles of America. At Defense, though, was US Air Force Colonel (ret.) Eileen Collins – my kind of woman! Attorney General Susana Martinez, a Hispanic-American, had a good head on her shoulders, too. The same could be said about our African-American Secretary of the Interior, Alphonso R. Jackson, and about Labor Secretary Steven Craig Gunderson, the very first openly-homosexual member of a US Presidential cabinet…
– Harley Brown’s Riding Through Hell (a.k.a. Congress): The Political Career of Harley Davidson Brown (So Far), Simon & Schuster, 2020
Grammer opposed the “suppressive” structure of the Jackson-Wellstone Era’s tax system, and sought to reverse the high income tax rates and return the once-high police budgets. During the President’s talks with congressional leaders, Speaker McMaster encouraged Grammer to “go bold” on tax cuts for the rich and expanding the US military budget. Vice President Brown was reluctant to back the former proposal, but he was enthusiastic about the latter one.
One financial program that was a passion project of sorts for both Grammer and Brown, though, was one meant to support low-income expected mothers and single expected mothers in an effort to decrease “voluntary abortions,” while still keeping abortion funding at the level it was under President Jackson. ...“I think the fabric of this status quo being disrupted is a good thing,” Grammer reportedly told a gathering of his inner circle during these talks. “I don’t think Washington did us any favors for the last 50, 60 years, I think they’ve all been sort of the same party. And I don’t think they’ve been helping anybody but themselves.” When members of the Grammer White House asked about whether American can come together again amid political strife, Grammer said his countrymen “will be just fine…We’ve been through a lot worse.” [1]
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
SOURCE: Wall Street Insiders Are Becoming More Inclined To Sell Than To Buy, Cause Uncertain
– The Milwaukee Journal Sentient, 2/9/2013
…The Postmaster General is in charge and in control of the US Post Office Department, referred to in the office as just “The Post Office.” Historically, the department had been responsible for overseeing successful collection and delivery of paper mail and packages. But in the modern world, there was a far more profound aspect to the occupation: the department was now responsible for digital mail, not just the paper kind. In order to not violate privacy rights, we immediately sought to work with private delivery companies to regulate, schedule and organize multiple initiatives, such as rules and conditions for using drone technology for private delivery systems. For example, “Drone pathways,” effectively “channels” in the sky where drones tended to travel in their delivery routes, were cross-referenced and compared to bird migration patterns and common airplane routes in order to shift and adjust safety recommendations. However, while more powerful than one may believe it is, the position of US Postmaster General is no longer considered to be the somewhat sinecure-like position than it once was for the latter half of the 20th century…
– Ralph Nader in his autobiography All For The People: A Life’s Journey, 2019
PM VARVARIS TO ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS: “WE APOLOGIZE” FOR THE STOLEN GENERATIONS
…Prime Minister Jim Varvaris today gave a formal apology to the Indigenous Peoples of Australia for the forced removals of Aborigine children from their families by the Australian government between 1905 and 1967. Presenting the apology on the floor of Australian parliament, Varvaris announced that the Australian government “ruefully and woefully regrets these atrocious acts, which produces grief, suffering and heartache onto the indigenous people, our fellow Australians,”… Varvaris has notable shifted to the center since becoming Prime Minister; at the start of his time in parliament, he was noticeably much more to the right. For example, when Australia passed the Marriage Equality Act of 2009, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout Australia, Varvaris was part of the Band of Seven, a group of MPs who protested in front of the office of then-PM Ignatieff over their opposition to his support of the Act…
– Reuters, 2/13/2013
The Bashnya Rossiya (or Russia Tower) is the main building of the Russia Tower Office Complex in the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. Standing at a height of 1,919 feet and 111 floors, it is the third-tallest building in the world, behind the US’s Chicago Spire (2,000 feet) and the UAE’s Dubai Tower (2,626 feet). After scaling down the initial design for a tower 2,200 feet tall, construction on the mixed use business and residential building began in April 2008 and finished in February 2013…
[pic: imgur.com/tmBvz48.png ]
– clickopedia.co.usa
“The Every Vote Counts National Initiative is ahead of schedule in regards to gathering signatures… The passing of the National Initiative Amendment established this independent agency, the Electoral Trust. I consists of a Board of Trustees and a Director. That’s 54 Board of Trustees members – 1 for each of the 52 states, plus 2 Trustees Board members for the federal district and all the other US territories, with the Director – that’s me – serving as a tiebreaker vote when necessary. All of these positions are for one year and for one year only. And all of us are recallable. Plus, there are other safeguards set up to defend the democratic process and protect it from corruption from the powerful top percentile.”
[snip]
“So, this is how the long process starts. Any citizen can propose and/or sponsor an initiative, and it is the responsibility of this entity, the Electoral Trust, to assist said sponsors in preparing initiatives – for drafting it and qualifying it, and then distributing information on the proposed initiative. Any contributions from corporations, including but not limited to labor unions, political parties, industrial groups, organized religions and associations, and PACs are strictly prohibited. Violation of this rule is a felony.
The proposed initiative then has to qualify in one of three ways: a collection of extensive public opinion polls qualified by the Electoral Trust; a legislative resolution passed by a simple majority in both chambers of the US Congress; or a petition, with the number of signers needed for qualifying being determined by the Electoral Trust. That’s all step one.
And at the moment, there are several such petitions going around.”
– Tom Atlee, Director of the Electoral Trust, the independent agency responsible for overseeing National Initiative procedure, 2/15/2013 press briefing
GEORGE ROGERS ELECTED NEW CANADIAN PRIME MNISTER AS PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVES RETURN TO POWER
…Goerge Arthur Rogers of Alberta has lead the PCs to a parliamentary majority over the incumbent Progressive Liberal Party, led by now-outgoing PM Maureen McTeer of Ontario. The Quebec Party, led by Jacques Duchesneau of Quebec, and the Green Party, led by David Chernushenko, each lost two seats in a dramatic and decisive surge in voter turnout against McTeer and her recent tax hikes… Rogers will become the first-ever Black Canadian Prime Minister…
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 19/2/2013
DE BEERS RE-ENTERS U.S. MARKETS
…the controversial diamond company was allowed to re-enter the US market after paying a $50million fine in 2010 for price fixing, and after two high-ranking De Beer officials received prison sentences in 2011, each for conspiracy to fix market prices in the late 1990s and early aughts…
– The Wall Street Journal, 2/21/2013
“…The legal proceedings only temporarily disrupted their projected financial gain. Denying them access to our lands only made the company even more depraved. Hundreds more of us were working people to death to make up for lost revenue. …It was only a matter of time…”
– Davi Kowe, in joint interview with Roy Sesana, 2020
BELGIUM PM CATHY BERX DEMANDS GERMANY INVESTIGATE DEUTSCHE BANK
…the bank allegedly defrauded hundreds of Belgian residents out of millions of euros in a recent international incident…
– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 23/2/2013
Heidi Suzanne Nelson (b. August 7, 1972) is the current US Deputy Secretary of Commerce
[snip]
Nelson was born in San Luis Obispo, California to Seventh-day Adventists who served was missionaries while working as dental health professionals. As a result, Nelson lived in Kenya, Nigeria, and parts of Asia while growing up. Developing an interest in business and world trade as a child due to these experiences, Nelson graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1995 before studying abroad and receiving a Masters of European Business degree from Oxford in 1997.
In 1997, Nelson began serving as a special deputy to the US Trade Representative, then became an economic policy director on President Dinger’s re-election campaign in 2000. After Jesse Jackson was elected President, Nelson began working in the private sector, and became a managing director for Goldman Sachs in 2009. Nelson was selected to serve in President Grammer’s Commerce Department due to her small-government philosophy and her experience in the field of international trade relations
– clickopedia.co.usa, c. February 2013 [2]
Report: The Wave of Deutsche Bank Indictments Is Sending German Consumer Confidence Plummeting!
– The Financial Times (FT), UK daily newspaper, 23/2/2013
…With the new congress, the Republican Party had a government trifecta, and so were easily able to implement their agenda. Almost immediately, Speaker McMaster placed several Jackson/Wellstone-era welfare programs and regulation policies on the Chopping Block, stripping them of funding or outright cancelling programs deemed either, “frivolous,” “invasive” “oppressive” or “nonessential.” While the House and Senate leaders went about reversing policies concerning various subjects, affecting millions of people, President Grammar sought to decrease the size of the federal government at the cabinet level, especially at the Department of Community Development...
…President Grammer also instructed congress to begin work on a major tax reform bill, which was introduced onto the floor of the House just a few weeks later…
– Kathryn Millstone’s The Grammer Administration, Borders Books, 2021
“Yes, the U.S. annual quarterly income for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012 was down, marking the first economic drop for the first time in ten years, but it is not anything to worry about. It was most likely mere delayed reaction by liberal, pro-Wellstone corporations to the election victory of President Grammer back in November of that quarter…”
– Henry Paulson, Chair of the Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the US, 2/27/2013
…Soon after entering office, Vice President Harley Brown began promoting in earnest a large-scale architectural engineering proposal. Originally proposed in 2006, this proposal was the conclusion of the NYC Panel on Global Climate Disruption that NYC Mayor Margaret Hamberg convened to study “hypothetical crisis scenarios” at the start of her first term. The panel determine that the city’s vulnerability to climate-induced risks such as severe blizzard, heat wave, and hurricane conditions merited immediate action. The panel’s 2006 report was entitled “The Merits of Storm Barrier Construction and Emergency Service Reform for New York City in the Immediate Future.”
Hurricane Sandy had devastated the region in autumn 2012, and GCD experts believed that another hurricane of such strength would hit the region in the immediate future. However, not all politicians supported the notion that the best solution to construct a series of dam-like barriers built across the bodies of water connecting New York City with the Atlantic Ocean.
“This would be a huge waste of taxpayer money,” argued fiscal watchdog US Sen. Randy Brock (R-OH), “If sea levels are rising and storms are indeed getting worse, building a dam is pointless because the height that the water will reach will someday be over the height of the barrier. It’d be more beneficial to everyone involved if buildings in the affected areas were build better – built to last – built to better withstand the forces of floodwaters.”
Vice President Brown, however, saw the proposal as an opportunity to “eliminate unemployment,” as constructing the required barriers would require “hundreds of thousands of low-skill workers” by some estimates…
[snip]
…Barrier supporters pointed to the historical precedence for this proposed endeavor. The Thames Barrier of the Greater London Authority successfully opened in 1984; the Saint Petersburg Dam of Russia was finally completed under Vladislav Volkov in 1993; and the Maeslant Barrier of the Netherlands, also known as the “Maeslantkering,” was completed in 1997…
[snip]
…Vice President Brown added, “Now, I’m agnostic when it comes to certain aspects of global warming, but this project will produce jobs, no doubt about it, so even if it turns out to be pointless, it won’t be a pointless waste of time if it helps feed American families”...
[pic: imgur.com/O0v9qsx.png ]
Above: a map of the proposed storm surge barrier locations discussed in both the Option A “one big one” proposal, and the Option B “several little ones” proposal; Vice President Brown supported implementing both options “for safe measure”
– Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership In Turbulent Times, Simon & Schuster, 2018
“The rise in virtual work, spurred on by the safezoning measures of the SARS years, means that there’s less real estate being used. The renting of office space is at a historic low. City office space being in a state of “undercapacity” is at an all-time high. And as a result, real estate values are dropping. That trend is hurting small businesses as well as large ones. This and gentrification is why the rent is too damn high in New York City, and it is only getting higher and higher. And what is our Mayor doing? Oh, she’s aware of the empty buildings. But she ain’t fillin’ them up, she’s wiping them down with antibacterial wipes! Gotta keep those vacant lots clean, huh? Because everyone knows how crowded those places are, why, they’re just filled with workers – oh wait!”
– NY politician and NYC Mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, 3/1/2013
THE DUKE DECLINES RUNNING FOR AN 8TH TERM
Boston, MA – In a game-changing moment, Governor Michael Dukakis has announced his decision to not run for re-election next year, saying in a press briefing “my work here is almost done. The time has come to pass the torch of freedom and equality on to another person.”
Dukakis, also known both affectionately and derisively as “The Duke,” has been a staple of Massachusetts politics for decades, having served in his current office for over 28 non-consecutive years. Dukakis, as Lieutenant Governor, ascended to the governorship in 1977, and was elected to his first a many full terms in 1978. Amid high approval ratings due to his progressive policies, he won re-election in 1982 and 1986, and declined to run for re-election in 1990 to enter academia, after passing up running for President in 1984 and 1988. However, discontent with teaching politics and diplomacy at several colleges, Dukakis won another gubernatorial term in 1998, and won re-election in 2002, 2006, and 2010.
Dukakis’ legacy is a mixed bag, with some praising his education, transportation, and infrastructure redevelopment programs as being effective and forward-thinking, while others criticize his environmental protection policies as being lackluster and overall inefficient. Another controversy of his arose earlier this year, when William Weld resigned from his US Senate seat to become the US Secretary of the Treasury. Dukakis selected a liberal Republican to be appointed to the vacant seat, which was in-line with the state’s laws stating that a US Senate appointee must belong to the same party affiliation of the person who had been elected to that seat. The controversial part was his selection of Lew Evangelidis, a fellow Greek-American; the selection led to widespread allegations of nepotism on both sides of the political aisle, and of both sexism and racism on the left side.
Unsurprisingly, Dukakis’ retirement is bringing relief to voters wanting change. “It’s time for a new generation to take over,” says one member of the MADEM State Committee. “Preferably someone a bit younger,” they add, referring to the fact that Dukakis, who was born in Massachusetts to Greek immigrants in 1933, will leave office at the age of 81. “This announcement means that we can finally start a new chapter in Massachusetts history.”
The governor’s decision to retire next year also means that the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination is wide open, without an incumbent or a clear favorite, for the first time in roughly 15 years. The Chair of the State Democratic Party told reporters earlier today “we’re expecting a large and diverse crowd of candidates this time around.”
– The Boston Globe, 3/3/2013
REVIEW: The Latest Chicken Sandwich War Entries: Jimmy John’s Colby Jack Chicken and Whataburger’s Kickin’ Chicken Sandwich Supreme
– tumbleweed.co.usa/food, 3/4/2013
M.F. GLOBAL INSISTS IT IS IN GOOD HEALTH DESPITE A 60% DROP IN SHARE PRICE
– businesstoday.co.usa, 3/5/2013
President Grammer’s Approval Ratings:
APPROVE: 50%
DISAPPROVE: 35%
UNCERTAIN: 15%
[snip]
Comments Section:
>Comment 1:
I’m surprised by how quickly his “Honeymoon Period” is already drying up. I mean, how can you NOT like a President who looks like this?:
[pic: imgur.com/Cs5Aqi8.png ]
>Reply 1 to Comment 1:
I think I just tossed my cookies, thanks.
>Reply 2 to Comment 1:
Lots of people can’t get over how this guy is the President now because he didn’t win the popular vote. A lot of people are still bitter about that.
– Galluppolling.co.usa/sort_by_date/march_7,_2013
…Earlier today at 1 Observatory Circle, Vice President Brown sat down with several politicians from New York City and New Jersey to discuss the costs and specifics of the proposal to construct a storm surge barrier system across the mouth of the Lower New York Harbor. During the discussions, Brown veered off-topic on a few occasions. It seems he couldn’t help but bring up last year’s Presidential Election recounts in New Jersey when conversing with the political figures from the Garden State…
– NBC News, 3/8/2013 broadcast
INTERVIEW: Gordon Lightfoot Talks Environmentalism, Culture, And The Evolution Of His Music
– The Walrus, Canadian general-interest magazine, March 2013 issue
…Yet another German bank has filed for bankruptcy amid a wave of corruption investigations sweeping through the financial centers of Germany, especially in Berlin and Munich...
– BBC News, 3/15/2013
The 2013 London Mayoral election was held on 17 March 2013 to elect the Mayor of London, coinciding with the 2013 London Assembly elections...
[snip]
Background:
As London began growing into a major international financial center in the 1980s, the Greater London Council was abolished under Prime Minister Goodlad, leaving the metropolitan area without a central administration until the city-wide Greater London Authority was created in 1992, under Prime Minister Lennon. Its formation led to the city’s first Mayoral election in 1993, with Secretary of State for the Environment and former Minister for Overseas Development Chris Patten (Conservative) winning a four-year term in said race. Term-limited, Patten left office in 2001; his successor, the former Minister for Sport Tony Banks (Labour), lost re-election to former MP Steven Norris (Conservative), who served from 2005 to 2013.
The race centered on the range of mayoral responsibilities, especially transportation, housing and planning, and economic development. Given incumbent Mayor Norris’ waning popularity over controversies regarding his handling of city funds, Labour had the advantage heading into the final days of the election.
Results:
With 50.3% of the total vote, Labour candidate Nicky Gavron, the Deputy Mayor of London from 2001 to 2009, won over Conservative candidate Vicky Borwick, the incumbent Deputy Mayor from 2009 to 2012, who received 39.9% of the vote. Green Party nominee Jenny Jones received 5.1%; the three other candidates received the remaining 4.7% of the vote.
– clickopedia.co.usa
…West Virginia Governor Charlotte Pratt is offering petrol and coal companies tax credits for alternative energy innovation in her latest effort to amass funds for her massive urban farming programs. Pratt believes that her state can attract more tourists and businesses with micro farming projects in every single county in West Virginia in order to provide food security for state residents…
– CBS Evening News, 3/19/2013 report
FISCAL WATCHDOG SOUNDS WARNING: Claims Germany’s Bank Scandals Could Have “Monetary Ripple Effects” That “Easily Spread Out”
– tumbleweed.co.usa/news, 3/20/2013
…What it came to network neutrality, the Grammer Presidency took up the libertarian position of treating all netsites like businesses, encouraging them to grow and be prosperous but otherwise leaving them alone to make their own rules, terms, and conditions of use. The problem with self-regulating, though, is that it led to problems with death threats and ID theft in the 1990s, which in turn had led to the courts of California’s controversial attempts to make technet anonymity illegal on the grounds of security trumping privacy.
As a result, Grammer sought to ignore the issue by instead focusing on and promoting other aspects of technet sites, such as expanding coax-band accessibility, making software easier for elderly users and the visually impaired, urging tech businesses to expand technet use in rural parts of the country, and encouraging companies to reach out to the physically isolated as well...
[snip]
…Studies show that more advertising often leads to less views. A March 2013 study, for instance, suggested that sites with ads covering more than 20% of the screen have 50% less view-traffic than sites with minimal ads...
– Joy Lisi Rankin’s Computers: A People’s History of the Information Machine, Westview Press, 2018
STATE SENATOR RESIGNS AMID SEXUAL PESTERING CLAIMS
– The Omaha World-Herald, Nebraska newspaper, 3/20/2013
SUDAN FLYING ARMS TO DARFUR, PANEL REPORTS
…UN peacekeeping forces are being targeted and killed by Sudanese forces in the breakaway republics of Darfur and South Sudan. Additionally, the government of Sudan is flying arms and heavy military equipment to their locations in Darfur in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and are even painting the Sudanese military planes white in order to disguise them as United Nations or African Union aircraft…
– The New York Times, 3/21/2013
U.N. BACKS ACTION AGAINST SUDAN REGIME: UNSC Resolution Adopted 15-0
– The Los Angeles Times, 3/22/2013
“...The US-led UN intervention in Sudan began today with American fighter jets bombing Sudan’s Wadi Sayyidna Air Base, as well as Sudan Air Force facilities at Atbarah and Al Ubayyid. We also have reports that French Air Force fighter jets have begun firing missiles at several other targets throughout Sudan proper in a coordinated effort to try and prevent further Sudanese attacks on Darfur and South Sudan from being launched from said locations…”
– BBC News, 23/3/2013 broadcast
“Technically, the no-fly zones began with attacks on areas held by the Sudanese military and government in order to destroy Sudanese air defenses. This allowed our soldiers of the air to fly above the country without worry of getting shot down. That is how it started and it naturally escalated from there. …French fighter jets were deployed next as our allies began their individual operations to defend Darfur and South Sudan from further onslaughts…”
– former US Secretary of Defense, 2019 congressional hearing
…When Deputy NASA Director and former Aeronautics Research Mission Director John McAfee, a member of NASA since 1968 who had made billions of dollars developing software for the agency, was chosen for NASA director, the selection was controversial in a unique way. While McAfee was considered qualified for the job, his eccentric personality and quirky behavior led to some being considered that he would “embarrass” and agency and damage its reputation for being a serious leader in space exploration.
McAfee’s reputation for making uncouth comments and faux pas over the years was on display on March 24, 2013, at a function held in Washington, D.C., where a discussion comparing outer space to exploring Earth’s deepest oceans led to McAfee making some rather unsavory comments concerning whales…
– clickopedia.co.usa
People are too sensitive nowadays. I make one little joke about wanting to send out a probe to search for f@#kable space whales and suddenly everyone loses their sense of humor!
– John McAfee, in his autobiography Outer Space Deserves More Iguanas: My Life Being Me, numerous on-net publication sites, 2022
NATO ASSUMES COMMAND OF MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SUDAN
…roughly 80,000 military personnel are joining the 90,000 soldiers of Darfur and South Sudan in opposing attacks from the 150,000-strong Sudan military...
– The Chicago Tribune, 3/26/2013
“Yeah, Mayor Hamberg got us the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the city is now suffering unintentional negative consequence from that successful hosting bid. The sudden attention is raising property values across the city, making it harder for people in N.Y.C. to afford to pay the rent, making it harder for families to afford to feed their kids breakfast, lunch and dinner. Report after report all show that for the first time since the 2002 SARS pandemic, there are more people moving out the city than there are people moving in. That shouldn’t be. We have to fix that! And you know how? By lowering the damn rent! Why? Because – say it with me – the rent is too damn high!”
– NY politician and NYC Mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, 3/27/2013
TWO ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM INITIATIVES HAVE NOW QUALIFIED FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS
– The New York Times, 3/28/2013
FORMER CEO OF M.F. GLOBAL INDICTED AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION
– The Chicago Tribune, 3/29/2013
ANDERSON COOPER: “…President Grammer today announced the tariff proposals for India, saying that, due to that country’s economic expansion, American workers and manufacturers need to be protected from the phenomenon that is outsourcing, which he called ‘a siren song’ in his remarks earlier today. Richard, can you tell us anything more about this? Any insight?”
Former WH Chief Foreign Policy Advisor Richard W. RAHN: “Well, this is clearly the President’s way of threatening other, bigger dogs with bigger tariffs if they don’t valuate our currency higher.”
COOPER: “Yes, and the US Trade Representative is important for this as well...”
– KNN, 3/30/2013 broadcast
“I have grave concerns over the direction of Germany’s markets”
– Dutch President Adriaan Jozef Kea, 4/1/2013
The Sandwich Wars Are Heating Up!
…Whataburger is kicking off Spring Break Season 2013 by introducing a new contender – the new Korean Fried Chicken Melt – to the fast-food sandwich wars…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 4/2/2013
US FISCAL QUARTER ENTERING ECONOMIC “MINI-DIP”: The “Long Overdue” Mid-Quarter Slide Has The Potential To Get Bigger, Says Experts
– The Wall Street Journal, 4/3/2013
US Sen. Mike GRAVEL (D-CA): “After the qualification process is complete, multiple public hearings will be held and conducted with the representatives of the sponsor and other relevant individuals.”
Interviewer Krystal BALL: “So, it will be similar to the Citizen’s Initiative Review in Oregon?”
GRAVEL: “Somewhat similar, but, obviously, at a much larger scale. After the hearings conclude, the Electoral Trust then convenes what is called a ‘Deliberation Committee.’”
BALL: “What’s that?”
GRAVEL: “Basically, it’s a committee consisting of U.S. citizens selected at random from the voter registration rolls of the relevant jurisdiction maintained by the Electoral Trust and balanced as fairly as possible. Committee members are not required to participate (like jurors) and will be compensated for time spent and expenses incurred in performance of their duties should they choose to participate. The Deliberative Committee then reviews the Hearing Record, secure expert advice, deliberate the merits of the initiative, and prepare a written report and recommendations. Together with the hearing record and the committee’s report, the proposed National Initiative is sent to Congress for an advisory vote. Upon completion of the Legislative Advisory Vote, or 90 days after the initiative has been delivered to the legislative body, whichever comes first, the Electoral Trust then publishes a schedule for the election of the initiative.”
BALL: “So, how long do you think it will take for it to get to Congress?”
GRAVEL: “It depends. The registration rolls being certified could take a while, and the pace of the hearings and quality of the committee report could drag it out farther, let alone how Congress responds to it. Could be anywhere from one year to several years.”
BALL: “Is there any way to speed things along faster?”
GRAVEL: “Yes. People can get more involved in the process – sign the petitions, participate in the hearings and committees. Do their homework on the initiatives, because when it comes to the NIA, the voters are the lawmakers.”
BALL: “So you really think people will know what exactly they’re voting on? I mean, do you really think they’ll do the homework on this, and not be swayed by how mainstream media outlets frame them?”
GRAVEL: “I have faith in the American people. Besides, the Electoral Trust will take advantage of modern technologies in developing procedures for voting and validating the votes. Voters may use multiple modern technologies from anywhere in the world using the most sophisticated encryption and security protections available that day. The Electoral Trust has a netsite for each initiative proposal, and for each initiative that gets qualified for a vote, the site contains a summary of its Hearing Record, Deliberative Committee report, and Legislative Advisory Vote result, plus statements prepared by the sponsor, other proponents and opponents, and a balanced analysis of the pros and cons of the initiative, its social, environmental, and economic implications, costs and benefits. Voters can use this information to make informed decisions before they cast their votes.”
BALL: “So just the one vote passes an initiative into a new federal law?”
GRAVEL: “Yes – unless, of course, we are talking about a Constitutional Amendment. Because that is an even more serious and more permanent event, it gets two votes.”
BALL: “Could you please explain that?”
GRAVEL: “Sure. See, an initiative that modifies the Constitution is, under the NIA, enacted by affirmative vote of more than half the registered voters of the relevant jurisdiction in the second of two successive elections. If such initiative is approved in the first election, the second election shall occur no earlier than six months and no later than a year after the first election. Half of the electorate, not merely half the people who care to vote, must vote yes in the second election in order to amend the US Constitution.”
BALL: “So first we hold an election, probably in November 2014 if the committee and hearing finish their business in time, or in November 2015 or November 2016, to coincide with the major elections of that year. Then in a second round of voting, more than half of all registered voters have to approve of it, not just have of all registered voters who vote. That means that we would have to see a large portion of registered voters actually voting. So if, say, 75% of all registered voters vote in the second round, 75% of that 75% would have to vote yes, because 75% of 75 is 56.3%. Right?
GRAVEL: “Right. An initiative that enacts, modifies or repeals statute law assumes the force of law when approved by more than half the voters in the relevant jurisdiction participating in an election. This means that in the case of statutes, the majority of the votes received will be counted as the favorable opinion (as opposed to modifying the Constitution, which will require more than 50% of all registered voters).” [3]
BALL: “This will be a very long and complicated process then?”
GRAVEL: “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Krystal.”
– TumbleweedTV Interview Exclusive, 4/4/2013
“We’re sorry, we’re going to have to interrupt you, because we have a Breaking News Special Bulletin. Under the weight of several bank bankruptcies, a shaky stock market, and a downturn in domestic production, Germany has officially entered a state of economic recession!”
– CBS Evening News, 4/5/2013
“I am more than confident that Germany’s market downturn will leave little impact on the United States.”
– Federal Reserve Chair Henry Paulson, 4/6/2013
PM ROGERS’ PLAN TO REVERSE MCTEER-ERA TAX HIKES
…the new Canadian Prime Minister has announced a “tax stabilization plan” to reduce former PM Maureen McTeer’s tax hikes by shifting the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 66 over the next four years, and then from 66 to 67 in another four years. The plan, which is already proving itself to be controversial and polarizing ontech, cited the extension in the average Canadian lifespan, and reiterates that such action is necessary in the wake of the nation’s worsening the tax burden...
– The Calgary Sun, Canadian newspaper, 4/7/2013
…the federal government is encouraging all private energy companies to contribute to the effort to make hydrogen power mainstream and affordable. The US Department of Energy and Technology is backing hydrogen-based research and development endeavors at MIT and other universities and engineering schools, with many Democrats – former US Senator Harry Braun being the most prominent one of them, by far – encouraging such endeavors as well…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 4/8/2013
HSBC, UK’S LARGEST BANK, LAYS OFF 11,000 WORKERS AS GERMANY’S RECESSION HITS BRITISH MARKETS
– Associated Press, 4/9/2013
…Behind closed doors, Wall Street executives were growing concerned that the economic stress in Europe was beginning to impact the American stock market. The stocks of several major U.S. banks began entering decline first, with some of the more higher-up executives publicly encouraging people to buy while they themselves were selling instead…
– Hanspeter Kriesi and Takis S. Pappas’ In The Shadow of The Great European Recession, ECPR Press, 2021
THE NEW TACO IN TOWN
[pic: imgur.com/CYSPayr.png ]
…Taco John’s is starting to give Zantigo and Chi-Chi’s a run for their money... Founded in 1969, Taco John’s is a more Americanized/fast-food-on-the-go take on Mexican cuisine, even more so than its more established competitors…
– Nation’s Restaurant News trade publication, early April 2013 issue
WACHOVIA FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AMID STATE A.G. PROBE LAUNCHED IN 2011
– The Winston-Salem Journal, North Carolina newspaper, 4/11/2013
BREAKING NEWS: DOW Plummets 400 Points As US GDP Continues To Slide!
– thenewyorktimes.co.usa, 4/12/2013
…China’s Treasury and Commerce Ministers were observed behaving “suspiciously” in the weeks after Germany’s economy practically collapsed. The US Ambassador to China (former Federal Reserve Chair, former US Representative, and former Chair of the US International Trade Commission John Kasich) informed Commerce Secretary Fuld of this, but according to Fuld’s undersecretary, no action “at all” was taken to discover if the Chinese were aware of the recession spreading or if the Chinese were just worried that it would spread due to how globally interconnected national markets and economies had become to one another.
Meanwhile, Li Yuanchao (b. 1951), the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China and a rising star in the PRC, advised Premier Yang Gang (b. 1953) against moving forward on a potential deal with Australia to improve and modernize trade between the two nations, much to the consternation of diplomat Han Zheng (b. 1954), who was reportedly kept “out of the loop.” Concurrently, Chinese billionaire Deng Jiagui (b. 1951) began selling off several U.S. holdings to less-wealthy American investors…
– Paul van den Noord’s A Continent In Crisis: Europe During The 2013-2014 Recession Era, Routledge, 2018
…the UN security council formally referred the situation in Darfur to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, taking into account the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur. On April 14, after reviewing the facts of the matter, the Judges of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sudan military leaders Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kushayb. The Sudan Government responded with a statement that said that the ICC had no jurisdiction to try Sudanese citizens and that it would not surrender the two men... [4]
– clickopedia.co.usa
RECESSION! U.S. ECONOMY OFFICIALLY ENTERS ECONOMIC CONTRACTION!
…the Commerce Department’s report confirms that the US had been in a state of economic recession since the year’s first fiscal quarter ended on March 31…
– The New York Times, 4/15/2013
News Alert: The price of Gold Has Soared to Over 8%!
– businesstoday.co.usa/4/16/2013
“So, you still think investing in gold is a bad idea?”
– Ron Paul, The New Ron Paul Freedom Report, 4/17/2013 article
…The 2013 recession happened the way all recessions do, when economic activity contracts. However, in 2013, it was also, at least partially, caused by the Deutsche Bank fraud scandal that unfolded in Germany at the beginning of the year, and the close interconnected markets of western Europe. US Secretary of the Treasury Bill Weld immediately responded to the downturn with efforts to stop the bleeding and minimize the vicious spiraling cycle of decline:
weak market -> weak sales -> weak profits -> layoffs -> higher unemployment -> weaker market -> weaker sales.
Weld argued that Grammer needed to improve the US’s economic “safety nets” such as the Negative Income Tax Rebate, as government interference always breaks the cycle, because letting the cycle run its natural course worsens the human suffering involved.
With Walter Mondale having found himself in a situation much like Grammer’s back in 1978, the former President sat down with Grammer soon after the recession was officially declared, and encouraged the new President to take action from the very start of things, actions that were to the left of Grammer’s party…
– Rick Perlstein’s Majestic Melees: The Trials and Crises of the Fritz Mondale Presidency, Simon & Schuster, 2019
...Wachovia was soon followed by Citibank, then UBA, then Washington Mutual. Despite repeatedly voicing opposition to government bailouts, the heads of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch were soon lobbying for Grammer to approve of interdictions to keep them from faltering like the other major banks. The Board of Merrill Lynch was especially vocal, taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times reading “If we fall, you all will too,” a decision that only worsened their market standing…
– Hanspeter Kriesi and Takis S. Pappas’ In The Shadow of The Great European Recession, ECPR Press, 2021
The libertarian response to recession is to promote private individuals, businesses, religious institutions, and NGOs spending their money to help out their fellow citizens. The primary problem with this idea, of encouraging an unorganized collection of individuals and groups to help people and provide them with decent employment, education, food, housing, and technet access, is that it only occasionally works at the local level and rarely works at even the state level. Those hit hardest by economic slumps require more organized relief efforts that rely more on the responsibilities and obligations of their elected officials than on the whims and moral compulsions of strangers.
During the 2013 recession, referring to by the US Secretary of Commerce R. Severin Fuld as the “Unlucky Recession,” Fuld suggested that government response be delayed for as long as possible, reportedly telling US Secretary of Agriculture Lee Scott “We could drag out responses by saying that more data needs to be collected, and then that we are debating what to do and how to implement solutions. And by that time, the recession will be curing itself.” The notion of letting the economy run its course was allegedly intriguing to the President, but ultimately rejected upon Grammer viewing the statistics concerning how many people were being impacted and were suffering in the short term.
“But government intervention will only make things worse,” allegedly countered the US Secretary of Energy and Technology, wealthy businessman Harold Glenn Hamm of Oklahoma. “For example, if we said we were, say, going to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy, people would just stop borrowing because, well, why borrow now at 5% when you can borrow later at 4%?”
“That is a good point, I’ll admit,” replied Grammer, “But the thing is, Congress is not majority-libertarian. Heck, even the GOP is not majority-libertarian. The people working in the Congressional Building over there – wait, no, over there – they want to take some kind of action. So I think we should – we should work as quickly as possible to reduce regulations that have shown to slow down economic growth.” He ordered, “Everyone check the stats and trends from the 2002 SARS downturn. We can’t just sit back on this, not on something as big and as serious as this.”
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
MCMASTER’S “MASTER PLAN” EYES REGULATION CUTS AMID RECESSION WOES
...The US House’s proposed Emergency Deregulation Bill would reverse the Jackson-Wellstone era regulations that President Grammer claims they are “restricting business growth”…
– The Los Angeles Times, 4/21/2013
“Businesses can pollute, bankers can commit fraud, managers often cheat workers, people can be injured on the job through no fault of their own, and companies can produce unsanitary food and ineffective medicine. Government is meant to minimize all of that damage, not turn a blind eye to all of it.”
– US Rep. and progressive firebrand Alexandra Lugaro (D-PR), 4/24/2013
D.C. DEMOCRATS CALL FOR FEDERAL RESERVE TO INCREASE MONEY SUPPLY
…The Employment Act of 1946 made high employment and stable prices a responsibility of the federal government…
– The Washington Post, 4/25/2013
…a rising number business experts are calling for the federal government to bail out the major banks currently on the verge of financial collapse…
– CBS Evening News, 4/26/2013 broadcast
…Due to Germany’s government and leaders maintaining strongly anti-nationalization policies for decades, their Chancellor had begun privatizing the German banking system at the start of his administration roughly three years earlier. Upon the bank fraud scandal contributing to the start of the recession, Chancellor Schroder worsened the situation by deciding against bailouts across the board. The resulting recession thus turned into a major financial crash for the nation beginning on April 18. All countries connected to Germany scrambled to cut their trading and financial ties as fast as possible in order to avoid being dragged down any further, into a deeper recession, or even a slight depression with this country. In Germany, bonds market stops working, ATMs soon emptied out. A small riot broke out in Munich on April 28. By the end of May, the crisis in Germany peaked with 40% of all German companies within Germany declaring bankruptcy. Mass unemployment, and even talks of revolution, began to dominate daily discussions. For several more weeks, further small outbreaks of rioting engulfed city streets, and countrysides developed a “bunker” mentality not seen since the SARS pandemic…
– Hanspeter Kriesi and Takis S. Pappas’ In The Shadow of The Great European Recession, ECPR Press, 2021
Businessman KEVIN O’LEARY: “We need the government to step in and do its job to protect American investors.”
Journalist ANDERSON COOPER: “But wouldn’t bailing out the big banks undermine the very concept of free enterprise?”
O’LEARY: “No, because free enterprise cannot prosper and flourish without an economy, and if the major companies collapse, there will be no major company of which to speak.”
– CBS roundtable discussion, 4/28/2013 broadcast
…The impact that the “EU Recession” had on a European country depended on how closely said country was to the European Union. …The countries most loyal and compliant to EU guidelines and regulations (70% and up), were Sweden, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Austria, France, the UK and Czechoslovakia. These countries contrasted with those that were the least loyal and compliant to said guidelines and regulations (40% and down): Romania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Latvia, Luxembourg, Greece and Malta… [5]
– clickopedia.co.usa/2013_European_Recession
…Due to Spain already suffering a weak economy in the wake of financial problems of their own in regards their post-SARS economy growing so quickly that inflation was becoming a major worry, when Germany’s economy entered recession, Spain’s was the next one on the continent to “fall.” …Farther overseas, the growing autocratic regime in Tajikistan turned out to be a paper tiger, as the recession raging across Europe caused the Europe-reliant economic system of Tajikistan to collapse!...
– Paul van den Noord’s A Continent In Crisis: Europe During The 2013-2014 Recession Era, Routledge, 2018
GRAMMER, TREASURY SECRETARY, OTHER FINANCIAL LEADERS AND ADVISORS CONVENE AT CAMP DAVID TO WORK ON REDUCING RECESSION IMPACT
[pic: imgur.com/2MUxKym.png ]
– The Boston Globe, 5/1/2013
“…Nobody can know what an incoming cash flow will be because nobody can accurately predict future economic activity. Because of this, the Balanced Budget Amendment works with budget projections more so than on hard figures. And as a result of that, the US Congress is able to tamper and tinker with said projections. One possible saving grace is the fact that the B.B.A. does allow the U.S. Congress to suspend the B.B.A.’s budget requirements in times of national crisis such as war and financial crisis. Unfortunately, the amendment's biggest proponents in the US Senator, backed by former Senator Ronald Paul of Texas, a Republican libertarian, are blocking the clause from being invoked. The Senators believe invoking it create a dangerous precedent and lead to the clause being used in every single year of every Democratic administration. However, it is possible for congress to pass a law to reduce the number of votes needed to invoke the clause, but that law may take a while to go through the legislative process in the face of such conservative stonewalling…”
– TON, 5/2/2013 news report
With deficit spending being pretty much impossible due to the restrictions of the BBA, an alternative solution was reached.
“A whopping $1trillion in tax relief for working Americans, essentially giving tax money back to the people, to encourage consumer spending so the people can spend, spend, spend their way out of a recession!” Grammer exclaimed, “Good ol’ supply and demand shall win the day!”
“But what about the banks, Mr. President?” asked Commerce Secretary R. Severin Fuld.
“I think we should let them go belly-up,” Grammer nodded to his own idea very matter-of-factly.
Fuld was shocked, “What?!”
Grammer defended his stance. “In the words of Colonel Sanders, ‘There’s no such thing as a bank too big to fail.’ [6] I’m not backing this idea for the sake of libertarianism, mind you – I’m doing this for the people.”
Fuld protested, “But Mr. President, the banks crashing will plummet the economy even further, possibly right into a depression. The number of job losses with skyrocket from 2,000 a month to 50,000 a month at the very least! You have to bail out the big banks because that’s where most of the nation’s money lies!”
Grammer gave him a hypothetical. “Then how about we bail out the big bank and the small banks, too?”
“Bailing out the small banks won’t do anything significant,” answered Fuld.”
Federal Reserve Chair Henry Paulson joined Commerce Secretary Fuld in opposing bailing out small businesses. “If we don’t help out those at the top, we will have breadlines and crimes waves. The NITR just won’t be able to cover everyone!”
Brown offered his two cents, “Bailing out the banks would take a huge chunk out of the US national budget, so we could pin the lack of bailouts on the BBA.”
Fuld asked, “I thought you support the BBA.”
“I do. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hide behind it when we have to,” Brown explained. “I love my dogs, but don’t think I don’t blame the nearest one whenever I rip a fart!”
“Crass analogies aside, the American people deserved a government that has their banks,” Grammer remarked.
“But we would support the people by supporting the banks,” Fuld countered.
Treasury Secretary Bill Weld shook his head, “I disagree. Banks failing would make for short-term pain but long-term gain.”
Paulson, “Hold on. Not bailing out the top banks would be in violation of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913!”
“Martinez, is that true?” Grammer asked the US Attorney General.
“Um,” Susana contemplated for a quick moment, “I don’t think so. That piece of legislation created the twelve Federal Reserve banks, none of which are being discussed here. So, uh, Paul, with all due respect, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”
“You mean a politician is doing some bulls#!ttin’? What a shocker!” Brown sarcastically explained with a grin and a gravely chuckle.
Grammer ignored the crack and assessed the situation. “News reports on the crisis are raising the prospect of empty ATMs and checks uncashed. There have even been stories in major media outlets about the bank runs of 1929. But no such scenario is in the cards this time around, is there?”
Weld answered. “Unlike 1929, we have the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC was created precisely to prevent the sort of bank runs that were common during the Great Depression and earlier financial panics. The FDIC is very good at taking over a failed bank to ensure that checks are honored and ATMs keep working. In fact, the FDIC has already taken over several major banks and many minor ones during this ‘Unlucky Recession,’ as many are calling it. Business can carry on as normal and most customers – unless they follow the news closely – can remain completely unaware that their bank has gone belly-up in all this.”
“And if the big banks do collapse?”
“It will stretch the FDIC staff too thin!” answered Fuld.
“Then we just hire more people. With all the banks falling, a lot of financial people will be looking for work,” answered Brown.
Grammer turned to his VP, “that’s actually a good idea.”
“But it’s socialism!” Paulson exclaimed.
“It is?” asked Brown, “I thought it was helping people out.”
Weld then said to Fuld and Paulson, “If bank collapses become more widespread, it is certainly possible that there would be glitches at the FDIC that could lead to some people being unable to access bank accounts immediately, but that inconvenience will most likely last for a few days, not weeks or months.
The Great Depression ended because of the massive government spending needed to fight World War II. But we don’t need a war to spend money. Granted we could increase spending in the war in Sudan, but that’s beside the point. The point I’m making here, ladies and gentlemen, is that if the private sector is not creating enough demand for workers, the government can fill the gap by spending money on infrastructure, education, healthcare, child care or many other needs. [7]
“Also,” Chief Economic Policy Advisor Mary Meeker sided with Weld, “Until the Great Depression, not bailing out banks was official US policy. Runs on the banks are not major things anymore because FDIC insurance allows it so when a bank is wiped out, the people aren’t wiped out with it.”
“Economic collapse doesn’t prevent government from spending the money needed to restore employment and build the economy back up…right?” Brown asked sincerely.
Fuld brushed away the Vice President’s question to again try and convince Grammer to reconsider his decision. “Lots of congressmen on the hill are gravely certain the bailouts are necessary.”
“Yes, I already know that corporate lobbyists have gotten to a lot of the hill’s congressmen,” he answered.
“Would more tariffs help?” Brown spoke up a bit more.
“Given that they never do in times like this, I’m to have to say no, Harley, they won’t,” Meeker said kindly but certainly and decisively.
“Hey, just a thought,” Brown raised his hands, almost sheepishly.
“Look, this isn’t the end of the world,” Grammer said. “Look at the stats again; this is only slightly worse than the crash of ’78.”
“So as long as we don’t tighten the money supply, raise interest rates or allow banks to fail by the thousands, we should be fine, right?” Brown.
“Right,” answered Weld. “The biggest problem, it seems, would actually be the commercial paper market. With people not being able to borrow for a short while, even small businesses won’t be able to meet payroll or pay suppliers. That is the disaster we have to avoid.”
“How?” Grammer asked Weld.
“By bailing out small businesses. I say, if you want to go the libertarian route, then the bigger the corporation, the smaller the assistance,” Weld answered.
“I like that,” Grammer nodded in approval. “And Paulson, the Federal Reserve can announce a special lending facility to buy commercial paper, ensuring the availability of credit for businesses.” Grammer walked to the front of the room, tired, and running his hand over his balding head. “Okay, so here’s the bottom line – the downturn may become more severe immediately, but it will rebound faster if we bail out the big banks. End of discussion.”
Fuld went “But sir –”
“End of discussion,” Grammer reiterated.
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
EXTRA! GRAMMER SACKS HIS SECRETARY OF COMMERCE!
…US Commerce Secretary and former CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. R. Severin Fuld has been accused of ignoring crucial signs of imminent economic recession in the weeks and even months leading up the market contractions… Fuld also reportedly disagreed with the President on how to proceed with recession relief efforts, with two separate sources claiming that Fuld supported bailing out large banks but not American workers or even small banks… At the press briefing, Fuld simply remarked that he and the President had “agreed to go in separate directions.” Fuld did not take any questions and could not be reached for comment…
– The Chicago Tribune, 5/6/2013
…Upon returning from Camp David, President Grammer announced his $1trillion tax relief plan and his push for the proposed 5%-across-the-board tax cut bill. As for bank bailouts, Grammer announced his support for a majority-Democrat-sponsored Senate bill to bailout small banks but not major banks. Such a bill had already been introduced in the Senate, but now it had received Grammer’s greenlight. The situation led to it being pushed through committee and hearings with emergency sessions. Senate Democrats slipped in caps on executive compensations for small businesses bailed out prior to its advancing to the House, where Speaker McMaster was more critical of its composition.
Republican reaction to his decisions were split. While the GOP held a majority of seats in both chambers, enough Libertarian Republicans broke ranks in each chamber to deny the proposed bailout bill passage, striking it down by narrow margins in both the House and the Senate by the end of the month. Denying corporations a pass at facing the consequences of their actions sent corporate lobbyists reeling; in the media, some financial talking heads even began calling for Grammar to be impeached for “dooming” the US to experiencing a second Great Depression…
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
“Well, that’s one way to break up The Big Banks.”
– media mogul Bern Sanders, 5/9/2013 radio appearance
“A recession is two consecutive quarters of decline in national income. Sales go down, production goes down, and unemployment goes up. Now in a situation like that, you would think that our Mayor would do the sensible thing and impose rent caps. But did that happen? No! So now we have employment too damn low. The economic recovering going too damn slow, and the rent is still – guess what – too damn high!”
– NY politician and NYC Mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, 5/11/2013
…with Europe seemingly falling apart, President Grammar is reportedly working tirelessly to try and minimize the fallout in American markets, meeting with officials from the Treasury and Commerce Departments almost every day and cancelling exercise sessions to make more room for meetings with congressional leaders. However, it is still unknown just how effective his efforts to curtail the ongoing economic onslaughts will be…
[pic: imgur.com/GeE2rLX.png ]
– The Washington Post, 5/12/2013
DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: Grammer Talks Strategy With European Powers In Several Large Group-VidCalls
– Associated Press, 5/13/2013
…And now for some more good news! In the beautiful city of Omaha, Nebraska, Republican woman-of-the-people and registered nurse Jean Stathert was won the mayor’s seat, unseating the corrupted Democratic incumbent and bringing an end to twelve years of liberal tyranny over this great city on the Great Plains…
– The Herring Network, 5/14/2013 broadcast
Mayors of OMAHA (Nebraska)
1973-1987: 44) Edward Zorinsky (R until 1976, then D; 1928-1987) – city’s first Jewish mayor; former business manager and operator; previously served on the Board of Directors for the city’s Public Power District from 1969 to 1973; hailed for his response to the Omaha tornado season of 1975; failed in his attempts to win higher office in 1976, 1978, and 1980; died in office from a sudden heart attack at the age of 58
1973: James Dworak (D)
1977: Robert G. Cunningham (R)
1981: Albert L. Veys (R, 1919-2002)
1985: Bill Krejci (R) and Betty Abbott (I)
1987-1987: 45) Stephen H. Tomasek, Jr. (R, 1920-2001) – previously served on the city council from 1977 to 1987; ascended to the mayor’s seat due to being next-in-line as head of the city council (since 1985); retired and served on the city council again from 1989 to 1999
1987-1988: 46) Bernard R. “Bernie” Simon (D, 1927-1988) – won a special election to complete Zorinsky’s final term; previously served on the city council; died in office from cancer at the age of 60
1987 (special): P. J. Morgan (R), Isabel Cohen (I) and Mort Sullivan (I)
1988-1989: 47) Fred L. Conley (D, b. 1948) – city’s first African-American mayor; previously served on the city council; ascended to the mayor’s seat due to being next-in-line as head of the city council (since 1987); retired
1989-2001: 48) Richard Takechi (R, 1937-2011) – city’s first Japanese-American mayor; previously worked as a jeweler and business developer; previously served on the city council from 1977 to 1981 and again from 1985 to 1989; retired to unsuccessfully run for Governor in 2002
1989: Walt M. Calinger (D) and Mort Sullivan (I)
1993: Sebastian A. “Subby” Anzaldo (D, 1933-2019) and Mort Sullivan (I)
1997: Marc Kraft (D), Lou Lamberty (I) and Mort Sullivan (I)
2001-2009: 49) Fred L. Conley (D, b. 1948) – served in the state House from 1995 to 2001; retired; has been serving in the state senate since 2011
2001: Harold John “Hal” Daub Jr. (R, b. 1941)
2005: James Vokal JR. (R), Mort Sullivan (I) and Randy William Brown (I)
2009-2013: 50) Brenda Council (D, b. 1955) – city’s first female mayor, second African-American mayor, and first female African-American mayor; previously worked as the chief labor counsel for Union Pacific Railroad; previously handled unfair labor practice charges as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board of Kansas City; previously served on the Omaha Board of Education from 1983 to 1989, on the city council from 1989 to 1997, in the state House from 1997 to 2003, and in the state senate from 2003 to 2009; lost re-election; was elected to the U.S. House in a special election in 2018, and serving from 2018 until losing re-election to a second full term (and third term overall) in 2020 in an upset; has expressed interest in running for public office again in 2022
2009: Dave Friend (R, b. 1959), Dan Welch (Conservative) and Brad Ashford (Moderate Democratic, b. 1949)
2013-present: 51) Jean Stothert (R, b. 1954) – city’s second female mayor; previously worked as a critical care nurse and nursing manager; previously served on the city council from 2007 to 2013; incumbent; has expressed interest in running for Governor in 2022
2013: Brenda Council (D), Dave Nabity (Conservative) and Maura DeLuca (Workers’)
2017: Heath Mello (D, b. 1979), Christopher N. Geary (Conservative) and Ean Mikale (Workers’)
2021: Kimara Snipe (D), Taylor Royal (Conservative), Mark Gudgel (Liberal) and Jasmine L. Harris (Workers’)
– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 7/4/2021
DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER BLAMES GERMAN BANKS FOR US RECESSION
…“They broke the trust of the German people, and because we all trade with one another, we all are now paying for their corruption and greed,” US Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) said to reporters earlier today…
– The Star-Ledger, 5/15/2013
…Russia, meanwhile, was doing rather well, as their President at the time has been wary of developing close ties to the EU ever since entering office in 2005. With the vigorous work of his economic team, the nation seemingly warded off, or at least delayed, a major recession from crippling its economy by, as it turned out, just a few more years…
– Hanspeter Kriesi and Takis S. Pappas’ In The Shadow of The Great European Recession, ECPR Press, 2021
…times of economic and political turmoil have a way of turning people to gardening. Families begin establishing small crop production areas in front yards or back yards. Communities start to share vegetation spots and growing tips to help each other generate food and keep each other grounded in some sense of certainty during uncertain times. During World War Two, 40% of the United State’s produce came from privately-run-and-maintained Victory Gardens, and similar production trends were recorded during the SARS pandemic.
If you or a loved one is struggling during this time and is expecting the recession to last for a good long while, maybe time is ripe for planting some late-blooming crops. We suggest starting off with the fastest-growing crop, the radish…
– outdoorsman.co.usa, 5/17/2013 article
…the UN International Tribunal Court’s Head Prosecutor has officially filed ten charges of war crimes against Sudan’s incumbent President Omar al-Bashir, including three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. Al-Bashir is the first incumbent head of state to charged with such crimes since the implementation of the Gaddafi Protocol Rules in 1985…
– BBC News, 5/18/2013 report
STATE ASSEMBLYPERSON STEPS DOWN IN THE WAKE OF A SEXUAL PESTERING LAWSUIT!
– The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio newspaper, 5/19/2013
JAMES HAHN WINS RE-ELECTION
…incumbent Mayor of Los Angeles and former businessperson James Hahn (D) has won a second mayor term over B-list Hollywood actor and city councilman Eric Garcetti (D). With a margin of victory of roughly 3%, the race was much closer it was initially expected to be, arguably due to Garcetti’s recurring claims that Mayor Hahn is not doing enough to address the city’s economic downturn… Hahn and Garcetti had come in first and second place, respectively, in the March 5 blanket primary election, defeating Rick J. Caruso (R), Paul Krekorian (D), Norton Sandler (Natural Mind) and other candidates...
– The Los Angeles Times, 5/21/2013
“Some analysts think that the UNIT-Court’s indictment is counterproductive and harms the quote-unquote ‘peace’ process. In their defense, it’s only been a few days since the indictment, and already conditions in the displaced camps and POW camps in Sudan are deteriorating. But on the other hand, it may just help inhibit other would-be dictators because the UN is attempting to, essentially, criminalize warfare. And criminalizing something as criminal as warfare is not a vice, in my opinion.”
– Former US Secretary of Defense Susan Livingstone, 5/21/2013 interview
POPEYES ADDS 3 NEW SANDWICHES TO MENU TO COMPETE IN RISING CHICKEN WARS
…Popeyes is launching a new line of sandwiches next month in an effort to win over customers in the newest fast food chicken war. The company announced today that the new offerings will be available nationally on June 23: The Dynamo, topped with pickles and served on a potato roll, the Spicero, which adds a spicy pepper sauce, and the Sweetero, which comes with lettuce, tomatoes, and honey mustard. The company likely hopes that these new products will draw in more traffic to its locations. “Lots of fast food joints lose customers to bigger competitors like McDonald’s and KFC, so they are hoping to win customers back,” says former advertising supervisor for Chick-fil-A Samuel Miller. The new sandwiches are currently being tested in several regional markets. “It is most likely that Popeyes’ investors anticipate good turnaround from these new offerings,” says Miller. “The growing category of consumer interest in chicken sandwiches likely presents a significant opportunity for improvement for many chains. For Chick-fil-A, it’s reputation; for Popeyes,’ it’s recognition”…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 5/22/2013
The UK Stock Market Is Collapsing, But Scotland Is Bearing The Brunt Of It
– The Wall Street Journal, side article, 5/24/2013
“…And in Washington, D.C., in another reported ‘reshuffling’ of his administration, President Grammer has fired Federal Reserve Chair Henry Paulson, allegedly for ‘overlooking’ recession warning signs…”
– TON, 5/25/2013 news broadcast
TAX RELIEF BILL NARROWLY PASSES SENATE, 55-49
…the tax cut margin is 5% across the board, with an extra 1% cut for businesses that double their number of full-time employees, supplements the $2trillion in tax relief... The bill was worked on alongside a much larger omnibus package what should be voted on in a month if the Senate and House stick to their respective schedules…as government spending is a more powerful tool to fight recession, the federal government also announced today that it has signed a contract with an office supplies chain in order to keep open several factories in the US that develop items such as cabinets and desks. The Defense Department has similar plans reportedly underway, according to the Press Secretary of the US Department of Defense…
– The Washington Post, 5/26/2013
MOTHER-POST: Actrx/Actrxs – A New Term For Actors And Actresses?
I keep seeing people use this gender-neutral term for thespians/performers. It’s not confined to technet sites. Places like the L.A. Times, the Hollywood Reporter, usarightnow.co.usa, and Tumbleweed have been using them, too. Is this a thing now? And how the heck do you pronounce it?
>REPLY 1:
Who cares about this when there’s a frickin’ recession going on?!
>REPLY 1 to REPLY 1:
People tend to try and take their minds off of things that they alone can’t do anything about. It doesn’t always lead to them putting their minds on something constructive or positive or even good, you know.
>REPLY 2:
I think you pronounce it “ak-trix” and “ak-trix-es,” if you see what I mean. Does this help?
– euphoria.co.usa, a public pop-culture news-sharing and chat-forum-hosting netsite, 5/27/2013 posting
GOVERNOR TOM GOLISANO SWITCHES FROM INDEPENDENT TO REPUBLICAN TO SUPPORT GRAMMER: Says He Support’s The President’s “Inspiring” Efforts to Combat Recession
– The New York Times, 5/29/2013
May 30, 2013: the Federal Reserve lends insurance giant AIC $70billion in exchange for 82% of its stock
– washingtonpost.co.usa/timelines/the_unlucky_recession
…The people of United Vietnam voted in a new President today. Two-term incumbent Nguyen Thien Nhan of the Order and Stability Party lost a bid for a third term to challenger Viet D. Dinh of the Safe Center Party. Both candidates had received pluralities in the nation’s blanket primary held on the 16th, preventing the race’s original frontrunner, the nominee of the Strength Through Peace, from advancing to today’s runoff election…
– BBC World News, 31/5/2013 broadcast
GRAMMER’S GAMBLE: Backs Cuts To UHC, Farm Aid To Pay For Stimulus Package
...the large omnibus package will trigger billions of dollars in reductions to critical social programs in order for it to not violate the Balanced Budget Amendment. “I believe this bill package is in line and in step with the Founding Father’s idea of limited taxation,” says Senator Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who noted to reporters yesterday that, under the limitations of the BBA, Congress must offset the cost of each piece of legislation they pass, which was not a major concern during the previous ten years of economic growth, but now could seriously impact economic recovery.
“I am very concerned about this bill,” counters the Budget Chair of the US House. The situation is complicated because both parties are divided to some degree on approving the proposed bill. “It is possible that some Republicans may split and join the Democrats in calling for stronger bill.”
One senior aide to a longtime Senator, though, claims that provisions to avert the programming cuts could be added to must-pass BBA-related legislation such as annual spending bills. However, this would be at the expense of the taxpayers. “The damn BBA could inhibit alleviation and in doing so damage long-term economic growth to such a degree that it could ironically worsen spending and debt conditions for the federal government!”
– Associated Press, 6/1/2013
FRESNO ELECTION RESULTS: Former Mayor Falls As GOP Stays In Charge
…The mayor-elect will be sworn in on July 1…
– The Sacramento Union, 6/1/2013
Mayors of FRESNO (California)
1989-1997: 21) Karen Humphrey (D, b. 1945) – former local news reporter; previously served on the city council from 1979 to 1987; city’s first female mayor; controversially reform property tax laws, adjusted election dates and method (making Fresno one of the first major cities to adopt Ranked-Choice Voting), adjusted term limits, and passed campaign finance law reform during her second term; term-limited; later served in the US House from 1999 to 2009
1988: Dale Doig (D, b. 1935)
1992: Norwood James Patterson Jr. (R, b. 1948)
1997-2005: 22) Michael Erin Woody (R) – businessman; focused on tax cuts, deregulation, and supporting city police to support the War on Recreadrugs; re-elected in a landslide amid minor, scattered opposition; term-limited; later elected to the state senate
1997: Dale Doig (D), James “Jim” Lanas (I) and Lewis A. Jackson (I)
2001: Chris Mathys (I), Garry Bredefeld (I), Sal Quintero (I) and Daniel Ronquillo (I)
2005-2013: 23) Barbara Ann Hunt (R) – previously served on the city council from 1999 to 2005; was an ally of Mayor Woody; term-limited
2005: Sue Saigal (I), Michael Eagles (I) and Johnny Nelum (I)
2009: Henry T. Perea (D, b. 1977), Jerry Duncan (I), Barbara Ann Hunt (I), Tom Boyajian (I), Ignacio C. Garbibay (I) and Henry M. Montreal (I)
2013-2021: 24) Richard Renteria (R) – former insurance broker; term-limited
2013: Karen Humphrey (D), Joe Garcia Jr. (I), Rick Morse (I)
2017: Henry R. Perea (D), Doug Vagim (R)
2021-present: 25) Andrew Janz (D) – city’s first Asian-American mayor; previously served as a county D.A. prosecutor; incumbent, having entered office just three days ago
2021: Nickolas Wildstar (Liberty), Brian Jefferson (I) and Floyd D. Harris Jr. (I)
– clickopedia.co.usa, 7/4/2021
[pic: imgur.com/rsk2PUs.png ]
– A fleet of Toyota Land Cruisers, used as 'technicals' on both sides of the war, carry Darfur militia members past locals in a small village outside of Nyala, southern Darfur, 6/2/2013 (source: National Geographic)
“…At this point, the stimulus package is the merger of Senator Hillyard’s stimulus proposal, introduced days after the recession was declared, and Grammer’s original Tax Overhaul proposal for multiple tax cuts…”
– Jim Tankersley, political analyst, NBC roundtable discussion, 6/3/2013
President Grammer’s Approval Ratings:
DISAPPROVE: 43%
APPROVE: 42%
UNCERTAIN: 15%
– Gallup polling, 6/4/2013 report
June 5, 2013: the Director of the Congressional Budget Office tells the House Budget Committee on live national television that a Wall Street bailout plan, proposed by several members of congress and backed by many financial analysts, could actually worsen the recession
– washingtonpost.co.usa/timelines/the_unlucky_recession
…In June 2013, MF Global (known as Man Group and Man Financial until 2007) finally relented and filed for bankruptcy after months of investigations at the federal and state levels. …The former CEO of the global financial derivatives broker/commodities brokerage firm continued to deny knowing of the company’s conspiracy to commit capital requirements fraud that led to MF Global’s insolvency despite his signature appearing on recovered documents revealing balance sheet discrepancies that had led to its subsequent liquidity crisis over accounts outstanding. However, the former Board of Director Chairman for MF Global did admit to a $700million transfer from customer accounts to subsidiaries to mask liquidity shortfalls. …When President Grammer expressed reluctance to bail out the company due to its leaders’ “criminal betrayal of their customers’ trust in them,” as he put it, the company fails to switch registration and headquarters to Bermuda, worsening their own legal issues…
[pic: imgur.com/LkmYjbH.png ]
– clickopedia.co.usa
MORGAN STANLEY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AS LEADING U.S. BANKS STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT
…the federal government’s subjectively callous and irresponsible decision to not bail out the major banking companies hurt hard by the recession has forced a dramatic reconfiguration of Wall Street policies. Unable to rely on the federal government in their hour of need, banks are loaning each other funds in an effort to ward off their demises, which would be terrible for the economy of the nation and the world…
– The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/2013
…So far, the French Air Force have reported losing only one plane, a Rafale, to Sudanese government forces, and the US and Italian militaries have reportedly not lost a single plane. …French, US and Italian stations in the neighboring states of Chad, Ethiopia and Djibouti are currently being used as key launch points for military operations meant to defend Darfur and South Sudan from further Sudanese aggression…
– CBS Evening News, 6/8/2013 broadcast
JIMI HENDRIX IS DEAD, AGE 70
Adjouan, THE SANWI KINGDOM – Jimi Hendrix, the singer-songwriter of several hits such as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” “Wayward Slope,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Don’t Lose Control (Of Your Life)” who was known for becoming an official Crown Prince of a small African country in the 1990s, has passed away at the age of 70. Hendrix, b. 1942, passed away in his sleep at the Hendrix Royal Palace in Adjouan. According to his family’s spokesperson, Hendrix died from the long-term effects of Hendrix experimenting with hard drugs during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, compounded by a recent bout with an unspecified fever indigenous to the region.
Hendrix officially became Jimi I, the Crown Prince of The Sanwi Kingdom, on June 7, 1995, and served on the partially ceremonial throne for almost exactly eighteen years, during which time the singer-songwriter-turned-monarch, with the support of the Sanwi Governing Council and its head, King Amon N’Douffou IV, pushed for the country to westernize in order to bring in tourism from the US, Canada and other nations. Ahead of this, he oversaw road development and the hiring of African-American tutors to teach the kingdom’s teacher in order to improve school education.
Also serving as the Master of Ceremonies for the spring and harvest festivals year after year, Hendrix reportedly would often play guitar for his citizens. His last album, Tender Hurricane, release in 2004 over twelve years after his last album was released, blended his earlier sound with the traditional music of the Sanwi people.
It is most likely that Hendrix’s oldest son, Hosea Williams Hendrix (b. 1972) will now ascend to the semi-ceremonial position as Crown Prince Hosea I...
– The Los Angeles Times, 6/11/2013
NEW FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR AGREES TO HOLD BANKS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ACCOUNTS FRAUD SCHEME
Washington, D.C. – The new Federal Reserve Chair, former White House OMB Director and former Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff, today acknowledged the Fed’s decision to hold responsible the Board members of several American banks whose allegedly illegal actions may have worsened the recession in the United States.
Rogoff today announced that the Federal Reserve will freeze the monetary growth capabilities of several billion-dollar banks “until they are proven to be trustworthy,” in a major detraction from the Grammer administration’s overall anti-regulations policies…
– The Washington Post, 6/12/2013
“Should the President be impeached for negligence? More about this after a word from our sponsor…”
– THN, 6/13/2013 broadcast
…In 2012, incumbent Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini (CNA) lost majority control amid economic instability, and was replaced by the much more liberal Bobo Craxi (NSA), whose policies were controversial for their allegedly “overreaching” nature. As the new Prime Minister began his tenure, Italian citizens were highly anxious. The tension and uncertainty of Italy’s future heightened even further when Craxi appointed Alessandra Mussolini, the literal granddaughter of dictator Benito Mussolini, to head the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Fortunately for her, Mussolini’s plan to steadily lead recovery efforts in order to not shock the nation’s markets were supported by most politicians. Her biggest critics, it seemed, were young technetters who joked about her genealogy ontech, primarily via lafpics…
– Paul van den Noord’s A Continent In Crisis: Europe During The 2013-2014 Recession Era, Routledge, 2018
By June 18, the economy was no longer on the verge of economic freefall, but it was not improving quickly as expected. Complicating the issue was the fact that the major banks continued to react to Grammer’s refusal to bail them out in damaging ways. Despite their lobbyist’s best efforts, The Cavalry wasn’t coming, and so the giants left standing began loaning each other nonexistent funds in a matter that was threatening to worsen the situation. Conservative and moderate Republicans in congress again sought to pass a bill to bail out the big banks that month, but were again blocked by their more adamantly-libertarian coworkers.
As a result of these developments, when President Grammar awoke on the morning of June 25, he took several phone calls and vidcalls before joining his wife for breakfast. First Lady Marissa decided to enjoy freshly diced mixed fruit with a half grapefruit and a small bowl of oatmeal, while the President went for a much heartier meal – a western omelet with hot cakes and creamed chipped beef on the side, buttered toast, and a copious amount of coffee.
“Well this is a rarity! When was the last time we managed to sit down together like this? A month ago?” Observed the First Lady. “My schedule has been so busy lately, it’s ridiculously, really.”
The President shifted his posture, then began gyrating his shoulder blades. A small groan of discomfort caught Marissa’s ear.
“You alright, honey?”
“I’ve been better,” her husband said. “I was up all night working on political junk. Now I have this odd pain between my shoulder blades. And my neck’s all in knots. I must have slept in a very weird position last night or something.”
“Maybe you should clear your schedule to take in some stretching and yoga,” Marissa suggested. “Maybe you can get a massage therapist – a legit one, mind you.”
“I’ll be fine, lovely. Besides, I can’t clear my schedule. I still have a lot of work to do. Lots of people to meet, lots of whom could very easily accuse me of favoritism if I met with others but not with them.”
“That’s just ridiculous,” Marissa sighed, shaking her head as she scooped up another small spoonful of citrus.
“No, these people are ridiculous, sweetie!” He exclaimed with frustration. “Did I tell you about all the lobbyists crawling around D.C.? So many of these lawmakers are in the pockets of some of the biggest brands in the world. And yet they keep asking for government handouts. And to make matters worse, some don’t even like the idea of poorer people getting the handouts. Who are these warped people? Where do they come from? It’s ridiculous! I’m trying to protect the working class from losing everything they own, while all with creeping peons roam about looking for weak prey to sacrifice to the out-of-touch evil-Niles-Crane-like CEOs pocketing nearly 300 times their worker’s salaries.”
Marissa smirked, but in a sitcom-like way, not in a mean-spirited manner, “Says the man who was paid nearly a million bucks per episode of Frasier!”
“That was different,” the ranting Head-of-State countered, “I wasn’t paying passing around ill-gotten kickbacks like Deutsche Bank or stealing that money right out of the till like what MF Global got caught doing.” Before he could continue his kvetching, the President suddenly put his right hand to his forehead and let out a sharp exhale.
“Honey?”
“Whoo,” Grammar grabbed a glass of water and took a generous gulp. “Lightheadedness. Huh. I really must have slept poorly last night!”
“Your running yourself ragged, honey bear. Don’t overextend yourself on this!”
“But we’ve got to get that bill passed and – Ooh.” He now suddenly turned, almost flinching, to his left elbow. He grabbed his left again.
“What is it?” There was a serious and worried tone in Marissa’s voice.
With an uncharacteristically shaky tone, Grammer utter, “That, uh, that was odd. It was like a, um, a sharp pain in my left arm.”
“Is it gone?”
“Not…really…Gah!”
The Secret Service rushed over as soon as the President fell out of his chair, rending his breakfast platter airborne and prompting Marissa to leave her own seat to rush to her husband’s side.
“Someone get the President some water,” barked head Serviceperson Chaffetz.
First Lady Marissa called him over “Jason!”
The color was leaving Grammar’s face.
“Medic!” Chaffetz amended his request
As the other agents converged onto the area, Marissa could hear one of the servicepersons speak worriedly into his wrist: “Sojourn is down, Sojourn is down!”
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
NOTE(S)/SOURCE(S)
[1] Italicized lines were pulled from here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...rump-calls-rest-washington-clowns/3691179002/
[2] Rafael Edward Cruz was never born ITTL because, as mentioned all the way back in one of the 1960s chapters, Cruz’s father was killed defending his birth country during The Cuban War of the 1960s
[3] All of the chunks of italicized passages here were pulled from this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_initiative
[4] Italicized lines pulled from the Wikipedia article on the OTL conflict
[5] Composition is similar, but not identical, to OTL
[6] The Colonel said this bit on March 7, 1978 in this timeline
[7] Italicized lines pulled from the Los Angeles Times op-ed article “The bank bailout of 2008 was unnecessary. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke scared Congress into it”
The next chapter’s E.T.A.: very soon!
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