Co-authored with Bookmark 1995
Friday, January 20, 1989
Chief Justice Strom Thurmond gives the Oath of Office to President-elect Pat Robertson. Observers note that Thurmond looks a little morose. Of more immediate note is the fact that outgoing President Jeremiah Denton chooses not to attend his successor’s inauguration. This is the first time this has occurred since 1921, when Woodrow Wilson did not attend Warren G. Harding’s inaugural (that was due to Wilson’s illness). This occasion more closely resembles the situations when John Adams (1801), John Q. Adams (1829) and Andrew Johnson (1869) did not attend their successor’s inaugural due to animosity. (Before the inaugural, the Dentons had refused to receive the Robertsons for tea at the White House, a situation which had last occurred in 1953 when the Trumans had declined to receive the Eisenhowers).
Thurmond: Sir, are you ready to take the Oath.
Robertson: I am.
Thurmond: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Marion Gordon Robertson do solemnly swear...
Robertson: I, Marion Gordon Robertson do solemnly affirm…
Thurmond: That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States...
Robertson: That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States...
Thurmond: And will to the best of your ability...
Robertson: And will to the best of my ability...
Thurmond: Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States...
Robertson: Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States...
Thurmond: So help you God.
Robertson: Absolutely, so guide me in they will, oh mighty God!
Thurmond: Congratulations, Mr. President.
Transcript of Pat Robertson's Inaugural Address
My fellow Americans, I humbly take-up this great office in accord with God’s almighty will and in His name. I am but a man, an acting President, acting in His name and according to His will. For truly Jesus Christ himself is our Eternal President in heart and in deed, and should be so inscribed in our law, to proclaim that these United States are truly the Christian States of America. I act according to His will, humbly submitting myself to His service, and hold this office by His grace and according to His will.
As the Psalmist records: “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart."
My fellow Americans, my fellow believers, today marks the end of a horrific storm. A storm powered by sin, avarice, and apostasy. For the past fifty years, the great American nation has suffered the hardships of poverty, injustice and a declined of our national spirit created by division and a loss of a solid moral footing.
Today, for many of our fellow citizens to obtain the bare necessities of life is in itself a tremendous struggle. That this should happen in a nation that but a generation ago enjoyed greater peace and prosperity than anywhere else on this globe is a sign of how far we have fallen.
There is one answer to our current misery, our current state of affairs: Godlessness.
By adopting a wretched swill of relativism, moral equivocation and by forgetting the very values by which this great Christian nation was founded we have opened our national heart to being possessed nu the very demons of paganism, homosexuality, addiction, abortion, and feminism.
This has been our great national sin. We have disregarded the word of God himself, and have born a terrible price as a consequence. That this occurred is just, for it is proclaimed in the Bible that all who transgress against the will of God shall suffer the bitter fruits of their sin. So we have been punished, and so we suffer from what our willful, sinful nature brought on ourselves. Our weakness before God has allowed these troubled times to seize us, to strangle our faith, our beliefs, to threaten the structure of our families.
It would be too easy for us to blame one man, or one group of men for this affliction. But this was not the work of one President, or one Congress. Rather it was the work of all Presidents over the last six decades, who allowed the moral rot to infect our national soul, of all Congresses over six decades which passed into laws the abominations which were purposefully set against God’s great ordinances as written in scripture, and of all of us wo aided and abetted this process by voting for the easy, the quick and the comfortable. This is the collective sin of America.
From this day forth, we will not waver in the face of the Almighty, we will remain his warriors, and hunt down sin and vice among us. My father, Absalom Willis Robertson, God’s warrior in the Senate, sought to fight against the elements that sought to disrupt our way off life. As the Good Book says, Honor thy Father, so too will I honor his quest to stamp out the sinners threatening to undo our society.
This is not the easy road, not the quick road. The struggle will be long and hard, the path fraught with difficulty. No sin is purged but with pain, so God himself has taught us, though a sinful and heedless mankind has failed to learn the lesson.
For scripture itself says:
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.”
So today, we take up his cross and follow the path of righteousness. Here, in an ungodly America, and soon enough in an ungodly world. We shall put right on His name what has been made wrong by man’s sinfulness, and we shall be His warriors in the crusade to prepare the world for His return, when His will shall command us all.
Some will say that my words – His words – violate the First Amendment. Some will argue – as they have argued throughout our years of immorality and disgrace – that there must be a wall between belief in God and the state. To them I say, your view of the First Amendment is flawed. To them – and to all of you – I say that the idea of a government without God is a recipe for anarchy and disaster. What shall we make of the First Amendment then? It says Congress shall not establish a religion for the nation. I say to you that we do not call on Congress to establish a religion. Rather the people have spoken, at the ballot box and through the Electoral College – and they have established the religion for this nation, and that is the Christian belief in the one true God. They have chosen obedience to His true ordinances as revealed in scripture. They have chosen God’s great First Amendment – the Bible – freely and unequivocally. We will expect Congress to fulfill their wishes. They will expect Congress to submit to His command.
To the world I say, we are here to do God’s work upon this wretched Earth, and let no one stand in our way, for they will be standing in His way, and mighty will be His wrath against those who dare to stand in His righteous path.
To that end we will continue to support our allies in South Africa, who everyday fight unholy, godless Communism in the on-going struggle to bring a righteous, Christian rule to that savage continent.
To that end, we will end the effort of the past administration to abandon the people of Cuba and return them to the godless thuggery of Communist dictatorship. We will continue the efforts to bring liberty to Cuba, and to spread God’s Holy Word to her people.
Let no one dare to doubt our resolve. Though our land is troubled, we are God’s warriors, and we shall use the might He has gifted us with to face any foe at any place and at any time, to secure His righteous Kingdom for all eternity.
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Tim LaHaye: I see that Robertson used the acting President line.
Coe: Yes, he seemed to agree that it made him seem more of a servant to the Lord than he would claiming the Presidency outright.
LaHaye: But does not calling himself only the acting President weaken him? Look at the debate they had about Gavin’s true status.
Coe: Let them argue over fine points like ancient Pharisees. It is meaningless babble to true believers. But keep in mind, an acting President is easier to replace, and using the title will encumber him and his successors, if we need to encumber them.
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The Cabinet of President Pat Robertson:
Vice President: Steven Symms
Secretary of National Intelligence Coordination and Oversight: Douglas Coe
Secretary of State: Robert Grant
Secretary of Defense: General James Dorman
Secretary of Treasury: Charles Keating
Attorney-General: Edwin Meese
White House Chief of Staff: Tim LaHaye
Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Daniel Pipes
The United States Senate – 101st United States Congress (Jan. 3, 1989-Jan. 3,1991)
All Class 1 seats were up for re-appointment. Because President Rumsfeld had acted aggressively to exercise his appointment power under the 28th amendment in 1986 and 1987, the State Governors seized the opportunity to assert their rights to appoint this group in 1988. The Denton Administration had not moved to block this assertion of the Governor’s rights, seeing it as an opportunity for many Governors who were opposed to the CVs to appoint Senators who would oppose the incoming Robertson Administration. In some states this provided an opening for CV Governors to appoint loyalists, however this was seen as an unavoidable trade-off. President Denton also wanted the Governors to be able to assert their rights in this matter to create a Constitutional precedent that would carry forward into the Robertson Administrations term of office and beyond.
All Class 2 seat holders had been elected (or re-elected) in 1984 and were the last group of Senators to be elected by voters prior to the ratification of the 28th amendment. As such many of the Class 2 Senators came to regard themselves as having a special role as the true voice of the people. This idea began to form a Senatorial alliance that crossed all (except Christian Values) lines. An unresolved question was what would happen in 1990, when these seats came-up for re-appointment. Since President Rumsfeld had acted so aggressively to claim the Class 3 seats, and President Denton had allowed the Governors to claim the Class 1 seats, a battle was expected between the two for the right to fill the Class 2 seats (a situation which had not been clearly spelled out in the 28th amendment as finally adopted). President Denton had hoped that enough Governors would retain enough authority to prevent President Robertson from having a free hand in the matter in 1990.
All Class 3 seat holders had been appointed by President Rumsfeld in 1986 in accordance with the 28th amendment. All had been loyal (or had made it appear they were loyal) to Rumsfeld. After his fall, President Denton had cultivated some allies among this group, while others defected to the Christian Values. Many who did defect had been CV adherents who had been appointed by Rumsfeld – as nominal Republicans – to placate his CV supporters. Others who were “genuine” Republicans (in the sense that their political careers had been within the GOP, some pre-dating Rumsfeld’s election in 1980) had sought a kind of political cover by working with Denton and supporting the Fusion ticket in the 1988 Presidential election. They were not considered to be reliable by the CVs.
Republicans = 70-24 = 46
Democrats = 21-1 = 20
Christian Values = 7+14=21
Libertarians = 2+5=7
Independent = 0+2=2
President of the Senate: Stuart Symms (CV-ID)
President pro-tempore: Birch E. Bayh (D-IN)
(Senator Bayh was chosen for this role as part of an alliance between the anti-Administration Republicans and Democrats in an effort to create a cross-party, anti-CV leadership in the Senate.)
Senate Majority Leader: Donald Dwight (R-MA)
Senate Minority Leader: Gary Howard (CV-LA)
Alabama
2. John Gracen (CV) (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Alaska
2. Donald Hobbs (D) (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Arizona
1. Bruce E. Babbitt (D) – Governor’s appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Arkansas
2. Mike Huckabee**(CV) – Governor’s appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Colorado
2. Ken Kramer [R] (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Connecticut
1. Carl R. Ajello (D) – Governor’s apointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Delaware
1. Michael N. Castle (I) – Governor’s Appointee
2. James Baxter (R) (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Florida
1. A CV member appointed by the Governor
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Georgia
2. John Stokes (R) (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Idaho
2. A. Libertarian (Lib) (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Illinois
3. David O'Neill (R) (Rumsfeld appointee)
2. Judy Koehler [R] (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Indiana
1. Birch E. Bayh (D) – Governor’s appointee
3. Roger Marsh (R) (Rumsfeld appointee)
Iowa
3. Charles Grassley (R) (Rumsfeld appointee)
2. Arthur A. Neu [R] (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Kansas
2. Lucille Biggler [R] (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Kentucky
3. Mary L. Foust (R) (Rumsfeld appointee)
2. Mitch McConnell [R] – - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Louisiana
2. Gary Howard (CV) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Maine
1. George J. Mitchell (D) – Governor’s appointee
2. Llewellyn Smith (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Maryland
1. Harry R. Hughes (D) – Governor’s appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Massachusetts
2. Donald Dwight (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
1. Elliot Richardson (R) (Re-confirmed – Governor’s appointee)
Michigan
1. Governor’s appointee (D)
2. Jack R. Lousma [R] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Minnesota
1. Hubert “Skip” Humphrey III (D) (Re-confirmed- Governor’s appointee)
2. Joan Growe (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Mississippi
1. Governor’s appointee - CV
2. William Winter (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Missouri
1. Governor’s appointee - CV
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
Montana
2. Ronald C. Galtieri (Lib) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
1. Governor’s appointee - Lib
Nebraska
1. Governor’s appointee - Lib
2. Donald Shasteen (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Nevada
1. A Libertarian (Lib) – Governor’s appointee)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
New Hampshire
2. Gordon Humphrey (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
New Jersey
1. Brendon Byrne (D)
2. Mary V. Morachy (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
New Mexico
1. Jeff Bingaman (D)
2. Toney Anaya (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
New York
1. Guy Molinari (R) – Governor’s Appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
North Carolina
2. Jesse Helms (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
North Dakota
1. A Libertarian (Lib) – Governor’s appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Ohio
1. Paul Leonard (D) – Governor’s Appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Oklahoma
2. David L. Boren (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Oregon
2. Denny Smith [R] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Pennsylvania
1. John Murtha (D) – Governor’s Appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Rhode Island
2. Rumsfeld Appointee *** (R)
1. John Chaffee (I) – Reconfirmed; Governor’s appointee
South Carolina
2. Oliver Gilgamesh (CV) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV)
South Dakota
2. Larry Pressler (R) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Tennessee
1. A CV – Governor’s Appointee
2. Victor Ashe [R] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Texas
1. Clayton Williams (CV) ****
2. Phil Gramm [R] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Utah
1. Orrin Hatch (R) –Reconfirmed; Governor’s appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Vermont
1. Rumsfeld Appointee (CV) *****
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Virginia
1. A CV – Governor’s Appointee
2. Stan Parris [R] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Washington
1. Thomas Foley (D) – Governor’s Appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
West Virginia
1. A CV – Governor’s appointee
2. Grim Baylor [CV] - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
Wisconsin
1. Les Aspin (D) – Governor’s Appointee
3. Rumsfeld Appointee (R)
Wyoming
1. A Libertarian (Lib) – Governor’s Appointee (CV)
2. Victor A. Ryan (D) - (elected 1984, prior to the passage of the 28th amendment)
** After David Pryor’s “nervous breakdown” in 1987, Rumsfeld appointed Mike Huckabee to fill Pryor’s Senate seat. In 1988, he switched his affiliation to the Christian Values Party.
*** Claiborne Pell (D) had been sitting senator until 1987, when he was arrested for trying to prevent David Pryor’s “institutionalization”.
**** Senator Lloyd Bentsen had also been removed, and was replaced with Rumsfeld appointee Clayton Williams, who would later defect to CV
***** Thomas Salmon had been also institutionalized under a nervous breakdown treatment, and was replaced with a Rumsfeld appointee.
Saturday, January 21, 1989
The Hughes Network begins broadcasting at its new HQ in Virginia Beach, VA. The move out of New York City is attributing to the hostile political environment in New York City, and the result of the closer collaboration between Christian Values and Hughes.
President Robertson introduces several pieces of legislation:
The Americans Jobs Act, a massive New Deal-style legislation that would allow millions of Americans to get back to work, rebuilding America’s infrastructure. This is passed by both Houses of Congress
The Moral Decency Act, which would suspend habeas corpus for those accused of the following crimes: “homosexuality, abortion, adultery, perversion, addiction, dealing of narcotics, pornography, paganism, parasitism, obscenity, corruption.” The Secretary of National Intelligence Coordination and Oversight will oversee the enforcement of these bills. Law enforcement in all 50 states are required to aid federal authorities and carry out arrests, with failure to do so will result in those figures being arrested under these laws. Those arrest shall be sent to moral decency centers for an indefinite period of time, until they are considered to be “morally rehabilitated”. It becomes known as the “American Enabling Act”. It passes through the House quickly but becomes stalled in the Senate.
The Juvenile Delinquency Act, which suspends habeus corpus for children accused of crimes under the Moral Decency Act, and requires their indefinite detention in youth rehabilitation centers. Passes the House but becomes stalled in the Senate.
Protect the Unborn Child Act, which bans abortion under all circumstances. A woman who attempts to abort a pregnancy, or anyone who counsels, suggests or provides information about abortion procedures “or procedures which could in their application, whether intentional or inadvertent lead to an abortion or an abortion-like situation” will be accused of murder and will be charged under the Moral Decency Bill. The AMA among others points out that this is so broadly worded as to effectively criminalize all but basic medical treatment for a pregnant woman. This too passes the House quickly but becomes stalled in the Senate.
Healthy Education Act, which would ban the teaching of evolution in public schools in all 48 states, and allow teachers to engage in school prayers, and that students must engage in school prayer if called for, lest they be charged under the Juvenile Delinquency Act. Passes the House but stalled in the Senate.
The Family Security Act, which considers “the union between a man and union indivisible in the eyes of God,” and thus does not recognize divorce in all 48 states. It also gives the father of a household authority over all domestic matters. This bill also withdraws interstate recognition of civil marriages and any marriage not conducted by a Christian or Jewish minister in accordance with the long established laws and traditions of those two faiths. Passes the House but stalled in the Senate.
The Agricultural Credit Bill, which would provide loans to farmers to rebuild their cropland from the effects of pollution. A clause is inserted during the debate, which is ignored, but which will grant the government the ability to “confiscate agricultural produce during a time of upheaval, with compensation to be deferred to the end of the conflict.” Passes the House, and the Senate by a vote of 53-43.
The bills begin a major debate in Congress.
Pat Robertson appears on television, declaring the era of Rumsfeldism over, and asks the international community for the end of international sanctions. “Rumsfeld was a sinner, but our cause is holy.”
SNICO Douglas Coe begins the setting up of the Extraordinary Executive Commission for Enforcement of Scripture and Protection from Heresy. Tim LeHay will become the Chief Commissioner of this shadowy body whose mission remains vaguely undefined, but will come to be called “The American Inquisition.”
Sunday, January 22, 1989
Prime Minister Neil Kinnock appears on television, and says that sanctions will not end, citing Pat Robertson’s rhetoric, and the continued occupation of Cuba.
“Mr. Robertson has claimed that Rumsfeldism has ended. While this is desirable, the President’s troubling, often inflammatory rhetoric leaves us concerned about whether American politics have indeed returned to a democratic path. His opposition to ending the war against the Cuban people shows us that little has changed. Until these troubling concerns abated, sanctions will remain in place.”
The White House
Tim Lahaye: Wretched sinners! These European socialists rebuke our desire for business and mock his word-
Pat Robertson: Brother Tim, enough. We will soon bring those sinners, as well as the apostates in California and the Northeast, to our knees in due time. For now, we must be patient while we build up the Holy Arsenal.
Wednesday, January 25, 1989
Food riots break out in Calcutta, India. The government’s confiscation of food during the war against Pakistan had led to major food shortages in the country. The Gandhi government sends troops in to put down the protests.
The Indian government has struggled to maintain control of the countryside due to growing secessionist movements, and is also being squeezed by the war in Pakistan.
Thursday, January 26, 1989
Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, aka Lula, proclaims the Democratic Republic of the Amazon in the city of Manaus. The territory it controls stretches across much of Northern Brazil.
Though denounced by military strongman Henrik Granas as “a communist puppet”, Lula is largely independent of the Soviet Union, though receiving some technical and political aid from the Italian and Mexican government.
Lula’s government is a broad coalition of middle class workers, black and pardo Brazilians, Amazonian workers (including rubber tapper Chico Mendes), environmental activists, and Cuerdan activists, and implemented democratic self-management by employees in the areas in controls.
It distinguishes itself from the Mato Grosso secession by being a mostly secular rebellion, while Mato Grosso is a mainly Cuerdan rebellion.
Since the loss of military aid from the US, the Brasilia government has lost a lot of ground to both rebellions, and is facing unrest in many major cities over its dictatorial policies, economic calamity, and failure to put down both major rebellions.
Friday, January 27, 1989
A search of the Cuerdan office in the Vatican uncovers more evangelical tracts. Pope Pius claims an investigation will occur, but that the Cuerdan cause is mainly just.
The College of Cardinals and Opus Dei begin a major petition to censure the pope for the “the failure to defend Christendom”. They cite this and his overtures toward British Protestants.
Monday, January 30, 1989
The Moral Decency Act passes the House of Representatives 225 (200 CV, 25 R) to 162 (71 L, 49 D, 25 R, 16 WTP. It now begins a vigorous debate in the Senate.
Tuesday, January 31, 1989
A blistering debate appears in the Senate over the Moral Decency Act. The odd couple of Jesse Helms and Skip Humphrey lead the charge against the bill, claiming it would torpedo American civil rights.
Governor Ed Crane and other libertarian figures denounce it as a “libercide bill.” Governor (and former President) Wallace calls this bill “a war on the rights of citizens”.
Billy Graham, Elvis Presley and other religious leaders, from Catholic to Mormon, also oppose the bill as “toxic to true Christians and their mission.”
New York Governor Spiro Agnew, known for his tough on crime stance, also appears on television to denounce the bill.
“I’ve said before we need to clean up our streets for the God-loving, law-abiding citizens. I’m no friend of the conniving criminal class, and we ought to amend our laws to make it easier to throw the book at them. But if we suspend the constitution in the name of law and order, we risk becoming little more than the barbaric brutes we claim to oppose. Our political rights are what separate us from the communists, and from the common thug who rules through fear and terror. I beg our senators not to give into hyperbolic hysteria, to remember their duty, and vote no.”
Wednesday, February 1, 1989
Hughes Ad:
Spiro likes to say he is a friend of law and order. But is he really?
Clip of him pardoning himself for his tax and bribery schemes.
“Only a self-admitted crook would dare defend the people destroying the American family. Ignore Spiro the Fraud and demand your Senators vote for Moral Decency.”
Office of the Governor, Albany, New York
Governor Agnew sat there, watching the Hughes Ad on television. His face was serene, but his mind a thunderstorm of rage.
“I put those sons of bitches on the map, and this is how they thank me?! Calling me a crook! Ingrates!”
He took the remote control, and threw it against the screen of the TV.
Through February 1989
The Senate resists passing the Moral Decency Act, The Juvenile Delinquency Act, the Healthy Education Act, The Family Security Act and the Protect the Unborn Child Act tying them up in debate and filibuster. The blocking alliance consist of 20 Democrats, 7 Libertarians, 2 Independent and 22 Republicans who argue that these acts are un-Constitutional. They are joined in this contention by many non-CV Governors. Many denounce threats by the CV Party and the Hughes Network to blackmail them.
At the beginning of March 1989 President Robertson signs versions of all of the Acts as Executive Orders, directing the Attorney General and the Secretary of National Intelligence Coordination and Oversight to enforce their provisions in the interests of the national security of the United States.
“Alas, the willful liberals and their fellow travelers have resisted God’s holy ordinances, so I have exercised my executive authority in His name to protect our nation. Now God’s warriors can now begin their work of stamping out the rot that threatens to tear apart our society. We will eliminate the deviant behaviors and lifestyle that have oppressed the God-fearing majority in our society,” President Robertson says over the television.
Though not technically laws, the provisions become known as the February laws.
The President’s actions face a court challenge by Sen Donald Hobbs (D-AK), who claims the Executive orders are “the death of the Constitution”. He is joined in those challenges by Democratic, Libertarian, and WTP figures. The court rulings becomes known as Hobbs v. Robertson.
While the Executive orders are staid pending judicial review, the Robertson Administration largely ignores the court orders and begins to prepare jurisdictions to make mass arrests. Across the Midwest and South, abandoned military factories are being brought online.
February 5-10, 1989
Protests breakout across the nation against the February laws. Unfortunately, these protests are dwarfed by mass protests in favor of the bill by Christian advocacy groups. Holy Battalions, however, do not interfere in them. It is believed that this occurs so that protest groups can expose their believes in public, which leaves them liable for CV arrest at a later date.
Negotiations continue in the Senate over the bills, with some of the Republican supporters weakening as a result of blackmail threats.
Sen. Ronald Galtieri (Lib-MT): “I’m not surprised that some of those weakened Rumsfeldians would waver, since they believed in nothing but power in the first place. Since they believe in nothing, they act like spineless cowards to save their worthless political careers while the country blows up around them. I spilt on all of them.” Senator Galtieri had planned to resign from the Senate in protest, but changes his mind once the law suits are launched, seeing that he is needed in Washington to try and block the acts.
While the Senate’s resistance is going on, Christian Values operatives begin to maneuver at the state level to call an Article V Constitutional Convention, which they plan to use to by-pass the Senate and write the February laws into the Constitution itself.
Saturday, February 18, 1989
The Free Natal Forces has captured large parts of the city of Durban, with forces loyal to the Inkatha Freedom Party.
The Free Natal Army, despite being denounced as a “kaffir Communist front,” is a multiracial force led by Blacks, Anglos, and Indians, as remains one of the strongest opponents of the Malan regime.
The Free Natal has also managed to recruit disillusioned Afrikaner soldiers.
Monday, February 20, 1989
In Kimberly, South Africa, dozens of Afrikaner farmers begin protesting the compulsive use of chemical weapons for running the water and soil. The protests are brutally suppressed by the South African security services.
Malan blames “kaffir terrorism” on the damage to the soil.
It has become clear the use of biological and chemical weapons by South Africa has wreaked enormous havoc on the country’s biosphere. These protests indicate that the damage is starting to affect the country’s food supply.
Tuesday, February 21, 1989
The Santiago government orders troops in the city of Antofagasta to gun down Cuerdan “Communists” who have lain in the streets to block the movement of military vehicles. Much of the city has been taken over by Cuerdan protestors, who have managed to shut down other cities.
To the shock of the government – and surprising many overseas - many common soldiers refuse to fire guns at the Cuerdan protestors. Since 1988, Chile’s economy has suffered from sanctions and the loss of aid from the federal government. While Pat Robertson claimed Pinochet to be a “pious man,” he has not followed that through with any substantial aid. While Chile makes a great deal of money from arms sales – especially to Israel and South Africa – much of that national income has been squandered on corruption and grandiose infrastructure projects which have become large money pits.
Pinochet has been forced to cut soldier pay and benefits, with has increased the disillusionment among Chilean soldiers, especially as they’ve been forced to fire on protestors with Catholic beliefs.
February 21-27, 2018
President Robertson pays a state visit to Israel, where he meets with right-wing Israeli leaders and proclaims his belief in Christian Zionism (which embarrasses some Orthodox Israeli Cabinet members who object to the term on religious grounds). President Robertson prays at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and proclaims that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and proclaims it the “true capital of Earth.”
On the same trip President Robertson pays an unannounced visit to Kaapstad, South Africa where he meets with Magnus Malan and his cabinet.
Monday, February 27, 1989
Kaesong Industrial Park opens in DPRK, as a place where private enterprise can be properly managed. North Korea’s government, keen in developing some of that “MBA Communism”, has allowed a laboratory where economic experimentation can take place.
Japanese and South Korean companies invest heavily in factories and stores in Kaesong, eager to take advantage of the cheap labor and low taxes.
JAPEX, Japan’s largest oil company, starts a joint venture with Gazprom, Soviet Russia’s state gas company, to develop natural gas fields in the Russian Far East.
Office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
US Attorney Kelsey Grammar looked up from his desk, and sees Chief of Staff Tim LaHaye watching him. Clearly someone on the staff had let the gruesome troll in without informing Grammer first. Even here, the CVs had their agents.
“Yes, Mr. LaHaye, how may I be of service to you,” Grammar asked, with a forced politeness that he hoped masked his disgust.
“You can be of great service to the Lord Mr. Grammar,” LaHaye said with a somewhat crooked smile.
“How may I do that?” Grammar said, confused.
“End your crusade against the Lord,” LaHaye responded.
“Crusade? I’ve been trying to learn about the connections between drug cartels and our very treasury-,”
“That’s what I mean,” LaHaye burst in. “This…investigation is merely a distraction against the true work of the Lord. Within the next few days, we will begin an investigation of the Devil’s agents.”
“I don’t see what role I have in that, sir,” Grammar said with a little derision. LaHaye didn’t notice. “You’ve suspended habeus corpus, so I don’t know why you would need a prosecutor.”
“You can be great warrior on the bench, striking fear into God’s enemies.”
He is asking me to become his inquisitor, his personal Torquemada in his religious crusade – or at least his deputy, since LaHaye already seems to have that role.
“Rumsfeld already made me his personal hammer,” Grammar said with a bit of shame, “I have no further interest in being a tool for political oppression.” LaHaye glared at him.
“Perhaps you are not God’s warrior, but merely a sinner in disguise,” LaHaye said calmly, with a growl. “You are aware of what becomes of sinners, are you?”
Grammar met LaHaye’s glare with an iron hard stare of his own. The look that could cut through steel they called it in court. LaHaye seemed unmoved by it.
“The Justice Department is not beholden to anyone man, but the Constitution. Do not presume that you can order it what to do.
“All men are beholden to God. This department, this office,” he pauses for effect, “and even you. And with hHs word, you can easily find yourself in the eternal fire,” he finished with a smile. “think about your options, Mr. Grammer, You don’t have much time to decide which path you will take.”
Without a further word, LaHaye walked out.
Grammar glared at where LaHaye once stood, and slammed his fist on the table, unable to proceed.
Soon after he called Governor Agnew on the Governor’s private line, a number that Agnew had given to only a few people. All he said, when Agnew picked-up was, “I’m with you.”
Tuesday, February 28, 1989
Returning from South Africa, Pat Robertson meets in Guatemala City with Guatemalan dictator Oscar Victores. Victores declares Robertson “a true defender god” and announces his conversion to Evangelism.
Pat Robertson promises him military support against the Cuerdan “Heretics, whose allegiance is to a Godless horde.”
The British and Taiwanese government submit the question of sovereignty over the former Portuguese colony of Macao to an international tribunal. Macau has been occupied by forces from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada since the fall of the People’s Republic of China (even as the British Protectorate Government in Hong Kong has extended its sphere of control up the Pearl River as far as Canton and much of the surrounding hinterland). The Republic of China (Taiwan), backed by Japan, continue to press it claims for the return of Hong Kong and Macau to its control.
In these areas, robbed of development by the policies of the Lesser Mao, Hong Kong businessmen begin to see places of prime development, to help ease overcrowding in the city itself.
Fiat and Zastava form a joint venture factory in Zagreb to build cars for the Eastern bloc market. The factory is also meant to experiment with innovative ideas about employee self-management.
Friday, March 10, 1989
The United States Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of upholding President Robertson’s right to issue the February laws as executive orders, citing the President’s inherent authority in matters of national security. The court’s majority finds that the moral issues the executive orders deal with are an imminent threat to the national security of the United States. Strom Thurmond, William Rehnquist, and Byron White are the dissenters.
Elie Wiesel (from his exile in Paris): Some days I wish I had perished, alongside my father, so I would not have to see history repeat itself.
Saturday, March 11, 1989
23 Republicans, all of whom voted for the Moral Decency Act, announce that they intend to join the CV caucus.
David O’Neil (CV-IL): Our party once stood to defend the family against Godly traitors. Now they tell us that we are unconstitutional, for willing to do what needs to be done to expunge this cancer from our body. Well, you know what they, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Eggs in this case are licentious sinners. We will gladly join or Godless brothers and sisters in the moral crusade.
United States Senate Composition After March 11, 1989
Christian Values: 21+23=44
Republicans: 46-23-23
Democrats: 20
Libertarians: 7
Independent: 2
While the Christian Values do not have a majority in the Senate, they gain more influence over many Congressional Committees. They also oust Sen. David Dwight (R-MA) as Majority Leader and replace him with Senator Gary Howard (CV-LA)
The South Korean military brutally puts down pro-democracy riots. The ruling junta puts out a statement saying that western style democracy is un-Korean.
Wednesday, March 15, 1989
The February Laws begin their enforcement. Almost immediately, state and local police throughout the US begin enforcing the tenets of the Moral Decency Act and the Juvenile Delinquency Act. People charged under it are being arrested indiscriminately, and shipped off to moral decency centers.
Some state governments begin closing abortion clinics and begin mass arrests of abortion doctors. Others resist implementation of the February laws.
Douglas Coe: Now we see our enemies in their naked evil.
Indianapolis, IN
Officer Ted Harris smiled as he saw a collection of junkies and homeless being pulled out of their crack house. The Holy Battalions finally made it possible to get rid of these parasites.
“We got two more,” Roger, one of the Battalion leaders said, as he saw two prostitutes, in their trampy outfits, being carted away.
The liberals would have those whores welfare and made the government pay for lawyers, rather than send them to jail where they belong, and ruin this town. Whatever you say about the Battalions, they really knew how to take out the trash.
He was broken from his reverie by a familiar male scream. He turned around and saw an old man, and a little girl being dragged away-
Wait, that was Bill Tanner and his daughter Sophie.
Bill Tanner ran the neighborhood comic book store. He was considered by many to be a genial fellow. He always donated Christmas profits to charity, which earned him the respect of a lot of people. His daughter, who helped him manage the store, was a short, but clever girl.
“Ted help,” Bill said desperately. The sound of Bill’s voice, and Sophie’s cries made him run over to help him.
“What is going on,” Ted asked the Holy Battalion man present.
“This man is a horrible sinner,” the HB figure said with disgust.
“The man sells comic books,” Ted said with disbelief, “he’s not selling pagan-“.
“These comics,” the HB man, whose nametag labeled him Joseph, said dramatically, “are filth- full of obscenity and violence.” He paused, as he saw the HBs use a flamethrower on the crack house they had just emptied. Ted turned his eyes away from the flaming building, and noticed how Joseph looked elighted at the sight of the burning. Like he was a kid watching a fireworks display.
“This seller of filth needs to be given just punishment, and then he may return to society,” Joseph finished. Sophie’s cries began to ring out.
“Well, why are you taking Sophie,” Ted asked, as he saw one of the HBs dragging her out onto the same truck as with the junkies.
“She was clearly exposed to the material, and filled with all the wrong kind of ideas. We will be sending her to a purification center, where her mind will be cleansed of obscene thoughts,” he said. As he turned, he saw several Battalions carting many of Bill’s possessions, clothes, furniture, money, out and loading them unto a truck where they had confiscated the possessions from the rabble they had just arrested.
“Leave me alone,” Sophie screamed as she was separated from Bill. “Daddy, help me.”
“Don’t worry pumpkin,” Bill said, putting on a brave face, even as his voice sounded uneven. “It’ll be fine.”
“Look, Joseph,” Tim pleaded. “Just give the girl a second chance, she hasn’t-“,
“Do you wish to question the Lord and His ways, and do you wish to be deported,” Joseph asked chillingly. Tim raised his voice to protest, but then saw the warning in Joseph’s eyes. Tim, ignoring the cries of Sophie and Tim, turned away from them to arrest more people. He shuddered as he heard the flamethrower being used on the comic store.
Three Hours Later- Holy Steel Mill-Gary, Indiana
Bill Tanner marched lockstep with the rest of the “sinners” as they approached the factory courtyard. He looked around the other people, many of whom he would consider rough, but he could no longer differentiate himself from them, no matter how much he pleaded with the Battalions, who responded by belting him the face with his gun.
They all had the clothes on their back confiscated, and were made to wear orange jumpsuits. Their heads had also been clean shaven. As they approached the courtyard, an elderly woman in a sharp business suit with an escort of two surly faced Holy Battalion warriors came out to address them. Battalions.
“You are here because you have all rejected God,” the woman said into a loudspeaker. “You have forsaken His word, and are now sent here to heed your place before Him. You will learn about true faith, and you will work until you’ve either repented, or have fallen behind and are cast off to the eternal fire. Remember, work shall bring you closer to Heaven. Slacking off will send you to hell”
That was said with a grimness that made Bill shiver in fear.
“Will they be the ones that might send me to heaven…Or Hell?”
For now, he would be a good drone and do what he was told.
Ten Years of Terror: The Rumsfeldia-CV Period- Francis Fukuyama-2002
For many apologists of the Christian Values, there is a tendency to see the mass detention and forced labor of human beings by the CV in terms of an honest attempt to purify society. Perhaps among followers, there was a genuine belief in building a pure society. But this masks the true intentions of the CV. But first we must understand the mindset of the CV, and the precedents for their action.
The Christian Values, since their inception in the late 1970s, saw the rot of American society in terms of social attitudes that conflicted with their Christian sensibilities. By 1989, they had gained the necessary political power to begin to cut out these perceived evils.
Many of the CV leadership also saw a world that was full of vice and sin: they looked to the East, and saw a Europe building growing ties with the Soviet Union, a Central and South America that was trading its US-backed dictators for Cuerdan and social democratic policies, and an increasingly mighty Japan to the West, as well as an economically mighty South East Asia. To the North where Canada had saved itself from division and was building itself up, thanks largely to the challenges posed by the Rumsfeld years. A similar situation prevailed across the southern border in Mexico, and in Texas, were a sovereignty movement was threatening to repeat California’s succession. The Pope himself was railing against the Christian Values party’s hardline beliefs while embracing the Cuerdans.
Within their own country, California (which, in their mind, was a bacchanalia of vice) was seceding from the Union, a collection of cooperatives had taken over much of the West and implemented social policies that disgusted them, and several Northeastern States were refusing to heed their policies.
As known by many, the CV were planning to launch what they called “their Final Crusade” to eliminate these perceived threats, both at home and abroad.
To this end, Robertson and Coe decided they would need to build up a rapid military arsenal, quickly and cheaply, that would cow the entire world.
Their plan was simple, yet brutal: the system of hyper-industrialization powered by forced labor. Their labor force would compose of people who were widely perceived as “un-American” by the majority.
This plan had many precedents throughout history: though one cannot escape the irony inherent in these examples.
Joseph Stalin had built his system of forced labor through the arbitrary imprisonment of supposed “enemies”, and it was through the brutal exploitation of his people that he was able to build a giant industrial colossus that could compete with the rest of the major powers. Hitler too had used this policy to rid himself of “undesirables”.
Many of the components of the CVs exploitative policy, despite the protests of many, had precedents in recent American history as well.
Since the 1960s, every major politician had campaigned on a policy of law and order and cleaning up the streets in reaction to Supreme Court rulings that sought to defend the rights of the accused. As crime rates soared in the 1970s (especially during the epidemic of China White) this tough stance gained ground. The 1980s especially saw many of the rights of the accused curtailed during the Rumsfeld years. The CV used that to launch their moral crusade.
Prison labor also had precedent too. Many Southern states had long used prison labor in the Jim Crow Era, and as many CV were of Southern orientation, they had little trouble seeing it as a good policy.
The seizing of property and wealth from the arrested and profiting from it also been used by previous law enforcement in the form of civil asset forfeiture, which allowed the confiscation of property without a warrant in many US jurisdictions. This was many used in fighting drug crimes, but was simply expanded into including the “moral criminals” the CV wished to target.
The arrest quotas that made the Battalions seize as many people as possible were also commonplace in many law enforcement communities well before the rise of the CV-or even Rumsfeld. Holy Battalions were encouraged to exceed quotas through monetary, or spiritual rewards.
This used of forced labor was also heavily supported by Rumsfeldian megacorporations that had benefited greatly from the elimination of worker’s rights, and sought to maintain a cheap workforce at all costs. They in turn promised lucrative positions for CV politicians once they decided to leave office, as all forms of laws regarding bribery had been stripped away.
…
Once arrived, the workers were subjected a range of physical and verbal abuse. They were told that only through hard work and service for the Lord would they be allowed to leave.
The conditions that they endured were horrific. They were forced to work in dangerous conditions with no pay, and often times minimal pay. Accidents or collapse from overwork were blamed on the workers, and punishments were either physical abuse, or even worse, months of solitary confinement. Many were humiliated in public too, if only as an example to the others.
Many were branded on their foreheads with letters than indicated the nature of their crimes. “A” for adultery, “P” for parasitism.
Workers also did not receive any break time. When they were not working their tail off, they were made spend up to six hours a day in long prayer sessions. In some cases, they were forced to stand for hours, which added to their physical exertion. Those who collapsed from exhaustion were declared “weak in faith” and were dragged away for punishment.
At first, the deportations hit the low hanging fruit of prostitutes, low level drug dealers and criminals, addicts, abortionists, homosexuals, and the many homeless. These figures were heavily targeted, as for years, political rhetoric had taught the majority of the heartland that these people were less than human, and deserved nothing but to rot behind bars. And many others were convinced that CV labor could help them be “redeemed.”
The many youth (usually arrested for moral crimes) seized in this process would end up in CV schools, which were glorified juvenile halls. Many would also be subjected to a regime of forced labor and spiritual abuse, but another darker purpose would be used for the youth.
As the demand for workers grew, and the quotas rose, and rebellion swept through the nation, and the CV felt themselves under attack, the Holy Battalions would widen their net in the search for more so-called sinners. Even those who supported the legislation would find themselves snared.
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Wednesday, March 22, 1989
The State of Oregon passes a resolution declaring the “February laws” have run roughshod over the Constitution and that they will not be enforced.
White House
“Accursed Satanists!” SNICO head Douglas Coe muttered. “We should crush them-,”
“In time Brother Coe,” President Robertson said. “In time. We must let them get complacent like Oregon.”
“But then they can easily build up their defenses-,”
“Rumsfeld, the weak-willed sinner he was, put them at ease with his refusal to bring them to heel. No, we must have patience,” Robertson said.
Coe wasn’t convinced. He began grinding his teeth.
Thursday, March 23, 1989
The state of Washington passes a similar resolution to Oregon.
In Boise, Idaho, police officers and other libertarian activists tear up copies of the February Laws.
South Korean and Republic of China frontier units exchange fire in the border areas. This incident does not immediately escalate into another war, but does increase tension. Some blame Japanese covert operatives for provoking the incident.
Friday, March 24, 1989
Governor (and former President) George Wallace appears on Alabama television to denounce the February Laws. He signs a resolution also promising the state of Alabama will not endorse those laws.
Alabama is the only state in the Southeast that has explicitly refused to endorse the February Laws.
Militias controlled by a coalition of whites, Cape Coloureds, and blacks have taken control over much of the city of Cape Town. Due to shortages of men and material, many troops loyal to Malan have fled the city.
Hughes Network airs The Righteous Battle, in collaboration with the Christian Broadcasting Network. It is a fictionalized depiction of the settlement of the New World. In it, the Indians (which are referred to “savages”) are corrupt pagans, while the British settlers are righteous people protecting the faith. After a series of skirmishes, the movie ends with the English settlers (with a few Natives) slaughtering the entire tribe. The message is that sin can only be defeated through the shedding of blood.
In scenes with the natives, they have a flag with a bear on it, resembling the California flag. The film is interpreted as an attempt to justify any brutal war to destroy the California secession, which is associated with sin.
Saturday, March 25, 1989
New York Governor Spiro Agnew, and the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New England publicly tear up the February Laws and once again assert nullification.
Geraldo Rivera: All those states are controlled by the liberals. Isn’t it any wonder that they are so open to sin and decadence.
Observers note that Hughes rhetoric has drifted from bashing communism to taking a hardline stance against “immorality.” For its opponents Hughes is seen as little more than a sock puppet of whoever has the reins of power.
Monday, March 27, 1989
The Mexican government creates a Law of Return, which asserts only those who can prove that they had a grandparent born in Mexico can be eligible for legal immigration. It also says “any affiliation with the Republican Party or the Christian Values will disqualify that person from entry into the United Mexican States.”
The law has been passed to deal with the influx of Hispanic Americans (estimated at nearly 800,000) who have been able to sneak in through without a background check.
Wednesday, March 29, 1989
In the Texas Legislature, a collection of lawmakers, known as the “Texas Sovereignty Caucus” pushes for another resolution, voiding the enforcement of the February Laws. It is vetoed by governor Starke Taylor Jr.
“This resolution is the greatest attack on freedom since Nazism,” State Assemblyman and Sovereignty Leader Ron Paul said. Ron Paul is also chairman of the Texas Libertarian Party. “Any good Texan will tell the nuts in Washington “hell no”.
Mickey Leland, another member of Sovereignty, and the chairman of WTP Texas, attacked Taylor “for selling our rights to a group of fascists.”
Starke Taylor, a former Rumsfeld ally who defected to the Christian Values Party in late 1988, has largely dismissed these criticisms.
“Mr. Paul and Mr. Leland fail to grasp that in these troubled times, vigilance is needed to crush sin. Besides, what right does Paul have to complain about what ‘true Texans’ want. He wasn’t born here.”
Protests take place across major Texas cities, and the Western and Southern portions of the state. Many sheriffs to have taken to ignoring the February Laws.”
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Alex Jones-Lone Star:The History of Modern Texas, 2010
The sudden animosity that Texans developed for the CV government in the year 1989, the state’s rapid independence movement, and its political and cultural evolution afterward came as a tremendous shock to just about everybody.
By 1989 Texas politics had become synonymous with conservatism. The mighty Texas Democratic Party, which had produced American liberal icons such as Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn, had been reduced to a rump, which had increasingly voted for the Republican Party. The drift to the right continued through the Rumsfeld years. It’s high water mark came when moderate Republican Governor George H.W. Bush was removed (abetted by the Rumsfeld Administration’s infamous “nervous breakdowns”) and replaced by more radical elements allied with the Christian Values party. The state had voted for CV in the 1988 election, and the party had a tremendous presence across much of the state, including its own governor.
The idea of Texas rebelling from a highly religious, conservative government would have been laughable to someone living in 1988.
The average Texan will point to the 1840s independence movement as a sign that Texans are and have always people ready to rebel against injustice (Of course, they usually ignore the fact that the Texans rebelled to join the United States, and their reason was to maintain slavery, which the Mexican government banned). Indeed, this movement is still used by many Texas politicians, and was used in pro-Independence propaganda, but it alone cannot explain Texas’ seemingly sudden departure from the Union.
The reasons lie in economic and political concerns.
Texas Society at the Dawn of Rumsfeldia
Since the Second World War, the social, economic, and political landscape of Texas had changed dramatically. Before the war, Texas had been a rural state mostly dependent on the production of primary resources. Cotton, oil, and cattle had been the mainstays of Texas’ economy.
But after the war, Texas modernized tremendously. Reforms to education and infrastructure, the rise of air conditioning, a competitive environment, a non-unionized labor force, the mechanization of agriculture, and government contracts had made Texas an increasingly modern and educated state, and a sign of “the New South”.
The Johnson Space Center, one of the major parts of NASA, became the symbol of the New Texas that was emerging. One that relied on science and innovation and not just on oil and farming.
Texas society was also changing too. While the rise of the Republican Party in the state is often single-mindedly blamed on the Southern Strategy, and the Democratic Party’s increasingly liberal direction, the growth the professional class that worked in these new industries also played a role on the rise of the GOP. This was symbolized by the election of George H.W. Bush, a New England-born technocrat, to the office of Governor in 1978.
Texas society was also changing in terms of racial demographics. The end of Jim Crow segregation, while not eliminating all institutional racism, allowed for the state’s black minority to make political gains, as symbolized by the political rise of Barbara Jordan. But another minority, one that did not exist in as significant a number in other Jim Crow states, was also becoming important.
Mexican Americans, despite being the natives of Texas, also suffered tremendous institutional discrimination and segregation in the early to mid-20th century. During Lyndon Johnson’s stint as a schoolteacher in a Mexican American school he saw their impoverished conditions first hand, and many of his biographers since have concluded that this experience (together with his own impoverished upbringing in the Texas hill country) played a role in his desire to embrace the New deal and later to crush poverty through his Great Society programs.
By the 1960s, Mexican Americans, having gained access to the ballot box through the Civil Rights legislation of the decade, and influenced by the African-American civil rights movement, began to assert themselves politically. By the early 80s, immigration from Mexico (both legal and illegal) had led to the growth of this demographic.
Other minorities, like Asian American immigrants and Jewish Americans transplanted from the North, were also becoming a part of the Texas political landscape.
Texas also had one of the most robust economies of the 1970s, largely due to its large oil reserves in a period of energy shortages. The investments from the oil wealth help fund other tertiary sectors such aerospace and banking.
Texas, unlike other conservative states, was also increasingly engaged economically with Mexico. Despite the tarnished economy, trade continued to grow between Texas and Mexico, in fact this growth had, by the early-1980’s outpaced the growth in economic trade with other states of the United States. The result was that Texas was more prosperous than other parts of the economically stagnant United States, and felt less of the impact of the economic turmoil that was going on there.
By the time Rumsfeld entered into office, Texas not only had a strong economy, but had evolved from a largely rural and agrarian state to a cosmopolitan state with major ties to the world economy.
Rumsfeldia and the Texas Malaise
At the beginning of the decade, Texas had the strongest economy in the Union, by the end of the decade, Texas’ economy had been put on the ropes.
As soon as Rumsfeld entered office, he began his so-called “American Revolution”, somewhat derisively called “The American Devolution”, in an attempt to create a truly free-market. But this ultimately evolved into an ideological war on the institutions that made America prosperous. While the welfare state and government regulations were an obvious target, other institutions were damaged in its wake.
Early on, Texas was already being victimized by that war. The closing of the Johnson Space Center in 1981 created an incredible outrage across the state. The Space Center was not only a source of jobs, but a point of pride for many Texans. The issue itself nearly cost Governor Bush re-election 1982 to Bob Bullock.
Another blow to the Texas economy was the Landweber case. The government’s confiscation of patents without compensation-and then handing those patents over to TRW-dealt a tremendous blow to the state’s research. While many technical companies and innovators had once found Texas to be a competitive environment, the uncertainty generated by Rumsfeld’s attack on intellectual property rights made Texas less attractive, as it was clearly state that endorsed Rumsfeld’s ideology, if in spirit in not letter. Investment in research, high-tech, and enrollment in Texas universities declined, as smaller innovators and entrepreneurial start-ups sought new markets that would protect them from what was clearly growing government corruption.
By 1985, the weakening of labor rights and the growing racism of the Texas police drove many Mexican immigrants (followed by Mexican-born Americans) out of state. While many older Texans and older politicians cheered on the reversal of immigration, the loss of a large labor force led to a crippling labor shortage. The farming industry was hit especially hard. Convicts were brought in as forced labor to replace the missing workers, revving images of a slave economy. However, these conscript labors (or slaves as some called them) proved to be inefficient.
Even oil was no longer the source of wealth it had once been. The weakening domestic economy, plus international competition from oil producers like the Soviet Union and Nigeria, put the Texas economy in shambles. While corruption and censorship allowed oil companies to cover these losses, many oil workers had gone unpaid (except with worthless investment certificates). Other sectors, like ranching, were also severely impacted by the increasingly unstable economy.
The loss of trade with Mexico and other world powers, which occurred between 1985 and 1987 as many nations divested themselves from the American nation, severely wounded the Texas economy as well. While conservative Texans took on a xenophobic attitude, many others began to blame Rumsfeld and corrupt policies which alienated investors.
By 1988, the Texas economy was on the rocks. This was symbolized in a famous article in The Economist, which showed Houston’s Texas Commerce Tower, completed in 1981 as a symbol of the Lone Star State’s economic growth, being completely dim at night.
The Oddest of Bedfellows
Politically, Texas too was becomingly increasingly radical. While the Republican Party, and later the Christian Values Party seemingly held a monopoly on power, there was growing competition from two other political parties: the Libertarians and WTP. While small, they became increasingly prominent throughout the state, and by 1989, these parties began rallying around Texan sovereignty as a solution to the economic and race relations problems. California’s secession in the late 1980’s also inspired these Texas radicals to think along sovereignty terms.
The two major figures in this movement were Ron Paul and Mickey Leland, who both began pushing for Texas to begin shaping its own destiny, for their own reasons.
Ron Ernest Paul, born in Pennsylvania, was an obstetrician who had been first elected to the US Congress in 1978.
Some of his viewpoints at first made him seem like a figure who would become a Rumsfeldian or a CV (Paul admits he had been supportive of their viewpoints). Paul was a follower of the Austrian school of thought, and believed strongly in the idea of free markets. He also opposed the Federal Reserve, and sought to move America back to the Gold Standard. He was also strongly opposed to abortion, and saw Roe v. Wade as an attack on religious freedom.
Like many Southern politicians, Paul has also written viewpoints that imply a neo-Confederate outlook. He has defended Confederacy on the issue of states’ rights. He also called the Civil Rights Act a gross expansion of the federal government’s power.
However, Paul had political viewpoints that distinguished him from the Republican Party. He became one of the first public officials to oppose the War on Drugs, well before even WTP took the issue. He was also strongly opposed to American military intervention, and believed America should return to the Washington-style intervention, and himself opposed the reinstatement of the draft in 1982.
Mickey Leland, his eventual partner, had a political background and viewpoints that were light years away from Ron Paul.
Born and raised in a predominately African-American community in Houston in 1944, Leland saw and witnessed tremendous poverty and discrimination in his community. He became a leader of the civil rights movement in Texas, and an advocate for government aid to the poor. He succeeded Barbara Jordan, winning her congressional seat in 1978, where he fought for poverty programs.
The unity of these two men, and the seeming collusion between WTP and the Libertarians as whole, can shock someone who can’t read between the lines. But both parties came into being around the idea that A) The federal government and the two major parties were oppressive B) Were defend the privileges of a select few instead of the rights of all and C) expending too many resources on imperial ambitions.
And as the 1980s progressed, both men found that to be undeniably true.
Both men would lose re-election in 1982 due to spoilers, but by that point, their belief in their parties was already weakening.
Ron Paul, in his first term, was already disillusioned by the conduct of Speaker of the House Trent Lott during the impeachment proceedings against George Wallace. While Paul supported impeachment, Lott’s obvious partisanship, and barely disguised desire to succeed to the presidency during those proceedings anger Paul and many others.
But a more direct causus belli for Paul was the foreign policy of Donald Rumsfeld. While he could support Rumsfeld’s economic policies at a state level, he was disturbed by the increasing bellicosity of Rumsfeld, and the seeming silence of the GOP. The intervention in South Africa and the blockade of the Azores were particular turning points.
“That bastard Lott wanted to impeach Wallace for under the table gun-running to Somoza. I could understand that. Yet our president was openly backing Malan, a more obvious fascist, and bullying a sovereign nation that posed no threat to American interests, and yet Lott just smiled at all that.”
Leland himself had become disillusioned with the Democratic Party. It first began due to the ineptitude of George Wallace, and his willingness to fund a Central American war at a time period when the American people were being squeezed.
He was also disappointed with the Democratic Party and its inability to stand up to Rumsfeld in the first two years of its administration.
Both men initially did not yet desire to join WTP and Libertarians, which they saw as nonsensical fringe parties. Indeed, in Rumsfeld’s first term, the Libertarians and WTP were still mostly young parties composed of fringe figures. Despite electoral gains, many did see them as too radical.
But by 1987, both men found refuge in the two major parties. The increasingly dictatorial nature of Rumsfeldia, and his clear disregard for the Constitution and working people angered many.
By 1985, Barbara Jordan had returned to politics, and became the chairwoman of WTP Texas out of disgust with a Democratic Party and its seeming inability to fight Rumsfeld. Her political experience and wit is credited with turning WTP Texas from a fringe into a major political party. (Much as Ron Dellums had done with the California WTP). But as Rumsfeld rolled back the welfare state, WTP began taking on responsibilities for the urban poor and the Mexican American minority of Texas, from education to health care.
Mickey Leland, like many other American leftists, joined WTP in 1986, and became its chairman after Barbara Jordan retired due to ill-health in 1987.
Ron Paul, who by this time had developed a successful newsletter, had lost all respect for the GOP after the events of 1986.
The 28th amendment and the McCloskey Seven incident was for Ron Paul, and for many other people who considered themselves to be “true conservatives”, the final straw. The blatant dictatorial nature of Rumsfeld, and the acquiescence of the GOP as whole, was ultimately too much.
“Here is a man who professes a belief in ‘small government’ and ‘states’ rights’ rigging the Constitution and trying to impose his will on the people of California. The Republican Party is no longer a party, but a colossus with no beliefs-except in power,” wrote Paul in his biography.
Ron Paul joined the Libertarian Party in late 1986, and like Jordan, used his political skills and political to transform it into a legitimate political party.
Despite the two organizations being overt political opponents of Rumsfeld, they had been allowed to grow and expand. This was largely because Rumsfeld never saw both parties as legitimate opposition, and he saw WTP as a useful way of dividing the left-wing vote.
Rumsfeld’s sudden departure from the office of the Presidency temporarily cooled political tensions, but by late 1988, the failure of the Denton Administration to secure political reforms had once again driven a wedge across the political spectrum.
What proved more worrying to Paul and Leland was the obvious ascent of the Christian Values Party. Leland was disturbed by their blistering attacks on inner-city people. Paul, despite his religious viewpoints, saw them as a political movement that would not preserve the Constitution, anymore than Rumsfeld had. In fact he, like many like-minded believers, came to view the CV as the very antithesis of what a party informed by religious values should be. In the end he would write that the CV was Rumsfeldism dressed-up with “Biblical pap”.
Together, the two formed the Texas Sovereignty Movement to push Texas against the potential political oppressions of the CV. Despite their small power, the two men had at their helm a large and very dedicated political movement behind them. They also had powerful backers, and a very easy target.
Texas’ King Herod
The Texas Sovereignty Movement was helped by the man who held executive power in Texas: Starke Taylor Jr.
Before becoming Rumsfeld’s lackey, Taylor had been elected to a brief stint as the mayor of Dallas. After Governor Bush had been dumped into a fake mental health center and Bush’s son joined in a coup against the President, Taylor became a surprise last minute candidate on the Republican ticket.
Taylor quickly proved to be a poor successor to Bush. Despite being a born and bred Republican, Bush was able to present himself as a man who fought for Texas (despite his failure to prevent the ratification of the 28th amendment) and was able to distinguish himself from the increasingly crazed actions of the Rumsfeld administration.
Taylor, however, quickly revealed himself to be little more than a stooge of Washington, and a political failure. His solution to the state’s growing problems took on a Rumsfeldian twang, which angered not only Texas people, but even many business interests that depended on offices that Taylor wished to privatize.
After Rumsfeld’s departure, he quickly converted himself into a follower of the CV (which many Rumsfeldians in CV dominant states did in a desperate attempt to stave off prosecution and remain politically relevant) when it was inevitable that the CV were going to gain political power. In his desperate attempt to protect himself, Taylor alienated his remaining allies in the still present Republican Party, and added fuel to the perception that he was little more than weak political weathervane, an image that Leland and Paul were eager to capitalize on.
It is important to understand that while many Texans of this time period were conservative, their votes were as motivated by the charity of the CV than any real beliefs. As the CV began its industrial scale witch hunt, Taylor and the CV would soon find resistance in a people trying to control its own affairs.
The Texas Cabal
Of course, this movement was not built off of words alone. Sovereignty also had the secret backing of several prominent businessmen who several reasons for pushing Texas out of the orbit of Washington.
The leader of the Texas Cabal, as it came to be known, was Henry Ross Perot. Perot was the quintessential American success story. A former salesman for IBM, Perot left his job in 1962 to found Electronic Data Systems, a data processing service. Perot was able to gain lucrative contracts computerizing Medicare information. By the 1980s, he was one of the richest men in Texas, and had investments in many major countries.
His wealth soon allowed to pursue political activity. He became a staunch advocate for the war on drugs, and presciently observed that the federal government would have gotten involved in the trafficking of narcotics. Out of a disbelief in establishment politics, he also funded Sandy Koufax’s ill-fated 1980 presidential run.
Perot had long held some antipathy for the GOP, long before the excesses of Rumsfeld. It is important to understand that not every businessman in America was lockstep behind Rumsfeld.
He felt America needed to intervene to protect American industries from Japanese and German competition, and that supply-side economics would result in an economic race to the bottom that would hurt the American worker, and drag down the American economy with it.
By 1987, Perot’s interests had been severely damaged by Rumsfeld’s policies. The economic sanctions and boycott of American businesses cost Perot much of his overseas ventures. Domestically, Perot has lost a lot of business, partly because of his refusal to bottom out his prices by underpaying his workers with worthless certificates. The monopolization of computer software has raised the operating costs of his business. And the severe de-regulation of the economy had also raised collection costs for Perot.
Electronic Data Systems, though it was a shadow of what it had once been, had managed to ride out the storm through the investment of its remaining assets in foreign banks, and through the creation of a secret network of businessmen who could establish rules that the government rubbed away.
This informal network, which included figures like T. Boone Pickens, evolved into a society seeking to shift Texas politics away from a government that had severely damaged American interests, and forced them to hide their assets to simply survive.
By the end of 1988, however, a new threat was emerging on the horizon: the Christian Values. Perot was himself a social moderate, and was disturbed by their rhetoric. Even his more conservative colleagues saw the Christian Values Party as a dangerous movement that would plunge America into a new dark age.
Perot and the Cabal backed the Fusion Party candidacy in 1988, but despite their wealth, lacked the means to communicate their ideas across the nation.
The Texas Sovereignty Movement, however, would prove to be more promising, as the Texas Cabal came to believe the Union was beyond salvation. A group of centrist businessmen found the oddest of allies in the pair of radical politicians pushing for Texas independence.
A Rising Power to the South
Another party had gained an interest in the rising tide of the Texas sovereignty: Mexico, in one of the greatest historical ironies, developed a keen interest in Texas independence.
From 1973 to roughly 1985, Mexican society has been in what Mexicans have called La Decada Perdida, or the Lost Decade. The economy had been devastated by the oil shocks, the ruling PRI was engulfed in numerous scandals, the China White epidemic had created some horrific battles between drug cartels in the North of the country, and the peso had become worthless.
But by the mid-1980s, a new political wave was rocking the Mexican nation. Both in reaction to the ineptitude of the PRI, and the growing anti-American attitudes of Mexican society, Cuauhtémoc Cardenas and his New Democratic Party was voted into power-the first non-PRI government in almost 60 years on an economically populist and nationalist agenda.
Cardenas, the son of the radical populist Lazaro Cardenas, professed a desire to bring about major change to Mexican society, and make it a first world power. By the end of his term, he had indeed put Mexico on the path toward a first world, and was lauded throughout Mexican society.
However, he was forced to relinquish some of the more radical ideas of his supporters and his venerated father, and watered down much of his rhetoric. This earned him the pejorative nickname of Lazarito (Little Lazaro) by his left-wing critics (which quickly evolved into a more complimentary nickname).
Cardenas himself was incredibly fearful of the actions of the Rumsfeld government. As a Latin leftist, he feared becoming the next Salvador Allende or Jacobo Arbenz, two other Latin American leftists who had been tossed from power by the hand of the CIA. (And as it turned out, the US government had indeed gotten involved with Mexican drug cartels). His strengthening of border security was partly because he thought American agents would disguise themselves as refugees.
He watered down much of his populist rhetoric to prevent a possible invasion or subterfuge by the US. This would turn out to be his long-term benefit.
By the 1980s, much of the Americas had either been consumed by fascism, the social radicalism of the Cuerdans, or the ideological lunacy of the United States. The economic isolation of the latter posed a major threat to the global economy.
Cardenas, by proving to be a moderate in a sea of fanaticism, was able to receive enormous trade and foreign investment from Canadian, European, and East Asian firms.
He also drifted away from the anti-clericalism of his father, and sought an ally in Pope Pius, as Mexicans, especially the nascent Cuerdan movement, began looking to the Pope as an icon of liberation.
Through this investment and brilliant political maneuvering, Cardenas was able to fund anti-corruption drives and poverty programs. He had managed to earn both the respect of political and economic elites and the working poor in Mexico. He was also helped by the return of American laborers, and Mexican Americans (legal ones) who managed to bring education and marketable skills.
By 1988, the Mexican economy had recovered from the Decada Perdida, and was considered more reliable than the US economy. This economic renaissance was followed by a cultural wave, as Mexican artists, writers, and cartoonists began celebrating their nation’s proud history.
But even as Mexico enjoyed an economic and cultural pride, Cardenas saw a new threat begin to rise and surpass that of Rumsfeld: the Christian Values Party. He rightly interpreted their call for a “global crusade” rightly as another excuse for American imperialism. It was due to this that Southerners, a group associated with conservative Christianity were heavily targeted and profiled by the Mexican border authorities. The collapse of the American economy in late 1988 also increased the flow of refugees into Mexico, and Cardenas feared millions of gringo refugees flooding into the border.
Cardenas began secretly building up Mexico’s arms industry, but when his intelligences services told him about a growing Texas independence movement, Cardenas saw an opportunity to create a useful buffer zone between a radical Christian America and his beloved country-as well as potential ally and trading partner in an impoverished North America. (He had already begun talks with the Sacramento government).
In 1988 Cardenas was succeeded by Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, who had been closely associated with the Carednas Administration. Though President Munoz Ledo claimed to be his own man, many suspected ex-President was still pulling the strings from the background. Unusually, for Mexican politics, ex-President Cardenas had gotten himself elected to the Mexican Senate, so he remained an active figure in Mexican federal politics.
Friday, March 31, 1989
Ed Crane and several other libertarian governors meet in Boise, and reiterate their refusal
Vang Pao, a Laotian General of Hmong ancestry, becomes Laos’ first democratically elected Prime Minister (although King Saurvayong Savang remains the ceremonial head of state). He pledges to work with Vietnam’s Ngo Quang Truong and Cambodia’s Sirik Matak toward increasing economic and political ties with each other.
Protests breakout across US in opposition to the February orders, but they are suppressed by CV-controlled police forces in CV controlled areas, but continue in areas were CV control is weak, or where local authorities are strong enough to block the Holy Battalions from taking action..
In Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, a Cuerdan-style protest was broken up by troops loyal to “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Much of these protests have been against Duvalier’s tyranny and sudden conversion to Evangelical Christianity, (which has been credited with his ties to the Robertson administration).
Saturday, April 1, 1989
SNICO Director Douglas Coe issues an injunction against Alabama Governor George Wallace for his refusal to heed the rules of the February orders. Governor Wallace immediately challenges the injunction in court as in-Constitutional.
“This man stands in the way of building a moral society,” Coe said, “I hope our courts do the correct thing and deliver Wallace to justice.”
Sunday, April 2, 1989
Hughes Ad:
Narration: The Acting President Robertson, acting with the wisdom granted to him by the Lord, believed America should be allowed to get back to work.
(shows pictures of happy construction workers dutifully building roads)
Sign up for WorkCorps, and help build a godly America.
Akron, OH
Michael Vinnick walked up to the CV office, his mind in a rage.
“What the hell is this,” Vinnick screamed at the clerk, banging on the glass window.
“Mind your language,” the clerk said, disgust on his face.
“Fuck you,” Vinnick said. “You fuckers cheated me!”
“How so?”
Vinnick was grateful that the highways were finally getting rebuild, and that he would have his first stable job in two years. When Rumsfeld was in office, he was forced to bid low to get any kind of work. He happily joined WorkCorps, but he soon discovered there was fine print attached.
“I only got half of what I was promised,” Vinnick barked. “The other half went to this so-called T-Tax.” The clerk just gave him a condescending tax.
“The T-Tax is the Tithe- Tax,” the clerk said calmly.
“God tax,” Vinnick said with disdain. “I already go to church on Sunday and put some money in the collection plate…”
“The tithe- tax ensures that you pay a good tithe to his faithful servants.” The clerk’s smug smile was replaced with a frown. “Or do you believe that his warriors should starve?”
“No,” Vinnick said, “but because of this tithe, I am making as much as I did under-,”
“Poverty is the fault of you, and your lack of faith,” the clerk replied with a condescending snort. “Serve the Lord, and the rewards will come. But remain without faith…and you will fall into the pit of hell.” Without saying a word, the clerk shut his window down and walked away.
Vinnick stared at the closed window, clenching his fist.
At least when the Rumsfeldians screwed you over, they were honest about it.
Monday, April 3, 1989
BBC Interview with US President Pat Robertson and John Pilger
Pilger: Mr. President, you believe that Governor Wallace should be arrested for not heeding the Moral Decency Orders.
Robertson: Of course, this man has violated God’s will.
Pilger: But you sir have professed a belief in states’ rights, doesn’t your order-
Robertson: States’ rights are reserved for those who kneel before God’s will. No, this is just plain hooliganism on the part of Wallace. We intend to cleans our nation of the licentious behavior that brought Rumsfeld, and he only stands in our way.
Wallace: Robertson must be talkin’ to green aliens, because what he is saying sure sounds out of this world to me.
The Hughes Network airs The Pacific Campaign. It is basically similar in plot to The Righteous Crusade, except the setting shifts to Hawaii, with converts waging war on a savage and barbaric (at least in the words of the missionary characters) Hawaiian natives, and converting them to Christianity. The film is meant to justify a war against the Hawaiian Islands. Due to its wildly inaccurate portrayal of Hawaiian customs, and the toughness of the Hawaiian characters, the film becomes an unintentional hit among the Hawaiian nationalist movement.
Wednesday, April 5, 1989
The Supreme Court rules in favor of Douglas Coe 6-3, with Thurmond, White, and Rehnquist in dissent. Phyllis Schlafly, writing the majority opinion concludes “that the Moral Decency Act and other of the acts pasted serve a moral purpose that supersedes any state interest, and that the federal government is endowed with primacy overall states”, and orders Wallace and other state governments that have not participated in the Moral Decency Act due so in fear of prosecution.
Wallace reiterates his refusal to continue to endorse this law.
“Yes, I am guilty of defying court orders in the past. I did so out of desire for political gain. But now I realize those orders were in the interest of building a better nation. This Supreme Court, full of people with a crazed interpretation of God- has taken to challenging our natural rights-not just states’ rights-so I will not abide by it,” says Wallace in a session with the Alabama State Senate.
SNICO orders the arrest of George Wallace under charges of “subversion and moral indecency”.
Friday, April 7, 1989
The Montgomery Standoff: A group of federal Marshalls, aligned with Holy Battalions in Alabama, arrive in Montgomery to arrest Governor George Wallace for his refusal to enforce the Moral Decency Act. They are confronted by a multiracial group of Alabama National Guard and State Police in front of the Alabama State House.
The head of the CV delegation walks up to the Alabama Police Chief.
CV: I have a warrant for the arrest of that sinner George Wallace.
Police: Well, you’ll have to enforce it, yourself sir.
CV: Mr. Police Chief, do you wish to be in the way of moral decency.
The Police Chief and his family had been voting for Wallace since 1958. They hadn’t supported Wallace just on race. It was thanks to Wallace he could get free textbooks for school. He backed him in 1976, when the rest of his family had voted for Reagan. He had more attachment to the Governor then this nut.
Police: I stand for the rights of the sovereign state of Alabama sir. This government does not.
A gun battle (believed to have been caused by an irascible Holy Battalion member) takes place between the Holy Battalions and the forced assembled. 5 CVs and 4 state Alabama officers lay dead
The first shots of the Second American Civil War are said to have been fired where the first Civil War had begun 128 years later, in Montgomery.
Sunday, April 9, 1989
Pat Robertson gives a speech decrying the act of “the sinner Wallace,” and urges other states not to give into “sinful temptations, or face the wrath of God.”
Several Southern states begin sending National Guard troops into Alabama.
In Harrisburg, Nebraska, a similar dispute to what happened in Alabama as a sheriff refuses an order to round up a Bozeman Commune whose members
Across many Western and Midwestern states, similar skirmishes take place between Holy Battalions and Libertarian dominated law enforcement.
White House
Douglas Coe: Pat, sinners are beginning to rise up, we must-
Pat Robertson: No, we must not throw anymore fire into this gasoline, we are not yet ready.
Douglas Coe: We must make an example-
Pat Robertson: Oh, I am very prepared to make an example. But it must be done in a way to not further break down our country.
Coe nodded in assent, but still seethed over the seeming weak-will of Pat. But then, he reassured himself, he is only the acting President. The Eternal President is the one who really matters, and in whose service they were all pledged.
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Ronald Galtieri: “They are planning to use the Article V provisions of the Constitution to kill it. Damn bastards, they are destroying the very foundation of this country.”
Jimmy Carter: “Or maybe they have given us the opportunity we need to defeat them on their own ground. Their hold on many states is not as firm as they think.”
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The cities of Lanzhou and Jiuzhaigou fall to the Chinese Caliphate forces.
