You've done it - you discovered the single most Canadian thing of all time.
Sequel de Mayo (Cinco de Mayo, Vol. II)
- Thread starter KingSweden24
- Start date
Je me souviens! I hope it pairs well with poutine!Weird little thought - I was reading today about Acerum (a spirit distilled from maple syrup which has grown popular in Quebec). I wonder if there is any chance that it might end up being produced earlier in the Cinqo-verse and became associated with Quebec nationalism before or during the Troubles. Obviously, Quebec already has Applejack, but giving them a second spirit might 1) became an interesting export - to the New England states if nothing else and 2) could become an interesting symbol of the nation prior to the establishment of their independent government.
Forget Pumpkin Spice—This Canadian Maple Spirit Is Autumn in a Glass
Meet acerum, the boozy pride of Quebec.www.thrillist.com
The American Socialists
"...in the space of less than two years, the American railroading industry was unrecognizable. Historians of the American labor movement note the formation of the USRA as a key inflection point not only in the development of labor as a factor in partisan politics but also the development of sectoral bargaining as the median position between the craft unionism of the AFL and the more radical syndicalism of the Haywood faction of the IWW. Debs' "socialism by any means" position and his canny pragmatism in managing the ARU thus left him enormously influential. With the USRA's formation, it meant that in practical terms the ARU now had only one "boss" to deal with. Rather than negotiating with the constellation of railroad trusts large and small under auspices of the ICC and the Labor Act, the USRA now was the exclusive management of all rail infrastructure in the United States and was thus highly dependent on good relations with the country's largest union.
Debs was quick to leverage this influence. Industrial unionism of the non-syndicalist variety was suddenly in vogue; even if the more conservative United Mine Workers or United Steelworkers had not joined the IWW, their approaches were similar and their leaders looked to Debs for inspiration. The ARU's locals had the ear of Congressmen and Senators of both major parties and several of Debs' chief deputies organized one-on-one meetings with Secretary of War Stimson and President Hughes to discuss matters pertaining to the railroad, minimizing the reputation of the ARU as a den of wild-eyed syndies.
It was not just in political terms that Debs was now ascendant, either. The success of the ARU in streamlining industrial unionism with unions that had soured on Gompers' dictatorial rule over the AFL badly diminished the Western Federation of Miners' ability to define its militant syndicalism as the only alternative vision for organized labor specifically and socialism in general..."
- The American Socialists
Debs was quick to leverage this influence. Industrial unionism of the non-syndicalist variety was suddenly in vogue; even if the more conservative United Mine Workers or United Steelworkers had not joined the IWW, their approaches were similar and their leaders looked to Debs for inspiration. The ARU's locals had the ear of Congressmen and Senators of both major parties and several of Debs' chief deputies organized one-on-one meetings with Secretary of War Stimson and President Hughes to discuss matters pertaining to the railroad, minimizing the reputation of the ARU as a den of wild-eyed syndies.
It was not just in political terms that Debs was now ascendant, either. The success of the ARU in streamlining industrial unionism with unions that had soured on Gompers' dictatorial rule over the AFL badly diminished the Western Federation of Miners' ability to define its militant syndicalism as the only alternative vision for organized labor specifically and socialism in general..."
- The American Socialists
Still holding out that the American Socialist form a viable third party at the state level, if not federal.
wikipedia.en - William Sprague IV
William Sprague IV (September 12, 1830 - September 11, 1915) was an American Liberal politician from Rhode Island who was the US Senator for that state from 1863 until his death in 1915 - at 52 and a half years, it remains the longest tenure of any Senator in United States history. Sprague was elected Governor of Rhode Island during the War of Secession, serving in the Rhode Island Militia at the First Battle of Bull Run, and in 1862 was elected by the state legislature to serve as Senator. Sprague was an important figure in the Republican Party, as the son-in-law of President Salmon Chase, whose agenda he vigorously supported in the Senate, including helping sponsor the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. With the collapse of the Republican Party in the mid-1870s, Sprague followed many of his current and former colleagues into the new Liberal Party and was an important partisan of the James Blaine and John Hay administrations, including serving as the Liberal Conference Chairman and Senate President pro tempore at various times.
Though often associated with fellow New England Protestant conservatives in the "Clique" that dominated the Senate in the 1890s and building the Rhode Island Liberal Party into a personalist machine that allowed him to effectively control both federal patronage for that state as well as much of the state government, Sprague occasionally had an idiosyncratic voting record, surprising observers late in his career by voting in favor of the Revenue Act of 1910 that established a peacetime income tax under the direction of Democratic President William Randolph Hearst. He was successfully elected by popular ballot that same year, the first time in half a century he had faced voters in a general election rather than vote via state legislature, and in the final years of his life supported Rhode Island's contributions to the Great American War. Upon his death the day before his 85th birthday, he was succeeded by his son and protege, William Sprague V.
(Good night, sweet prince - and with his death also dies one of this TL's most niche and exquisite memes, where every election update somebody goes "how the hell is William Sprague still in office?!")
Though often associated with fellow New England Protestant conservatives in the "Clique" that dominated the Senate in the 1890s and building the Rhode Island Liberal Party into a personalist machine that allowed him to effectively control both federal patronage for that state as well as much of the state government, Sprague occasionally had an idiosyncratic voting record, surprising observers late in his career by voting in favor of the Revenue Act of 1910 that established a peacetime income tax under the direction of Democratic President William Randolph Hearst. He was successfully elected by popular ballot that same year, the first time in half a century he had faced voters in a general election rather than vote via state legislature, and in the final years of his life supported Rhode Island's contributions to the Great American War. Upon his death the day before his 85th birthday, he was succeeded by his son and protege, William Sprague V.
(Good night, sweet prince - and with his death also dies one of this TL's most niche and exquisite memes, where every election update somebody goes "how the hell is William Sprague still in office?!")
Attachments
Having Debs enjoy a genuine impact beyond getting thrown in the slammer and running quixotic bids for President multiple times is a goal of the TL
It's a shame he didn't live to get to watch the Confederacy go down in flames
We already have that. At the end of the day Socialists are just stalking horses to get more Liberals elected - no wonder Hughes and Stimson love them all of a sudden.
Inb4 Curtain Jerker does the usual anti-Liberal response post again
Also inb4 William Sprague IX gets re-elected ITTL's 2024
More seriously, welcome back!
Too late!Inb4 Curtain Jerker does the usual anti-Liberal response post again
On a more serious note, Sprague is perfectly fine. His patronage-fueled rule and nepotism is almost quaint compared to the shit Liberals get away with by 1915. Like a throwback to a different age.
I am definitely tempted to just have random William Spragues keep holding the seat like less handsome, less Irish Kennedys (the real Sprague 5 died way before this point ITTL so he’s already quite fictional)Inb4 Curtain Jerker does the usual anti-Liberal response post again
Also inb4 William Sprague IX gets re-elected ITTL's 2024
More seriously, welcome back!
IMO it'd be funnier if it's not just that seat but random other offices. So a Senator here, a Congressman later, and so on, until maybe in 2023 William Sprague X is the leader of the state legislature or something (and still effective state party boss).
Don’t blame the socialist for trying to improve the common man’s life. If Democrats got their shit together that wouldn’t happen.
Yeah but the democrats seem to get shit on because the Liberals have the 'best people'
And how, pray tell, is allying with Liberals in multiple states "improving the common man's life?"
Socialists are all about attacking Democrats (and vice versa) because they aren't progressive enough for their tastes - while at the same exact time giving progressive Liberals nothing but a free pass. Really makes you wonder who's really running the party.