Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

AFAIK. ITTL's USA legal environment, a widow pretty much becomes the chattel of her father, father-in-law, uncle or other male relative and any assets go to him to do with as he pleases.

WTAF? Is this the 1950's or the 1650's?
Not a dig at you, but if your summation is accurate for TTL then it makes Ireland ITTL seem far less patriarchal.
 
IIRC this was actually 'valid'* law up until OTL 1960's for the US.

*just not enforced for quite a while but technically still on the books and could be used, here the Supreme Court unearthed that language in an attempt to punt a race relations lawsuit (I think) down the road for somebody else to deal with. Great idea, much success.
 
Nancy had gotten an earful of woe when she had made the mistake of calling her friend Beatrice in Portland. Beatrice was convinced that her husband Ross was having another affair and she was terrified that she was pregnant again. Thirty-two years-old, five children and trapped in a loveless marriage because in Oregon getting a divorce required moving Heaven and Earth. Even if she was successful in giving Ross the boot, the odds were very high that Beatrice would lose everything in the process.
First off Nancy when she gets back from the United States should give Kat a great big hug and thank you for saving her from the same fate as Beatrice and inspiring her to make the most of her talents.
As for divorce laws in the United States this is taking place before the IOTL push for "No-Fault" laws when judges could deny divorces for any reason if they wanted to and if they were contested by the responding party it could get really messy, really fast.
Digging up dirt on the spouse was the bread and butter for private detectives in this time, Jake Gettis from the movie Chinatown made his living this way.
I remember seeing the original syndicated Divorce Court television show from the Fifties and Sixties which took actual cases and dramatize them, sometime the divorce would be granted and sometimes it would not and the couple would be shown reconciling.
 
In reality though, a lot didn't "reconcile". Tell me, was Spousal Rape on the books yet in the US at this point?
It wasn't until the 1970's that Spousal Rape laws were put in place, in California there was a State Senator who got in trouble for the quote "If a man can't rape his wife, then who can he rape?" ironically he was a major supporter of the bill and he was trying to illustrate the attitudes of those who opposed the bill.
 
WTAF? Is this the 1950's or the 1650's?
Not a dig at you, but if your summation is accurate for TTL then it makes Ireland ITTL seem far less patriarchal.

Well, my rhetoric may be a little overblown but if women can't vote, own property or have authority over their own money it looks a lot like ownership.
 
To give a French perspective OTL :
1965. La femme mariée n'est plus considérée comme une mineure. Réforme des régimes matrimoniaux.

341966. La femme peut exercer une activité professionnelle sans l'autorisation de son mari. Interdiction de licenciement d'une femme enceinte. Loi qui instaure l'adoption plénière même par une personne célibataire.

In 1965 and 1966, laws reforms the matrimonial regimes, the woman as spouse is no more considered as a minor, she can exert a profession or open a bank account without the authorization from her husband
 
First off Nancy when she gets back from the United States should give Kat a great big hug and thank you for saving her from the same fate as Beatrice and inspiring her to make the most of her talents.
Elizabeth II ITTL and IOTL doesn't seem to be doing that bad. Also, cheating and a loveless marriage is a risk for non-dynastic marriages as well.
 
IIRC this was actually 'valid'* law up until OTL 1960's for the US.

*just not enforced for quite a while but technically still on the books and could be used, here the Supreme Court unearthed that language in an attempt to punt a race relations lawsuit (I think) down the road for somebody else to deal with. Great idea, much success.

Every place in the world has old laws like that sitting and molding away. Where I live, supposedly a woman cannot cut her hair without her husband's permission. Good luck enforcing that. You are also supposed to receive 10 cents for every rat head you bring into the local town hall. Rather than showing you the money, however, they show you the door. A nearby city has a law prohibiting tying crocodiles to fire hydrants.
 
Every place in the world has old laws like that sitting and molding away. Where I live, supposedly a woman cannot cut her hair without her husband's permission. Good luck enforcing that. You are also supposed to receive 10 cents for every rat head you bring into the local town hall. Rather than showing you the money, however, they show you the door. A nearby city has a law prohibiting tying crocodiles to fire hydrants.
As I noted in the post #4148, the laws were only changed in France in 1966, an half-century for us, but the near future for the TL, you could be surprised by the state of the law in the 1960s in your actual location. And even if the authorization were never refused in reality, a bank employee could have be in hot water f he opened an account to a wife without the accord of a possessive husband.
 
As I noted in the post #4148, the laws were only changed in France in 1966, an half-century for us, but the near future for the TL, you could be surprised by the state of the law in the 1960s in your actual location. And even if the authorization were never refused in reality, a bank employee could have be in hot water f he opened an account to a wife without the accord of a possessive husband.
Back in the 1960s an enterprising graduate of Trinity College delved into the statutes and demanded his statutory daily allowance of small beer. The Dean acceded to his request but then fined him five pounds for failing to wear his sword.
 
IOTL at this time there was an effort by many states to clean up the outdated laws on the books so I don’t think that it will be butterflied away but it may go in different directions.
 
IIRC there was a proposal in Colorado to let car dealerships open on Sundays. The owners of the dealerships opposed it because if one opened then they all would have to and the owners didn't want to spend the extra money.

The Florida laws about elephants and parking meters arose because the Barnum and Bailey circus would come to town and 'park' the animals in the streets.
 
It is amazing how many of these “Stupid Laws” are actually based on real problems, in Carmel, Ca it is against the law to wear high heels but that is because the streets are made out of cobblestone and it is very easy to hurt yourself walking on the street in heels.
 
It is amazing how many of these “Stupid Laws” are actually based on real problems, in Carmel, Ca it is against the law to wear high heels but that is because the streets are made out of cobblestone and it is very easy to hurt yourself walking on the street in heels.

It is illegal in Ireland to operate a megaphone and drive at the same time.

This law predates mobile phones by a fair amount so I'm sure it is election shenanigan related.
 
Part 86, Chapter 1329
Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Nine


18th May 1959

Over the Mid-Atlantic

Kristina had fallen asleep wrapped in the white wool blanket with brightly colored stripes that had been a gift from the First Lady of the United States. Louis could see the cloth tag that was stitched onto one corner that said Pendleton Woolen Mills. She had been looking out the window, so her glasses were hanging off the tip of her nose. Louis gently lifted them off her nose and placed them on the table next to the glass of fruit juice that Kristina had forgotten about. Kristina murmured something and fell back asleep. Without the glasses and in the dim light of the cabin, Kristina looked a bit like she had years earlier when she had been a child. Even then she had been opinionated and difficult, her need to ask questions overcoming her being inherently shy. She would do that until the adult she was talking to would eventually flee. It many ways she was still the same. Just the topics had changed, and the questions were frequently mixed with complaints these days.

It had been the questions and complaints that had been why Louis had been reluctant to bring her along after Charlotte and Katherine had suggested it. The whole purpose of this trip was to express solidarity on the world stage, show the American people that they were not demons from the pits of Hell and whatnot. Of course, Charlotte couldn’t travel at the moment. Of Louis’ children, Friedrich would have been perfect except he was unavailable because of his posting in Vietnam. Michael had decided to become the paragon of the Panzer Corps and he was all too likely to fit the stereotype of what too many people thought Germany was about, like if it had been frozen in amber sometime late in the previous century. Kiki was a good choice, but only if she could manage to behave herself. Louis Junior was too young and even if they were older, Louis would never consider taking the twins anywhere on anything like this. Sending Marie and Victoria anywhere requiring diplomacy might as well be a declaration of war.

So, as it had turned out, Kristina had been the best choice available. Though, Louis knew that the last thing needed was his daughter creating an ugly scene on the international stage. Katherine had said that once Kristina understood what was at stake, she would do what was expected of her. It had turned out that was the case, however Louis had spent much of the trip expecting to get a report of Kristina having made some comment that had outraged the sensibilities of their American hosts.

Mostly, Kristina had acquitted herself well. The Press had been on hand for the various things that she had done, and the Americans had this odd fascination with Royalty. It was obvious to anyone that Kristina was no fairytale Princess, instead she was an academic and something of an introvert. Frequently a question was met with no more than a nervous smile. It remained to be seen how the American public would react to her in the future. In the present, the image of her that they were left with was her sitting on a table in a park answering questions from girls just a few years younger than she was.

There had however been a few surprising moments. Like when Louis learned that Nancy D’Alesandro, the daughter of Maryland Senator Thomas D’Alesandro, had been Kristina’s pen pal for the last few years. This trip had been the first opportunity for them to meet in person. Nancy Jensen had arranged for that to happen. Like everything Kristina had done, it had been in full view of the Press. Louis had seen the photographs. Two girls sitting in some informal location laughing about something. It was perfectly in keeping with the purpose of the entire trip. The hiccup had come when Nancy D’Alesandro had told Kristina that she intended to follow her father into politics with others listening in. It had raised a few eyebrows when Kristina had told her it was a wonderful goal. Kristina didn’t know a whole lot about American Politics, otherwise she might have phrased that differently. The child of a United States Senator would almost automatically have Statewide name recognition in their home State, a springboard to much higher office if they desired.

The lightweight bulkheads that compartmentalized much of the cabin of the big airliner gave Louis and Kristina considerable privacy on this flight. The space they had wasn’t particularly large, four seats facing each other and a small desk/table, but for an airliner it was the absolute height of luxury. Even so, it was still being cooped up in a metal tube for hours on end. The rumble of the engines and the hiss of the cabin pressurization were always present to remind one of that. Louis could hear the flight crew, his staff or men from the First Foot talking as they moved up and down the aisle just outside.

The door opened and Nancy Jensen stuck her head in, and Louis gestured to the seat across from him. She had done a good job of making the necessary arrangements ahead of his arrival in the United States for press availability and public appearances, making sure that things ran smoothly. Louis knew that she was a friend of Katherine’s going way back and a bit about her personal history like he did with all the people who worked directly for him. He was also aware that her husband was being considered for that Staff position in the Ministry of War, just getting him to leave his beloved Sealions would prove to be a bit of a challenge, even if it entailed a promotion. When Louis had extended her an invitation to fly with his entourage back to Germany, she had happily taken it.

“Kiki looks so sweet when she’s sleeping” Nancy whispered.

“She does” Louis replied softly.

“I wanted to thank you for letting me fly back on this plane” Nancy whispered.

“It was the least I could do.”

“I had a sort of there but the grace of God, go I moment while I was in New York” Nancy whispered, “Getting home is all I’ve wanted since.”

Louis could only imagine what that might have looked like. There were just too many possibilities.
 
Just as spending a year in Japan did a world of good for Kiki maybe having Vicky and Rea spend a year at Knox Atoll in the Marshall Islands might help.
If Crown Prince Friedrich made the trip we would have seen the beginning of "Freddymania" in America.
Kiki may have just learned that being a princess has an upside when she saw how much she inspired the young girls that she met.
I wonder if the Kaiser had some of the Famous Chesapeake Blue Crabs served "Hoover" style to him?
Nancy D'Alesandro knowing that Kiki likes to sleep in an oversized Hertha jersey, may have given her a Baltimore Colts Jersey as a gift.
 
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