Yeah, Germany has several options. It could go for a permanent lunar base, asteroid mining, or possibly some kind of orbital industrial park.
The Union Forever: A TL
- Thread starter Mac Gregor
- Start date
Yeah, Germany has several options. It could go for a permanent lunar base, asteroid mining, or possibly some kind of orbital industrial park.
Here's a morbid question... what's the story of the Catholic Church global abuse scandal, which first broke open OTL in 2002? Nothing about the POD changes the inherent problems with the Church that led to the abuse scandal. Given that TTL seems to have an overall more religious world (or at least a more religious population in the West than OTL), I wonder if the scandal has been exposed and if so, how has it affected the Church and Catholics in different parts of the globe?
I can't speak for Mac Gregor or his canon, but I do know that America is slightly more religious in TUF, and Europe is experiencing a religious revival on a massive scale. If the abuse is still taking place, it might be more limited, it might cause the offending priests to be exiled instead of hushed up, and it could be viewed by the religious people as an event that will allow the Church to purify itself through these hardships.
I notice that there was a lack of cultural malaise and upheaval in the West during the mid-20th Century (at least on the Continent and in North America–it may have still occurred in Britain). No WWII/Cold War/Vietnam/Watergate means no widespread sexual revolution and no collapse of public faith in institutions. The multi-polar world has kept a healthy(?) form of nationalism in public life. Likewise, the lack of rapid changes in public morality from the 1970s-2000s means no rise of religious traditionalism as a political force of cultural backlash. The largest religious political movements ITTL seem to be from the left either economically, socially, or both. The challenge to traditional religions ITTL seems to be liberal revivalism, rather than widespread secularism–which is probably negatively associated with technocracy.
Pivoting to Catholicism, TUF does have an analog for Vatican II, but I wonder if the Beulens movement (mostly a Protestant phenomenon?) doesn't spread to the Catholic layperson. I imagine the movement to liberalize the Church's practices would be even stronger ITTL than OTL. Especially by the 2000s/2010s.
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Shit, this TL is still going? I remember reading this when it first started back in the day. For some reason I thought you had ended the timeline. But here it is! Still going! Good on you! I'll have to reread this amazing TL and catch up now!
That would be something wouldn’t it. Kind of like the Battle for the South Pole during the Asia-Pacific War but you know on the moon.
This is random, but I've been watching Ken Burns' Civil War series. They just started discussing the Peninsula Campaign, and as they're talking about McClellan, I keep wishing for him to be thrown from his horse so that this horrid war can have a better ending!
Excellent question. I won’t give anything away but it will be discussed in the next update.
It’s still going. Thanks for your suppport and let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!
Profile: Zachart T. McKinnis
Zachary T. McKinnis (1874 - 1937)
Born in Dale City, Iowa to a poor farming family, Zachary McKinnis was a gifted child who excelled in primary school. Not wanting her son's talents to be wasted toiling on a farm like his father, McKinnis' mother urged him to pursue collegiate education. Much to the dismay of his father, McKinnis agreed, and attended the University of Iowa in the fall of 1892, where he met his wife Blanche Lepore. While in the midst of pursuing a degree, McKinnis' fraternity brothers urged him to enter into student politics. He took to it immediately, and served as a political organizer for the Democratic Party on campus. After graduation, he worked in the state’s party office until 1902, when he ran for the 2nd District seat in the Iowan General Assembly. He served there with distinction for several years. In 1914, he was elected to the state senate and quickly earned a reputation for fierce, persuasive as the majority whip. As a state senator, McKinnis was known for his fiscal conservatism cutting both taxes and spending. The only major infrastructure project he sanctioned was a road from Des Moines to Sioux City, to facilitate the growing number of automobiles. His support for the workers of the state helped solidify the Democratic Party's dominance over the labor union vote, and they would serve as a cornerstone of the party's political machine.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1920, McKinnis made a name for himself as a moderate Democrat that tolerated no nonsense, from either his Republican opponents, or his own party. His reputation grew as a usually quiet, effective congressman, but one who would harbor a grudge if crossed. During the Donner administration's scandals, he favored impeachment of the president, and was consistently critical of Donner's handling of the Panic of 1923. When Harold Abercrombie won the next presidential election, McKinnis was one his most ardent supporters in Congress, including backing the failed motion to abolish the Bank of the United States. He consistently clashed with the more puritanical members of the Democratic Party and voted against prohibition.
In 1932, McKinnis became the Democratic nominee for president as a compromise candidate during the contentious party convention in Minneapolis. McKinnis would likely never have been nominated had the heir apparent, Vice President Kenneth P. Bergstrom, not died during the primaries. After a hard fought campaign against Republican Jerry F. Dawson, McKinnis won the presidency. He proceeded to follow his predecessor's policies in cutting taxes and paying off the national debt. Under his strict guidance and using skills perfected over his political career, he decreased the debt to its lowest level since the late 1890s. Although abhorring government spending, McKinnis did back a plan for greater electrification, including the construction of the McKinnis Dam on the Colorado River. McKinnis’ belief in small government, states rights, and non-interventionist foreign policy encapsulated the thinking of most Democrats, if not most Americans, at the time. Although eager to run for a second term, a lung cancer diagnosis made him realize that it would be a disservice to the country. He publicly stated the reason for his refusal in a widely listened to radio address. In one of the last major events of his presidency, Puerto Rico joined the Union on November 3, 1936. It is now widely thought that Ruerto Rico’s admission was intended to improve Vice President Edgar D. Glover’s ailing prospects in the 1936 election.
McKinnis died eight months later at his home in Iowa. Today, McKnnis remains a little remembered president outside of his home state. However in recent years, some historians have reevaluated his standing based on his administration's sound handling of the economy and lack of foreign policy missteps.
Born in Dale City, Iowa to a poor farming family, Zachary McKinnis was a gifted child who excelled in primary school. Not wanting her son's talents to be wasted toiling on a farm like his father, McKinnis' mother urged him to pursue collegiate education. Much to the dismay of his father, McKinnis agreed, and attended the University of Iowa in the fall of 1892, where he met his wife Blanche Lepore. While in the midst of pursuing a degree, McKinnis' fraternity brothers urged him to enter into student politics. He took to it immediately, and served as a political organizer for the Democratic Party on campus. After graduation, he worked in the state’s party office until 1902, when he ran for the 2nd District seat in the Iowan General Assembly. He served there with distinction for several years. In 1914, he was elected to the state senate and quickly earned a reputation for fierce, persuasive as the majority whip. As a state senator, McKinnis was known for his fiscal conservatism cutting both taxes and spending. The only major infrastructure project he sanctioned was a road from Des Moines to Sioux City, to facilitate the growing number of automobiles. His support for the workers of the state helped solidify the Democratic Party's dominance over the labor union vote, and they would serve as a cornerstone of the party's political machine.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1920, McKinnis made a name for himself as a moderate Democrat that tolerated no nonsense, from either his Republican opponents, or his own party. His reputation grew as a usually quiet, effective congressman, but one who would harbor a grudge if crossed. During the Donner administration's scandals, he favored impeachment of the president, and was consistently critical of Donner's handling of the Panic of 1923. When Harold Abercrombie won the next presidential election, McKinnis was one his most ardent supporters in Congress, including backing the failed motion to abolish the Bank of the United States. He consistently clashed with the more puritanical members of the Democratic Party and voted against prohibition.
In 1932, McKinnis became the Democratic nominee for president as a compromise candidate during the contentious party convention in Minneapolis. McKinnis would likely never have been nominated had the heir apparent, Vice President Kenneth P. Bergstrom, not died during the primaries. After a hard fought campaign against Republican Jerry F. Dawson, McKinnis won the presidency. He proceeded to follow his predecessor's policies in cutting taxes and paying off the national debt. Under his strict guidance and using skills perfected over his political career, he decreased the debt to its lowest level since the late 1890s. Although abhorring government spending, McKinnis did back a plan for greater electrification, including the construction of the McKinnis Dam on the Colorado River. McKinnis’ belief in small government, states rights, and non-interventionist foreign policy encapsulated the thinking of most Democrats, if not most Americans, at the time. Although eager to run for a second term, a lung cancer diagnosis made him realize that it would be a disservice to the country. He publicly stated the reason for his refusal in a widely listened to radio address. In one of the last major events of his presidency, Puerto Rico joined the Union on November 3, 1936. It is now widely thought that Ruerto Rico’s admission was intended to improve Vice President Edgar D. Glover’s ailing prospects in the 1936 election.
McKinnis died eight months later at his home in Iowa. Today, McKnnis remains a little remembered president outside of his home state. However in recent years, some historians have reevaluated his standing based on his administration's sound handling of the economy and lack of foreign policy missteps.
Profile: Daniel E. Warburton
Daniel E. Warburton (1881 - 1962)
Daniel E. Warburton was born in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1881 to a prominent local family. Growing up, Warburton wished to escape the quaint, quiet life of Southern Pennsylvania, and joined the army upon America's entry to the Great War, but saw no active combat. Following the war, Warburton took advantage of various government scholarships available to veterans and earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he earned a reputation as an aggressive and successful prosecutor. Warburton was eventually tapped as the Republican candidate for governor. Though it was a hard fought campaign, Warburton was victorious, and served as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1935. During his governorship, he focused on civil service reform in the state, which had begun to earn an unsavory reputation for graft and corruption. Though improving the quality of governance in the state, he was little loved for his efforts, and when he announced that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for President in 1936, many were glad to see him off.
In the summer of 1936, President Zachary T. McKinnis announced that due to his recently diagnosed lung cancer, he would not be seeking re-election and would instead throw his full support behind his Vice President, Edgar D. Glover (1877-1943). Warburton was secretly thrilled, as Glover was reputed to have secretly been involved in several scandals in his home state of Mississippi. Declaring that he was the best candidate to "teach Pennsylvanian virtue to the folks on Pennsylvania Avenue", Warburton narrowly won the Republican nomination and turned his sights towards beating the Democrats in November.
Even with a good message against a back-up candidate, Warburton had an uphill battle. McKinnis had been a popular president, and Glover ran on a message of maintaining the bountiful status quo. But in addition to a dirty reputation, Glover had several racist outbursts fueled by a burgeoning problem with alcoholism. It was enough to turn off swing voters towards the Republicans, and Daniel Warburton became the next President of the United States by a narrow margin.
Though Warburton had won the Presidential race, the down ballot seats in both the House and Senate had gone for the Democrats. Warburton soon found himself faced with and obstinate and occasionally hostile Congress, who took great delight in stonewalling any of the president's policies they could. As he was questioned on the issue of conflict between Congress and the White House at a press conference, he glumly stated that he had been a Lame Duck president from the moment he came into office, giving rise to the nickname 'Ducky', which he bore for the rest of his life.
When his signature pieces of legislation were defeated and the Senate refused to entertain his arguments on the merits of a more interventionist foreign policy, Warburton resigned himself to his fate, and focused on small pieces of legislation that would not be as controversial. These including the construction of several national monuments, the establishment of a great number of national parks, and designating federal holidays. Chief among these were the Great War Memorial in Washington D.C., Pico Duarte National Park in Santo Domingo, and Armistice Day on December 9th.
The Democrats rejoiced that they were able to thwart the President’s agenda. The Speaker of the House glibly remarked "perhaps if we raise enough of a fuss during the next election, he'll give us the White House as well!" Republicans were also furious at his resigned demeanor, with many of the top members of the party considering whether or not they should run someone else in the 1940 election. Though able to stave off any contenders from his own party, Warburton was a damaged nominee and when the Democrats nominated the young and amiable Vernon Kirkman (1898-1981) of Massachusetts, many saw the writing on the wall.
Kirkman dominated the sitting president during the race, and on election day, the result was never in doubt. After Kirkman's inauguration, Warburton returned back home to Gettysburg and resumed his legal practice with his son Thomas for several years before retiring.
Today, Warburton's presidency is often overlooked. Arguable, his greatest legacy may be the many national parks he helped create, which are still found throughout the country.
Daniel E. Warburton was born in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1881 to a prominent local family. Growing up, Warburton wished to escape the quaint, quiet life of Southern Pennsylvania, and joined the army upon America's entry to the Great War, but saw no active combat. Following the war, Warburton took advantage of various government scholarships available to veterans and earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he earned a reputation as an aggressive and successful prosecutor. Warburton was eventually tapped as the Republican candidate for governor. Though it was a hard fought campaign, Warburton was victorious, and served as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1935. During his governorship, he focused on civil service reform in the state, which had begun to earn an unsavory reputation for graft and corruption. Though improving the quality of governance in the state, he was little loved for his efforts, and when he announced that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for President in 1936, many were glad to see him off.
In the summer of 1936, President Zachary T. McKinnis announced that due to his recently diagnosed lung cancer, he would not be seeking re-election and would instead throw his full support behind his Vice President, Edgar D. Glover (1877-1943). Warburton was secretly thrilled, as Glover was reputed to have secretly been involved in several scandals in his home state of Mississippi. Declaring that he was the best candidate to "teach Pennsylvanian virtue to the folks on Pennsylvania Avenue", Warburton narrowly won the Republican nomination and turned his sights towards beating the Democrats in November.
Even with a good message against a back-up candidate, Warburton had an uphill battle. McKinnis had been a popular president, and Glover ran on a message of maintaining the bountiful status quo. But in addition to a dirty reputation, Glover had several racist outbursts fueled by a burgeoning problem with alcoholism. It was enough to turn off swing voters towards the Republicans, and Daniel Warburton became the next President of the United States by a narrow margin.
Though Warburton had won the Presidential race, the down ballot seats in both the House and Senate had gone for the Democrats. Warburton soon found himself faced with and obstinate and occasionally hostile Congress, who took great delight in stonewalling any of the president's policies they could. As he was questioned on the issue of conflict between Congress and the White House at a press conference, he glumly stated that he had been a Lame Duck president from the moment he came into office, giving rise to the nickname 'Ducky', which he bore for the rest of his life.
When his signature pieces of legislation were defeated and the Senate refused to entertain his arguments on the merits of a more interventionist foreign policy, Warburton resigned himself to his fate, and focused on small pieces of legislation that would not be as controversial. These including the construction of several national monuments, the establishment of a great number of national parks, and designating federal holidays. Chief among these were the Great War Memorial in Washington D.C., Pico Duarte National Park in Santo Domingo, and Armistice Day on December 9th.
The Democrats rejoiced that they were able to thwart the President’s agenda. The Speaker of the House glibly remarked "perhaps if we raise enough of a fuss during the next election, he'll give us the White House as well!" Republicans were also furious at his resigned demeanor, with many of the top members of the party considering whether or not they should run someone else in the 1940 election. Though able to stave off any contenders from his own party, Warburton was a damaged nominee and when the Democrats nominated the young and amiable Vernon Kirkman (1898-1981) of Massachusetts, many saw the writing on the wall.
Kirkman dominated the sitting president during the race, and on election day, the result was never in doubt. After Kirkman's inauguration, Warburton returned back home to Gettysburg and resumed his legal practice with his son Thomas for several years before retiring.
Today, Warburton's presidency is often overlooked. Arguable, his greatest legacy may be the many national parks he helped create, which are still found throughout the country.
That's alot of state names for battleships and for future captial warships.
That is actually not the most up to date map of the USA. There have been a few retcons over the years.
The African War: 2024
The African War
2024
2024
Flag of the State of Islamic Nigeria
As the new year dawned, both the Coalition for a Democratic Africa (CDA) and the All-African Alliance (AAA) found themselves increasingly taxed by the onerous requirements of modern war. Medicine, food, and fuel were in desperately short supply, as the nations of sub-Saharan Africa battled for the fate of the continent. Infrastructure, in many regions already inadequate and poorly maintained, crumbled under the stress of military use, the influx of millions of refugees, and sporadic bombings. It is no exaggeration to say that the war only continued by the steady infusion of foreign money and equipment, which as it increased, threatened to draw the great powers in to the maelstrom.
Nigerian Theater
In January, West Africa resumed the offensive towards Lagos, trying to breakthrough Nigerian lines. After some initial success, the Nigerians counterattacked. Two Nigerian army corps, armed with newly arrived British made AV91 Fitzpatrick cataphracts, succeeded in pushing the West Africans back across the Ouémé River. In the north, CDA forces met with less success and failed to exploit their gains, in part due to logistical and transportation shortages. On July 3, the pro-AAA militant leader Usman Bankole declared the independence of the northern provinces as the State of Islamic Nigeria in a globtrix streamed message from his headquarters in Sokoto. In the east, things remained relatively quiet, until Chad joined the fray in October on the side of the CDA. While Chad was far from a democracy, it harbored long running grievances against the Republic of the Umbangi, and flushed with foreign cash, sought to even the score. Chadian troops, largely mounted in armed civilian trucks, crossed the border into Umbangi and northeastern occupied Nigeria. The lack of armored vehicles and a proper air force limited their advance, but did relieve considerable pressure off of the Nigerians.
Great Lakes Theater
Field Marshal McWilliams, commander of the East African Army, sought in February to envelope and destroy the invading Abyssinian forces in a sweeping pincer move labeled Operation Black Rhino. However, a renewed push by the Congo towards Goma and incursions by Mozambique in the south, forced him to drastically weaken his left wing. As such, the Abyssinians managed to conduct an organized withdraw to the north with heavy casualties suffered by both sides. By the end of the year, East Africa began making inroads into Abyssinia’s southern territory despite fierce resistance, and had largely pushed AAA forces out of the Independent Congolese Republic. Only in Katanga, did the CDA fail to make appreciable headway, as rooting out AAA infantry units in the dense jungle proved incredibly difficult.
Southern Theater
Intense political pressure on South African Prime Minister Frans Ngcobo forced him to divert resources from the Angolan front and concentrate on Mozambique. By spring, forces were in place for a major counteroffensive dubbed Operation Shaka. As the largest economy on the continent, South Africa had by this stage of the conflict developed an impressive military machine, which over the following months advanced deep inside Mozambique. The Royal South African Navy suffered terribly at the hands of Chinese supplied mines and lost its only aircraft carrier, the HMSAS Mbete, to what was likely an attack by underwater autocraft (UWAC). Despite these losses, Mozambican forces proved wholly outmatched by the CDA. In December, the capital of Chiveve finally fell after horrific street-to-street fighting, with the ruling junta capitulating soon after. Celebrations for knocking the first AAA country out of the war were tempered however, by news of another costly defeat in Angola at the Second Battle of the Cuanza.
International Reaction
Despite massive fundraising, the Global Health Association (GHA) struggled to meet the medical needs of the tens of millions of displaced persons many of which languished in makeshift camps in the neutral nations in northern Africa. The GHA regrettably reported that polio, nearly eliminated in the years before the war, had made an unwelcomed resurgence in several locations, along with deadly outbreaks of cholera, typhus, and malaria. The International Humanitarian Association (IHA) lobbied heavily for non-belligerent states to take larger number of refugees, but many placed restrictions exacerbating the refugee crisis. Still some nations such as Brazil and Australia opened their doors, albeit suffering a backlash from some nativist elements for their troubles. In a conference held in Zurich in November, IHA president Matleena Lehtonen advised that if the war didn’t end soon millions risked dying from starvation and disease.
While China and the Technocratic Union (TU) continued to funnel weapons to the AAA, most of the rest of the world closed ranks. By autumn, disparate groups such as the League of American Republics, Commonwealth of Nations, Turin Pact, Association of European States, Orthodox Council, Coalition of South Asian States, and the Pacific Treaty Organization had arrayed themselves against the TU’s support for the AAA. Other power blocs such as the Turkic League and Persia’s Organization for Mutual Development, not to mention nearly all of the non-aligned members of the Fellowship of Nations, advocated for ending the fighting. As the year came to an end, China’s increasingly isolated leaders met in Peking to discuss their next move.
A refugee camp in Ghana
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China's African gamble looks to be failing for them. Outside of the inner sphere in East Asia, how many other Technocratic or Technocratic-aligned nations are there? If the other alliance networks tighten around them following a defeat of their proxies in Africa, the Chinese could begin to feel encircled and potentially lash out closer to home.
They’ve also shot themselves in the foot by being antagonistic to almost every other major power in the world. Nobody is going to want to help them when they know the Chinese will stab them in the back the first chance they get.
Going forward, China either has to back off from its current foreign policy course and redirect its efforts, or commit to their plan and end up doing something truly stupid.
Something tells me they’re more inclined to take Door #2...
TU is now very isolated and hardly anyone trust them anymore. So them haven't other option as play this game to bitter end.
Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. To answer dakkafex's question, there are no declared technocratic nations outside of East Asia, although many nations have active technocratic movements and political parties.
So it would appear that China and their satellite states in the TU have essentially three choices.
1) Escalate involvement. Bankrolling the war efforts of six nations is already pretty expensive, but one can always throw more money at the problem. Putting boots on the ground or intervening in the air would likely spark a World War, which would pit the TU against most of the rest of the planet, if not a nuclear exchange. However, there is always the chance that the other power blocs might back down.
2) Maintain the current level of involvement and hope that the AAA can get its act together. However, with the collapse of Mozambique, and the repulse of the Congo and Abyssinia's invasions this seems increasingly doubtful . Still if West Africa knocked out Nigeria it could in theory reinforce its allies elsewhere.
3) Deescalate and try to limit damage and retain any gains. If the TU withheld funds the AAA would have little choice but to sue for peace. However, it is questionable whether all of the CDA would agree to a ceasefire, especially Nigeria.
What do y'all think? Are there other options?