When you Wish Upon a Frog (Book II of the Jim Henson at Disney saga)
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
- Start date
- Status
There is Ninja High School from Antarctic Press:
en.wikipedia.org
Ninja High School - Wikipedia
It'll need a new title to prevent (legal) confusion, sort of like Pocket Monsters vs. Monster in my Pocket.There is Ninja High School from Antarctic Press:
Ninja High School - Wikipedia
Ok. Let's make that edgier without it being a parody.There is Ninja High School from Antarctic Press:
Ninja High School - Wikipedia
Exactly!
Got any name ideas?
I meant turning that comic into a cartoon, with the creator's permission. That why I included the link.
Ok. All further posts about TTL's equivalent of Naruto goes in the Anime PMs.
A Reminder;
The Hensonverse Speculation and Commentary thread: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/hensonverse-speculation-and-commentary.529158/
For random thoughts, speculation, does X exist questions, and commentary on the timeline in general.
The Hensonverse Speculation and Commentary thread: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/hensonverse-speculation-and-commentary.529158/
For random thoughts, speculation, does X exist questions, and commentary on the timeline in general.
In the News...
The Quiet Productivity of the 104th Congress
Newsweek, August 26th, 1996
A Guest Post by @jpj1421
President Gore is looking to become the first incumbent Democrat to be elected to another term since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and that requires a well-run and effective campaign strategy. Successful campaigns tend to define the contrasts between candidates in parties in such a way as to wring out the maximum electoral advantage. When it looked in the winter of 1995 as though the Republicans would be nominating Senator Dole, it seemed like the contrast may be difficult. Two stolid, some would say boring, figures from Washington looking for the right wedge issues to make a difference. In this light, the White House made efforts to try and shake up the narrative and have the President and Vice President Tsongas on late night tv to show how relatable they could be. But when Dole flamed out and the race descended to one between Buchanan and Gingrich, that potential strategy was clearly untenable.
Whatever else could be said of Gingrich and Buchanan they are interesting…one could even say entertaining. So instead, Gore’s principal tactic became drawing the biggest possible contrast to either populist demagogue and to this end Gore has leaned into his natural tendencies towards quietly productive wonkishness. “Boring” has been rebranded as “productive and dependable” while the message is that the opposition has gone mad. If the Republicans are going to pick fights with Hollywood, including Disney, then the Gore administration will just be going about the work of the people. This of course involves navigating the incredibly narrow Congress to get legislation passed. In the spring and summer, when not campaigning, Gore thus held regular meetings with the Vice President (until his hospitalization) and Congressional leaders to see what could be accomplished by the end of his term.
In those early days of 1996 when the rebranding strategy was first in the works, the first big push was the Telecommunications Act, seeking to regulate the broadcasting industry while addressing the internet for the first time in federal legislation. Since this was legislation that was set to dramatically change media regulations, this gave the White House its excuse, beyond running for re-election, to make those TV appearances and pitch to middle America. This legislation was for the most part fairly uncontroversial in Washington, but there was one big point of controversy over FCC preemption[1] where the FCC could step into disputes between telecommunication companies and ‘preempt’ state and local laws in their decisions. This was hated by the Governors Association, for obvious reasons, but the coalition of liberals who didn’t want some future Republican FCC to undercut stricter laws in Democratic states and conservatives who didn’t want Gore’s FCC applying unwanted regulation in Republican states weren’t able to actually remove preemption from the final legislation. Despite this hiccup, and with some phone calls from media companies that wanted to see it pass, Congress would pass the final bill easily and signed by the President in February.
As the Republican primary voters made their decision to go all in on right wing populism, the White House started to find Congressional Republicans, especially in the House, reluctant to meet or endorse legislation they had ostensibly supported; no one wants to get called out by Gingrich or Buchanan. This means that on close legislation, Reform votes are even more important for any bill to pass. So in the lead up to the summer, and the conventions, a series of governmental reform measures favored by the Reform Party were passed in the House and sent on to the Senate. Lobbying Disclosure[2] and the Line-Item Veto Act were passed without controversy[3]. Reform Leader John Michael would be the House sponsor for Senators McCain and Feingold’s campaign finance reform legislation, which would pass easily in the House, but fail to gain traction in the Senate. To build bridges with the Reform members, Speaker Gephardt would agree to create a subcommittee on Elections[4], with the ability to call hearings and issue subpoenas, consisting of 3 Democrats, 1 Republican and 1 Reform member; Republicans were annoyed at being given the same number of slots as Reform, while Reform was happy to get some attention on the America’s more archaic election systems. There was also the matter of welfare reform, a campaign plank from Gore’s 1992 platform that had been continually placed on the back burner, but which became the key legislative priority before the fall.
While the Elections subcommittee, Chaired by Louisiana’s William Jefferson, had public hearings on whether the Electoral College was outdated and if there were measures that should be taken to better make the voice of the people heard, meetings are being held behind closed doors to drastically reform the welfare system. Early conversations had stalled earlier in the year when Vice President Tsongas’ decline in health resulted in long stays at Walter Reed, followed by the Republicans pulling out of the talks after Dole’s withdrawal from the campaign. President Gore would instead rely on Gephardt to hammer out with Reform a package that could pass the House as a messaging bill at least if Senate Republicans were going to hold up passage. The legislative package was intended to push people off of welfare and into work, while broadly keeping in place the safety net during that transition. What came out of the House is the Welfare Reform Act, which ends welfare as an entitlement, but will instead provide block grants to states for temporary assistance for families with the intention to help the needy while pushing people to leave welfare in order to seek employment[5]. All of this was fairly bipartisan, though as Republicans backed out of talks after a lot of the cuts that they wanted to the budget were excised. Despite this, a number of Republicans in swing districts joined on in the vote as it went onto the Senate. Which is when Bob Dole stepped in, or perhaps more accurately stepped aside.
For all of the disappointment in once again being denied a chance at the Presidency, Dole had wanted this sort of welfare reform to be implemented back in the Reagan years. Dole would call President Gore and offer to personally vote for the legislation if there was increased funding for policing fraud as well as expanding efforts to keep welfare from going to immigrants. The White House was fine on expanding sections on keeping welfare out of the hands of illegal immigrants[6], but wasn’t going to take away support for legally recognized immigrants[7]. Dole conceded the ground and announced that he would be proposing amendments based on the discussions with the White House and if passed would encourage other Republicans to back the legislation. Republicans, the Reform members, as well as the more conservative Democrats agreed to the amendments paving way for 29 Republicans[8] to vote Aye and cancel out the 23 Democrats[9] who voted Nay and thus cleared the 60-vote threshold with 62 votes. On the insistence of the White House, Speaker Gephardt put up the Senate version for a vote (losing a handful of Democrats and gaining a handful of Republicans) with passage giving President Gore one final legislative win before the Convention.
After the fireworks at the Republican and Reform Convention, this sort of stolid and persistent work over the last few weeks is seen by those in the White House as the perfect illustration as to why the American people should stick with President Gore. While polling is still inconclusive on the effects of this strategy, the White House feels more in their element these days. And the upcoming Convention should not be without some mystery of its own as at the time of writing, the White House has hinted that those notable figures meeting with President Gore and Vice President Tsongas’s room at Walter Reed were vetting a replacement for the ailing Vice President, but has remained tight lipped about the choice. As one White House official said in background, “We wouldn’t want to get in the way of the American people seeing the other guys’ circus by announcing our own news.”
Whatever may transpire on election day, the campaign battlegrounds are being set now.
Border Patrol Seizes Military Weapons
San Antonio Express, July 6th, 1996
Del Rio – US Customs and Border Patrol disrupted a massive arms-smuggling attempt on the Texas border yesterday. Acting on intelligence reports, the agents were able to catch the smugglers in the act, capturing over 200 weapons, including AK-47 Assault Rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades, and even 9K38 “Grouse” man-portable air defense missiles, which can be used to shoot down aircraft. The smugglers are believed to be members of Mexican drug gangs and the Sword of Liberty domestic terrorist organization is believed to be the intended recipient. “It is impossible to know whether this was the only shipment,” said a Special Agent, “But every American should rest easier knowing that this cache was intercepted. Still, we recommend that Americans stay vigilant.”
Four Dead following Twin Rocket Attacks in Washington
Rocket attack at IRS Headquarters Kills one, damages building
Rocket attack of Presidential Helicopter thwarted by sniper
All three attackers killed by responding agents, officers
Washington Post, August 3rd, 1996
Twin terror attacks occurred this morning in Washington DC. First, a man armed with a “Grouse” shoulder fired antiaircraft missile system was killed by Secret Service on the Ellipse as Marine Corps One came in for landing at 9:38 AM. The attacker was fatally shot by a rooftop sniper as he tried to bring the weapon to bear. The President and First Lady landed safely at the White House and were removed to an undisclosed location. The President released a statement thanking the Secret Service for their “quick and decisive action” in thwarting the attack and saving the President’s life[10].
In a second attack at 9:53 AM, a work van stopped on the side of Constitution Ave and a man opened a side door and fired a rocket propelled grenade at the entrance to the IRS Building. The grenade impacted near the door, killing an employee on the way inside and damaging the building’s concrete façade. The attacker was ejected from the vehicle by the back-blast from the weapon[11] and quickly engaged by security, who killed the dazed attacker in self-defense when he drew a pistol. The driver fled the scene, but was quickly surrounded by responding police and killed in an ensuing firefight that also injured a DCPD officer.
No one has claimed responsibility for the incident, but speculation that the Sword of Liberty was involved runs high.
The attacks appear to have been part of a coordinated twin-attack and the weapons used are of the same type seized at the border earlier this year when US Customs… Cont’d on A2.
Brzezinski, Nemtsov, Dehaene announce Energy and Trade Partnership
The Times of London, June 14th, 1996
Warsaw – US Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski, USR Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, and European Commission President Jean-Luc Dehaene today announced a deal for closer economic and energy ties, along with Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and other Eastern European representatives. The multilateral deal will establish trade relations and electrical power and resource standards between the United States, European Union, Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), and USR, setting allowable tariff rates, establishing arbitration methods, and linking industrial standards where possible.
The deal, which was spearheaded by a joint Senate plan devised by Arizona Senator John McCain and Main Senator Angus King, reportedly in partnership with the Gore Administration, will create closer fiscal and energy ties between the former Soviet Bloc countries and the west while still maintaining separation. The deal will establish additional pipelines for USR petroleum and natural gas as well as invest in developing renewable energy in the former Warsaw Pact nations. The deal marks an interesting shift in USR trade relations, and aligns to efforts by Nemtsov to establish the USR as a “middle partner” in trans-Asian trade, particularly between the growing China and Europe. It also marks an aggressive push by the USR to stay “economically and diplomatically relevant” in Europe, with fears in Russia of an expanding European Union potentially “locking out” Russian domestic products.
US Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich lambasted the plan, calling it a “sell out” to the Russians and instead called on an immediate expansion of NATO. Fellow Republican John McCain countered that the deal “defangs” the threat of the USR, who remains a militarily significant nuclear-armed power even as it struggles economically, and noted that a collapse of the USR could lead to “dangerous destabilization and the possible loss of nuclear weapons to non-state actors”. A member of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking anonymously, called it a “keep your enemies closer” strategy in reference to the expression from the 1972 movie The Godfather, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
The bill comes on the heels of a deal to further reduce the strategic nuclear stockpile and continue the drawdown of USR and NATO forces on the Continent. The nuclear deal, however, has already cased a small firestorm within the USR itself as the Russian-dominated government announced plans to reduce nuclear stockpiles primarily within the Sovereign States of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and The Ukraine, all nominally done to “pull back” the deadly weapons from their borderlands. Yet these moves are opposed by all three states, whom analysts believe count on the presence of the nuclear arms as an internal bargaining chip in the ongoing interstate disputes. “It is inherently in the best interests of the three States to maintain these weapons as a hedge against Moscow,” said the same source.
Nemtsov, whose Duma coalition relies in a large part on the Ukrainian People’s Party and other regionalist and internationalist parties, is in a particularly tight spot here, pulled between the twin poles of Russian nationalism and west-leaning internationalism. And recent gains by the left-centre Yabloko and the nationalist Russian People’s Party in regional elections, reportedly caused by sinking faith in the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin, who has reported health issues[12], indicates that the deal may be, for Nemtsov, a way of having his cake and eating it too, satisfying Russian pride and liberal internationalism in a single deal.
The deal highlights the continued “Eastern Question” that has defined the ongoing post-Soviet era, as Eastern European countries with a history of struggling under Russian domination try to align themselves with the West and the primarily Russian USR pushes to retain influence in the region. CEFTA, for example, is seen by many Eastern Watchers as the beginnings of either an attempt to join the EU or an attempt to spin up a military alliance, ostensibly to counter the USR, with particularly vulnerable member states like the Baltic States anxious to take a stronger defensive position, ideally one that comes with security guarantees from NATO and the UN.
While the long-term ramifications of the new deal, which still has to pass its nations’ respective legislatures, remains uncertain, Europe watchers are already keeping a close eye on it as the knife’s edge in a careful game of balance between former nuclear-armed belligerents.
[1] This is largely the same as in our timeline, as the shift in Congress wasn’t enough to justify to actually axe the preemption from the bill.
[2] This was passed a few months earlier in our timeline, but differing political priorities pushed it back in this one.
[3] Per our timeline, the Line-Item Veto will eventually be ruled unconstitutional.
[4] This would happen in the 110th Congress, elected after the 2006 elections.
[5] In our timeline President Clinton vetoed the Republican welfare reform measures twice, not because they restructured welfare, Clinton had campaigned on “ending welfare as we know it” even in 1992, but because he didn’t like $60 billion in budget cuts that he felt hurt needy people. This Congress doesn’t put in those cuts even while reforming the welfare system. The law will end up looking more or less like H.R. 4, The ‘‘Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1995’’.
[6] Note that “undocumented immigrant” is the preferred modern term and the term used in the text is largely considered dehumanizing today.
[7] By contrast, our timeline’s welfare reform denied “qualified” immigrants from receiving welfare for five years.
[8] Richard Shelby (R-AL), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), John McCain (R-AZ), Pete Wilson (R-CA), Hank Brown (R-CO), William Roth (R-DE), Jeb Bush (R-FL), Guy Millner (R-GA), Paul Coverdall (R-GA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Dan Coats (R-IN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), Bob Dole (R-KS), William Cohen (R-ME), Bob Smith (R-NH), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Mark Hatfield (R-OR), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John Heinz (R-PA), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Larry Pressler (R-SD), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Warner (R-VA), Alan Simpson (R-WY)
[9] Our timeline’s Democrats who voted against Welfare Reform and also this timeline’s Democratic Senators Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY), John Melcher (D-MT), Linda Kushner (D-RI), Norm Rice (D-WA), Les AuCoin (D-OR).
[10] Gore was not in any real danger here, as Marine One was (one presumes) installed with jamming systems and other countermeasures for exactly this reason.
[11] Never fire a tube weapon in a confined space, kids.
[12] Read: severe alcoholism.
Newsweek, August 26th, 1996
A Guest Post by @jpj1421
President Gore is looking to become the first incumbent Democrat to be elected to another term since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and that requires a well-run and effective campaign strategy. Successful campaigns tend to define the contrasts between candidates in parties in such a way as to wring out the maximum electoral advantage. When it looked in the winter of 1995 as though the Republicans would be nominating Senator Dole, it seemed like the contrast may be difficult. Two stolid, some would say boring, figures from Washington looking for the right wedge issues to make a difference. In this light, the White House made efforts to try and shake up the narrative and have the President and Vice President Tsongas on late night tv to show how relatable they could be. But when Dole flamed out and the race descended to one between Buchanan and Gingrich, that potential strategy was clearly untenable.
Whatever else could be said of Gingrich and Buchanan they are interesting…one could even say entertaining. So instead, Gore’s principal tactic became drawing the biggest possible contrast to either populist demagogue and to this end Gore has leaned into his natural tendencies towards quietly productive wonkishness. “Boring” has been rebranded as “productive and dependable” while the message is that the opposition has gone mad. If the Republicans are going to pick fights with Hollywood, including Disney, then the Gore administration will just be going about the work of the people. This of course involves navigating the incredibly narrow Congress to get legislation passed. In the spring and summer, when not campaigning, Gore thus held regular meetings with the Vice President (until his hospitalization) and Congressional leaders to see what could be accomplished by the end of his term.
In those early days of 1996 when the rebranding strategy was first in the works, the first big push was the Telecommunications Act, seeking to regulate the broadcasting industry while addressing the internet for the first time in federal legislation. Since this was legislation that was set to dramatically change media regulations, this gave the White House its excuse, beyond running for re-election, to make those TV appearances and pitch to middle America. This legislation was for the most part fairly uncontroversial in Washington, but there was one big point of controversy over FCC preemption[1] where the FCC could step into disputes between telecommunication companies and ‘preempt’ state and local laws in their decisions. This was hated by the Governors Association, for obvious reasons, but the coalition of liberals who didn’t want some future Republican FCC to undercut stricter laws in Democratic states and conservatives who didn’t want Gore’s FCC applying unwanted regulation in Republican states weren’t able to actually remove preemption from the final legislation. Despite this hiccup, and with some phone calls from media companies that wanted to see it pass, Congress would pass the final bill easily and signed by the President in February.
As the Republican primary voters made their decision to go all in on right wing populism, the White House started to find Congressional Republicans, especially in the House, reluctant to meet or endorse legislation they had ostensibly supported; no one wants to get called out by Gingrich or Buchanan. This means that on close legislation, Reform votes are even more important for any bill to pass. So in the lead up to the summer, and the conventions, a series of governmental reform measures favored by the Reform Party were passed in the House and sent on to the Senate. Lobbying Disclosure[2] and the Line-Item Veto Act were passed without controversy[3]. Reform Leader John Michael would be the House sponsor for Senators McCain and Feingold’s campaign finance reform legislation, which would pass easily in the House, but fail to gain traction in the Senate. To build bridges with the Reform members, Speaker Gephardt would agree to create a subcommittee on Elections[4], with the ability to call hearings and issue subpoenas, consisting of 3 Democrats, 1 Republican and 1 Reform member; Republicans were annoyed at being given the same number of slots as Reform, while Reform was happy to get some attention on the America’s more archaic election systems. There was also the matter of welfare reform, a campaign plank from Gore’s 1992 platform that had been continually placed on the back burner, but which became the key legislative priority before the fall.
While the Elections subcommittee, Chaired by Louisiana’s William Jefferson, had public hearings on whether the Electoral College was outdated and if there were measures that should be taken to better make the voice of the people heard, meetings are being held behind closed doors to drastically reform the welfare system. Early conversations had stalled earlier in the year when Vice President Tsongas’ decline in health resulted in long stays at Walter Reed, followed by the Republicans pulling out of the talks after Dole’s withdrawal from the campaign. President Gore would instead rely on Gephardt to hammer out with Reform a package that could pass the House as a messaging bill at least if Senate Republicans were going to hold up passage. The legislative package was intended to push people off of welfare and into work, while broadly keeping in place the safety net during that transition. What came out of the House is the Welfare Reform Act, which ends welfare as an entitlement, but will instead provide block grants to states for temporary assistance for families with the intention to help the needy while pushing people to leave welfare in order to seek employment[5]. All of this was fairly bipartisan, though as Republicans backed out of talks after a lot of the cuts that they wanted to the budget were excised. Despite this, a number of Republicans in swing districts joined on in the vote as it went onto the Senate. Which is when Bob Dole stepped in, or perhaps more accurately stepped aside.
For all of the disappointment in once again being denied a chance at the Presidency, Dole had wanted this sort of welfare reform to be implemented back in the Reagan years. Dole would call President Gore and offer to personally vote for the legislation if there was increased funding for policing fraud as well as expanding efforts to keep welfare from going to immigrants. The White House was fine on expanding sections on keeping welfare out of the hands of illegal immigrants[6], but wasn’t going to take away support for legally recognized immigrants[7]. Dole conceded the ground and announced that he would be proposing amendments based on the discussions with the White House and if passed would encourage other Republicans to back the legislation. Republicans, the Reform members, as well as the more conservative Democrats agreed to the amendments paving way for 29 Republicans[8] to vote Aye and cancel out the 23 Democrats[9] who voted Nay and thus cleared the 60-vote threshold with 62 votes. On the insistence of the White House, Speaker Gephardt put up the Senate version for a vote (losing a handful of Democrats and gaining a handful of Republicans) with passage giving President Gore one final legislative win before the Convention.
After the fireworks at the Republican and Reform Convention, this sort of stolid and persistent work over the last few weeks is seen by those in the White House as the perfect illustration as to why the American people should stick with President Gore. While polling is still inconclusive on the effects of this strategy, the White House feels more in their element these days. And the upcoming Convention should not be without some mystery of its own as at the time of writing, the White House has hinted that those notable figures meeting with President Gore and Vice President Tsongas’s room at Walter Reed were vetting a replacement for the ailing Vice President, but has remained tight lipped about the choice. As one White House official said in background, “We wouldn’t want to get in the way of the American people seeing the other guys’ circus by announcing our own news.”
Whatever may transpire on election day, the campaign battlegrounds are being set now.
* * *
Border Patrol Seizes Military Weapons
San Antonio Express, July 6th, 1996
Del Rio – US Customs and Border Patrol disrupted a massive arms-smuggling attempt on the Texas border yesterday. Acting on intelligence reports, the agents were able to catch the smugglers in the act, capturing over 200 weapons, including AK-47 Assault Rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades, and even 9K38 “Grouse” man-portable air defense missiles, which can be used to shoot down aircraft. The smugglers are believed to be members of Mexican drug gangs and the Sword of Liberty domestic terrorist organization is believed to be the intended recipient. “It is impossible to know whether this was the only shipment,” said a Special Agent, “But every American should rest easier knowing that this cache was intercepted. Still, we recommend that Americans stay vigilant.”
Four Dead following Twin Rocket Attacks in Washington
Rocket attack at IRS Headquarters Kills one, damages building
Rocket attack of Presidential Helicopter thwarted by sniper
All three attackers killed by responding agents, officers
Washington Post, August 3rd, 1996
Twin terror attacks occurred this morning in Washington DC. First, a man armed with a “Grouse” shoulder fired antiaircraft missile system was killed by Secret Service on the Ellipse as Marine Corps One came in for landing at 9:38 AM. The attacker was fatally shot by a rooftop sniper as he tried to bring the weapon to bear. The President and First Lady landed safely at the White House and were removed to an undisclosed location. The President released a statement thanking the Secret Service for their “quick and decisive action” in thwarting the attack and saving the President’s life[10].
In a second attack at 9:53 AM, a work van stopped on the side of Constitution Ave and a man opened a side door and fired a rocket propelled grenade at the entrance to the IRS Building. The grenade impacted near the door, killing an employee on the way inside and damaging the building’s concrete façade. The attacker was ejected from the vehicle by the back-blast from the weapon[11] and quickly engaged by security, who killed the dazed attacker in self-defense when he drew a pistol. The driver fled the scene, but was quickly surrounded by responding police and killed in an ensuing firefight that also injured a DCPD officer.
No one has claimed responsibility for the incident, but speculation that the Sword of Liberty was involved runs high.
The attacks appear to have been part of a coordinated twin-attack and the weapons used are of the same type seized at the border earlier this year when US Customs… Cont’d on A2.
Brzezinski, Nemtsov, Dehaene announce Energy and Trade Partnership
The Times of London, June 14th, 1996
Warsaw – US Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski, USR Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, and European Commission President Jean-Luc Dehaene today announced a deal for closer economic and energy ties, along with Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and other Eastern European representatives. The multilateral deal will establish trade relations and electrical power and resource standards between the United States, European Union, Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), and USR, setting allowable tariff rates, establishing arbitration methods, and linking industrial standards where possible.
The deal, which was spearheaded by a joint Senate plan devised by Arizona Senator John McCain and Main Senator Angus King, reportedly in partnership with the Gore Administration, will create closer fiscal and energy ties between the former Soviet Bloc countries and the west while still maintaining separation. The deal will establish additional pipelines for USR petroleum and natural gas as well as invest in developing renewable energy in the former Warsaw Pact nations. The deal marks an interesting shift in USR trade relations, and aligns to efforts by Nemtsov to establish the USR as a “middle partner” in trans-Asian trade, particularly between the growing China and Europe. It also marks an aggressive push by the USR to stay “economically and diplomatically relevant” in Europe, with fears in Russia of an expanding European Union potentially “locking out” Russian domestic products.
US Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich lambasted the plan, calling it a “sell out” to the Russians and instead called on an immediate expansion of NATO. Fellow Republican John McCain countered that the deal “defangs” the threat of the USR, who remains a militarily significant nuclear-armed power even as it struggles economically, and noted that a collapse of the USR could lead to “dangerous destabilization and the possible loss of nuclear weapons to non-state actors”. A member of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking anonymously, called it a “keep your enemies closer” strategy in reference to the expression from the 1972 movie The Godfather, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
The bill comes on the heels of a deal to further reduce the strategic nuclear stockpile and continue the drawdown of USR and NATO forces on the Continent. The nuclear deal, however, has already cased a small firestorm within the USR itself as the Russian-dominated government announced plans to reduce nuclear stockpiles primarily within the Sovereign States of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and The Ukraine, all nominally done to “pull back” the deadly weapons from their borderlands. Yet these moves are opposed by all three states, whom analysts believe count on the presence of the nuclear arms as an internal bargaining chip in the ongoing interstate disputes. “It is inherently in the best interests of the three States to maintain these weapons as a hedge against Moscow,” said the same source.
Nemtsov, whose Duma coalition relies in a large part on the Ukrainian People’s Party and other regionalist and internationalist parties, is in a particularly tight spot here, pulled between the twin poles of Russian nationalism and west-leaning internationalism. And recent gains by the left-centre Yabloko and the nationalist Russian People’s Party in regional elections, reportedly caused by sinking faith in the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin, who has reported health issues[12], indicates that the deal may be, for Nemtsov, a way of having his cake and eating it too, satisfying Russian pride and liberal internationalism in a single deal.
The deal highlights the continued “Eastern Question” that has defined the ongoing post-Soviet era, as Eastern European countries with a history of struggling under Russian domination try to align themselves with the West and the primarily Russian USR pushes to retain influence in the region. CEFTA, for example, is seen by many Eastern Watchers as the beginnings of either an attempt to join the EU or an attempt to spin up a military alliance, ostensibly to counter the USR, with particularly vulnerable member states like the Baltic States anxious to take a stronger defensive position, ideally one that comes with security guarantees from NATO and the UN.
While the long-term ramifications of the new deal, which still has to pass its nations’ respective legislatures, remains uncertain, Europe watchers are already keeping a close eye on it as the knife’s edge in a careful game of balance between former nuclear-armed belligerents.
[1] This is largely the same as in our timeline, as the shift in Congress wasn’t enough to justify to actually axe the preemption from the bill.
[2] This was passed a few months earlier in our timeline, but differing political priorities pushed it back in this one.
[3] Per our timeline, the Line-Item Veto will eventually be ruled unconstitutional.
[4] This would happen in the 110th Congress, elected after the 2006 elections.
[5] In our timeline President Clinton vetoed the Republican welfare reform measures twice, not because they restructured welfare, Clinton had campaigned on “ending welfare as we know it” even in 1992, but because he didn’t like $60 billion in budget cuts that he felt hurt needy people. This Congress doesn’t put in those cuts even while reforming the welfare system. The law will end up looking more or less like H.R. 4, The ‘‘Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1995’’.
[6] Note that “undocumented immigrant” is the preferred modern term and the term used in the text is largely considered dehumanizing today.
[7] By contrast, our timeline’s welfare reform denied “qualified” immigrants from receiving welfare for five years.
[8] Richard Shelby (R-AL), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), John McCain (R-AZ), Pete Wilson (R-CA), Hank Brown (R-CO), William Roth (R-DE), Jeb Bush (R-FL), Guy Millner (R-GA), Paul Coverdall (R-GA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Dan Coats (R-IN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), Bob Dole (R-KS), William Cohen (R-ME), Bob Smith (R-NH), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Mark Hatfield (R-OR), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John Heinz (R-PA), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Larry Pressler (R-SD), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Warner (R-VA), Alan Simpson (R-WY)
[9] Our timeline’s Democrats who voted against Welfare Reform and also this timeline’s Democratic Senators Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY), John Melcher (D-MT), Linda Kushner (D-RI), Norm Rice (D-WA), Les AuCoin (D-OR).
[10] Gore was not in any real danger here, as Marine One was (one presumes) installed with jamming systems and other countermeasures for exactly this reason.
[11] Never fire a tube weapon in a confined space, kids.
[12] Read: severe alcoholism.
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Seems Gore is have a decent time as President so far and actually getting stuff done- even if it’s a bit of work to pass stuff.
Guess his choice of running mate could make all the difference here esp against a populist.
These Sword of Liberty types are getting bold.
United States, European Union, CEFTA, and USR trade agreement is very interesting, esp the standardisation of kit and extending renewables eastward.
Interesting chapter there @Geekhis Khan
Guess his choice of running mate could make all the difference here esp against a populist.
These Sword of Liberty types are getting bold.
United States, European Union, CEFTA, and USR trade agreement is very interesting, esp the standardisation of kit and extending renewables eastward.
Interesting chapter there @Geekhis Khan
Road to Ruin could not have done any better. Global smash, and awards to follow Inc Best Trolling Adverts Ever.
I wonder if the Road to Ruin being a smash hit puts pressure on anyone else’s movie to be a musical?
Can you imagine James Cameron of all directors making Titanic like that…!
I wonder if the Road to Ruin being a smash hit puts pressure on anyone else’s movie to be a musical?
Can you imagine James Cameron of all directors making Titanic like that…!
Do you want the Italian animated knockoff franchise? Because if James Cameron's Titanic becomes a musical, you're on the slippery slope to getting that.
Strictly speaking, though, it’s not, al least by OTL’s definition. Nominative determinism suggests that people gravitate towards jobs that fit their surname, possibly as a psychological effect. I always had the impression awareness, if not intent, was significant. (If your name is Snowman and you write a book about the poles, you almost certainly noticed while you were doing it.) A film living up to its title in a way the creators didn’t want isn’t quite the same thing. I can imagine Hoyland stretching the point if someone specifically asked him about the film, though, especially since it‘s a joke theory in the magazine’s humour column.
It’s that last point that makes me suspect Hoyland won’t see his career negatively impacted by this too much. He’ll acknowledge he was wrong in the next Feedback column, and move on to the next funny thing. Given that IOTL he frequently had to declare a moratorium on readers sending in examples, he might even be quite relieved if the actual casualty of Road to Ruin turns out to be nominative determinism.
As far as everyone else goes, well, are you a fool if practically everyone agreed with you? Possibly, but if everyone saw what visionaries did, we wouldn’t need them. And then there’s the alternate history aspect: If Variety and the WSJ and so on had said “This is going to be the biggest movie of the 1990s” … then what would have happened?
(I can see some talk show hosts making a bit out of that: “When do we get the credit for setting up Disney’s ‘See the disaster’ campaign for them?”)
For reference. Because if we have to live with the knowledge of this, so does the rest of the thread.
Thank you for providing genuine context to that, but maybe we should also bring this up to the Commentary Thread.
Election '96 Live Coverage!
Gingrich, Ashcroft Accept GOP Nomination for 1996 Presidential Campaign
Washington Post, August 16th, 1996
San Diego – Former US Representative and Minority Whip Newt Gingrich of Georgia and Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri were officially declared the Republican Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the 1996 election. The two will face off against President Al Gore and whomever is to replace the ailing Paul Tsongas as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Gingrich, a Dark Horse candidate whom the GOP establishment rallied around in opposition to once front runner Pat Buchanan of Virginia, is considered to be a strongly conservative candidate with a long history within the GOP. Thus it is hoped that Gingrich will be able to unite the GOP’s fiscally and socially conservative wings and drive a large turnout, with some polls suggesting that he could squeak by Gore in the coming three-way battle with Ross Perot.
Senator Ashcroft, meanwhile, has been a rising star in the GOP, recently elected to the Senate for Missouri. Ashcroft, who has strong conservative credentials, is hoped to appeal to midwestern swing voters and with luck flip the swing state of Missouri back to the GOP. “John is a good conservative and a good Republican,” said Gingrich during his acceptance speech… Cont’d on A2.
Drama Disrupts Reform Party Convention
Perot Overcomes Pat Buchanan “Coup Attempt” to claim Reform Party nomination
Governor Dick Lamm of Colorado Selected for VP
Washington Post, August 18th, 1996
Kansas City – In what should have been a routine “crowning ceremony”, Texas billionaire and Reform Party founder H. Ross Perot and his supporters managed to fend off an attempted takeover of the party ticket by GOP Firebrand Pat Buchanan and secure Perot the Reform Party nomination for President of the United States. In a moment of high political drama, the former GOP Presidential front runner and a circle of supporters attempted to “seize control” of the Reform Convention in what Perot has likened to an “orchestrated coup”.
“Pat and his boys just moseyed on in and tried to vote him in over Ross,” one witness noted. “It was the damnedest thing I ever saw.”
Koo Koo Koup
Buoyed by the emergent third party’s Nativist wing, Buchanan’s move is seen as an attempt to put Buchanan, a right-wing favorite, back into the running for the presidency following his “backstabbing” by Gingrich and the GOP in the Republican Primaries.
Perot, who’d been the presumptive nominee and ran essentially unopposed, was caught off guard by the move, nearly getting locked out of the convention hall by Buchanan operatives. However, swift action by the party’s moderate wing, namely a timely intervention by Maine’s Angus King, staved off the attempted usurpation of the Reform nomination, allowing for pro-Perot forces to rally and put him back on the ballot. The same faction selected former Colorado Governor Richard “Dick” Lamm for the Vice Presidential spot. A former Democrat and part of the “inbetweeners” as the moderate wing is sometimes known (since they generally fall “in between” the two main parties in their beliefs), while also amenable to the “Frontier Populist” wing, Lamm is hoped to shore up centrist support, indicating that Perot is attempting to “run up the middle” with a wide coalition of populists and moderates.
(Image by @FriendlyGhost)
An irate Buchanan was escorted out by security, vowing revenge against “all of the Judases, be they Republican or Reform!” and has not ruled out a run as an Independent, though there is insufficient time to get his name on most state ballots, limiting his potential as a spoiler.
With the drama subsiding amidst a mass exodus of Nativist delegates, a still-flustered Perot laid out his campaign goals, from the overturning of NAFTA to the… Cont’d on A2.
Gephardt In, Tsongas Out at DNC
Washington Post, August 28th, 1996
New Orleans – Missouri Representative and Speaker of the House Richard “Dick” Gephardt today accepted the nomination for Vice President of the United States at last night’s Democratic National Convention, replacing the outgoing VP Paul Tsongas, who formally announced his long-expected plans to retire as VP earlier this year, citing the return of his Cancer. Gephardt praised Tsongas, who attended remotely via video from his home in Lowell, Massachusetts, noting his “brave and selfless service” in the midst of his health crisis.
Despite a closely contested vote by a liberal block trying to push a more progressive VP candidate, such as Senator Patty Murray of Washington, Gephardt won the day. Gephardt struck a mostly centrist, even mildly populist tone as he touted the accomplishments of President Gore, much of it accomplished through Public-Private means. He cited Health Care Reform, the Green Growth Act, the Welfare Reform Act, and the Crime Bill as particular “great accomplishments” of Gore, and pledged to continue to help Gore build upon these accomplishments in the next term. With respect to the GGA, Gephardt cited the particular threat that rising global temperatures posed to New Orleans, where the convention is being held.
“Between sea level rise and increasingly powerful storms,” he said, “The entire Gulf Coast is at risk if we don’t take meaningful action.”
Gephardt, who remains very popular in the swing state of Missouri, which Gore only narrowly won in 1992, is seen as a strong strategic choice, as Gephardt’s history of free trade skepticism and history of dealmaking with Reform Party representatives is expected to help win over wavering Reform Democrats who might be tempted to flip to Perot. Gephardt, another Centrist Democrat, is also seen as a bit of a gamble, as some progressive activists fear that progressive voters, particularly in the Northeast and Pacific Coast, could be turned away, which could risk otherwise-secure down-ballot races, particularly with Reform candidates on an increasing number of ballots. Some Democratic strategists, however, see this as a shrewd move to retain more of the centrists and swing voters who might otherwise be tempted to vote for Perot.
And Perot remained a topic of conversation on the floor, with growing concern that Perot’s candidacy might actually allow the highly conservative Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who pulled the GOP nomination out from under nativist demagogue Pat Buchannan’s feet, to pull off an upset win. “If that Georgian wins the day,” one delegate told the Post, “Then America is {expletive deleted}.”
Washington Post, August 16th, 1996
San Diego – Former US Representative and Minority Whip Newt Gingrich of Georgia and Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri were officially declared the Republican Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the 1996 election. The two will face off against President Al Gore and whomever is to replace the ailing Paul Tsongas as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Gingrich, a Dark Horse candidate whom the GOP establishment rallied around in opposition to once front runner Pat Buchanan of Virginia, is considered to be a strongly conservative candidate with a long history within the GOP. Thus it is hoped that Gingrich will be able to unite the GOP’s fiscally and socially conservative wings and drive a large turnout, with some polls suggesting that he could squeak by Gore in the coming three-way battle with Ross Perot.
Senator Ashcroft, meanwhile, has been a rising star in the GOP, recently elected to the Senate for Missouri. Ashcroft, who has strong conservative credentials, is hoped to appeal to midwestern swing voters and with luck flip the swing state of Missouri back to the GOP. “John is a good conservative and a good Republican,” said Gingrich during his acceptance speech… Cont’d on A2.
Drama Disrupts Reform Party Convention
Perot Overcomes Pat Buchanan “Coup Attempt” to claim Reform Party nomination
Governor Dick Lamm of Colorado Selected for VP
Washington Post, August 18th, 1996
Kansas City – In what should have been a routine “crowning ceremony”, Texas billionaire and Reform Party founder H. Ross Perot and his supporters managed to fend off an attempted takeover of the party ticket by GOP Firebrand Pat Buchanan and secure Perot the Reform Party nomination for President of the United States. In a moment of high political drama, the former GOP Presidential front runner and a circle of supporters attempted to “seize control” of the Reform Convention in what Perot has likened to an “orchestrated coup”.
“Pat and his boys just moseyed on in and tried to vote him in over Ross,” one witness noted. “It was the damnedest thing I ever saw.”
Koo Koo Koup
Buoyed by the emergent third party’s Nativist wing, Buchanan’s move is seen as an attempt to put Buchanan, a right-wing favorite, back into the running for the presidency following his “backstabbing” by Gingrich and the GOP in the Republican Primaries.
Perot, who’d been the presumptive nominee and ran essentially unopposed, was caught off guard by the move, nearly getting locked out of the convention hall by Buchanan operatives. However, swift action by the party’s moderate wing, namely a timely intervention by Maine’s Angus King, staved off the attempted usurpation of the Reform nomination, allowing for pro-Perot forces to rally and put him back on the ballot. The same faction selected former Colorado Governor Richard “Dick” Lamm for the Vice Presidential spot. A former Democrat and part of the “inbetweeners” as the moderate wing is sometimes known (since they generally fall “in between” the two main parties in their beliefs), while also amenable to the “Frontier Populist” wing, Lamm is hoped to shore up centrist support, indicating that Perot is attempting to “run up the middle” with a wide coalition of populists and moderates.
(Image by @FriendlyGhost)
An irate Buchanan was escorted out by security, vowing revenge against “all of the Judases, be they Republican or Reform!” and has not ruled out a run as an Independent, though there is insufficient time to get his name on most state ballots, limiting his potential as a spoiler.
With the drama subsiding amidst a mass exodus of Nativist delegates, a still-flustered Perot laid out his campaign goals, from the overturning of NAFTA to the… Cont’d on A2.
Gephardt In, Tsongas Out at DNC
Washington Post, August 28th, 1996
New Orleans – Missouri Representative and Speaker of the House Richard “Dick” Gephardt today accepted the nomination for Vice President of the United States at last night’s Democratic National Convention, replacing the outgoing VP Paul Tsongas, who formally announced his long-expected plans to retire as VP earlier this year, citing the return of his Cancer. Gephardt praised Tsongas, who attended remotely via video from his home in Lowell, Massachusetts, noting his “brave and selfless service” in the midst of his health crisis.
Despite a closely contested vote by a liberal block trying to push a more progressive VP candidate, such as Senator Patty Murray of Washington, Gephardt won the day. Gephardt struck a mostly centrist, even mildly populist tone as he touted the accomplishments of President Gore, much of it accomplished through Public-Private means. He cited Health Care Reform, the Green Growth Act, the Welfare Reform Act, and the Crime Bill as particular “great accomplishments” of Gore, and pledged to continue to help Gore build upon these accomplishments in the next term. With respect to the GGA, Gephardt cited the particular threat that rising global temperatures posed to New Orleans, where the convention is being held.
“Between sea level rise and increasingly powerful storms,” he said, “The entire Gulf Coast is at risk if we don’t take meaningful action.”
Gephardt, who remains very popular in the swing state of Missouri, which Gore only narrowly won in 1992, is seen as a strong strategic choice, as Gephardt’s history of free trade skepticism and history of dealmaking with Reform Party representatives is expected to help win over wavering Reform Democrats who might be tempted to flip to Perot. Gephardt, another Centrist Democrat, is also seen as a bit of a gamble, as some progressive activists fear that progressive voters, particularly in the Northeast and Pacific Coast, could be turned away, which could risk otherwise-secure down-ballot races, particularly with Reform candidates on an increasing number of ballots. Some Democratic strategists, however, see this as a shrewd move to retain more of the centrists and swing voters who might otherwise be tempted to vote for Perot.
And Perot remained a topic of conversation on the floor, with growing concern that Perot’s candidacy might actually allow the highly conservative Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who pulled the GOP nomination out from under nativist demagogue Pat Buchannan’s feet, to pull off an upset win. “If that Georgian wins the day,” one delegate told the Post, “Then America is {expletive deleted}.”
Well I guess its Gore vs Gingrich vs Perot! Place ya bets folks!
Nice to see a three way race in America where Perot's party are not just a single-run 'dark horse' candidate but actually have experience up and down government. Reform! have a serious chance of being Kingmakers on the Hill, though probably only an outside chance of the Presidency imho.
Disappointed its all white males, but it is still 1996 so *shrug* - America not be ready yet.
Looking forward to the election and reading how it effects pop culture and Disney Corp.
Nice chapter @Geekhis Khan
Nice to see a three way race in America where Perot's party are not just a single-run 'dark horse' candidate but actually have experience up and down government. Reform! have a serious chance of being Kingmakers on the Hill, though probably only an outside chance of the Presidency imho.
Disappointed its all white males, but it is still 1996 so *shrug* - America not be ready yet.
Looking forward to the election and reading how it effects pop culture and Disney Corp.
Nice chapter @Geekhis Khan
With Pat Buchanan probably becoming a Independent-Republican spoiler candidate in a number of states, don’t forget.
Well they can get the White House down the road but it likely requires a tied election. A version of 1876. It will be a coalition.
Gore better not screw it up
- Status