"Forever Mankind"
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Cathcon
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« Reply #50 on: November 17, 2010, 09:17:28 PM »

Awesome update! I'm a big fan of Thornburough's cabinet. Do you have an entire list of the cabinet?
Sorry it took so long. Here is the possible working cabinet for Thornburgh.

State: Jeane Kirkpatrick (R-NY)
Treasury: Alan Greenspan (R-NY)
Defense: Ronald Reagan (R-CA)
Attorney General: Sandra Day O'Connor (R-AZ)
Interior: Walter Hickel (R-AK)
Agriculture: Bob Dole (R-KS)
Commerce: Jack Kemp (R-NY)
Labor: Ann McLaughlin (R-NY)
Health and Human Services: Gerald Ford (R-MI)
Housing and Urban Development: Jesse Jackson Sr (D-IL)
Transportation: Neil Goldschmidt (D-OR)
Environment and Energy: James Schlesinger (R-NY)
Education: William Westmoreland (AI-SC)
Chief of Staff: Howard Baker (R-TN)
UN Ambassador: John Eisenhower (R-PA)

Thanks. It looks like a pretty good cabinet all around, at least for the main positions. Hoping for an update soon!
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Cathcon
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« Reply #51 on: November 22, 2010, 08:41:10 PM »

While waiting for an update, I have a couple questions:

How long was Agnew actually President?

How is the country handling three Presidential assassinations in less than twenty years?
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #52 on: November 22, 2010, 09:14:30 PM »

While waiting for an update, I have a couple questions:

How long was Agnew actually President?

How is the country handling three Presidential assassinations in less than twenty years?

I'm still working on the next update, be patient. If I remember correctly, Agnew took office in December of 1972 and resigned halfway through 1973, so less than a year. As for how the nation is handling the number of assassinations of Presidents(1963-JFK, 1972-Nixon, 1981-Teddy), quite well infact. Politicians see it as a sad part of the job of executive leader and civilians mourn the loss of a leader, things like this are all apart of the mosaic of political discord that enveloped the 70's and 80's of TTL(Vietnam, Counterculture, "Tea Bag", Partisan gridlock, etc, etc).
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Cathcon
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« Reply #53 on: November 25, 2010, 09:07:17 PM »

Just a small nitpick, but...
Since Barry Jr. was a Congressman in 1984, I'm guessing he didn't run for Senate in 1982, right?
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #54 on: November 26, 2010, 03:06:10 PM »

Just a small nitpick, but...
Since Barry Jr. was a Congressman in 1984, I'm guessing he didn't run for Senate in 1982, right?
Right, good old Ronnie ran for the Senate seat in '82, with Barry Jr's backing.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #55 on: November 29, 2010, 11:35:09 AM »
« Edited: September 04, 2011, 11:22:42 PM by Andy Jackson »

Part 16: The Chronicles of War

With China up in flames, tension began to rise in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Would it be known that the Soviet space program would forward the tension between reformers and hardliners in the USSR. In mid January, a routine trek to the World Space Station by the Soviet space shuttle Buran became a tragedy. On it's return trip to Mother Russia, the Buran would erupt into a horrifying fireball in the sky.


Destruction of the Buran

Quickly what should have been a unifying effect upon the USSR, was in fact the opposite. Hardliners called the disaster a proving point that the reformers were splurging the Soviet nation into the ground. Quickly a bloody war of words enveloped the Soviet newspapers. Also talk began to funnel in Estonia of secession from the USSR, because of long resentment and the crazed air in the USSR over such a terrible disaster that should bring unification for a short time.

After all, Estonia did loose their first Cosmonaut in the destruction of the Buran. Soon though some "Sovie-ophile" sentiment would bubble up, offering any aid to the Soviet space program and the loss of one of their shuttles. Gorbachev would politely rebuff these sincere moves, stating that they had many Soyuz capsules and the Korolyov space shuttle still to use to supply the WSS. For now, greater safety checks would be implaced and the Soviet space program would suffer a loss in their budget.

With the Chinese affair weighing on the consciouses of many, President Thornburgh had to look back to America to fulfill a campaign pledge and to satisfy the Libertarian Republicans. Once against Ron Paul introduced the Gold Standard Act(GSA) of 1986. Paul was joyous about the position he was in, it was very likely to pass. The Democrats though had become a solid block to the issue in both the House and Senate.


Deputy Paul stressing the passage of the GSA

After arm twisting, conservative Republicans voted along with most moderates and fiscal conservative Democrats from the west and south, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives. In the Senate chambers, Democrats organized a strong push to kill the bill as they had done so before. This all the pushing on their part and the leadership of Senator Robert Byrd cannot end the assault from conservatives about the issue that they were promised. In a close battle over votes, the Senate passes the Paul Gold Standard Act of 1986 with several modifications.

As President Thornburgh signs the act into law, the economy fluctuates as the verbal battle in Congress has sent the stock market down a wounded path. Thus this hurts an economy that is just getting on track out of it's slump. In response to this wounding to the economy, Treasury Secretary Greenspan came to President Thornburgh and addressed to him the need to allow tax cuts for the wealthy. Thornburgh, weary of these, was trying to not do such a thing and anger lower class Americans with this "pander to the 2%".

"'No..hell..way!' is what I remember as Secretary Jesse blurted out. The air in the oval office was tense. No kinds words had ever been exchanged between Jackson and Greenspan during the entire tenure of my administration. This spat over the 2% tax cuts were what started it and I thought I could moderate these two men to find a common ground. That was the problem, moderation cannot be found on this mountain, if you get to the peak, you fall off either one side or another. Jesse bluntly said to me that it would be my face in the history books and that it was up to me to label myself. 'Do you wanna be Robin Hood or some damn Robber Baron'. A baron or a merry man of the hood was what I could be, the only thing I did know for a fact was that my cabinet was not the merriest of men". - Exert from A Time to Decide: the Biography of Richard Thornburgh

Across the Atlantic in a bar in West Berlin, American soldiers were carousing and having the best of times. From their point of view the Soviets were friendly and especially grand, the drinks were half off because of so many American soldiers that night. Things were usual, even the scurrying man that left the briefcase didn't send shivers for what was to come. Quickly as things were simple in comparison, things went to horrifyingly terrible.

An explosion erupted in the discotheque, killing 10 people in the process and wounding several hundred. As the sorting through the devastation occurred after by the West Berliner aid, it was discovered that out of the ten dead, six were American soldiers. Things happened quickly through out the month of April, President Thornburgh worked with his West German counterpart to uncover who was behind the attack. What came to light linked back to Libyan East Berlin embassy and the congratulatory telex messages from Libya on the attack.

Congress, controlled by Republicans, called for retribution against Libya. Enough internationalist Democrats joined in to hound President Thornburgh that he began to form a "Coalition of the United". Britain, West Germany, Egypt, France, Greece, Chad and a number of other allies united behind America after the April 5th bombing. In mid April, Congress voted for a declaration of war against Libya.


American fighters prepare for action

Forces were garrisoned in the Mediterranean to do battle and begin bombing of Libyan cities and military installations in a "High Tech War" against Qaddafi's government. President Thornburgh had decided not to commit ground forces as of yet and hoped to use air forces to overpower and force the hand of the Libyan government. International criticism came in different shades, Italy was the most forceful while the USSR attacked the US verbally but also made scathing remarks about the Libyan government also. Things even became more complicated when Italian Prime Minister Craxi secretly informed Muammar Qadaffi of planned bombings on his compound, lengthened what was thought to be a quick week long war or so. Still the Libyan War had started with mixed beginnings.

In September, DC Comics began the limited series "Who Killed the Peacemaker". In years to come, Peacemaker will be hailed as an excellent and shocking comic dealing with serious problems and asking "What If?". Peacemaker involves a world where superheroes are real, Nixon never was assassinated and served three terms, Apollo 11 was saved and the Cold War continues between the US and the USSR, with the PRC playing devils advocate to either side. The simple story involves the murder of one of the former superheroes, "Vishnu" as he was known, by an unknown assailant, setting off a mad dash to discover who and why.

The year moved to the next, 1987. The years of the hectic 80's were coming closer to an end. Still there was much fuss to come to the world in the three years left in the clock. China was in civil war, the United States and it's fractured allies had involved themselves in a war with Libya and the Soviet Union was swaying back in forth from the strain of all these long years. The world watches as 1987 dawns.
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Cathcon
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« Reply #56 on: November 29, 2010, 02:47:43 PM »

I love your reference to Watchmen! Awesome! As a former comic book geek, I'm wondering the name of "Rorschach" in the series. From what I know, I think "Who killed the peacemaker was slated to become the original title of Watchmen.

I hope Thorn gets re-elected. It'll be interesting to see a primary battle between, most likely, Goldwater, Kemp, and an establishment candidate, most likely Bush or Dole.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #57 on: December 07, 2010, 08:53:34 PM »

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been terribly sick and sadly still am. To this degree, I sadly will not be updating until I get to feeling better.
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Cathcon
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« Reply #58 on: December 07, 2010, 09:10:31 PM »

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been terribly sick and sadly still am. To this degree, I sadly will not be updating until I get to feeling better.

Well I hope you get better soon and it's not too bad. This is one of my favorite timelines on the forum. Smiley
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Goldwater
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« Reply #59 on: December 08, 2010, 12:10:50 AM »

This is a great TL! Cheesy
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Cathcon
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« Reply #60 on: December 17, 2010, 11:06:34 PM »

Bump. The last update was a little less than 20 days ago, I think.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #61 on: December 18, 2010, 01:38:39 AM »

Bump. The last update was a little less than 20 days ago, I think.
Yeah sorry about that. I was sick, now I have a major case of writer's block. I have all these idea's for the TL, but when I sit down to type them out they just don't flow.
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Cathcon
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« Reply #62 on: December 18, 2010, 04:08:40 PM »

Bump. The last update was a little less than 20 days ago, I think.
Yeah sorry about that. I was sick, now I have a major case of writer's block. I have all these idea's for the TL, but when I sit down to type them out they just don't flow.

Yeah, I've had that.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #63 on: December 18, 2010, 09:09:40 PM »

Bump. The last update was a little less than 20 days ago, I think.
Yeah sorry about that. I was sick, now I have a major case of writer's block. I have all these idea's for the TL, but when I sit down to type them out they just don't flow.

Yeah, I've had that.
Oh isn't it a pain.
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Cathcon
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« Reply #64 on: December 26, 2010, 03:36:04 PM »

Bump/ Still got writer's block?
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #65 on: December 26, 2010, 07:11:00 PM »

Big time. I could use some help, but I don't know how or from who though.
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« Reply #66 on: December 26, 2010, 10:25:55 PM »

Big time. I could use some help, but I don't know how or from who though.

I dont' know if it's worth anything, but I'd be willing to help.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #67 on: January 13, 2011, 06:00:26 PM »
« Edited: September 04, 2011, 11:32:50 PM by Andy Jackson »

Part 17: The Chronicles of Criticism

The internationalist motifs that had painted the Kennedy administration with the usage of the United Nations, had now come back in the form of a spearheaded US retaliatory attack on Libya. From the beginning, Libya was outmanned and outgunned as forces in the Mediterranean swarmed the coast, launching fighters to bombard the cities that stretched the beaches of the nation. Libyan and Egyptian forces sparred in a proxy war with Egyptians gaining the backing of the US and it's handful of supporting European allies. For the most part, the Libyan War would be more so a several month long bombing tactics against Gaddafi.


Newsweek's take on the Libyan War

Several battles took place between American and Libyan naval forces, usually leading to American victories. Still the technological superior US felt the sting of victory, having lost more fighters than expected. In February, after the death of one of Gaddafi's sons in a bombing raid, Gaddafi called for a truce. President Thornburgh moved on this and a treaty was signed.

The treaty would include Libya taking responsibility for the Gulf of Sidra and the April Berlin bombing and would pay for reparations to the American and West German families of the dead in the April bomb attack. There was also a call for the Libyan government to crack down on terrorist elements internally and to halt occupation of the Aouzou Strip and allow UN peacekeepers in. Even though a victory had been achieved, the world and the American public had begun to grow sour of the internationalist qualities of the Stars and Stripes.

After the blunt disaster from the Lebanon War in the early 80's, the Iraqi-Syrian Friendship Union had dissolved. Now without strength or solidarity in government, Iraq had fallen into religious infighting. It was kept "underwraps" to say, but in 1987 the violence consumed Iraq in civil war. Sunni and Shiite Iraqi's warred against each other in the nation as gun runners from Iran supplied the fast growing support of a "Islamic Republic of Iraq".

The government in Baghdad was weak and with it's simplistic and strained diplomatic ties with Syria, they plead for some type of support to help quell the infighting. Syria, already seeing the uptick in violence from the Islamic Brotherhood, decided to send forces to aid the Baghdad government. The Syrians attempt to make an example to their own people in their home country and attach Iraq ever so snugly in their sphere of influence would turn into a nightmare. The Syrians and friendly Iraqis would become bogged down in religious civil war that seemed caked over the whole surface of the country.


Car bomb attacks by insurgents in Ramadi

Places like Ramadi, Baghdad and Fallujah will become hotspots for the Syrian forces and open sores will prevail in Iraq. As the taxed Syrians will try and deal with their growing quagmire, America would do little to rally against the Syrian endeavour in the middle east. For the reasoning being is that the Libyan War had strained the tastebuds of Americans for international endeavours. The United Nations, without it's major leader in military adventurism, would be led by the USSR to tackle only a few damning resolutions attacking the tactics of the Syrian occupants.

"The Syrian Occupation of Iraq, lasting from 1987 to 1991, was one of the bloodiest attempts to expand Syrian influence in the Middle East. From the beginning, Syrian forces were ill prepared and quickly were overcome by Sunni and Shiite religious fighters and Kurdish independence forces. In their attempts to quell opposition to the occupation of Iraq, Syria gained the ire of the international community for it's gruesome shows of authority. One of the bloodiest measures was the usage of chemical weapons against Sunni and Shiite insurgent combatants, with the majority help from Iraqi military leader Ali 'Genocide Ali' Hassan al-Majid on chemical warfare..." -Exert from Wars of Occupation: Syria in Conflict

Back at home, President Thornburgh had finished his mullover on what to do with upper class tax cuts. Thornburgh decided to reluctantly support the position in the form of a bill in the senate. Secretary Jesse Jackson bombastically attacked the President and resigned in a forceful manner because of Thornburgh's move. Liberal Republicans came out in force against the bill, led by Senator Lowell Weicker.

Democrats were split, the conservative factions that had gained the moniker "Goldbugs" for their support of a return to the gold standard, were to be the prevalent bipartisan support. Northern and Midwestern Democrats otherwise were against the tax cuts on liberal or local grounds. With enough armtwisting, the Tax cuts passed after some bargaining to back affirmative action laws by the Thornburgh administration. After the battle in Congress, the gap between the Thornburgh administration and liberal Republicans were widening.

"All this president has done is lie into office that he would be "Mr. Moderate", bring about a 'politics of tomorrow'. No he has done no such thing, he has endorsed more partisan gridlock with support of tax cuts for the rich and wars oversea's. I for one cannot stand this any longer. That is why I officially declare my candidacy against President Thornburgh for the Republican nomination. For the good of the Republican Party I take up this challenge" - Senator Lowell Weiker, Announcement of Candidacy

China had finally began to coalesce again around a central government. The reformists had rounded up the Gang of four and their cohorts, while consolidating support in the military to it's full extent. Still their were the handful of loyal communist generals and the many loyal colonels and soldiers pledged to live and die by the word of the revolution. Many began to disperse into the background and begin what would become a bloody attrition of a guerrilla war.

"Citizens, we came to late for Beijing. So many lives lost for the sake of order, for that I am sorry. Talk of us, criticism of us, it is all necessary. The reason I speak today is not to ask forgiveness from the Chinese people, but to ask to lend us support. China hangs upon a simple rope, but that rope is frayed. I ask support to this government, this movement, to this Chinese people. We do this not for ourselves, but for our future, for our children. They are to be the future of this nation, they are the ones to fight our fathomless conflicts and troubles to come. For my generation, we do not care, it is over for us, are lives are coming to their end. The young still have their youth, near seventy years to live and die. My one simple wish is to see the China state to live on as a unified presence, one that shall respect the will of the law and the will of the people all of the same. Thank you..." - Speech by Ambassador Zhao Ziyang, Interim Leader of the Beijing Reformist Government

The Soviet Union had it's fair share of problems, one was the continual harassment of Gorbachev's reform policies from hardliners. Many of the remaining hardliners in the government were anchored in the military, where it was very touchy to remove a man from the position of that power. A Western German by the name of Mathias Rust would inadvertently allow Gorbachev to solve one of his problems. Rust would pilot a Cessna aircraft in a hopping fashion from Iceland to Sweden and then directly into Soviet airspace.


Rust's plane in Moscow

Rust would, as Russians would say, be "born with a shirt" or born lucky, for his endeavor would be filled with luck. He would make through what had been thought of as one of the most aerial protected areas in the world. Rust would then land his plane in Red square and would wait non shalantly for the KGB or local police to rush to the scene. Instead, people crowded around and gawked at the West German, marveling at his endeavor.

Soon enough, Rust was arrested and brought into custody. Although Rust had been jailed, the damage had already occurred to Soviet military prestige. Mikhail Gorbachev publically chewed out the Soviet military for their sloppy response to the Rust affair and to previous events. Gorbachev used this to dismiss military officers directly linked to the Soviet aerial command and began to branch out, weeding out a number of political dissenters in a bloodless purge of the military.

With the Soviet purge, the year of 1987 came to a final and exhaustive end. The Chinese were locked in a civil war, Syria was bathing it's hands in gore in Iraq, President Thornburgh was being scorned by many sides of the aisle and Gorbachev was mapping out a new road for the Soviet Union. After the year of criticism, 1988 dawned, bringing more fathomless fights to come.
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« Reply #68 on: January 13, 2011, 06:35:41 PM »

An update! Hopefully more will come soon.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #69 on: January 28, 2011, 02:04:27 AM »

Well I've just really started to hunker down to write part 18 since my dog Bear has been sick for the past two weeks and I've been the one to care for him. Sadly he died several days ago from problems because of heartworms. Needless to say my mind has been preoccupied by other things. Fingers crossed for me to finish part 18.
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« Reply #70 on: February 12, 2011, 06:02:45 PM »

Part 18: The Chronicles of Protest

The 1988 Winter Olympics convened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to a motto "Can You Feel It?". What can be felt through out the Olympics is tension between the two nations that takeaway the most victories in the games, the Soviet Union and East Germany. It is very known that the hardline East German government had not been at all excited by the fracturing of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union itself. So what the media calls the "Ultimate Showdown" between reformer Communism and hardline beliefs, is hyped to it's full for ratings.


Attorney General O'Connor during the Senate Confirmation
With Nixon appointed Justice Lewis Powell leaving the court, President Thornburgh decided to nominate Attorney General Sandra Day O'Connor for the supreme court vacancy. O'Connor, a center right moderate, would become the first woman on the Supreme Court after much fighting with Democrats and Liberal Republicans in the confirmation stage. Much of the verbal combat was because of the wedge between conservative and moderate factions in the Republican Party, with the moderate/liberal leader Lowell Weicker being a verbose attacker of the administration. Still O'Connor would be confirmed by the Senate and took her place on the highest court in the land.

The religious right, the kingmakers in the southern United States, were becoming unnerved by events in the Country. In the high profile move by Hustler magazine to parody Jerry Falwell about "his first time" drinking Campari alcohol. Falwell will sue Hustler for libel. In the high profile event, the court case would go all the way to the Supreme Court, where in the case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell the court would rule in favor of Hustler Magazine. The basis was that reasonable people wouldn't believe the parody to be factual, overturning a lower court ruling in favor of Falwell in the process.

What had started as a trickle was soon becoming a flood in the Soviet Union. Regional support was growing everywhich way in the Baltic areas of the USSR for independence. In places like the Soviet's Eastern Europe soviet republics and Central Asian, sympathy was shown as they themselves had hopes for independence. Gorbachev, the mastermind behind the transformation of the Soviet Union in the 80's now was facing a tide of popular unrest.


One of the many demonstrations in the USSR
Military officials called to send armed forces into the inflared sectors to calm the areas. Other proposals were to allow regional referendums to gage popular support, others called to simply let the the Soviet Union dissolve. Gorbachev, wishing not to let the Soviet Union to not simply collapse, decided to allow referendums to gage support on the ground in the Baltic states, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The referendums were set for October, the United States meanwhile applauded Gorbachev's moves as a step towards greater freedom in the Soviet Union.

"Referendum Question: Do you wish for the independence of your said Soviet Republic, free and completely independent, from the Soviet Union or do you wish to have greater autonomy and/or greater continuation as apart of the Soviet Union?
-Results-
Armenian SSR
Independence: 55%
Autonomy/Continuation: 45%
Azerbaijan SSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 53%
Independence: 47%
Byelorussian SSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 65%
Independence: 35%
Estonian SSR
Independence: 68%
Autonomy/Continuation: 32%
Georgian SSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 58%
Independence: 42%
Kazakh SSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 56%
Independence: 44%
Kirghiz SSR
Independence: 54%
Autonomy/Continuation: 46%
Latvian SSR
Independence: 66%
Autonomy/Continuation: 34%
Lithuanian SSR
Independence: 63%
Autonomy/Continuation: 37%
Moldavian SSR
Independence: 56%
Autonomy/Continuation: 44%
Russian SFSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 71%
Independence: 29%
Tajik SSR
Independence: 56%
Autonomy/Continuation: 44%
Turkmen SSR
Independence: 57%
Autonomy/Continuation: 43%
Ukrainian SSR
Autonomy/Continuation: 55%
Independence: 45%
Uzbek SSR
Independence: 56%
Autonomy/Continuation: 44%

The situation in the Middle East meanwhile was deepening. Iranian vessels, loaded with supplies for Iraqi Islamists, was attacked by Iraqi government assault crafts. The attack turned away the Iranian cargo ships for a time and it soon led to tension in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian government soon drew up plans to mine the common sea routes of Iraqi government ships in the Gulf.

For a month, the Iranian operation mined the sea lanes of Iraq in response to it's rebuffing of it's vessels. The situation expanded when an innocent Kuwaiti vessel was sunk because one of these mines, forcing the tiny gulf nation of Kuwait into the mess. Meanwhile in the United States, the DOW fluctuated because of fears of crippling the oil lanes due to the Iranian-Iraqi power struggle. President Thornburgh would do what he could, calling for calm economically at home and militarily between Iran and Iraq.

As things were spinning out of control in the Middle East, things were transpiring in East Europe. With the growing calls for autonomy and independence in the Soviet Union and the independent streak of the Communists in Poland, popular demonstrations began in Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The demonstrators called for expanded rights, more open political, religious and labor processes and reforms in the Communists regimes to rid them of corruption and cronyism. These were tall orders, but the leaders of Czechoslovakia and Hungary were facing a flood as their opposition.


Czechoslovakians protesting for greater rights
Czechoslovakia was the first nation to relent and announce reforms in their government. They followed Poland's example and began to let slack for the labor movement, while they bowed to allowing greater personal and religious freedoms. These were major steps in the right direction, the last major announcement was historic. The Czechoslovakian government announced that by the end of 1989, the nation would hold democratic elections.

Hungary would be much more trying for the demonstrators. Although new leadership in the form of Bruno Ferenc Straub was open to the demands of the demonstrators, it was the military that was the roadblock. Hardliners and traditionalists had been the majority in a number of Hungarian leadership ever since the reforms in the USSR. Chairman Straub, hoping to appease both sides, moved to implement a number of the political reforms while being quite liberal in clearing out cronyism in the government, effectively looking the other way for the traditionalists sake.

In other events around the world, in a near bloodless coup the corrupt Pakistani government is overthrown by authoritarian General Rahimuddin Khan. Khan would pledge a government of integrity and that would produce results for the Pakistani people. In China the provisional reformist government was having a hard time tamping down communism insurgency in the central provinces, which at the time sliced off the provinces of Tibet and Sinkiang. Because of this, the unrecognized Republic's of Tibet and Sinkiang had been proclaimed to face the roving bands of communists insurgents that also threatened them.

Although the Chinese reformist government would work with these separatist nations for now, they still claimed them ultimately as apart of China proper. The year of 1988 was over. What had been a year propagated by protest and demands for greater freedoms across the globe was at it's end. The United States had went through another turbulent series of elections, the Communist block and the USSR itself was collapsing, China was in the midst of a bloody war of attrition and also so was Syria in Iraq. Though turbulence in the year make moments seem to stand still, the world still revolves and so a new year dawns.
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« Reply #71 on: February 12, 2011, 08:10:44 PM »

Glad it's back. Smiley Hoping for the 1988 election next.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #72 on: February 12, 2011, 08:37:35 PM »

Glad it's back. Smiley Hoping for the 1988 election next.
It'll be up shortly.
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Andy Jackson
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« Reply #73 on: February 12, 2011, 09:03:28 PM »
« Edited: September 04, 2011, 11:46:45 PM by Andy Jackson »

Presidential Election of 1988

The Republicans: The Republicans were deeply divided in stark partisan lines. Moderates, Libertarians, Conservatives and Liberals were battling for the soul of the Grande Old Party and in the middle of it was President Thornburgh. Although his major opposition was from liberal Senator Lowell Weicker and western Conservative Senator Larry Pressler, Thornburgh was able to quickly outpace them both by "Super Tuesday" and soon captured the nomination again. Thornburgh, bruised and tarnished by a tough campaign, chose to keep Vice President Goldwater on the ticket.

The Democrats: The Democrats had to choose between three candidates, Governor Mario Cuomo representing the liberal factions, Governor Bill Baxley representing the moderates and conservatives and Senator Gary Hart representing the progressives. Due to a fierce battle between all three candidates and Cuomo and Hart, with similar voting blocs, tore at each other as Baxley rose to the surface with stressing moderation, internal and health care reforms. Baxley, not that interested in appeasing western progressives, chose northeastern Governor Michael Dukakis as his runningmate. Jesse Jackson, after his defeat, his worry over Baxley's "liberalness" and disdain at the Thornburgh administration, kicked off an African-American friendly independent bid.

The American-Indepents: With the party declining in Congressional returns, many called this the "last hurrah" of the American-Independent Party. The candidates for it's nomination were Televangelist Pat Robertson of Virginia and Buffalo Mayor James D. Griffin. Robertson, although controversial, pushed himself to the nomination. Robertson shunned attempts to place Griffin on the ticket and instead chose Trent Lott. Robertson would base his campaign on a return to a "Christian nation" and defeating the "Godless Thornburgh".

The General: The campaign revolved around the economy. Although it had recovered, international affairs had shaken the economy numerous times and that worried the American people. The populace was also turning more on internationalist feelings, instead embracing a more isolationary foreign policy. Baxley took this up and campaigned on an isolationary foreign policy, while pushing to kickstart internal reforms in health care, the economy and infrastructure. Thornburgh ran on an international foreign policy appeal, calling for simply "Four more years, It's getting better". With four candidates pulling in the election and a fractured Republican Party, the Democrats retook the White House after four years of Republican governing.


(D)-Fmr Gov. William "Bill" J. Baxley II,AL/Gov. Michael S. Dukakis,MA: 315 EV
(R)-Pres. Richard "Dick" L. Thornburgh,PA/VP. Barry M. Goldwater Jr,CA: 193 EV
(AI)-Televangelist M. Gordon "Pat" Robertson,VA/Rep. C. Trent Lott Sr,MS: 27 EV
(I)-Fmr HUD Sec. Jesse L. Jackson Sr,IL/Fmr Rep. Shirley A. St. Hill Chisholm,NY: 3 EV
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Cathcon
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« Reply #74 on: February 13, 2011, 12:01:50 AM »

NOOOOO!!!!! Sad Well, hopefully Republicans will be back in four years with former Commerce Secretary Jack Kemp.
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