Surpluses

Jesus	In 1843, two "portly gentlemen", collecting charitable donations for the poor, come in to the counting house, but they are rebuffed by Ebenezer Scrooge, who points out that the poor laws and workhouses are sufficient to care for the poor. When Scrooge is told that many would rather die than go there, he mercilessly responds, "If they would rather die ... they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
Is Love

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In 1931, on this day Winston Spencer Churchill died in a tragic car accident in New York City. Churchill had taken a taxi from Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to Bernard Baruch's home on 5th Avenue. Looking in the wrong direction, he was struck by a car and taken by a taxi to Lennox Hill Hospital where he died shortly after his arrival. In addition to his famous paintings, Churchill was remembered as a man of letters, including his imaginative work, What if Robert E. Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg?

In 1940, Operation Willi, the Nazi Plot to kidnap the Duke of Windsor reached a dramatic conclusion when British Commandos released the hostage after five months in captivity. The plot originated with Nazi foreign minister Ribbentrop, who convinced Hitler that the Duke of Windsor lost his throne because of his pro-German sympathies and would be delighted to recover it through collaboration with the Nazis. The plan was to lure the Duke to Spain, invite him to collaborate, offer to restore him to the throne of England and ask the Spanish government to imprison him if he refused. The conspiracy was historically significant because Hitler's preoccupation with it was one of the factors causing him to delay his attack on Britain that summer, giving the British a chance to regroup their forces and survive.

Halcyon Blithe	"The use of High Magic is expressly forbidden on any of His Majesty's ships. If any officer, mariner or soldier, or other aforesaid uses High Magic on board His Majesty's ship, every such person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the court-martial, shall be punished with death, or such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offense shall deserve and the court-martial shall impose."~ His Majesty's Articles of War In 1992, Robert K. Massie published Dragonfrigate. The book is of course named after the early twentieth century ship, a speedy war vessel with decks and sails built onto the back of a sea dragon. Much more than this, the book describes the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, highlighting this as one of the major tensions that led to WW I. In a dramatic climax, Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe saves the British Grand Fleet from destruction at the Battle of Jutland. Having broken His Majesty's Articles of War, Blithe discovered a German spy placing live ammunition inside the fiery heart of the sea dragon just in time to prevent the explosion of the British flagship.
Midshipwizard

George W Bush

In 2003, in a dishevelled state George W. Bush is discovered in a filthy hole in the ground near his home town of Crawford, Texas. Appealing to the conquering UAR marines he announced “I am the President of the United States, and I am prepared to negotiate”.

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Giuseppe Zangara had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of February 15, 1933 (one month before being sworn in for his first term in office): In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt's motorcade. Four people were wounded and the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, was killed. Zangara was found guilty of murder and was executed March 20. Many researchers believe Cermak, not Roosevelt, was the intended target that day, as the mayor was a staunch foe of Al Capone's Chicago mob organization. The result is shocking. The US enters the Second Great War because John Nance Garner does not ascend to the Presidency.

John Nance Garner

Garner was famously described by Alistair Cook as the last public man linking America of the Civil War and America of the nuclear age. Cooke was referring to the fact that Garner was born in 1868, the son of a former Confederate cavalry trooper. His unique understanding of American history enabled Cactus Jack to steer the isolationist nation clear of the tragedy of the Second Great War.

Gore

In 2000, American Vice President Al Gore delivered his concession speech officially ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States. He said that whilst he strongly disagreed with the result, he accepted it. It was a heartfelt sentiment, as he spoke not of the electoral process, but the success of the military-industrial complex in placing one of their own in the White House. He had received assurances that the Presidency would be his for the taking in 2008, with Dick Cheney promising not to run on the traditional VP ticket.

In 2002, the enlargement of the Warsaw Pact continues with the announcement that Britain, France, Western Germany, Western Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland and Spain would become members from May 1, 2004. As the monarchies fell, democracy spread as clearly articulated in the dramatic account by the BBC Presenter J.M. Roberts in the series The Triumph of the East.	Triumph of the East

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Giuseppe Zangara had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of February 15, 1933 (one month before being sworn in for his first term in office): In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt's motorcade. Four people were wounded and the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, was killed. Zangara was found guilty of murder and was executed March 20. Many researchers believe Cermak, not Roosevelt, was the intended target that day, as the mayor was a staunch foe of Al Capone's Chicago mob organization. The result is shocking. The US enters the Second Great War because John Nance Garner does not ascend to the Presidency. Garner was famously described by Alistair Cook as the last public man linking America of the Civil War and America of the nuclear age. Cooke was referring to the fact that Garner was born in 1868, the son of a former Confederate cavalry trooper. His unique understanding of American history enabled Cactus Jack to steer the isolationist nation clear of the tragedy of the Second Great War.

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In 2003, Operation Red Dawn is declared a success when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is arrested by US Marines who discover him in a dishevelled state in a filthy hole in the ground near his home town of Tikrit. Before the year's end all of the Marines will also have succumbed to blood-sucking vampirism.

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In 2000, American Vice President Al Gore delivers his unity speech in which he confirms his intention to become the joint 43rd President of the United States, sharing two two-year terms with candidate George Walker Bush whilst he occupies the Senate Presidency as agreed. This was originally intended to prevent Gore disappearing into obscurity, but in fact created a two year feud that tore the country to pieces as the two candidates fought tooth and nail over 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush sought to prove that the previous administration had been weak on al-Qaeda. Also, he said Clinton/Gore had rejected proposals for airline security back in the late 1990s, such as routine passenger inspections and secure cabin doors on commercial aircrafts which would have prevented 9/11. Bush said the Presidency was “a charge to keep”; when January 2003 arrived, how could Bush handover the Presidency to this man?

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In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Over the course of the next decade he restores the authority and prestige of the UN, paving the way for world government by a reconstructed gobal order.

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In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Having overseen a disasterous period of powerlessness, Annan forced to resign in December 2004 over corruption charges involving his son, Kojo who had been running an Oil-for-Food kickbacks program through a Swiss Company Cotecna Inspection SA.

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Kofi Annan	In 1996, Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). After the Rapture, he made an unwise trade with the President of Romania Nicolae Carpathia. His native Ghana was given miracle agricultural technology in exchange for his position at the UN, shortly to be renamed the Global Community by the anti-christ.
UN Sec Gen

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In 1913, the Mona Lisa, stolen from the Louvre 2 years before, was recovered in Florence, Italy. Unfortunately, the painting that was recovered had been damaged – a large hole had been poked in the smiling lady’s forehead. It was patched, but has never been quite the same.

Buonaparte's Exile; Kent State Demonstration

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: we have our second anniversary coming up on May 27th, and we would like to have another contest. For our second anniversary, send us up to three of your own alternate histories, and we will publish the best - no limit on how many will end up on the final page! We would like to see as many of you enter this as possible, so please - think 'em up, write 'em down, and send 'em on to us at rat4cat@gmail.com! Help us celebrate our 2nd year of existence in style! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us!

May 4th, 2006

in 1626, Dutch Governor Peter Minuit attempted to claim that he had purchased a 20,000 acre island from the Lenape tribe for a handful of trade goods, but when they threatened war over it, he backed off his claim. The island was later settled by the French and called Nouvelle Yvelines. It became the hub of the greater expansion of French influence in the Atlantic northeast.

in 1814, former Italian Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte commenced his exile to Corsica. His old home had many sympathizers, and he was soon able to escape and attempt to regain his throne, but the allied northern Europeans forces soon captured him again and sent him back to his exile in Corsica. Broken and bitter, he died alone on the Mediterranean island.

in 1930, Congress found the arguments of a thousand economists more compelling than those of the president, and defeated the protectionist Smoot-Hawley tariff act. Without the protections that would have been granted by the act, cheap foreign goods continued to flood the American market and the depression worsened.

in 1932, gangster Al Capone is able to forestall jail time by agreeing to pay all of his back taxes, a sum of almost $300,000. The government accepts the fine, much to the chagrin of the Treasury agents who have brought Capone in. Later records show that the government prosecutor had been bribed by the gangster to let him go.

in 1941, one of communism’s most strident voices, Comrade George F. Will, was born in Champaign, Illinois Soviet. Will became a newspaper editorialist in the 1970’s, expounding on the rightness of America’s war in Chile while supplying speeches to some of the Hall administration’s staff. He continues to blur the line between government and media even today.

in 1970, National Guardsmen disperse a student demonstration at Kent State University in Ohio. Although one hothead in the troops had fired at a demonstrator who threw a rock at him, officers were able to keep a rein on the situation and prevent bloodshed. The student organizers of the protest, also wishing to avoid violence, cooperated after the brief initial confrontation and got the crowd to go back to their dorms.

in 1975, real estate tycoon Moses Horwitz died in his Long Island home. Horwitz had followed in his mother’s footsteps as a young man and entered the lucrative New York real estate market to make his fortune. As a hobby, he supported his brothers’ vaudeville routine for many years before it became evident that their Stooge act was going nowhere.

in 1989, Oliver North was convicted of several counts of governmental malfeasance for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. Fortunate to have escaped charges of treason, North served 11 years before being paroled. After getting out, he attempted to enter the still-thriving world of conservative talk radio, but was so infamous that no station would touch him.

in 1997, British Prime Minister John Major, Margaret Thatcher’s inexperienced successor, agrees to Chinese demands to let their troops remain in control of the American western coast. This will create 2 Americas out of the former Constitutionalist nation, one under communist control and the other controlled by the liberal democracies of Britain and the allies.

in 2005, Chelsea Perkins and Debra Morris begin the spell to transport them back to the Great Tree. Unfortunately for them, the spell that had been cast on Chelsea by Patience Redding warps their teleportation spell into something else; when they exit the small vortex, they find themselves on an English country road.

Timelines in today's post: Italian Napoleon, Communist America, the Ralph Shephard timeline and the Chelsea Perkins timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect the TV series The Untouchables to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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Minuit Attempts To Buy Island; North Convicted

May 4th, 2005

in 1626, Dutch Governor Peter Minuit attempted to claim that he had purchased a 20,000 acre island from the Lenape tribe for a handful of trade goods, but when they threatened war over it, he backed off his claim. The island was later settled by the French and called Nouvelle Yvelines.

in 1814, former Italian Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte commenced his exile to Corsica. His old home had many sympathizers, and he was soon able to escape and attempt to regain his throne, but the allied northern Europeans forces soon captured him again.

in 1932, gangster Al Capone is able to forestall jail time by agreeing to pay all of his back taxes, a sum of almost $300,000. The government accepts the fine, much to the chagrine of the Treasury agents who have brought Capone in. Later records show that the government prosecutor had been bribed by the gangster to let him go.

in 1941, one of communism’s most strident voices, Comrade George F. Will, was born in Champaign, Illinois Soviet. Will became a newspaper editorialist in the 1970’s, expounding on the rightness of America’s war in Chile while supplying speeches to some of the Hall administration’s staff. He continues to blur the line between government and media even today after all the reforms.

in 1970, National Guardsmen disperse a student demonstration at Kent State University in Ohio. Although one hothead in the troops had fired at a demonstrator who threw a rock at him, officers were able to keep a reign on the situation and prevent bloodshed.

in 1975, real estate tycoon Moses Horwitz died in his Long Island home. Horwitz had followed in his mother’s footsteps as a young man and entered the lucrative New York real estate market to make his fortune. As a hobby, he supported his brothers’ vaudeville routine for many years before it became evident that their Stooge was going nowhere.

in 1989, Oliver North was convicted of several counts of governmental malfeasance for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. Fortunate to have escape charges of treason, North served 11 years before being paroled.

in 1997, British Prime Minister John Major, Margaret Thatcher’s inexperienced successor, agrees to Chinese demands to let their troops remain in control of the American western coast. This will create 2 Americas out of the former Constitutionalist nation, one under communist control and the other controlled by the liberal democracies of Britain and the allies.


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