Seeds

In 2013, the City of Mississauga reported a dramatic fall in vehicular mansalughter. Put simply, drivers were notorious for ignoring white lights permitting pedestrians to cross. Corners were taken very quickly after light changes in order to beat oncoming traffic. Also by “beating the lights” drivers chose not to decelerate if they did not see pedestrians actually crossing, even if they were approaching the kerbside. Both of these scenarios had caused a large number of accidents for immigrants who thought that the white light might it was safe for pedestrians to cross. The rising population of immigrations caused the Department of Transport to take action, and they turned to telegram technology as a draconian measure. Images of children were picted just after light changes. This huge rise in virtual deaths led to widespread traffic calming. And not a few fender benders, which insurance companies recovered from increased premiums.

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In 1905, the Japanese attack on Port Arthur is frustrated by the arrival of Russian reinforcements. At one stage it looked as if the Tsar would be humiliated by defeat, but after Port Arthur, the Russo-Japanese war drifted into a stalemate.

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In 1979, punk rocker Sid Vicious goes on trial for the murder of his girlfriend/manager, Nancy Spungen. Vicious attempts suicide several times during the trial process, until he is finally placed into custody and put under a suicide watch. He is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He was paroled in 2002, a shell of his former self.

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In 1727, James Wolfe was born, a British general remembered mainly for his role in establishing British rule in Canada. By 1942, British rule only existed in Canada, with the British Government in Exile, headed by Lord Halifax unexpected guests of the Governor General at his residence in Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

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Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson languished in Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first "Covenant" trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever”, the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Unbeliever

She came out of the store just in time to see her young son playing on the sidewalk directly in the path of the gray, gaunt man who strode down the center of the walk like a mechanical derelict. For an instant, her heart quailed. Then she jumped forward, gripped her son by the arm, snatched him out of harm's way. The man went by without turning his head. As his back moved away from her, she hissed at it, "Go away! Get out of here! You ought to be ashamed!" Thomas Covenant's stride went on, as unfaltering as clockwork that had been wound to the hilt for just this purpose. But to himself he responded, Ashamed? Ashamed? His face contorted in a wild grimace. Beware! Outcase unclean! ~“Golden Boy”

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In 1727, James Wolfe was born on this day in Westerham, Kent, England, the eldest son of Colonel Edward Wolfe and the former Henrietta Thompson. Around 1738, the family moved to Greenwich, in London.

From his earliest years Wolfe was destined for a military career, entering his father's marine regiment at the age of 13. No other British Officer in North America was to achieve Wolfe's level of disreputation, following his decision on September 13th to destroy the city of Quebec after the winter threatened to overtake the besieging British red coats.

In Wolfe's own condemnatory words, he said “I propose to set the town on fire with shells, to destroy the harvest, houses and cattle, both above and below, to send off as many Canadians as possible to Europe and to leave famine and desolation behind me; but we must teach these scoundrels to make war in a more gentleman like manner."

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In 870, the infidel rulers Ferdinand and Isabella fall to the righteous forces of Caliph Boabdil. Allah saw fit to give the Moors control of Espagne, and from there, a foothold on the rest of Europe, so that His word might reach the poor northerners who had not heard Its beauty.

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In 1903, after appointing a black postmistress to the post office in Indianola, Mississippi, President Roosevelt sent reinforcements along with her to ensure that she would be able to do her job. Roosevelt’s commitment to the civil rights of the African-American population of America gave him a hitherto unmeasured degree of support in the south. His Civil Rights Act of 1904, ensuring the voting rights of blacks across America, is credited with landing him his unprecedented 3rd term of office in the election of 1908.

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In 1960, Senator Joe Kennedy, Jr. threw his hat in the ring for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Kennedy’s inspiring tale of recovery from injuries suffered in a horrific plane crash during World War II made him a natural choice, and he won the nomination handily. He had a little more difficulty defeating Vice President Nixon in the general election, but squeaked by with a margin of half a million votes.

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In 1920, Исаак Озимов was born on this day in Petrovichi, Russian SFSR. Isaac Asimov as he is more commonly known in the West is generally considered by many as the father of Psychohistory. During the 1940s, Asimov's research determined that the House of Romanov was in terminal decline. Without intervention, the Tsarist Empire would soon fall giving way to a barbaric interregnum of one hundred years before a Second Empire would arise. He concluded that it was too late to prevent the fall of the House of the Romanov. Secretly, Asimov put in place the Asimov Plan to reduce this interregnum to as little as a decade, by setting up Foundations within continental Russia.

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StrawBerry	In early 1999, Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) released the first StrawBerry, using the same hardware as the Inter@ctive pager 950, and running on the Mobitex network. Today the device supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. RIM settled on the name "StrawBerry" only after weeks of work by Lexicon Branding Inc., the Sausalito, California-based firm that named Intel Corp.'s Pentium microprocessor and Apple's PowerBook. One of the naming experts at Lexicon thought the miniature buttons on RIM's product looked "like the tiny seeds in a strawberry," Lexicon founder David Placek says. "A linguist at the firm thought straw was too slow sounding. Someone else suggested blackberry. RIM went for strawberry."
Revolution

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In 1958, the following notice was published ~ with due respect to sworn testimony of God-fearing citizens, -
Mr Paul Adolph Volcker is found guilty as charged of usury,-
by magistrates of this good parish of Cape May, New Jersey, -
persuant to Holy Scripture, Mark 8:36 refers, -
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?,-
on this day of our Lord, 1958. Not the potter, but the potter's clay. Amen.

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Pope Harold; American Troop Reductions

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: aylinn, please contact us so that we can give you your IVTIAHD prize of an alternate history entry!
PS - we would really appreciate it if you nominated us for a Bloggie! Only 4 days left - and we need as many of you to nominate us as possible. And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

January 6th, 2006

in 1066, Bishop Harold Godwineson assumes the papacy of the Holy British Empire under a cloud of illegitimacy. Bishops from the Norwegian and Norman churches both pressed a claim on the Holy See, and soon plunged the Holy Land into a war that brought Pope Harold down.

in 1412, Jehanne Darc was born in Domremy, in old France. Insane from birth, the young woman actually managed to convince French scholars that she was hearing God tell her to take command of an army to defeat the Burgundian, pro-English forces in Orleans. The inexperienced commander was killed, and the Burgundians installed in power after their English allies brought in reinforcements for them.

in 870, Moors across Espagne celebrated their victory over the Christian infidels. The city of Alhambra was strewn with flowers and Caliph Boabdil gave all Moors of the land a holiday to honor Allah’s blessing on this day.

in 1777, American rebel General George Washington establishes a winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, and uses the winter to correspond with the nascent Canadian nationalists. Although unable to resupply or reinforce Washington's forces, the nationalists do provide a home for Washington when the American Revolution is defeated and he is forced to flee to the north.

in 4579, Lebanese author Khalil Gibran was born. In his youth, he traveled to the court at the Forbidden City and spoke to Emperor Chengzu of a new philosophy, blending the ancient religion of Islam with the more modern and robust Buddhism practiced by most of the world. Although Chengzu didn’t follow this path, he allowed Khalil to continue his writings, which did win many converts.

in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin boards the Swan Lady, a passenger boat traveling south on the Mississippi. During his voyage on this ship, he becomes embroiled in a minor mystery, and is suspected of a murder he didn’t commit. His solving of this case does nothing to endear him to the other passengers, and he exits the boat while it is still far from his destination.

in 1942, with the ongoing war in Eurasia bleeding over into the western hemisphere, President Alf Landon commits the United States to buying tens of thousands of new aircraft, guns, tanks and ships. Both the Greater Zionist Resistance and the German Underground have had representatives pleading for aid from the U.S., but the official policy of America towards the war in Eurasia has been neutrality.

in 1955, comic genius Rowan Atkinson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Atkinson’s rubbery face made him a natural for humor, and his creation of the Black Adder series in 1983 propelled him to international stardom. The series following an unscrupulous Englishman through several reincarnations was renewed six times and then made into 4 blockbuster films that cemented Atkinson’s reputation as the late twentieth century’s foremost comic talent.

in 1958, Comrade President Joel Rosenberg, in a gesture of conciliation to the European powers, reduced American troops levels by 300,000 to about 3 million. The Soviet States had maintained a large standing army since the Great Patriotic War, and Comrade Rosenberg was mainly trimming soldiers that were no longer necessary to American security. Still, the move was seen as a part of a larger overture towards peace by the S.S.A.

in 1971, the courts-martial of over a dozen officers responsible for both participating in and covering up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam begin. When the horrific details of that day's bloody deeds are revealed, two officers are sentenced to life in prison, and the others are convicted of lesser charges, serving a few years before being dishonorably discharged. Although the dead could not be brought back, the alacrity with which America punished those responsible for this war crime did elicit respect around the world.

in 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone joins with the Congressional Black Caucus in challenging the electoral votes of Florida for Governor George Bush. This throws the presidential election into the House of Representatives, where bitter partisan wrangling ends with the governor elected president, but Democrat Joe Lieberman elected vice-president by the Senate. This unusual situation, decried by both sides at first, produces a bipartisan White House that truly does unite, not divide.

Timelines in today's post: the Holy British Empire, Islam Ascendant, Canadian Independence, the Chinese Empire, von Heflin, the GZR, and Communist America.

Yet another AHN - today's post has something a little different about it. There are links to the real timeline source of 4 alternate entries, and at the bottom of the post you will find links to the ongoing timelines that are written about in this post. This is extraordinarily time-consuming, so give us some comments about it to let us know if you would like us to continue doing that.

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support! And don't forget to nominate us for a Bloggie.

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

A Wizard's Journey; Sid Vicious On Trial

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE, in an effort to find out exactly how many readers we have, Today In Alternate History will be holding an International Visit TIAH Day. Our Atom feed will be turned off for tomorrow, January 3rd, 2006, and we encourage you all to visit our site on that day to read our material. The feed will be turned back on January 4th, so you can return to reading TIAH normally. Remember, the site's URL is http://althistory.blogspot.com.

January 2nd, 2006

in 47,392 BCE, Telka the Speaker and her great-granddaughter Swikolay begin walking away from the Himalayas to the southeast. In her dreams, she had seen a great island in that direction, and she thought that it might have a better vantage point from which to reach the sky.

in 902, the wizard Atticus journeys to see Merlin.

in 870, the infidel rulers Ferdinand and Isabella fall to the righteous forces of Caliph Boabdil. Allah saw fit to give the Moors control of Espagne, and from there, a foothold on the rest of Europe, so that His word might reach the poor northerners who had not heard Its beauty.

in 1818, Lord Byron finished canto IV of Childe P’Tir’Losh’s Pilgrimage, his epic poem of the journey of a young Mlosh across the hard and often unforgiving world.

in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin reaches the American border and crosses over into Michigan. From there, he heads to the Mississippi and follows it south. He has sent word ahead to his family in Texas to expect him shortly.

in 1903, after appointing a black postmistress to the post office in Indianola, Mississippi, President Roosevelt sent reinforcements along with her to ensure that she would be able to do her job. Roosevelt’s commitment to the civil rights of the African-American population of America gave him a hitherto unmeasured degree of support in the south. His Civil Rights Act of 1904, ensuring the voting rights of blacks across America, is credited with landing him his unprecedented 3rd term of office in the election of 1908.

in 1905, Russian reinforcements manage to stave off a Japanese attack on Port Arthur, the Russian base in China. It marked the turning point of a war that had been going badly for the Russians, and heartened by this victory, they were able to go on to greater glory and eventually win the war against the island nation. This defeat dimmed Japan’s hopes of becoming a world power to rival the western nations.

in 1960, Senator Joe Kennedy, Jr. threw his hat in the ring for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Kennedy’s inspiring tale of recovery from injuries suffered in a horrific plane crash during World War II made him a natural choice, and he won the nomination handily. He had a little more difficulty defeating Vice President Nixon in the general election, but squeaked by with a margin of half a million votes.

in 1979, punk rocker Sid Vicious goes on trial for the murder of his girlfriend/manager, Nancy Spungen. Vicious attempts suicide several times during the trial process, until he is finally placed into custody and put under a suicide watch. He is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He was paroled in 2002, a shell of his former self.

in 1980, Comrade President John Anderson denounces the British invasion of the People’s Soviet of Argentina. He organizes the tattered remnants of the now-defunct Community of Trade into their last concerted action; a boycott of all goods produced by Great Britain. In addition, Comrade President Anderson arms and trains the rebel guerrilos in Argentina, a move which will come back to haunt the Soviet States in years to come.

Timelines in today's post: the Speaker, the Mlosh, Communist America and von Heflin.

Yet another AHN - today's post has something a little different about it. In addition to a link to a long-form entry and the real timeline source of an alternate entry, at the bottom of the post you will find links to the ongoing timelines that are written about in this post. This is extraordinarily time-consuming, so give us some comments about it to let us know if you would like us to continue doing that.

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

Presidential Election Challenged

January 6th, 2005

in 1412, Jehanne Darc was born in Domremy, in old France. Insane from birth, the young woman actually managed to convince French scholars that she was hearing God tell her to take command of an army to defeat the Burgundian, pro-English forces in Orleans. The inexperienced commander was killed, and the Burgundians installed in power after their English allies brought in reinforcements for them.

in 870, Moors across Espagne celebrated their victory over the Christian infidels. The city of Alhambra was strewn with flowers and Caliph Boabdil gave all Moors of the land a holiday to honor Allah’s blessing on this day.

in 4579, Lebanese author Khalil Gibran was born. In his youth, he traveled to the court at the Forbidden City and spoke to Emperor Chengzu of a new philosophy, blending the ancient religion of Islam with the more modern and robust Buddhism practiced by most of the world. Although Chengzu didn’t follow this path, he allowed Khalil to continue his writings, which did win many converts.

in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin boards the Swan Lady, a passenger boat traveling south on the Mississippi. During his voyage on this ship, he becomes embroiled in a minor mystery, and is suspected of a murder he didn’t commit. His solving of this case does nothing to endear him to the other passengers, and he exits the boat while it is still far from his destination.

in 1942, with the ongoing war in Eurasia bleeding over into the western hemisphere, President Alf Landon commits the United States to buying tens of thousands of new aircraft, guns, tanks and ships. Both the Greater Zionist Resistance and the German Underground have had representatives pleading for aid from the U.S., but the official policy of America towards the war in Eurasia has been neutrality.

in 1955, comic genius Rowan Atkinson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Atkinson’s rubbery face made him a natural for humor, and his creation of the Black Adder series in 1983 propelled him to international stardom. The series following an unscrupulous Englishman through several reincarnations was renewed six times and then made into 4 blockbuster films that cemented Atkinson’s reputation as the late twentieth century’s foremost comic talent.

in 1958, Comrade President Joel Rosenberg, in a gesture of conciliation to the European powers, reduced American troops levels by 300,000 to about 3 million. The Soviet States had maintained a large standing army since the Great Patriotic War, and Comrade Rosenberg was mainly trimming soldiers that were no longer necessary to American security. Still, the move was seen as a part of a larger overture towards peace by the S.S.A.

in 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone joins with the Congressional Black Caucus in challenging the electoral votes of Florida for Governor George Bush. This throws the presidential election into the House of Representatives, where bitter partisan wrangling ends with the governor elected president, but Democrat Joe Lieberman elected vice-president by the Senate. This unusual situation, decried by both sides at first, produces a bipartisan White House that truly does unite, not divide.


Forum Link

Poll Link: Decide what novel is produced by TIAH next!

Warp, part 2 is out! Get your copy!

Islam Triumphant In Espagne; Senator Kennedy Enters The Presidential Race

January 2nd, 2005

in 47,392 BCE, Telka the Speaker and her great-granddaughter Swikolay begin walking away from the Himalayas to the southeast. In her dreams, she had seen a great island in that direction, and she thought that it might have a better vantage point from which to reach the sky.

in 870, the infidel rulers Ferdinand and Isabella fall to the righteous forces of Caliph Boabdil. Allah saw fit to give the Moors control of Espagne, and from there, a foothold on the rest of Europe, so that His word might reach the poor northerners who had not heard Its beauty.

in 1818, Lord Byron finished canto IV of Childe P’Tir’Losh’s Pilgrimage, his epic poem of the journey of a young Mlosh across the hard and often unforgiving world.

in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin reaches the American border and crosses over into Michigan. From there, he heads to the Mississippi and follows it south. He has sent word ahead to his family in Texas to expect him shortly.

in 1903, after appointing a black postmistress to the post office in Indianola, Mississippi, President Roosevelt sent reinforcements along with her to ensure that she would be able to do her job. Roosevelt’s commitment to the civil rights of the African-American population of America gave him a hitherto unmeasured degree of support in the south. His Civil Rights Act of 1904, ensuring the voting rights of blacks across America, is credited with landing him his unprecedented 3rd term of office in the election of 1908.

in 1905, Russian reinforcements manage to stave off a Japanese attack on Port Arthur, the Russian base in China. It marked the turning point of a war that had been going badly for the Russians, and heartened by this victory, they were able to go on to greater glory and eventually win the war against the island nation. This defeat dimmed Japan’s hopes of becoming a world power to rival the western nations.

in 1960, Senator Joe Kennedy, Jr. threw his hat in the ring for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Kennedy’s inspiring tale of recovery from injuries suffered in a horrific plane crash during World War II made him a natural choice, and he won the nomination handily. He had a little more difficulty defeating Vice President Nixon in the general election, but squeaked by with a margin of half a million votes.

in 1980, Comrade President John Anderson denounces the British invasion of the People’s Soviet of Argentina. He organizes the tattered remnants of the now-defunct Community of Trade into their last concerted action; a boycott of all goods produced by Great Britain. In addition, Comrade President Anderson arms and trains the rebel guerrilos in Argentina, a move which will come back to haunt the Soviet States in years to come.


Forum Link

Poll Link: Decide what novel is produced by TIAH next!

Warp, part 2 is out! Get your copy!

Previously

Heribert Illig	In 1711/2008, as postulated seventeen years before by Heribert Illig, compelling new evidence confirmed that the Early Middle Ages (more precisely, the period 614–911 AD) never occurred, meaning that all artifacts attributed to this period are from other times and that all historical figures from this period are outright fabrications. Detractors were forced to accept the Phantom time hypothesis, that the accepted historical chronology is the result of systematic human manipulations.
Theorist

During the previous year, mainstream opinion had generally accepted that a series of events had been recorded multiple times from different perspectives, with each iteration being assigned to a different time period, thus making a few events over a short period appear to be many events over a long time period. Most of the world's history was written after the 16th century, and that much of that which occurred prior to 1400 AD should not be considered factual. The acceptance that the year 2007 was actually 1711 followed the discovery of a computational error. During the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Europe (1582 AD), while compensating for a ten day discrepancy in the old Julian calendar, many dates were falsely (or ineptly) recalculated as the new system created a thirteen day discrepancy. The original mathematical blemish was attributed to the Julian year being 1.3 minutes too long (which is commonly agreed as factual).

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In 4579, Lebanese author Khalil Gibran was born. In his youth, he traveled to the court at the Forbidden City and spoke to Emperor Chengzu of a new philosophy, blending the ancient religion of Islam with the more modern and robust Buddhism practiced by most of the world. Although Chengzu didn’t follow this path, he allowed Khalil to continue his writings, which did win many converts.

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	In 2008, the “the Paul is dead hoax” was turned on its head when Heather Mills revealed that her former husband was after all an impostor. The supposed death of Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles, was the subject of a rumour that began circulating in October 1969. Proponents of the theory had claimed that McCartney died in a car crash in late 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike before the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The supposed "clues" are given throughout the post-1966 Beatles material in the form of peculiar album covers, possible symbolism in strange lyrics, and backmasking.

The rumour started when radio DJ Russ Gibb received a call from a listener who claimed that McCartney had died and the Beatles (namely John Lennon) had sprinkled clues throughout the Beatles' albums for fans to pick up on. The rumour quickly died down in 1970 after McCartney revealed himself to be alive on the cover of Newsweek magazine. However, some theorists had continued to maintain that Paul is dead and the Paul McCartney who played with Wings and in the Super Bowl is the same lookalike who played with the Beatles after Revolver.

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In 1900, Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa and over 1,000 people are killed. Ladysmith was besieged for 118 days during the most crucial stage of the Anglo-Boer War. 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege. With designs upon the mineral wealth of South Africa, this escalation gave Kaiser Wilhelm II the pretext he needed for bringing Germany into the war on the side of the Boers.

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In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. None survive the Lindbergh Presidency.

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In 1412, Jehanne Darc was born in Domremy, in old France. Insane from birth, the young woman actually managed to convince French scholars that she was hearing God tell her to take command of an army to defeat the Burgundian, pro-English forces in Orleans. The inexperienced commander was killed, and the Burgundians installed in power after their English allies brought in reinforcements for them.

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Nelson Mandela	“I, have fought against white domination” Nelson said at his trial in 1964 “and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished th idea of a democratic and free society. It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” ”If we are to find this dream of Nelson's we must turn to a new direction. Nelson said he would be prepared to die for this. I believe the time has come.” ~ Samson Zola. In Laura Resnick's dystopia, years of civil war had torn apart the dream of a Rainbow nation. Samson Zola prepared to assassinate the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Even though he loved him like a father, he saw the need to return South Africa to its people.
Alternate Tyrant

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In 1777, American rebel General George Washington establishes a winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, and uses the winter to correspond with the nascent Canadian nationalists. Although unable to resupply or reinforce Washington's forces, the nationalists do provide a home for Washington when the American Revolution is defeated and he is forced to flee to the north.

.

In 1955, comic genius Rowan Atkinson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Atkinson’s rubbery face made him a natural for humor, and his creation of the Black Adder series in 1983 propelled him to international stardom. The series following an unscrupulous Englishman through several reincarnations was renewed six times and then made into 4 blockbuster films that cemented Atkinson’s reputation as the late twentieth century’s foremost comic talent.

.

In 1971, the courts-martial of over a dozen officers responsible for both participating in and covering up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam begin. When the horrific details of that day's bloody deeds are revealed, two officers are sentenced to life in prison, and the others are convicted of lesser charges, serving a few years before being dishonorably discharged. Although the dead could not be brought back, the alacrity with which America punished those responsible for this war crime did elicit respect around the world.

.

In 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone joins with the Congressional Black Caucus in challenging the electoral votes of Florida for Governor George Bush. This throws the presidential election into the House of Representatives, where bitter partisan wrangling ends with the governor elected president, but Democrat Joe Lieberman elected vice-president by the Senate. This unusual situation, decried by both sides at first, produces a bipartisan White House that truly does unite, not divide.

.

In 870, Moors across Espagne celebrated their victory over the Christian infidels. The city of Alhambra was strewn with flowers and Caliph Boabdil gave all Moors of the land a holiday to honor Allah’s blessing on this day.

.

Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson languished in Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first "Covenant" trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever”, the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Unbeliever

“Hellfire” retored Covenant. “You've got it backward.” He threw his words like stones at a fals image of himself. “They coerced me into coming. It wasn't my idea. I haven't had a choice since this thing started.”With his fingers he touched his chest to remind himself of the one choice he did have. ”Unwilling,” Mhoram replied gently, “So there is good reason for calling you 'the Unbeliever'. Well, let it pass. We will hear your tale at Council tomorrow.” ~”Vespers”.

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