Recall Election In California

We're going pink for October!

The state of TIAH

October 7th, 2006

in 1972, Professor Karl Ainsworth and Officer Xavier Hely leave Montignac for the day to consult with a colleague of Ainsworth's in Paris. This zoologist, Doctor Yvette Montclair, also dabbles in the field of cryptozoology, and knows Ainsworth's work quite well. “An extinct bear living in the Lascaux Cave system, eh? Sounds interesting. There is, of course, quite a bit of evidence of bear-worshipping cults throughout Europe,” she said, pulling a volume from her library wall, “but very little to show that they still exist, Karl.” Officer Hely snorted and said, “I think we've gathered a bit.” Professor Ainsworth cut him off and said, “Yvette, I'm not quite sure that the people involved in this cult know what they're doing; the one we captured seemed to forget everything about the cult once she was separated from her compatriots. I believe that there is a hidden force creating this cult from some sort of shared genetic memory.” Dr. Montclair chuckled and shook her head. “I always did love to hear your theories, Karl. I take it you've come to me because I have access to tranquilizer guns?” The officer and the professor nodded. “Very well. One condition, though – I'm coming with you.” Professor Ainsworth kissed her hand and said, “Yvette, I wouldn't have it any other way.”

in 2003, despite a brief flirtation with the idea of electing a movie star as their governor again, Californians come to their senses and vote Democrat Cruz Bustamante into the governor's mansion in a special recall election. Although the Republican Party had pushed the ouster of Governor Gray Davis, it proved to be of little advantage during the actual election – their main candidate in the field of over 100 came in a distant fourth. Even the independent candidate, Arianna Huffington, polled ahead of the action-hero candidate. It was part of a larger trend against Republican policies that continued into the national elections the next year, as President Al Gore was reelected in a landslide, and the Democrats regained the majority in the House of Representatives.

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Telescopes In China; Canine Revenge In Soviet Union

November 3rd, 2005

in 4375, the close approach of a comet towards earth gives the Emperor’s astronomers a chance to try out their new telescopes; with the new seeing glasses, astronomers are able to see the comet clearly as a large ball of dirty ice. This revolutionizes the field, and astronomers begin forming new theories as to the composition of other heavenly bodies.

in 1850, Second Chancellor William Dayton of the North American Confederation is elevated to the First Chancellory when his predecessor, Juan Diego De La Hoya, dies in an air-car accident. Dayton wins his own term in the high office in 1855.

in 1890, pressing his advantage, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson continues to hunt down rebel Mormon Charles Brigman. Desperate to get the federals off his trail, Brigman tells one of his followers that it's time for a drastic measure; this follower, Ezekial Morrison, heads to a farmhouse that has been prepared especially for such an eventuality.

in 1933, President Michael Dukakis is born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of poor Greek immigrants. Dukakis rose through the Democratic party ranks to the governorship of Massachusetts before running against Vice-President George Bush for the presidency in 1988. America had become very disenchanted with the Reagan administration because of the Iran-Contra scandal, and Bush paid the price for it. Dukakis served 2 successful terms, and oversaw the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the elimination of the federal budget deficit.

in 1941, German Underground operatives, with inside help from American Bundists, bomb the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. G.U. Fuehrer Adolf Hitler lets it be known that he believes America should refrain from entering the war in Eurasia, should it wish to prevent a repeat of Pearl Harbor.

in 1957, the Soviet Union sends a dog named Laika into low earth orbit. When the ship's orbit decays and it comes plummeting back to earth, the Soviets think that the dog has perished with the craft; that is, until Laika bursts forth in radioactive horror to attack the peaceful community of Vladivostok!

in 1964, Lyndon Johnson, who had taken over when President Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas, is defeated in the general election by Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. President Goldwater quickly turns out to be the warmonger that Johnson had portrayed him as; he expands the Vietnam War to China, Cambodia, Laos and even Thailand, and only his impeachment in 1966 kept him from using nuclear weapons to end the war.

in 1986, Democrats begin impeachment proceedings against President Ronald Reagan after details of his administration's deals with the Iranian government become public. Virtually everyone in his administration is brought down by the shattering revelations, and House Speaker Jim Wright takes over the presidency in 1987.

in 1992, colorful Texan H. Ross Perot becomes the first independent candidate to win the presidency since Washington when Vice-President George Bush admits that he had sent the CIA to disrupt Perot's daughter's wedding. The groundswell of support for Perot eclipsed even the Democratic candidate, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, and Perot sweeps into office with 51% of the vote. Vice-President Bush garners a mere 8%, and the Republican Party begins its slow fade into the background as Perot's Reform Party becomes the new opposition to the Democrats.

in 2002, raining death from the sky, Professor Thomas, Dr. Courtney and their Air Force sidekicks attack the Pleiadean base where Captains Jim Zeminksi and Al Corwin are being held. Professor Thomas and 2 pilots storm into the holding cell and free the captains, then teleport back to their ship, where they beat a hasty retreat. The surprise attack catches the Pleiadeans unprepared, and the aliens are unable to mount a pursuit.

Christmas Day Contest! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

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!

Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back 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

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

The Edge

	In 1972, the Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon. Luna 20 (Ye-8-5 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 20. Luna 20 was placed in an intermediate Earth parking orbit and from this orbit was sent towards the Moon. It entered lunar orbit on February 18, 1972. On February 21, 1972, Luna 20 soft landed on the Moon in a mountainous area known as the Apollonius highlands near Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility), 120 km from where Luna 16 had landed.
Luna 20

While on the lunar surface, the panoramic television system was operated. Lunar samples were obtained by means of an extendable drilling apparatus. The ascent stage of Luna 20 was launched from the lunar surface on 22 February 1972 carrying 30 grams of collected lunar samples in a sealed capsule. It landed in the Soviet Union on 25 February 1972. The lunar samples were recovered the following day. Pulsating green in colour, the samples proved beyond any doubt what many had already suspected - that the 1969 landing by NASA had been faked.

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Ross Perot	In 1992, Ross Perot was assassinated by agents of the profiteering military-industrial complex after announcing his intention to run in the 1992 U.S. presidential election on CNN's Larry King Live. His promise to get under the hood and fix the engine would have been an end to their racket and they had firmly warned Perot that such an announcement would shorten his lifespan considerably.
Assassinated

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	In 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City agents of the Nation of Islam including Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson attempt to assassinate Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz formerly known by the various names Malcolm Little, Detroit Red and Malcolm X. They fail, and Brother Malcolm developed the new strategy of inclusiveness he had embarked upon since the Hajj in April 1964. The trip proved to be life-altering. Malcolm met many devout Muslims of a number of different races, whose faith and practice of Islam he came to respect. He believed that racial barriers could potentially be overcome, and that Islam was the one religion that conceivably could erase all racial problems. Today America is no longer a country at war with itself, mostly due to the giant known as Little.

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Malcolm X	In 1965, on this day in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X had just begun delivering a speech when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, 'Get your hand outta my pocket! Don't be messin' with my pockets!'. As Malcolm and his bodyguards moved to quiet the disturbance, a man rushed forward with a sawed-off shotgun. Malcolm shot the man dead using a concealed weapon. Ever since the famous rifle picture in 1964, he had after all announced his intention to defend himself against the frequent death threats he was receiving.
Self-defence

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In 1173, Pope Henry II canonizes former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. Ironically, Pope Henry probably had the Archbishop killed because of his independence from Henry's dictates.

	In 1965, the notorious gangster 'Detroit Red' (real name Malcolm Little) was shot and killed whilst attempting a break-in at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Pro-accountability 'types' suggested the crime wave was a reaction to childhood traumas. Three of his father Earl Little's brothers died violently at the hands of white men, and one of his uncles had been lynched. The family relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1926, and then to Lansing, Michigan, shortly thereafter.

In 1931, Malcolm's father was found dead, having been run over by a streetcar in Lansing. Authorities ruled his death a suicide. Malcolm claimed that this cause of death was disputed by the black community at the time, and he later disputed it himself, saying that his family had frequently found themselves the target of harassment by the Black Legion, a white supremacist group his father accused of burning down their home in 1929. Malcolm wondered how his father could bash himself in the head and then lay down across street tracks to get run over

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	In 1972, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, sets down in Air Force One on the tarmac of the Beijing Airport. Denounced by his opponents back home as a campaign stunt, the trip resulted in little real progress between the two giant nations because of the intransigence of the two ideological leaders - Mao refused to even entertain the notion of rapprochement with the US, and Nixon wouldn't bend without some kind of economic reform in China. Nixon came back to the US without any agreements, and privately lamented that the trip had been a failure. He lost the presidential election in the fall, and wags made up a new phrase about the trip: 'Nixon can't go to China.'

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In 1996, Harry Turtledove published the counter-history novel East of Eden in which he posed the Suez Question - what would have happened if British Prime Minister Anthony Eden had weakened in the face of US opposition to the occupation of the Canal Zone? The outcome would be the loss of Anglo-French authority in the Middle East at a crucial time for the Western World as it sought to maintain a grip on oil supplies.

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In 1997, the three men known as the 'Bridgewater Three' were freed from jail 18 years after the murder of 13-year-old paper boy Carl Bridgewater. They were released after their convictions are ruled unsafe. This was one of many high profile cases that destroyed public confidence. The Criminal Justice system, it was now realised was little more than a pressure point for locking up often innocent people. Incoming Home Secretary Tony Blair introduced his new strategy 'Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime' which took every ounce of his good charm to sustain the patience of the public during his ten years of Home Office reorganization programmes.

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28 Days Later	In 2001, the European Commission banned all British milk, meat and livestock exports following the UK's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease for 20 years. The ban - which will run indefinately - follows yesterday's revelation of a foot-and-mouth outbreak at an abattoir near Brentwood, Essex. A routine inspection at Cheale Meats abattoir in Essex diagnosed 'the Rage' in 28 pigs.
The Rage

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Jimmy Swaggart	In 1988, Jimmy Swaggart, America's leading television evangelist, resigned from his ministry after revelations he had been consorting with a prostitute. In front of a congregation of 7,000 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he sobbed and confessed to 'moral failure' actually going into way too much detail.
Confession

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	In 1386, the great prophet Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was taken from us. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see Alaha.

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