Greatness

Alternate Historian says, work on the new, richer format for TIAH 2008 is now complete. Both the web site design & also the new HTML code generator are now settled. So now the stories are being written & we've made 1.36% progress (30 out of 2204) as of very late last night. Entries including the post date you want should be emailed to the Alternate Historian.

In 1989, the Warlock and the witch-hunter Giles Redferne arrived in Los Angeles. The warlock had been sentenced to death in 1691 for his activities, but a mysterious figure had propelled them forward in time to the 20th century. The Warlock was tasked with assembling the three separated sets of pages of The Grand Grimoire, a Satanic book that will reveal the "true" name of God (the backwards utterance of which will lead to the uncreation of the world).

Pursuit

Rudolph Giuliani	"We do not let fear make our decisions for us. We choose to live in freedom." ~ Rudolph Giuliani, United Nations General Assembly, New York, 1 October 2001 Before he tried to exploit 911 to gain an emergency third term. Opponents viewed the extension as an unprecedented power grab and as a means for Giuliani to profit politically from the sudden, international prominence of the role of New York City Mayor.
Mayor of New York

Voices were also countering the refrain that it was the mayor who had pulled the city together. "You didn't bring us together, our pain brought us together and our decency brought us together. We would have come together if Bozo was the mayor", said civil-rights activist Al Sharpton, in a statement largely supported by Fernando Ferrer, one of three main candidates for the mayoralty at the end of 2001. "He was a power-hungry person", Sharpton also said. A synopsis of Giulianin's post-911 statements are detailed at Wikipedia

Roots	In 1767, John Waller of Spotsylvania County, Virginia travels to Annapolis, Maryland. Needing an extra field labourer for plantation, Waller carries $850 to spend at the slave auction on October 7th.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends United States National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. The Arkansas National Guard, under the direction of Governor Orval Faubus had prevented the first attempt at enrolment of the Little Rock Nine. We know now that Faubus was one the leader southern governors behind the conspiratorial assassination of JFK at Dallas. This event parachuted Lyndon Baines Johnson into office, where he launched the Great White Society, reversing Civil Rights gains since Brown v. Board of Education and turning the clock back to 1954.	Little Rock Nine

Medina	In 622, of Muhammad withdrew to the Christian Kingdom of Axum. His followers were fleeing from Mecca's leading tribe, the Quraysh, who sent emissaries to bring them back to Arabia, but the King of Axum protected the Prophet and his followers. Since then, the Prophet himself instructed his followers who came to Axum, to respect and protect Axum as well as live in peace with its Christians. These acts of brotherhood led the Prophet to accept the Lord Jesus in 625, and launch the Muhammadan Church of Arabia.

1664, the English abandon New Amsterdam to the Dutch. In November 1674 the Treaty of Westminster was signed, and New Netherlands was ceded permanently to the Dutch. This strategic master-stroke ensured that the English had a willing naval partner during the brief and unsuccessful War of Independence in the 1770s. Today New Amsterdam is a Dutchophone pocket in the patch-work quilt of nations on the Eastern Seaboard.	New Amsterdam

In 2007, Matthew Tocheri of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC confirmed that the diminutive humanoid fossil found on a remote island in Indonesia represents a new species, and not a modern human with a growth defect, according to scientists who published new evidence on Thursday. The study of the wrist bones of the Homo floresiensis fossil known as "the Hobbit" - found that their wrists were far more primitive than either Neanderthals or modern humans. This suggests they were an entirely different species that branched off before the origin of a group of hominids that would include Neanderthals and modern humans, said the authors of a study published in the journal Science.		Hobbits
Since its discovery on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, the fossil, known as LB1, has become the subject of intense scrutiny and debate in the scientific community. The fossil became known as "the Hobbit" in the press, after the diminutive characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings semi-factual novel. Members of Durin's folk contributed to the debate. Oral records that traced back to the Broadbeam Dwarves of Belegost indicated that Hobbits had perished during the Fourth Age. Carbon dating tests continue at the time of writing.

The Custer Nuptials

The state of TIAH

February 9th, 2007

Digg this

Alternate Historian's Note: This weekend, on Sunday unless we add an extra post somewhere, we will make our 1000th post on TIAH in Blogger. In addition to Stephen's guest post, our regular post will be a reminiscence of where we've been and what we've done. Be sure to join us as we get all sentimental and reflective in celebration of this unique milestone. More long-term, we are working on a new project – a collection in book format of several timelines with more-or-less complete stories inside them – The Fall, the Tolman timeline, the Mormon War, the Lascaux Cave story, and more – that will have our NaNoWriMo novel, After, included with it. Once they're edited together, we'll put the lot up for sale on Lulu. If you would be interested in this, or would like to suggest something for inclusion in the collection, please email me and let me know. And, speaking of side projects, Guest Historian Stephen Payne has one, Crimson Kiss, available for free on Lulu. Check it out and put up a review!

in 1864, General George A. Custer of the Union Army marries his Michigan bride, Elizabeth Bacon. The happy couple settled down in New York, where Elizabeth Custer's social connections provided General Custer with a new livelihood after the war. She convinced him to leave the military once the war in the south was won, and he then entered politics. He spent 6 years in the New York State Legislature until winning his first race for the US House in 1872. He was then tapped to be Ulysses Grant's running mate in the Centennial Election, 1876, which the two generals won handily. Vice-President Custer ran on his own merits in 1884, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland. Custer retired back to New York, where he became governor for one term before leaving politics and entering business with the help of the many friends he had made in Washington. He died in 1932, one year before his wife, Elizabeth, and was feted by New York as a genuine hero and favorite son just as another New York governor, Franklin Roosevelt, was winning the presidency again.

in 2007, Secret Service agents surround the Capitol Building and prevent Congressmen and their staffers from entering; at least, most of them do. A small number of SS agents disobey their official orders and sneak into the White House, where they find a nearly-unconscious President Bush mumbling about “runnin' 'em all down.” They spirit the president out of his residence and to a handful of Congressmen. These Congressmen, led by Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, announce to the Secret Service that they have the president, and will, in the Senator's words, “conduct the people's business no matter how many thugs stand in the way.”

Tailgunner Joe	In 1950 US Senator Joseph McCarthy gained national stature when he accused the State Department of being filled with Communists. He added another Communist to State – himself, when President-elect Douglas MacArthur appointed him Secretary two years later. Tailgunner Joe's betrayal was necessitated ..
.. by the need to raise easy money to settle huge gambling debts. In his own words he 'was in such a hole, he could see China'.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1964 the IX Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria-Hungary are formally closed by the Kaiser (Emperor) Otto von Hapsburg-Lothringen.	Emperor Otto vo..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Halley's Comet	In 1986 Comet Halley reached perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, during its second visit to the solar system in the 20th century. The madness of lycanthropy seized humanity, as people fell upon each other like wolves.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1861 leading Southern general Robert E. Lee was elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America in favour of Jefferson Davis by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama. Historians rank him above his great adversary Abraham Lincoln in military, political ..	Battle of the W..
.. and diplomatic skills. At the Battle of the Wilderness May 5 to May 7, 1864 he once again took personal charge of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia defeating Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and marching onwards to Washington in the closing action of the States War.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Roosevelt Born; Simpson Murdered

October 27th, 2005

in 1656, Quaker killers William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson are executed by Massachusetts after a brief trial confirming their guilt. They had been the accomplices of notorious murderers Ann Austin and Mary Fisher, who reportedly killed a hundred men for their bizarre cult.

in 1858, Spanish-American War hero Theodore Roosevelt is born in New York City. Although he came from old money, Roosevelt felt the call of adventure during the war and formed the Rough Riders, whose famous victory at San Juan Hill made Roosevelt a legend; unfortunately, it made him a dead legend, as one of the Puerto Rican defenders shot him in the head during the assault.

in 1871, Democratic party boss William Tweed is arrested for corruption by Communist Attorney General David Wade. The arrest of the most powerful Democrat in New York brings the Democratic party in New York crashing down. With the loss of New York, the party soon began losing its hold over other states, and in 1884, was completely absorbed into the Socialist Party.

in 1890, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson, while directing men to put out a fire, is set on by Mormon rebel Charles Brigman and several of his followers. Colonel Jackson, along with 20 of his soldiers, battle the fanatic for an hour before Colonel Jackson is able to subdue Brigman and force the others to surrender.

in 1936, Wallis Simpson, American socialite, was found dead in a London flat. Her mutilated body brought to mind the murders committed by Jack the Ripper before the turn of the century. For some reason, the Crown discouraged an investigation into her death, which was attributed to a random madman.

in 1954, Norma Jean Mortensen divorced baseball legend Joe Dimaggio, who had been somewhat abusive to her during their brief marriage. This left her free to marry humorist Arthur Miller, whom she remained with for the rest of her life. Dimaggio always regretted what he'd done to Mortensen, but said he couldn't be mad at Miller because, “he's just so damn funny.”

in 1962, Nikita Kruschev refuses to back down from the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba, and President Kennedy orders troops onto the island to remove them. The resulting nuclear exchange kills hundreds of millions of people across North America, Europe and Asia. The survivors of this holocaust, mostly in the southern hemisphere, are plagued by cancer and other diseases for decades afterwards. The tenuous nature of life on earth enforces a strict code of non-violence among the remaining nations, and humanity pulls itself back from the brink a much stronger race than before.

in 1978, in a highly controversial move, the Swedish Nobel Peace Prize Committee gave its award to Semitic-African Resistance leaders Anwar Sadat and Elie Wiesel for their resistance against the global spread of Nazism. After this award, the Peace Prize was officially discontinued.

in 1984, a 19-year old fan credits heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne with saving his life after he decides not to kill himself because he wanted to listen to Osbourne's next album. The rocker dedicates his next album to the youth, who begins a tour of the nation speaking out on the issue of teenage suicide.

in 2002, moving cautiously through the apparently abandoned alien city, Professor Thomas, Dr. Courtney and their Air Force pilots suddenly find themselves in a small room, crowded together. Dr. Courtney, who had been expecting this, touches one of the devices he has brought along and they are back by their stolen spaceships. “We may have to do that a couple of times,” he tells the others as they move out again.

Even though the Halloween Contest is over,(winners to be announced soon), 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!

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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!

Total Election Wrapup

November 9th, 2004

in the period between 1788 and 2000, a cascading failure in the membrane separating alternate dimensions results in all elections in the United Soviet Confederated North American States of America Confederation Commonwealth being held at once. An astonishing 332 candidates of various political parties, ethnic groups, genders and species win the office of First Prime Presidential Chancellor Minister. Unsurprisingly, no one is really happy with the results.

in 1799, Napoleone Buonaparte names himself Emperor of Italy. Under his brilliant lead, Italy conquers most of Europe. After a disastrous winter campaign in Russia, Buonaparte’s empire begins to fall apart; he is finally defeated by the Swedish in 1814 at the battle of Copenhagen.

in 1934, Rabbi Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York. The spiritual leader of the Semitic-African Resistance in the northeastern United States, he led the non-violent movement through most of his life; after his wife and son were lynched in 1977, he began advocating more direct action against the worldwide Nazi movements.

in 1938, painter Adolf Hitler sold his famous Kristallnacht to the Berlin Fine Arts Museum. The painting, portraying angry Germans smashing a Jewish section of Berlin, has been an enigma since the day it was first shown; many feel it is Hitler’s cry against anti-semitism, while others declare it a denunciation of Germany’s historic hatred of the Jewish people. The artist himself never spoke to the meaning of the work, but it is his acknowledged masterpiece.

in 1940, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain died in London. His successor, Oswald Mosley of the British Union of Fascists, brings about peace in his time with a treaty of alliance with Germany.

in 1946, not long after writing an article dismissing Richard Tolman’s parallel universe cultists as believing in science fiction, scientist Albert Einstein disappeared while walking down a street in New York City. Hundreds of New Yorkers saw it happen, and it made the front page of the New York Times.

in 1961, record store owner Brian Epstein saw local band The Beatles perform at the Cavern in Liverpool, England. He immediately offered to represent them, but overestimated their appeal as a band. Their drummer, of course, was international superstar Pete Best, who left the band the next year and started his meteoric rise to solo fame. On the same day in 1967, Best graced the cover of the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

in 1965, the northeastern Soviet States went dark as power was interrupted by counter-revolutionaries eager to bring down the great power. Canadian capitalists destroyed a generator in Ontario, and the gradual overload took out the power grid across the New York Soviet and several other soviets. The comrades of the Soviet States foiled their plans, though, and had power restored by morning of the next day.

Slave Revolt In New York; Q'Barian Landfall

April 7th, 2006

in 783 AUC, in an act of mercy, Judean governor Pontius Pilate pardons a rabble-rouser named Yeshua ben Joseph who had been sentenced to crucifixion. The pardon seems to disappoint the flamboyant Yeshua for some reason.

in 1712, slaves in New York City revolt against their captors, killing over 60 whites as they flee into the New York wilderness. Unable to return to their homeland, they establish a colony that other fleeing slaves expand on. When New York rebels against England, the city of Kafara joins the United States as a free state and strong advocate for the abolition of slavery.

in 1891, newspaper tycoon P.T. Barnum died at his home in Danbury, Connecticut. Barnum had entered the news business as a boy when he had to support his family after his father’s death. He made national headlines by publicly ridiculing a politician who sued him for libel, and his career in ink took off.

in 1915, Captain Smith of the Harlequin makes landfall on the Q'Barian planet amid chaos. His shuttle had been fired upon several times during the landing, and only his skill as a pilot had saved his small landing party. When they saw the riots taking place on the streets of the Q'Barian cities, the small group urged Captain Smith to turn back, but he insisted that they offer aid to whoever was responsible for the distress signal. Once on land, they began searching for the source of the signal.

in 1954, Comrade President Ben Davis delivered his famous Domino Theory speech during a press conference at the White House. If more nations of South America were allowed to fall under capitalist rule, he said, “that might follow what you would call the 'falling domino' principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly.”

in 1963, Croatian partisan Josip Broz is captured by soldiers of the German Reich. Broz had led a 20-year campaign against the Reich in his native land, and even outlasted the Greater Zionist Resistance in Europe. His death at the hands of the Reich was the effective end of native resistance to the fascist regime.

in 1990, American ally Panama invades Jamaica. They become so hopelessly bogged down in warfare in the island that they are of no assistance to U.S. President Ralph Shephard during the war he begins later in the year.

in 1994, the U.N. hastily puts together several thousand troops to intervene in Rwanda after ethnic violence erupted between the Hutu and Tutsi clans. Hutu extremists went on a rampage against the Tutsi minority, killing almost 10,000 people before the U.N. could halt the genocide.

in 2004, the Sheridans manage a stable projection from a Titanian Projection Virii they have modified. For 30 minutes, they are able to keep up an image of Livinia Sheridan that is indistinguishable from the original doctor – and her husband Jacob is only able to tell the difference when the P.V.-generated one fades away.

in 2005, the Save Earth leadership is beginning to think that the kidnapping of Ahn Wun was a mistake; the Claw scientist has given them no aid whatsoever. Dave Lange then goes to her and uses a last ruse – he tells her that unless she cooperates, her child will be tortured by the movement. Her anguished cry of “You have my son?” lets him know that he has chosen the right tactic.

Timelines in today's post: the Roman timeline, the Mlosh, The Sheridans, the Ralph Shephard timeline, The Claw, the GZR and Communist America.

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Slave Revolt In New York; Mosley's New Party

February 28th, 2005

in 1608, Conquerors of the Speaker’s Line take control of the small kingdom of Andorra nestled betweem Spain and France. For the next few years, the Andorrans become the Conquerors’ testing ground for flying ships, and more horribly, for testing breathing apparatus. The Conspirators overthrow the Conquerors in 1612, and manage to erase all mention of that 4 year period from normal history.

in 1708, a slave revolt begins in Newton, Long Island, New York colony. The Africans at the heart of the revolt make contact with Algonquin in the area and convince them that every slave in the colony will come over to their side if they attack. This successful strategy drives the British from New York in the 7-year long Algonquin war.

in 1931, Sir Oswald Mosley, disappointed by the two main parties in British politics, founds the New Party. Arguing for elections based on class lines rather than geographical location, the New Party is unpopular until the full effects of the Great Depression hit England. Mosley’s ranks swell with the unemployed, and he is elected Prime Minister in 1932. He makes common cause with continental fascists Mussolini of Italy, Franco of Spain and Hitler of Germany during his premiership, but where they are all gone by the end of the decade, Mosley’s rule of Britain has only begun.

in 1938, the German Underground appoints Hannah Reitsch head of the Luftwaffe, an air force they are building with assistance from their neo-Nazi comrades from the future. Her daring exploits turn the Luftwaffe into the most feared tool in the G.U.’s military arsenal.

in 1961, Comrade President Joel Rosenberg names Henry Kissinger, a refugee from the reactionary Kingdom of Germany, his Senior National Security Advisor. It is Kissinger’s advice that leads to the escalation of forces in North Chile, and the quagmire that the Soviet States of America ended up in there.

in 1966, Liverpool’s Cavern Club, where superstar Pete Best had gotten his start, closes for the final time. Best regretted the closing, saying, “I had some cool times in there,” but did little to help. Some think that he resented the club’s owner because he had continued booking Best’s old band, The Silver Beatles, and that’s why he refused to assist them in staying open.

in 1993, FBI agents and agents for the Texas Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms seize cult leader David Koresh as he jogs in Waco, Texas. He had been accused of stockpiling weapons and abusing the children of several of his cult members at his compound in Mt. Carmel, Texas. When his followers learn of this, they think that Armageddon has arrived and storm into Waco to retrieve their master; in the horrific gun battle, over 60 of the cult members, as well as 23 law enforcement agents and 17 bystanders, are killed in the Waco streets. Dozens more are wounded before order is restored.

in 1996, Air Force liaison Helen Rich proposes to President Ralph Shephard that he launch America’s nuclear arsenal at the troops invading them from occupied Canada, New England and Mexico. Shephard refuses; he is still unwilling to believe that the American heartland can be taken by foreign troops.


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The Road Back

Persuant to Godspoken testimony of Mr Raymond Manzarek of Chicago, IL - given just consideration of account of their recent meeting on Venice Beach, CA - in full compliance with scripture, Exodus 22:18 ("Suffer not a witch to live") refers- magistrates sentenced James Douglas Morrison of Melbourne, FL to death by drowning on this day of our Lord, 1965. Not the potter, but the potter's clay, amen.

In 1969, at a book-signing award in New York City the author Kurt Vonnegut show-cased his instant classic Slaughterhouse-Five. Afterwards, he stepped straight into the scene of his own death aged 84 on April 11th 2007. Vonnegut was comfortable with the concept of fatalism. He understood very well from his Tralfamadorian intimates that because time is another dimension all three-dimensional slices as we know them exist simultaneously. Therefore, everyone is always alive and death is not a tragic event. Actually Vonnegut had been unstuck in time since 1945. His life seemed like a cyclone, in which his birth, youth, old age, and death were all thrown violently around by the central event, the destruction of Dresden. And so it goes...

In 1975, only nuclear-armed North America and Australia stand between fascism and world conquest. Discovering that oligarchs from 2025 have assisted the Axis victory, the Allies capture the time travel technology. They then use this technology to send a squad back to 1938, the earliest period of time they can reach, to try and stop the Nazis. The plan is to engineer the election of Churchill and Roosevelt. Due to their awareness of the extent of the Nazi threat, this is expected to led to the US entering the war and Britain not surrendering. However, in 1938 they discover two major problems with The Proteus Operation. With no way back to replan with President Kennedy, the team discover that Roosevelt had drowned whilst vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick in August 1921. And Winston Churchill had died in an automobile accident on New York City December 13, 1931..

Binta Kinte	In 1976/1767, in Harlem, New York City the actress Cicely Tyson dreams of a great river running into a bay. She sees a white state house flying the Maryland flag. African in chains are prepared for a slave auction. Tyson is distressed to see Alex Haley amongst them. The author looks at her in misery and says HELP ME. The actress awakes, and packs her bags. She will must go to Annapolis and, if she can, stop this inhumanity.

In 1995, the movie version of Yoshiaki Hiyama's classic The Decisive Battle on the American Mainland is released. Subtitled The Battle of Seattle: Zeros vs. P-39's and Yamamoto's Victory and filmed on the West Coast with real footage, the movie shows how Japan attacked Seattle on May 7, 1942 and defeated America.	Yamamoto

7 Days in November..	In 1964, the Warren Commission released its report, finding persuasive evidence of a conspiracy to kill the President and terminate anti-segregationist developments in America. During the summer of 1963, Southern Governors including George Wallace, Orval Faubus and Ross Barnett had commissioned the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald whilst engaging with anti-Castro groups in New Orleans.
The group had received advanced notification of the motorcade route, and found a job for Oswald as an order-filler at the Texas Book Repository just three weeks before the visit to Dallas. This event parachuted Lyndon Baines Johnson into office, where he launched a Civil Rights program. This promoted a right-wing backlash as General Curtis LeMay assumed office. The coup was dramatized in the movie Seven Days in November (1964) with Kirk Douglas playing the role of “Bombs Away” and Burt Lancaster playing Texas favourite son, LBJ.

In 1964, the Warren Commission released its report. As widely predicted, the Commission's conclusion was a re-affirmation of the lone gunman theory that Snake Eyes, acting alone, had shot President John F. Kennedy. There were, however, too many unresolved issues for America. Most intriguingly, who was the mysterious stranger on Dealey Plaza who held the placard Snake Eyes watching you? prompting Kennedy to duck, whereupon the assassins bullets thudded harmlessly into the upholstery of the 1961 Lincoln Continental.	Snake Eyes
That question had to wait fifteen years until the Final Report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations. That piece of sensational evidence came from a Dicta belt recording from a police officer's motorcycle that was escorting Kennedy’s motorcade. Listening to an incomprehensible string of guttural noises, it would be hard to image a more alien sounding conversation.

Genocide Halted In Rwanda

April 7th, 2005

in 783 AUC, in an act of mercy, Judean governon Pontius Pilate pardons a rabble-rouser named Yeshua ben Joseph who had been sentenced to crucifixion. The pardon seems to disappoint the flamboyant Yeshua for some reason.

in 1712, slaves in New York City revolt against their captors, killing over 60 whites as they flee into the New York wilderness. Unable to return to their homeland, they establish a colony that other fleeing slaves expand on. When New York rebels against England, the city of Kafara joins the United States as a free state and strong advocate for the abolition of slavery.

in 1891, newspaper tycoon P.T. Barnum died at his home in Danbury, Connecticut. Barnum had entered the news business as a boy when he had to support his family aftr his father’s death. He made national headlines by publically ridiculing a politician who sued him for libel, and his career in ink took off.

in 1954, Comrade President Ben Davis delivered his famous Domino Theory speech during a press conference at the White House. If more nations of South America were allowed to fall under capitalist rule, he said, “that might follow what you would call the 'falling domino' principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly.”

in 1963, Croatian partisan Josip Broz is captured by soldiers of the German Reich. Broz had led a 20-year campaign against the Reich in his native land, and even outlasted the Greater Zionist Resistance in Europe. His death at the hands of the Reich was the effective end of native resistance to the fascist regime.

in 1990, American ally Panama invades Jamaica. They become so hopelessly bogged down in warfare in the island that they are of no assistance to U.S. President Ralph Shephard during the war he begins later in the year.

in 1994, the U.N. hastily puts together several thousand troops to intervene in Rwanda after ethnic violence erupted between the Hutu and Tutsi clans. Hutu extremists went on a rampage against the Tutsi minority, killing almost 10,000 people before the U.N. could halt the genocide.

in 2004, the Sheridans manage a stable projection from a Titanian Projection Virii they have modified. For 30 minutes, they are able to keep up an image of Livinia Sheridan that is indistinguishable from the original doctor – and her husband Jacob is only able to tell the difference when the P.V.-generated one fades away.


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The Lost Are Found, The People's Voice Sounds, & Nixon Is Kicked Around

November 6th, 2004

in the Dreaming, the lost ones sent out a signal from the heavens; a great torch burning in the sky, that the people might spin their webs over to them. The people spun madly for many seasons, but the torch was extinguished before the lost ones could be reached.

in 1860, Communist President Walt Whitman is reelected in a landslide against Democrat Andrew Johnson. In his second term, Whitman freed the slaves in the southern states, weathered a brief rebellion by that region, and established new rights for American workers that were unparalleled in western democracy.

in 1900, during the centennial celebrations for the North American Confederation, First Chancellor Himmahtooyahlatkekt announces that contact has been made with the Mlosh homeworld, and a Congress of Nations expedition has been launched towards it. Even with faster-than-light travel, the expedition will be gone for several years; the world breathlessly awaits what they will report back.

in 1906, news magnate William Randolph Hearst is elected governor of New York amid widespread allegations of vote fraud. Hearst uses his newspapers to promote his point of view exclusively, and bribes several people in the judiciary to keep his reputation intact. After quelling the disquiet over his election in New York, he uses the governor’s mansion as a platform to launch himself into the White House in 1912.

in 1917, Russian Prime Minister Kerensky saved his position by managing to convince enough soldiers to defend the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg that the Bolsheviks were unable to take it over. Kerensky offered amnesty to any Bolshevik who swore allegiance to the new government the next day, and thousands took him up on the offer, destroying Bolshevik leader Lenin’s power base.

in 1956, Democratic President Adlai Stevenson defeated Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy in the general election, sweeping all 50 states and crushing him in the popular vote, 67% to 30%. The Republicans lost control of both houses of Congress and became negligible as a political party for decades because of McCarthy’s defeat.

in 1962, Richard Nixon won the governor’s race in California against Democratic incumbent Edmond Brown. He was reelected in 1966, and used the office for another unsuccessful run at the presidency in 1968. After the loss in ’68, he remarked to reporters, “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” He left public life after this and devoted himself to memoirs of his life as Vice-President and Governor.

in 1984, Republican incumbent John Anderson wins in a landslide against his more conservative opponent, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. Anderson’s legacy includes the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as well as a more fair tax structure.

Assassination In Sarajevo

The state of TIAH

June 28th, 2006

in 1914, Serbian nationalist Nedjelko Cabrinovic blows up the Austrian nobleman Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, along with their driver. A dozen people on the Sarajevo street where the Archduke was driving were injured. The Serbian terrorist had tossed his bomb into the Austrian car, and Ferdinand almost tossed it back out, but it went off before the nobleman could save himself and his wife. The horror of the bomb scene, with the mutilated bodies of the Austrians and injured Sarajevans, enraged the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Emperor Franz Joseph wanted to move troops into Serbia immediately to hunt for the nationalists who killed his nephew. Russia was asked not to interfere, because they had a security pact with Serbia, and the Austrian negotiator took photographs of the Archduke's body to convince them. After seeing the consequences of this horrible attack, the Russians reluctantly worked with the Austrians to convince the Serbs to give up the nationalist elements in their society. The betrayed Serbians declared war on both Austria-Hungary and Russia, but the tiny nation was unable to keep these European giants from dispatching their own military in short order. Once Austria-Hungary had the nationalists who had assassinated the Archduke in custody, they withdrew from Serbia, but their attack proved more far-reaching; Serbians sympathetic to the nationalists began a campaign of terror attacks against Austro-Hungarian and Russian targets across Europe. Although Russia eventually toppled the Serbian government and replaced it with one more to their liking, the terror attacks continued until the Austro-Hungarians and Russians committed genocide against the Serbs in 1928, virtually annihilating the Serbian people. The two empires were condemned by the western democracies for this war crime, and lack of trade with civilized nations after this horrific transgression took them into a gradual decline; Russia's Tsar abdicated in 1934, and a parliamentary government headed by Alexander Kerensky took control and reestablished diplomatic and trade relations with the rest of the world. After Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary died in 1936, the empire split into 6 minor countries, each of which repudiated their imperial past and rejoined the international community. This blossoming of democracy in the 1930's even spread to the powers that hadn't been involved in the Serbian atrocity – Germany, Spain and Italy all liberalized their governments into parliamentary democracies. “The flower of freedom has bloomed from the grave of Serbia,” Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany said as he turned over most of his power to the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Ebert.

in 1969, what had been planned as a simple raid on a New York night-club that was violating its liquor license turned into a neighborhood-wide riot as police were attacked by locals angered at the treatment of the night-club's homosexual patrons. The raiding policemen were shut up in the Stonewall Inn by the riot, and they desperately radioed for assistance. When riot police arrived, a few hotheads in the crowd began setting fire to buildings, including the Stonewall Inn, itself. With fires raging all around them, the riot police were unable to contain the situation, and withdrew. Fire trucks were allowed in to put out the blazes, but police were repelled when they attempted to follow the fire fighters into the community to restore order. This chaos continued for almost three days while the nation watched, and homosexuals across America became galvanized into action. When the New York cops finally put the riot down, 43 people were dead, over 300 were injured, and the nation saw for the first time that “Gays,” as they now referred to themselves, would no longer take the abuse they had been dealt in the past. The Stonewall Organization, dedicated to civil rights for homosexuals, was founded on the ashes of the night-club, and won their first major victory that year, as New York City voted to recognize the civil rights of homosexuals and decriminalize homosexuality. A storm of outrage from conservatives and fundamentalist Christians across America greeted this progressive move, but the Stonewall Organization was just getting started. In spite of many cultural battles over the '70's and '80's, homosexual rights won acceptance from the mainstream culture, and the Stonewall Act of 1987, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, a one-time opponent, granted homosexuals full citizenship for the first time in American history.

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Mom; Joanie Leaves Chachi

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! SEAN - EMAIL - NOW!

May 8th, 2006

in 199,265 BCE, the mother of all humanity gave birth to the first of her many children in southern Africa. She never got a card from a single one of them.

in 1886, Dr. John Pemberton’s Coca Elixir began being sold from Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. The powerful medicine brightened the outlook and put pep in the steps of Georgians for years until cocaine was outlawed. This quelled Pemberton's desire to find the “perfect” health drink, and he was able to put more attention into his own shop, where he and his wife made a comfortable living.

in 1915, Admiral Esteban Rodriquez arrives back in the P'Karsai nebula to find that Dr. Argus McCloud and his small shuttle crew have the situation well in hand. With the water on the Kainku world and the materials Admiral Rodriquez brings with him, Dr. McCloud is able to produce a neural neutralizer for everyone in Rodriquez's fleet, and contact between the Congress of Nations and the Kainku resumes.

in 1937, gadfly writer Thomas Pynchon was born in Glen Cove, New York. This publicity-hungry writer entered the New York City literary scene with his short story The Small Rain and became a permanent fixture wherever a party or camera was to be found. Among his many stunts were the planting of the little symbols from The Crying of Lot 49 all over New York City, and the organization of the alternate postal system from that book.

in 1970, Pete Best’s album So It Goes is released. It marks the turning point for his career as he abandons the old Liverpool sound for a new, more bluesy American musical style. Many of his British fans feel it is a betrayal, but critics across the pond embrace the album as Best’s finest work to date. He also buys a mansion in America this year, which further alienates those still listening for the naive young man from Liverpool.

in 1984, in a twist ending, Joanie left Chachi at the altar on Happy Days. The plans for a spinoff series starring the two characters had fallen through, and the actors had not renewed their contracts for Happy Days, so they were written out with this episode. There was a brief surge of fan support to get them back together, but the series was not renewed after that point.

in 1985, the Council of Wisdom asks to see Chelsea Perkins, and she goes before them. The Council is composed of different members than in her own time, and she only recognizes a couple of them. They ask her about her own future activities, which she is careful to tell in a highly flattering light. She leaves the meeting feeling good about her chances of being sent back to her own time.

in 1991, William Webster, the CIA director under George Bush, resigns prior to giving testimony against Bush in the Iran-Contra hearings. This is the final nail in the coffin of Bush’s presidency, and he himself resigns a month later. The Republican Party, held together mainly by nostalgia since the fall of communism, splinters after the loss of a second president to scandal in recent memory, and its members drift into the Libertarian Party and the newly-formed Independent Party.

in 1997, V-A (Victory in America) Day is celebrated in Great Britain, Egypt and China as the war in America is over. All prisoners of war were released and sent home, and the allied powers began reconstructing the American government; along the old lines in the east, where British and Egyptian forces held control, and along communist lines in the west, where the Chinese troops held the reins.

Timelines in today's post: the Mlosh, Pete Best, the Chelsea Perkins timeline and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of P. 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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Terrorist Attacks

September 11th, 2005

Alternate Historian’s Note: Last year, we posted alternatives to the events in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. of 2001. It was easily our most controversial day, as well as our most heavily-commented on. We have little to add to that post, except to ask for your indulgence; these are alternatives to what might have been, meant to entertain and provoke thought, not to offend.

in 2001, several Saudi Arabians were taken into custody prior to boarding intracontinental flights in Boston, Newark and Washington, D.C. The F.B.I. had been tracking them since President Bush had received a briefing entitled Bin Laden Determined To Strike In U.S. on August 6th. Under questioning, they revealed that they had planned to crash the jets into several buildings in New York City and Washington. The nation never knew how close to tragedy we came.

in 2001, counter-revolutionaries attempt to hijack several jetliners and use them as missiles to attack Washington, D.C. Comrade President Bernard Sanders reluctantly orders them shot down; over 400 brave comrades die along with the handful of hijackers. Comrade President Sanders uses this tragedy to force Americans to see the lengths to which the counter-revolutionaries will go to keep the glories of communism from the world. He vows that “They will never succeed - not while a single American draws breath.” In the coming months, many right-leaning publications are shut down, and most capitalist-sympathizers feel it necessary to distance themselves from their friends on the right wing.

in 2001, President Gore introduces a counter-terrorism package to Congress that will link the intelligence agencies more closely together and allow the military to perform quick, surgical strikes against entrenched terrorist camps in foreign countries. Republicans in Congress defeat the measure easily, even after President Gore releases details of the arrest of terrorists in June that had planned to use jets to blow up several buildings on the east coast. Conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer declared that “Gore has gone off his lithium again.”

in 2001, terrorists attempt to seize 4 airliners in an attempt to use them as missiles against various buildings in New York and Washington, D.C. When the only weapons they show the people on board these planes are box-cutters, they are rushed by passengers on 3 of the planes and overcome. The last plane crashes into the Pentagon, but fortunately hits a wing that is under repair, causing very few casualties. President Bush declares a national day of mourning for the passengers on the 4th plane and presents medals to all the passengers on the other 3.

in 1422, infidels from the north of Europe captured 3 jets bound from Istanbul to Mumbai and diverted them into Mecca. The jets smashed into the Ka’ba, destroying the holiest shrine in all of Islam. The outrage unleashed by this act brings a terrible jihad upon northern Europe, and many thousands of its people are killed, though they had no part in the actions of the infidels. Indeed, many European nations sent aid to Mecca and volunteered to rebuild the holy city, but this was all as nothing before the wrath of the faithful.

in 12-19-8-10-1, northern terrorists of the Algonquin fly stolen sky-boats into the great capital city of Oezteca, smashing the pyramid of Kukulkan. Many see this as a sign that the end of the age is coming; thousands begin to pray again at the temples, and sacrifices are made to all the gods. The empire quickly attacks and subdues the Algonquin nation and brings many of them back to Oezteca as sacrifices. The gods seem to be appeased.

in 2002, a small band of Protestant fundamentalists capture 4 jets and use them in the worst terrorist attack on Holy British soil. 2 of the jets are flown into Buckingham Cathedral, miraculously missing Pope Righteous; a 3rd plane flies into the Tower of London, killing hundreds of tourists. The last plane crashed mysteriously into the Thames. Pope Righteous immediately called for all Christians to join him in pursuing these fundamentalists to the four corners of the world.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, 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 - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
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 make up your own mind by seeing the pilots at http://aol.com/situationcomedy

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!

Vesuvius Warning; Brief Panic Of 1857

August 24th, 2005

in 832 AUC, Vesuvius begins spewing smoke and small streams of lava. Alarmed by this, the citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum flee the region. This turns out to be a wise move, because Vesuvius erupts the next day, burying the two cities.

in 1572, Pope Charles IX orders the Protestant city of Rouen destroyed. The Protestant leader Alexander Martine had called for popular election of cardinals throughout the Holy British Empire, and this angered Charles so much that he called out the Templars to crush Martine’s home. Thousands died in the purge.

in 1814, the young American nation suffers a tragedy as British forces take Washington and captured President Madison, who had delayed leaving the city too long. With this leverage, British General Robert Ross was able to force the Americans to surrender; he was feted in England as one of the greatest military minds the empire had ever produced.

in 1853, Chef George Crum of Saratoga Springs, New York, created a side dish he called the potato chip. It was a thin slice of potato, fried and salted, made especially for a customer who complained that Crum’s fried potatoes were too thick for him. While this one customer enjoyed the dish, it never caught on with the general public.

in 1857, the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company’s New York branch closed, taking much of the economy with it. New Communist President Walt Whitman used this as an excuse to institute several reforms, which passed Congress easily as the people panicked about their future. One of these reforms was the nationalization of the insurance industry, which halted the dangerous slide that Ohio Life’s closing had started.

in 1950, thousands of Jews escape to Yemen from territory conquered by the New Reich. This has the unfortunate consequence of bringing Nazi attacks on their Arab brothers; Islam mobilizes against the New Reich after Nazis take and desecrate Mecca.

in 1954, the U.S. Congress, in a rare fit of rationality, narrowly defeats the Communist Control Act, in spite of dire warnings from such anti-Communist Senators as Joseph McCarthy. This marked the end of McCarthy’s influence in the Senate, as well as the anti-Communist hysteria that had swept the capitol since the end of World War II.

in 1955, Pascal-Edison rolled out its new operating system for the Univac series of Eddies, OS 55. The new system featured a dazzling vocal interface and artificial intelligence-created response. It became the best-selling difference engine program in history.

in 1959, arriving back at Po Zhizuan’s farm, Li Huang-Sen and Po’s daughter Huan Yue inform him that they are leaving China. Po is furious with Li, and rails about his ingratitude as well as his daughter’s. To appease the farmer, Li promises him a service when he returns to China. Po says he will never take him up on this service, but Li insists. The pair of lovers leaves the house amid stony silence from Huan Yue’s family.

in 1996, after shakily describing what he has seen in the specimen room, Professor Malcolm Thomas tells Dr. Melvin Courtney that he doesn’t think he can work on the object they have been assigned much longer. Dr. Courtney says, “I don’t believe the Americans consider us as guests, Malcolm; I’m afraid that we’ve seen too much.” The pair glumly return to their translation of the writings on the object in Edwards Air Force base.

in 2004, the Chinese government is overthrown virtually overnight in a palace coup as several hard-liners take control. Their leader, a new minister named Sun Bigan, announces China’s withdrawal from the world-wide effort to find a way to combat or hide from the Elders. This is a serious blow to the international space program as well, since much of the manufacturing had been done in China. Negotiators arrive in Beijing immediately to ask them to reconsider.


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!

Thanks to everyone for their generosity!

We have raised a lot from your donations, for which we are VERY grateful! Our situation is no longer as dire, so we don't need to beg for help - thanks so much! Because we like including our readers into the site, though, we will still keep our offer open - 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 - we need your comments on the possible new format to the site
New Poll - Tell us what you think! More or less repeats? Our fate may be in your hands!

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy

Shrewd

Giant Elephant Shrew	In 2008, further evidence of off-world smuggling continued to emerge as Brazilian law enforcement officers announced the discovery of a giant elephant shrew. The cat-sized animal looks like a cross between a miniature antelope and a small anteater. It has a grey face, a long, flexible snout, a bulky, amber body, a jet-black rump and it stands on spindly legs. Elephant shrews are only found in Africa. They were originally described as shrews because they superficially resembled shrews in Europe and in America. However, this variant is unknown on Earth.
Police Discovery

Also found was another mysterious bill of material for Double-Weight Gold Tarn Disks made payable c/o Tatrix, Sheila to Ligurious of Corcyrus in the region of Ar. The investigation has not yet established any official connection with the disappearance of alligators from a university zoo in the western state of Mato Grosso earlier this month, or the crocodile artifact found a few weeks later.

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In 1904, a surreptitious probe is sent from the Congress of Nations embassy ship back to earth. In it, Ambassador Li'Kanto'Mk informs the C.N. that the current inhabitants of the Mlosh homeworld, while sprung from the same genes as the Mlosh, are a dangerous breeding experiment that went awry, causing the original Mlosh colonists to flee to earth. Li'Kanto'Mk is afraid that now that they have discovered their progenitors on another planet, that they will follow the Mlosh there.

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

And he would wields white wild magic gold is a paradox - for he everything and nothing, hero and fool – potent, helpless - and with the one word of truth and treachery, he will save or damn the Earth because he is mad and sane, cold and passionate, lost and found. ~ The Legend of Berek Halfhand.

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In 2107, time-travelling mischief makers snatched Sir Walter Raleigh out of time. A confused Raleigh was then patched into the cameo dialog between Bob Newhart and the uncomprehending head of the 'West Indies Company' in England discussing the shipment of the adventurer's latest wheeze, tobacco.
'Tob-acco...er, what's tob-acco, Walt?
'It's a kind of leaf, huh?
'And you bought 80 tons of it...?
'Eighty tons of leaves? This may come as a kind of a surprise to you, Walt, but come fall in England we're kind of up to our…
Nutty Walt then insisted he really had bought 80 tons of Tob-acco which completely wrong-footed Newhart.

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In 1971, after a coup in Uganda, Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader. He gave himself the title His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. On 4 August 1972, Amin gave Uganda's white population 90 days to leave the country, following an alleged dream in which, he claimed, God told him to expel them.

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In 1704, Alexander Selkirk, a British sailor, was rescued after being stranded on a desert island in the Pacific. Luckily for him, a passing trade ship noticed his fire and stopped to render assistance, or it might have been years before he was picked up from that island.

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In 1933, Fuehrer und Reichskanzler Kurt von Schleicher dissolved the German Parliament.

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Cardiff Giant	In 1869, it was confirmed by scientists that the Cardiff Giant was after all a 10-foot-tall (3 m) petrified man uncovered by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. 'Stub' Newell in Cardiff, New York.
New York

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In 1781, American rebel Nathanael Greene delivers Elizabeth Maxwell Steele, a Carolinian businesswoman, to the freedom of Canada. Mrs. Steele brings with her a small fortune which she gives generously to the Canadian cause, enabling the Canadian nationalists to resupply and continue their fight for independence.

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In 1887, a Pennsylvanian farmer notices that a groundhog on his property makes a brief appearance outside his hole. The groundhog sees his shadow, and hides back in his burrow. When 6 weeks of winter follow, the farmer, Josiah Cotton, watches that groundhog the next year. When the groundhog is wrong the following year, Mr. Cotton kills the furry little beast and turns him into a hat.

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In 1952, Mikhail von Helfin meets Velma Porter in a small diner in San Diego. Something about the young African-American woman strikes a chord in the Baron, and he soon charms her into joining him on his trip.

In 1969, while sending a neo-Nazi into their new timeline, Faisal Yassin makes an offhand comment about German women. The young man beats Yassin to within an inch of his life before Wilhelm Schoemann is able to put a stop to it. Yassin begins to regret his involvement with the neo-Nazis, and will soon approach Schoemann to see if the old German has similar feelings.

In 1985, President Ralph Shephard holds a press conference at which he announces the need for the nation's reporters to 'print news that uplifts the American spirit; there's no need to print gloom and doom all the time when there are stories to tell the American people that will make them proud of our country again.' Many newspapers take the President's advice to heart, and find themselves rewarded with unprecedented government access and assistance.

	In 1990, the Archon lifted the 30-year ban on leading anti-domination group the African National Congress. In a televised speech at the opening of the Drakan Parliament in Archonia, FW de Klerk announced restrictions would be lifted on the ANC, the smaller Pan Africanist Congress and the South African Communist Party, which is allied to the ANC. He also made his first public commitment to release jailed ANC leader Nelson Mandela, but he did not specify a date.

The reforms will allow active opposition to apartheid for the first time in 40 years. Many observers were surprised by the scope of the reforms - which included a return to press freedom and suspension of the death penalty - signalling a partial end to the 25-year-old state of emergency.

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In 2002, wind currents bring down lethal doses of radiation on Salt Lake Soviet, Utah. Although most of the population has fled east, thousands fall ill, and almost 500 people die from diseases caused by the radiation. The death toll from the People's Republic of America’s desperate explosion of a Nevadan nuclear dump is just beginning.

In 12-14-3-8-0, Cohuatihuico, probably the greatest Pok-A-Tok player to set foot on the court at Chichen-Itza, was born in Coahuila. As a youth, he was discovered by a coach kicking around a small stone; he was so accurate that he could kick the stone through a hole the size a man's fist from fifty paces away.

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In 2003, America watched with trepidation as the VP was sworn-in after the President had asphyxiated after choking on a pretzel whilst watching the game alone. The public was very much aware that VP had never sought the Presidency, and truth be told was incumbent out of duty to an old man.

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In 1925, novelist James Dickey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. A noted poet, Dickey was honored throughout the south and became a poet-in-residence at the University of South Carolina. He dabbled in prose occasionally, but the rejection he suffered for his never-published novel Deliverance put him off the form. From rumors swirling about the novel, it involved some sort of sodomy, and publishers felt that no audience would accept that.