Regrets

August 7th, 2007Reposted due to error

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The Announcement

Even More Groggy Alternate Historian Says: Steve will submit the post today – except for me reminding you to send in your alternate birthdays for me (August 14, 1965) and Steve (November 22, 1967) for our Birthday Contest!

In 1975, at the two-story house at 17841 Beaverland, former President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa attended the last professional meeting of his career. Frank Sheeran introduced Hoffa to the fourth dimensional aliens who Kurt Vonngeut had likened to Plumber's friends.
Jimmy Hoffa	Tralfamadorians have the ability to experience reality in four dimensions; meaning, roughly, that they have total recall of both past and future, and they are able to randomly access any part of their lives from birth to death, at will. Able to see along the timeline of the universe, they know the exact time and place of its accidental annihilation by means of a Tralfamadorian experiment, but are powerless to prevent it.
This power was shared with Jimmy Hoffa before he died. By the end of the presentation, Hoffa accepted his fate - Hoffa had his own house "painted" when Sheeran fired two shots into his brain.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Ziggy Stardust	Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly, and the spiders from Mars. He played it left hand But made it too far Became the special man, then we were Ziggy's band ~ Lyrics to “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” - Click to Play Sample
Spiders from Mars

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was a US spacecraft developed by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. It began the United States's return to Mars after a 20-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when it lost contact with NASA in November 2006. On November 2, 2006, the spacecraft failed to respond to messages and commands. A faint signal was detected three days later which indicated that the craft had gone into safe mode. All attempts to recontact the Mars Global Surveyor and resolve the problem failed. In January 2007 NASA officially ended the mission. In 2012 faint signals were again detected, including a visual link. Who other than Ziggy Stardust would have had the imagination to foresee Spiders from Mars? The lyrics are available at at Stllyrics

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1945, with the English Channel mined by the Kriegsmarine, Vati announced a new dawn for Germany. That evening in London and Washington, the dawn came early. Brighter than a thousand suns.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1947, Major Jesse Marcel and a "man in plainclothes" accompanied William "Mac" Brazel back to his New Mexico ranch where more pieces were picked up from the remains of the crashed "Roswell" craft. Brazel told the pair he had seen aliens, who he described as "two feet high, and green, and shaped like plumber's friends. Their suction cups were on the ground, and their shafts, which were extremely flexible, usually pointed to the sky. At the top of each shaft was a little hand with a green eye in its palm." No fool, Marcel noticed a complete absence of surprise on his mysterious colleague's face.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode twenty seven of So What If?. British Prime Harold Macmillan speaks about the Winds of Change sweeping through the Great Plains of North America. John Pilger asks whether the First Nations can live at peace within the artifical boundaries demarcated by the departing British imperialists.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1971, the Winterberry wrote in his diary : “It was Uncle Jack who taught me how to read and write. I think it took a long time but I'm not sure. I heard him arguing about it with mother about it one night a few years ago when I wasn't supposed to be out of my room, but I was very excited with the next day being my birthday and I couldn't sleep..”. Nick DiChario's alternate history story appeared in Alternate Kennedys, an interesting speculation on a dark Kennedy family secret. Nominated for both the World Fantasy Award and the Hugo Award, DiChario explored the disturbing premise that Teddy Kennedy did not drown in Poucha Pond after the party on Chappaquiddick Island but was kept in secrecy by his close family at Hyannis Port.

~ variant entry by Steve Payne: extensive use of original material has been used to celebrate the author's genius.

In 2016, following a night of teenage partying, drunken student Buford Rogerson III fell asleep on the city transit during a memorable journey home. Rogerson had forgotton to lock the keypad on his Blackberry Pulsar 6G data cell. Snoring loudly, he rested up against another passenger in the untroubled sleep that only the very drunk can know. The uncomfortable fidgeting of this other passenger resulted in a random key stroke pattern during the hour long journey. The following morning, the hungover student discovered he had won several auctions on eBay, bought a small cheetah named Larry that was currently being shipped from East Africa, and also married two cybernetic wives from Eastern Europe.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Elimina Castle	In 1482, to pass the long night of six hundred years at St. George El Mina Castle, Kwame’s brother spoke to him of African Poetry. “Africa tell me, Africa – Is this your back that is bent This back that breaks under the weight of humiliation, This back trembling ..
.. with red scars And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answer me Impetuous child that tree young and strong That tree over there Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers, That is your Africa springing up anew Springing up patiently obstinately Whose fruits bit by bit acquire The bitter taste of liberty.”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1952, on this day 33rd US President Harry S Truman made a pledge to the American people. The use of a nuclear weapon on Tokyo he clarified, was a once only tactic that could not be, and should not be, re-used. The world of 1945 was a great deal less complex than the world of 1952, and the weapon was now a great danger ..	Harry S Truman
.. to the continuation of life on earth. Part of the decision to use the bomb, he stated, was a calculation based on the absent threat of retaliation. Things had changed. Disarmament was the correct step now.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Stolypin	In 1917, Tsarist Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin followed the magician Grigory Rasputin to the nest of vampires in Paris, the location of which was then supplied to the senior Oprichnik (Tsarist Secret Policeman). The very next evening, just before sun down the Okhranka would burst into the nest of vampires and release the ..
.. Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. That was the plan. Trouble was these loyal men of the Tsar only had half of the story. They knew that the death of the Tsar's only son would terminate the Romanov line. However they had been told the Tsarevich suffered from a terminal blood-related condition known only to the Russian Royal Household, which they assumed was haemophilia. Actually, the Tsarevich had already died, and was suffering from Blood Sucking vampirism.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1945, a wretched US President Harry S Truman pours himself a bourbon. Contrary to the advice of his short-fused military, he is starting to believe that the delayed Japanese surrender is in fact nothing other than the slow cogs of decision-making. Perhaps, probably, a further strike on Nagasaki is unnecessary. ..	Malebron
.. Startled by the door opening unannounced, he looks up from the Resolute Desk to see a golden warrior has entered the Oval Office. Is there light yet in Gorias? asks Malebron. Findhorn crashes into the door. “Yes, sir” replies the President, guessing that he is being asked whether Nagasaki has been struck yet. “Good, then you must not use the Spear of Light” counsels Malebron and disappears. Alone, Truman opens the door to find two huge gouges in the wood work where the Unicorn had struck.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Arnold Passed Over

The state of TIAH

February 19th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: Our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne, had a great suggestion – we haven't had a good contest in a while, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). We'll also see if we have enough credit for an ultimate winner to get a complimentary TIAH mug, but we can't promise anything on that yet. Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline will be March 29th.

in 1777, the Continental Congress, the organization of rebel leaders for the American revolution, promotes several rebel officers to the rank of Major General. New York's General Benedict Arnold is not among those elevated, and is quite bitter about that. He is close to resignation from the rebel cause when the Commander-in-Chief of the revolutionary forces, George Washington, intervenes personally and convinces the Congress to promote him. Arnold, grateful to Washington for this personal favor, does not let his commander down. He leads rebel forces in victory after victory, and is the battlefield commander when the British finally surrender at Yorktown; he accepted Lord Cornwallis' sword himself, a souvenir he kept above his mantel the rest of his life. When the young republic called on General Washington to lead it as its first president, Washington called on the man who had been his right arm to stand by his side. Washington and Arnold, as President and Vice-President, set the definitive example of the American executive. Although many New Yorkers would have liked to see him elevated again, Vice-President Arnold felt that his health was too poor to continue serving his country. He retired to his home state and died shortly after leaving office, in 1799.

in 1847, the Donner and Reed families, settlers from Illinois heading west to California, take up their journey again after wintering at the Sierra Nevadas. They had reached the mountains in October, but decided against trying to cross them because of the possibility of being trapped there over winter. Although it was an unpopular decision, the settler's leader, George Donner, had felt intimidated by the mountains and was not ready to challenge them until spring was at least close at hand.

in 1981, although he had come into office expecting to reinstate the backing of the United States government for several anti-communist regimes that the Carter administration had dropped support for, President Ronald Reagan changes his mind after viewing the reports of the violence of the military government in El Salvador. “We can't put the prestige of America behind that,” he says of the Salvadoran military. Without US aid, El Salvador's revolutionaries win the struggle 4 years later, and President Reagan extends the hand of the United States in friendship. It is gratefully accepted, and this action is often credited as keeping El Salvador out of the communist bloc.

Sir Ian Standis..	In 1915 the Battle of Gallipoli began when a strong Anglo-French task force including the British battleship Queen Elizabeth released huge quantities of mustard gas from the Sea of Marmara. Turkish troops along the coast of the Bosphurus were decimated by this dastardly and cynical attack. ..
.. Promising to avenge Troy, Mustafa Kemal escaped the gas just in the nick of time. General Sir Ian Hamilton and his Mediterranean Expeditionary Force marched into the capital and from the Hagia Sophia proclaimed the liberation of the City of Constantinople.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1964 Paul Simon writes 'The Sounds of Silence', catapulting both the deaf song-writer and artist Art Garfunkel to stardom as Simon & Garfunkel.	Paul Simon
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Harry Turtledov..	In 1993 Harry Turtledove published the counter-history novel Yellow Pearl, in which he posed the Pearl Harbour question – what if the US Navy had left the safety of San Diego for Hawaii, unnecessarily provoking the Empire of Japan?
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 2002 NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe began to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. David Bowie was right, there really were Spiders on Mars.	Mars Odyssey
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Discovered

William Robinson, Jr.	In 1940, on this day William Robinson, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan. When still a child he was nicknamed 'Smokey Joe' by an uncle because of his love of cowboy movies. In his teens, this was shortened to 'Smokey'. Smokey led a successful career as a song-writer from the mid sixties until entering the church after a religious calling in 1986. Fellow songwriter Bob Dylan named Robinson as one of his favorite 'poets' (usually mis-quoting Dylan as having named Robinson 'America's greatest living poet'), and his hit ballads also earned him the title 'America's poet laureate of love'.
Songwriter

Mary Wells had a big hit with the Robinson-penned 'My Guy' (1964), and Robinson served as The Temptations' primary songwriter and producer from 1963 to 1966, penning hits such as 'The Way You Do the Things You Do', 'My Girl', 'Since I Lost My Baby', and 'Get Ready'. Among Robinson's numerous other Motown compositions are 'Still Water (Love)' by The Four Tops, 'Don't Mess With Bill' and 'My Baby Must Be a Magician' by The Marvelettes, 'When I'm Gone' by Brenda Holloway, 'Ain't That Peculiar' and 'I'll Be Doggone' by Marvin Gaye, and 'First I Look at the Purse' by The Contours.

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In 1915, the Battle of Gallipoli began when a strong Anglo-French task force including the British battleship Queen Elizabeth released huge quantities of mustard gas from the Sea of Marmara. Turkish troops along the coast of the Bosphurus l were decimated by this dastardly and cynical attack. Promising to avenge Troy, Mustafa Kemal escaped the gas just in the nick of time. General Sir Ian Hamilton and his Mediterranean Expeditionary Force marched into the capital and from the Hagia Sophia proclaimed the liberation of the City of Constantinople.

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Martin Luther	In 1546, following the funeral of Martin Luther in Eisleben, Holy Roman Empire, Johannes Bugenhagen took care of his widow and children. The leader of the Reformation, Luther did not trust the Vatican to execute the mission, but he did trust this, his right hand man the good Doktor Pomeranus. Together they introduced the Reformation in Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th century. Anyone who could read the 1484 Papal Witch-bull could figure out why; it would be local German Catholic priests that would rid Europe of the Unholy One and his progeny. It was a startling discovery for New Advent web master Kevin Knight, who as a 26-year-old publish the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet. The 1922 supplement to the Encyclopedia is also in the public domain, but as of 2007 has not been placed on-line. Bugenhan and Luther would have not been surprised in the least.
Reformist

Bugenhagen was a name linked with Satan almost since the beginning of time. It was a Bugenhagen who, in the year 1092, found the first progeny of Satan and devised the means of putting to death. It was again a Bugenhagen in 1710 who found the second issue and damaged it to the point where it could summon no earthly power. They were religious zealots, the watch-dogs of Christ; their mission, to keep the Unholy One from walking the face of the earth. Second Supplement to the Catholic Encyclopedia published in 1922.

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In 1109 AUC, Emperor Constantius II shuts down the temples belonging to the cult of Christos, a messianic figure from the province of Judea. The cult's members had been attempting to destroy other religions within the empire, and Constantius felt that they would become a danger if allowed to grow unchecked.

In 1777, the Continental Congress, the organization of rebel leaders for the American revolution, promotes several rebel officers to the rank of Major General. New York's General Benedict Arnold is not among those elevated, and is quite bitter about that. He is close to resignation from the rebel cause when the Commander-in-Chief of the revolutionary forces, George Washington, intervenes personally and convinces the Congress to promote him. Arnold, grateful to Washington for this personal favor, does not let his commander down. He leads rebel forces in victory after victory, and is the battlefield commander when the British finally surrender at Yorktown; he accepted Lord Cornwallis' sword himself, a souvenir he kept above his mantel the rest of his life. When the young republic called on General Washington to lead it as its first president, Washington called on the man who had been his right arm to stand by his side. Washington and Arnold, as President and Vice-President, set the definitive example of the American executive. Although many New Yorkers would have liked to see him elevated again, Vice-President Arnold felt that his health was too poor to continue serving his country. He retired to his home state and died shortly after leaving office, in 1799.

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In 1847, the Donner and Reed families, settlers from Illinois heading west to California, take up their journey again after wintering at the Sierra Nevadas. They had reached the mountains in October, but decided against trying to cross them because of the possibility of being trapped there over winter. Although it was an unpopular decision, the settler's leader, George Donner, had felt intimidated by the mountains and was not ready to challenge them until spring was at least close at hand.

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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

'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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In 1981, although he had come into office expecting to reinstate the backing of the United States government for several anti-communist regimes that the Carter administration had dropped support for, President Ronald Reagan changes his mind after viewing the reports of the violence of the military government in El Salvador. 'We can't put the prestige of America behind that,' he says of the Salvadoran military. Without US aid, El Salvador's revolutionaries win the struggle 4 years later, and President Reagan extends the hand of the United States in friendship. It is gratefully accepted, and this action is often credited as keeping El Salvador out of the communist bloc.

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	In 1997, BBC News reported - 'China's reformist Deng Xiaoping dies: China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping has died at the age of 92 after suffering from failing health for several years.' Doctors believed that over-excitement about visiting the newly reacquired Hong Kong was the tipping point. Deng Xiaoping had spent lavish amounts of money on clothes and travel arrangements and was extremely excited about the defeat of the British Empire.
Deng Xiaoping

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28 Days Later	In 2001, BBC News reported : Foot-and-mouth scare at UK abbatoir - A five-mile exclusion zone is placed around an abbatoir in Essex after a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease is detected. It was too little, too late - the Rage was now entering the blood stream of the population as the country descended into madness.
The Rage

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In 1961, BBC News report: 1961: Lumumba rally clashes with UK police - Police battle with supporters of the murdered Congolese premier outside the Belgian embassy in London. Agitators were in the pocket of the Belgian government in an attempt to make the situation in the Congo look less contrived when in fact events had been carefully staged managed. Extreme measures had been taken to murder Patrice Lumumba and bring Mobuto to power. His kleptocracy was a great cover for the continued supply of uranium to Western Europe.

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In 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe began to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. David Bowie was right, there really were Spiders on Mars.

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In 1939, Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling became the first local, non-German force to attempt conquest from within. The coup d'etat failed, but that was only the beginning of the troubles for the Axis powers. The Allies start taking up strong military positions early in southern Norway, and northern Norway too. Norway takes out huge loans from the US for an emergency buildup. Norway begins its buildup around October 1st, 1939 and France takes up positions around October 7th, 1939.