| July 29 | ![]() |
In 1795, needing more time to suppress the four-year long Whiskey Rebellion and having waited a respectful amount of time since the Fourth of July to avoid drawing cynicism from libertarians George Washington confirmed his intention to serve a full third term of office as President of the United States.
FirebrandBut the politician causing the General most trouble was a dead man called Albert Gallatin whose firebrand leadership had sparked a violent insurrection that was threatening to develop into a Second American Revolution. Having personally commanded the army that defeated the Pennsylvanians, Washington compounded his error of over involvement by hanging Gallatin for treason.
Two national politicians who had succeeded in remaining above the fray were Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Their strategic focus now shifted to the 1800 election and the forthcoming battle with Washington's favoured successor, the man whose overbold revenuers had started the revolt, Alexander Hamilton.
In 1848, on this day in the village of Ballingarry, police and military troops clashed with "Young Irelanders", the nationalist forces led by a member of parliament named William Smith O'Brien.
Irish Rebellion Gains Momentum into Revolution1848 was a year of revolt all around Europe. France's King Louis-Philippe had fallen to the Second Republic, Germans overthrew many of their local lords, and even the stalwart Austrians gained a constitution to balance the power of an absolute monarch. In Ireland, times were especially hard. The Potato Blight, beginning in 1845, had caused famine to last for years. The British government did very little to aid them, and now was the time for them to aid themselves.
Under the Union Act of 1800, Ireland had been joined with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Since its passing by Parliament, there had been men working against it in Ireland known as the Repeal Association. The political movement remained marginal before stepping up to fame as the Young Ireland movement in 1839. Along with new powers granted to the Catholics in the 1832, the movement gained force all over the country. A splinter group, the Irish Confederation, began the push for all-out independence and a wholly Irish parliament.
After the success of the French revolution in February, the Irish began to make their moves. While leader William Smith O'Brien hoped for a bloodless revolution, the government was more fearful and suspended habeas corpus on July 22. O'Brien and his followers decided to act to oppose this force of politics. Battles erupted around County Tipperary, culminating on July 29 in the village of Ballingarry.
O'Brien and other Young Irelanders had fortified The Commons and awaited the approach of police and military troops. A group of 46 under Sub-Inspector Trant had been spotted, and the rebels pursued them into a two-story farmhouse where the police set up defense and took the family hostage. O'Brien approached the house and explained to the police that if they were to surrender their arms, they would be allowed to return home as fellow Irishmen. After a long moment of thought, Trant surrendered.
A new story by Jeff ProvineA few hours later, a band of one hundred more police under Sub-Inspector Cox appeared, being met by the surrendering police as well as a crowd of hundreds of pike-wielding, jubilant rebels. In shock, these police surrendered, too. All through the night, word spread of the victory, and O'Brien worked to harangue his people to never give up the fight for independence.
On July 30, the British army approached the fortified Young Irelanders. The commanders were slow to assault such a massive, poorly armed but publicly acclaimed band, but at last the battle ensued. Tactically, the battle became a draw, and the army retreated for the night. O'Brien, however, called the battle a great victory and spread word of the success of the revolution in more-than-literal terms. All over Ireland through August, revolts would begin, and the British landowners and Loyalists would be chased from the island. On August 23, O'Brien and his followers of men, women, and children would take Dublin and call for elections to an Irish Parliament. O'Brien was named Prime Minister, a position he would hold for fifteen years until his death in 1864.
In September, while the Royal Family retired to Balmoral in Scotland, Prince Albert would come to Ireland with a massive force of British troops. He suggested an armistice, to which O'Brien agreed, and the two would begin to mastermind a fair treaty that would grant Ireland its own parliament, but still keep the emerald isle as part of the British Empire. Seeing the forces willing to fight to maintain conquest, O'Brien agreed. The Act of Irish Parliament passed narrowly in 1849, with many Loyalists crying out against it. With renewed Irish loyalty, however, the empire would blossom.
Loyalists and English would gradually leave Ireland while the Catholic Irish stayed and worked to improve their country with O'Brien's reforms over the rest of the nineteenth century. Industry, especially manufacturing, grew with economic incentives from the Irish Parliament and a workforce of millions (many scholars predict these men may have emigrated to America). The Irish would be instrumental troops in World War I as well as the counter-invasion of the Continent against Hitler's soldiers in 1941, leading to the downfall of Germany in early 1944.
Moreover, the Irish Parliament would give Britain a model for treatment of its colonies and creating productive home-rule. Fending off the Communist incursions of the 1950s and '60s, the British Empire would continue to dominate the world along with its ally and former colony, the United States of America. With the fall of their competitor the Soviet Union in 1992, Britain would lead the world into its next millennium as an empire upon which the sun would never set.
Ireland, meanwhile, would be a land of marginal success. Its industrial heyday was long over, with crime and unemployment rampant, though the 1990s would cause a renewed surge of economics in technology as the Silicon Isle of Europe.
In 2010, on this day U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix issued an injunction blocking Arizona from implementing the heart of its new immigration law Wednesday, less than 24 hours before it was to have taken effect, and endorsed the administration's argument that the state would be interfering with the federal government's enforcement of immigration laws.
Anti-Nullification CrisisGov. Jan Brewer said she would ignore the ruling in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She said the law, SB1070, was needed "to address a crisis we did not create and the federal government has actively refused to fix. If the federal government will not support the state of Arizona by embracing laws that they created and we as a state are going to do it our selves with or without the support of the US".
New story by David CryanWhen asked by a reporter if that included seccession from the united states the governor said all options are on the table when it comes to protecting our border.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said that he supports everything that is being done by Jan Brewer and Texas will support them in anyway that is needed.
In 1976, on this day the 41st Vice President of the United States Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (pictured) suffered a fatal heart attack in his 13 West 54th Street Manhattan townhouse.1
Ruthless DecisionsRockefeller health had entered a sharp decline since the Halloween massacre, a political coup de grace executed by his chief adversary, Donald Henry Rumsfeld. Described by no less a fiend than President Nixon as "a ruthless little bastard", "Rummy" and Rockefeller "simply loathed each other". Relations were not helped by Rockefeller's habit of poking his head around Rumsfeld's office door and saying "Don, you know you will never be president".
"Rummy" was of course executing dastardly self-promotional plans from inside the White House" to ensure he did enter the Oval Office - as the boss. Realising that he needed the Vice Presidency as a platform, "Rummy" had played a long-game since accepting a cabinet posting by Richard Nixon in 1970. And by 31st October 1975, these plans ripened when President Gerald Ford, renowned for unswerving loyalty, unexpectedly dropped Rockefeller from the 1976 Vice Presidential Ticket. George W. Bush, who - alongside Barry Goldwater - was seriously considered for VP by Ford when he assumed the Presidency in 1974, was dispatched to the political no-mans land of Langley to run the CIA. To put the seal on this political emasculation, Bush was required to pledge that he would not politicize the CIA by running for office in 1976.
Of course the 1976 campaign presented a number of challenges for "Rummy" that would require some deft footwork. Political observers have speculated that Rockefeller2 would have threatened to withdraw New York's 154 delegate bloc of votes had he been alive at the time of the Convention. Since he was not, the real threat was the former Governor of California Ronald Reagan who was emerging as a creditable alternative candidate from the right wing. Accordingly, "Rummy" insisted upon his appointment as Secretary of Defence, replacing James Schlesinger who was also fired in the "Halloween massacre".
Once in office, "Rummy" pursued the hawkish agenda that was being urged by Reagan's supporters, effectively to reverse detente by undermining the Salt II negotiations and also accelerating military spending3. As a precursor, "Rummy" had played a key supporter of the decision to dispatch US Marines to relieve the SS Mayaguez. The ship was seized by the Khymer Rouge just a month after the fall of Saigon and in order to restore American prestige, military intervention was advocated by then Chief of Staff Rumsfeld.
The majority of political observers believe that Ford's re-election in 1976 was mainly due to his ruthless decision to double cross Richard Nixon, by going back on his promise to pardon the disgraced President4. Fortunately, the new Ford-Rumsfeld administration (pictured here with incoming Chief of Staff Dick Cheney) would inherit a $123 billion defense budget and a re-invigorated military. Thanks to Rumsfeld, in 1979, America would be ready to confront the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan with full force.
In 1967, the New York Times reported the tragic death of Lieutenant John Sidney McCain III following an explosion and fire on U.S. navy carrier Forrestall in Tonkin bay which left 134 US servicemen dead.
USS Forrestal fire
A Zuni rocket was accidentally fired from an F4 Phantom parked on the starboard side of the flight deck aft of the island. The missile streaked across the deck into a 400 gallon belly fuel tank on a parked A4D Skyhawk. The pilot of the Skyhawk was McCain, who was killed instantly.
Both McCain's grandfather and father were admirals in the United States Navy. McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers until he lost his life in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire.
~ New York Times, October 30th 1967.
| Downeaster | In 1962, one of the most compelling mysteries related to the Jamaica Bay hurricane was solved when scuba divers off the coast of Maine found the wreck of the Downeaster "Alexa" (pictured) five nautical miles from her last reported position prior to her sinking. |
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| Alexa |
Nearly two years had passed since the fishing boat went down, and during that time there had been some question about the precise location of her sinking. With the discovery of her wreckage the speculation could finally be put to rest. |
On this day in 2002, a U.S. Navy carrier battle group headed by the USS Ronald Reagan was deployed to the Persian Gulf to defend U.S. interests in the region against the instability that had been engulfing Iraq since the the MN15 asteroid strike. | USS Ronald |
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| Reagan |
| Queen of England | In 1588, on this day the Church of England held a special mass of thanksgiving to celebrate what Queen Elizabeth I called "our kingdom's fortunate deliverance" from attack by the Spanish Armada. |
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| Elizabeth I |
In 1940, on this day Canadian troops attacked the beleaguered remnants of the German airborne landing force near Blackpool.                                                                                     | Seaside Resort |
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| of Blackpool |
On this day in 1944, German occupation forces in Rouen surrendered to the Allies. | |
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In 1969, from Guadalajara - | |
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Hendrix apocalyptic warnings about President Richard Nixon (codename 'Joe') and his covert operation to suppress the counter-culture had been largely ignored as paranoia until J. Edgar Hoover had terminated the Woodstock Music Festival on July 6th 1969. Within the next two years, many of the icons of the counter-culture including Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jim Hendrix had mysteriously died and those warnings were seriously re-evaluated. |
'Tyr Weapons Systems.' He tapped his head. 'That's a whole universe of pain and death. Is the price you're getting worth it?'
'I think so.'
'Can I be traced through you?'
'Anything is possible, Drac. I can't give you complete assurance on that.'
He nodded. Whether he could be traced was a matter of his skill versus those of his opponents, and not up to her. 'Who hired you?'
'You know I can't tell you that.'
'Worth a shot.' He thought for a minute, then nodded. 'All right. When do you need to start?'
'I need the body complete by the 14th. And, I'll need to give you updates on her physical condition up to the 13th. All right?'
Drac shook his head. 'I'm starting to think this isn't worth it for me.'
Sonja leaned across the desk. 'I really need this, Drac. You have no idea how important this is.'
He reached across and took her hand. 'All right, Sonja. For you. Leave me all the information you have, and I'll begin. Will you be able to transmit the updates, or will security require you to bring me those in person?'
'In person. Some things are too easy to pluck out of the air.' She transmitted briefly, and he nodded to acknowledge receipt. Then, she got up and took a step back towards the hole. 'Coming with me?'
His dark eyes were poring over the data in front of him, and he shook his head. 'No, dear, you go ahead. The hole will let you out. I'm going to begin working on this masterpiece.' He waved a hand and the hole opened back for her. When she walked underneath it, she was lifted up and passed through, back into the small booth. When she was back on her feet again, the hole closed over and was covered by the rectangular block - the coffin - that Drac kept to greet his customers.
She stepped through the beads and went back into the bazaar. This time, the wash of desires and noises was a welcome distraction from what she would have to do over the next week, and what would be done after that.
Once she was home, she set up a security field and dropped the personal defenses she had been keeping up since leaving. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept since getting the assignment, three days ago. There had been a lot to do, many people to see, and hundreds of preparations to make. She was pretty sure that she had it all in hand, now, and could let it all coast for a few hours while she rested. She took off the silver jacket and laid it carefully at the foot of the bed. Then, she slid out of her boots and socks, lining them up carefully where her feet would fall when she swung her legs out of the bed. Off came her pants, and they were folded neatly and set on the chair within easy reach. She left on her blouse because she didn't like to sleep topless. She folded back the sheets, slid in, and covered up. The room saw that she didn't want to stay up, so the lights dimmed and the temperature dropped to make her comfortable. Within seconds, she was asleep. Seconds later, a persistent tickle at her ear woke her up. 'What is it?' Her eyelids fluttered open, and a man stood at her bedside, admiring her sleeping form. She drew the sheets a little more tightly around her. 'What do you want, Gil?'
'You, of course, Sonja, but a little progress report would do for now.'
'I'll give it to you after I've had a chance to sleep for a few hours.' She waved a hand at him and pulled the cover over her head. 'Go away.'
His head lowered within inches of hers. 'Our employer wants to know where we stand. This kind of man doesn't wait, baby.'
'We're on track. Goodbye.' 'Details, Sonja.'
'Matilda,' she muttered to her computer, 'what level of privacy am I on?'
'Emergency calls only, mum,' the soft english voice replied.
'Sonja, the guy hasn't heard from you in 3 days. He is friggin' threatening to have the Militia come in and torture me. You know I can't take real pain.'
She pulled back the sheet and stared into Gil's eyes. They were bloodshot, as always - Gil never did take care of his appearance - and they were worried. He looked almost as bad as she felt. 'Look, Gil, I've got the preparations made, the switchover will take place as planned on the 13th. Now, I need eight hours of sleep, or I'm going to die.'
'Who are you using for the prep? He wants to know.'
She narrowed her eyes. 'He doesn't get to know, Gil. My sources remain anonymous to everybody - even big money types.'
'Sonja...'
'Gil, I'm cutting you off now. If you call me back before eight hours is up, you won't have to worry about being tortured by the Militia.'
'You'll give me everything then, though, right?'
She was really regretting ever coming to work with the little weasel. 'Yes, Gil. Now you go bye-bye. Matilda, total privacy.'
'Yes, mum.' Gil's image blinked out, and Sonja settled back again. 'Shall I play some music for you, mum? You seem somewhat tense.'
'Sure.' A few strains of folk music played out over her, and she breathed deeply. 'This had better work.' She flipped over on her side, trying to get more comfortable. 'Hey, Matilda, was that call monitored?'
'There wasn't any discernible trace, mum.' 'Can you analyze any unusual traffic that may have piggy-backed on Gil's signal and let me know?'
'Of course, mum.' Matilda was silent for a minute, leaving the soothing pipes to work their magic on Sonja. She was almost asleep when Matilda came back. 'There was a slight bulge in the amount of data being transmitted, mum, but I couldn't trace where it came from or where it went. The probability is that the call was being monitored.'
'Damn it.' Gil had been told to make the call and get information from her, and their employer was listening in. 'I hate it when people don't trust you. A contract is a contract.' She fussed and fumed mentally for a couple of seconds, then asked, 'Can you tap into Gil, and find any residuals left in his area?'
'I'll try, mum. But, for what purpose?'
'If you can pick up a residual from anyone associated with Tyr Weapons Systems, bring it back, isolate, and culture it. Then work up an antidote.'
Matilda paused, and hesistantly said, 'Tyr Weapons Systems is known very widely for their security, mum.'
'I have a lot of faith that you can break that reputation, Matilda.'
'Very well, mum.'
Sonja's exhaustion was weighing very heavily on her. 'I've still got to get some sleep. Matilda, keep me posted of any emergencies, but let me sleep uninterrupted for at least five hours if you can. All right?'
'Yes, mum.'
She covered herself again and closed her eyes. Everything was abuzz inside her, but she forced that all down. She called up the morpheus image she'd had planted to help her relax.
A muscular man's hands ran down her body, unclenching each muscle, relaxing all her nerves. Then, those wonderful hands smoothed away her hair and massaged her temples, and her breathing deepened. Her eyes closed, but the hands kept working their magic, flying to any part of her that needed to be soothed, and caressing away her cares and tensions. In minutes, she was asleep.
She really liked morpheus.
Five hours later, Matilda woke her with a gentle ringing bell. She sat up in the bed and stretched, feeling much better than she had in three days. She would have liked more, but she got enough to keep her going for a while.
'Find out anything, Matilda?'
'I have four different residuals that I am attempting to cultivate. They are all from different systems inside Tyr, and one of them is being very nasty about being held and cultured.'
'Work on that one. I think it'll probably be the most helpful to the task we have at hand.'
Matilda almost sighed. 'I will try, mum, but you have no idea how difficult it's being.'
Sonja smiled at the old girl. 'I'm sorry, Matilda, but please do your best. This could make our lives a lot easier.'
That almost-audible sigh again. 'Yes, mum.'
On this day in 1953, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for all UN forces in Korea, sent a letter to his troops commending them for their distinguished service in the fight to liberate northern Korea from Communist oppression. That same day he flew from his headquarters in Tokyo to the former North Korean capital Pyongyang to attend a memorial service for the anti- Communist Korean partisans who had died in the struggle to rid their homeland of the Marxist dictator and NKVD puppet Kim Il Sung. | |
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July 28
In 2015, on this day Paradise the sixth installment of the Alien movie series premiered in cinemas across North America.
Movie Premier of ParadiseChristian archeologist Dr Elizabeth Shaw and the android David arrive on the seemingly abandoned home world of the Engineers (pictured, left). They find evidence of a larger, full-scale version of the two-thousand year old genocide that they had discovered outside the "head-room" in Prometheus (pictured, right). Because after transporting the alien Jesus to Earth, the proto-Christians had returned to destroy the magicians workshop on LV-223. But the Xenomorph worshippers of pain and death had fought back leaving only a handful of infected survivors that managed to escape as far as the planetoid LV-426 (the discovery in Alien 1).
And of course a single space jockey programmed to return to Earth to destroy the alien Jesus, only he was locked in statis by proto-Christians, and once awoken by the android David was killed by a Xenomorph.
The conflicting actions explained the schizophrenic behavior of creation and destruction that had so confused viewers in the fifth movie installment. Because the humanoid beings devoid of humanity were evil Magicians playing with fire rather than the benign Engineers imagined by the idealistic Shaw, Weyland and Holloway.
The result was a new and even more destructive species war which had broken out between the Magicians's creations, mankind and the Xenomorphs. But this was only the un-intentional result of morphing on LV-223 that had created the deacon, a proto-queen who was able to generate life on her own terms. Yet at the climax of the movie, Shaw discovers remaining survivors. She symbolically abandons science in favour of religion, deciding to remain with the proto-Christians on their Paradise. And leaving the fight against the deacon to her indefatigable successor, Lieutenant Ellen L. Ripley.
In 1932, on this day the tensions arising from the unresolved conflict over long overdue payments to Great War Veterans escalated into horrifying violence when the so-called Bonus Army counterattacked the US Government.
Bonus Army Counterattacks The Great Depression had ground on for years. While President Herbert Hoover had enacted breadlines and other minor alleviations for the out-of-work populace, the country as a whole continued to suffer unemployment and lack of cash. The people themselves began to call for direct aid, and none more vigorously than the veterans of the World War. In 1924, Congress had voted a bonus for each soldier in recognition of their service, giving one dollar for every day of domestic time ($1.25 for each day abroad) to a maximum of $500 ($625 abroad). The bonuses were paid via certificates and a trust fund, giving percentages until full payment was achieved in 1945.
By the troubled year of 1932, one-third of the payments had been made, and now Congress hoped to aid out-of-work veterans by advancing the payment to full. Hoover and his Republican allies were opposed to the idea, saying that it would strain the budget of the Federal government and take away funds needed for other relief programs. Veterans, however, pressed their representatives for the payment, and the House passed the Patman Bonus Bill to accelerate the giving of the money.
A new story by Jeff ProvineIn June of 1932, the bill went before the Senate, and veterans marched on Washington to show their support for it. Seventeen thousand veterans came to the capital, bringing their families with them to total nearly 43,000 people. Most of them lived in Hooverville camps outside Washington proper, the biggest one being across the Anacostia River. Rather than disease-ridden slums, the camps were well organized with streets, clean water, sanitation facilities, and even parades. Despite the public support, the Senate blocked the bill, and now the "'Bonus Army,"' as they called themselves, began to protest in earnest for the funds that were rightfully theirs.
By July 28, the government had taken their fill. Protesters had marched on the White House, leading to a scuffle that resulted in police brutalizing several of them. Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the removal of all protesters from government property on grounds of trespassing. Police tried to clear a camp, but the veterans resisted. Shots were fired, and two veterans were left dead.
When he heard of the violence, Hoover decided to clear the district before things turned worse. He called General Douglas MacArthur from Fort Howard in Maryland with infantry and tanks from Fort Myer, Virginia, commanded by Major George S. Patton. The Bonus Army was in the midst of a march when the army arrived and took the appearance of the troops as a show of support. Instead, the cavalry and infantry charged, bayonets affixed.
Washingtonians who had come out to watch were horrified, crying "'Shame!"' at the army, but the soldiers took little notice. The veterans were chased back to the Anacostia Flats on the other side of the river, and Hoover ordered the troops to stop. MacArthur, however, ignored the President and took it upon himself to clean out the "'communists."' Gas attacks, fire, and violent soldiers chased the veterans and their families out of the camp.
Before midnight, however, the veterans began to regroup. Making sure their families were safe in Maryland where the Federal troops did not have jurisdiction, they collected weapons and covertly marched back into Washington. As the army and police were busy breaking down the camp, the veterans organized their mob into ranks on the Washington Mall. Just as locals began to become suspicious of the nighttime activity, they charged into the Capitol and seized the building. Securing all exits, they advised the clerks, officials, and congressmen working late that they were not hostages and were free to go at any time.
MacArthur returned to Washington and began an assault up the main steps with his infantry. With shotguns, hunting rifles, and sheer moxie, the veterans held the doors and finally forced back the infantry, injuring many. As MacArthur began to call for artillery to blast open the Capitol, Hoover stopped him and removed him from command for disobeying orders. The infamous general would never serve with the United States Armed Forces again.
Major Patton offered to force entry with his tanks, but Hoover declined. Instead, a day-long standoff began as Washington police and Federal soldiers circled the building, but could not get close. Government workers, however, were allowed in, and the Senate was finally called to order. The block on the Bonus Bill was lifted, and the veterans collected their money and left peacefully. As soon as they were outside, they allowed themselves to be arrested.
National outrage over the incident poured into Washington. Some called for execution of the rebellious soldiers as traitors, but most were angry with the president and army for being so callous toward the veterans. Hoover would save face by shifting blame, dismissing Attorney General Mitchell and turning his whole campaign into the "'cleansing"' of the federal government. While his budget suffered greatly from the two-billion-dollar shortfall, he refused to go over-budget more than absolutely necessary. Touting thriftiness and earning wherever possible, as well as gaining a great deal of support from veterans, Hoover would narrowly win the 1932 election over New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt.
Hoover's next term would be four more years of struggle for the country. Prohibition would be overturned by Congress in 1933, but the economic issues would not be solvable by mere tenacity. Relief efforts struggled to keep up with unemployment. In the elections of 1934, people had had enough, and Democrats were voted into power in Congress. The Great Depression did nothing but worsen.
In 1936, FDR came into office overwhelmingly, and he brought his New Deal into full swing. Ignoring budget constraints, FDR started enormous works projects to employ as many of the unemployed as possible. The changes were radical, which was just as well since radical groups became increasingly powerful over the country. By 1940, people said that the US was all but socialist in name with resources in food, oil, electricity, public water, and health insurance all regulated by the government.
While the populace was suspicious of such control in the Land of the Free, World War II would solidify FDR's political maneuvers. Through the second half of the twentieth century, so much of the basics of American life would be guaranteed that LBJ's New Society would create a welfare state of nearly one-half government employees (or, as many social critics would call them, "'government slaves"').
In 2002, President Albert Gore would even expand American human rights to guarantee Internet service.
In 1981, on this day the "Great Mystery" Wakan Tanka took Terry Fox home to glory in a burst of holy light as he entered the outskirts of Thanksgiving Township in the province of Wampanoag.
Marathon of HopeAfter losing a leg to osteosarcoma, Terry Fox had run across the entire Turtle Island in the "Marathon of Hope" to raise awareness of the disease. To recognise this stunning achievement, and also to mark his twenty-third birthday, multi-faith representatives of the Governing Council had assembled in the great square where the Pilgrims celebrated the first deliverance day with the Pokanoket in 1621.
In 1983, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Seaview, then under the command of Admiral Harriman Nelson, was dispatched to the North Atlantic to oversee experiments related to Project Spindrift
Giant Surprise Part 8For the men and women of Seaview, at the time the world's largest nuclear sub, this marked the second time in a decade they'd been involved in a scientific project of global importance; the first came in 1973, when they spent six weeks in the Arctic Circle monitoring the Van Allen belt.
In 1940, the cancellation of wildy ambitious Italian plans to invade Greece in the Autumn convinced Gen. Franco of the discipline of the Axis Alliance and encouraged him to authorise Operation Felix the passage of twenty German Divisions through Spanish territory in order strike at the British base on Gibraltar.
FelixThe British garrison of thirty thousand soon capitulated and in return the Vichy Government ceded a portion of French Morocco to Spain. Mistakenly sensing that a British collapse was imminent, Franco ordered the crack Blue Division to join the Afrika Corps. Hitler was delighted, referring to the division as "equal to the best German ones".
But even with the western Mediterranean closed to the Royal Navy, British forces in the Middle East were supplied via the Suez Canal. When the weak Spanish navy was annihilated Spain could no long reinforce or resupply the garrisons on the Canary and Balaeric Islands. Anti Franco Guerilla movements in Catalonia, parts of Andalucia, Valencia and other pro Republican areas began to stir. And worse, a lack of integrated command led to a disappointing performances from German, Italian and Spanish Forces and a breakthrough in the Middle Eastern theatre was not forthcoming.
As German reversals began to mount on the Eastern Front, Franco decided to pull out of the Axis Alliance. Hitler contemplated an invasion of Spain to remove Franco and replace him with Agustin Munoz Grandes fearing that "The Spaniards are the only tough Latins. I will have a guerrilla war in my rear".
In 1940, on this day Prime Minister David Lloyd George delivered a key foreign policy speech in the House of Commons.DLG '40 - Part 2: Heads Held High
Having struck an aggresive and belligerent tone during the Battle of Britain, Lloyd George stated that now that it had been proven to Hitler that Britain could not be defeated with ease, the time had come to "discuss terms with him".
In fact, he was restating a belief that had been expressed as early as September in a letter to the Duke of Bedford (who wanted an immediate peace) that the time would come when Britain had faced down an invasion attempt "our prestige will be higher than ever, and we should enter a Conference with our heads held high".
Lloyd George outlined a compelling case for his policy. Britain was isolated on the Continent, in a way she had never been before. In order to defeat Germany, she would need to equip, raid and land a massive army on the Continent and wage war for years; by that time she would be bankrupt and most of her Empire would be in other hands, including those of the Americans. Lloyd George's expectations of the Americans were guarded. "She will, no doubt help us in all ways short of War" but he did not see her sending another 'huge army' to Europe; even if she did, it would take at least two years for it to become anything like an effective fighting force ..(the story continues).
1940, from Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, the Head of the British Government-in-Exile, Winston Spencer Churchill delivered his famous "never surrender" speech on the BBC World Service.
Watch the Speech ![]()
The liquidation of the British Empire"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire". said Churchill, pugnaciously affirming his loyalty to the worldwide institution that he had served for most of his life. However that is precisely what happened.
Britain fought and sacrificed on a global scale to defeat Hitler and his allies - and lost. After the fall of both Singapore and Pearl Harbour to the Japanese, Churchill confessed his ignorance of the weakness of British Imperial defences, saying: "I did not know. I was not told. I should have asked".
"I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire"It was a lesson he tried hard to learn from as he sought to plan the defence of Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, where he and the remnants of the British Royal Naval had fled to.
Churchill died in his Falklands stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, "Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world ". His mission is unfulfilled at the time of writing.
In 1971, John Lennon delivered Imagine, his signature speech at Peace City One.
Watch the Video of Imagine ![]()
Imagine
The choice of Tralfamadorean advocate was inspired; Lennon's humble roots cut through class barriers. Moreover his union with a Japanese wife symbolised a decisive break with the destruction of World War Two, when of course human affairs had been misdirected by the war-like indigenes of Planet Earth.
Tralfamadorean philosophy was brilliantly articulated in the speech ~
"Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky, Imagine all the people living for today... Imagine there's no countries, it isnt hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, no religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace..".
A taxi driver took us to the slaughterhouse where we had been locked up at night as prisoner of war. He sent a postcard at Christmastime: "I wish you and your family also as to your friend Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and I hope that we'll meet again in a world of peace and freedom if the accident will".Four people amongst many had journeyed to the metropolis, rebuilt by Tralfamadoreans upon the site of fire-bombed Dresden. Taxi driver Gerhard Muller and his daughter lived but a few miles away.
War buddies Bernard V. O'Hare and Kurt Vonnegut travelled from America on Guggenheim money, God love it. Lennon invited the four on stage for the wrap-up, philosophically joking that "the accident had".
For Vonnegut, something had been missing in this harsh world. He had suffered from weeping for many years and in his despair had contemplated suicide. Now it was finally fulfilled.
And so it goes.
Watch the Video of Give Peace a Chance ![]()
In 1940, on this day German paratroops were sent to seize the British resort town of Blackpool (pictured) in a covert operation aimed at forcing the Churchill government to sue for peace. | Seaside Resort |
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| of Blackpool |
| Author | On this day in 2016, novelist James Patterson gave an interview to CNN denying rumors that he'd been approached to take over on the screenplay of the third CSI movie for the writer who'd quit Paramount six days earlier. |
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| James Patterson |
On this day in 1944, Nazi judge Roland Friesler convened the first session of his infamous People's Tribunal, a rigged special court intended to provide legal justification for the execution of German citizens alleged to have been involved with the July 5th assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. | Nazi Judge |
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| Roland Friesler |
In truth, most of those convicted and sentenced by the court had little connection to the assassination plot and were being imprisoned or executed largely because of Hitler's insane need for vengeance. |
Most of the booths had pheromone attractors, and some of those were bypassing her filters, too. She was glad she had disabled her sex drive before coming. There were bombardment streams at some of the more pushy booths that tried to break into her main interest centers, but she had neural assistants to take care of those.
'This is what you want.' The thought popped in, and she felt a great desire to stop at the booth that had supplied it. A second later, that thought was joined by, 'This is what you will buy.' A second after that, her assistants cleared all trace of that stream from her head. She raised an eyebrow at the expectant storekeep, smirked, then strode away. Several uglier thoughts followed after, which she didn't have to bother killing.
The booth she was heading towards had no need of the flashy ads the others employed. Its owner was an artist known by everyone who needed his talents. He did not wish to attract new customers by artificial means.
Sonja pushed through the beads surrounding his booth and sat on the cushion that faced a man-sized rectangular block. As she sat, the temperature and lighting in the area bounded by the beads instantly changed to what she enjoyed most. Light music began playing, a small piece from the last century that was one of her favorites. He hadn't read her mind to discern it - the booth worked on a thousand subtle clues she dropped as soon as she broke through the beads. Drac never read people's minds unless they asked him to. But the fact that he didn't need to made people respect him all the more.
It also showed that he respected the privacy of others. Whatever happened in Drac's booth was left in Drac's booth. Another great factor in his reputation.
The block began glowing, then slowly warped itself into the shape of a tall man, long and lean, with skin the color of mahogany. The attraction Sonja felt for him had nothing to do with pheromones. 'Hi, Sonja. What can I do for you?'
'I've got something pretty hot to trade, Drac.' She pulled a thin vial out of her shirt pocket. It was filled with a couple of milliliters of yellowish fluid. 'This is Oregon's finest. Militia security culture. Know of anyone with a need to bypass Militia security systems?'
Drac smiled, revealing his fangs. 'I can think of a person or two. Is it reproductive?'
She sighed and shook her head. 'Unfortunately, this is it. But, this is enough to treat about a thousand kilos of total mass.'
'Until they change cultures.'
She nodded, a little disappointed that he caught on that fast. 'Right, but they don't do that more than once a month. And they just made the change three days ago, so this culture's going to be good for at least three and a half more weeks.' 'Have you got the antidote culture to it?'
'No, you'll have to find some way to clear it out. But, someone of your skills should be able to do that with no problem,' she smiled, 'right, Drac?'
'Of course, dear. I just needed to know whether I had to knock that off of whatever you want to trade that for.' He leaned over to her. 'What do you want to trade it for, Sonja?'
'I need a new body.'
He looked her up and down. 'I've always liked the one you currently have. It would be a real shame to get rid of it.'
'I don't have much choice.'
He frowned. 'No, they never do. Why do you need a body from me? That's a very common function; practically anybody can supply you with culture that'll do that.'
'Because I need your skill in creating it.'
He snickered. 'Why all the flattery, Sonja? Are you in that much trouble?'
'Yes.'
He raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be wavering in his decision not to read minds. 'Am I going to need that Militia culture myself after this?'
She didn't meet his gaze. 'It's possible.'
'Well, you've been very bad, indeed, little Sonja.' He gestured below him, and a hole opened up. 'Let's continue our discussion someplace a little more secure.'
Her cushion rose into the air, and she held herself as steady as she could on it. It floated to the hole and dropped through, followed by Drac. As the shopkeep passed the hole, it closed, and they floated in darkness for a moment. Then, Sonja felt her cushion land, and a light came on around them.
They were in a cavernous office, filled with tasteful furniture that was at least two and probably three centuries old. Drac strode over to the desk that filled up half of one wall and seated himself in the throne-like chair behind it. He gestured, and the cushion placed itself and Sonja on an impossibly comfortable chair opposite him.
'You have such wonderful taste, Drac. How much does all of this cost?'
He looked around and ran a few numbers in his head. 'More than you will see in your life.'
'I don't know about that.'
He settled himself down to business. 'Why do you need a body from me, Sonja? And what sort of modifications is that body going to have?'
She pursed her lips. She had been working out the particulars for several hours, but had yet to hit on any that worked for her. 'Well, I'm going to need a reader screen and at least temporary camouflage cultures.' She held up her palm and an image of a woman popped up out of it. The face was angular, with blue eyes and high cheekbones. The hair was short and black. The body was a stylish hourglass, with high definition on the muscles of the legs and arms. 'This is what I'll need to look like. She's 1.847 meters tall and weighs 61.013 kilos.' An image of fingerprints popped up, followed by a retinal pattern. 'This is her ID, and I've got a DNA sample for you to culture that you'll have to match.'
'You know, I've always liked you as a blond. I don't know if you'd exhibit the same charm as a brunette.' He looked her in the eye. 'Who is she?'
'Do you really need to know?'
'I do if it's going to mean trouble for me. I don't like to move my shop; my clientelle know where I am, and the furniture gets scratched in transit.' She felt a small pressure at her temples, a warning that he was holding a mental probe ready to use on her. 'Tell me.'
At least he warned her. Most of the other craftsmen she had considered for this job would have probed her the second she walked into their booths. 'She's Ben Harrison's daughter, Melissa. Mr. Harrison is the president of Tyr Weapons Systems in Redmond.'
On this day in 1941, the Luftwaffe bombed the Ukrainian provincial capital of Kiev into rubble. | |
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On this day in 1947, country singer Hank Williams held a concert in Nashville to raise funds for a memorial to the victims of the Roswell asteroid strike and former British prime minister Winston Churchill departed London for a visit to the United States to see the Roswell crater for himself. | |
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July 27
In 1945, in his first day in Downing Street, Clement Attlee confirmed that Winston Churchill would remain in his post of Minister of Defence, a position that he had concurrently held as War-time Prime Minister.
Attlee and Churchill win the Khaki Election of 1945
by Ed & Scott PalterDuring that time he had also been Leader of the Tories, but ironically, having crossed the aisle to switch parties twice before, this time "Winnie" had been unceremoniously dumped by own party. Having muscled into Downing Street only because Lord Halifax's peerage barred him from occupying the Prime Minister's office, Churchill still did not become Leader for six months until ill health forced Neville Chamberlain's retirement in October 1940.
Fortunately for Churchill's career, if the Tories hated him for supplanting Chamberlain, then the British electorate hated the Tories even more. Twenty Members of Parliament left the Conservative Party as well; these Churchill loyalists ran as National Commonwealth Party Candidates in districts where the Labour Party agreed not to field a candidate, much like the post World War agreement between the Liberal David Lloyd George and the majority Conservative Party. Crucially, they agreed to embrace the Beveridge Report and the result was a landslide victory for a new-style Government of National Unity. The Leader of the Opposition Anthony Eden had his work cut out to recover Tory fortunes before Churchill could destroy the Coalition from the inside.
In 1794, at the height of the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution held its climax as forces loyal to the ideals of Maximelien Robespierre overwhelmed the Convention army arranged by men such as Billaud, Barras, Barère. They had been rallied by the overnight and secret publication of Robespierre's speech defending himself from charges of tyranny. Instead, he attempted to warn France of a conspiracy to seize power in the Republic, which caused his enemies to leap to action and call for Robespierre's execution.
Robespierre's Defense PublishedIt was a harried time in the chaos that seemed to dominate Paris since the storming of the Bastille in 1789. Through the next five years, the National Assembly would attempt to create constitutions, women would march on Paris, property of the Church was publicly seized, the king fled, was captured, and eventually executed, and nearly every king in Europe declared war on the new Republic. Meanwhile, even the forces of revolution began to splinter, forming political clubs such as the Feuillants and the Girondins. Many of them encouraged the wars, hoping for war to be declared against Austria, but lawyer and political leader Robespierre said in 1792, " such a war could only favour the forces of counter-revolution, since it would play into the hands of those who opposed the sovereignty of the people. The risks of Caesarism were clear, for in wartime the powers of the generals would grow at the expense of ordinary soldiers, and the power of the king and court at the expense of the Assembly".
The war began anyway after the death of Leopold II of Austria, but France took major victories in Belgium and the Rhineland, seeming to cement the position of the Republic on the continent. Then the fledgeling government turned inward to its problems of food shortages, insurrections, and outright treason. The Tribunal was established in 1793, leading to a Committee of Public Safety, and Robespierre was one of the nine elected. Here began a "Reign of Terror" during which Robespierre wrote, "...the spring of that government during a revolution is virtue combined with terror: virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible". The report of enemies of the state became a major part of clearing up the factionalism and counter-revolutionaries of the time, and it grew further with the Law of 22 Prairial on June 10, 1794. By it, the Tribunal could condemn an enemy of the state through direct order and without witnesses. Through the next eight weeks, nearly 1300 people would be guillotined.
A new story by Jeff ProvineRobespierre's system of purification nearly ricochetted back at him when he was called before the Convention, accused of treason. That July, Robespierre had recalled several envoys who had been accused of extravagance with their positions to Paris to account for their actions. One of them, Joseph Fouché, evaded arrest and sneaked from house to house of Convention members, explaining that Robespierre would come for them too. With the groundwork set for a coup d'état, the Convention called in Robespierre, who delivered a two-hour speech and giving already his knowledge of the conspiracy. The guilty members (though unnamed) hurried to act. The next day, during a speech by Robespierre's ally Saint-Just (whom Robespierre had been before sent to the front to garner support from the army), he was shouted down. Robespierre also attempted to speak, but the chaos and outright mockery closed him off. At the conclusion, the Convention ordered the arrest of Robespierre and many of his allies.
Commune soldiers under General Coffinhal marched in to defend Robespierre, aiming for the Convention itself, who ordered up soldiers of their own. The soldiers of the Commune began to falter, and it was then that copies of Robespierre's speech was delivered to them, printed in secret after the debate in the Convention had attempted to censor them. Instead, the soldiers realized that they must continue to fight for the good of the revolution against conspiracy and were joined by many free Parisians from the mob. The Battle of Paris raged for only a few hours initially, but when the conspirator's army broke in the early morning, the rioting spread to follow them. Barras, who led the Convention soldiers, was killed in the fighting, Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne was captured and executed, and Bertrand Barère (who had already come under suspicion of treason) managed to escape, eventually ending up in England before disappearing into the Caribbean as an adventurer.
After the Battle of Paris, Robespierre succeeded in his plans of settling the counter-revolutionary movements. By winter, the Law of 22 Prairial came to an end and the Terror expired. Instead, Robespierre continued his place maintaining the Committee of Public Safety and keeping the political elements of pure to his ideal of republic. Meanwhile, the wars with Europe (and even the Quasi-War with the United States until the matter of privateering was settled) continued until the Treaty of Lunéville with Austria in 1801 and the Treaty of Amiens with Britain in 1802. The war was finished by General Moreau as the great Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte was dispatched to the West Indies as a "punishment" for his lateness in returning from Egypt in 1799 due to poor communication, but also to get a potential tyrant away from the young republic as well as to organize the former slaves who had been freed under the Rights of Man. Robespierre himself would retire from political office in 1815, but he would continue to lead the Jacobin political party and encourage the spread of Republicanism to other countries. After the success of the Society of United Irishmen liberating the Republic of Ireland and later the Republic of Australia, Robespierre was instrumental creating a Republican Bloc of nations such as Batavia and Saint Domingue that spurred conservatism in the royal houses of Europe. In 1821, Robespierre left to observe and later join General Simón Bolívar in his carving out of republics from the old Spanish Empire in the Americas, which rejected Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being. Elsewhere, primarily in Europe and then in French republican dependencies, the deist Le culte de l'Être suprême remains the state religion with its festival on June 8 as the largest holiday of the year. Robespierre himself led the festivities in Paris until his death in 1836.
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© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.




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