TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
I just remembered watching this film last year and wondered what you guys thought of it, as from what I remember it was bone chilling.
Conspiracy
2001 ‧ War/Drama ‧ 1h 36m
7.6/10 - IMDB
100% - Rotten tomatoes
Cast:
Kenneth Branagh - Reinhardt Heydrich
Stanley tuchi - Adolf Eichman
Colin firth - Dr Willhelm Stuckart
David threlfall - Friedrich Willhelm Kritzinger
Ian mcniece - Dr Gerhard Klopfer
Ben Daniels - Dr Josef Büller
Barnaby kay - Dr Rudolf Lange
Kevin Mcnally - Martin Luther
Brenda coyle - Müller
Etc.
You know, this is not a game I played, or even heard of for a long while. I only knew of it thanks to watching an episode of the AVGN and afterwards seeing some interesting playthroughs that I was able to find, along with researching the information about the game, how it was surprisingly popular in the U.S., and above all, how the adapted story turned out to be much more fun and popular than the original Japanese tale.
A videogame example of the Samurai Pizza Cats, who would have thought?
Anyways, after seeing the game, I think this could be a good and fun new addition to our library. Not to mention that from what I've been able to find out, many more games can be done later on, and the remake actually managed to take both stories and made them work well together. Perhaps we can do something interesting with it as well on our own if we ever decide to.
Thus, I give you:
Videogame Pitch: Blaster Master
Set Up: The game follows Jason, a regular student as he goes after Fred, his pet frog, and falls deep into an unseen hole, where he discovers a full-on mutant invasion army ready to take over Earth. Finding a tank, known as the SOPHIA III Model, Jason embarks on an adventure to save the world...and to find his missing pet.
Game Developer: LucasArts Entertainment Platform: Sega Genesis Director: David Mullich Genre: Platform, Run and Gun, Metroidvania
The game starts with a person named Jason who has a pet frog named Fred who, one day, decides to leap out of his fish bowl, out the door, and down a hole in the back yard. Fred then touches a radioactive chest, and he grows to an enormous size; Fred and the chest then fall deeper into the hole in the earth. Jason chases Fred down the hole, which leads to a large cavern. While most sources say that Jason chased Fred down the hole, the game's instruction manual says that Jason fell into the hole while trying to reach for Fred. There, he finds an armored tank named SOPHIA THE 3RD – a vehicle designed to battle radioactive mutants that live inside the Earth. Jason mounts SOPHIA to find the whereabouts of Fred and to destroy the mutants and their leader – the Plutonium Boss.
Jason: The main character, a regular guy who was trying to find his pet frog, Fred, and in the process ends up being dragged in a battle against the Alien and mutants invading Earth, using the hidden tank (SOPHIA III) in order to face them and their leader; The dreaded "Plutonium Boss".
"The Forest Destroyer" Mother Brain: A large mutant that inhabits the Forest Area. It absorbs nutrients from the ground and creates small mutant spawn that it uses to attack. It appears as if it's made of brain tissue, although on the inside it functions similarly to many different types of plant life.
"The Toxic Vermin" Crabullus: A large mutant that inhabits the Residential Area. It uses its highly corrosive acid to destroy everything in its path and produces many larvae. In addition to its acid attacks, it also has an extremely tough exoskeleton and flexible appendages that can give Jason a lot of trouble.
Photophage: A Mechanical Mutant that shoot a spread of projectiles, or fire a projectile aimed directly at Jason. Only one will be active at a time. It's usually vulnerable when not moving, but also invulnerable while in movement.
Fred: He was Jason's pet frog. At first an ordinary frog, Fred grew to enormous proportions upon coming into contact with radioactive chest and then led Jason on a chase throughout the underworld. He is only vulnerable when his mouth is open (and he has many attacks available), mostly if the grenades are used.
"The Abyssal Predator" Hard Shell: This huge mutant lurks within the deepest depths of the Man-made Sea Area. With its fast, unpredictable movement, it snatches up its prey while they are flatfooted by ensnaring them with bubbles that it fires from its mouth. When it goes to devour its prey, it moves at such high speed that it seemingly appears from out of nowhere.
Frozen Crabullus: A much more dangerous version of the original Crabullus. It has longer arms that throw projectiles of their own along with the projectiles it steadily spits at Jason.
Enhanced Fred: A more powerful version of Jason's pet. It is faster than the frog from Area 4, and is capable of giving Jason a fierce, fiery tongue-lashing.
Plutonium Boss: The mastermind behind the invasion, though he appears only in front of a well, he is still powerful and very difficult to beat. Doing so has the True Leader of the Mutants make its appearance.
Underworld Lord: The lord of all mutants awaits you in the deepest part of the Mutant's Inner-Body Area. It possesses high level intelligence not found in any other mutants, and its strength and combat abilities are second to none amongst mutants.
Stage I: An underground forest which was created by mankind during the ice age, and abandoned when humanity returned to the surface. The preservation system is still functioning to this day, and while it may look like a secluded paradise at a glance, this mutant-inhabited world is ruled by one principle: survival of the fittest.
Stage II: This area is what remains of a dome city that was once the home of the humans who migrated en masse underground during the ice age. The invading mutants spit an extremely corrosive acid to attack their targets, and thus damaged many of the structures in the city. Despite the fact that non-mutant lifeforms haven't lived there in ages, SOPHIA III is picking up a strange signal coming from deep within the city.
Stage III: This area is a large factory that was created to produce the machinery and resources required to live underground. From massive shutters and conveyor belts, to mutants that have taken over the factory machinery like a parasite, many obstacles stand in the way.
Stage IV: The waterworks facility takes drainage from the Residential Area, purifies it in the Forest Area, circulates it into the Man-Made Sea Area. This intricate maze-like structure has proved to be a convenient hunting ground for the mutants who reside there.
Stage V: This area was originally a marine facility built to protect and study various types of marine life. Due to SOPHIA III's limited mobility in the water, Jason enters the sea on his own in search of a way to power up SOPHIA's underwater functionality.
Stage VI: This area houses a facility where many destructive weapons that humans created a long time ago are kept. By constantly keeping this facility at an extremely low temperature, it seals these weapons in an icy tomb in order to prevent them from ever falling into the wrong hands. However, even an icy prison like this wasn't enough to keep out the mutant invasion. SOPHIA III's receiver is picking up Fred's signal from this area, but...
Stage VII: This area represents the furthest depths of the earth where humans have ever stepped foot. This cave was originally used for mining operations when humans lived underground, and now with the mutants constantly damaging the structural integrity of the cave, it sits on the verge of collapse.
Stage VIII: The area where the mutants set up their stronghold is inside the body of a gargantuan mutant. SOPHIA III must blast through the toughest mutant spawn yet to make it to the lord of the all mutants.
Blaster Master has two modes of gameplay that depend on the situation and location of the player: the first mode is where the player controls Jason; either on foot or piloting a tank named SOPHIA in a two–dimensional platform mode; the second mode is where the player controls Jason on foot in a top-down perspective. Gameplay in the top-down perspective consists of a series of labyrinths in which players navigate and defeat enemies along the way. Gameplay is non-linear, and players must return to earlier levels in order to advance to later levels in the game. The objective is to complete all eight levels and destroy the mutants and their bosses with various weaponry such as guns, grenades, and special weapons.
While Jason is inside SOPHIA in the 2D platforming mode, the player can attack the mutants with the main cannon (which can shoot up, left, and right determined by the orientation of the tank) or with one of three special weapons. Special weapons have limited ammunition which must be collected from exploring the game. They include the following: homing missiles that, when fired, shoot 1 missile at each enemy on screen up to 4; "Thunder Break", which fires a high-damage lightning bolt downward; and "Multi Warhead Missiles", which simultaneously fires a set of three missiles at enemies in front of and diagonally up and down. Players select their special weapon and monitor the amounts of each special weapon left by accessing the Menu Screen by pressing the Start button.
The player switches between the 2D platforming mode and the top-down perspective by leaving the tank and entering small doorways located throughout the game. While in the top-down perspective, players can move Jason in any direction and destroy mutants with a gun or with hand grenades. In this mode, players upgrade the gun by collecting gun capsules, but the gun degrades by one point if Jason receives damage from mutants or hazardous objects. Here players obtain additional vehicle functions by destroying bosses; these functions include weapon upgrades as well as abilities to swim freely underwater, drive on walls and ceilings, and hover above the ground. The game has a glitch – colloquially known as the "grenade glitch" – to easily defeat four of the game's underbosses. To exploit this glitch, the player throws a grenade at the boss, and while the grenade is exploding and causing damage on the boss, the player pauses the game. While the remainder of the action on the screen freezes, the grenade remains active, continuing to damage the boss. After fifteen seconds the player unpauses the game to find that the boss is destroyed.
Jason and SOPHIA have separate power meters, and they decrease whenever they sustain damage by an enemy or any other hazardous object or whenever Jason falls from a high place. Players can replenish these power meters by collecting power capsules that appear throughout the game. Also, the player can replenish Jason's health to full at any time by re-entering SOPHIA. The player loses a life if either power meter runs out, and the game ends when all lives are lost. Players get four continues that allow them to restart the game at the same level in which they have lost all their lives. A "hover gauge" monitors the amount of thrust remaining in SOPHIA and is located on the left side of the screen above the power meter; additional thrust can be obtained by collecting hover capsules.
A.N.: I put in an American director for this since I feel that this could work better as an American title. Not to mention that I feel that Mullich should be able to expand from his preferred genre and try different ones, if only so that we can later on use him for more projects that might need a director we don't have at the moment.
"On July 31st, 1980 Leonid Brezhnev would die of a heart attack in his office at some time between 11 am - 12 pm. Similarly to the death of Stalin, none were aware of Brezhnev's death for hours due to the late leader's increasingly erratic and isolationist moods with the first confirmation being a check by his guards for his supper.
Since the end of the Romanian War, Brezhnev's health had declined severely and his last public appearance had been at the start of the year. Those who were present in Brezhnev's final days often remarked the Soviet leader having aged incredibly to have looked beyond a hundred and many began referring to him as a walking corpse with Brezhnev losing mental and motor capacity due to a multitude of successive strokes. His already poor state of health and horrible habits of drinking, heavy medication and over indulgence had been accelerated by the Romanian victory. Unknown to the West, the Soviet Union had been running without Brezhnev's regular leadership since the start of the year. One of the Doctors responsible for Brezhnev's autopsy remarked that the fact he had lived to his point of expiration with his body was a medical miracle."
-Leonid Brezhnev, Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia "Good evening, and I'm Walter Cronkite. Breaking news today as over an hour ago, the Kremlin announced that Mikhail Suslov would succeed the late Leonid Brezhnev as General Secretary of the Communist Party, thus by extension, shall be the new leader of the Soviet Union. Suslov having been Brezhnev's second in command and heir apparent was widely expected to be the new General Secretary. Soviet experts have described Suslov as the Ideologue of the party and a leading icon of Orthodox Communism. Suslov will no doubt be faced with the great challenges of guiding the Soviet Union in a post-Romania world, a task that Brezhnev could not grapple with to his dying breath."
- CBS Evening News Report August 5th, 1981 "As Suslov ascended, the Purges which had begun by Brezhnev as one of the final acts of the Romanian War, had only intensified and would remain a constant until his passing."
An elderly Russian woman named Nadia Andreeva is interviewed, she was a personal secretary for the Moscow Mayor.
"Everyone who lived in the cities at the time were beyond terrified. For those born during or after the Patriotic War, it was the worst nightmares of the Stalin era come true once more. Ironically, Suslov selected because of the belief that he was a safe pick to help rebuild, but while he didn't want to recreate Stalinism and tried to present a velvet glove with the Satellites, he held a strong zeal for 'pure' Communism and wanted to cleanse the party of those who made Romania possible."
-Red Tsars, Soviet Leadership Documentary "Operation Ratcatcher was a FBI and CIA joint operation launched from August of 1980 to December of 1982. The goal of Ratcatcher was to completely dismantle the operations of Chinese Triads and discover any links to the Chinese Communist Party after the attempted assassination of Bruce O'Brian. Ratcatcher was a complete and total operational success with all forms of Chinese organized crime being dismantled by its conclusion and the influence and presence of Triads being nonexistent in North America as of 2024. The total success lied in the overwhelming public disgust and revulsion towards the Triads after the attempt on Bruce O'Brian with the Triads being abandoned wholesale by a frigthened Chinese community, largescale defections, and contemporary largescale violence by competing criminal organizations and by vigilante Asian Americans. To date, Ratcatcher is the most successful anti-organized crime operation in American history."
-Operation Ratcatcher, Encyclopedia Brittanica.com. "Upon leaving office, Carter was a polarizing figure and often ranked by historians and the general public as one of the worst Presidents with many Democrats feeling frustrated with his tenure. As time passed, Carter's presidency was reevaluated thanks to the long-standing effects of his legislation and foreign policy along with the distance from contemporary bias. Carter is generally ranked from middle tier to the upper third of Presidents and is widely hailed as one of the best foreign policy Presidents in American history for his role in Romania and championing of Human Rights. Carter has also consistently lead likability of living presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries due to his humanitarianism. General assessments of Carter have described him as the "Right man, at the right place, at the wrong time", largely suffering from late-term crisis and economic instability beyond his control.
......
Within Romania, a cult of personality has developed around Jimmy Carter for his leadership and steadfast aid to the nation during the Soviet-Romanian War. Thousands of public venues are named in his honor, there are widespread public and private displays to the President, and Iacob, the Romanian translation for James is one of the most popular male names in Romania. Peanuts and peanut-related products would rise dramatically in usage and popularity in Romanian cuisine. Upon his 100th birthday, celebrations were held in Bucharest."
-Jimmy Carter, Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia Ronald Reagan Popularity: 48% Approve 35% Disapprove 17% Unsure
-Gallup Poll, April 6th, 1981 While Carter's breaking of relations had been a radical shift in US foreign policy, it had been taken at the time as a temporary retaliation to push China to de-escalation as well as to provide a basis for the United States to shift Asian doctrines and start fresh with new diplomatic maneuvers. The Carter State Department believed the O'Brian Assassination was merely a temporary and extreme action of Chinese leadership and that after enough pressure was applied, rational leadership would take hold of the CCP to resume engagement. It is also often overlooked just how widely popular such a measure was received in a drastic 180 from Nixon's detente with polls often showing favorability in 80-90% thanks to resurgent red hysteria and the vitriol to the attempted O'Brian assassination.
Reagan's election turned a temporary measure into a potential permanent one as Reagan had been an outspoken critic of Taiwanese abandonment and his anti-Communist rhetoric was backed by a hawkish GOP who were adamant on shredding Nixon's legacy of detente. While many Western nations were detatching themselves from investment and nominal relations with China, most Republicans were fervent in turning back the clock and recognizing the Republic of China as the one true China, a monumental escalation which would erase any remains of normalization between the US and PRC as well as severely complicating the PRC's place in global affairs such as the United Nations.
From many insider accounts of the Reagan administration, the possibility of a full reversal with a recognition of the ROC was very close at times, further egged by popular support. In the end, Secretary of State Schulz and Vice President Bush were able to influence Reagan to not go completely, if for nothing else than to prevent a re-establishment of the traditional Sino-Soviet alliance and for the complex diplomatic realities at play. Instead, what was pushed as an ultimate retaliation and deterrence against Chinese aggression towards the West, was a permanent detachment of Chinese territories that were outside of PRC governance, most notably Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Taiwan Relations Act would see an amendment in the summer of 1981 which made the United States obligated to come to aid of Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands if they were under attack by hostile powers in a state of war against the people of Taiwan. In practice, this resurrected the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with Reagan then reactivating the United States Taiwan Defense Command. Arms sales were also accelerated to modernize the Taiwanese military against invasion. Through this, the Reagan administration had escalated American relations with Taiwan to everything short of De Jure recognition, with Reagan threatening a return to full recognition as the punishment for further attacks against the United States and its citizens.
What followed would be the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis from 1981-1982 which cemented the end of the decade long detente and the restoration of American foreign policy in Asia as being that of Chinese containment.
-From "Eagle and Dragon: The Sino-American rivalry in the Cold War" "In a stunning and historical development today, the Goldwater Amendment has passed the House today, meeting the 2/3rd's requirement for an amendment thanks to a strong vote of 312-114. With its ratification by the House last week, the Goldwater Amendment will now be voted upon by the states where it has until seven years from today in 1988 to pass by 3/4ths majority of the states to become the 27th Amendment. More than half of the states have pledged to bring up the Goldwater Amendment as a point of debate within the coming days.
To explain to viewers at home unaware of what it entails, the Goldwater Amendment would redefine the treaty making process between the President and the Senate. Article Two, Section Two of the Constitution defines the treaty making process and the powers of the President in relation to creating treaties, though it is vague in what authority the president has to unilaterally terminate treaties. This came into convention in Goldwater v Carter where Senator Barry Goldwater sued then-president Jimmy Carter for his termination of relations with Taiwan and the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. The case was dismissed by the Supreme Court for being a political question, not a constitutional one.
With President Carter's termination of relations with the PRC only a year after, Senator Goldwater and other Senators within the Republican and Democratic parties came together to create an amendment to better define the treaty termination process and prevent abuse by the oval office or a unilateral disruption of American foreign policy. The Amendment enshrines the President's right to terminate a treaty, but authorizes the Senate to freeze the termination within 30 days by majority vote. The Senate shall then enter debate over the treaty termination with debate and the freeze ending by either a 60 vote majority to end debate and uphold the termination, or a 66 vote majority to overturn the President's termination, thereby keeping said treaty in place. The Amendment was constructed in such a manner to give consideration to the president's independence as well as to prevent partisan abuse by either party.
With strong bi-partisan support, the Amendment is widely expected to pass by the end of Reagan's term at the latest, although such developments have also seen a renewed call to ratify the ERA as well as to pass a balanced budget amendment."
-CNN Broadcast, April 14th 1981 "I write this passage with a shitty hangover from a bar trip yesterday to recover from the results of the union strike. Last night, PATCO held a national vote where the members just barely agreed to the terms offered by the Feds. Overall we only got a minor pay increase of like $500 per year, but we got better benefits and next year will work under a 4 day 10 hour week instead of the current 5 day 8 hour, a situation which has caused some people to swear they will quit.
For months its been a bitchy back and forth between us and the Feds, and overall everyone was confused and didn't know what the hell we were gonna do. Overall we had shit leadership, but I think that everyone was just scared. We endorsed Reagan for the election and he promised to give us a fair deal, but he's acting like the second coming of Coolidge so it's like we were no better than last year.
I think what's had everyone freaking out is if Reagan's gonna pull a Hollywood. Those millionaires just fucked up everything for the working man by being idiots, because them failing and the studios rolling back everything just made the corpos more powerful and beat the unions with sticks, scaring lots of people away. Reagan didn't do anything then, but the strike failed because of Bruce O'Brian, who is his friend.
Though oddly enough, the O'Reilly Foundation came in a few months ago as mediators, helped to keep the Feds calm and from word being spread, beat some sense into the bosses. It was thanks to them that the 4-10 compromise was made, and everyone wanted 4 days but not even the O'Reillys were sympathetic to 32 hour weeks. The News fuckers made us seem like arrogant and greedy assholes and that really tainted the chances. I can't even share I work for PATCO without people looking at me like I'm a leach.
I don't know what the hell to think of Bruce O'Brian. He says he fights for the common man, joins the party of business, does a shit load of charity, starts shit with other countries, treats his workers like kings, breaks strikes and builds empires. As I write this, the kids are watching LucasTV cartoons in the living room. They love Bruce and look up to him and his wife, and it's hard not to like the guy, but the good and the bad of this dispute came back to him, and everyone forgets the bad.
Hopefully the extra hours are worth it. Sleeping in and being home an extra day is nice, though I wonder if we could have won a strike. Surely we would have done it, right?
-Diary of PATCO Employee Franklin Burr, August 1, 1981 "When the Reagan administration started, my priority as ambassador given to me by the White House was no longer focus on Cold War containment and support, though it was still an everpresent agenda. Instead, what we were dealing with in Tokyo was to try and forward Washington's greivances with Japan over the increasingly imbalanced trade. During the Great Recession, the Japanese Invasion as its been referred to, saw Japan truly enter the mainstream not just through culture with the anime and samurai movies, but for the first time you got Japanese companies mass exporting consumer goods often of better quality and for lower prices. This along with competition in the entertainment industry meant many Americans cannot compete, and many lost jobs. This enraged both parties, the Democrats who were often pressured by unions to defend native industry where at the time we started to see signs of Rust in the Midwest, and Republicans from a more patriotic point of view who couldn't fathom Americans using non-American goods.
Despite a new Republican Senate and a close House, both parties were at first united on keeping Japan in-line and for some, 'punishing' them for unfair trade practices. However, not only do you have a completely reshifted Cold War to account for, but you have the electorate who all of a sudden thanks to the Invasion, develop an intense love and idolization of Japan. More and more Americans are visiting Japan, consuming Japanese culture, reading of Japan, partaking in Japanese food and products. While Japan had always been an ally post-war, for the youth as I'm sure many of you may feel today, Japan is the best ally to America and one we should form a close friendship with. Therefore, when Congress began discussing plans on how to fix trade, you have an uninformed electorate who doesn't understand the complexities of the trade relationship or actually prefers Japanese goods become enraged and see Washington as bigoted or acting on behalf of a corporate or union lobbyists depending upon viewpoints, thus Congress had to temper its rhetoric and find a middle ground, lest the politicians face significant blowback from one of the two camps.
This should have been a major win for Japan, though at the same time they were facing similar issues to us. More American goods were seeing import, you had American media become more accessible and popular, Hollywood and comics for them like anime and manga for us. You have the meteoric rise of the New Japan Party, who are very pro-American and view American social mores and labor practices as the answer to workplace issues. Even more complicated was that you have major corporations purchase subsidiaries or establish facilities within both nations, therefore an increasingly expansive sphere of the consumer experience is through businesses run by their countrymen, but owned by companies or wealthy individuals across the Pacific.
So you have a complex mirror. Both nations see their trade relationship as among their greatest issues, both are each other's largest trading partners, you have older generations who see the cultural spread as a threat while the youth idolize the other. Direct competitors, strong friends, rivals. Within this atmosphere, I have to find balance, to do what's best for my nation and right for my hosts."
-Former Ambassador Mike Mansfield lecture, Texas A&M 1994 "What the Soviets fundamentally misunderstand of the difference between NATO and the Warsaw Pact is that NATO is a true alliance of equals, a brotherhood of nations where every members input is valued, where their freedoms and sovereignty are held sacrosent, and where we stand united to ensure the devastation of war never breaches our borders. With the Warsaw Pact, it is little more than a feudal empire, designed to suck dry the potential of its citizens and cut into the lands of its members to feed the Moscow regime. They preach of a house of familial love when instead it is a den of drunken abuse." Proclaimed former President Jimmy Carter before a crowd of near a million in Bucharest, his words generating fervent applause and roars of agreement.
Sitting behind a yard away, Ronald Reagan politely clapped for his former foe and did his best to hold back a wince as Carter was continuing to steal his thunder. The day was June 29th and Reagan along with most of the heads of state for NATO members were in Bucharest to oversee the final ascension of Romania into the treaty. For the past two years it had been a much anticipated event, the dream for Romania since the first shots of the Revolution and perhaps the more core condition that they sought for peace. However, it had been delayed until such point due to Thatcher's stubborn resistance, mainly over ties between the new Romanian government and the IRA over the latter's adventures in the war, Thatcher only agreeing to push it through thanks to Bucharest disavowing the IRA formally and Reagan's pressure.
It was a glorious day for the free world in the crusade against Communism, the first true instance of Rollback against the Communist core with an outright defection from East to West. If Reagan had his way, it would be the start of the final chapter of this Cold War and this day would be the launchpad for his campaign. Unfortunately, his thunder was stolen when Romania had firmly insisted that Carter be present for the ceremonies as the President who had aided them in their times of struggle. Reagan in the spirit of bipartisanship had agreed, though he was nearly regretting such acquiescence.
While the Romanians treated him, Nancy and the Bushes fondly, they LOVED Jimmy. It was like watching Elvis on tour at his prime, everywhere Carter went he was received with crowds of frenzied fans and admirers, mothers even nearly coming to blows for the opportunity to have Carter hold their baby. Reagan even swore he witnessed some Romanians give him the evil eye for being the incumbent President instead of the Georgian.
It was understandable in some respects, for all that Reagan had been a vocal supporter of Romania during the war and was one of the first politicians since the Revolution to advocate for intervention, Carter had been in the pilot's seat so to speak and it was his leadership that gave America its greatest victory in the Cold War. Had it not been for the twin blows of Iran and Stagflation, Reagan could easily admit that the electoral college could have been reversed for Carter.
At least if there was any consolation, this was more a swan song and for Carter's political career than a rebirth. He had confided in Reagan that the election had exhausted him and he intended for the remainder of his working days to be focused on humanitarianism and peace missions. It was a good blessing since if things didn't go right down the line, this could have been the start of a Grover Cleveland like comeback.
At the height of his unease, Ronald felt a comforting grip of the hand from his beloved Nancy, placing him at ease and letting the showmanship of his predecessor wash away. Sure this was a bit embarrassing to be overshadowed, but while Jimmy got to play the public hero, it was he who Europe's leaders turned to behind closed doors and who President Constantinescu sought a rapport with, it would be under him that America would achieve ultimate victory.
"Over twenty five years ago, Nikita Khruschev famously proclaimed that the Soviet Union would bury the United States and the Free World. After this monumental Revolution, it is clear that only the reverse is true. The march of time advances in the name of democracy, and by the new millenium Communism will join Fascism as a failed ideology in the ash bin of history."
Well hopefully the evening news wouldn't focus all the spotlight on Carter. "Coming into office, Reagan set a new tone for the presidency and its direction in regards to the Cold War. While previous presidents since Truman had been anti-Communist in action, Reagan had been the most openly hawkish and bellicose to the Second World, aiming for Rollback to be the new norm and for the Warsaw Pact and China to be either dissolved or heavily neutered by the end of his term. While Reagan's landslide would seem to support this mandate, there was heavy nuance that altered his approach during and after the transition.
While Jimmy Carter had lost by a landslide, his direction in the Cold War had been heavily popular, most especially with his oversight of Romania and handling of East Asia with South Korea and Vietnam. Carter's emphasis on the establishment and support of democratic and free allies in the third world while the United States distanced itself from authoritarian regimes, even nominally anti-Communist allies, had produced strong results that were arguably more effective than previous strategies, with supporters arguing that blanket support of anti-Communist authoritarianism only enabled the disasters of Vietnam and Iran. The nuance Carter had taken to Nicaragua, Yugoslavia and Vietnam had its supporters in the Republican Party as it allowed Washington to sideline "pragmatic Communists" to focus on Moscow and Beijing. Most importantly, while the Reagan security council had flirted with a reintroduction of direct interventions, most American voters were heavily cautious and anxious of overseas deployments due to memories of Vietnam.
While Reagan would move forward with a general Rollback strategy, many lingering influences from the Carter foreign policy can be seen in the direction taken to Latin America and Asia throughout the 1980s."
- Cold War Exhibit, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library ".....It must be stressed that a UNITA victory is our best and most realistic path to the downfall of Castro regime in Cuba. Currently, Fidel Castro has deployed more than 40,000 soldiers to Cuba, followed by an estimated 10,000-30,000 civilian specialists to aid the Angolan economy and infrastructure. Castro has been siphoning profits from the Angolan oil production to prop the faltering and broken Cuban economy and it is now his second highest source of revenue behind Soviet subsidies. If Angolan Oil payments were to end today, the Cuban economy could retract by as much as 1/3rd by 1990 without additional sources of state revenue. Additionally, the escalation of Cuban involvement in Angola will divert more state spending to the military and away from aging public services. We also predict that substantial Cuban casualties can produce a new source of overwhelming public resentment in a repeat of the Vietnam Effect.
.......
Moreover it must be stressed that though there is a possibility of the success of Constructive Engagement, the overwhelmingly negative attitude of the American public towards South Africa and the Democratic Party's unity to ending the National Party's rule means that our options are extremely limited and time sensitive. Barring a high reversal in public opinion within the West towards South Africa, we estimate Constructive Engagement to be next to possible to achieve success after 1985, and null upon the succession of a Democratic administration. With South Africa already tied to engagements in Southern Angola, this is likely our last opportunity to use South Africa as an effective vehicle for anti-Communist operations. Upon UNITA victory, we can then sever any remaining ties to Pretoria and switch to Angola as the main driving force of anti-Communist operations in sub-Saharan Africa with Savimbi indicating commitment to a long-term military alliance...."
Director William Joseph Casey
-CIA Report on Angola, March 12th, 1981
CLARK AMENDMENT REPEALED 351-82
"Last evening, the House of Representatives voted with a large bi-partisan majority to repeal the Clark Amendment, an amendment that barred US military aid to private groups engaging in military operations in Angola. The Amendment which was passed in 1976 lasted for less than five years as the Senate had chosen to repeal the Amendment on Wednesday. This follows months of rhetoric by the Reagan administration which has championed the cause of UNITA since taking office, the Angolan anti-Communist resistance group lead by Jonas Savimbi. President Reagan has referred to Angola as the "Next Romania" and a "Burning light of hope for Democracy across the world". With this it is expected that the Defense Department shall funnel aid to the Angolan rebels in the coming months."
-New York Times Article June 19th, 1981 Count William: Hey guys, so in a recent round of DoD declassifications, it was revealed that the United States had developed plans to invade Nicaragua during the Reagan administration, called Operation Pontoon which would overthrow the Sandinistas and create an allied client state lead by the opposition in a mirror of Grenada. Obviously this never came close to happening with the CDN winning a narrow plurality in the '84 elections. What would have happened to lead to this? The Soviets invading Afghanistan as they planned, Romania faililng?
Bob O'Malley: Firstly in regards to Pontoon, I wouldn't treat it as a hard indication that America was inches away from invading. While it seems like the Marine Corps and Navy did seriously wargame it, ultimately it's another contingency operation that's slightly more realistic than War Plan Red but nothing concrete.
Ultimately I think that while it is possible that Reagan would intervene in Nicaragua, that you need several different changes to the timeline to get it to occur. For one, as you said the Soviets launching another war or winning Romania after all the bloodshed would have likely radicalized the US to get back into the Vietnam era mindset. However, the Soviet Retreat and China being humbled post-O'Brian kept the public calm enough to prefer CIA and Green Beret shenanigans over interventions. You have to remember that Grenada despite being so swift and successful had produced huge discourse and debate at the time and Nicaragua would have been another Vietnam, albeit far easier.
Politically, Reagan was hampered by Carter's success in neutralizing Nicaragua and pushing them to Yugoslav style neutrality, though it was easy when the Soviets were engaging in genocide in Romania at the time and did jack shit to help the Nicaraguan economy. So overall, Congress, most especially the Democratic-lead House, wanted to continue and support the status quo, especially since the Sandinistas were so adamant on holding free and monitored elections and open to discussions of outside investment. So it's hard to justify any hard action considering Nicaragua was so submissive and not much of a threat.
Overall, Reagan's pet project was Angola and there was no sense stirring things up so close to home when Carter's plan was working, just like how Reagan was eventually pushed to continue normalization with Vietnam.
CurbStan98: If you want the US to get more involved with Nicaragua then you need to tie Nicaragua more closely to an established Communist threat. Angola was presented as the next Romania because it was Castro's obsession and he tied so much of the Cuban economy to it, therefore Angola was the domino to topple Cuba. If Castro invested half the attention and care to Nicaragua that he did to Angola or the Soviet Retreat didn't happen and the Soviets were state building, then you'd see deeper American involvement, after all we were unfortunately so heavily invested in Guatemala and El Salvador, an intervention or Angola style insurgency wouldn't be out of the cards.
Though at the end of the day, it was tough to get involved when there was no organized opposition. There was some group called the Contras, but they were just a bunch of pissed off ex-Somoza troops who became bandits. I think the CIA tried to fund them but there was no organization and they had ties to the drug trade, so the CIA pushed to repeating Italy with the CDN.
-AHC: 1980s American Invasion of Nicaragua, www.alternatehistory.com .............. Death of Pol Pot and Vietnamese Withdrawal
On May 24th, 1982, Vietnamese special forces, in collaboration with United States Green Berets would launch a raid on the Khmer Rouge Base Office 131 with Pol Pot being killed in the assault. As news of Pol Pot's demise spread throughout Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge heavily fractured with most deserting while other cells became independent warlords or joined other anti-Vietnamese insurgencies.
The operation had been made possible through an agreement reached between Washington and Hanoi in February where the United States would help locate and terminate Pol Pot whereafter Vietnam would begin a withdrawal from Cambodia which would then become an independent and neutral state, thereafter the American embargo would cease and Vietnam would re-enter the global economy. Although many of the Vietnamese leadership balked at the loss of a potential client state, the absence of Soviet economic aid had sent the Vietnamese economy into a Great Depression and long-term occupation of Cambodia was no longer sustainable, all the while Chinese mobilization at the border remained indefinite.
With Pol Pot's demise, General Secretary Le Duan proclaimed that all of the objectives of intervention had been met and thus Vietnam would begin a phased withdrawal of its troops to return home by January 1, 1985. Throughout the fall, Negotiations would take place in Paris between Vietnam and the major Cambodian political parties, resulting in the 1982 Paris Peace Accords and the creation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia."
-Cambodian-Vietnamese War, Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia
"....Mikhail Suslov would die of Arteriosclerosis on January 25th, 1982 at 4:05 P.M. Suslov's demise would mark his tenure as General Secretary the shortest of the Soviet Union since Vladimir Lenin with Suslov unable to make any substantial changes due to the fallout of the Romanian War. Historians have often categorized Suslov's legacy as General Secretary mainly characterized by his refusal to send troops to Poland during the Solidarity Strike as well as Suslov overseeing the "Last Great Purge" of the Soviet Union that saw over a million Soviet citizens be tried for various crimes of corruption or treason and the death of an estimated 70,000-100,000. Such trials would end with his death with all who were in the midst of a trial being quietly pardoned.
Suslov would be succeeded four days later by Konstanin Cherneko. Cherneko's rise was a desperate gamble by the Old Guard of the Communist Party, being the only man who could represent orthodox Communism due to his "clean" record of service and lack of blemishes. Such appointment just narrowly managed to succeed over the candidate of the reformists Mikhail Gorbachev who had been abroad in Yugoslavia for normalization talks at the time of Suslov's death. Unfortunately for the hardliners, Cherneko would be a rather poor choice for succession as his chronic health issues marked him as essentially a repeat of Suslov."
-From History of the Cold War: 1948-19xx"
"In one last piece of good news for the White House heading into the Midterm elections, the Bureau of Labor statics report just released showing the the addition of over 465,000 jobs were added to the economy in the course of October, lowering the national unemployment rate below 10% for 9.9% for the first time since February. This marks a continued reduction for unemployment since its peak of 11.7% in July. Combined with inflation being reduced from 16.8% to 5.5% in October, one can interpret this as signs that Reaganomics is finally seeing its full steam and the end of Stagflation.
Democrats of course counter that such a return to normalcy has been delayed by Reagan's laissez-faire policies and recent gains have disproportionately favored wealthy Americans with marginal decreases of poverty. Though polls have seen a greater balance in recent weeks, Democrats still hold a general lead and are expected to make gains tomorrow night."
-CNN Broadcast, November 2nd, 1981
The 1980 Presidential Election would go down in history as perhaps the most important and redefining for the party since its inception and victory in 1860. Both the Conservative and Liberal wings of the GOP would see a death and rebirth thanks to victory and the incoming wave of thousands of newly elected politicians across the country. For Conservative Republicans, their transformation was most visible with the successful election of Ronald Reagan and the death of the old Main Street Consensus with its replacement by Reaganism, most especially with two key tenents of the Reagan Coalition, the Neoconservatives and Religious Right. However, Liberal Republicans would undergo an equally profound transformation with the demise of Rockefeller Republicans seeing a redefinement of the Liberal wing into an arguably more successful and mainstream collective of Progressive Conservatism with the California Club and Faithful Fellowship.
Responsibility for such development is attributed thanks to billionaire actor and businessman Bruce O'Brian, the keynote speaker for the 1980 Convention. While O'Brian would deliver a strong endorsement to Ronald Reagan, he would go "off-script" as the party establishment referred to and introduce his own ideological viewpoints of an ideal Republican-led America. O'Brian's keynote address has often been cited as one of the most influential non-presidential speeches in American politics, held in equal to if not greater weight to Reagan's 1964 "A Time for Choosing". Most profound in legacy was O'Brian's vision of Drug Rehabilitation which played a key influence on the narcotics agenda going into the 21st century. Equally important though often missed was O'Brian's accidental usage as a rallying figure for moderate and liberal Republicans who felt lost in Reagan's rise to power. With Bruce O'Brian there was a beloved public figure and all-American icon who tended to break from conservative Orthodoxy, yet his progressive causes such as immigration embrace and conservation tended to have great success and was driven by admirable qualities of faith and fidelity. O'Brian's compassion and personal piety made him a more admirable and desired personal figure in comparison to the likes of Thomas Dewey or Nelson Rockefeller, and his larger than life history and persona along with his personal success story made his story more attractive to American voters than the cause of the traditional Eastern Establishment.
In the aftermath of Bruce O'Brian's address, existing Progressive Conservatives such as Mike Curb, Mark Hatfield, Daniel J. Evans and Jay Hammond who were in attendance were able to unify in common admiration and support for the "O'Brian consensus" while the Convention served as a major opportunity for Republicans of Liberal leaning or mixed ideology to mix and congregate without fear of ostracization. This dialogue was initiated by Mike Curb who despite being a firm personal ally of Reagan had been ideologically independent and viewed Bruce O'Brian's presence as a grand opportunity to protect and purify the party from what he viewed as malignant elements, most strongly Pat Robertson and Henry Kissinger. The first active initiative of this new Progressive Conservative wing would be the attempted nomination of Jack Kemp, though this was less of an organized and planned action and more a reactionary move in response to O'Brian's endorsement and vote for Kemp. While the party platform and convention process had largely been dominated by Reagan and his allies, the 1980 RNC served as an important venue of networking for Progressive Conservatives that would lead to concrete formations in the aftermath of the 1980 Presidential Election.
..........
At the start of the Reagan administration, Progressive Conservatives after months of networking and dialogue had their first opportunity to take direct federal action. In the first 100 Days of the Reagan administration, slashing of the EPA and loosening of environmental regulations had been a popular talking point in pursuit of budget balance due to the lack of public awareness of climate change and the EPA's tainted legacy of association with Nixon. Such a position was noncontroversial to the general public, but it had caused alarm within congressional conservationists. A congressional delegation lead by William Roth met with Bruce O'Brian before his acceptance of the Medal of Freedom and famous PBS hearings. Bruce, O'Brian an established history of animal conservation gave vocal support to environmental causes and agreed to bring up such concerns personally with the President. In the aftermath, Reagan became publicly silent in opposition to the EPA, though his administration and congressional allies were still committed to environmental deregulation.
Determined to defend the last decade of progress, Roth convinced six Senators and 40 Representatives to form the "Square Deal Caucus" which was presented to the public on April 20th, 1981, coinciding with Earth Day. The founding mission of the SDC was to defend and advance conservation with the stated belief that "Conservation is Conservatism". The Caucus emphasized such by naming itself after the central policy of President Theodore Roosevelt who was famous for being a driving force of early American conservationism. Teddy Roosevelt had at the time also was experiencing a renewal in the public consciousness due to a wave of interest and historical support along with interest in early Alternate history. The SDC would see early growth in moderate Republicans and when combined with Democrats, were able to force a change in environmental policy. While many "common sense" deregulations were put into place, EPA cuts were drastically reduced and the Reagan administration instead repositioned environmental policy as an extension of New Federalism with a shifting of responsibility to the states.
Buoyed by such early success, the Square Dealers saw a gradual increase of membership and over time found a greater purpose than just being a mere environmental advocacy group. While the Republican party was united wholesale around Reagan's fiscal agenda, divisions were growing around foreign and social policy. For the former, previously ascendant Realpolitik and Neo Conservatives were under attack by a new generation of Cold Warriors who viewed Carter's direction outside of Iran as the best path to push for rollback. For the latter, the growing radicalism of the Religious Right and sectarian divisions sowed by the Culture Wars and "Satanic Scare" had alienated Catholic, Mormon and Jewish Republicans who were alarmed by the rise of Political Evangelicalism. The influx of new members transformed the SDC from an environmental caucus to a big tent center-left to center-right political action organization that transcended regional boundaries. While an ever evolving fusion of ideology, the Caucus looked to the ideology of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight Eisenhower and Bruce O'Brian to create a modern fusion of Progressive Conservatism and Christian Democracy.
-From "Factionalism within the American Party System" The 1982 United States Elections saw mixed results for the competing Democrat and Republican parties. Leading up to the election, it was widely assumed that it would be a blowout victory for the Democrats due to poor national economic conditions which lead to great frustration with Reaganomics and President Ronald Reagan continually polling in the low 40s. However, the conclusion of the Great Recession in the summer, beginning of unemployment reduction, and normalization of inflation had spurred Conservative turnout with many arguing that Reaganomics had been working and stagflation was no more. The incumbent Republican party had also been aided by maintaining a strong front in foreign affairs against a continually weakened Soviet Union and the advancements of NASA in the Artemis Program.
In the House, Democrats had gained 19 seats to cement their control of the House of Representatives. The interal Democratic composition also saw a substantial leftward shift through a combination of retirements and moderate and conservative incumbents being out primaries by Liberal opponents. The Senate due to a mixture of favorable geography and poor Democratic candidates actually saw a rare incumbent increase with the Republicans gaining 3 seats to an impressive 59 Senators, their largest composition since the 1920 Senate Elections. The Gubernatorial elections saw the Democrats gain five Governorships but state legislatures overall saw an increased Republican composition thanks to redistricting caused by the 1980 Elections.
A/N: Basically a summary of the major points of divergence in the first two Reagan years thanks to Bruce and other actions. I've tried my best to add some nuance and keep things how Reagan's leadership would handle domestic and foreign policy, even with some of the big developments and different paths for the GOP. Overall the Cold War is more successful, domestic is mostly the same albeit a rougher economy, and a more diverse Republican Party with new factions. Also Carter gets a huge post-Presidency glowup and is a rockstar in Romania.
Freaking amazing! I love this type of Omakes showing the effect we have on the world!; Carter's greater reputation, The Soviets entering into chaos, the overall containment of China and normalizing relationships with Vietnam.
But above all, managing to stop the interventions of the 80s would change so much of the outlook form the 80s, as well as the relationships with the U.S. as to find an entire new world when the Soviet Union Falls (fingers crossed for it to happen in 85!).
And can I say how mmuch I loved the entire idea of Carter's whole new reputation for excellent foreign policy? I mean, don't get me wrong, the guy was clearly a good man, but as a president he was a bit lacking. Seeing that at the very least he left a good mark is quite something.
But, did he still negotiate the Carter-Torrijos Treaty of 1978? Because that may be the only bllemish in an otherwise perfect international diplomacy record.
Man, the butterflies are really going out of their way to make Reagan's presidency as smooth as possible. And if the Soviets fall during his term* the people who go crazy over Regan are going to have even more to celebrate.
Freaking amazing! I love this type of Omakes showing the effect we have on the world!; Carter's greater reputation, The Soviets entering into chaos, the overall containment of China and normalizing relationships with Vietnam.
But above all, managing to stop the interventions of the 80s would change so much of the outlook form the 80s, as well as the relationships with the U.S. as to find an entire new world when the Soviet Union Falls (fingers crossed for it to happen in 85!).
And can I say how mmuch I loved the entire idea of Carter's whole new reputation for excellent foreign policy? I mean, don't get me wrong, the guy was clearly a good man, but as a president he was a bit lacking. Seeing that at the very least he left a good mark is quite something.
But, did he still negotiate the Carter-Torrijos Treaty of 1978? Because that may be the only bllemish in an otherwise perfect international diplomacy record.
Well, I wouldn't say that interventionism has ceased overall. As written above, instead of Afghanistan Reagan has chosen to make Angola his pet project for Rollback so the Angolan Civil War will get a lot hotter OTL and if its close to the Mujahadeen's support, then we may see a UNITA-run Angola. Plus Reagan is still continuing patronage of a collection of dictatorships.
I also think that Lebanon would probably happen and I've tried my best to see just what the butterflies would be, but honestly I think that it would end up the same way. I've flirted with maybe having things go smoothly later due to Iran getting tied up with Iraq, but there's no definitive proof they were hard involved at the time. Not to mention no one really knew what the endgoal of the mission was and there was no clear direction or strategy beyond "Keep the Peace". So even if there's no Barracks bombing, Lebanon will still be a failure and be a black mark for Reagan. Honestly, the Middle East as a whole will probably be his weakest point of his foreign policy, even with no Afghanistan.
Yeah, Carter-Torrijos still happened, Bruce was not political at this point and Romania would not have stopped it. I honestly don't have a problem with it since Panama is a chill neutral state and after Noriega there hasn't been any problems.
Man, the butterflies are really going out of their way to make Reagan's presidency as smooth as possible. And if the Soviets fall during his term* the people who go crazy over Regan are going to have even more to celebrate.
No Iran-Contra definitely gives Reagan a smoother and more graceful exit, but if he's stubborn then his reputation could be smudged by trying so hard to do Constructive Engagement with Apartheid. It could also make Oliver North more politically savy and perhaps rise higher.
Ironically, I think Reagan without his assassination attempt would have a rougher first two years and be polling in the 40s consistently but would make a comeback in time for the election. Plus he's gonna have to compromise some more due to Liberal and Moderate Republicans making a comeback. I'm interested to see who the Democrats nominate as even if they lose just as bad, someone other than Mondale can shift the party.
I know people are focused on pop culture stuff and I won't make too many political posts, but I think it's important to track the alternate history of this Quest as political and social developments greatly influence what types of films are made, especially with the historical or contemporary event films. So it's important to keep track because some films, even a good many greats likely have been butterflied away by the history.
I also really do want to make films of historical events that happened in this TL. Really want to make a Romanian film or a couple but I just don't know what to do for the plot. At least Rambo III will kickstart it if nothing else.
"On July 31st, 1980 Leonid Brezhnev would die of a heart attack in his office at some time between 11 am - 12 pm. Similarly to the death of Stalin, none were aware of Brezhnev's death for hours due to the late leader's increasingly erratic and isolationist moods with the first confirmation being a check by his guards for his supper.
There goes Brezhnev. I think it's fair to say that future historians are even more critical of him then OTL, also OTL there is a sort of Russian Boomer nostalgia about the Brezhnev years because he was their last stable leader before two brief leaders died and the disaster of Gorbachev (In their eyes) so with the disaster of Romania, Suslov and other problems he might not even get that.
"As Suslov ascended, the Purges which had begun by Brezhnev as one of the final acts of the Romanian War, had only intensified and would remain a constant until his passing."
Things are being set up for a world of pain for the USSR, though I hope that the fall of communism will still fall along OTL lines. I think it was a great miracle that the fall of communism was so bloodless and peacefull (compared to Yugoslavia and China), it could have very easily gone on a very bloody path.
It's nice that with the recent death of Carter that he gets a better legacy here. Though with renewed interest in Carter's presidency I've learned why he lost in such a great fashion with the sweater and malaise speech coming to mind. Though atleast he has many wonderful foreign policies successes.
So the US is still recognising the PRC but aren't on speaking terms and is funding and arming the ROC if I read that correct. Are we going to get more info on the third straight crises or is it like OTL? Is Nixon on aboard with this 180 of his legacy or is he siliently against this? This must also be painfull for Carter as this is one of two black marks on his foreign policy record along with Iran. Also with recent news and Carter's foreign policy in mind will Reagan pullout with the deal over the Panama canal or is it too late?
Nice that Bruce prevented the crushing of PATCO by Reagan. Though after some reading it really looked like the union bosses were over playing their hand and refused to compromise. Also liked the part about Bruce because like all other real people there are contredictions in them.
Proto-TPP confirmed?! I jest, I think it means a earlier Plaza accord as no nation wanted to increase trade barriers while also easing American anxiety.
With this new Reagan foreign policy he might be more popular in the future. With no Nicaraguan death manuels, less support of South Africa, less overthowing democracies etc.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHhSGJmTabw
Though I won't hold my breath that UNITA would transform Angola into a democracy atleast I can be happy that both Castro and apartheid would be hurt.
Happy that Pol Pot got what he deserved. Must be wierd for the Green Beret to fight with Vietnam, though what was the reaction of the normalisation of Vietnam and what were the different concesions both sides made to each other?
I think I have a fairly decent grasp on US politics. So if I read that correct: There are two wings in the R's, the progressives and the conservatives. Within the progressives there are multiple subfactions like the California Club and the Faithfull Fellowship both of them see Bruce as their leader/inspiration. This wing also created a caucus with some moderate D's to create a Square Deal Caucus in Congress to at first protect the environment and later as a own political movement/thought with Bruce and others being an inspiration. If I get anything wrong correct me please. Still very exiting, I wonder what the SDC is going to look like. Perhaps something like the Reform party of the '90 but more restraint and as a caucus rather then a 3rd party or something else? Stil really liked the post.
The problem part, IMO, was that the treaty was done when Noriega was in power. If it had been done after Noriega was deposed or died somehow, then the treaty probably wouldn't have been so bad. Carter wasn't wrong to hand the Panama Canal over, he was wrong to hand it over at that moment.
I know people are focused on pop culture stuff and I won't make too many political posts, but I think it's important to track the alternate history of this Quest as political and social developments greatly influence what types of films are made, especially with the historical or contemporary event films. So it's important to keep track because some films, even a good many greats likely have been butterflied away by the history.
Oh well, in other news, I wonder how this will affect the possible Chernobyl disaster. I mean, we still have the same Premier, if even a couple of years earlier than OTL, at the moment, but I don't think that he will become the one that makes sweeping changes for the Soviet Union. Heck, Gorvachev when in power was barely able to convince the state that perhaps they should not be lying to the west about what happened, specially since it may lead to disaster to the entire world.
Not to mention that with a closer border with the west in the form of Romania, they could either try to tighten the security in the area, or very well just outright blame them for the entire thing in an attempt at shifting the blame once more. I wouldn't put it pass them.
Anyways, please keep these Omakes coming! I', always up to seeing how the world changes thanks to the actions of pop culture.
So the US is still recognising the PRC but aren't on speaking terms and is funding and arming the ROC if I read that correct. Are we going to get more info on the third straight crises or is it like OTL? Is Nixon on aboard with this 180 of his legacy or is he siliently against this? This must also be painfull for Carter as this is one of two black marks on his foreign policy record along with Iran. Also with recent news and Carter's foreign policy in mind will Reagan pullout with the deal over the Panama canal or is it too late?
So basically I think at this moment that the United States doesn't have diplomatic relations with China, but they recognize that the PRC is essentially the true ruler of China if that makes sense. With China being part of the Security Council and most of Europe probably having some form of relations, it's too late to reverse course completely and either say Taiwan is independent or the ROC never lost sovereignty over China, the latter would especially lead to war. So basically Chinese relations are frozen, but the US still keeps De Facto recognition to provide a valve for diplomacy and not have China escalate things.
The most important thing is that Reagan basically formalized the US defense of Taiwan so if China ever invades then it will be a straight up war.
Nixon is probably keeping silent and doing his best to rehabilitate his reputation overall. He probably is pissed with how China turned out but is self-aware that if he criticizes he'll just get people go against him. Probably working behind the scenes with old allies to keep the GOP aligned with his vision, but considering Reagan's rise in OTL probably not gonna work out.
The Panama canal will still be part of Panama. Panama wasn't the ones who tried to assassinate Bruce and if Reagan tried to sieze the canal, it would be a massive diplomatic blunder that would undo so much progress and alienate dozens of nations. I imagine that right now many on the American Right are saying that Panama was a massive mistake, but Democrats say it was a good thing and Americans in general aren't really eager to go to war with Panama.
Nice that Bruce prevented the crushing of PATCO by Reagan. Though after some reading it really looked like the union bosses were over playing their hand and refused to compromise. Also liked the part about Bruce because like all other real people there are contredictions in them.
Yeah, Union leadership was just abysmally incompetent and were in way over their heads. I read a paper about PATCO which said that the 32 hour work week was a genuine desire for many and it wasn't just laziness as some argued it was a necessity to combat high stress, but you don't see anyone else fighting for it and it would have been an impossible sell in the 80s. It also genuinely was really bad PR when working conditions and pay for public air traffic controllers were better than the private sector.
So Reagan at least for now doesn't clamp down on Unions, but one could argue that the end of the 1980 Hollywood Strike is just as devastating.
Yeah in the future I do want to play around with the POVs of people who dislike or have mixed feelings about Bruce for general reasons. Because for as much good as he's done, some of his actions will rub people the wrong way and he can be a bit of a contradictory wild card.
Proto-TPP confirmed?! I jest, I think it means a earlier Plaza accord as no nation wanted to increase trade barriers while also easing American anxiety.
Not yet. There are definitely millions of Americans who strongly dislike Japan for the economic competition and having free trade with Japan at this time would be messy. I do think that Bruce would be in full support of TPP, half of his wealth relies on assets in Japan so he'd love to have full free trade with them. I don't see why Plaza would be early as something like this would need a lot of time and care. Maybe you could argue it happens months or a year early but its OTL date makes sense.
With this new Reagan foreign policy he might be more popular in the future. With no Nicaraguan death manuels, less support of South Africa, less overthowing democracies etc.
I completely agree. I didn't write it with the goal of UNITA turning Angola into a paradise and it would be a flawed state, but no Afghanistan or Nicaragua logically meant that Angola would be the CIA's playground for the 80s. Probably the good thing one could say of an early UNITA victory is that it ends the Civil War years early and gives Angola more time for healing, though one could say the same for the MPLA.
Get ready for a few 80s action movies of a badass American commando helping Africans free themselves from the Commies.
Happy that Pol Pot got what he deserved. Must be wierd for the Green Beret to fight with Vietnam, though what was the reaction of the normalisation of Vietnam and what were the different concesions both sides made to each other?
Probably a strong mix of reactions for both Democrats and Republicans. Many vets and Vietnamese Americans are probably pissed off that Hanoi is here to stay, but considering there wasn't a national backlash in the 90s OTL and you had veteran politicians like McCain and Kerry advocate for normalization, I think tensions would fade over time and people would begrudgingly accept the new status quo, though Vietnam isn't gonna have close to the same favorability as America.
I'd say that Congress and the American people probably regarded the deal as the best that they could get. Vietnam enters the global economy, but they don't get any favoritism or reparations, and Reagan gets brownie points for Vietnam leaving Cambodia and Cambodia being non-Communist, so another Rollback success. Probably a fair amount of paranoia that Vietnam would "Pull a China" and do something dangerous but Hanoi for the most part is a sane government and they're soon to implement privatization, probably accelerated here.
That was basically a showcase that because the Hinckley Assassination attempt never happened, Reagan never got that early boost and he's probably viewed in a similar light by the Midterms to Obama in late 2010. Nothing permanent, but some domestic legislation is probably altered here.
I think I have a fairly decent grasp on US politics. So if I read that correct: There are two wings in the R's, the progressives and the conservatives. Within the progressives there are multiple subfactions like the California Club and the Faithfull Fellowship both of them see Bruce as their leader/inspiration. This wing also created a caucus with some moderate D's to create a Square Deal Caucus in Congress to at first protect the environment and later as a own political movement/thought with Bruce and others being an inspiration. If I get anything wrong correct me please. Still very exiting, I wonder what the SDC is going to look like. Perhaps something like the Reform party of the '90 but more restraint and as a caucus rather then a 3rd party or something else? Stil really liked the post.
So basically up until 1980 OTL, the Liberal Republicans were the Rockefellers. They were lead by Nelson Rockefeller and represented the "Eastern Establishment" who were generally fiscally right but socially liberal and all around moderate. They were on a heavy downfall since 1964 and for the most part died in the 90s onward, though debately have made a comeback since the late 2010s as a regional faction representing New England Republicans.
Here, the Republicans who have divergent viewpoints from mainstream Conservatism (pro Gay rights, environmentalism, labor moderation, corporate accountability, etc.) have rallied around Bruce as their champion because he gave them a successful example of how to be a modern Progressive Conservative and advance certain centrist or center-left causes as a Republican. Thus these politicians came together and represent a new center-left-center-right wing of the party.
The Square Deal Caucus is Republican only and is basically, "We're Republicans who idolize Teddy Roosevelt", and I think from word of Magoose Bruce thinks the same. Started as an environmentl advocacy, later became an influential congressional caucus. Probably has like 10-20% of congressional Republicans right now.
I wouldn't say the SDC is the Reform Party as overall they are still Conservatives at heart, think Canadian or Western European right wing. The Reform Party was basically Ross Perot's cult of personality, and he had strongly Left and strongly Right positions that were all over the place. But yeah, Square Dealers are loyal Republicans.
I would say Square Deal Caucus geographically are generally Republicans who are the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, Mid-Atlantic and New England as geographic strongholds. Key positions are Environmentalism, Consumer Protection, Pro Immigration, Patriotism. Mitt Romney and John McCain would fit in this.
I'm pretty sure Magoose said that Stallone still makes Rambo with UA. Makes sense as he probably thought that Bruce wouldn't want to support Rambo as it might offend Bruce due to his work with the O'Reilly Foundation
Pádraig MacKerna was the most gifted diplomat, you were told, in all of Europe. A key man in any negotiations that could finally end the Troubles and give peace to Ireland.
David Andrews was a cunning young statesman who was desperate for some kind of peace on the ground. He was key to getting the sitting government to the table.
Senator George John Mitchell Jr, was possibly America's most unsung, but perhaps unnoticed diplomatic member of the Senate. He was worldly, but not arrogant, peaceful but with strength to protect his and his own…
And finally from Northern Ireland, representing Her Majesty, Patrick Doherty one of the most ablest men who was ever in parliament among Britain and in Northern Ireland.
They all were in your house for one reason. To end the violence in Ireland, and for there to be a lasting peace.
You had done your small part in all this, offering yourself as the man with almost nothing to gain, and everything to lose, but that really didn't seem to make you cut about… there was nothing that you could really do as just a regular man.
You had influence among the people, but not among the elite of nations…
You just asked them if you could help end the conflict and stop people dying from needless bloodshed.
You didn't know how, but apparently, that was enough to make everyone come to the table, and work through all the grief and tears and emotions to finally make things work. You didn't know how, but you were among the men who were, in the room.
Not able to work, but among the aides and the great men of diplomacy, the actor you were played the role given to him. The simple fly on the wall somehow gave legitimacy for the whole thing.
You didn't know why you were there, but you smiled to the cameras and said a few words that were prepared on note cards that the state department gave you, and honestly… that was all.
But you didn't know if it truely worked. People had been hurt and angered… by decades of a conflict that affected them all.
But you saw it in the news.
And than through the letters that came to you by the thousands… and the pure joy that it was over…
And then the IRA themselves went onto the TV, announced their intentions to disband and disarm, and to cease all hostilities to the United Kingdom and constabulary… and obey the treaty of the Ash Wednesday Agreement.
And in those weeks of calm… By Easter this year…
There would be peace in Ireland… a peace that would hopefully last forever.
Reward: The Ash Wednesday Agreement has ended the Troubles that has plagued Ireland for decades.
The Island now knows peace… and may it never lose it.
Meanwhile: The Rest of the world, for some reason, thinks you are a truly amazing diplomat, whose influence and knowledge of foreign affairs, can end conflicts bloodlessly and with enough leeway to not make them happen ever again.
You are confused by that reputation.
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You have 12 Actions:
Lucasfilms Actions:
[]Make a Movie: You want to make a new movie, preferably staying in town. DC: 0 (Begin production of your own film, either as an actor, director or producer. Line tail what you are going to be)
[]The Outsiders: So Francis decided to adapt some book that you think was popular, but you never read it. But it seems to be well made so, maybe it will be good. DC: 30
[]Splash: You are going to be honest, you are starting to think that things are going to be weird… you have no idea what is going to happen right now with this film. DC: 30
[]The Scripts and the movies: You want scripts made, so give the ideas and make those scripts (Scripts that linetail will be made this turn. Every script is one action.)
[]The Lucasarts Projects: So time to give those Lucasarts people more projects, now that they are swimming in money.
-[]Write in two projects you want them to create. (I highly recommend arcade machines for the new Sega Parlors)
[]A Favor: You are owed a favor at Colombia Pictures, so might as well call it in. DC: ???
-[]Write in what it is?
[]The People who want you to star in a movie: With most of Hollywood open to you again after the informal ending of your banishment from nonlucasfilm and TV productions, there are a few films that have come to your attention. DC: ???
[]Investing in the Future: You want to Spend some of that money you made into the company and make the whole thing better DC: ??? (Linetail what you want to invest in, and how much money you want to invest in it)
[]Look for Investors: Not that you need the money now, but maybe you can get people on board with this idea you have. DC: ???
[]Distributing Deals: Since you have a Distribution Company, or rather, are one… You can meet the major movie theater companies and strike a Deal with them. Even when you had nothing to offer them. DC: ???
[]Importing Foreign Films: So… you may have a way to get some films showing in American Theaters. Maybe you can go to other foreign film industries and… well, ask to distribute their films. Sure many of those foreign film companies never expected an American company to distribute their films in the US… but maybe you can get money without producing them. (Linetail where you try to get films from, and if there are any specific films, line tail them below) DC: ???
Personal Actions:
[]A Boxing Expedition: So the Light Heavyweight title is up for grabs… you are a little light for it as you haven't worked out for it, but honestly, you might as well try for it. Add another feather to your cap. DC: ???
[]Trying something new: So, what are you going to do now with all this free time? Well, you might as well try something new. DC: ???
[]Carrie has a Gift: Carrie missed your birthday, and she has a gift for you. DC: 0
[]I Love you: Carrie was happily smiling at you… and you realized something… she wanted to show you something. DC: 0
[]The USFL Season Two! Opener: You are back to watch the second season of the USFL… and by god, were you ready for some awesome football? DC: 35
[]The Concert at Halftime: So Carrie, being the owner of the Geese, has a new tradition that she began with the playoffs. That is, at halftime, a band would play small set. And she chose THe Highwaymen to play opening week. DC: 40
[]So I think that I'm a Detective now: You were looking at some very strange irregularities… what the Hell was Mike Eisner doing in his spare time? DC: 40
[]Debbie Reynolds and the TV Judgement: Debbie decided to cash in her newfound rebirth of a career, on Television. Which is fitting. But what is she doing? DC: 45
[]The Art of the Siblings: So Mary has proclaimed it was a silly time. And that meant you had to grab your costume. DC: 0
[]The Ideas of Industry: This action is meant for a write-in to act as a sort of Idea machine for the company. You must detail what you want to do below this action. This action can be taken multiple times.
[]Best Friends: So Mary has lots of friends, and she wants them to come over. You need to prepare for that. Carrie, get the cookies.
[]The Family Time: You need a night out with the family dammit! No more drama, no more work, just you and Carrie and the Kids!
[]Hanging out with the Friends: It's been far to long since you, John, and Robin hung out, so you will go out for some drinks and have some fun. DC: 45
[]A Well-Known Fan: So some really famous person is a fan of yours. Maybe you'll learn who they actually are. DC???
[]Learn to play an instrument: You want to learn how to play something DC: 80 (You have no idea what the hell you are doing.)
[]Investments: You want to invest your hard-earned cash into something that you feel will be a good return on investment. And as well as diversify your assets DC: 0 (Linetail what you wish to invest in below this action, and the amount of money you want to invest in)
[]The O'Riely Foundation Lobbying: You want California to help the men who have given nearly everything and more to this country. DC: ??? (Linetail how much money you want to throw at it, and what you want from the State)
[]A Charitable Heart: You want to invest your newfound wealth. Maybe even save some lives while you are at it. (Linetail what you wish to invest in below this action, and the amount of money you want to donate in)
[]Networking: Well time to start finding out who might actually be interested in meeting you. (Write-in what you want to try and network with)
[]Pray: It had been a long time since you went to Mass. You wish for the Lord to give you strength. DC: ???
[]Action Directing: It seems the town has been talking about how much of a beast you are at just being a stunt person. In fact, they knew you were a student of Bruce Lee. And they think you know how to stage and block a fight? Maybe you can DC? ???
[] Do auditions(Movies and TV Shows): You are going to go to some of the casting calls that are in the place where you can find work in. DC: 20(Possibility of only getting a commercial or TV show job, or extra work in a low-budget film)
[]Modeling (High Fashion): So you got a call from a photographer in LA, some no name. But that no name works for Gucci. And he wants you on their next lineup of products. And he needs you to model for him. Which is great… one problem, you have no idea what the hell you are doing. DC: 60
[]Modeling (Advertisements): Thankfully another Call Came in, one from an ad firm. They need you to have some pictures taken so that they are used for saner things. Like selling cars, or ice cream. DC: 40
[]Workout: A Healthy Mind and a Healthy Body are Key to having a good life, and you have been slacking as of late. Time to hit the workout and discipline, and perhaps, see things differently. DC: 30 Reward: You work out and feel better.
[] Ask Clint if you can act in a movie of his: You know you want to see if you can act opposite him, for a good time. DC: 40 (Clint wants to work with you.)
[] Gophering, and other signs of stuff: You want to try and learn how work behind the camera works, and what better way than being a gopher. DC: 50 (You have no idea what the hell they were doing, and you have no idea either)
[] Take a walk: Dad always said that the best ways to get inspiration are by walking, talking, and being open-minded. So you'll try that. DC: 10 (You are just going for a walk, what could be really said?)
I guess we can start focusing some of the personal actions with unpredictable or decently high DCs. We get an autopass so as much as possible, we need to take only actions with actual DCs. None of that Zero DC stuff.
Alright, I think we can start by finally buying the Mothra Frnachise from Toho as suggested...!
...
No? No takers?
Man, it would be such a great success this time around.
There are also some movies that I wish we could either distribute or begin production in, but I guess we can try and do that later.
Okay then, how about we buy FASA Corporation and get control of both Battletech and Shadowrun in a single go? The amount of games that we could make for Cyberpunk and Mecha enthusisasts would be wild!
Also, I think we can try to talk with Art Spiegelman in order to get the rights to make a film of Maus. If we can convicne him to put his comic in the Atlas imprint of Marvel then even better.
Alright, I think we can start by finally buying the Mothra Frnachise from Toho as suggested...!
...
No? No takers?
Man, it would be such a great success this time around.
There are also some movies that I wish we could either distribute or begin production in, but I guess we can try and do that later.
Okay then, how about we buy FASA Corporation and get control of both Battletech and Shadowrun in a single go? The amount of games that we could make for Cyberpunk and Mecha enthusisasts would be wild!
