Sun and Moon - The Presidential Election of 2040

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Damn. I was too late.

[WestVegeta]

Damn. I was too late.

If you're doing the 2040 GOP primaries, feel free to write in a hot young West Virginian governor.

[Lord Admirale]

Admiral President YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 1723

Anyone went to the Women's March? « Reply #4 on: January 21, 2017, 08:49:30 pm »Nah why would I? It's all a bunch of people who can't handle the fact their candidate lost. I'm sure some of them would go back to being regular boring centrist people by Christmas.

Damn, that's a (sadly) spot-on depiction of me back when I was a Trumpet.

[Cold War Liberal]

1) it makes me so happy that there's a bizzaro version of ExtremeConservative in this timeline
2) that's a very accurate portrayal of me, right down to the tastefully literal "literally"

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

January 22, 2017 - BWI Airport, Baltimore, Maryland

For Isaac Hassan, it was an uneventful plane flight. After spending winter break with his family back in Dearborn, he had a great time staying in Dubai, enjoying the sights of the Burj Khalifa and the Burj al-Arab. But now, it was time to return to Hopkins. To simplify logistics, while his parents stayed another week in Italy (they spent their lives raising him; they needed a break), he was to directly fly from Honolulu to Baltimore. As a somewhat tall person - five-foot-ten, the last time he checked - squeezing into economy class for nearly a day was not the most pleasant experience, but it was not like he could enjoy luxury all the time.

But Isaac was excited about Hopkins. It was going to be the last semester of senior year. One more semester before he graduates with a degree in mechanical engineering. One more semester of busting his brain in the library, getting wasted with friends, and leading the College Republicans.

He thought about the last part as the plane landed calmly on the BWI runway. It was an “interesting” experience since he and his club decided to support Donald Trump. It wasn’t just Crystal and the College Dems, though they did post a scathing response on Facebook. Literally every left-leaning group on campus roasted them, even after Trump won. No wonder everyone called them snowflakes. But even some of his fellow Republicans have since questioned the decision. A few of them stopped showing up to meetings because of this. But no matter. Hopefully the core will stick around for the spring.

Soon, everyone got out of their seats and, one by one, walked out in the aisle, got their backs, and shuffled their way towards the front. As soon as Isaac got his blue spinner case, he carefully followed the crowd to the door. Since he was tall and his suitcase tiny (he was a light packer), he carried it over his head until he arrived on the jetway.

But as soon as he put his suitcase down, he heard something strange. Faint chanting, which grew louder as he got closer to the airport terminal. Soon, while the chants were still faint, he was able to make out what everyone was saying.

“Let them in! Let them in!”

“No walls, no registry, no white supremacy!”

"No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”

Oh no, Isaac thought as he made his way to immigration. Did the #Resistance, as they were calling themselves these days, invade the airports now? Maybe, he jokingly thought, they knew he was coming to BWI so they targeted the airport to annoy him. No matter. Unlike them, he wasn’t to be easily triggered by a bunch of liberals with cardboard signs.

This was also a sign, Isaac also thought, that the airport needs to improve its sound insulation.

But then he saw something else. To the side, a ways away from the main line, a family of four sat in the corner, surrounded by a bunch of immigration officers hovering over them like vultures over their prey. They looked Middle Eastern, just like him. Perhaps they, like him, were Egyptian. The mother wore a hijab just like his own mom, though it was a bright red, rather than the beige and minimalistic ones his mom prefered. The kids, a boy in jeans and a t-shirt and a girl in a polka-dotted dress, looked around, wondering what was going on and what will happen next to their family.

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Trump issues travel ban, registry through EO

Reported on January 22, 2017 by CNN

In the evening of January 21, only a few hours after he was sworn in as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order which suspended travel from eight countries and called for the establishment of a registry for citizens from these countries.

The eight countries targeted in Executive Order 13769, as the order is formally designated, were Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Chad. Any travel from these eight Muslim-majority countries have been suspended for a 90-day period, and visas would no longer to be issued to citizens of these countries. Any pre-existing visa would be “provisionally revoked,” and any national of these countries would be barred from entering the US. In addition, the executive order calls for the establishment a yet-unnamed registry on which citizens from these eight countries would be required to sign up for.

The executive order suspends the admittance of all refugees to the US for 120 days, and suspends the admittance of Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order lowers the number of refugees admitted to the US to 50,000, half the total of 123,000 who were admitted in 2016.

“I called for extreme vetting,” Trump said shortly after making the executive order public. “We need extreme vetting. Obama didn’t do it, he’s fine with letting radical Islamic terrorists enter the US. But we’re not fine with this. We’re not. We’re going to implement extreme vetting, and we’re going to make America safe again.”

Immediately after the order was signed, immigration officials at airports around the US have detained citizens of these nations. People from these countries who were about to board flights to the US have also been detained at airports outside the US.

While supported by members of the Trump Administration, particularly by recently-named Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, and by many members of the Republican Party, the ban has been condemned by Democratic politicians.

“Trump, by issuing this brazenly Islamophobic Muslim ban, has shown on his first day that he is counter to the ideals America was founded upon,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In addition to statements by politicians, protests have sprung up against the executive order at airports around the country, demanding that the order is revoked and that those detained are let into the country.

Related:
 - Robert Reich: “We all convert to Islam”
 - Massive anti-Trump protests spring up at airports
 - Trump selects Sessions for AG, Price for HHS Secretary

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

I see you've taken my "more stories" idea

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

January 25, 2017 - Charles Village, Baltimore, Maryland

I was mad. First day in office, just hours after me and Melissa and millions of others marched in the largest protest in history, Trump just up and banned Muslims and put them on a registry. He also reinstituted the global gag rule on abortion, and who knows what else he might do this weekend, let alone the next four years? It was as if our voices and our marches didn’t matter and will never matter.

Such thoughts were depressing, and sometimes you need to practice self-care. Though even that is a privilege; the ones most harmed by Trump won’t be able to take a break as they’re being crushed under the boot of this administration. But for my own sanity, I had to exercise that privilege. And what better way to do that than to hang out with happy people, like Isaac?

Ah, Isaac Hassan. He was a man of contradictions. A practicing Muslim with a very Christian name who’s also a huge Trump supporter. Only on his Instagram can he stand next to his hijab-wearing immigrant mom in one photo, and next to Rick Snyder in another. Someone with completely different views from my own, yet we’re still friends the four years I knew him at Hopkins.

“So,” I said as the two of us sat down at Chipotle, after a short walk from our recently-started classes on campus nearby. He unwrapped his order, a chicken burrito. I ordered chicken also, since it was the cheapest meat. Which brought me to another point: he never ordered pork, as he was a devout Muslim who kept halal. (But when it came to alcohol and frat parties, that devoutness often gets thrown out the window.)

“So what,” Isaac said as he bit into his burrito. “I heard it was a tough week for you libs.” I said nothing, instead electing to stare back at him with a “You don’t say?” expression.

“I hope you’re happy,” I said, opting not to touch my food at the moment. “The finally did it. They goddamned did it.”

“Did what?”

“Banned Muslims.”

Now it was Isaac’s turn to rebut. “That was not a Muslim ban,” he said, his mouth full with chicken and lettuce. “It’s a ban from specific countries, and these countries present a terrorism risk to us. Most of the countries on the ban - save Chad, I don’t know why Chad’s on there - were from a list the Obama administration made!”

“But,” I said before Isaac cut me off.

“If this was a Muslim ban, why is Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, not on the list? Why isn’t Pakistan or Bangladesh? They have mostly Muslim populations that are in the hundreds of millions, yet they’re not affected by the ban.”

“He’s only banning people from these specific countries because that’s what he and Bannon can get away with!” I said. “You really think that someone who called for a ‘complete and total shutdown on Muslims’” - I made scarce quotes with my fingers to emphasize my point - “not have discriminatory intent here?”

“That’s just getting into a can of worms here,” Isaac said. “Like you’re really going to say that the President can’t have control over immigration policy - an area that he has wide latitude on - because of something he said on the campaign trail?”

“You see-” I was prepared to respond to Isaac when I got a text. It was from Melissa. Like with Isaac, I knew Melissa for four years here, and I knew she was weird. But this was out of left field even for her. Like is this weird?

“What’s wrong?” Isaac asked, noticing my facial expressions as I read her texts.

“Take a look at this.” I held the phone out for Isaac to read.

“‘Hey Crys I’m f**ing tired of orange mango bullying Muslims,” said the text. “He’s gonna have to go thru me now. I’m converting to Islam.”

It took Isaac a full minute to process what he read. It also took a full minute for me to come to my own senses.”

“You serious?” I texted back.

“Yes,” Melissa replied. Just a simple ‘yes,’ nothing more, nothing less.

Isaac sighed. “And I thought what Robert Reich said was a joke. I respect her decision, but just so she knows, she’s not getting brownie points from us Muslims for converting. I’m all for people for people converting for the right reasons, but doing so to become an even more special snowflake in the hashtag-Resistance ain’t one of them.”

I sighed also. “Well you know, it’s Melissa. We know who Melissa is.”

“I do too,” said Isaac, “but I think this is far even for her.”

“You never know what’s a Melissa thing until it happens,” I said.

It took another minute for Isaac or me to say anything else. “I’ll give her a week,” he said, breaking the silence.

I felt a bit more optimistic. “I’ll give her two. Maybe more. I think she’s stubborn enough. Wanna bet?”

“Technically gambling is haram but sure,” he said. “But only a dollar. Or another burrito.”

“A burrito’s eight dollars here,” I said, pointing at the menu. “A dollar it is.”

[morgankingsley]

I seriously am curious how many people like or dislike Trump at the end of his 8 years, and if his reputation improves or goes down at all in those 8 years. I also wonder what democrat can lose to him a second election in a row but still win the popular vote. I know we will get these answers soon, but damn the questions are like a endless list now

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Rudy Giuliani confirmed as Secretary of State

Reported on CNN.com
February 10, 2017

In a close, near party-line vote, the Senate confirmed former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) to serve as the next Secretary of the State. The Senate voted 55-45 in favor, with all Republicans in favor and all but three Democrats opposed.

The mayor of New York City during the 9/11 attacks, Giuliani is extremely prominent in conservative Republican circles. He was a featured speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention, where he gave a resounding endorsement of Trump during his campaign. Some Senate Democrats, including Cory Booker (D-NJ) called out Trump for what they perceive as naked political favoritism. Others questioned Giuliani over his controversial term as mayor, as well as his qualifications for the chief diplomatic office.

Other names that were mentioned for the cabinet positions included former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The vote comes shortly after the confirmation of several other high-profile Trump nominations, including that of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for Secretary of Health and Human Services and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey for EPA administrator last week. Both of those confirmations were also split on partisan lines.

Related:
 - Hawaii judge issues stay against Trump travel ban
 - Trump signs executive order scaling back Dodd-Frank Act
 - Trump administration opens NAFTA renegotiation talks

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Ross edges out Ellison in DNC Chair race

February 25, 2017

After a close and contentious race, former government official Alec Ross edged out Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“Today is a big day for the Democratic Party,” Ross said in his post-victory speech, after he received 240 votes in the final round of voting compared to Ellisons’ 195, “but it is a big day during dark times. When Republicans have control of all three branches of government, when poor leadership has caused the decimation of the Democratic Party on the federal, state, and local level, we need solid and forward-thinking leadership to bring the party up from the ruins and create a better future for our children and our nation.”

Shortly after accepting his victory, Ross announced that he was appointing fellow Obama administration official Krish Vignarajah to the position of deputy DNC chair. The move was voted on and accepted by the majority of delegates, though a few opposed the move after questioning why Ellison had not been appointed to the newly-inaugurated position.

Ross’ victory, which came after several rounds of voting by top Democratic Party officials, was seen as a victory of the establishment wing of the party by many observers. As a senior advisor to former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, he was seen by many as the Obamas’ preferred pick for the office, as opposed to the Sanders-backed Ellison. However, Ellison has faced his own criticisms, mainly revolving around whether he would be able to effectively serve as chair as a sitting Congressman.

The DNC chair race was seen as an opportunity for the DNC to remake itself after the controversial term of former chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and interim chair Donna Brazile. Schultz resigned in June 2016 following allegations that under her tenure, the DNC showed biased towards the Clinton campaign over Sanders.

While Ross and Ellison were the two finalists, a number of other Democrats ran for the office, including South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, who finished in third place. Former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez was floated around as a potential candidate, but he ultimately decided against running, endorsing Ross for chair instead.

Related:
 - North Korea fires missile into the Sea of Japan
 - Trump tweets supporting removal of last Dakota Access pipeline protesters
 - White supremacist kills Indian engineer, injures 2 others, in Kansas diner

[Cold War Liberal]

Whaaaa?

Ross?!

EDIT: well written as always, also pretty fun to see areas I'm familiar with featured prominently (Baltimore hon)

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

 Atlas Forum
- U.S. General Discussion
-- U.S. General Discussion (Moderators: TexasGurl, Torie, Vice President PiT)
--- DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins)

○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└ jfern YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 39,112

DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins) « Reply # 533 on: February 25, 2017, 04:42:00 pm »The Democrats had one chance to shake off Hillary's failed image, and they got someone who was LITERALLY her Senior Advisor to run the party. I'm so done with them.

God Music BRTD YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 76,221

DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins) « Reply # 534 on: February 25, 2017, 04:43:20 pm »I think this is a great result. Ross gets to stay in Washington to manage the DNC, and Ellison keeps on doing his thing in Congress without distraction. It's perfect. And I say this as someone who voted for Ellison five times.

○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└ jfern YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 39,112

DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins) « Reply # 535 on: February 25, 2017, 04:45:21 pm » You must be logged in to read this quote. You think this is great? The DNC for once had the chance to make things right with Ellison, and they instead do the complete opposite.

maineiac4434 MAINEiac4434 YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 4511

DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins) « Reply # 536 on: February 25, 2017, 04:45:44 pm »I think the DNC may have made the right call here. I like Ellison's policies, but I don't think he'd be effective being both a congressman and DNC chair. Plus he's a black Muslim from Minneapolis. I hate to say it but you can imagine the conspiracy theories if he was elected chair.

Admiral President YaBB God ★★★★★ Posts: 1791

DNC Chair Megathread (UPDATE: Ross Wins) « Reply # 537 on: February 25, 2017, 04:46:32 pm »Great news. The Dems already have Louis Fakharran and Linda Sarousour. We don't need another one of them to become chair of the party.

[MR DARK BRANDON]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

Probably not.

[OBD]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

Probably not.

Do those even exist -_-

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

Probably not.

Do those even exist -_-

I assume they're called collabs.

[OBD]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

Probably not.

Do those even exist -_-

I assume they're called collabs.

Yeah that's my point. I thought it was generally assumed that any given timeline can only be edited by the creator.

[morgankingsley]

Is this a Timeline Anyone can edit?

Probably not.

Do those even exist -_-

I assume they're called collabs.

Yeah that's my point. I thought it was generally assumed that any given timeline can only be edited by the creator.

My personal opinion is that collabs should not even be a thing. Remember Biden Years or Believe in America? I know those weren't Atlas, and instead on Alternate History, but jesus fuking christ

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

North Korea conducts 6th nuclear test

March 13, 2017

North Korea has conducted its sixth nuclear test today, the United States and South Korean governments confirmed yesterday. The nuclear test comes shortly after a series of missile launches into the Sea of Japan, increasing already-heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The United States Geological Survey has reported a 6.3-magnitude earthquake originating from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. While the North Korean government has announced that the recently-detonated device was a hydrogen bomb, independent sources have put the estimated yield between 70 and 140 kilotons of TNT, equivalent to five to ten times the yield of the “Little Boy” bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and well below the typical yield of modern thermonuclear weapons.

The international community responded rapidly in response to the test. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the test, and world leaders have condemned the test, as well as North Korea’s previous missile tests. In a tweet, Trump wrote “North Korea conducted a nuclear test. Very bad! They must stop this dangerous path!”

Secretary of State Rudy Giuliani echoed these sentiments: “What North Korea is doing is nothing short of provocation towards the US and our allies, especially South Korea and Japan. For this reason, we cannot take options off the table when it comes to dealing with the North Korean danger.”

Last month, on February 26, North Korea launched an ICBM into the Sea of Japan. Analysts say that the test demonstrates that North Korea has a missile that is capable of striking parts of the US mainland, particularly the West Coast.

Related:
 - DHS conducts preliminary assessment for US-Mexico border wall
 - Trump’s second travel ban blocked by federal judge
 - House confirms existence of investigation into Trump ties with Russia

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

As for the collab timeline questions:

Short answer: No, this is not a collab timeline

Long answer: There may be some things that I might outsource to willing volunteers, especially things I'm not too familiar with, like sports. (I've been thinking about doing so for Super Bowl LXXIV in this chapter, so look out for that when that comes.) But for the most part, the politics, elections, and storyline are all written by me.

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

My personal opinion is that collabs should not even be a thing. Remember Biden Years or Believe in America? I know those weren't Atlas, and instead on Alternate History, but jesus fuking christ

I actually don't. Were those TLs super bad?

[morgankingsley]

My personal opinion is that collabs should not even be a thing. Remember Biden Years or Believe in America? I know those weren't Atlas, and instead on Alternate History, but jesus fuking christ

I actually don't. Were those TLs super bad?

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/believe-in-america-a-mitt-romney-2012-collab-timeline.403289/

I will just leave this here for you guys to decide if it was super bad or not

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Congressional Republicans reveal Obamacare repeal bill

April 9, 2017

Congressional Republicans unveiled a bill that would repeal most Obamacare provisions, including the individual mandate and many taxes imposed by the current law, as well as enact cuts to Medicaid. The bill, known as the Better Health Care Act or BHCA, the bill intents to make good on a long-awaited promise of the Republican Party to repeal Barack Obama’s signature health care initiative.

“Today Congress have taken the first steps in undoing Barack Obama’s disastrous health care bill,” said House Majority Leader Paul Ryan (R-WI). “Ever since its provisions have been implemented, we have seen massive amounts of spending at all levels of the health care system, rising premiums in many countries, and even outright dysfunction of the health care in some places. We need more health, not more government or more spending. And today, we have a solution to our health care crisis.”

Presidenti Donald Trump, who has campaigned on repealing Obamacare during his presidential run, has also been positive to the news. In a tweet, Trump wrote: “Obamacare SUCKED! This is better. It says it on the name: BETTER Health Care Act! Thank you Ryan!”

Though the Congressional Budget Office has not yet scored the recently-released bill, health care experts have expressed concerns that the bill’s passage will result in many people losing insurance. “You’re talking about hundreds of millions being cut from Medicaid, and millions of people losing insurance, either because they are no longer eligible for Medicaid or because they’re no longer able to afford insurance through the exchanges,” said Larry Levit, health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Democrat and liberal politicians immediately attacked the bill. “I haven’t seen it, mostly because they’ve only just released it after writing the bill in secret, but from what they’ve said this may be the worst bill I’ve ever seen introduced in Congress,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a press release about the bill. “I can only hope that the American people can rise and stand up to this monstrous attack on our nation’s sick and vulnerable.”

Related:
 - Spontaneous protests appear against newly-unveiled health care bill
 - Neil Gorsuch confirmed as Supreme Court justice
 - 36 injured in UC Berkeley clashes as Richard Spencer gives speech

[Unapologetic Chinaperson]

Ossoff, Handel to face off in Congressional race

April 18, 2017

Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff will face off in the race to succeed former Rep. Tom Price as the next Representative of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.

Ossoff, a filmmaker and former congressional aide, and Handel, the former Secretary of State of Georgia, respectively won about 48% and 20% of the total votes in the district’s jungle primary, in which all candidates from all political parties compete in. If no candidate wins an outright majority, which is the case here, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff election, scheduled on June 20.

After Price resigned from his seat after being confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Governor Nathan Deal called for the special election, as required by Georgia law. While Ossoff faced no serious opposition from other Democrats, Handel faced prominent Republican opponents such as former state senator Dan Moody and businessman Bob Gray.

The race has attracted enormous amounts of media attention. Donald Trump won the historically Republican district by only one percent in the 2016 elections. With an unpopular Republican president in the White House and a shift in college-educated suburban voters towards the Democratic Party, Democrats hope to flip this seat in a historic upset and rebuke Trump and his movement.

Related:
 - CBO score on BHCA: 14 million more uninsured, Medicaid cut by $800 billion
 - Kid Rock visits White House, hints at rumored Senate run
 - Pictures: First Family at the White House Easter Egg Roll