Besides Electric Men taking the place of Blade Runner? Not many differences yet that I would reckon warranting.
America's Funniest President: Mo Udall Presidency & Beyond
- Thread starter CountDVB
- Start date
Mo Udall is still Speaker of the House in my TL. He obstructed Reagan quite a bit
Winter 1989- America Askewed Toward Prosperity
Winter 1989- America Askewed Toward Prosperity
Tennō Heika hōgyo (HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR HAS DIED)- NHK message on 7 January 1989.
Tennō Heika hōgyo (HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR HAS DIED)- NHK message on 7 January 1989.
Over on a brisk January morning, Reubin Askew was sworn in as the President of the United States, with Mo Udall stepping off to enjoy a good well-earned retirement. It was the final year of the 1980s and it would be abuzz with a new sort of excitement of what awaited in the new decade, especially it being the final decade over of not just the century, but also the current millenium. And Reubin Askew would be entering with finishing up some of the work of the previous administration! One was involving legislation on plastic regulation, tied in over with the investigation on Koch Industries. Despite attempts at exploitation of exact legal wording along with swaying of the public, this would only backfire, especially the memo sent by Bill Hanna, the president of the time, back in 1988, which claimed "written materials which would be useful to our competitors should be destroyed by shredding, burning, or some equally effective method", which, because of the time, was considered proof of destorying evidence. This would be the final nail in the coffin, as Koch Industries would be found guilty of obstruction of justice along with other crimes, not including the eventual proof of the oil theft from Native American reservations. The CEO of the company, Charles Koch, would be found guilty along with his brother and vice president David Koch, president Bill Hanna and plenty of others. Perhaps as part of a needs to show he means business, Askew pushed for not just restrictive fines, but also jail time, something that would managed to be delivered, much to the shock of many people. [1]
The issue was also compounded by how it being a private business meant the brothers weren't just the leaders of the company, but also the majority stockholders. The stock would be passed down over to their children, with the condition of it remaining in the family. However, the children, predominantly Chase Koch, would be influenced by their uncles (David and Frederick) to grant stock to them in exchange for financial compensation, as part of plans for making the company public, but would likely switch to Koch Industries being liquidated and sold off, namely because of the American Plastic Regulation Act. Askew's first major regulation, it was focused on the last year or so in Congress of Udall's time, but finished here. It was done over to address the need of regulation of plastic companies, with their intense lobbying attempts just making them double down. The act would have "single-use plastics" be effectively banned or heavily restricted along with more general regulations on recycling. "Single-use plastics" being defined as plastic products effectively made for a single use, with restrictions given on their fate. Items such as plastic checkout bags, plastic stir sticks, beverage six-pack rings, plastic cutlery, and certain food packaging would no longer be utilized, with the period of time being five or so years to complete the switch, though with room remaining for extensions. Others had more restrictions placed on them such as plastic containers, including single use bottles, or plastic staws, which were originally considered for banning, until health advocates pointed out their importance on the disabled. The rammifications would be quite impactful,e specially since it's suspected that the act would likely be reinforced years down the line along with other knock on effects.
Meanwhile, as President Askew and Vice President Chisholm were assembling the cabinet, more than a few Udall members invited back and rejoining, such as Secretary of State Jimmy Carter and Secretary of Energy Dixy Lee Ray along with some newcomers, such as Walter Mondale as Secretary of Housing & Urban Development. In the rest of the world, other major developments showed the changing of the times. Japanese Emperor Shōwa dies and his son Akihito is enthroned as the 125th Emperor of Japan immediately. Thus ends the Shōwa era and the beginning of the Heisei era over for Japan while Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa takes office as the third President of Sri Lanka and Ante Marković succeeds Branko Mikulić as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, a nation growing increasingly tension-filled and fragile, with some nations beginning to consider plans for Yugoslavia potentially breaking up, even violently, a topic that would likely come in the next US-USSR talks, especially with Askew's first presidential meeting with Gorbachev. This was not the only issue that was in need for the Soviet Union to discuss. Poland would see upcoming changes with Solidarity being legalized by the Polish United Workers' Party and weeks later, the government of the People's Republic of Poland holds formal talks with representatives of Solidarity movement for the first time since 1981. This combined with how Estonia's flag would once more would see that the greater Soviet sphere would be starting to break free from the cultual suffocation of the decades prior, the concerns being that Gorbachev may be unable to stop the oncoming potential wave of rebellions against the Soviet chokehold. [2]
Political changes are not the only changes coming from the start of the new year. The Space Race may be slowed down, but not entirely with regards to satellites and the stars. Satellite television service Sky Television plc is launched in Europe early on with the first of the 24 GPS satellites being launched weeks later, showing that the world is growing ever more connected and drawn together regarding telecommunications and especially computations. [2] This alongside with the contiuation of nucleat technology development, especially with the likely completion of the first Gen III nuclear reactor over in Japan along with potential upgrades and developments. Overall, it was a time of great change up ahead... with many wondering what would be the horizon and in store for everyone...
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[1]- Information and phrasing came from here: https://www.politico.com/magazine/s...tion-oil-theft-native-american-tribes-227412/
[2]-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989
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"MR. PRESIDENT! MR. PRESIDENT! WE HAVE AN EMERGANCY! GORBACHEV IS REQUESTING AN EMERGANCY MEETING!"
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Great start to your version of 1989. I'll wait to see what Gorbachev wants to talk with Askew about.
What will 1990s cinema and movies be like ITTL? What will Pokemon and the Simpsons be like?
Okay. I was just asking.You’ll have to wait and see there, guys
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No worries and Merry Christmas! The Simpsons will be largely the same though will still be different. Really unsure how to explain it. While the character archetypes and moments remain the same, there will likely be a more optimistic and meaningful bent than just pure satire. Unsurprisingy given how the culture of the babyboomers is now quite different.
I wasn't worried, just more "...ok".
And Merry Christmas to you too!
I can't wait to see what Askew and Chisholm will do ITTL! I wonder how 1992 will go down ITTL...
Hmmm... probably at least to the mid 2000s. Anything after that may be difficult outside of general statements, I mean, even more than what I have here
.I'm thinking it is very likely that Askew and Chisholm will get re-elected in 1992 in another landslide, though not as large a margin as in 1988. Maybe we will even see the end of the electoral college and implementation of ranked choice voting eventually in this timeline (I hope so). Voting through the internet may also become a thing as the internet will become more prominent throughout the 1990s and the dotcom boom of the 2000s.
Also, what are ya'll's thoughts on basically the new rules of single use plastic here. This will definitely have some pretty big noteworthy ramifications. Things like how restaurants handle leftovers, the search for renewable alternates (how long before bamboo tries to partially fill the void) and so on. I remember my brother in law noting that this would lead to the rise of more noodle places and the like over in like food courts and malls along with hand eaten foods.
Wonder if the Home Alone films will be the same, and if not, what changes will they have.