The Rise of the Three Party System
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Mechaman
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« on: October 14, 2009, 03:02:57 PM »
« edited: October 18, 2009, 04:21:49 PM by Mechman »

I've finally decided to start on my infamous Three Party System Timeline project. I originally thought I should wait to begin this since it is in the same universe as my "America that Never Was" project (currently on hiatus, I may have a few entries now and then, but right now I have huge writer's block on that one) but if I did that I would probably be waiting years to start this part of the timeline. Of course the big disadvantage of this is that I will have to make references to events that happened in this time line's past that I haven't written yet, thus destroying some suspense whenever I do decide to create a TL in this universe that happens before this one and I "change history" this TL will also be affected. In this situation I will give everyone reading this TL a headsup that history has changed. Consider this the "Butterfly Effect" law of Mechman timelines.

I will try to have an entry up tonight because tomorrow I'm going to see some relatives of mine in Texas.

The beginning of this timeline will be a foreward by an unknown narrator and then the beginning of the Presidential Succession Crises of 1901-1902.
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Mechaman
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« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2009, 04:18:43 PM »

In the beginning of the United States of America under the Constitution there were four parties with Congressional representation: the Federalists, the Liberals, the Rationales, and the Radicals. Each had their own spheres of influence and target group. From 1785-1791, these four parties competed for dominance in the American system. It was during the term of President John Rutledge (F) that the system began to become unraveled, with the Radicals disappearing due to the increasing liberalism of the Liberal Party, which would absord the Radicals completely by 1793. It would be during the two terms of moderate Federalist President Thomas Pinckney that the Rational Party would disappear from existence due to moderates in both the Liberal and Federalist parties becoming more prominent. It would be during Pinckney's tenure that the system would unravel, as his own pragmatic moderatism and willing to compromise got him branded a "Federalist in Name Only" or a "Liberal in Federalist Clothing" for his support of Liberal legislation on issues such as trade and civil liberties. As the Federalists rallied against the president, one of their own, public approval of Pinckney only got higher as did Liberal support of the pragmatic Federalist president Thomas Pinckney. This act of irony, a Federalist President who got a majority of his support from the opposition party, would be the beginning of the end of the 1st Party system. Thomas Pinckney would endorse Liberal Virginia Senator Thomas Jefferson over the Federalist pick of former Secretary of State John Jay. THis symbolic act would doom the Federalist Party by the year 1817, and America would be under the one party leadership of the Liberals. However, the Liberal Party was known for being fractured in ideology, as the party split in three in the year 1823: The Liberal Republican Party, which can only be described as an early incarnation of libertarianism, the National Republican Party, a party that supported the ideals of economic nationalism, and the Democratic Party, the "party of the people". Due to it's own radical nature at a time when personal liberty was just a new concept, as well as having the abolition of slavery in it's platform, the Liberal Republican Party died off by the mid 1830s, just leaving the Democratic Party and the National Republican Party which renamed itself the "Whig Party". Eventually, the Democratic Party would become known as the party of moderation and sensibility while the Whig Party would be considered a party full of extremists, and the Whigs would die off and be replaced by the Know Nothings and the Republican Party in the 1850's. After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1859, the Know Nothing Party, which had most of it's support from the South (due to Republican dominance in the north), would disappear from existence. From 1861 onwards, only two major parties would exist: The Democrats and the Republicans. In the 1880's-1890's, a Populist Party had emerged only to quickly disappear due to the changing tide of history. It is 1901, and countless parties have been thrown to the ash heap of history due to the brutal nature of the American Party System. History has taught us that the American political system can only sustain duopoly for a long period of time, a one party system will divide against itself, a multiple party system will cannibalize itself. History however, obviously never met Theodore Roosevelt.............

"All my life I have always dreamed of a just and noble world, a world where men don't fall asleep while their families die of poverty and hunger, a world where children aren't used as slaves for the whims of tyrants and bastard businessmen, a world where all men are created free and equal. But alas, even here in America such a dream is impossible. THat doesn't mean we shouldn't try damn it."
Theodore Roosevelt........Dreaming of Eden
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Mechaman
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« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2009, 10:06:13 PM »
« Edited: October 26, 2009, 02:23:03 AM by Mechaman »

March 5th, 1901: It is election day in the United States of America. In this election Democrat President William J. Bryan will be running against Republican Ohio Governor William McKinley. With Bryan's unpopularity with members of his own party many predict that the election will be a blowout for McKinley and the Republicans. Will the divided Democratic party unite to miraculously re-elect President William J. Bryan, or will many disaffected Bourbon Democrats check McKinley's name this time around?


Democratic President William Jennings Bryan.

March 7th, 1901: It is projected that William McKinley has been elected president in a landslide over President Bryan. The unpopularity of President Bryan results in a loss of HOuse and Senate seats for the Democrats, losing what was once called "a solid Democrat majority" in the House. Historians say the previous Democratic dominance was due to the success of the Cleveland Administration, where the Democrats held up to 254 seats in 1891 to the Populists 8 and the Republicans 70. The number of seats has gone down since then, most during the Bryan Administration.


President Elect William McKinley

1901:


William McKinley (OH)/Thomas B. Reed (ME) (Republican) 325 evs 53.43% pv
William J. Bryan (NE)/Thomas E. Watson (GA) (Democratic) 122 evs 43.57% pv
Eugene Victor Debbs (IN)/Job Harriman (CA) (Social-Democratic) 1.5% pv
Wharton Barker (PA)/Ignatius L. Donnelly (MN) (Populist) 0.9% pv
John G. Woolley (IL)/Henry B. Metcalf (OH) (Prohibition) 0.7% pv

The failure of the Bryan administration brings the White House back into Republican control for the first time since 1885.


US Congress:
House:
Republican: 197 (+30) Majority
Democratic: 160 (-28)
Populist: 0 (-2)
Total Members: 357

US Senate:
Republican: 52 (+6) Majority
Democratic: 38 (-5)
Populist: 0 (-1)
Total Members: 90

April 28th, 1901:
In a shocking move, New York Democrat Senator Alton B. Parker announces he will switch over to the Republican Party because the Democratic Party is becoming "the Party of Puritans." He does say however that he won't bow down to GOP demands for protectionism.


Former Democrat turned Republican New York Senator Alton B. Parker.

In the coming weeks, more and more Democratic politicians would switch over to the Republicans to voice their dismay over the party direction towards populism.

By May 28th, 1901, 3 Senators and 20 Representatives would defect from the Democrats to the Republicans.

US Congress as of May 28th, 1901:

House:
Republicans: 217 (+20) Majority
Democrats: 140 (-20)

Senate:
Republicans: 55 (+3) Majority
Democrats: 35 (-3)

It was hard to believe that the Democratic Party, which had held a solid majority in both chambers just ten years ago, was on the verge of implosion. It would take an event of epic proportions to help the Democrats get back their former glory. Without a third party, it seemed that the two parties were becoming more and more polarized.
History, however, is not without it's ironies.
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« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2009, 12:50:25 AM »

Finally, a proper thread Smiley

This should be good. So long not only the history of the United States drastically changes but the rest of the World.
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Mechaman
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« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2009, 01:24:00 AM »
« Edited: October 15, 2009, 01:37:52 AM by Mechman »

July 5th, 1901: It is Inauguration Day for the Republican President William McKinley.

"I William McKinley do solemnly swear" Boom!

A bomb disguised into the stage destroys the makeshift stage McKinley was standing on. The stage collapses and about 30 people die, among them President elect William McKinley, Vice President elect Thomas Reed, former President William J. Bryan, former Vice President Thomas E. Watson and Speaker of the House David P. Henderson. The unknown culprit just pulled off the biggest assasination of all time: THE ASSASINATION OF THE NOT ONLY THE PRESIDENT-ELECT AND HIS VICE PRESIDENT, BUT OF THE CURRENT PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT AS WELL AS THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. All hell just broke loose and the citizens of the US have no official representation in the White House. The future of America would rest of the hands of a few brave men.


President William J. Bryan (March 19th, 1860-July 5th, 1901)


Vice President Thomas E. Watson (September 5th, 1856-July 5th, 1901)


President Elect William McKinley (January 29th, 1849-July 5th, 1901)


Vice President Elect Thomas B. Reed (October 18th, 1839-July 5th, 1901)


Speaker of the House David B. Henderson (March 14th, 1840-July 5th, 1901)

July 6th, 1901: The United States Government offers a $500,000 reward to anyone who will turn in the culprit who murdered the President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, and Speaker of the House.

July 8th, 1901: Per the rules of the Presidential Succession Act established after the assasination of Abraham Lincoln who succeeded John Fremont only to get shot a month after winning election, there is a section that reveals that if the Vice President is unable to fulfill his duties, the President Pro Tempore shall take upon his duties. Therefore, the current President of the United States per the rules of Succession is President pro tempore William B. Allison of Iowa, Ohio Senator Mark Hanna would be his replacement as PPT. The House of Representatives would decide on a new Speaker of the House while President William B. Allison would nominate a Vice President to be approved by Congress. In a matter of days the US went from saying goodbye to it's youngest elected president ever to having the oldest president in history who came to office in the most dire of circumstances. Senator Allison is immediately sworn in as President.


Republican President William B. Allison, the oldest man to succeed the presidency (thus far).

July 9th, 1901: President William B. Allison addresses a crowd in Washington D.C. in a speech that will be on every newspaper around the nation:

"My dear countrymen, we are in the midst of perhaps the darkest hour in this nation's history. Never before have we faced such great adversity: We are in an economic panic, we've just lost a bunch of our greatest leaders in the most cowardly of fashions, and many are beginning to question if the American experiment has truly failed. You know what I believe? That it is darkest before the dawn, God hath brought us this way for a reason, that from our failures we can learn to be better men than what we were before. Do not despair, America, the dawn is not too far ahead."
President William B. Allison is given a standing ovation.

July 12th, 1901: The US House of Representatives elects Representative Joseph Gurney Cannon of Illinois as the new Speaker of the House.


New Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon

July 29th, 1901: President William B. Allision announces his pick for Vice President to Congress: New York junior senator Theodore Roosevelt. There is token resistance to the pick, due to Roosevelt's well publicized support of intervention, but the nation's woes must be soothed.


New York Senator Theodore Roosevelt, the enigmatic VP pick of President William B. Allison. The ticket of William B. Allison and Theodore Roosevelt would be the greatest age disparity between a President and his Vice President, a difference of 29 years.

July 30th, 1901: The New York Times headline of the week: "Almost 4 weeks since the day America died, and still no justice". The article ponders why it is taking so long for anybody to come forward with information on the killer despite the $500,000 reward. In the article there is also mentions of some people contemplating a possible Masonic Conspiracy to rule the world, aliens, among other kooky ideas. Time will only tell if the so-called "Invisible Killer" is ever found.

August 2nd, 1901: Both chambers of Congress vote a majority "aye" for the selection of Theodore Roosevelt as the Vice President of the United States of America. A new day was dawning.
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« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2009, 01:42:22 AM »

There were no Vice Presidential nominations back then.
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Mechaman
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« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2009, 01:46:51 AM »
« Edited: October 15, 2009, 01:48:29 AM by Mechman »

There were no Vice Presidential nominations back then.

Ahem......

I originally thought I should wait to begin this since it is in the same universe as my "America that Never Was" project (currently on hiatus, I may have a few entries now and then, but right now I have huge writer's block on that one) but if I did that I would probably be waiting years to start this part of the timeline. Of course the big disadvantage of this is that I will have to make references to events that happened in this time line's past that I haven't written yet, thus destroying some suspense whenever I do decide to create a TL in this universe that happens before this one and I "change history" this TL will also be affected. In this situation I will give everyone reading this TL a headsup that history has changed. Consider this the "Butterfly Effect" law of Mechman timelines.

Two words: Alternate Reality
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Mechaman
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« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2009, 12:10:47 AM »

Sorry it's been awhile, but I've been very f***ing busy since Fall Break. I'm about halfway done with the next update, and I promise at least one "holy sh*t" moment in this next update.
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Mechaman
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« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2009, 04:41:55 PM »

August 18th, 1901: 16 days after the swearing in of New York Senator Theodore Roosevelt as the Vice President of the United States the United States Secret Service finds the culprit behind the murders of the President, Vice President, President elect, Vice President elect, and the Speaker of the House: Russian immigrant Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who changed his name in 1894 to Nicholas Lennon so he could mesh in with American society better. Lennon was part of the Revolutionary People's Movement, a radical left group that is most active in the Mountain West and Plains states. In the past he was an avid campaigner for the Socialist Labor candidate Charles Horatio Matchett in Wisconsin.


Russian Immigrant and Revolutionary People's Movement member Nicholas Lennon, the infamous mastermind behind the Great National Tragedy of 1901.

Although Lennon's identity had become public knowledge, nobody could find Lennon. His identity became known because one of his own fellow RPM members stepped forward to confess that Lennon was planning a huge attack on the United States Government. Some fear that Lennon might have jumped board a ship to Europe or South America. The public would be outraged at the failure of the government to capture this diabolical mastermind. Once again History would not be without it's ironies.......

August 22nd, 1901: Republican New York Senator Alton B. Parker makes a touching speech:

A few months ago I left the party I had called home since my young adulthood over a disagreement over the platform of the party. These last few months however, have been a reminder to us all the importance of unity and stability amongst people. In my selfishness I left the party, underestimating my own ability to impact change. Now my party needs me more than ever, and at the moment I can't. Therefore, for the sake of stability and unity, I shall return to my home the Democratic Party and lead it back to it's former glory.

Surprisingly there were no partisans screaming "opportunist" at Senator Parker, in fact quite a few praised his return to the Democratic Party. Over the next few months many of the Bourbon Democrats who had defected to the Republican Party would start coming home.
One person who wasn't happy about this turn of events was Vice President elect Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt: "Damn it, just when it looked as if though we were going to have an overwhelming majority in Congress those damn spineless Bourbon Democrats turn their tails back to the hole they crawled from. This world would be so much better if not for the greed of bastard businessmen that lined the pockets of many politicians."

August 24th, 1901: Five men and two women are executed for Conspiracy to Overthrow the Untied States Government, the worst crime one can commit in the US at the time, for their part in the bombing on July 5th, 1901 that claimed the lives of President William J. Bryan, Vice President Thomas E. Easton, President Elect William McKinley, Vice President Elect Thomas Reed, and Speaker of the House David B. Henderson. None of those executed would confess the location of Nicholas Lennon.

August 29th, 1901: President William B. Allision releases his cabinet picks to Congress:

Secretary of State: Robert Lincoln (R-IL)

Son of former President Abraham Lincoln, who isn't fondly remembered due to his uprooting of civil liberties to end the war quicker, this pick might be controversial due to Robert Lincoln's lack of a record and fears he is his father's son.

Secretary of Treasury: Charles Phelps Taft (R-OH)

Brother of recently elected Ohio governor William H. Taft. With Republican dominance and no controversial record to speak of President Allison doesn't worry about passing this choice through.

Secretary of War: Elihu Root (R-NY)

The former Ambassador to Spain during the Bryan administration, he has wide appeal to both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans because of his "Open Door" Policy towards foreigners who visited the US Embassy in Madrid, Democrats because of his success in being a mediator between the Spanish and the Cubans for the Treaty of Havana which ended the Spanish-Cuban War, resulting in an independent Cuba.

Attorney General: Oscar Wilde Underwood (D-AL)

A reach across the aisle to the Democratic Party by electing one of the most vehemently anti-KKK politicians in the country. President Allison would say of this pick: "it had nothing to do with party politics, it had everything to do with his principled views of justice against those who use fear and hatred to fuel violence."

Postmaster General:
Charles E. Smith (R-CT)


Secretary of the Navy:
Charles J. Bonaparte (D-RI)

A member of one of America's most prominent political dynasty, the Bonapartes (they trace their family line back to the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte, the right hand man and Secretary of War of the first Democratic President Andrew Jackson), Charles J. Bonaparte is one of the most prominent northeastern Democrats in the country and his expertise in Navy Law and Civil Administration makes him a for sure choice for the Secretary of the Navy.

Secretary of the Interior:
Henry McCarty (R-NV)

A prominent rancher from Nevada who came up with the idea of Shared Ranchland Cooperatives wherein groups of ranchers get together and enter in mutually beneficial cooperative agreements and in effect form "Super Ranches". The implementation of this program met criticisms, most having to do with whether or not this would violate the individual ownership rights in the Nevada Constitution, but the results for the most part have been positive. More and more ranchers are banding together in the Western states and implementing this system which is proving very cost effective and has reduced greatly the amount of land that is subject to cattle grazing and other environmentally damaging factors. Although he was one of the most successful innovators in the country Henry McCarty had a phobia about having his picture taken, so bad in fact that the only picture that the newspapers could find of McCarty was the picture the Land Bureau Management of Nevada took of him for his Land Owner's Permit in Nevada in 1889 at age 30.

Secretary of Agriculture:
Jesse Woodson James (P-TN)

The first and only Populist Party Senator of Tennessee from 1887-1893. He was well known for his strong support of what his opponents called "Robin Hood" economics. In the Senate he was well known for his continuous efforts to introduce legislation that would create a progressive income tax (higher taxation of the rich, lower taxation of the poor and middle classes), efforts to push forth an effort to create public housing for the poor, reduced immigration quotas to help more foreigners come to America to pursue a life of opportunity, the first attempt at creating a social safety net, the abolishment of the Jim Crow voting laws and he agreed with President Bryan's attempts to enact women's suffrage. Due to his radical political stances he failed to get re-elected in pro-segregationist Tennessee, however his legacy as one of the forefathers of the American leftism would remain. Despite his party being forced out of Congress James still put down Populist Party as his party affiliation. This nomination, unlike most of the others, is expected to face stiff opposition.

September 2nd, 1901: The American Embassy in Paris receives a disturbing message:

Greetings capitalist demons of America,

As you might have known by now it is I who has brought upon the havoc and destruction to your executive government two months ago. From my own eyes I have seen the weakness and vulnerability of your so-called strong nation. How with just a few grams of trinitrotoluene I brought the whole system down on your head did I reveal to all the world how much of a paper tiger your fraud of a free society really is. America is not the land of freedom and liberty, it is the land of the Capitalist Overlords who at this very moment are plotting an imperialistic drive to unite the world under the oligarchy of the businessmen. You think that my identity is known that this fight is now in your favor? I tell you no, America, for my unshakable resolve is impervious to any attempt on the part of your evil corporate masters to put down our glorious revolution. For I am not one, but many, if you execute my physical entity you shall not have the glory of capturing the power of my spirit which shall be passed forever and ever down to my comrades who shall take over my struggle. Be warned: The Age of Aquarius is near.

One of many,
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the one you call "Nicholas Lennon"


The United States Secret Service would soon declare the now Vladimir Lenin "Public Enemy Number 1 of the people of these United States".
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Mechaman
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« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2009, 01:00:37 AM »

Due to a number of former Bourbon Democrats going back to the Democratic Party, the Congressional numbers were now:

US House:
Republicans: 199 (-18) Majority
Democrats: 158 (+18)
Total: 357

US Senate:
Republicans: 52 (-3) Majority
Democrats: 38 (+3)
Total: 90

Although the solid Republican majority was now gone, the Republicans still had a respectable mandate by which to push forth legislation. However, with the growing strength of liberal trade Republicans, it would be harder for the Republicans to push forth tariff and protectionist issues after many years of prosperity under the liberal trade policies enacted by Bourbon Democrats under the tenures of President Cleveland and President Stevenson. Many began to wonder if ironically the rise of the new Republican majority would be the death knell of protectionist politics instead of the comeback of it.

September 5th, 1901: The Anglo-Japanese Treaty is signed in secret in Hong Kong. The reason for the secrecy woulid be in anticipation of an invasion by the expansionist Spanish Empire on either the Japanese or the British. The Japanese and British governments have been working for months at a plan to strong arm the Spanish Empire and now they had it. The Japanese have also begun planning a proposition to the new American president concerning the future of Hawaii....

September 9th, 1901: Congress approves all of President Allison's cabinet picks. Many had expected there to be a brawl over Secretary of Agriculture Jesse James but the desperation to get America through this time of tragedy weighed more on the Congress' mind. The new administration was ready to begin.

September 28th, 1901: The American government sends a message to every American embassy in the world authorizing "whatever means necessary" to find the madman Vladimir Lenin, the responsible mastermind behind the Great National Tragedy of 1901. They would have no idea how prepared Lenin would be to wage war against the Capitalists.

October 2nd, 1901: Tsar Nicholas II sends his condolences to the American Embassy in St. Petersburg personally:

My good American friends,
Words cannot express the distaste I have other the national tragedy that befell your nation a few months ago at the hands of the criminal Ulyanov. His is of the most immoral of peoples, his eldest brother was the murderer of my dear father. Out of cowardice he ran away from his fate to the United States where the Ulyanov urge for bloodshed became much worse. If only we were smart enough to wipe out him and his whole family before they became a blot on moral civilization. You have my word that as long as tsardom reigns over this land that the moment that Ulyanov sets foot in Russia it will be his last.



Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who promised to do everything in his power to get rid of the criminal Vladimir Lenin.

October 14th, 1901: 12 days after the Russian Tsar Nicholas II promised to assist the United States in the capture of the criminal mastermind Vladimir Lenin, the US embassies across Europe ask the European governments full assistance in finding the criminal Vladimir Lenin. By the end of the day France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Austria-Hungary, Rumania, the Netherlands, and Denmark all agree to assist the US. The other countries decide to stay neutral in the matter.

October 21st, 1901: The Tariff Act of 1901, which would raise tariffs by 4% on all foreign imports, fails dramatically in the House: 121-236. The failure strikes the Republican leadership really hard since 101 of the "nay" votes came from the Republican side of the aisle. The vote proved that at the moment the protectionist movement in the Republican Party was getting much weaker (and was experiencing a small amount of support in the Democratic Party). It seemed as if though the Republican leadership would have to come up with a better scheme to help big business. Historians would call the failure of the Tariff Act of 1901 "one of the few times that Democrats and Republicans got together against Democrats and Republicans".

October 28th, 1901: Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Jutaro meets with US Secretary of State Robert Lincoln in San Francisco, California. The topic of conversation turns toward the subject of Hawaii. The US was at the time allied with the Kingdom of Hawaii, a sovereign nation. The Japanese had less success previously with Lincoln's Democratic predecessors who were strongly pro-sovereignty in regards to independent nations. Jutaro would hope that Robert Lincoln, a pro-interventionist Republican, would be easier to deal with:

Jutaro: Thank you for receiving this last minute audience Secretary Lincoln. May fortune be as kind of a giver to you as it was to your father.
Lincoln: (laughs) If that's the case I better avoid the theatre for a while!
Jutaro: Mr. Lincoln, the reason I am here today is to make a proposition regarding the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Lincoln: Go ahead.
Jutaro: Sir, so far your attitude has been a lot more receivable than that of your predecessors in this manner, much thanks. Mr. Lincoln, the opportunity exists for both of our nations to reap the benefits of the Pacific market. However, the Kingdom of Hawaii as you know has been very resistant to letting foreigners establish market centres there.
Lincoln: Are you proposing that we overthrow the Hawaiian Government?!
Jutaro: I am proposing that the US and Japan participate in a joint annexation of Hawaii. Of course for such a proposition to work we need to form a Grand Military Alliance between our two powers to officiate such an action.
Lincoln: You know what Jutaro? This proposition sounds crazy......and I accept. The Kingdom of Hawaii is in the way of the demands of American business we need more markets or our economy will crumble.
Jutaro: Your willingness to place faith in the Japanese Empire is admirable Mr. Lincoln.
Lincoln: Well, this was just the easy part Minister, the hard part is getting such a plan through Congress. The Democrats are full of devout non-interventionists and the Republican Party lately has become unpredictable. Let us hope that they won't be so in this situation.
The two gentlemen then go their separate ways: Jutaro back to Tokyo and Lincoln back to Washington.


Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Jutaro, who with US Secretary of State Robert Lincoln plotted the Pacific Alliance's invasion of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Will Jutaro and Lincoln's plan succeed in Congress? Will the criminal mastermind Lenin be brought to justice? Will the Republican Leadership get it's party back on track? Find out in the next entry!
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« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2009, 02:02:37 AM »

In a lodge in the mountains of Bavaria:



A den of shady characters gather. These men are up to more than just the usual black market smuggling or sex slavery though mind you, these characters are members of the Revolutionary People's Movement for a Communist Future. This wasn't a mere den of thieves and con artists, this was a den full of men and women who had on their minds the radical overthrow of traditional Western society by the means of violent revolution. In the middle of the gathering was a very dark and brooding figure, a man who who by his very appearance demanded the best and worst of human emotions from people: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the leader of the Revolutionary People's Movement. Every pair of eyes in the room remained transfixed on this central figure, as if receiving a decree from God.

Lenin: Brothers and sisters, once again the Capitalists have proven themselves to be nothing more than a bunch of paper tigers desperately trying to put an end to our revolution. See as how the so called glorious monarchs of Europe bow at the feet of the US Government hoping to prolong the inevitable: THE AGE OF AQUARIUS!!!
Everyone: ALL HAIL THE AGE OF AQUARIUS!!!!
Lenin: Instead of heading the message of our revolution, the people have turned to imposter's like James Weaver and Eugene Debs instead who are nothing more than pawns of the ruling elites pretending to care for the needs of the Proletariat. That is why we have decided to proceed upon this course of drastic action: to unite the workers of the world against the elite rule of Church and State. Speech over.
I am pleased to announce that our American operations were a total success, soon the world will see America for what it truly is: a beacon of businessman imperialism seeking to impose it's fraudulent view of freedom and liberty on the rest of the world. I know the loss of our comrades and the coming government persecution of our comrades in the United States will be a hard loss, but it is for the greater good. Once the world sees how much of a nation of corporate imperialists the United States of America is, our Revolution shall take it next big step.

A balding figure sitting at the head chair in the great meeting room stands up. It is Georgi Plekhanov, the leader of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, speaks:
Plekhanov: Vladimir, my friend, why all this focus on America? Have you forgotten the struggles that have plagued our people, the people in your homeland? How men, women, and children are defenseless against the onslaught of Cossacks who go throughout the land stealing and pillaging for the royal bluebloods and their theocratic masters in St. Petersburg?! HAVE YOU REALLY FORGOTTEN!?
Lenin: I have not forgotten. Trust me, the time for the blood of the Tsars will come, but first we must set into motion the events that will destroy the trust between the Capitalists and their Monarchal allies. There is no better way than exposing to the workers of the world the true fraud that America is. As we speak powerhungry elitists in Washington, Paris, London, Berlin, St. Petersberg, Tokyo are all planning to usurp the will of sovereign nations to soothe the wants of bastard businessmen. This shall not stand for much longer, our time will come. The German government has let us seek refuge in these mountains as a means of leverage against possible invasion from the Russian Empire, little do they know that by harboring us they only facilitate the quickening of revolution within their own homeland. The dream of a United Germany shall prove to be just as futile as Marx said.
Everybody: ALL HAIL THE AGE OF AQUARIUS!!!
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Mechaman
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« Reply #11 on: October 26, 2009, 04:04:44 AM »

I'm telling you man I'm burnin through this timeline like a cracker on crack! Expect an update tomorrow with even more crazy sh*t occuring. This is like a goldmine of TL possibilities man!
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Mechaman
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« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2009, 03:00:15 PM »

November 23rd, 1901: The Imperial Russian government implements a nationwide purge of leftists within Eurorussia and Caucasia. The tsarist police arrests over 200 revolutionaries, but it is too late; most revolutionaries have already fled west into Switzerland and Germany where the governments have turned a blind eye to the threat of revolutionary leftist organizations. Some of those stuck in Caucasia, however, had little choice but to take employment in some of the oil refineries to avoid suspicion from the Imperial Secret Service. One of these revolutionaries, Iosif Dzhugashvili, the editor of Baku based radical newspaper Brdzola would seek employment at an oil refinery owned by the Rothschild family near Batumi, Georgia.


Iosif Dzhugashvili, one of the "persons of interests" on the Russian Imperial Secret Service's "list of revolutionary suspects" during the leftist purge of 1901. A member of the SDP and organizer of robberies of government owned treasuries and foreign banks in the Caucasus region. The Imperial Secret Service suspects Dzhugashvili of having contact with the international criminal Vladimir Lenin who was responsible for the Fifth of July Massacre in Washington D.C.

December 2nd, 1901: Secretary of State Robert Lincoln holds a meeting with President Allison, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, and Secretary of War Elihu Root over his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Jutaro about the possibility of a US-Japan alliance. Eventually the topic gets to the subject of Hawaii:

Root: "An alliance with the Japanese would be to our benefit with the growing threat of an aggressive Spanish Empire in the Pacific."
Roosevelt: "There has got to be a catch to this Bob, surely the Japanese have more of a motive than the threat of Spanish aggression. If that were the motivation they would've already have signed a treaty with the British who have more of a stake in the Pacific region than we do."
Lincoln: "Your gut tells you correctly Ted, they want a commercial stake in Hawaii."
Roosevelt: "By "commercial stake" they mean "military control" of Hawaii, I know the Japanese better than that."
Root: "Ted, we are talking about the possibility of having expanding American markets into Hawaii as well as having a better way to monitor Spanish naval activity in the Pacific. The only problem is that I don't see how we can annex Hawaii under negotiable needs, the ruling class there would never give up national sovereignty for the benefit of America or Japan."
Lincoln: "As hard as it will be convince Congress to approve of an alliance with Japan I imagine it will be harder to get Congress to declare war on the Kingdom of Hawaii, after all they are a small sovereign nation that has done nothing to ire our judgement."
Root: "It will also be hard to set up an "incident" that could propel us to war with Hawaii. The only foreseeable way we can create a favorable American market in Hawaii is if we somehow create an overthrow of the Hawaiian government by dissidents. Maybe if we rouse pro-democracy factions to take action?"
Allison: "So be it. This issue shall remain off the table for now until we can organize a coup to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchs. Inform the American Embassy in Tokyo with this news so we can collaborate with the Japanese when the time comes. We can not come across as aggressive imperialists or the Democrats will have our necks come election time."
So the scheme began for the overthrow of the peace loving sovereign Hawaiian state.

December 16th, 1901: The American emissary gives the decision of the Cabinet to Foreign Minister Jutaro. Jutaro, though a little disappointed at the nervousness of the American Executive Branch to go headlong into war with a weak nation like Hawaii, decides to go with the consel of the American Cabinet. Jutaro delivers the news to Emperor Meiji, who after much deliberation decides to take the American government's decision to heart and wait for the coming coup to overthrow the Hawaiian government. However, Emperor Meiji had his own plans for Hawaii, whether his soon to be American allies liked it or not.


Japanese Emperor Meiji. He would be known for his aggressive expassionist policies in the Pacific while encouraging alliances with many of the world superpowers to strongarm the powerful Spanish Empire.

December 25th, 1901: Christmas Day in the United States. For once there is a spirit of hope and optimism in the American people as the Panic of 1901 has began to ebb and economic conditions, while not the best, are bearable compared to what they were five months ago. Although this beginning of economic recovery should be happy news to the Republican leadership it is not as the tradtionally dominant protectionist wing of the Republican Party has less of a mandate to promote due to the recovery of the economy under a more liberal trade policy. It seemed as if though President Allison would have no choice but to go along with the war hawks' plans. And with the infamous Vladimir Lenin still on the run and hiding, the country was united behind their government to put to rest all those who had perverted American sovereignty.

December 31st, 1901: New Year's Eve. Despite a year of great sorrow and sadness the American people were more united now than ever. President Allison addresses the nation:

"On the eve of this fateful year, of great sadness and tragedy, when it seemed as though America would crumble before the chaos of anarchy I have seen something beyond greatness, beyond excellency: A people united by the creed of liberty and freedom for all standing up to the forces of chaos that have threatened to destroy our way of life. They sought to break our spirits, but no matter how hard they shall try we have proven that though they may take our lives they may never take our spirits. And as one voice we all rise: WE ARE FREE."


President William B. Allison, who despite never having been elected to office was facing an amazing level of popularity in his efforts to raise the morale of the American people.

1902:
After a rollercoaster ride of a year in 1901 where governments were changed, radicals lashed out at the ruling classes of the world, and backdoor deals were made that will change the fate of the world, what does the future hold in 1902?

January 1st, 1902: New Year's Day. Confidence in the economy increases overnight thanks to President Allison's speech. Despite the economy still being in a rough state, many economists estimate that 1902 will be one of the most prosperous years in American history giving credit to the high level of optimism and hope in the American people.
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MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!
Kalwejt
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« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2009, 03:02:08 PM »

I hate this all high resolution pictures
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Mechaman
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« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2009, 07:34:42 PM »

January 7th, 1902: A bomb explodes in the 'lolani Palace in Honolulu, HI, killing off the entire royal family and their royal cabinet. The Hawaiian Council declares a day of national mourning and plans to draft a new provisional government to replace the loss of the Royal family. No word is mentioned of restoring the monarchy.

January 9th, 1902: The Hawaiian Safety Committee captures the man responsible for the bombing of the 'lolani Palace that wiped out the entire Hawaiian Royal Family and their cabinet: Disgraced Hawaiian General Robert William Wilcox. Wilcox will face sentencing in five days for High Treason against the people of Hawaii.


Former Hawaiian General Robert William Wilcox, the man supposedly responsible for assassinating the Hawaiian Royal Family.

January 12th, 1902: President Allison once again meets with Vice President Roosevelt, Secretary of War Elihu Root, and Secretary of State Robert Lincoln:

President Allison: "Well it seems as though the scheme has paid off."
Lincoln: "I wouldn't break out the champagne just yet gentlemen, we must be weary of the possibility of our Japanese friends getting cold feet. In other words, will they accept an independent Hawaii?"
Root: "I fear not. For the sake of the continuance of the alliance we must hope for an act of divine providence from an outside force, preferably either Spain or Russia, to divert the Japanese attention from outright claiming Hawaii.
Or perhaps we can create one ourselves..."
Lincoln: "Are you suggesting that we create an incident, a bombing in Honolulu Harbor for instance, and we somehow pin that on an outside force? Do you have any idea how risky that is to pull off? Not to mention that going to war would give the Democrats a metaphorical rope to which to lynch our chances at keeping a majority?! YOU SIR ARE INSANE."
Roosevelt: "No, what we need to do at this moment is avoid an alliance with Japan and instead seek one with the new Hawaiian government. Remember, the Japanese agreed, however hesitant, to an alliance with us and a new Hawaiian Government, they as people of honor are bound to that agreement. To do so would bring dishonor upon their people as a whole. We must appear as defenders of national sovereignty in this matter."
Allison: "Gentlemen, I carry Teddy's sentiments: WAR MUST BE AVOIDED UNLESS HAWAII'S NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IS AT STAKE. Has 16 years of Democratic passiveness and non-interventionism made you too thirsty for war Mr. Root?"
Root: "Gentlemen, I agree national sovereignty is important, but we are talking about a possible future market for American business. Do you really think we should risk it by trusting a new Hawaiian government to be friendly to the needs of American business?"
Roosevelt: "I wasn't aware that American Business was your only interest Mr. Root, I thought you cared about the future of Hawaii.....I guessed wrong. We can still show we are a strong nation, by defending the sovereignty of those that aren't. They in turn will respect our protection and reward the wants of your Imperialist businessmen."
Allison: "Easy Teddy. Gentlemen, thank you for your time."

January 14th, 1902: The People of Hawaii vs. Robert William Wilcox. On the first of what would be many days in court, disgraced Hawaiian General Robert William Wilcox would plea 'not guilty' to charges of high treason against the people of Hawaii. Despite the amount of evidence that is brought up against him, the former general refuses to budge. Did he really do it?

January 17th, 1902: After a meeting with Foreign Minister Jutaro and US Ambassador Alfred Buck, Emperor Meiji decides to belay the order to send the Japanese Navy to Hawaii. This move surprises the American contingent in the audience due to the reputation of the Japanese as expansionists who would normally jump at the opportunity to take over a weakened Hawaiian state.

January 26th, 1902: Secretary of the Interior Henry McCarty and Montana Senator William A. Clark appear before Congress with the Federal Ranch Cooperative Bill, a bill that would set aside lands for the development of Ranch Cooperatives in the Mountain West and reduce the amount of wasted land and space, allowing for more conservation. Due to the newness of the idea, no one has any idea how the vote will come down in the House and Senate.

February 2nd, 1902: US Secretary of State Robert Lincoln, Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Jutaro, and Hawaiian Interim Prime Minister Sanford B. Dole sign the Mutual Hawaiian Trade Treaty. The treaty, if ratified by the US Congress and the Japanese Diet, would recognize the sovereignty of the soon to be Republic of Hawaii and establish beneficial trade benefits for the United States and Japan in the Hawaiian Islands. Most notably, American and Japanese markets would have full and free reign to set up in Hawaii and operate as if they were Hawaiian businesses (Hawaii at the time had a pretty protectionist trade policy, foreigner couldn't even establish shop there unless they were a full time Hawaiian citizen). In effect, the treaty made it to where any American or Japanese citizen enjoyed almost full Hawaiian citizenship rights.


Hawaiian Interim Prime Minister Sanford B. Dole.

After the meeting, Lincoln would comment "full economic access to Hawaii.....and not even one shot fired." Would this new alliance benefit the Allison Administration, or will it backfire on them tremenduously? Is the Spanish Empire now at checkmate now that the US, Japan, Hawaii, and Great Britain all keeping a close watch on it? Will the United States avoid yet another war? Or has America run out of luck? And what of the revolutionary forces running rampant throughout the world plotting to overthrow the ruling order of the West? Is their time short-lived, or will they truly succeed in bringing about the Age of Aquarius?
Tune in next time to the Rise of the Three Party System!
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Mechaman
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« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2009, 08:49:06 PM »

February 8th, 1902: After many days of debate, the Federal Ranch Cooperative Bill is passed through the US House of Representatives 231-102-24. The bill found most of it's support from progressive Republicans and populist leaning Democrats. The opposition vote was due to the relative newness of the idea.

February 14th, 1902: After only 6 days, the US Senate votes the Federal Ranch Cooperative Bill 68-12-10. The margin of success for the bill is very surprising to many who expected it to fail for sounding "communistic". However, as Bourbon Democrat Senator Alton Parker (NY) said of the bill "it isn't capitalistic at all, in fact it encourages the best to band together with the worst to make an overall better product and more efficient use of resources. If that isn't anti-capitalist, I don't know what is."

February 16th, 1902: US Secretary of State Robert Lincoln arrives at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. to sign onto the secret Anglo-Japanese Treaty. Unlike the treaty signed with Japan and Hawaii, the meeting is very informal and lasts all of 20 minutes. In fact, the treaty is so secret that only the Executive Branch knows about it. The reason for the secrecy is that if it were known that the United Kingdom was allied with either the US or Japan it would be easier for enemy states of the UK to gain alliances with other nations to strongarm Britain.

February 17th, 1902: US Secretary of State Robert Lincoln comes before Congress with a copy of the Mutual Hawaiian Trade Treaty. The Treaty is controversial, due to what many pro business Republicans called "a sellout of protectionism", as well as Bourbon Democrats who while being pro-liberalized trade were opposed to the level of American involvement in another country's economy, as well as only granting exclusive rights to Japan and America and not everyone else. The treaty would be debated for almost two weeks before the vote came down.

February 21st, 1902: While going back to work after a smoke break, Iosif Dzhugashvili encounters four American men in black suits and hats.

"Good afternoon Iosif. We understand that you know Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin."
Iosif throws a piece of scrap metal in the direction of the American men in black before sprinting full force down a flight of stairs. He did not know how it came out that he knew Lenin, such information was very valuable and there was no way in hell he could let those American Secret Service agents (he gathered that from the black suits) know any of it and he definitely could not afford to get caught. The fact that he had avoided the Tsarist Secret Service this long was pure luck, no way would he let himself be captured (and most likely executed) by American agents. He got out of the refinery and was making his way towards the entrance when five Imperial Guards appeared and got into rifle formation.
"Nooooooo! We need him! He has valuable information!"
"See you in hell American cowards! (yells curses in Georgian at the Imperial Guards)"
And then the Imperial Guards opened fire as Iosif Dzhugashvili yelled curse after curse about the guards' mothers. The American agents watched hopelessly as bullet after bullet hit Dzhugashvili. After the smoke cleared, Dzhugashvili, his body full of hot lead, yelled: "LONG LIVE THE AGE OF AQUARIUS!!!"
And so Iosif Dzhugashvili had died a true hero of the Revolution.


Iosif Dzhugashvili, one of many martyrs of the Communist movement. By getting himself killed by Imperial Guards before American Secret Service agents could interrogate him the search for Lenin and other members of the Revolutionary People's Movement suffered a catastrophic setback.

February 23rd, 1902: News of Dzhugashvili's death reaches the Imperial Government in St. Petersburg. Dzhugashvili had become a major nuiscance in the Caucasus, causing a great deal of disorder as well as organizing major robberies on Imperial Treasuries and foreign banks located throughout the region that fed the revolutionary movement. One of the biggest knats of the movement was now eliminated, and the Empire could go on it's usual business without disorder.

February 28th, 1902: The US House votes on the Mutual Hawaiian Trade Treaty: 198-143-16. It passes by the slimmest of margins (55% needed to pass treaties in the House).

Will the Mutual Hawaiian Trade Treaty make it past the US Senate?
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Mechaman
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« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2009, 10:46:22 PM »

March 5th, 1902: A year to the day after the Election of 1901 the US Senate passes the Mutual Hawaiian Trade Treaty 54-34-2. The treaty between the US, Japan, and Hawaii was now official.

March 8th, 1902: In the town of Huntsville, Texas, a mob of Whiteshirts (an offshoot of the defunct KKK) drags ten black men into the town square and hang them from ten foot flagpoles. One of the victims was Samuel Walker Houston, a well known African-American educator.


The Huntsville Detention Center, it was in front of this structure that the infamous Huntsville Lynchings took place.

March 10th, 1902: After more than a month of trial, Robert William Wilcox is found guilty of the crime of High Treason against the people of Hawaii. His punishment: execution by public hanging. He will be hung in two weeks time on March 24th.

March 14th, 1902: The news of the Huntsville Lynchings become national news. There is outrage throughout the nation, especially in black communities in the South wondering how safe they really are in America.

March 15th, 1902: Attorney General Oscar Underwood in a dramatic speech declares the United State's War on Crime:

For those of you who are here today who have heard the news of what has transpired in Huntsville, Texas let me assure you that this kind of act will not be tolerated under this administration. Those responsible for these resprehensible acts will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This kind of medieval behavior does not belong here or anywhere else in the world and I will do my very best to put crime on the run. Today, we declare the United State's first War on Crime.



In the coming weeks and months Underwood would push for the prosecution of domestic terrorist groups, often butting heads with Congress to do so. He would be so strident in his duty to persecute domestic terrorism that some political cartoonists compared him to Atilla the Hun and Genghis Khan.

March 18th, 1902: Texas Rangers find the perpetrators of the Huntsville Lynchings 5 miles outside College Station, TX. Instead of giving themselves over to the Texas Rangers, the Whiteshirts fire on the Ranger captain and an all out firefight between the Rangers and the Whiteshirts results. The fight lasts 20 minutes, ending with the deaths of all 6 Texas Rangers and 24 of the 32 Whiteshirts. As a result of this, the Whiteshirts would be put on the American Secret Service's Most Wanted List.

March 21st, 1902: Attorney General Oscar W. Underwood, after hearing about the deaths of 6 Texas Rangers in a firefight with the Whiteshirts, would order the Amerian Secret Service to use "any and all means necessary in your disposal to eradicate the Whiteshirts".

March 24th, 1902: Robert William Wilcox is executed via public hanging in Honolulu, Hawaii for High Crimes against the people of Hawaii. Even at the point of death Wilcox denied being involved with the assasination of the Hawaiian Royal Family.


Robert William Wilcox, February 15, 1855-March 24th, 1902

March 28th, 1902: After being tipped off by locals, the American Secret Service sends a squad of 50 heavily armed troops to the Whiteshirt's headquarters located outside Victoria, Texas. Once there an all-out firefight between the US troops and the Whiteshirts commence. The troops pound the compound with lots of fire from gatling guns and a few well thrown explosives. The aftermath of the incident leaves 22 US troops dead and all 108 Whiteshirts dead. As the troops headed back to town the citizens gave them a rousing ovation. Despite justice being served, the American Secret Service as well as Attorney General Oscar W. Underwood would receive heavy criticism for what some perceive as a too aggressive approach to dealing with hate groups, some even calling Underwood a "police statist". Especially in his own party Underwood would become hated, with some southern Democrats calling him a "race traitor" and "n lover".

April 5th, 1902: The US economy has made a full recovery and has risen back to levels not seen since 1896 during the administration of Adlai Stevenson. With the nation back with strong leadership, some would even argue stronger than ever before due to it's resolve around issues like Hawaii, the hunt for Lenin, and Attorney General Underwood's eradication of the Whiteshirts. Never before had Americans rallied so strongly in the wake of national tragedy and soar towards the skies. But for how long will America keep us this newfound optimism before history once again demands it to take action?
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Mechaman
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« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2009, 10:57:44 PM »

Comments?
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