Alternate History 🇺🇸 November 2, 1976: President Nelson Rockefeller wins election to full 4-year term and the aftermath

[Sergeant Foley]

86TH BOSTON MARATHON: SALAZAR WINS MEN'S TITLE; TESKE VICTORIOUS CLAIMING WOMEN'S TITLE
*Monday, April 19, 1982: American Alberto Salazar wins the men's title in 2:08:51; Charlotte Teske of West Germany wins the women's title in 2:29:33.

NASA ASTRONAUT HISTORICAL MOMENTS: BLUFORD AND RIDE MAKE HISTORY RESPECTIVELY
*Guinon Bluford was announced as the first African American NASA Astronaut while Sally Ride was announced as the first female NASA astronaut.

QUEEN BEATRIX OF THE NETHERLANDS ADDRESSES US CONGRESS

​

*Wednesday, April 21, 1982: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands delivers an address before Joint Session of the US Congress.

SINCLAIR 2X SPECTRUM UNVEILED
*Friday, April 23, 1982: 8-bit personal home computer, the Sinclair 2X Spectrum was unveiled and quickly sold five million worldwide.

DURBIN WINS BOWLING TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
*Saturday, April 24, 1982: Mike Durbin wins the Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions.

ISRAEL WITHDRAWS FROM SINAI PENINSULA
*Sunday, April 25, 1982: In accordance with the Camp David Accords and Peace Treaty with Egypt, the State of Israel officially withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula altogether.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN AND FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN VISITING THE CARRIBBEAN WITH VISITS TO JAMAICA AND BARBADOS

​

*Wednesday, April 7, 1982: President and First Lady Reagan began their visit to the Carribbean with visits to the Commonwealth of Jamaica (April 7th-8th) and the Commonwealth of Barbados (April 8th-11th). Upon arriving at the Norman Manley Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, the Reagan's were greeted by Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Philip George Seaga and his wife, Mitzy Seaga including greeting young Jamaican children, who were traditional attire during the Arrival Honors Ceremony festivities.

Following the Arrival Honors Ceremony festivities, Reagan and Seaga held discussions at the Jamaica House: Executive Office Building of the Prime Minister, where the following was discussed between the President and Prime Minister:

*Signing of the Double Taxation Agreement facilitating the holding of conventions in Jamaica by giving the same opportunities writing off business expenses against US tax liabilities.

*Purchasing of 1.6 million tons of baudite for the US Strategic Stockpile.

*Provisions in balancing of payment through the US/Jamaica Bilateral Economic Development Program.

*Establishment of the US Business Committee in Jamaica under the co-chairmanship of former US Secretary of the Treasury David Rockefeller and William Sneath.

*Reagan and Seaga also reviewed recent developments in Central America and the Caribbean and noted that the Salvadoran people in the March 28th elections demonstrated overwhelmingly their commitment to establishing free democratic institutions inside the Central American country.



COMING UP IN CHAPTER 12 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: The Reagan's visiting the Commonwealth of Barbados during their trip to the Carribbean.

Upcoming Installments:
*Personal PoV's in the Falklands War of 1982.
*Pop Culture.
*Opposition growing against the Junta in the Argentine Republic.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

WILL ROCKEFELLER RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 1984? NATIONAL DEMOCRATS WANT TO KNOW

*Monday, April 26, 1982: Speculation has been swirling around West Virginia Governor Jay Rockefeller, the nephew of the late President Nelson Rockefeller, to see if he'll consider launching a campaign for the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Rockefeller, whose second term as Governor will end on 14 January 1985 due to term limits in the West Virginia State Constitution, has been visiting places such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, Michigan, New York State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, etc.,

The two-term Democratic Governor has been blasting Reagonomics for causing a nationwide economic recession, killing millions of small businesses, industries even closing down factories. "President Reagan thinks that his so-called economic policies would turn our economy around with that big tax cut from last year. Tell that to the factory workers in the Great Lakes, who lost their jobs, livelihoods and homes. Since the Fall of 1981, we're into an eighth recession since the end of World War II. Unemployment has been skyrocketing non-stop since the Great Depression."

Rockefeller hasn't said anything about his political future lately since winning reelection in 1980. National Democrats are watching a close eye on the West Virginia Governor to see if he'll take the plunge by running for the Presidency in two years; while the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has been recruiting him to consider running for the United States Senate in 1984, when many political analysts inside the Mountaineer State anticipate long-time United States Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) to not seek reelection.

GALLUP POLLING SURVEY (APRIL 26, 1982)
CONTROL OF CONGRESS 1982 MIDTERMS:
Democrats: 37%
Republicans: 25%
Undecided: 37%

 

[Sergeant Foley]

PRIMARY NIGHT IN THE LONE STAR STATE:
*UNITED STATE SENATOR MARK W. WHITE, JR., (D-TX) WINS DEMOCRATIC PARTY GUBERNATORIAL NOMINATION AFTER TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSIONER BUDDY TEMPLE WITHDRAWS
*TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY UNITED AND READY TO TAKE DOWN INCUMBENT TEXAS GOVERNOR WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS, JR., IN NOVEMBER
*TEXAS GOVERNOR'S MANSION SHOWDOWN OFFICIALLY SET BETWEEN SENATOR WHITE VS GOVERNOR CLEMENTS
*DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION, REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL FIGURES BARGING INTO THE LONE STAR STATE
*ODD-SMAKERS CURRENTLY VIEW CLEMENTS FAVORED TO WIN REELECTION.....FOR NOW
*MASSIVE GOTV MACHINE RAMPING UP LED BY UNITED STATES SENATOR LLOYD BENTSEN (D-TX) AND TEXAS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WILLIAM P. HOBBY, JR.,

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*Saturday, May 1, 1982: In one of the lightest turnouts of any primary election, Texans came to the polls to choose who'll be their respective parties nominees for the Lone Star State's 27 congressional districts in the US House of Representatives; United States Senator; Governor; Lieutenant Governor; State Attorney General; Comptroller of Public Accounts; Commissioner of the General Land Office; Railroad Commissioner, Place 3; Texas Supreme Court Justice, Place 2; Texas Supreme Court Justice, Place 4; Texas Supreme Court Justice, Place 6; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 7 and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 8.

​

The results among some of the races were:

*UNITED STATES SENATOR(Democratic Primary)
United States Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX: incumbent): 987,153 (78.13%): Declared Winner
Joe Sullivan (D): 276,314 (21.87%)
Bentsen advances to the November 2, 1982 general election

*(Republican Primary)
US Rep. James M. Collins (R-TX): 152,469 (58.00%): Declared Winner
State Senator Walter H. Mengden (R-Houston): 91,780 (34.92%)
Collins advances to the November 2, 1982 general election
*Rating: Solid Democratic Hold

*GOVERNOR (Democratic Primary)
United States Senator Mark W. White, Jr., (D-TX): 773,673 (49.73%): Declared Winner
Railroad Commissioner Buddy Temple (D): 402,693 (30.54%)
Commissioner of General Land Office Bob Armstrong (D): 262,189 (19.88%)
White advances to the November 2, 1982 general election

*(Republican Primary)
Governor William P. Clements, Jr., (R-incumbent): 246,120 (92.58%): Declared Winner
Lowell Embs (R): 19,731 (7.42%)
Clements advances to the November 2, 1982 general election
*Rating:TOSS-UP
​

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 12 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Match-Ups for the Statewide Offices in the Lone Star State on the upcoming November 2, 1982 general election campaign.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Statewide Offices Matchups for 1982
1:37 PM CST, Nonday, May 3, 1982
Austin, Texas

​

With the primaries over, the matchups for several of the statewide offices in Texas were officially set for November. And among them with intriguing interests: the Governorship where White and Clements were both going to battle it out all the way to the finish.

*United States Senator
United States Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX: incumbent) vs US Rep. James M. Collins (R-TX)
Rating: Solid Democratic Hold

*Governor
Governor William P. Clements, Jr., (R-incumbent) vs United States Senator Mark W. White, Jr., (D-TX)
Rating: Toss-Up

*Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby, Jr., (D-incumbent) vs former Texas Secretary of State George Strake (R)
Rating: Solid Democratic Hold

*State Attorney General (OPEN)
US Rep. Jim Mattox (D-TX) vs Bill Meier (R)
Rating: Likely Democratic Hold

*Comptroller of Public Accounts
State Comptroller of Public Accounts Robert D. "Bob" Bullock (D-incumbent) vs Mike Richards (R)
Rating: Safe Democratic Hold

*Commissioner of the General Land Office (OPEN)
Garry Mauro (D) vs Woodrow Glaskcock (R)
Rating: Likely Democratic Hold

*Commissioner of Agriculture (OPEN)
Jim Hightower (D) vs Fred Thornberry (R)
Rating: Safe Democratic Hold

*State Treasurer (OPEN)
Travis County Commissioner Dorothy Willis Richards (D) vs Allen Clark (R)
Rating: Solid Democratic Hold

*Railroad Commissioner, Place 3
Railroad Commissioner Jim Nugent (D-incumbent) vs John T. Henderson (R)
Rating: Solid Democratic Hold

COMING SOON IN CHAPTER 12: Statewide Office Matchups in the Lone Star State consisting of the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

1982 WORLD'S FAIR OPENS IN KNOXVILLE
*Saturday, May 1, 1982: The 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tennessee with the theme: "Energy Turns the World." Most of the countries, states, and corporations, majority of whom had pavillons at the fair, devoted their exhibitions to energy: How to obtain it; conserve it and using it.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING IN YUGOSLAVIA
*Sunday, May 16, 1982: The Yugoslav Parliament chose Milka Planinc to serve as the country's Premier becoming the first female to holding the post. Planinc succeeds Veselin Djuranovic, who held the postition since 1977.

JORGE BLANCO ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
*Salvador Jorge Blanco won the Presidential election to succeed the late Dominican Republic President Antonio Guzman, whose been in office since 1978. Jorge Blanco is expected to be inaugurated on August 16th.

SPAIN JOINS NATO; BECOMES 16TH MEMBER OF THE DEFENSE ALLIANCE
*Sunday, May 30, 1982: The Kingdom of Spain became the 16th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Spain is the first new member of the defense alliance since West Germany since 1955.

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT MAJOR GENERAL SEYMOUR QUINTERO REELECTED COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT; WILL BE SWORN IN ON AUGUST 7TH
*Colombian President Major General Seymour Quintero, who took power in a bloodless military coup d'etat in the Summer of 1977 and won election to a full four-year term in 1978, was easily reelected as the 26th President of the Republic of Colombia in a massive landslide victory with 73% of the nationwide vote.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: ISRAELI TROOPS INVADE LEBANON; FIGHTING BOTH PLO AND SYRIAN TROOPS
*June 6, 1982: Israeli military troops launched an invasion into Lebanon. The main justification for the invasion: destroying military bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Four days later on June 10th, Israeli forces reached the capital city of Beirut, where the city had suffered heavy damage and many civilians were killed. In addition to fighting the PLO, the Israelis also had to fight with Syrian troops, who were stationed in Lebanon. By the end of the month, mediators were desperately trying to arranging for full withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon altogether.

MILITARY COUP D'ETAT IN CHAD
*June 7, 1982: Chadian President Goukouni Oueddei, who has been in office since 1979 was overthrown in a military coup d'etat and replaced by Hissen Habre.

JUGNAUTH ELECTED MAURITIUSAN PRIME MINISTER
*June 12, 1982: Aneerood Jugnauth becomes the new Prime Minister of Mauritius following parliamentary elections. He succeeds Sir Seewoosagur Ramgolam, who had been in office since the island became an Independent nation in 1968.

PRINCESS DIANA OF WALES GIVES BIRTH TO FIRST BORN SON
*June 21, 1982: Diana, Princess of Wales, gives birth to her first child, a boy. He was named William Arthur Philip Louis, and he will be known as Prince William of Wales. The baby is second-in-line to the British Throne, after his father, Charles, Prince of Wales.

HINCKLEY FOUND GUILTY FOR KILLING WHITE PRESS SECRETARY JIM BRADY; ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT OF PRESIDENT REAGAN
*A federal grand jury finds John W. Hinckley, Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and three othet people including killing then-White House Press Secretary Jim Brady on 30 March 1981, guilty of capital murder and will be sentenced to death.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: HAIG RESIGNS AS US SECRETARY OF STATE
*June 25, 1982: Embattled US Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., announced his resignation as US Secretary of State. President Reagan nominated George P. Shultz to succeed him at the US State Department. Shultz would be confirmed by the Republican-controlled United States Senate on July 15th.

STRATEGIC ARMS REDUCTION TALKS BEGIN IN GENEVA
*June 29, 1982: The United States and the Soviet Union began strategic arms reduction talks (START) in Geneva, Switzerland. The main objective of these talks were reducing the number of weapons, particularly nuclear weapons, stockpiled by the two major nuclear superpowers.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Personal PoV's: The Helicopter Ride of Death
10:00 PM, June 27, 1982
Somewhere in South America
​

......"We woke up that Uppity Bitch inside her cell by blind-folding and gaging her by having her mouth taped shut. I ripped off her clothes from head to toe, revealing her naked and barefoot. Isturiz had placed chains on her ankles and used handcuffs to make sure she wouldn't try to escape.

It was around 10:00 PM when we placed her inside the helicopter where we would use it for "Special Good Ole Helicopter Rides" for agitators, flying all the way toward the ocean and pushing these outside agitators to their deaths in the middle of the night.

I justified these methods as following the orders of our great President of the Argentine Republic: His Excellency Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri. The special helicopter was flying across the ocean somewhere over another country's ocean-like river when I gleefully shoved that Uppity Bitch out of the helicopter and watchec as she fell all the way down to the deep water. After shooting into the water to make sure she was dead, I ordered Isturiz "Let's ger the fuck out of here!" Once we got back to the base, I phoned President Galtieri and informed him "We shoved that Uppity Bitch into the deep ocean and made sure she'll never float up again!" Galtieri laughed on the other line and said "Good Job Lieutenant Colonel. Now let's start making plans on invading Chile once the Falklands War is over..."
-Javier Rosales
Argentine Republic Army Lieutenant Colonel
Summer 1982

 

[Sergeant Foley]

And the War Dragged On......
Summer 1982
Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic
​

The one question many people wanted to ask was why after all of these years did the Argentine Republic use military force in taking control of the Falklands?

One of the major reasons: The military government had pledged to take control of the Falkland Islands by 1983, which was ironically, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the British colony. And time was running out on them very quickly!

For Argentine Republic President Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, he had good reason for deflecting the people's attention elsewhere: many Argentinians were becoming more unhappy about the military dictatorship that had ruled this once-proud South American country since 24 March 1976 through a succession of military dictators: Videla, Viola and Galtieri himself. Plus despite the ongoing typical violent oppression against any forms of opposition, the economic situation inside the Argentine Republic was in big, big trouble with no signs of turning around; What also caused more problems were growing anti-government demonstrations that quickly turned violent in Buenos Aires.

When the Argentinian Armed Forces launched their invasion of the Falklands on 2 April 1982 by seizing South Georgia Island and the South Sandwich Islands, it touched off a buge wave of popular support for Galtieri, whose approval ratings were awful (bordering on 19%).

Crowds converged onto the grounds of the Casa Rosada during the week of April 10th including the squares of Buenos Aires shouting "Malvinas Argentinas" including other patriotic slogans. President Galtieri himself addressed the crowd from the balcony of the Casa Rosada and fired up the crowd with gloating potshots about the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom he called "The Tea Crumpet Bitch who deserved to get assassinated because of British meddling in international affairs," as the raucous crowd cheered loudly with some chanting "Death to Thatcher!"

Reaction to Galtieri's firing up the triggered crowd and insults about Thatcher didn't go too well. In London, reaction caused violent strong anti-Argentinian sentiment across the United Kingdom: some innocent Argentinians were violently attacked by angry Brits who had beaten them to a pulp and violence escalated into hate crimes during one evening, a female Argentinian college student was beaten up and violently gang-raped repeatedly.

British Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe immediately ordered a naval task force to the Falklands, some 8,000 miles away. Consisting of 30 major ships, the task force was among one of the largest assembled since the 1950s. Prince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was serving in the British Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot aboard one of the 30 ships.

Due to the uglier deterioration of diplomatic relations, the British announced they're severing all diplomatic ties with the Argentine Republic; freezing all Argentinian financial assets held in the United Kingdom and launched massive economic sanctions which crippled the Argentinian economy.

Majority of the United Kingdom's allies inside the European Community also followed suit by imposing additional economic sanctions against the Argentine Republic. Meanwhile, the United States stepped in as an mediator in trying to find diplomatic solutions for resolving an escalating dispute.

However, the British and Argentinians couldn't even agree to a diplomatic solution on the Falkland Islands. London was firm into demanding the Argentinians withdraw all of their military troops and that the islanders be allowed to determine their own future; Buenos Aires rejected any plans including diplomatic solution that didn't include their right to ruling the Falkland Islands.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 12 OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC:
*The British Counteroffensive.
*Personal PoV's on the long-dragged out Falklands War of 1982 continues.
*Argentinians strike British destroyer Sheffield.
*British retaliate by sinking the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano.
*Galtieri doubling-down on upping the ante even further.
*Personal PoV's from Argentinians and Britons.
*Chile gets into the act by coordinating with the British by participating in a full-scale invasion of the Argentine Republic.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

SEVEN-DAY MISSION OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA ENDS
*July 4, 1982: After seven days aboard the space shuttle Columbia, astronauts Thomas Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield, Jr., ended their mission which was the fourth and final test flight of the reusable spacefraft. They performed medicak and scientific experiments. In addition, the shuttle was accompanied by a secret military payload which was carried.

SINGH ELECTED PRESIDENT OF INDIA
*July 12, 1982: Zail Singh was elected as the next President of India succeeding outgoing Indian President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who held the office since 1977.

IRANIAN TROOPS INVADE IRAQ
*July 14, 1982: In retaliation for the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980, Iranian troops invaded Iraq. The two neighboring Middle Eastern nations have been at war ever since; By May 1982, Iranian troops recaptured almost all of their territory.

VILDOSO BECOMES PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA
*July 21, 1982: Guido Vildoso Calderon becomes the President of the Republic of Bolivia, succeeding Celso Torrelio Villa, who had resigned after ten months in office.

COMMERCIAL WHALING BANNED
*July 23, 1982: The International Whaling Commission voted to ban commercial whaling. They also reduced the number of whales until 1986; The IWC did allow Eskimos and native hunters continue hunting whales for food and other necessities.

THE GALLERY OF THE LOUVRE SOLD FOR $3,250.000
*July 29, 1982: The famed painting The Gallery of the Louvre painted in 1832 by the late Samuel Morse, was sold for $3,250.000 making it the highest ever paid for an American works of art.

MIDSUMMER MADNESS
*Deely Bobbers were the Summer's fun fashion. Millions of people of all ages wore the glittery stars, hearts, balls, and pinwheels which had bobbed on springs attached to headbands.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Civil War in El Salvador
Summer 1982
​

Things were getting uglier down in Central America and not for the better. And what didn't help matters was instigating anti-American sentiment in some of the Central American countries such as Honduras and El Salvador for example.

In El Salvador, the Civil War that began in 1979 between the military government and leftist rebels, it had been entering its third year and what justified the violent methods of the Salvadoran military government was these leftists received financial backing from socialist and communist countries like Cuba, where Cuban President Fidel Castro was looking to expand his dominance in the region.

The Salvadoran military government was staunchly supported by extremely wealthy landowners and the Salvadoran Armed Forces. They also received support from the United States, who was determined to stopping communism from infecting the entire Western Hemisphere.

With little to nonexistent dissent in El Salvador and growing unrest on political and economic challenges, it was only a matter of time before the Central American country would descend into full-blown chaos. At the same time, the extreme leftists gained more and more support and their top priority was overthrowing the Salvadoran military government.

When a moderate military junta took power in 1979, one of the first things they initiated was land reform programs: consisted of breaking up large estates and allowing peasants buying land. Despite opposition from both the rightists and leftists, the United States continued supporting the government by sending both economic and military aid which also included 55 military advisers.

In March 1982, the Junta's rule ended following democratic elections for the National Assembly. For the Junta's perspective, they hoped opening up free elections would show more popular support for the land reform programs.

However, things didn't turn out that way!

Groups of right-wing political parties gained full control of the Salvadoran National Assembly by choosing former Army officer Roberto d'Aubuisson leading as Assembly Speaker; The National Assembly then tapped Alvaro Magana as President. And to topping things off, the right-wing Salvadoran National Assembly voted to suspending the land reform programs on a temporary basis.

The Civil War continued to escalate as leftist rebels used sabotage: blowing up bridges and railway lines, burning agricultural crops and also stealing cattle (these dumbass leftists must've been hungry).

Once again, the Salvadoran government aggressively retaliated with sweeps through areas where guerillas were at their strongest. In the Fall of 1982, the increasing attacks by the leftist rebels continued when they took control of several villages in the north and east of El Salvador.

Despite demands of proposing peace talks in any hope of ending the Civil War, the Salvadoran government refused by rejecting the leftist rebels' proposals. Both sides were both complicit in kidnappings, torture and extrajudicial civilian killings although many pointed the finger at the right-wing Salvadoran government for committing more heinous actions.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Escalating Conflicts Spreading throughout Central America
Summer 1982
​

El Salvador wasn't the only Central American country having an ugly civil war with massive death and mayhem that caused thousands to flee their homes and livelihoods......

Fears were growing that Honduras and Guatemala both would get caught up in the Salvadoran Civil War.

*HONDURAS: Caught right in the middle between El Salvador and Nicaragua, where the Sandinistas took power in 1979 by overthrowing the Somoza family. Allegations surfaced that Nicaragua had secretly smuggled weapons through the Honduran border under the noses of the Honduran government, to the leftist rebels in El Salvador.

The southern border of Honduras became a defacto military base for Nicaraguan fighters, who staunchly oppose the Sandinista government. And in the meantime, there was also a growing guerilla movement inside the Republic of Honduras; the United States provided both economic and military assistance to the Honduran government.

*GUATEMALA: Taking power as Guatemalan President in March 1982, Army General Efrain Rios Montt launched an aggressive offensive against majority of Guatemalan left-wing guerillas, who refused to surrender. According to Human Rights Watch, an estimated of more than 2,500 civilians were killed by Rios Montt's forces and the sadistic killings forced thousands to flee to nearby Mexico.

Guatemalan military troops were stationed along the eastern border with Belize, where the Belizeans feared Rios Montt would launch a violent invasion against their newly-independent nation.

*NICARAGUA: Scared about the possibility of a potential counter-coup, the extreme left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua deployed military troops to crush rebel forces, who consisted of rightists, Indians, disaffected leftists. Nicaragua was undergoing a full State of Emergency for most of 1982 by controlling the government, quelling opposition and dealing with massive economic problems.

*COSTA RICA: Despite noy having a true military and being long considered as one of the wealthiest countries in Central America, the Republic of Costa Rica plunged into an economic recession in 1982 which caused several outbreaks of guerilla activities. In response, the Costa Rican government deployed thousands of personnel troops from the Costa Rican National Guard by increasing patrolling their country's border with Nicaragua and Costa Rica received military assistance and aid from the United States.

COMING UP: Escalation spreads to Panama and Mexico

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Civil War Spreading Like Wildfire?
Fall 1982
​

......"The Salvadoran Civil War suddenly engulfed nearly the entire region of Central America. Unless things were solved diplomatically, it had the possibility of potentially engulfing all of Latin America in the long-term."
-Oscar Robles
Former President of Mexico (1973-1986)
Exclusive Interview with Espana TV
Spring 1988

Panama had been going pretty much downhill following the mysterious plane crash that killed popular left-wing authoritarian military leader General Omar Torrijos in the Summer of 1981, infighting inside the Panamanian National Guard and the government had escalated very fast.

Many peoole were concerned that the ugly brewing violent and deadly conflicts in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala would soon spread over to Panama, where the operation of the Panama Canal would've been affected.

This basically forced the Reagan administration to get involved in Central America even more, both in terms of promoting US influence and economic and military assistance.

Unfortunately, many inside Central America viewed the United as "meddling into their internal affairs", the American involvement wasn't always welcome. Back home in the States, many Americans had some good reason to be questioning why in the Hell was the most wealthiest powerful nation in the world aiding and supporting most of the governments of these Central American countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala) which had been accused of heinous human rights violations.

To answering these questions was quite difficult and there wasn't a scheduled timetable on when these conflicts would come to an end. One thing was definitely certain: whatever course pursued by many of the hot-spots in Central America, was bound to be very difficult.

In Mexico, there was signs of growing unrest against the right-wing fascist authoritarian military government of three-term Mexican President General Oscar Robles, where groups of left-wing guerillas began fighting in southern Mexico against government military troops in a battle that led to the deaths of more than 6,773 people. Robles received support from the United States both militarily and economically in terms of assistance as Robles deployed over 29,000+ military personnel troops to southern Mexico along with additional reinforcements in violently crushing the left-wing guerillas and rebels, most of whom were tortured and disappeared never to be seen ever again.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

SOMARE TAPPED AS PAPUA NEW GUINEAN PRIME MINISTER
*August 2, 1982: Michael Somare was chosen to serve as the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea by the Papua New Guinean Parliament. He previously held the position from 1975 to 1980.

EVAUCATION PLAN BY LEBANESE GOVERNMENT AND PLO APPROVED
*August 18, 1982: The Lebanese government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) approved a plan which included the evaucation of Palestinian and Syrian fighters, who were trapped since June in West Beirut by Israeli forces. The next day, August 19th: the Israeli government approved the plan as well and the evaucation plans begun on August 21st eventually being completed on September 1st.

PLO guerillas traveled to various Arab nations that agreed to accept them. The largest number of PLO guerillas went to Syria, along with the evaucated Syrian troops. The evaucation plan was supervised by troops from the French Republic, Italy and the United States.

KING SOBHUZA II OF SWAZILAND DIES AT THE AGE OF 83
*August 21, 1982: King Sobhuza II, the world's longest-serving Monarch, dies at the age of 83.

GEMAYEL NAMED LEBANESE PRESIDENT
*August 23, 1982: Bashir Gemayel of the Christian Phalangist Party was chosen by the Lebanese Parliament to become the next President of Lebanon. However, most Muslim members of Parliament boycotted the vote in protest.

ENTERTAINMENT: SWEDISH ACTRESS INGRID BERGMAN DIES AT THE AGE OF 67
*August 29, 1982: Swedish-born actress Ingrid Bergman passed away at the age of 67. Bergman won Academy Awards for performances in "Gaslight" (1944); "Anastasia" (1956); and "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974). She also was in the famous movie "Casablanca" co-staring with the late Humphrey Bogart.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

Banacek is an American detective television series that aired from 20 March 1972 to 25 May 1977. The series was part of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie anthology. Among the cast members of the famed television series: George Peppard, Ralph Manza, Murray Matheson, Christine Belford and George Murdock for five Seasons running with 91 episodes.

Banacek

Genre Crime Drama
Created by Anthony Wilson
Starring George Peppard
Ralph Manza
Murray Matheson
Christine Belford
George Murdock
Theme music composer Billy Goldberg
Country of origin United States
Number of Seasons  5
Number of Episodes  91
***Production***
Executive Producer George Eckstein
Producer Howie Horwitz
Running time 90 Minutes
Production company Universal Television
***Release****
Original Network NBC
Audio format  Monaural
Original release March 20, 1972-
May 25, 1977
​

COMING UP IN THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC: Part III of Pop Culture:
*"TJ Hooker"
*"Hart to Hart"

 

[Sergeant Foley]

@The Immortal Watch Dog This installment is for you as More of the Crazy continues 😎

The Unhinged Dictator's Sinister Fantasies of Chaos
8:37 PM, Monday, August 30, 1982
Somewhere in the Asian Pacific
​

The sinister, ruthless and infamous 601st Intelligence Battalion Death Squad got their orders after reporting to Argentine Republic President Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri: Operation Sociopath has reached to Phase 6.

With everyone distracted by the dragged-out Falklands War of 1982, Galtieri's mission of exterminating anyone, who got in his way had no limits: he succeeded in having Queen Elizabeth II kidnapped on March 13th; then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher assassinated in the Grand Hotel bombing on April 5th, which topped off with the explosive invasion of the Falkland Islands. The war had divided Latin America into different camps: Venezuela for example, supported the Argentinean military government's claims of taking control of the Falklands which resulted in an aggressive response by the British government, who deployed British military personnel troops to fighting the Argentineans.

And the Falklands War of 1982 continued to drag on non-stop.

When Pope John Paul II during a bilateral meeting at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires with Galtieri resulted in the Pontiff lecturing the triggered Psychopath about moving the Argentine Republic to democracy, most of Galtieri's advisers in that meeting were nervous and one of whom muttered "Why do I fear His Holiness won't be long for this world?"

Publicly for the Argentinians, who were still supporting the military government's efforts in the invasion, and Galtieri kept calm as cameras showed the unhinged triggered dictator and the Pontiff on the balcony of the Casa Rosada as the crowds cheered.

However, Galtieri behind closed doors, was pissed off! "That FUCKING Polish Piece of Shit Must Die At Once! Get Mendoza over here at once!" Mendoza in his full dress Army uniform saluted his Commander-in-Chief: "Mr. President, Major Rudolph Mendoza at your service." Galtieri spewed his rantings trashing the Pope to Mendoza, telling him "That fucking Polish bastard won't live to 1983. And that's NOT a threat. It's a promise." Mendoza laughed, but knew what had to be done.

Mendoza joined the infamous and ruthless 601st Intelligence Battalion Death Squad, who sabotaged the Papal aircraft during the tail end of August 1982. It was time to "Cleansing the Vatican of that Polish Bastard!"

Masquerading as a pilot, Mendoza and his cohorts of the 601st Intelligence Battalion Death Squad spiked refreshments and food with something poisonous, which knocked out the Pontiff and everyone else unconscious aboard. Mendoza and his colleagues grabbed parachutes as the Papal Aircraft was flying mid-air somewhere over the Asian Pacific.

Mendoza and his cohorts calling themselves "The Rolex Club" managed to escape out of the flying Papal Aircraft.

Sometime around 9:00 PM, the Papal Aircraft slammed into a large mountain exploding with large balls of fire alarming the townspeople, who screamed.

Mendoza was smiling at the explosion, picked up his walky-talky informing President Galtieri: "Your Excellency, it's done. That Polish bastard won't be nagging at the Vatican anymore!"

Over in Buenos Aires, Galtieri hung up the phone with a huge giant smile on his face. He was already thinking more schemes about invading Chile and killing Pinochet. "Nobody's going to stop me ever! I am doing God's work!"

Like a spicy, juicy Argentinian Telenovela, the big jackass villain like Galtieri was still winning.

COMING UP IN CHAPTER 12: Someone in Brazil finds a battered woman and rescues her.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

TJ Hooker is an American police drama television series starring William Shatner in the titular role of 15-year veteran LCPD Police Sergeant Thomas Jefferson. Supporting cast included Adrian Zmed as rookie Officer Vincent Romano; April Clough as Officer Vicky Taylor (Season 1 only); Heather Locklear as Officer Stacy Sheridan (Season 2 onwards); Richard Herd as Captain Dennis Sheridan; James Darren as Officer Jim Corrigan; Jimmy Smits as Officer Hector Alvarez (Season 6): JimBrown as Detective Jim Cody (Season 3 guest starring role; Season 6) and Hugh Farrington as Detective Lieutenant Peter O'Brien (Seasons 4-6). The television series aired on ABC for six Seasons with 111 episodes from March 13, 1982 to May 30, 1987.

TJ Hooker

Genre Action; police crime drama
Created by Ricky Husky
Starring William Shatner
April Clough (Season 1)
Heather Locklear
Adrian Zmed
Richard Herd
James Darren
Country of origin United States
Original language English
Number of Seasons 6
Number of episodes 111
*****Production******
Running time 60 Minutes
Production companies Spelling/Goldberg Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
******Release******
Original network ABC
Original release March 13, 1982-
May 30, 1987 ​

 

[Sergeant Foley]

@Ibanez @Buba @bintananth @Val the Moofia Boss @The Immortal Watch Dog
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If y'all need me to do any other Pop Culture Tips such as movies, let me know which movies for 1982 that you want to have posted in this timeline.

Give me a specific detailed list of movies from 1982 and I'll do the best I can to getting those mentioned in future installments.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: POPE JOHN PAUL II KILLED IN EXPLOSIVE PLANE CRASH
*Eyewitnesses heard loud thundering explosions in the middle of the night.
*Death Toll: Authorities estimating over 37+ were killed in the plane crash.
*Investigation underway.

*Tuesday August 31, 1982: The entire world woke up to one of the most horrible news developments ever: Pope John Paul II, the first Polish person to serve as the Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church was killed in a plane crash while aboard Shepherd One along with 37+ others aboard the Papal Aircraft, while it was flying towards Singapore.

According to several eyewitnesses in the countryside, they heard a loud thundering explosion followed by additional explosions and some of whom ran out of their homes to see large balls of fire on the right side of the mountain.

The Associated Press reported that paramedics, firefighters and law enforcement officers including Singaporean federal law enforcement authorities arrived on the scene. It was a horrific and gruesome sight: one of the sixteen paramedics, who were assisting with finding for survivors, found at least only five people, who were flying on Shepherd One to have survived the violent crash.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

......"Woke up to the horrific shocking news that Pope John Paul II was killed in a plane crash. Nancy and I were saddened by this terrible loss throughout the entire world. We has just had an audience with the Pope on June 7th at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City during my week-long trip to France, Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany.

I just couldn't comprehend why this awful tragedy happened?"
-Diary of Ronald Wilson Reagan
41st President of the United States
August 31, 1982
White House
Washington, DC