Thomas Vanderbilt

[William Leisner]

MichaelS said:
And that's all there is.

You say that as if there would be some kind of relationship between the length of the passage, and the amount of kibitzing done about it.

 

[Trent Roman]

Sci said:
The United States has a had a stable system for 219 years.

I seem to recall a civil war and a number of relevant constitutional amendments.

Great Britain has retained its parliament/cabinet form of government for 287 years.

Which may look similar on paper, but in function has changed radically.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[MichaelS]

William Leisner said:

MichaelS said:
And that's all there is.

You say that as if there would be some kind of relationship between the length of the passage, and the amount of kibitzing done about it.

Good point. As always, it's not a question of length but a question of how you use it.

 

[Sci]

Trent Roman said:

Sci said:
The United States has a had a stable system for 219 years.

I seem to recall a civil war and a number of relevant constitutional amendments.

Great Britain has retained its parliament/cabinet form of government for 287 years.

Which may look similar on paper, but in function has changed radically.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

But with both of them, the basics are still there: An elected President and Congress/an elected Parliament and parliamentarily-chosen Prime Minister.

What you described was having the BASICS change.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

captcalhoun said:
the clipping was so tiny as to be illegible.

you gonna tell me the E-D is really powered by a giant hamster in a wheel like the MSD shows?

You mean it's not????

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

JD said:

Sci said:
There's a bit where Scotty is waiting to meet someone in the lobby of a space station that has a statue commemorating President Littlejohn for her leadership during the Earth-Romulan War

Hmm, she was active during the Earth-Romulan War? Maybe this will all be cleared up in next year's Romulan War trilogy then. :thumbsup:

It doesn't say how active she was. For all we know, she could have been exactly what a President would be in a mixed system like this: a ceremonial leader, a head of state, but not much more than that. True, Starfleet: Year One implies that she was actively involved, but there's too much else in it that has been contradicted, so in the novels' current continuity it doesn't really apply - we don't know if Littlejohn was "really" as active as SF:Y1 depicted her as being.

(Side note: Was The Future Begins written before, or after, "Demons"/"Terra Prime" aired?)

 

[Sci]

Babaganoosh said:

JD said:

Sci said:
There's a bit where Scotty is waiting to meet someone in the lobby of a space station that has a statue commemorating President Littlejohn for her leadership during the Earth-Romulan War

Hmm, she was active during the Earth-Romulan War? Maybe this will all be cleared up in next year's Romulan War trilogy then. :thumbsup:

It doesn't say how active she was. For all we know, she could have been exactly what a President would be in a mixed system like this: a ceremonial leader, a head of state, but not much more than that. True, Starfleet: Year One implies that she was actively involved, but there's too much else in it that has been contradicted, so in the novels' current continuity it doesn't really apply - we don't know if Littlejohn was "really" as active as SF:Y1 depicted her as being.

(Side note: Was The Future Begins written before, or after, "Demons"/"Terra Prime" aired?)

Well after -- I think by about a year. But it's important to keep in mind that "Demons"/"Terra Prime" only established Nathan Samuels as being a "Minister;" it wasn't until The Good That Men Do, published a year after The Future Begins, that Samuels was established as UE PM. Tales of the Dominion War, published not quite a year before "Demons"/"Terra Prime," though, had earlier established a UE PM in the 24th Century.

I tend to interpret the reference to President Littlejohn in The Future Begins as being in commemoration of her ceremonial leadership. I imagine Littlejohn's role in the Earth-Romulan War as being akin to that of King George and Queen Elizabeth to the UK during WW2 -- to provide inspiration to "rally 'round the flag" and keep morale up, with whoever was serving as UE PM ending up as United Earth's "Winston Churchill," so to speak.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Sci said:

Babaganoosh said:
(Side note: Was The Future Begins written before, or after, "Demons"/"Terra Prime" aired?)

Well after.

Ah! They've got it covered, then.

 

[Timo]

I tend to interpret the reference to President Littlejohn in The Future Begins as being in commemoration of her ceremonial leadership. I imagine Littlejohn's role in the Earth-Romulan War as being akin to that of King George and Queen Elizabeth to the UK during WW2 -- to provide inspiration to "rally 'round the flag" and keep morale up, with whoever was serving as UE PM ending up as United Earth's "Winston Churchill," so to speak.

There were a couple of constitutional monarchies in WWII Europe where the royal head of state ended up having an active political role through this sort of ceremonial leading. Essentially, they made truly major decisions on foreign policy simply by deciding whether to go into exile or stay in their Nazi-occupied nation. Their theoretically inconsequential public statements on such occasions then ended up forcing the hand of their governments and governments-in-exile.

It's also possible that since Earth before the Romulan War had not engaged in formal wars of any sort, legislation on who decides on such things might have been woefully lacking. As the result of obsolescent, anachronistic legislation that nobody had bothered to revamp, Littlejohn (or whoever was in office when the crisis began) might have found herself with surprising powers, such as the practical ability to veto or even make a decision for war or peace.

Littlejohn could also have a true decider in the French or Finnish presidential sense, of course. In times of crisis, it might help to concentrate symbolic power on the person in practical charge, or vice versa, just for the sake of clarity.

Timo Saloniemi