Butterflying A Bat: America (and the world) without COVID-19

[gillan1220]

Cultural Events for February to April 2020 in the Philippines

February 2, 2020: Plus 63 Music and Arts Festival is held at SM Seaside Complex Cebu Concert Grounds in Cebu City, Philippines. Featuring three local and one international bands, the star of the concert was the American band LANY which confirmed attendance on December 18, 2019. The concert was originally intended to be held on January 18, 2020 to coincide with Sinulog Saturday but was moved further back to two weeks to accommodate the change of venue and the international band. Organizers estimated that 15,000 people would attend but numbers broke to around 20,000 concert goers. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The performance of LANY in the festival has given speculation that more international bands would perform in Cebu in the future as usually most international bands perform in Manila.

Photo: Official Plus 63 Music and Arts Festival poster

LANY LIVE IN CEBU | Plus63 Music & Arts Festival




Photo: The grand fireworks display as LANY ends their performance on stage at Plus 63 Music and Arts Festival, SM Seaside Complex Cebu Concert Grounds, Cebu City, Philippines, February 3, 2020.

February 3, 2020: The AFP and the U.S. Embassy in Manila commemorate 75 years since the Battle of Manila. United States Ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, speaks at the University of Santo Tomas which was used as an internment camp for foreign nationals during the Japanese occupation. 

February 28, 2020: The U.S. Embassy in Manila commemorates to 75th anniversary of raising the Stars and Stripes over Manila City Hall by raising the U.S. flag in the Embassy grounds. The event is attended by Philippine Department of National Defense Assistant Secretary Raul Caballes, National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairman Rene Escalante, and Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan joined American and Filipino veterans and their families, and the Embassy community. 

Photo: U.S. Marines raise the American flag on the Embassy grounds while Embassy Staff and Filipino WWII veterans look on, February 28, 2020 (Source: U.S. Embassy in the Philippines).

March 7-8, 2020: Wanderland Music & Arts Festival is held at Filinvest Grounds, Muntinlupa City. The full-line up of artists was released on January 29, 2020. There was an estimate of 150,000+ attendees in the two days of the festival. 


Photo: Artist line-up for Wanderland Music and Arts Festival 2020


Photo: The crowd during the first night of Wanderland Music and Arts Festival at Filinvest Grounds, Muntilupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 7, 2020.

March 26, 2020: As part of the 75th anniversary for the liberation of Cebu from the Japanese, the annual Talisay Landing reenactment is held in Talisay City, Cebu, Philippines. Reservists from the Philippine Marine Corps and operators from the Naval Special Operations Group portrayed the American force while a local historical group portrayed as the Japanese soldiers, local Cebuano civilians, and resistance fighters. The event ended with a flyover from a Philippine Air Force UH-1 Huey dropping confetti over the beach.

Photo: Philippine Marine Corps reservists take the role of American soldiers and marines as part of the Talisay landing reenactment, March 26, 2020.

April 8, 2020: The Philippines commemorates the 68th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan.

April 5-11, 2020: Holy Week is observed across the country.

April 27, 2020: Annual Battle of Mactan reenactment and street party celebrations in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

May 1, 2020: Labor Day in the Philippines.

May 6, 2020: The Philippine commemorates the 68th anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor, which was the last bastion of democracy in Asia during the Japanese onslaught.

---

Author's Notes:
- The events of January to February 2020 are the same as OTL. It's only March onwards where the timeline diverges further in terms of sports, music, media, entertainment, and culture.
- This ends my part of cultural events in the Philippines for 2020. 

[american2006]

Opening of 2021

January 2021
Donald Trump and the GOP opened up 2021 on a high note. With vast margins of control in the Senate and House, and two new Governorships, the policy plans of the GOP where revived. Newly-elected Senators John James of Michigan, Jason Lewis of Minnesota, and Representative Burgess Owens of Utah proposed a spate of new bills. Mitch McConnell prepared 2 hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, one for the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett and another for the Attorney General nomination of Josh Hawley. Hawley used this instance to put forth his image and name, as many called him a potential 2024 Republican Presidential candidate. The swearing in of a new U.S. Senate saw Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, fresh off of re-election, successfully push the Coney Barrett and Hawley nomination through. The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed Coney Barrett in a 13-9 vote, with all Republicans voting aye and all Democrats voting nay. The Senate Judiciary Committee also advanced Josh Hawley to the Senate floor in an 11-10 vote, with all but two Republicans voting aye, all Democrats and Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse voting nay, and Hawley, himself on the committee, abstaining. On the Senate floor, all Republicans voted in favor of Coney Barrett in a 60-40 vote along party lines. Hawley was also confirmed mostly along party lines, but 5 Republicans (Ben Sasse (NE), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), and Mitt Romney (UT), plus Hawley himself) voted in favor of Hawley's nomination. Hawley and Coney Barrett both took office January 17th, 2021.



Trump second inauguration was a big event, with thousands of people showing up. Trump gave a speech honoring the achievements of his administration, as did Vice President Pence. Celebrations were broadcast around the country.

The spate of new bills proposed by the new members of Congress then was viewed. It included the following:
-S.R.1: The Minimum Police Funding Act of 2021 (Proposed by Sen. John James (R-MI))
-S.R.2: The Save American Manufacturing Act of 2021 (Proposed by Sen. John Lewis (R-MN))
-S.R.3: The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 (Proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL))
-S.R.4: The American Healthcare Act of 2021 (Proposed by Sen. John James (R-MI), alongside several others)
-S.R.5: Defund Planned Parenthood Act (proposed by Sen. John James (R-MI))
-S.R.6: The Minimal Voting Requirements Act (Proposed by Sen. John James (R-MI))
-H.R.1: The Flag Act (Proposed by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT-4))
-H.R.2: The American Healthcare Act of 2021 (Proposed by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT-4), alongside several others)
-H.R.3: The Deregulation Act of 2021 (Proposed by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT-4))
-H.R.4: The Tax Act of 2021 (Proposed by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT-4))

---

I will be making several articles on the Alternate Timelines wiki for this timeline in the very very near future.

[american2006]

alternatetimelines.fandom.com/wiki/Butterflying_the_Bat_(Timeline)

The first of many articles for this timeline.

[american2006]

Should be noted that gillan1220 made this thread: alternate-timelines.com/thread/3817/sinulog-celebration-lifetime-butterflying-spinoff?page=1&scrollTo=133899 as a spinoff of this timeline. Anyway, now to February 2021.

---

February 2021
Winter Storms strike the South, Pres. Trump pardons Edward Snowden, and conflicts over Secretary of Defense as the GOP and Democrats begin proxy fight over 2024.

The Storm of the Century, as it was called. The Southern United States, the Southeast in particular, was known as warm, hot and humid. So in February, when the entirety of the American South fell under what was called Winter Storm Uri, the nation was shocked. For much of the South, it was just increased snow and stayed inside. However, a quirk in the energy grid left the 2nd largest state in both land area and population out in the cold. The Energy Reliability Commission of Texas failed to provide power the morning of February 10th, 2021. This failure left the interior of homes as low as 40 degree fahrenheit. Homeless persons in Houston began to die. However, quickly Governor Greg Abbott jumped into action. He was seen on the phones with President Trump, Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, and Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas to divert power into the state. Power was restored for Houston area homes at 11:34 AM, primarily with power diverted from Florida. At 12:03 PM, Kevin Stitt announced Oklahoma (as well as Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota) would be diverting power into Denton and Collin counties. Power was restored there at 12:14 PM. El Paso and West Texas had power restored at 12:56 PM by Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona and the Arizona power grid. San Antonio, Austin, the border regions and the central and East Texas region, and Tarrant and Dallas counties where out of power. Arkansas and Louisiana where able to pick up the slack and restore power to those portions of the grid. Finally, Governor Mike Dunleavy of Alaska (who was under threat of recall) restored power to the remainder by flying in oil and gasoline from Alaska into Texas. Governor Abbott, as well as Senator Cruz who helped provide charitable relief, received boosts in hypothetical polls for there re-elections and any future Presidential run.



The Texas capitol in Austin

Meanwhile, history was marked when President Donald J. Trump issued a pardon for former NSA Contractor Edward Snowden on February 7th, 2021. This received widespread support from many, including former US Representative and 2020 Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (a democrat) and US Senator from Kentucky Rand Paul (a Republican) as well as many Libertarians. Additionally, the Patriot Act Renewable of 2021 was defeated in a vote in the House of Representatives, with the House Freedom Caucus, the House Progressive Caucus, and a large number of newer Democrats and Republicans voting for it.


Former U.S. Representative and 2020 Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard's tweet regarding this.

Speaking of Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump announced that the current Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and replaced him with the former Democrat presidential candidate and US Representative Tulsi Gabbard. Trump tweeted on the subject "Tulsi Gabbard is a great Democrat and a great future Secretary of Defense. Unlike other Democrats, she acts with half a brain. I will be bipartisan when it is in America's best interest.

---

Polling data coming soon but I can't do it in this post as that fake Tweet made everything lag.

[gillan1220]

Speaking of pardons, will Trump also pardon Joe Exotic?

[american2006]

Jun 22, 2021 13:41:58 GMT gillan1220 said:

Speaking of pardons, will Trump also pardon Joe Exotic?

Oh I forgot that existed, he might

[gillan1220]

Jun 22, 2021 14:00:06 GMT american2006 said:

Jun 22, 2021 13:41:58 GMT gillan1220 said:

Speaking of pardons, will Trump also pardon Joe Exotic?

Oh I forgot that existed, he might

Will Trump pardon Julian Assange too?

[american2006]

Jun 22, 2021 14:03:26 GMT gillan1220 said:

Jun 22, 2021 14:00:06 GMT american2006 said:

Oh I forgot that existed, he might

Will Trump pardon Julian Assange too?

That one is much more likely.

[american2006]

March 2021
Primary Proxy fights in GOP, Dems, as police killing of unarmed Black man makes frontline News

Texas came again to the forefront when Marvin Scott, a Black man in a McKinney, Texas prison was killed. The McKinney Police Department, the City of McKinney, and Government of Collin County refused to release the name of the officer who caused the deaths. Mass protesting began across the region, however the whole thing was condemned by all Texas officials. Ken Paxton began a legal crackdown, while protests and riots began not just in McKinney, but in Plano, Frisco, Denton, Little Elm, Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, and across the region. However, the backlash began very quickly. Republican groups formed to repel rioters, and the worst of it came when a military standoff began in the City of Frisco, in what became known as the Battle of Frisco, a series of rioters associated with the groups Black Lives Matter and Antifa fought off various grassroots Republicans. Eventually, Governor Abbott sent in military forces while Ken Paxton began mass prosecution.

The entire 2024 fields began to fall along these party lines. Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General Josh Hawley and now-confirmed Secretary of Defense Tulsi Gabbard all took interest in the events in Texas, getting assistance into the North Dallas area, an area usually characterized a peaceful but here much more angst population after the loss of power for several days. Of course, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Texas Governor Greg Abbott took a lot of interest in the race. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, and other Governors volunteered to bring there national guards troops to Texas. Several Senators, including Michigan Senator John James and Florida Governor Marco Rubio attempted to pass new legislation to stop rioting. In response, California Senator Kamala Harris co-wrote a bill with Senator Amy Klobuchar that would protect protestors and lower prison time for rioters, as well as defunding police departments and reforming prisons in the "Save Civil Organizations and Tailoring Tax-Funds. Act", or the "S.C.O.T.T. Act", named for the late prisoner. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to give it a vote, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer denounced it.

Finally, the Senatorial nominee of Missouri Governor Mike Parsons to replace Attorney General Josh Hawley was on the ballot for a special election on March 23rd, 2021. Attorney General Eric Schmitt, appointed by Parsons, defeated State Treasurer Nicole Galloway by a margin of 13 points. This showed only a 3 point shift to the left in Missouri from 2020, and was not indicative of a 2022 Blue Wave.

[gillan1220]

Ahh so now we have the first female Secretary of Defense.

Also, I will post some of my snippets after you post April 2021.

[american2006]

Spring and Summer of 2021
Beginnings of the 2022 Elections

After the Special Election in Missouri, which resulted in a landslide for former Attorney General Eric Schmitt, people especially on the right began to predict a "red wave" in 2022, despite midterms historically indicating that it would be a "blue wave". HOwever, soon, otherwise events would suggest otherwise.

Ron Wright, a Representative from Texas's 6th Congressional District and a Republican first elected in 2018, died on April 13th, 2021, of lung cancer. A special election was scheduled for May 1st, 2021, by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Susan Wright, the widow of the late Representative, State Representative Jake Ellzey, (both Republicans) and 2018 Democrat nominee for the seat Jana Sanchez ran for the seat. In the election, Jana Sanchez came in first against 16%, Wright came in second with 15%, and Ellzey came in third with 14%. Because Texas used a runoff election for special elections, Sanchez and Wright advanced to the runoff. On July 27th, the pair faced off against each other. Wright easily won Ellis and Navarro Counties, while Sanchez came in narrowly winning Tarrant county. The vote came in very very close. As election night closed, Wright was up by 1.6% of the vote. However, a robocall the night of the election hurt her chances and polling numbers. Into the early hours of July 27th, Sanchez took a lead of 102 votes. However, this began to close as vote counters found a box of votes from Ellis County, containing 200 votes. 152 votes where granted to Wright, while 48 votes where granted to Sanchez. This gave Wright a lead of 2 votes. A hand recount was done and completed on August 2nd, and showed Wright's victory slimed to 1 vote. Texas Secretary of State Ruth R. Hughs certified the election for Wright. The Special Election was considered widely as potential for a "Blue Wave" in 2022.

Further, candidates began to announce for 2022 Senate Elections and 2022 Gubernatorial Elections. In the Senate races, 6 Republicans (Richard Shelby of Alabama, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Roy Blunt of Missouri) and 1 Democrat (Patrick Leahy of Vermont) announced there retirement. Races began to shape up in each of these states: <Insert to be created wiki Senate article>

Meanwhile, Virginia's Gubernatorial race began to shape up. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe became the Democratic nominee by a wide margin while the Republicans backed State Senator Amanda Chase, who was endorsed by Trump. Meanwhile, in California, leaked audio from CA Governor Gavin Newsom in a call to Senator Kamala Harris upset many across the aisle in California, with audio reading: "He [Trump] is the number 1 priority. The State Government and your [Kamala Harris's] representation in the Senate needs to be focused on tearing down his administration, not working on issues, since Republicans can just override us." He said this as California Homelessness hit 20%. This, smudged with elitism and scandal, resulted in the recall petition circulating getting an incredible number of signatures in a short amount of time. As Democrats through there weight behind the recall, former Republican Mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulconer became the frontrunner. The recall election was scheduled for November 2nd, 2021, to be on the same day as other general races that would be held nationally in Virginia and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, former U.S. President James "Jimmy" Earl Carter entered a local area hospital in Georgia. On August 13th, 2021, Carter passed away from heart failure, at the age of 96.

[american2006]

Remainder of 2021
Earliest Polling in the Midterms and troubles in Chapel Hill

As Midterm races began to shape up across the entirety of the nation, gubernatorial and senatorial races received incredible scrutiny. Although it was highly unlikely Democrats would regain control of the Senate, they could make significant gains. It seemed as if Democrats could get the 5 or 6 senate seats that would typically flip.

www.yapms.com/app/?m=aksq
www.yapms.com/app/?m=aksr

For most of the late summer and earl fall, the world became somewhat boring in terms of political events. Relatively little happened of consequence in this period, however that would all change on September 7th.

At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, on September 7th, 9 students at the School of Medicine reported sick to the school's doctor. On September 8th, 34 students reported sick. On September 9th, 74 students reported sick, roughly 10% of UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine's student body. On September 10th, 27% reported sick. Over the weekend, the several thousand students across UNC became infected. North Carolina Governor Dan Forest (R) declared a state of emergency in Chapel Hill, an imposed a 5 Day Stay-At-Home order going into affect at Midnight between Sunday the 12th and Monday the 13th over the entire Durham area, only allowing doctor's offices, grocery stores, pharmacies, and a small handful of other groups staying open. However, it was for not. The strain, which doctors at UNC Chapel Hill classified as H10N1, a strain of modified Avian Flu that recieved the nickname the American Flu. The situation took a grim turn on September 14th, when 2 of the original 34 infected students died. That same day, Virginia reported its first case of American Flu in Richmond, Virginia. On September 15th, President Trump mandated that the FAA close all airports in North Carolina and Virginia. On September 16th, despite the FAA announcement, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Massachusetts all reported cases. On the 17th, cases passed 10,000 and the first cases where reported in California, Texas, Washington State, Washington DC, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Trump closed down all airports across the entire nation. This received swift criticism from the Democratic Party, with Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Ralph Northam saying "This virus is of no concern and is an excuse for a fascist power grab." GOP Gubernatorial nominee Amanda Chase responded publicly saying "All my fellow Virginians, stay at home and quarantine yourself, we don't know much about this virus and listening to those dismissive of it is dangerous to yourself and others." Chase's rhetoric was justified as Washington D.C. and the surrounding suburbs became the center of the outbreak of the virus. Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Vice President Mike Pence created a "Closed System Capitol" keeping the legislators in the building and the office buildings connected subterraneanly. This received swift criticism from Democrats in Congress and around the nation. However, the virus reached a breaking point on October 2nd. At a campaign rally for Ralph Northam in Alexandria, Virginia, 12,000 showed up. In a rally against the recall in California, Governor Gavin Newsom drew 20,000 people in Los Angeles. Each rally became a "super-spreader" event, with thousands infected at the rallies, who then spread it to thousands as well. The virus also reached Canada, Europe, and Asia. Thousands where dead and on October 15th, millions died.

As the handling of the virus was botched by many Democrats, with Newsom and McAuliffe among the infected, the races in California and Virginia swung widely towards the right. Amanda Chase, once a fringe candidate, now became the frontrunner. As the final days of the campaign season came and the not infected GOP candidates where able to campaign while the Democrats couldn't, the nation only saw the GOP's cautious rhetoric about the virus.

On November 2nd, 2021, Gubernatorial Races where held in California, Virginia, and New Jersey. In New Jersey, despite the state having voted for President Trump in 2020, Governor Phil Murphy was re-elected by 12 points. However, in Virginia, Amanda Chase defeated Terry McAuliffe by 7 points, and California Governor Gavin Newsom was recalled by 17 points, and Kevin Faulconer easily won the election to replace Newsom.

What came next was the explosion of pandemic across the nation. President Donald Trump quickly recruited Director of the NIH Anthony Fauci to help quell the pandemic. Donald Trump issued a 15 day quarantine, that he said would last from November 15th to November 29th, creating exceptions for large, outdoor religious gatherings permitted for a church to hold twice. This helped to reduce cases by 95%, with the final cases being quarantined. The exact disease and its handling was credited as a great success of Trump's. This boosting Republicans in polling.

[american2006]

Early 2022
A Fourth Trump SCOTUS Nominee

Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer, a member of the court's dieing liberal wing, was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in fall 1994. However, the judge was 83 and his health was in decline. He managed to avoid the H10N1 Pandemic, but on January 5th, 2022, it was a stroke that got him. He was hospitalized before dying on January 7th, 2022. His death would give President Donald Trump a fourth Supreme Court nominee. Quickly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Trump, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham came together to find a good nominee for the court, consulting many. Trump's Attorney General Josh Hawley and the man who came runner-up to Trump in the 2016 Primaries Ted Cruz recommended Utah Senator Mike Lee. However McConnell, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and the non-white portions of the GOP recommended Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameroon. Ultimately, on January 16th, 2022, Trump announced he had selected Cameroon.

The Senate confirmation trial saw Cameroon breeze through committee, even though he did receive the hardest questions from Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. In the Senate, his confirmation passed in a 63-37 vote, with all Republicans and Democrats Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), and Jon Tester (MT) voting in favor.

Additionally, this would become a lightning rod for Senate candidates, especially Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who where both up for competitive re-elections.

Senate Polling: www.yapms.com/app/?m=al9g
Gubernatorial Polling: www.yapms.com/app/?m=al9i
Generic Ballot Polling: D+3

[american2006]

2022 Begins
Presidential Campaigns Begin

Tulsi Gabbard, as she announces her Presidential run.

The Presidential Election in 2024 had already begun before the Midterms even happened. Tulsi Gabbard, the United States Secretary of Defense, was the first to announce she was running on a plan to unify Republicans and Democrats behind her and her candidacy. She ran in both the Democratic and Republican categories. She announced her candidacy on January 2nd, 2022, and announced she would resign on July 31st, 2023.



Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator from California, came in next. She announced both her run for President, empashing her progressive voting record. She announced on February 7th, 2022.

Finally, speculation about the Republican nomination began in earnest alongside Democrats. Each field would end up being very wide. Vice President Mike Pence was considered a Republican Frontrunner. Among Democrats, the senior leadership was collapsing. Klobuchar and Warren declined a run alongside Sanders and Biden. Harris came in as a frontrunner early on, Andrew Yang was even considered. Additionally, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey became a considered candidate.

Meanwhile, in terms of the midterms, Democrats took a decisive lead in generic ballot polling. It seemed as if a Senate majority was out of reach for Democrats, at least for now, however, it was speculated that if Democrats could pull of miracles in the Atlantic South they could win a majority.

In terms of politics, Trump remained in his slight approval he had maintained since early 2020. However, no real events led to a relatively slow period in terms of policy.

Presidential Hypothetical polling
Harris vs. Pence Pence +1
Harris vs. DeSantis Harris +3
Harris vs. Pompeo Harris +7
Harris vs. Hawley Harris +12
Harris vs. Haley Harris +5
Harris vs. Cruz Harris +2
Yang vs. Pence Pence +3
Yang vs. DeSantis TIE
Yang vs. Pompeo TIE
Yang vs. Hawley Yang +4
Yang vs. Haley Yang +1
Yang vs. Cruz TIE
Gabbard vs. Pence Pence +4
Gabbard vs. DeSantis DeSantis +2
Gabbard vs. Pompeo TIE
Gabbard vs. Hawley Gabbard +2
Gabbard vs. Haley TIE
Gabbard vs. Cruz Cruz +1
Generic Democrat vs. Generic Republican D+4

[gillan1220]

I would definitely vote for Tulsi Gabbard is she ran for President. She seems to be less radicalized than the other Democrats in her party.