Recent content by notbirdofprey

Bill hadn’t eaten yet today. His stomach growled as he sat in the corner of the half-empty car, crates piled haphazardly, occasionally sliding back and forth as the train rocked. He had been on the road for months, ever since..he started counting out loud. “One.” He awoke in the dead of night...

Long’s Bargain, Pt. 3 Long takes his time with his reply. But after a week, you get a telegram with a single word. “AGREED.” Report from Smedley Butler: 1 Influence on Purchase More Arms, 31+25=56, 1 Influence on Establish Sporting Clubs, 3+75=78, 1 Influence on Distribute Trainers, 77+55=132...

Long’s Bargain, Pt.2: The Congress of American Syndicates acknowledges your willingness to include them, seeing the gesture as an olive branch and proof that you have no desire to become a Napoleon. Some of them probably wish you picked something less controversial, however. The plan in a...

Begin Campaigning: 1 Gravitas, 2+10 = 12 After one last precious night with your family, you get on a train for what will likely be the next two months. There are Representatives running in upstate New York that will need a boost to their campaigns to overcome the false promises of their...

“Riots across California farms put down at heavy cost. Many dead or injured.” • The Los Angeles Times; August 2, 1934 “Improved travel time on state-controlled railways.” • The Philadelphia Inquirer; August 2, 1934 “Concerns about Huntington Support Group harassing anti-syndicalist...

Develop a Radicalization Pipeline: 1 Influence, 86+35=121 The SPA is undeniably a mass party, with massive popular support, but that does not mean it is universally loved. Even many in the working class, those who should most strongly support you, refuse out of false consciousness or delusion...

State Nationalizations, Pt. 2 With your denouncement of the most radical methods for forcing the judiciary to comply with the will of the people, the tide of violence slows, although many judges and their families still flee in terror of revolutionary justice, along with other moneyed...

Back Up Butler: 1 Influence, 29+10=39 “Comrade Butler, I was hoping to meet with you,” a pinch-faced man in a shabby suit said as he approached the stern-faced general. Both of them had callused hands and wore a red armband on their right arm, but other than that they had little in common...

There is blood on the marble steps. A tired, stoop-backed man is cleaning it with a mop and bucket, while two guards stand ramrod straight nearby. Over them, half-concealed by shadow, looms the stern visage of Lincoln, staring down. The janitor looks up to meet the gaze and despair covers his...

Long Pt. 3 You hear Long sigh in relief over the phone. "Good. The feds and the national populists are going to be after us both from now on, and it's best we hang together. You'll get your copy tomorrow, although there's no guarantee they won't change it later and not tell me." You exchange...

Meet With Long Pt. 2 Long considers. “Fair enough, I suppose. I was hoping for more, but this is good enough. You get your people in line and consider my offer. And my door is open anytime, Mr. Reed.” He sounds a little disappointed, but only a little. He stands up and shakes your hand firmly...

Negotiate with the Co-Ops: 1 Influence, 14+25=39 You go in looking to make a few simple deals and bring the co-ops back into the fold. You didn't expect it to be easy, but you did think it would not be a complicated affair. As soon as you began trying to organize a meeting, you were disabused...

The sun beats down on the Iowan farm, utterly disinterested in how it scorches the land and makes those who labor below it sweat. There are nearly forty men and women and boys and girls on the co-op farm. In the distance a pair of young men with red armbands are standing idly by, toting rifles...

There have been many times when you have needed to speak with Daniel Tobin. Each time, you traveled to him, to the heart of his power in Minneapolis. In some years, that’s been the headquarters of the Teamster’s Union. In others, it’s been a fine restaurant where the waiters knew him by name...

Rural-Urban Exchanges: 1 Gravitas, 55+5 = 60 The delicate networks of trade that an industrial economy depends on are slowly reforged over the month. The middlemen are installed in more and more places. In some, they are elected by the strike committees that have taken over factories. In...