First-time readers, this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020).  Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution.  More about Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1.  List and general description of entries to date.  Annual assessment whether Revolution plausible.

Note: most characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.  Profile of characters.  You’ll catch on quickly.  Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Jordan’s office in Washington. JC and Jordan continue conversation from #191.

JC: “What have I been up to while you were away on R&R?”

Jordan: “Hardly consider recovering from surgery R&R.”

JC: “Well, you weren’t working very much as far as I know, so it must have been R&R.”

Jordan: “Back to my question, what have you been doing lately?”

JC: “Helping Greenie prepare some articles on the Revenge Revolution.”

Jordan: “Now I have to deal with both of you?”

JC: “You love it and you know it.”

Jordan: “I admit, working with you guys is fun. What’s your topic?”

JC: “State governments running wild.”

Jordan: “Reminds me of a movie from many years ago, ‘Girls Gone Wild.'”

JC: “Did you actually watch that stuff?”

Jordan: “Look, I saw my share of trash. Remember I was a teenager once. And teenage boys sometimes do stupid things. But let’s get back to your topic. Any state in particular stand out for running wild?”

JC: “Yes, your current home state, North Carolina.”

Jordan: “Call it the state where I pay taxes. But I hardly consider NC my home state.”

JC: “Whatever you want to call it, the NC legislature might as well have approved a new slogan, ‘NC: First in Discrimination; Last in Education.'”

Jordan: “Funny, JC, but unfortunately close to the truth.”

JC: “Tell me what went on to cause such a shift in your state?”

Jordan: “Please don’t call it my state. We just happen to live there. I have no other connection with NC…nor do I want any.”

JC: “OK, but what went on? The legislature seemed to want to lead the race to the bottom. Didn’t they understand there would be economic consequences?  As I recall PayPal cancelled a big project.”

Jordan: “Yes, PayPal did cancel a big project.  But I’m not sure the legislators thought about the real consequences. Conventions also began avoiding NC, companies other than PayPal didn’t expand in NC…and some actually relocated elsewhere. As a result the economy stalled. Then the Republicans blamed everyone from the mayor of Charlotte to the Yankee liberals for ruining the state.”

JC: “Still fighting the Civil War and the carpetbaggers?”

Jordan: “I don’t know when they’ll give up and realize they lost, or even put on their big-boy pants. Anyway, the Republicans legislators in the state house continued to act incredibly stupid.”

JC: “Like teenage boys? But, why?”

Jordan: “My view is the legislators got addicted to power. About 2012 or so the Republicans gained control of the state house for the first time in a long, long time. The first couple of years they went a little crazy with legislation. Many voters just rolled their eyes and thought the craziness would pass and some semblance of sanity would return.”

JC: “But it didn’t, right?”

Jordan: “The craziness got worse. The Republican leadership was drunk with power.”

JC: “What about the governor? What was his name? Mac something. Wasn’t McConnell, was it?”

Jordan: “His name was McCrory, Pat McCrory.”

JC: “Wasn’t McCrory mayor of Charlotte for a long time before becoming governor? I thought Charlotte was a reasonably progressive city. They were on a roll for a while.”

Jordan: “McCrory was fairly progressive as mayor. In fact, the right wingers thought he was too progressive. One of those liberals, as they say.”

JC: “What happened when he became governor? How could he shift so far right so quickly?”

Jordan: “Good question. My opinion – I think he got overwhelmed by the complexity of the job.”

JC: “Are you saying he wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box?”

Jordan: “I don’t know how smart he really was…or is. But he seemed to leave some of those smarts in Charlotte when he became governor.”

JC: “So at that point NC has an emboldened Republican legislature and, in polite terms, a weak-kneed governor.”

Jordan: “Exactly. There was no moderating force so the right-wing kept pushing and pushing and pushing…”

JC: “…and it eventually pushed the state over the edge. In researching for Greenie, I read that to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, the NC legislature cut salary increases for teachers.”

Jordan: “Even worse…or at least just as bad…to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, the legislature increased taxes on middle and lower-income residents.”

JC: “What about the airport fiasco? The state really tried to take over Charlotte’s airport? How could they do that?”

Jordan: “Another power grab, although fortunately they did not succeed.”

JC: “Seems like the state legislature basically gave the finger to everyone. They told Washington that states like NC should have more power. Then told the NC cities they had less power. Think the legislators understood the irony of what they were doing?”

Jordan: “When you’re drunk, whether drunk with alcohol or drunk with power, there are a lot of things you don’t understand. The LGBT ordinance was yet another example.”

JC: “If I understand correctly, the city of Charlotte passed an ordinance banning discrimination against LGBT’s. The ordinance affected only the city of Charlotte.  No other location was affected. Then the state pulled a power play and banned the ordinance.”

Jordan: “Banned the ordinance plus a bunch of other stuff…like prohibiting the city of Charlotte from raising the minimum wage beyond the Federal level.”

JC: “Didn’t the legislature call a special session and in less than 12 hours pass the legislation, and then governor sign the bill?  But the bill prohibited something that had not yet taken effect. How can that be?”

Jordan: “The whole thing was probably outside the constitution. However, the weak-kneed governor claimed nothing really changed because the ordinance had not yet taken effect.”

JC: “Which means that if discrimination was OK before the ordinance, then discrimination could continue. Now I see why the Revenge Revolution started in North Carolina. People became sick of the crazies in the state house.”

Jordan: “Just to be fair, North Carolina wasn’t the only state with crazies in the state house. But it was leading the pack.”

JC: “Thus the slogan, ‘North Carolina: First in Discrimination; Last in Education.'”