First-time readers, the dialogue in 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 if 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: Gelly, JC and Greenie having drinks with Jordan following a session in Jordan’s office. Conversation starts Entry #244.
Waiter: “Would you folks like to order some food?”
JC: “Yes, we would…right Jordan?”
Greenie: “I agree, although I’d prefer some hors d’oeuvres to a full dinner.”
Jordan: “So what do you guys want?”
Waiter takes order.
Gelly: “I’m still a bit confused about who took out the Donald.”
Greenie: “Do you agree it probably wasn’t the North Koreans or the Mexican drug lords?”
Gelly: “Yes, either one of those groups seems unlikely, now, although I must say both seemed to be reasonable candidates at first.”
Greenie: “Then if we stick to our list, that leaves the Russians or someone, some group inside the US government.”
Gelly: “I guess that’s what’s confusing me. I agree Trump was like a water bug when it came to international policies – he’d head off in one direction one second and then quickly shift to another direction. But other than some blustery talk about bombing North Korea and the infamous wrong-way destroyer claim, he never caused any turbulence below the surface. The diplomats and the professionals somehow handled the foreign-policy issues.”
JC: “So you think the real danger was on the domestic side…to US citizens and the fabric of the country, right?”
Gelly: “Seems to me that some of the Trump proposals, if implemented as drafted, would have completely split the country. Even though some of the crazier the ideas were eventually watered down, we still had the Revenge Revolution. Just how much carnage would there have been if had not been taken out?”
JC: “Jordan, your turn. You’ve been awfully quiet.”
Jordan: “I agree the damage domestically could have been much worse had the Donald stayed in office. Not worse than nuclear war, which I thought we might have for a while. Fortunately, some cooler heads among the military top brass really got control of the all the nasty weapons.”
Gelly: “Ya’ know, it’s probably not fair, but when I think of Trump as president I think of Howdy Doody.”
Greenie: “That’s great. Howdy Doody…and with a bad haircut! What a great picture. Now, as I think about it, I can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. Maybe I should do both.”
JC: “Back to you Jordan. You’re a big dog inside the Beltway. I mean you get calls from POTUS, visit the White House. What really went on?”
Jordan: “I was not part of the ‘in’ crowd during the Trump Administration.”
JC: “C’mon. Staffers and guys like you all know one another. What went on? Who took him out?”
Jordan: “I’ll give you my take but your buddy here, Greenie, might know more than I do. She’s the real insider.”
Greenie: “Thanks for the compliment…but it’s been a while since I was an insider. Anyway, I want to hear your take.”
Jordan: “I think Gelly’s right. Trump was like Howdy Doody. A small group of puppeteers were pulling the strings and he would react accordingly…often without thinking or even understanding.”
Gelly: “I know I said Howdy Doody, but wasn’t he smart enough to realize what was going on?”
Jordan: “I don’t know what his IQ was but I do know he was woefully uneducated about a wide range of subjects…and especially about government. I’m not sure he even read, let alone opened, the Constitution. His knowledge of geography was breathtakingly and embarrassingly awful.”
Gelly: “Didn’t he have an MBA from some top school? What was the name of it?”
JC: “Wharton.”
Gelly: “That’s it, Wharton. I remember he claimed he graduated first in his class.”
JC: “Maybe first in not studying and first in narcissism. But he’s no one’s academic. And I’m sure Wharton would rather not admit he’s an alum.”
Greenie: “You know the tell-tale signs of his lack of education were his statements that ‘Who knew health care could be so complicated?’ and ‘Being president is more difficult than I imagined.’”
JC: “Duh, Donald, you been living in a cave? What really scared me was I’m not sure he had any idea of what was really going on…other than playing golf at Mar-a-Lago.”
Greenie: “Then the Howdy Doody president introduces two absolutely off-the-wall proposals – replacement for Obamacare and a tax plan. Both would have resulted in huge transfers of wealth to the already wealthy, including the Donald.”
Gelly: “What about letting oil and gas companies drill willy-nilly on public land? We sure didn’t need any more oil or gas.”
Greenie: “He claimed his actions were for job creation. That claim was a ruse, if he ever understood what he was proposing.”
JC: “Back to you, again, Jordan. Who took him out? If not the CIA, who else should we put on the list?”
Waiter: “Excuse me. Here’s your hors d’oeuvres.”
Jordan (to waiter): “Thank you. Just one check and give it to me, please.”
JC: “Thanks Jordan but just because we’ve got food and you picked up the tab doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Who besides the CIA could have done it?”
Jordan: “What I heard is a couple of black-hole guys directed by the top-level adults inside NSA.”
Gelly: “If that’s the case, what happened to the Secret Service?”
Jordan: “They were likely told to discreetly disappear for a few minutes.”
JC: “More like, if you don’t disappear voluntarily, then you, too, will disappear.”
Jordan: “I suspect that’s about how the conversation went. Greenie, what have you heard?”
Greenie: “I’d say your story’s about right.”
JC: “Unfortunately, taking out the Donald didn’t stop the Revenge Revolution.”
Greenie: “But as we talked about, can you imagine how much worse it would have been had he stayed in office? I shudder to think of it.”
Voice: “Folks, you’re right about how bad it could have been. But some of your story is wrong.”
(Continued)
Waiter delivers a round of drinks.
Gelly:
JC:
Greenie:
Greenie:
Gelly:
Jordan:
Jordan:
Greenie: “Jordan, if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue the conversation we began at the office. You know lots of the ins and outs of Washington…so why did the Donald get taken out?”
Jordan: “Simple. Well, maybe not so simple…but easy to understand. It’s the old adage of ‘Just follow the money.’”
JC: “I hear you Jordan. How much do you think he owed on those properties…and to whom?”
Gelly: “So you guys think he was heavily in debt. If so, like JC said, money owed to whom?”
JC: “What was that guy on the transition team who had been some high-level dude at Bank of Cyprus?”
Gelly: “Then are you saying then that the Russians took out Trump?”
Jordan: “Good point, Greenie. I’ve always been suspicious about the sudden change in attitude. And, then, within a day or so of the change in attitude, Secretary of State Tillerson is at the Kremlin and has a private, unscheduled, undocumented two-hour meeting with Putin. That meeting doesn’t smell right. How much of a bad-ass could Tillerson have been? Just a couple of years before, Putin gave Tillerson a Russian Order of Friendship medal.”
Jordan: “Good one Gelly.”
Jordan: “I agree he might have thought he could give the proverbial finger to the Russians and walk away…but that’s not how it works.”
Gelly: “Jordan, the dynamic duo is here to see you – JC and Greenie.”
Greenie: “I’m visiting JC for a few days. She offered to edit some of my articles on the cause of the Revenge Revolution.”
JC: “So…Jordan, does Captain Queeg’s behavior in Caine Mutiny remind you of anybody who used to be in Washington…you know, like…”
JC: “I’d forgotten how wacko those guys in the White House really were…starting with the Donald.”
Greenie: “When there was no evidence of a wiretap, he claimed the former Attorney General broke the law by doing her job and should be put in jail.”
Greenie: “Finally, Queeg appoints his wet-behind-the-ears son-in-law as executive officer in charge of the ship…and also appoints the pretty-face, but ‘not-the-brightest bulb’ daughter, as key advisor.”
Greenie: “Queeg….I mean Trump was really dangerous. What I think was even worse – a lot of supposedly responsible people, including Republican leadership in the House and Senate….didn’t want to admit how much Queeg and staff really were out of control.”
Jordan: “Well, I really hate to say this…I mean I’d better think about it.”
JC: “Let me guess. One is the Russians, which seems like an obvious choice. From what I can tell, they have him by the short hairs.”
JC: “You thinking an inside job…like someone from one of the intelligence agencies or the special ops guys in the military? Yikes, the thought of that makes me squirm.”
JC: “It was. But now all that’s over. To end on a more positive note, the country survived after president Queeg. Lots of turmoil and the Revenge Revolution but we survived.”
Economics and do my regular job. Well…”
ranted and raved, asking, “Why should we use government money to bail out Chrysler and General Motors?” The comments continue, “Management at these companies has made bad decisions, UAW wages are too high and no one wants to buy their cars. Besides, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Mercedes all make vehicles in the United States.”
What makes me an expert? My comments are based on some fundamental laws of economics and 40+ years in the auto business. The auto experience includes being inside a large auto company as well as starting several companies offering hybrid-electric or 100%-electric drive systems. I’ve been in technology centers, on factory floors, in boardrooms, in design centers and in dealership showrooms and service bays. I’ve been involved with some good, some bad and some ugly projects.
What makes the auto industry different from most other industries is a combination of large-scale, complex manufacturing and demands for extremely high levels of reliability and durability, especially compared to other products. Everyone I have ever met who entered the auto industry after time in another industry makes the same comment after 2-3 weeks, “The auto business is much more complicated than I realized.” And the comment usually includes several expletives.
Thus, for technology to be introduced in cars and trucks – even very expensive vehicles – cost must drop 1 to 2 orders of magnitude, or more than 90%, from cost acceptable for a defense or aerospace application.
Well, you say, “I still don’t understand why we need to bail out GM and Chrysler. Seems like the government is pouring money down a hole.” As a point of clarification, when I talk about the auto industry, I mean more than just assembly plants. The core of the auto industry is primarily component design and manufacturing. The assembly plants get all the glamour but industry guts are in components – electronics, robots, batteries, wheels, frames, tires, steering, foundries for engines and brakes and many other components.
Further, some technology breakthroughs have a long-lasting impact. An example is the effort by GM in the early 1990’s to develop and introduce an electric vehicle, known as the GM EV1. While GM was praised for introducing the car, and skewered when stopping production, the advances in technology developed for the EV1 program became the foundation for many of the electronics available in cars and trucks today, 20 years after the EV1 concept car was introduced at the Los Angeles auto show.
Finally, and let’s hope this never occurs again, but what happens if the U.S. needs manufacturing capacity for a large-scale ground war? A domestic auto industry, both assembly and component manufacturers will be critical for rapid conversion from automotive production to defense materiel. Having only assembly plants without domestically sourced components – engines, transmissions, axles, electronics, and so forth – offers no benefit for national security. (For insight into how the auto industry contributed to production of war materiel in WWII, visit 
If you still have doubts, name one country worldwide that has sustained growth in GDP and real growth in consumer incomes without a strong manufacturing base built around a strong automobile industry? Call me when you can name one.