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 the Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1.  Most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.

Occasionally I break from the normal formatting and do a “sense check.”  Auditing one’s own work is problematic but I try to be objective.  Entries #300 and #301 are the most recent “sense checks.”  Your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated.  Thanks for your time and interest…and comments, please.

Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC.

Jordan:  “Gelly, nice to have you back from vacation.”

Gelly:  “Nice to be back.  Had lots of fun but sorta, kinda missed the office.”

Jordan:  “Glad to hear that.  See you got new reading glasses while you were gone.  Look very nice.”

Gelly:  “Thanks.”

Jordan:  “Anything special on the calendar today?”

Gelly:  “Nothing special except your visitor.”

Jordan:  “Right.  Walt’s coming over sometime late morning.”

Gelly:  “How’d he get the name Walt?  That’s not his real name is it?”

Jordan:  “No.  The guys in the fraternity nicknamed him Walt.  And I might have been the culprit.  He was always dreaming about some big project…like Walt Disney.”

Gelly:  “Hope you two have a good visit.  Let me know if you need anything special.  We can order in lunch if you want.”

——– Walt arrives ———-

Walt:  “Jordan, great to see you.  Been a while.”

Jordan:  “Nice to see you, Walt.  Last time was a couple of years ago when you guys came to Charlotte for the 4th of July.”

Walt:  “We had a great time and the fireworks at the club were sensational.”

Jordan:  “What brings you to town, anyway?”

Walt:  “Trying to help salvage the right-wing of the Republican Party.  Since the Revenge Revolution, the right-wing has been in shambles.”

Jordan:  “You’ve got a tough job ahead of you.  With that in mind, I have what may be a sensitive question.”

Walt:  “You, concerned about being sensitive?  Since when?  Go ahead.  We’ve been friends for too long to worry about sensitive questions.  Besides, if I don’t like the question, I’ll just go run and hide.”

Jordan:  “Think back to the 2016 presidential campaign.  Did you originally support Trump?”

Walt:  “I thought Trump was a blowhard.  More of a flake real-estate salesman than a conservative Republican.”

Jordan:  “But as the other candidates dropped out and the field narrowed…”

Walt:  “…as the field narrowed, his appeal increased.  Truth be known, I would have voted for a yellow dog rather than Hillary.  I just didn’t like her.”

Jordan:  “OK, so you committed to a Republican candidate no matter what.  That candidate turns out to be Trump, who you thought was a flaky real-estate salesman.”

Walt:  “Guess so.”

Jordan:  “Then Trump gets elected.  Were you pleased with the results?”

Walt:  “I was pleased he was trying to make changes.  You know, make the Federal government more efficient.  And I liked the idea of draining the swamp.”

Jordan:  “Were you pleased with his choices for cabinet secretaries?  Think about Flynn, Price and Pruitt, for example.  And what about bringing in the Trump family as close advisors?  Were you satisfied with everyone’s experience in running large, government-like organizations?”

Walt:  “Guess I never really considered the experience.  Was more intrigued with the idea of change than the quality of the people involved or what they had to do to implement change.  Sort of the ends justifying the means.”

Jordan:  “What about Trump’s attacks on the media, the FBI, the CIA…the entire intelligence community?”

Walt:  “As time went on Trump’s claims about fake news and liberal bias in the media seemed to be proved right.  The more I studied, the more I thought the FBI was really after him.”

Jordan:  “As part of your ‘studying’, did you ever step back and ask yourself, ‘Gee, what Trump is claiming to be true is contrary to just about everything I’ve learned over the years.  Wonder why I am changing my views?’”

Walt:  “Didn’t ask any question exactly like that.”

Jordan:  “Aside from Trump and his tweets, where’d you get your news?”

Walt:  “Why do you care?  Why the interrogation?”

Jordan:  “No interrogation.  What I’m trying to understand is why…and how…Trump gained such rabid support among hard-right Republicans when many on the right originally considered him a Democrat.  I find the shift in attitude fascinating…and troubling.”

Walt:  “We’ll talk about troubling later.   As I said, I did my own studying trying to understand if Trump was real or not.  I spent lots of time watching Fox – mostly Hannity and O’Reilly before he got unfairly railroaded out – and I’d catch Limbaugh on the radio a couple of times a week.  The more I listened to these guys the more convinced I was Trump was on the right track.”

Jordan:  “Did your studying include reading newspapers – let’s say the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Washington Post, NY Times?”

Walt:  “On rare occasion the Wall Street Journal.  The Times?  Never.  Run by a bunch of liberal NY Jews.  Oops, sorry.  But you know what I meant.”

Jordan:  “Actually, I don’t know what you meant.  Give me an example or two.”

Walt:  “Take Paul Krugman in the Times.  He’s way too liberal and always trashed Trump.”

Jordan:  “Krugman is an op-ed columnist for the NY Times, not a reporter. The editorial and news gathering sections of the Times are completely separate.”

Walt:  “I have no proof and therefore, to me, there’s no separation.  If what he writes is in the NY Times, it means the NY Times supports it.”

Jordan (shaking his head):  “Any other sources of info?”

Walt:  “A few conservative websites that have their act together.”

Jordan:  “If I understand correctly, your primary sources of info were Trump, Trump’s tweets, probably the White House press secretary – Sarah Huckabee – and a couple of commentators on Fox.  No print media other than an occasional read of the Journal.  And no other networks such as PBS, CBS, and say MSNBC.”

Walt:  “You got it right.  All those non-Fox sources are too liberal…and fake.”

Jordan:  “OK.  Why don’t we take a break, get some coffee and, then, if ok with you, discuss the evolution of your views about the Mueller investigation.”

Walt:  “OK, but you have to buy coffee…and I want a bagel, too.”

Jordan:  “You do know those liberal NY Jews are the source of those bagels, right?”

(Continued)