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. List and general description of entries to date.
Note: most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations. Profile of characters (see link at top of page). You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.
Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC. Conversation began Entry #289.
Greenie: “When we were talking about using the rules of golf as a guide to personal and professional behavior, I was reminded how little Trump followed the rules of golf…and then asked myself, ‘Did he really know the rules?’…and, ‘What else didn’t he know?'”
JC: “Know about what? He played a lot of golf so he must have known some rules. You have something else in mind?”
Greenie: “Yes. Did Trump even know what most any 8th grader knows.”
JC: “Don’t make me laugh? Not know what an 8th grader know? Still not sure what you’re talking about.”
Greenie: “Remember when Trump held that so-called ‘Patriotic Ceremony” after the Super-Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles refused to go to the White House?”
JC: “Oh, you mean the ceremony when the Marine Corps Band played ‘God Bless America’ and it was clear to the world that Trump did not know the words?”
Greenie: “Some patriot, huh? Bone-spur and all.”
JC: “Now I think I see where you’re headed. What about Trump implying…or at least asking…if Canada burned down the White House in 1812? No that was the British. Gee, Donald, in case you didn’t know Canada has been a long-time friendly neighbor. Canada is north of the continental US, except for one area near Detroit, and a major trading partner until you tried to ruin the relationship.”
Greenie: “How long was the list of stuff he didn’t know that virtually every 8th-grader would know?”
JC: “Like the Department of Justice is supposed to enforce the laws made by Congress and not be the personal defense attorney for the president’s wrong doing?”
Jordan: “So, Greenie, exactly what are you proposing?”
Greenie: “I’m embarrassed the idea sounds so…well, so imbecilic. But an idea for Making America Great Again is to make sure the presidential candidates…no, make that all candidates for Federal office and all Cabinet nominees…can pass the end-of-year exams given to 8th graders.”
JC: “Exams given to 8th graders? That sounds absurd…but a good idea. How do we test for stuff like knowing the words to ‘God Bless America’?”
Greenie: “I don’t know how we’d test for some things but by forcing candidates for Federal office and Cabinet nominees to take 8th-grade end-of-year exams, you can assume that those who pass at least paid some attention to teachers along the way. And anyone who failed…”
JC: “…Such as the Donald, who very likely would have failed?”
Greenie: “Yes, like the Donald and some of his merry band of munchkins, would be ineligible to run or hold office.”
Jordan: “You really think we should propose something so basic – passing an 8th-grade exam?”
JC: “I’m with Greenie. Before Trump became president, anyone who made such a proposal would have been sent off to the funny farm. But now the idea seems reasonable.”
Jordan: “How do we frame the idea so it does not seem so, as you said Greenie, imbecilic?”
Greenie: “Why not be straightforward? No reason to sugarcoat. I think we give some examples of basic information that Trump and the Cabinet members did not know. There are lots of examples where it looked as if they hadn’t graduated from 8th grade and/or should have been wearing dunce caps. It was embarrassing for the country.”
Jordan: “Now that we’ve had the Revenge Revolution, is putting forth passing the 8th-grade exam idea opening old wounds with the Trumpsters? I know most of the Trumpsters lost and we have many new members of Congress but the idea seems a bit petty.”
Greenie: “I hear you and point well taken. I also know, as a country, we can’t ignore the lessons of history. The idea of passing a test given to 8th graders might get ignored. However, I think we should at least put the idea on the table and generate some discussion.”
JC: “What about testing candidates for Federal office, at least presidential candidates, for mental stability and maybe a test for early stage Alzheimer’s? Throw in Cabinet members as well.”
Jordan: “That idea will be more controversial and more complicated to get implemented. Might be worth discussing more…but let’s take a break first.”
(Continued)
JC: “Alright, now I have an idea for how to make America great again.”
Greenie: “I shouldn’t even smile at that one…but it was pretty good. Now, JC, stop the puns and tell us your idea.”
JC: “Two prongs. (i) Reconfigure existing roads into smarter roads. Smarter roads can carry more traffic with a lot less congestion; (ii) rebuild and expand the rail system to handle more passenger trains and freight traffic.”
Jordan: “Commuting by rail in metro areas is easier, more pleasant, less expensive and faster. Plus, you can work on the train.”
Jordan: “High-speed rail needs to be defined given the barriers that exist. High-speed in the Northeast corridor is not going to be like a bullet-train in Japan. Making that happen would be outrageously expensive and disruptive.”
Jordan: “Don’t know exactly but I’ll bet you’re pushing 85-90%.”
JC: “This sounds great but what about resolving the conflict between freight and passenger traffic? The little that I know about rail, the freight railroads seem to keep resisting any efforts to add passenger traffic to certain rail lines…in fact, most rail lines.”
Jordan: “Other than difference in speed between freight trains and passenger trains, I don’t know of a technical reason the two can’t share the tracks.”
Jordan: “The article was in the Harvard Business Review and written by Theodore Levitt. The title was ‘Marketing Myopia.’ An example of the myopia was the railroads viewing themselves as being in railroad business and turning thumbs down to considering being in the transportation business. As a result, the railroads lost a huge share of the logistics business to the trucking industry.”
Gelly: “Jordan, you have a call from a guy named Willie. Want to take it or should I…”
Willie: “Your voice mail said you wanted to talk about crypto-currency.”
Jordan: “In a way, the crypto-currencies remind me of the US prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Lots of variation in value and no one quite sure who’s in charge?”
Willie: “Another good question. A lot of the so-called crypto-currencies vanished early on. Some never got any momentum and some were never issued even after investor funds were taken.”
Willie: “A couple of crypto-currencies were backed by some assets. One was even backed by gold, but most were backed by nothing.”
Jordan: “While true that governments might have gone off the gold standard, governments do have assets…and a way to generate revenue. Governments can collect taxes. Save one or two, crypto-currencies had no assets and none had authority to collect taxes.”
Jordan: “Over the years you’ve dealt with the Federal Reserve. How did they view crypto-currency?”
Willie: “Two primary roles of the Federal Reserve are managing monetary policy and controlling the banking system. The already difficult job of managing monetary policy became much more difficult with the alternative-currency universe.”
Willie: “Most people did not fully appreciate how crypto-currencies forced the Fed’s hand. Crypto-currencies took a bigger and bigger slide out of the Fed’s monetary pie. In order to achieve the same result as before crypto-currencies, the Fed was forced to exaggerate changes in interest rates, both up and down. The exaggeration also affected Wall Street. As a result, the Fed was unhappy, Wall Street was unhappy, many investors were unhappy and the general public was unhappy.”
Willie: “Federal revenue. While the Fed is not responsible for collecting taxes, in order to manage monetary policy, the Fed needs to have a good idea of sources and uses of Federal funds.”
JC: “Grande, medium roast.”
JC: “And, so what?”
Sandy: “Hi, Jordan. If I recall, it’s JC, right?”
Sandy: “Sure you did. You wanted to ban the sale of all assault weapons…and even make owning one illegal.”
JC: “You’re right. I don’t understand. The assault ban still allowed ownership of all kinds of hunting rifles, shotguns, pistols. I’m not a hunter but why would you need an assault rifle to kill a deer? Where’s the sport in that? Maybe we should arm the deer. That would make it more fun.”
Sandy: “So why have a ban on owning assault weapons?”
First, it appears more and more people are realizing what the military and gun enthusiasts have known for some time – the AR-15 is not a sport rifle, is not a hunting rifle but is an assault weapon designed for killing as many people as possible in as short a time as possible.
Why such a harsh recommendation? First and foremost, these type weapons are not needed outside the military. For those who insist on firearms to protect self and/or property, hunting rifles, shotguns and pistols are more than adequate. For hunters, using AR-15’s is hardly sport, even if hunting elephants, lions, tigers or bears, which you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
Banning assault weapons is not unprecedented. Beginning in 1994 Federal law banned the sales of newly manufactured assault weapons. Former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, wrote to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of banning “semi-automatic assault guns”. The law passed with bi-partisan support. Congress let the law expire in 2004.
ll not be infringed.”
In that context, the Second Amendment seems perfectly logical. Guys, get it? The regular citizens of the country made up the military when the Constitution was written. And, if you’re a strict “Constitutionalist” and interpret the Constitution as originally written, the weapons were single-shot flint locks, not AR-15’s.
Get serious conservatives. If you understood government, you might realize that you already live in a country where the government allows you basic rights. That piece of property you think you own? Your right to ownership is a function of government. The freedom to travel? That freedom is a function of government. Hate to burst your conservative bubble, but the freedoms that you have are because the government lets you have those freedoms.
I hope these students ask their grandparents to coach them about how the grandparent protested the Vietnam War. Then the kids can go to Washington, march in front of the White House and chant, “Hey, hey, Donald J! How many kids did you kill today?”
Gelly: “JC, I’ll get you some coffee, then I need to get back and work on a project.”
JC: “Greenie, is this info for your articles about the causes of the Revenge Revolution?”
Greenie: “Mmm, you thinking the military culture is that much different?
Greenie: “What still gnaws at me is the behavior of John Kelly when he was chief of staff for Trump.”
Greenie: “What galls me even more is Trump’s press secretary Ms. Congeniality Susan Huckabee told the press they should not challenge a 4-star Marine general. BS Sarah.”
Jordan: “OK, we’re even. I think the military culture started to change with the elimination of the draft.”
Jordan: “With the draft there was a reasonably good cross-section of ethnic groups, backgrounds and education. Yes, some wealthier guys chickened out of the draft and bought off doctors to get an exemption…”
Greenie: “I’ll go with 13 years…finished one year college.”
Jordan: “Nope. Just regular guys like me. I don’t recall many of us being really gung-ho, rah-rah types. We were in the Army doing our time.”
Greenie: “What about the SEALS and those Special Forces guys? Aren’t they really professional?”
Greenie: “Yikes. Not good. Know anyone else?”
Greenie: “Your pal? Well, your something or other. But let’s be fair. You know some other guys in the military, right? I mean your top-gun buddy and some other guys in the group that designed those jet fighters.”
Greenie: “So the quality of recruits is so-so. Let’s go back and talk about the big-dog generals…specifically General John Kelly. When chief of staff for Trump, Kelly claimed that military personnel were superior and the general population should, in effect, bow down to them.”
Greenie: “So do you think to make the culture of the military more like the US population as a whole, we should reinstitute conscription?”
Greenie: “You mean about the crab barrel?”
Greenie: “Your question might be the answer?”
Gelly: “The tribes experienced more than just moving. If I understood Wolf Man correctly, he said the tribes on the reservations…apparently for many years…were prohibited from practicing many of the customs and ceremonies central to the respective tribes.”
Gelly: “If they built a new culture, would they still have a tribe?”
Jordan: “And you have an example?”
Jordan: “But why didn’t Indians keep their traditions…the glue…that held them together.”
Greenie: “Yes, independency is a real word. And your point is well taken. Have we…the victors in the Indian Wars…so restricted the tribes that the original culture has been lost? By our own actions, have we destroyed one culture and replaced it with a culture of dependency? That’s a depressing thought.”
Greenie: “Not finding the right balance between what part of a culture should melt in the US melting pot and what part of a culture should not melt might have larger impact on the cause of the Revenge Revolution than I first thought.”
Waiter delivers a round of drinks.
Gelly:
JC:
Greenie:
Greenie:
Gelly:
Jordan:
Jordan:
Economics and do my regular job. Well…”
is the primer page on the site?”
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.
Gelly: “Jordan, you’ve done it again?”
Gelly: “You mean the executives of the company that’s relocating. But I never though about the cost of these relocations to the people where the company left and even…”
Senior executives and sha
Many 
Taxpayers 
Do these relocations create a net gain to US societ