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: Greenie, JC and Jordan having lunch near Jordan’s office in Washington, DC. Conversation continues from Entry #286.
Greenie: “OK, now that we’ve solved the mystery of the creation of the universe, I have another topic.”
Jordan: “Which is?”
Greenie: “Who took out the Donald?”
JC: “We’ve already discussed that and Jordan claims it was the FBI.”
Greenie: “I know we discussed it earlier but when I started to write the articles about how the take out might have affected the Revenge Revolution, I realized we’d never discussed…or I don’t remember ever discussing…what triggered the FBI to take action.”
JC: “You mean what event or action by Trump caused the FBI, or whatever group was responsible, to say, ‘enough, already. He needs to go.’”
Greenie: “Well, we know it wasn’t Trump who called and said to the FBI, ‘Gee, why don’t you take me out.’ So, Jordan, was there an event that triggered the take out? You were the first person I know to call the take out. What’s your opinion?”
Jordan: “While there was a time gap between the event and the take out, my view is the event was the weekend when Sessions fired Andrew McCabe. That was sometime early spring 2018.”
JC: “Why that particular event?”
Jordan: “Because by early 2018 it had become clear Trump was in the hands of the Russians…at least financially. They had him by the you know what.”
JC: “But a lot of people suspected Mueller already had evidence of Trump’s financial obligations to the Russians. So, why the firing of McCabe the tipping point?”
Jordan: “Until Mueller subpoenaed Trump’s business records, Trump was either in denial of what seemed obvious to the world or too naïve…”
JC: “…or more likely, too stupid to understand what was going on. After Tillerson got fired, he finally stated publicly what he’d said before. Trump was a moron.”
Greenie: “So why did Trump have Sessions fire McCabe? Firing McCabe accomplished nothing. Then Sessions got fired by Trump soon thereafter.”
JC: “Pardon me for being so blunt, but you just answered your own question — why did firing McCabe trigger the take out? Trump thought the firing would discredit McCabe.”
Greenie: “Discredit McCabe with whom? Maybe Trump’s base but at that point Trump’s base no longer counted in the real world. I must say Trump calling McCabe a liar was a bit much even for Trump. Seriously? Trump calling someone a liar and expecting the world to believe him?”
JC: “In Donnie Boy’s world the base was the only thing that mattered.”
Greenie: “Do you guys think Trump really understood who held all the cards? In the Washington poker game, Trump didn’t have a pair of deuces and Muller had a full house, yet Trump thought he could bluff Mueller.”
Jordan: “And Muller’s full house included all the FBI agents. Just think about how crazy his behavior was. Trump dumps all over Comey and McCabe and trashes the FBI as an organization. That’s about the same level of stupidity as trying to steal a bear cub while mama bear is watching nearby, not even hiding.”
JC: “Pissing off mama bear is not smart. And doing so never has a good outcome.”
Greenie: “So now we have Mama-Bear-FBI watching the Donald trying to steal one of her cubs…actually two, no three of her cubs – Comey, McCabe and Mueller.”
Jordan: “Still wonder why the FBI took out Trump? Actually, I do think there’s a bigger reason. Yes, the FBI was pissed about the Donald trashing the agency and also trying to steal the cubs, but the overarching reason…”
JC: “…the overarching reason was the professionals thought Trump was mentally unstable. Nobody could predict what he would do next.”
Greenie: “Most serious adults in the US…and worldwide…have great admiration for the FBI. I think it’s fairly well-known that when joining the agency you pledge to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’ The people who I know connected with the Agency take the pledge very seriously.’ Trump’s behavior violated the pledge and effectively left them no choice.”
JC: “Still baffles me why Trump did not understand the potential consequences of his behavior. It’s not as if you had to be a genius to predict the outcome. Jordan, you predicted it and we know you’re no genius…right?”
Jordan: “I’d like to ignore your last comment but you’re correct. Anyone with a modicum of gray matter could have seen what was going to happen when you mess with Mama-Bear FBI.”
Greenie: “Fortunately, the take out and transition were reasonably peaceful.”
Jordan: “For the peaceful transition you can thank the FBI and some of the military-trained adults who’d been in the White House. Those guys knew who to call, when to call and what to tell the remaining staff to do. Lots of good work behind the scenes.”
Greenie: “Even after the transition from Trump, the country had the Revenge Revolution. Granted a few years later but probably a lot more peaceful that it might have been.”
JC: “You know what? Even though we’ve had the Revenge Revolution and we’re looking backwards, talking about the Trump years exhausts me mentally. Why don’t we go back to discussing an easier topic?”
Greenie: “You mean an easy topic like the creation of the universe?”
Jordan: “While you guys decide on what to chat about, I’m taking a break.”
Trump: “The list is tremendous…very long, very long. For one thing employment is higher than it’s ever been. Just look at all the new employees we’ve added this past year. Tremendous, right?”
Board Member: “So you want to compare the number of employees added this past year to employment say 20-30 years ago when the company was much smaller. Did I understand you correctly?”
Board Member: “Is it true you had an affair with an adult film star?”
Board Member: “Like I said, Mr. Trump, could you please explain your relationship with Deutsche Bank?”
Trump: “All those bankruptcies were not my fault. If the other partners had just…”
Trump: “A decent interest rate. You know what a tough negotiator I am. The other guy always loses.”
Board Member: “Well, when people came to the Don…not you, the head of the Corleone Family…they were in no position to negotiate terms. The Corleone’s always ended up with more than what you label a ‘decent return.’”
Trump: “’Laundering money’ was a slip of the tongue. I corrected myself.”
Mr. Trump, we know how you are obsessed with trying to appear wealthy. So part of our investigation included following the money trail. If you’d like we can take our findings to the FBI or IRS.”
Trump: “I don’t care what the Board thinks. You’re supposed to do what I say, not what you want to do. You’re supposed to be loyal to me. I’m the king…I mean president and CEO.”
Gelly: “Your predictions were pretty accurate.”
Jordan: “I know what you mean. My answer is the Revenge Revolution would have happened anyway.”
Trump: “You keep pointing the finger at me. I haven’t done anything.”
Board Member: “…Excuse me but I wasn’t finished speaking. Let’s see if you understand this. ‘Little Donnie, quit whining like a brat, and be quiet until the adults in the room tell you it’s ok to speak. Understand?’”
Trump: “You mean ‘The Buck Stops Here’ sign?”
Trump: “But I told you before about the plan to make the company great again. Step #1 is to change the compensation structure. The 1.0% management team needs more money. The peons who work for the company don’t really deserve any more money but we can throw them a few crumbs for a while…then gradually take it back. They’re too stupid to understand what’s really going on. Step #2 is…”
Board Member: “But what about their connections to shady Russian oligarchs, let alone Putin? Associating with the Russians will compromise the company.”
Board Member: “Mr. Trump, the trickle-down approach, which president George H.W. Bush called voodoo economics, has never worked. He was right. Trickle down has never worked in the US or anyplace in the world. The trickle-down approach slows economic growth, not accelerate it. You know that don’t you?”
Board Member: “You realize, of course, the workers contributed to their medical plan and their retirement plan. And they’ve done so for a long time. Your plan will basically screw them.”
company going forward.”
Gelly: “Jordan, I was cleaning out some files. Found an article you wrote at the end of Trump’s first year in office.”
one could have done it better. Now let’s adjourn and play some golf.”
Trump: “Why? I told you my performance was fantastic. Let’s go play golf.”
Board Member: “Just to be clear, the majority of the Board did not support you to be CEO. Only because we have an odd way of counting votes that were you elected.”
Trump: “There’s so many I don’t know where to begin. No other CEO has ever accomplished so much in such little time.”
: “The only thing I need to be more effective is total loyalty from everyone in the organization.”
Trump: “Experience running large companies doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know…in fact, I pride myself not knowing about lots of things you consider important. Remember, I’m a genius. Why waste my time learning anything new? I’d rather watch TV and play golf. What’s knowledge worth anyway? I go with my gut…and I’m always right.”
Trump: “In my way of thinking, all deals are zero-sum games. And I have to win. The other party in the deal needs to cave in to my demands.”
Matt: “Actually two things…and both are fundamental to building long-term relationships with friends, business colleagues, constituents…in fact, building a relationship with anyone.”
Matt: “Rhetorical question, I know, ‘How do you develop a relationship with someone who’s all over the map?’ One day left, one day right, one day up, one day down…I mean, how do you work with such a person?”
Jordan: “That’s funny, Trumpthong. I don’t even want to think about that. Anyway, the word is Trumpong, which is what I call Trump’s version of strategic ping-pong. The never-ending back-and-forth. Change your position day-to-day, sometimes even during the same day. Then bounce back to the original position. Back-and-forth just like ping-pong.”
Matt: “Mythomania? Is that yet another made-up word?”
Jordan: “Yep, an abnormal tendency to exaggerate or lie.”
Jordan: “Not all at once, of course. Over time more and more people felt like the model for one of Evard Munch’s paintings. They just couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to scream.”
Jordan: “True, but hard-core Trumpsters aren’t running the show any more. They got thrown out by the Revenge Revolution. I’m still convinced many of the hard-core Trumpsters were brainwashed. Their support of Trump’s policies was often contrary to their own best interests. The hard-core never seemed to understand the consequences of the proposed policies.”
Matt: “Each one of the sections could be a worth a couple of books…and 1-2 semester class or even a public lecture series.”
Jordan: “So, why don’t you two work together, already?”
Jordan: “Never admitting a mistake was really his downfall.”
Jordan: “What a great way to start a presidency. Go to confession and beg for forgiveness.”
Jordan: “I know what you’re saying. Since Trump did the country such a favor, maybe we should put his face on Mount Rushmore.”
Matt: “First of all, if Trump really cared about these kids…actually many were young adults…he could have let Obama’s Executive Order continue or issued another one. What was so pressing?”
Matt: “Trump’s rationale wasn’t really about whether these children had legal standing. Trump’s argument was ‘those illegals’ were stealing jobs that Trump claimed rightfully belonged to Trump supporters. In reality the DACA kids were creating jobs and likely qualified for higher-tech jobs…jobs that many Trump supporters weren’t qualified for.”
Matt: “The DACA Detour, as I call it, was an effort to steer away from the every widening Russia investigation. Many in the public realized the terrible precedent that DACA set. DACA finally got evangelicals off their butt and they started saying no to Trump.”
Jordan: “The question is what did the deal accomplish? The Republicans would have passed legislation for the debt ceiling to keep the government operating, even if it took having Democrats join them. But Trump’s ego needed a fix, like right now, so he gave McConnell and Ryan the finger on camera and proceeded to play footsie with Pelosi.”
alienating virtually everyone in Congress and much of the public.”
Gelly:
Jordan:
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Greenie:
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Gelly: “Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Two civilized people in the office. Didn’t think you’d still be here.”
JC: “More about scandals? That seems pretty well researched by now.”
Greenie: “I agree it’s unusual for a Congressional committee to be exploring such a topic. Is the hearing going to be open to the public?”
JC: “Any idea what sources of data will be used for the study, aside from our expert witness here?”
JC: “My conclusion was that people who follow religions that preach or instruct congregants to follow strict rules or believe that certain statements are absolutes that should not be questioned…the people who continue to follow the religion have been brainwashed.”
Gelly: “You mean like people who insist on buying only Apple products, even though Apple costs more and might not perform as well? Or those people who vote only for one party no matter how flawed the candidate? Are you considering these people brainwashed?”
JC: “Another group that seemed prone to brainwashing was the group that ‘can’t connect the dots.’ The ‘no-dots’ crowd seems to view each event as discreet and somehow not linked. They cannot fathom that somehow someone might be manipulating them.”
Greenie: “The idea of modern-day mass brainwashing is scary stuff. I never really considered the possibility being so widespread. I mean, there’s always been some portion of the political parties that was effectively brainwashed. The old Blue-dog Democrats, for example, and the more recent alt-right Republicans. But you’re paper implied a higher percentage of the population.”
Greenie: “I’d like a coffee, too, please. By the way, where’s Gelly?”
JC: “You suggesting it wasn’t the FBI…but somebody else?”
Greenie: “I think the real issue was early-stage dementia. It wasn’t very bad before the election. Then the deterioration accelerated once he was in office. It was like his brain was on a ski slope headed downhill fast.”
Jordan: “Alright. I know his father, Fred Trump, had Alzheimer’s. There’s also data indicating a higher probability of being inflicted if a parent has had Alzheimer’s. Assuming your prognosis is correct, do you really think the dementia was having that much of an effect?”
JC: “And think about the tweets? He’d take one position one day and then a few days later he’d do a U-turn and contradict himself. Then he’d claim he never sent the first tweet. I agree he seemed to have less and less control over his emotions.”
JC: “I sorta remember that incident but why do you think driving a cart on the green is so important?”
Greenie: “Now, we’re out of here. Please tell Gelly we said hello…and not to take you too seriously.”