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Hold on to your hard hat.

Steve Arnold and Skip Alston's extreme makeover of county government continues unchecked.

Alston, the chairman of the county commissioners, and Arnold, the vice chairman, are not only rearranging the furniture, they are blowing stuff up (in a figurative sense, at least), firing top leaders, laying off people, and re-engineering critical functions.

And they say they are doing it in the "best interests" of the citizens -- even though they haven't seen fit to ask the citizens' opinions -- or in most cases, even their fellow county commissioners'.

Presumably we are supposed to shut up and let them do their thing. After all, they know best.

Input? They don't need no stinkin' input.

Specifically, on the issue of the layoffs, Alston has said, "I don't feel that we have any obligation to let the public know."

The calculated chaos in county government even prompted local business leaders to demand better behavior on the part of both city and county elected leaders in a March 22 op-ed. They have a right to be concerned. Consider the damage (so far):

Alston and Arnold led the ouster in December of County Manager David McNeill, for reasons that remain unclear, and without the benefit of an evaluation.

They eliminated the job of Deputy County Manager Ben Brown.

They forced the resignation of County Attorney Sharron Kurtz.

Since then no fewer than three interim county attorneys have come and gone in the span of only three months.

They have flouted the state's open meetings laws.

They have planned and executed one round of layoffs, cutting 35 positions, with another round on the way.

They essentially have taken the model of county government, in which a manager runs the day-to-day operations, and turned it inside-out. Now they manage the county.

And no one seems to care.

Ten reasons for the collective yawn that has greeted the Alston-Arnold coup:

1. They have the votes. Alston and Arnold swept into power on the winds of an unusual alliance between Democrats and Republicans. As long as those votes hold, they'll be in charge.

2. They are saving us money. The first wave of layoffs alone could amount to $2 million in savings. But what happens if it winds up costing us in critical services and key priorities over the longer term?

3. They are elected from districts. The district system has its advantages. This is not one of them.

Alston has represented District 8 on the board since 1992; Arnold, District 2 since 1990.

They would find it much harder to rule with such impunity if they had to answer to all county voters.

4. One is a Republican and the other, a Democrat. Their alliance blunts the partisan attacks that would usually ensue if both were of one persuasion.

5. They are smart politicians. The idea of an Arnold-Alston team is brilliant in its odd-coupling of two men who are polar opposites on most issues.

6. They have been overshadowed by the upheaval in Greensboro city government -- though arguably not as complete and as potentially devastating as what they're up to.

7. One is black and the other is white. Sadly, too many local problems boil down to race. That's one reason the David Wray/Mitchell Johnson saga may enjoy a longer run than "Cats."

There are more grays than blacks and whites to that imbroglio. But we, as a community, have insisted on shoehorning it into two distinct camps, with each side charging the other with racism.

And by getting rid of both McNeill, who is white, and his deputy, Brown, who is black, within a heartbeat of one another, Arnold and Alston effectively removed race as an issue.

8. We've become so accustomed to low expectations. The commissioners are so typically combative and dysfunctional that we simply see that as the way things are.

9. A clear majority of commissioners gave Alston and Arnold the keys to the county. Bruce Davis, John Parks, Kirk Perkins, Carolyn Coleman and Linda Shaw placed Alston and Arnold in charge. They should share the credit or take the blame for whatever comes of that.

10. They only can get away with whatever we let them get away with. Public officials ultimately answer to the public, even Skip and Steve.

If we say nothing, they'll forge merrily ahead, two bulls left free to roam in a nitroglycerin factory. Remember, there's a still a manager to hire and a budget to pass.

Whatever lasting damage they do we'll inevitably attribute to "those wacky commissioners."

But we're accountable, too. We hired them.