Book Review: The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy

 

The Conspiracy to End America is a 2023 book by former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens. It is partly a follow-up to his 2020 book, It Was All a Lie, but this one is more forward-looking. In it, Stevens details how his former party has consolidated power over the years, including how the multi-millionaires and billionaires have used dark money to get nutjobs like Empty-G elected and stack the courts with radicalized nutjobs like Clearance Thomas and the Witch Doctor, Sammy Alito, and baited the low-income racists to bolster their voting base. Then Stevens warns what electing the Orange Genital Wart to a second term would entail, especially if Republicans get total control of the government again.

The hardcover version of the book is short-- just 225 pages--and is a very quick read. Stevens is the "never trumper" that I have the most respect for because he admits that much of the Republican platform and talking points going back years has been total bullshit, and actually does a sincere mea-culpa for what he helped unleash because he was only concerned with winning elections and not the fallout. He admits that the current Republican party is full of nutjobs (who have taken over the party) and weenies who are too scared to stand up to the nutjobs because they care more about losing their jobs than defending our democracy. It is a succinct civics and history lesson that provides much information that people may not know (especially those who do not follow politics consistently). It is an insightful and chilling read, but it is absolutely a book everyone should read.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Post

 

The Post is a 2017 drama directed by Stephen Spielberg. It features an ensemble cast, including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon., Jesse Plemmons, and Matthey Rhys.  At its core, The Post is a movie about the publication of The Pentagon Papers, which was a multi-volume retrospective on the Vietnam War that was put together during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. The papers were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys, best known for his role in The Americans), who helped work on the documents and ultimately leaked them to the press after trying to get Congress to act on the information within them. The papers outlined the fact that all the past administrations, Democrat and Republican alike (From Eisenhower to Nixon), knew that the Vietnam War was not something the United States could ever win, and the government only stayed in it not to help South Vietnam or halt the spread of Communism, but to keep America from looking weak in losing a war. The release of the papers ultimately led to the public at large turning against the war, which eventually led to the war's end. It also told a larger story of how the Washington Post rose to prominence from a small, privately-owned local newspaper to a national newspaper that would ultimately do a lot to bring down what is now the second most corrupt Presidential administration in history.

The movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and is centered around the characters of Ben Bradlee (played by Tom Hanks), who was the paper's managing editor, and Kay Graham (played by Meryl Streep), who was the paper's publisher. Overall, it focuses on the events of how the Washington Post came into possession of the papers and the decision about whether to publish them after the Nixon administration sued the New York Times (which was the first paper to get ahold of some of the material in the papers) to stop publication of the documents. It was a tricky situation for the Washington Post, which was transitioning from being privately owned to being taken public, and the publication of the papers could spook potential investors and tank the public offering.

The story is an excellent historical drama, with some fictionalized elements blended in. It benefited from having many of the people involved in the events (including Ellsburg) who were still alive or the children and grandchildren of the actual people acting as consultants. So, it was able to stay historically accurate. It also blended in the audio from the Nixon tapes, which were released as a part of the Watergate investigation years later, of Nixon discussing the release of the papers with his cronies and displaying his hatred of the press. Specifically, the Washington Post. It is not an action movie, so if you are like some of the one-star reviewers complaining that it is boring, know what you are getting.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc has just the movie itself. On the regular Blu-ray disc, there are well over an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that range from 25 minutes in length to less than ten minutes. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. Given that it is not a CGI-heavy action or sci-fi movie, you may not find it necessary to get it on 4k, but if you do, the film looks excellent, especially the location shots.

Overall, the movie was very well-written and acted. Despite idiots reviewing the film on Amazon saying it is just liberal propaganda, it is actually (aside from a couple of lines from the characters discussing political corruption, which were clear shots at the current political climate) a primarily accurate retelling of the historical events. While not everything in the movie was 100% historically accurate, which, given that it is not a documentary, is to be expected, much of what is in the film, including the text of the Supreme Court's decision about the role of the press in our democracy, is accurate. Of course, those events occurred before the modern-day hyper-partisanship in which fealty to a dear leader, regardless of who that leader is, trumps all, including corruption. And they happened at a time when freedom of the press and holding the government accountable was important not only to more than just some members of the government but all members of the media, the courts, and the populace as a whole. It was not a time when salivating, bootlicking toadies stood by the leaders of their party, no matter what. My guess is that many people complaining about the movie being "overly political", even though it made both Democrat and Republican administrations look bad (but yes, moreso Nixon's administration), are doing so because it puts a spotlight on what was happening in the orange genital wart's administration. But, given that the movie's events are absolutely true, it falls more into the category of "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" than it does a "political hit job" and is worth watching and learning something from.

Book Review: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror

 

Against All Enemies, first published in 2004, is a book written by the former US head of counterterrorism, Richard Clarke. Clarke held several government positions for 30+ years through several administrations, but it is his position as the head of counterterrorism for both the Clinton and Bush administrations that he is best known for. The book is not focused primarily on the events of September 11, 2001, itself. The very beginning of the book is devoted to that day and a few days afterward. The focus of the book is the lead-up to 9-11 and how the country's view of terrorism changed from the Regan administration up to George W. Bush's administration, and then what Clarke describes as the major screw-up by the Bush Administration following 9-11. Specifically, the invasion of Iraq.

One of the things that struck me the most about the book is how ill-prepared the intelligence agencies were for Al-Qaeda. For a long time, even when they were actively attacking US interests many in the FBI had no idea they existed or that there were sleeper cells in the United States. One very telling point was when Clarke asked the FBI to research whether there were websites hosted on US servers that were recruiting terrorists, and he was told there were none, and then asked a reporter to look into it who found dozens of them. Just the fact that there were very few within the FBI, CIA, and other agencies who realized the kind of threat they posed, combined with the agencies' unwillingness to share information with each other, and the Clinton and Bush administration very different lack of responses (Bush's downplaying the threat and brushing it aside, and Clinton's overanalyzing combined with his lack of action due to "Wag the Dog" like comparisons to deflect from his personal scandals) left the country open to attack.

Clarke's harshest criticism is saved for the Bush Administration's obsession with going into Iraq. He claims that from almost day one of that administration they were itching to find a reason to go invade Iraq to "finish the job" from the first Iraq war, and that even a couple days after 9-11 they were trying to find any connection between Iraq and Al-Quaeda despite it being clear that there was no connection between the two. He also argued that by invading Iraq the United States gave Bin Laden exactly what he wanted, the US occupying a Muslim country, which could be used as a terrorist recruiting tool. In the final chapter of the book Clarke lays out what he thought the proper response to 9-11 should have been, vs what was actually done.

The softcover version of the book is about 330 pages long. For me, it read fairly quickly, but I was already aware of a lot of the information discussed by Clarke. Overall, the book is a very interesting read. It does not come across as partisan in that Clarke criticizes and praises things that were done right and wrong by Republicans and Democrats, as well as the career professionals in the various intelligence agencies. While not likely an exhaustive history, it lays out how the United States viewed, and responded to, terrorism, including how the US learned of Bin Laden and his group's existence and motives over a long period of time. Given the age of the book, if you are into the subject at all and have watched any of the documentaries that are out there, read any of the other books, or even have seen the series The Looming Tower, which is currently playing on Hulu, you may know a lot of what is in this book. But it gives a very good and insightful look at what was going on from an insider's perspective. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Oath and Honor

 

Oath and Honor is a book written by Liz Cheney, the former conference chair of the Republican party in the House of Representatives and daughter of the former Vice President (and former Secretary of Defense), Dick Cheney. She was one of only a handful who ended up splitting with the orange genital wart after the 2020 election, as he lied about the election being stolen and, at the very least, encouraged the attack on the capital on January 6th, 2021. And, of course, she was one of only two Republicans on the January 6th committee. 

This is a book that, regardless of whether you agree with Cheney's politics, is a must-read. The book is partly a memoir in which Cheney discusses how she got interested in, and then into, politics. The focus of the book, however, is the aftermath of the 2020 election, her work on the January 6th committee, and the threat that t***p poses. She explains that she was trying to find out what the orange dipshit and his lackeys were up to after the election and how she tried to circumvent the fake electors/objections plot once she figured out that part of it. She also warns that the Republican party is essentially gone and has to be defeated until t***p and his anti-democracy ideology are gone. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. There are no endnotes or bibliography, but there is a web address at the end of the book that allows you to view the notes if you want to. I disagree with almost all of Cheney's politics and would normally never purchase one of her books. I think she had a large role in the political division and the stoking of anger in the country that allowed t***p to take over the Republican party. That said, I respect the fact that she stood up to t***p and her party even though she knew she would lose her seat in Congress and likely end her political career. This is a book that everyone should read  

Book Review: Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy From the Next t***p

 

Blowback is a book by Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security staffer, published in 2023. As many are likely aware, Taylor also wrote the very controversial op-ed piece in the New York Times published under the pseudonym Anonymous. In the book, Taylor describes his time in the former administration and gives a first-hand account of the orange genital wart becoming more and more unhinged as time went on and detailing all of the crazy shit that agent orange wanted to do at the southern border (which he became more and more obsessed over the course of time). Taylor makes it clear that he always despised t***p and that he, like many in the administration, thought t***p was dangerous and stupid (and dangerously stupid). Taylor also makes it clear that he only agreed to join the DHS because he respected John Kelly and knew that there had to be "adults" in the administration to keep little donny diapers in check. And, the only reason Taylor stayed as long as he did was because anyone who replaced him would be a MAGA asshat who would be slovenly loyal to t***p and completely unqualified for the job. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 300 pages, not including the index. Taylor discusses the span of his political career first as a Congressional page, his work at the DHS, his decision to write the initial Anonymous op-ed and the follow-up book, his decision to speak out against the administration under his own name, and ultimately reveal that he was Anonymous. Taylor also discusses how his life started to spiral out of control during that time and what life has been like since then.

The overall subject matter of the book is clear from the title. It is basically a warning that the Republican party of old is dead and gone, that t***p will not go away easily, and that t***pism will be around long after he finally does. And Taylor makes clear that, if given power again, the next t***p will succeed where the orange dipshit failed the first time because they will get around (or ignore) all of the guardrails, and there will be no adults in the room this time. Taylor also discusses that most of those who were said adults in the first administration are not exactly profiles in courage and will not speak out because of fear of political retribution (and physical harm by the MAGAT cult members). The book is absolutely a must-read.

Book Review: Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald t***p, and the Battle for American Democracy

 

Network of Lies is the 2023 follow-up to author, and former CNN host, Brian Stelter's 2020 book, Hoax. This book is mostly a continuation of that book, focusing on events that occurred after (and a bit during) the 2020 election through late 2023. 

The hardcover version of the book has just under 330 pages of substantive text. The last 40 pages are divided between source notes and the index. The book is basically a continued excoriation of Fox "news", with a huge focus on the rise, and subsequent fall of fucker Carlson, with Stelter (who has a ton of sources inside Fox) detailing what was going on behind the scenes when Carlson was dumped after the settlement of the defamation case brought by Dominion voting systems against Fox and several of its personalities because of the lies the network allowed to be spread after the 2020 election. 

Stelter definitely is not writing this book in an objective journalist mode. He does not hide his feelings about the network, the people who run it, and the personalities on it. The crux of Stelter's analysis is that Fox shot itself in the foot by allowing the "news" division, however small it was to be aced out by the entertainment division, which caused people like Chris Wallace and Shep Smith to leave and because of all of the lying by the people in the entertainment division and the failure of those left in the news division to push back hard against the bullshit being spewed by the orange genital wart and his clown-car of inbreds, on the few occasions the network did tell the truth, it caused Fox's viewers (who they spent years radicalizing and lying to) to jump ship for the even crazier batshittery of OAN and Newsmax. 

While Stelter is clearly not an unbiased objective observer (he clearly hates Fox and many of its on-air personalities) he brings receipts for all of the assertions he makes in the book (without outing his sources). The book is yet another warning about just how dangerous Fox has become as a network and how it is unlikely to change anytime soon, despite one almost billion-dollar settlement and a second defamation suit that is in progress that may cause the network to lose even more money. It is absolutely worth the time to read.

Book Review: Tired of Winning: Donald t***p and the End of the Grand Old Party

 

Tired of Winning is a great follow-up to author and ABC New Correspondent Jonathan Karl's first two books about the former president, Front Row and Betrayal. The main focus of this book is the aftermath of the 2020 election and the danger leading into the 2024 election.

In the book, Karl expands on some of the material first reported from the January 6th investigation and provides insight into the various legal battles that little Donny Diapers is currently embroiled in. Of course, he was not getting any inside information from the prosecutors, but he still has enough sources in the orange genital wart's orbit (who are totally willing to sell t***p out and show him for the slack-jawed dipshit that he is) who detail the shit fits he has been throwing almost constantly since the indictments started flowing in. Karl also details how the vast majority of the GOP has been perfectly willing to appease and enable the orange dipshit or look the other way and pretend that they do not know what he has done or said. 

The hardcover version is the book is relatively short at just under 300 pages (before you get to the acknowledgments and endnotes). The endnotes mostly just cite various sources. In the actual text of the book, Karl does include some footnote material that expands on what he has in the text. And, for the MAGATS who would scream "fake news" (not that any of the ones who are capable of reading would read this book) one of the most entertaining parts of the book is when Karl outs "background" sources from his prior book who later accused him of making things up, attributing their names to exact quotes from recordings of their conversations, and basically dares anyone to accuse him of making shit up this time around. The big takeaway from this book is how dangerous and stupid everyone who has been around the orange shitgibbion (save for the most devoted ball lickers) thinks he is, and that they all think he would be even more dangerous in a second term than he was in the first. Karl absolutely inserts his personal opinion in the book, so it is not just a straight presentation of facts. He calls out t***p's lies and stupidity multiple times and opines that he considers t***p to be a danger to democracy and should never set foot anywhere near the levers of power again. It is absolutely a must-read.

Book Review: Enough

 

Enough is a memoir written by Cassidy Hutchinson published in 2023. Hutchinson was a staffer in the White House during the most turbulent part of the 2017-2021 administration, as the assistant to the final chief of staff, or as she was called, "the chief of staff to the chief of staff". 

The book starts by telling her story of growing up in Pennington, NJ, in a low-income, blue-collar family, and her complicated relationship with her father (who, to put it lightly seems like a piece of work who idolized the orange genital wart even before it became president). She then goes into how she became interested in politics and worked her way from an unpaid congressional intern in college to being right next to the levers of power and the shitshow that was the final part of that administration.

Hutchinson is an interesting contradiction. She is one of those people who backs Republicans (and she makes it clear that she still considers herself a Republican) despite being in a group that Republican policies never benefit. Despite that, she has voted against her own interests (as many Republicans do) since she could vote (although I doubt she sees it that way). That said, she seems to be an informed elector as she claims to have researched the party positions before aligning herself with the Republicans. At one point she loved t***p, despite all of the cruelty, stupidity, and recklessness that she saw firsthand. She often thought he was getting a raw deal, and because he never allowed people outside his inner circle to see a human side that she swears he has, he was portrayed unfairly. Which, if true, is his own damn fault. And, she actually thought that t***p had moderate positions, which he did not. I would argue he really did not have any actual policy positions beyond what would benefit him. And that to the extent he had any actual political beliefs, they were tied to what he thought would keep him in power, and so he latched onto the extreme right-wing agenda.

So even though I think Hutchinson was a bit naive when it came to what the Republican party had already become and who t***p was, when nearly everyone else in the administration was circling the wagons and lying, obstructing, and/or obfuscating, about the 2020 election being stolen, she was becoming more and more disgusted by what she saw and heard leading up to and on January 6th. When it became clear that she was going to be called as a witness before the January 6th committee, she tried to find a lawyer who would work pro bono or take her on as a client on a payment plan. When she could not, she begrudgingly agreed to take a "t***p world" lawyer, who basically told her to say "I can't recall" as much as she could during her testimony. She also details how job opportunities were dangled in front of her but were clearly contingent on how she testified when she was subpoenaed by the committee. 

After she initially testified to the committee, she called a Republican member of Congress whom she just refers to as "Sam", who was neither Liz Cheney nor Adam Kinzinger, to talk about her testimony. Sam (who does not seem to be profile in courage if he or she is still in Congress) asked her if she could look herself in the mirror and like the person who was looking back. She decided that she could not, and found a way to get a new lawyer and correct her testimony which led to the live hearing that was witnessed by millions.

While I likely disagree with many of her political views and positions, I absolutely believe that she was the only person in that administration who had any courage (including Mike Pence). Even before her testimony at the hearing, she was butting heads with people in the administration and with some of the dipshits in Congress (like Matt Gaetz) despite being in her early to mid-twenties and not being a Washington power broker. She also makes it clear that, despite what is claimed now, she was in a position to see and hear damn near everything that was going on in the White House, and that everyone, including agent orange, praised her work ethic, intelligence, and loyalty (which was of utmost importance). She is clearly disgusted by what the Republican party has become but hopes that it can be saved and return to the Regan-era party (which was definitely not great for those who were poor and/or marginalized). She describes herself as a moderate Republican and I do get that sense from reading this book. I actually hope that she runs for Congress one day because I think she would be willing to work with the other side, she is not crazy, and she does have integrity. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. Unlike many political memoirs, it is not dry at all and it provides a lot of insight into who Hutchinson is as a person. While it is amazing to think that a 25-year-old would have lived enough of a life to write an actual memoir, as opposed to a book that just conveyed "Here is what I saw in the lead up to and after January 6th", Hutchinson absolutely has a compelling life story. The book is very emotional in parts and Hutchinson lays nearly everything out about herself, warts and all. The book clearly reveals her struggle with wanting to be loyal to the administration and to be the proverbial "good soldier" and doing the right thing, especially knowing that it would cost her job opportunities and friends. It is a great book and is absolutely worth reading.

Book Review: The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020

 

This is a book by Jonathan Lemire, a reporter for the Associated Press, and one of the morning show hosts/contributors on MSNBC. The subject matter of the book is fairly clear from the title. It is focused on the 2017-2021 presidential administration. The book is about 300 pages (of substantive material) and then there is a bibliography at the end that accounts for the rest. About half of the book is about the lead-up to the 2020 election, and the other half focuses on the election and the aftermath, including January 6th, the second impeachment, and the fight after the election to get a new voting rights act through Congress.

Lemire basically excoriates the orange genital wart and does not come at it from a detached journalist. Lemire calls agent orange a liar, documents how he lied all his adult life before he was president and documents the biggest lies he told as president. Lemire argues that t***p's brazenness in lying opened the door for Republicans to lie their ass off to the point that the batshit crazy portion of the party that, heretofore, had been relegated to the fringes and tolerated as long as they voted for tax cuts for the rich, to take over the party. 

Not much of the information in the book is new, especially if you have followed the (reputable sources of) news for the past few years. But, Lemire crystallized just how t***p, and the Republican party's cult-like devotion to him, transformed politics and how it presents a danger going forward. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Donald T***p v. The United States

 

This is a book that covers the 2017-2021 presidential administration, with a heavy focus on the Russia investigation, both before the Special Counsel was appointed when the FBI was in charge of the investigation, and after. The book was written by Michael Schmidt, a columnist for the New York Times, who had many sources, named and unnamed, both inside the White House, the FBI, and (seemingly inside or around people on the inside of) the Muller team. The book basically spans the time period from before the 2016 election detailing the FBI investigations of both candidates, and how each was handled by the FBI director, and ends with a summary of the first impeachment proceedings.

The substantive portion of the book is 400 pages long, then there are several pages of notes. Schmidt details what was going on in the White House Counsel's office (former White House Counsel Don McGahn was one of his named sources) and seemed to have a lot of insight into what Mueller's team was doing. He goes into great detail about how the Orange Genital Wart was raging at everything, getting crazier as time went on, and refusing to listen to anyone who told him that he could not do the batshit crazy stuff he wanted to do. The end of the book really details how Bill Barr bailed Agent Orange out when the Mueller report was released, based in large part because Mueller refused to actually make any kind of recommendation on whether Little Donny Diapers should be charged with anything. Schmidt also paints Rod Rosenthien as a wimpy slimeball who basically changed his tune depending on who he was talking to.

The book has a lot of reporting that was bombshell news when it came out in 2020, but even now, a few years removed from the original publication there is still material in the book that did not get widely reported, so even if you are a consumer of reputable news, some of the material in the book may be unfamiliar to you. Of course, the MAGATs will scream fake news about everything, but Schmidt brings receipts to back up every assertion that he makes. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and His Spies Are Undermining America and Dismantling the West

 

The Plot to Destroy Democracy is a book written by former US Intelligence Officer, Malcolm Nance. The substantive portion of the book (if you have it in paperback) is about 300 pages, and the rest consists of endnotes and an index. 

The focus of the book is on Russia's efforts to undermine Western Democracy, even going back to when the Soviet Union was formed under Lenin, and continuing to the present day. Nance interspersed events that occurred leading up to and including the 2016 election cycle, arguing that Putin's cronies in Russia basically groomed the orange genital wart for a run for President, offering to do everything they could to help him win, which he knew about and absolutely accepted. The focus of the book was not so much what t***p and his dipshits were doing, but what the hackers in Russia were doing, not only interfering in the US elections but the shit they were doing to interfere in elections (and the political processes) in other countries as well. Specifically, while the various hacking groups were definitely trying to help t***p get elected, their main interest was sowing discord and distrust in the US political system among the American population.

The book is in part a history lesson and in part a warning. Nance was definitely one of those that seemed to think that Robert Mueller was going to swoop in and take t***p down (the book was written while the investigation was still ongoing), which, of course, is absolutely not what happened. But, Nance does a good job laying out what Russia was up to and what they would likely try as they got even bolder in subsequent elections. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Proof of Collusion

 

The subject matter of the book is pretty clear from the title. In the book, author Seth Abramson, a former criminal attorney lays out the case that (and provides solid proof that) the former president, in the well-documented game of footsie that he played with Russia, starting long before he declared his candidacy for president and continuing to this day, was well aware of what Russia was up to during the 2016 election, and was more than willing to accept any help they gave him.

The book was written before the Mueller Report was written so Abramson was relying on the things that were already public before the Mueller investigation or had become public during the investigation, either because of the court cases that started springing up or the news reporting. The book lays out the orange genital wart's ties to Russia before he declared his candidacy for president when he was trying to get buildings built in Russia, to around the time when Paul Manafort was charged. Abramson rightly predicted that agent orange would be impeached, but he thought that he would be impeached because of the Mueller report, which of course he was not. And, he thought that there would be enough level-headed Republicans that would be willing to cut t***p loose, where, in reality, they would just toady up to him and lick his balls even more. Of course, Abramson could never have predicted that Mueller would punt on a determination of whether t***p should be charged or actually obstructed justice, and could not foresee that Bill Barr would swoop in and save t***p's ass because of it by totally misrepresenting the findings in the report before he released the redacted version.

Each chapter of the book contains a summary of the topics, then Abramson lays out the facts that were widely reported and then annotates the key factual points with even more detail. So, while the chapters can get quite long, there are a lot of natural stopping points. The substantive part of the book runs about 330 pages (if you get the hardcover version), and then there are over 100 pages of footnotes. So, for the Q nutjobs and MAGATs who will inevitably scream "fake news", he backs up pretty much every paragraph in the book with receipts. It is definitely worth reading. 

Book Review: Impeach

 

Impeach was written by Neal Katyal, a former member of the Department of Justice, former acting Solicitor General, and current professor at Georgetown Law School in the run-up to the first impeachment of the former president. It was written when some, but not all, of the information about the phone call between the former president and Ukraine's President, Zelenksyy was made public, but before the actual impeachment proceedings started.  

The book is fairly short, with just over 150 pages of substantive text, then an Appendix with reprinted documents such as the whistleblower complaint and the White House counsel's letter to Congress, and then a bunch of footnotes. In the book, Katyal lays out the history of impeachment, and its roots in the Federalist Papers, which were the precursor to the US Constitution, explains things like what High Crimes and Misdemeanors meant to the founders and lays out the process. Katyal then laid out what he felt was the strongest case against the former president, why it would be dangerous not to impeach the former president, and what Katyal felt should (and should not) be included in the articles of impeachment. 

Overall, the book does a good job laying out Katyal's argument without getting bogged down in too much legalese. I would describe the book as having a tone that is somewhere between an op-ed in the newspaper and a law review article. It is an interesting read, but not what I would call a must-read, especially now, years later when the events of the first impeachment have been left in the dust and overshadowed by the events leading up to and following January 6th.

Book Review: Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How T***p Lost

 

This is a book that is mostly about the 2020 election and its aftermath by Wall Street Journal reporter, Michael Bender. It was actually one of the first books written after the events of the election and when it was first published, it contained a lot of bombshells. Of course, years later, the material in the book has been backed up by many other sources, and a lot of the details have been fleshed out so if you are reading it in 2023 or later, it will really not contain much that has not been widely reported. But, it seems that Bender had more access inside the 2017-2021 administration than other reporters, probably because he reported for the WSJ because he was reporting on a lot of events that were not widely known (and were not reported in full detail) until the January 6th hearings.

Of course, the MAGATs will scream fake news, but this is anything but. Bender clearly was talking to a lot of people inside the White House, including the Orange Genital Wart itself. And, he made a point to include details about the cult members who would travel around the country, including during covid, to see t***p do his syphilitic-like rants, even though many of them who were not the picture of health, were scared shitless that they were going to get sick and die (which some did). Some of those stories are very sad, all are pathetic, and some are just hilarious. Since Bender also followed agent orange's campaign during the 2016 election cycle, he does include some material in the lead-up to, and the aftermath of, that election. But, the focus of the book is from the first impeachment, through the covid pandemic, and the 2020 election and its aftermath. He does include a little about the second impeachment, but the book was coming up for publication right as that was playing out, so there is not a lot of detail about that in the first run hardcover edition.

The book is moderately long, coming in at just under 400 pages. And, they had to use a fairly small font type to get it in at that length. But, it reads relatively fast, especially if you are a regular news consumer (at least of news from reputable sources). I would not call it a must-read, but it is worth reading if you are a fan of current events and/or political books. 

Book Review: Hoax: Donald T***p, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth

 

The subject matter of the book is apparent from the title. It is basically about the inner workings of FOX during the run-up to the 2016 election and throughout the 2017-2021 presidential administration.

The book was written by Brian Stelter who, at the time, was the host of one of the Sunday shows on CNN (Reliable Sources). In it, Stelter covers how FOX pretty much abandoned all pretense of being a news organization and became a propaganda machine for the orange genital wart with the early morning and prime-time entertainers basically in a non-stop circle jerk with agent orange, which ended up pushing out the few pure newspeople that (like Shep Smith) that the network had left. Stelter definitely had sources (whom he kept anonymous) inside FOX and inside the White House, the latter of which confirmed that the "executive time" on the schedule was just the time that t***p was watching TV and tweeting about the various news shows that he DVRd. Stelter got a lot of good behind-the-scenes dirt but did not manage to get everything, such as the fact that Fucker Carlson privately hates t***p and that all of the hosts that verbally fellate t***p on a nightly basis then talk shit about him behind his back.

Stelter admits up front that he did not write this book as an objective journalist, and he most definitely interjects his personal opinions of Fox, the people that run it and work there, t***p (and his administration as a whole). The book is about 350 pages (some of which are just footnotes citing to different sources of information) but is a pretty quick read. It is something that, if you read relatively fast, you can get through in a day or two. It is a revealing look behind the curtain at FOX and exposes some of the hypocrisy of those who work there. While I would not classify it as a must-read, it is definitely worth reading if you are into news, politics, and current events (with some gossip mixed in too). 

Book Review: Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. T***p

 

This book is partly a memoir that spans the course of Peter Strzok's career as a counterintelligence officer for the FBI, but it is mostly focused on the investigations (which he led) before and after the 2016 election. The book is a moderate length, about 350 pages, but it is not what I consider a quick read because it can be a bit dry. 

Strzok was the lead investigator on both the Clinton email investigation and the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which morphed into an investigation of the Orange Genital Wart's ties to Russia and that interference, and which then morphed into the Mueller investigation. Strozk was initially a member of the Mueller team but was kicked off when text messages between him and an FBI lawyer whom he was having an affair with showing potential bias against t***p were revealed. Strozk, for the most part, does not get into the lurid details of his personal life but explained what he meant in the most controversial messages, and rightly points out that if he wanted to hurt t**p's campaign he could have leaked the fact that the campaign was being investigated before the election (which he did not), and that actions he took in the Clinton email investigation probably hurt her campaign and helped t***p (which was not his intended effect, but the likely outcome). Of course, the pussy grabber has no qualms about referring to Strozk and "his lover" over and over again, as if he had not cheated on all of his wives, which Stozk rightly points out. 

A couple of the more interesting tidbits from the book is that while the FBI did refer to the Steele Dossier (which Strozk was not really a dossier, but a collection of reports) when obtaining their warrants during the Russia investigation, they did not rely on the information as they thought a lot of it was not well-sourced and could not be corroborated. But, they felt that it should be brought the to judge's attention and the purpose for which it was put together. Second, not only did agent orange become a target of the investigation, but the FBI also started an investigation into whether Jeff Sessions perjured himself during his confirmation hearings. Unfortunately, Strozk does not go into much detail about that, and it seems that the investigation just flamed out. 

This book is basically a way for Strozk to tell his side of the story and defend his actions and those of the FBI. He recites as many of the facts as he could at the time he wrote it, and did not hold back his opinions of the former president or the people around him. He also criticizes some of the decisions that were made by the FBI leadership but also details the process through which those decisions were made. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Landslide: The Final Days of the t***p Presidency

 

Landslide is the third book written by Michael Wolff about the 2017-2021 presidential administration. The focus of this book is on the 2020 election and the aftermath, including the lead-up to January 6th, the former president leaving office, and the second impeachment. The book is just over 300 pages and reads fairly quickly. It can easily be finished in a couple of days if you are a fairly quick reader.

I would say that the book does not have any really salacious details of the kind that were in Wolff's prior books (e.g., Wolff's insinuation that t***p was having an affair with someone in his administration, or t***p's alleged bragging about someone in the administration giving him a blowjob), it was pretty much a straight retelling of what happened in that time period, with Wolff not holding back about the fact that he thinks t***p and many of the people around him (those who were telling him he won the election and it could definitely be overturned), were batshit crazy, and getting crazier with each passing day. For me, the best part of the book was the detail of the clusterfuck that was t***p's defense during the second impeachment and the team of dipshits (including a self-described wimp who did not want to talk in front of the Senate) who were defending him. Mainly, because nobody else was willing to do it. At the very end of the book, Wolff details meeting with t***p at the southern shithole (Mar-a-Lago) during which Wolff asked the Orange Genital Wart to name who exactly was behind the non-existent plot to steal the 2020 election, and of course, the dipshit could not do so, only saying it was not Biden, and the names would come out shortly. 

Overall, you have to know what you are getting with Wolff. He is not a journalist, so he has no qualms about inserting his personal opinions or putting in all the dirt he hears that nobody else would touch. As I said above, this book was mostly a retelling of the facts without much dirt, so in that way, it is closer in tone to many of the other books about the administration written by journalists who just provide facts and quote sources. But, Wolff is not shy about letting his personal feelings be known, so in that way, it is different than many of the other books. I would say most of the information in the book is fairly well-known, especially as of this writing, but it does have some fine details about events that have not been widely reported, which shows Wolff continued to have good access to people behind the scenes, even after writing two books excoriating that administration. So, if you liked Fire and Fury and Siege, this is worth reading.

Book Review: Betrayal: The Final Act of the T***p Show

 

Betrayal is a great follow-up to Jonathan Karl's first book about the 2017-2021 presidential administration. Where "Front Row" chronicled events at the beginning of the administration up to just before the first impeachment, this one chronicles the end, with a major focus on the 2020 election and the events that followed.

Karl, who was the ABC News White House Correspondent during the shit-show that was the Orange Genital Wart's administration, and who had interviewed the Orange Shitgibbon many times throughout his career, including for this book (for the MAGATs who want to scream "fake news"). He definitely had an inside track to a lot of information, some of which was probably not widely known until the January 6th congressional hearings. He details the in-fighting that was going on behind the scenes between the "normal" people who knew that t***p lost the election and the "crazy" people who were throwing shit at the wall to see if anything would stick in trying to get the results of the 2020 election overturned. And how the plans went from a pressure campaign on local officials in various states, to trying to use the courts, to going back to pressuring local officials, to finally trying to pressure Mike Pence, who found a spine for the first time in at least four years and did not go along with the crazy plans that were being thrown out by t***p and his band of dipshits. 

This book is different from the first one in which Karl was mostly presenting facts, but keeping most of his personal opinions out of the book. Here, Karl clearly says that things t***p and those around him were doing and saying were crazy, nuts, lies, made up, etc. And, even though he did not come right out and say "t***p show" is a euphemism for "shit show", it does not take much reading between the lines to figure that out.

The book is just over 300 pages and is a pretty quick and easy read. The is not much in the book that is new, especially if you kept up with the January 6th hearings, but there are some fine details that Karl reports in this book that flesh out some of the reporting that was widely known (if you get your news from reputable sources). It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Front Row at the T***p Show

 

Jonathan Karl has a unique perspective on the former administration having interviewed the orange genital wart early in his career when t***p was just a bullshit con artist real estate developer, and then a few times leading up to his announcement that he was running for president in 2016. Then, when t***p was in the White House, Karl was the White House Correspondent for ABC news. He also had known Sean Spicer for years before Spicer became the press secretary.

The book basically details the administration right up to the point just before the first impeachment. The final chapter of the book actually ends with t***p meeting Kim Jong Un at the DMZ on the border of North and South Korea and how he was pining for Kim to accept his invitation to meet. Then, in the Epilogue, Karl briefly touches on the first impeachment but does not go into a ton of detail about that because the book at basically been written and ready to publish just as all that was starting. So, at that point, Karl is mostly wrapping up his observations. 

A couple of interesting nuggets from the book are that t***p always thought of his whole brand as an entertainment act (hence the title of the book, which is also probably being used as a euphemism for "shit show" since it is fairly obvious that is how Karl saw that whole operation) and years ago admitted that he lied to get ahead, and just what a thin-skinned little prick Sean Spicer is and how he would get upset over even innocuous questions.

The book is just under 400 pages but reads fairly quickly. I would not say it contains a ton of material that was not widely reported, but it does contain some fine details that were not widely reported. Definitely a good read.

Book Review: Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse

 

This is a collection of poems by the actor John Lithgow that are basically a social commentary on the 2017-2021 presidential administration.

Lithgow basically excoriates the orange genital wart and people who were around him (the various cabinet members, etc.) and promoted his narrative (mostly FOX "News"). It is not really a collection of funny poems, but he does take some funny shots at t***p and those around him. But, they are mostly meant to be a serious commentary on the policies and craziness of that administration. I do think if there were more just totally humorous poems in the book it would have been better, but if you despised t***p and his band of dipshits, it is worth reading and can easily be finished in a couple of hours.