A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

Rating: 4 Stars.

FYI, this is not really a review, it is a short rant because I am just TIRED of it all. I have the luxury of choice when it comes to whether I pay attention to politics or not because my race and socio-economic status allow me said luxury. Yet I know that I MUST pay attention and #Resist, and do all I can for those who do not have a voice. I am especially fired up today because of everything that has gone down so far.

When I heard Comey on NPR talking about his book, and he had the audacity to say, when asked about whether or not his memo impacted the outcome of the election, "I hope not"...BOY, BYE! Regardless of his own perception, he HAD to know how the memo releases would be perceived by the public at large. Come on bruh, you KNOW they did, no matter what the FBI's intentions were. Even so, I must begrudgingly say that Comey did the best he could with what he had to work with. I couldn't stand either candidate, but at least I knew that Clinton would not complete tear our country to shreds. She didn't "deserve" to be the nominee, it wasn't "her turn" after "letting" Obama go first. Comey certainly gives his well-thought-out argument for why he did what he did, and when, but it does not make it any easier to handle. I am to the point that I can not even see that douchebag's face anymore without wanting to vomit. His voice grates on my ears. And today, as he is once again propelling us toward a scary future with Mattis resigning, no plan to stop a government shutdown (because of a stupid fucking wall that isn't even going to work), and him insisting that pulling out of Syria is a great idea (great of course, for Russia. And ISIS), we once again see why that 25th Amendment is a pretty good idea.

But I digress. That was a tangent that has nothing reeeeeally to do with the book, except that I abhor trumplethinskin and look forward to the day when his ugly face is out of the White House for good and we can get this ship righted.

There are some interesting stories I had not yet heard before, and Comey is actually a good writer, even if it is a little - I don't want to say pompous, because that is not quite right, almost like he is trying to be too humble and it comes off as not humble at all, does that even make sense? - sometimes.

A few quotes I thought were #OnPoint:

"I did not know Priebus well. He often seemed both confused and irritated, and it was not hard to imagine why. Running the (trumplethinskin) White House would be a difficult job for even an experienced manager, which Priebus wasn't" (page 246).

"(trumplethinskin)'s presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation. We all bear responsibility for the deeply flawed choices" (not me, I caucused for Bernie) "put before voters during the 2016 election, and our country is paying a high price: this president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values...His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal loyalty. We are fortunate some ethical leaders have chosen to serve and to stay at senior levels of government, but they cannot prevent all of the damage from the forest fire that is the (trumplethinskin) presidency. Their task is to try to contain it" (page 275).

Except, there is no containing it now. We are literally going headfirst into a complete clusterfuck and no one seems to know how to stop it - and the GOP doesn't care to, so...