Research for Election Year Has Kept This Reader UP-TO-DATE on Issues - Check out Four Books!

Being a constant reader, I found myself turning to some of the books that have been published during the last few months regarding the political environment we are now facing in America... I had already read Mary Trump's outstanding biography which shared her relationship within the Trump family... (See my review). It had provided me with the "why" of Trump and I was better able to deal with his colossal failure as our president.

Nothing prepared me for this book! The name of the author is probably a  pseudonym, but I knew the publisher so bought the book. It is probably too late for many voters, including me. But it is well worth reading to confirm whether or not you voted correctly in this year's election. Where Mary Trump's book left off, the first part of the book took over... It was so realistic that I had a hard time reading and would stop and put it aside for awhile.  Issues that most of us are fully aware of as they have been discussed during the last four years. However, in satire form, coming from the present president, it is mind-blowing. Just as we have come to know the scatterbrain method by which the president speaks, the words, some of which were actually repeated from dialogue of the incumbent, presents an almost maniacal flow of words spewed or twittered in his obsessive and sometimes violent behavior at his rallies, or when he is interviewed by somebody other than Fox staff. We have all seen this at various times...but the full regurgitation from "The Mind of a Dictator..." has to acknowledge in everybody what exactly has been happening in America...

A dictator’s mind that creates a climate of chaos, hate, racism, and division. If these are thoughts of the leaders, you will elect. STOP! You are making the wrong choice. 

MY PREDICTION "I said this once, many years ago before I became president, 'If I were to run, I'd run as a Republican politician. They are the dumbest political party in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie, and they'd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.' If you don't believe me, read People Magazine of 1998. That was when I said it. I was right then, and I am right now. “Dumb people deserve an authoritarian leader, the kind that leads by leashing a tight rope around their necks and dragging them around. I am that leader. I can say the things Republicans fear to say and do the things they fear to do. That's why the Republicans Party establishment chose me. I do their dirty work, and they get to pretend like they had nothing to do with my choices. This approach makes leading easy as I do not have to assume any responsibility...

~~~

I would have much more to say about this book in a full review, but needless to say, I was overwhelmed...and couldn't wait to give you my "My must read" recommendation on this one!

The book that was the most revelatory of new information for me was HOAX by Brian Stelter who some of your know from watching CNN. His program there, Reliable Sources, is about how news concerns may be considered, handled and possibly changed via research and consideration. I'm a fan... I had heard about "Fox News," but my main reason for not watching was that the head of the network had been fired due to harassment of women. That was bad enough...but what I learned both shocked, dismayed and, frankly, still think is unbelievable in today's world... 

"Everybody can be bought” In 1996, while Donald Trump was buying up buildings and beauty pageants, Rupert Murdoch bought Roger Ailes. Murdoch hired the GOP political operative and gave him a pile of money to build a news channel from scratch in the basement of the News Corp building in New York City. It was one of the most fateful decisions in modern American history. Ailes had both political and personal motivations for partnering with Murdoch. He wanted the Republican Party to win on television the way Rush Limbaugh was winning on radio.  Ailes showed up to the Television Critics Association’s press tour in July 1996 and officially announced the name of his new channel. Before he took the stage, reporters received a handout portraying poor public opinions of the press. It was a “fake news” manifesto twenty years before Trump turned “fake news” into a mantra. The handout cited one poll where only 14 percent of respondents gave journalists positive marks and another where 67 percent said TV news was biased. Ailes said Fox News was the solution: He swore he wanted Fox reporters to “just give the viewers the facts and the information.” He knew exactly what he was really doing, but he insisted, “I’m just announcing balanced and unbiased coverage. If that’s traumatizing some people, so what?” Ailes’s bombastic bromides were irresistible to television critics. He was practically writing their columns for them. “He says rude, obnoxious things that make for more interesting newspaper stories,” one writer admitted after the press tour appearance. Remind you of anyone?

Ailes and Trump ran in the same New York media circles for decades. To hear Ailes tell it, “Donald and I were really quite good friends for more than twenty-five years.” And to hear Trump tell it, “Roger owed me.” The two men had a lot in common: Similar fears of crime. Similarly racist views about immigration. The same generational references, since Ailes was just six years older than Trump. Both men were tail-chasers and wife-cheaters. Both had a taste for conspiracy theories. Both had paranoid streaks. And both ran their businesses as fiefdoms. With Ailes, Fox hosts were reminded to lavish him with credit whenever writing a book or giving a speech. With Trump, lieutenants were reminded that hismind wandered whenever conversations weren’t about Trump. Both men also appreciated the power of public relations—whether they were building up their own brands through puffy magazine profiles or knifing a rival in the back through a well-placed hit piece. Trump never saw any distinction between the press and PR. Whenever he could, he used the press to score points and further his own interests.

~~~

Remember, I was reading this book when it was published this year. However, I have been watching and listening about the incitement of all negative things by this administration for four years... What I didn't know was that there was such a close tie to people like Hannity and Trump, that they spent much time talking and it would be hard to say just where each idea or confusion point came from. Specifically, I was not only unaware, I was totally surprised that an information program would be permitted to...lie...to the people.  Perhaps it was what they wanted to hear? I'm not sure. Myself I preferred to hear the truth, discussed and to formulate my own opinion. Not so with Fox... And it has gotten progressively worse during this administration's tenure...

I consider this a must-read book as well! If you have been totally unaware, as I was, that a television station with news reporters can also have "talk" shows that are apparently free to do anything they want, to lie, initiate and perpetuate those lies...Well, I consider reading a book that can specifically document such corruption of the truth is well worth your time...

~~~

"I bring rage out. I do bring rage out. I always have. I don’t know if that’s an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do.”  Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump in an interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa on March 31, 2016, at the Old Post Office Pavilion, Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C.

I had already heard the news that the president had known about the Coronavirus early in the year... But, for me, I wanted a copy of the latest book by Bob Woodward, an award-winning journalist, on his interviews with the President. The first book had been written with just research but no interviews. This time, Woodward spent hours with the President...And he willingly told Bob Woodward what he would not tell the citizens of the United States... That he knew how deadly the virus was...

About halfway through the lengthy speech (State of the Union), Trump mentioned coronavirus in one short paragraph. “Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China,” Trump said. “My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.” That did not, however, include sharing any part of the warning he had received with the public.

Woodward asked the president about an earlier report from his own staff members, he was told by the president that he didn't recall it... Of course it had been part of the daily briefing, with a spotlight, but, as usual, Trump wasn't paying attention... Indeed the president rarely reads what he is provided routinely in daily reports. Only this time, it would lead to the biggest mistake Trump had thus far made. Trump's reasoning was that he didn't want to panic Americans...

“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told me. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Woodward covers the discussions held between he and Bob Woodward in this book. Bob often pointing out or discussing his concern about not sharing with the people...to little avail.   

“And I think he’s going to have it in good shape,” Trump said, “but you know, it’s a very tricky situation.” What made it “tricky”? “It goes through air,” Trump said. “That’s always tougher than the touch. You don’t have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” “Deadly” was a very strong word. Something was obviously going on here that I was not focused on. Over the next month I would make trips to Florida and the West Coast, oblivious to the mounting pandemic.

While discussing Fear on television, I was asked for my bottom-line summary of Trump’s leadership. “Let’s hope to God we don’t have a crisis,” I said.

And so it was that Bob Woodward, along with most of America, had no idea it was "deadly..." Indeed he has not been willing to speak of this even though the book has been out and thousands have died and millions have been infected in the States...

Much of the book includes interviews with Tillerson, Mattis, Comey, Sessions,  Rosenstein, and other individuals no longer in the administration. They were candid and informative, some of which we had known about but details were important. I had garnered most of the topics covered in this book from my almost obsessive news watching during that time period. Nevertheless there was many background details that I used to fill in earlier accounts which provided a sometimes new perspective. For me, this was well worth reading and I can highly recommend to others interested in this extraordinary administration...

Of the four books, in addition to the one by Mary Trump, I found the book by Michael Cohen to be the most readable and, in turn, the most heartwarming... Once again, most of what was included had been covered on the news. However, I found the personal perspective of this true story, this memoir, the most telling.  The most sympathetic. For instance, Michael shared that none of his family were happy with his working for Donald Trump and were constantly trying to get him to quit or, at least, not be at his beck and call constantly...

Donald Trump’s seduction began the way it would continue for years, with flattery, proximity to celebrity and power, and my own out-of-control ambitions and desires. For me, it started on a nondescript day in the fall of 2006. At the time, I was a successful, if little-known, middle-aged midtown Manhattan attorney and businessman on the make, sitting in a tidy nondescript office with two of everything arranged before me on my desk, a function of my obsessive nature: two staplers, two tape dispensers, two phones, two cups with sharpened pencils. I was thirty-nine and I worked for the mid-sized white-shoe law firm Phillips Nizer. As a lawyer I’d long had a busy practice in personal injury and medical malpractice, but my real passion and talent was in dealmaking, and I had accumulated a multi-million dollar fortune in the rough-and-tumble taxi medallion industry. Wealthy, with a beautiful wife and two healthy, happy young children, I had just purchased an apartment in the Trump Park Avenue building for $4.9 million and I tooled around the city in a Bentley and considered myself semi-retired. I had it made, in other words, but I didn’t know that I was on the precipice of a mid-life crisis that would lead to an all-consuming fixation and my downfall.

Michael willingly shares how he was pulled into the seduction. I found myself comparing him to the many who have become followers and members of the cult in which he surrounds his loyalists... The Power, the celebrity... It was not something that had ever interested me, but I found a certain empathy for Michael and other followers... Michael was willing and able to do anything for Donald. One thing he pointed out in the book and on television is that Donald rarely actually says "Do this" or "Do that." What he does is create scenarios where if you wish to follow him, you must accept as truth, no matter how wrong... Unfortunately, we have all seen in during the last four years. 

Ultimately, something happens that forces the follower to begin to question. This exploration of what happened for Michael is poignant. When that happened, Michael was able to see the lawlessness of his actions and the manipulation used to have him, essentially, leave his family and choose his boss, as the primary person in his life. Thank God that he was able to pull away from this cult and return to his family...and to paying the price, legally, for all that he had done for his boss. If you have a need to learn how to pull yourself out of a destructive relationship, I can highly recommend this as an illustration of how you go where you are and how to find yourself again...

GABixlerReviews

Rage is Back! In Devil in the Dark by Chris Lindberg!

Read Review  of Chris Lindberg's First Novel!

Check out Code of Darkness

Prologue

He had no recollection of the days anymore. He'd stopped counting them when hunger had taken over his every waking thought. His stomach growled incessantly; his ribs pressed outward against his skin.

In his time here, he'd been reduced to a shell of his former self. A beggar waiting for his next meal.

And there would be no escape, he knew; he woulc die in this God-forsaken place, if not from starvation, then disease, or torture.

The night watchman had begun his rounds of the prison camp. The sound of his footsteps could be heard in the deathly still hallways outside.

He had no idea how many others were here, American or otherwise. The only things he saw were the concrete walls that surrounded him, the dirt floor beneath him, the sliver of light that came through the meager opening that passed for a window, the white bucket in the corner, and the boots of the night watchman who brought him his one meal and jug of water each day. 

Anything else happened only under the black hood.

His stomach rumbled loudly; his mouth began to water. His lone meal of the day was only moments away. Cold beans, one uncooked potato, one dented metal jug of water. Every day the same.

He heard the sound of boots outside his door. Instinctively, he crawled to the tiny opening just in time to see the familiar, dirt-caked brown boots of the night watchman who slid his meal through.

Then he saw a second pair of boots appear. Black. Unfamiliar. SNAP!

Before he could understand what was happening, the night watchman's face appeared in the opening as he crumpled straight to the floor, the man's wide, expressionless eyes staring back into the tiny cell, before being dragged from view. The steel doorknob rattled with another snap, this time the sound of metal, and the knob fell to the floor as he realized it had somehow been broken off from the other side.

As the door swung open, he moved back instinctively, ready to give them a fight as he'd always done before they pulled the black hood over his head.

But as the figure came into view, he realized it was not one of his captors. Rather, a lone man stood before him, almost a foot shorter than he was. The man wore what looked like black fatigues, but ones that bore no markings, military or otherwise. He didn't appear to be carrying a weapon, either. The dim light that crept in from the hallway outside reveaed the blackest eyes he'd ever seen in a man.

"Sergeant First Class Otis Charles Brown, USMC?" the man addressed him in a deep, raspy, almost angry voice.

"Yes sir," he replied, willing himself up to stand at attention.

"Come with me," the man said. "We're getting you out of here."

~~~

Meet Rage

Rage is the main character we met in the first book, Code of Darkness. He is a special forces officer who is kept and used for only the worst types of situations. Because of his basic skills and expertise, I thought of Lee Majors...but the Hulk also came to mind... Fortunately, medical specialists had discovered a medication that, when taken at the right moment, would prevent the potential Hulk persona from going into, well, a rage! This is one...cool...character. And this latest story is one...cool...story! Quite worthy, in my opinion, of being made into an outstanding thriller movie!

Enrique Castillo was moving slowly toward the border checkpoint he went through every day to head for work. But this time was different, his visa to work at the Broadway Chicken Farms processing plant had been stolen and his family was depending upon his income to keep living. He had no choice, he thought, he could not lose his job, so he paid $250 to purchase a replica passport and ID made from an Idaho driver's license. The thought being that nobody would check on an Idaho license... Enrique was not, however, a brave man, especially when his mother had been placed in the hospital and he had a young sister alone at home...

And he had one major point against him. He was related to the head of the largest drug cartel in Mexico... Being stopped with a false license could lead to discovery of his real name, and drug smuggling would undoubtedly be suspected!

Otis Brown was back at his home in Texas, living with the local sheriff, his father, and his mother, until he would be able to be cleared for duty. He had been rescued from a Taliban prison camp... Not able to relax, he had a position as Border guard. 

He was in the midst of checking out Enrique's license, thinking to hold him, when it happened. The entire complex was bombed! Otis' instincts as a Marine had led him to look toward the hill--he had seen men with RPGs! He didn't have time to do anything other to yell "Down!"  He grabbed Enrique and they dove over the concrete barrier next to them. He had saved Enrique, but Otis was knocked out...

And without thinking, Enrique made the worst mistake of his life. He fled the scene...

The bombings, of course, set off a series of events--quite similar to what is already happening in today's world... Can't tell much more, but thought I could give a few bullets to prepare you...

• Enrique is on the run, being accused as part of the bombing activity...
• Otis is talked into joining a citizens vigilante group and winds up in Mexican territory and is captured...
• U.S. Military, having verified that the drug lord did the bombing, and with the approval of the Mexican President, invades Mexico. But government paid informants to the drug lord warn of the upcoming attack. Both helicopters and crew are destroyed, except Rage, who was thrown clear from the wreckage... He has lost his memory, and has no medication...
• RAGE is on the move, alone in Mexico...

Whew! This is the most exciting thriller I've read in awhile. The details of the drug lord's reign over "his" town are graphic and horrific. Everybody who reads the book will want him...taken out!

The plans for military force are realistic, with differences of opinion of what should be done...And especially about the possible loss of one of their greatest asset...

The violence is extremely graphic, the only salvation for me being that the good guys win...

This is exhilarating action. The climatic ending lends even more impact to the story! The timeliness of the novel makes this a must-read for those of you following the "wall" planned...Hopefully, this book will be the only "fictional" stories that occur in the future related to drugs and bombed border crossings into the U.S.


GABixlerReviews

Chris Lindberg lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and two children. Besides writing, he enjoys traveling, bicycling, running, grilling, any kind of vintage music, college football, and just about any activity with his kids. Devil in the Dark is the follow-up to his first novel, Code of Darkness.

Lawrence Gold's Murder Mystery, Rage, Leaves Reader Stumped!

Traffic congestion, Rio de Janeiro(Leme), Brazil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
"The EMTs carefully lifted the bloodied driver onto a portable gurney stretch then into the ambulance and drove away while Carrie stood handcuffed next to the policeman... A woman stood crying before another police officer "He cut in front of her, and I'd say she lost it, except she was like a zombie. I couldn't believe it. Her
face was expressionless, and her eyes looked funny."
"Funny?" the officer asked.
"They jerked back and forth, sideways. It was weird, and
then she smashd the tire iron against the car window and
kept striking even as the window shattered. It was awful. That poor man. Blood was everywhere. My God, his little
daughter was in the car and saw everything..."
"He turned to his partner. "We're gonna need some other name for this. Road rage ain't going to cover it."
~~~

Rage

By Lawrence W. Gold, M.D.


Many of us who hear the word Rage will automatically tie it to "road rage." Indeed one of the incidents in this third novel I read this weekend, was by a woman sitting in traffic, trying to drop her kids off at school, late, and some fool tries to cut in front of her to deal with his own business first! Ok, that would make most of us mad right? Especially if the rest of that morning hadn't been going well... But should it have been sufficient cause to take a tire iron to the man?

Then there was Beverly Craig who had stopped along the road to help a family with car trouble. After he helped them and the man turned to thank him, he saw Craig's tongue protruded, his eyes jerking side-to-side, staring ahead. He had a blade in his hand and thrust it deep into the victim's abdomen...then turned to his screaming wife... Then went home and murdered his wife...

"A middle-age redheaded woman looked up at the
priest and smiled. Ware's face remained impassive
as he reached through his cape and extracted a
Glock 23, pointed it at the woman's forehead and
pulled the trigger.
"The sanctuary resounded with the blast as the
woman's head exploded, and blood erupted and
splattered over the priest's alb, face, and the shocked
spectators nearby. She lay on the floor in a puddle of
bright blood blending incongruously with her red hair.
"The sanctuary smelled of gunpowder and resounded
with anguished cries and weeping.
"Mary wiped her face and stared at the blood on her
hands. "Oh my God, my Lord. Someone call 911."
~~~

When a priest finished his latest service and then walked down into his congregation, shooting one of the women through the head... it was really important that the cause of what was happening be found!

This murder mystery not only needs to solve "Who?" which is very evident in reality... But, how, what, why, and the who behind it all must be determined!

When another incident occurred at the university as Erin Stuart was attacked by her roommate Jennifer Davis, it was the first real information that was obtained. Erin knew almost immediately that something was wrong with Jennifer and described her actions. Erin was able to defend herself, save her own life, and then refused to charge Jennifer even though they had admitted her to a locked psychiatric unit.

Dr. Michael Rose and his assistant worked with the police and conducted much of the investigation, interviewing those that had committed the attacks...

None of them had any memory of what they had done...

It wasn't until close to the very end that I was able to pick up on who was behind all of this. Wow! I love it when a writer makes it so hard that I can't solve the crime. But you much admit that this is also a unique plot--a number of unrelated individuals turning violent, with no known background of mental issues and no memory of the crimes they committed...

You'll even find out the "how" and it won't help!

Dr. Gold, You Rock! This is a great mystery!


GABixlerReviews

Lawrence W. Gold, M.D.

I practiced internal medicine and nephrology (diseases of the kidney) in Berkeley, California for twenty-three years. I was an active participant in his hospital’s quality assurance program that monitored physician performance. In addition, I served as chief of the department of medicine and family practice.

My wife, Dorlis and I retired and set sail to cruise Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. We are back on land in Grass Valley, California.

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