As far as independent rappers go, Brooklyns Kota The Friend has been having a decent year, all things considered. His May album Everything was well-received, thanks to features from Bas, Kyle, Joey Badass, and Tobi Lou, while his Trade Places With Them Jeans freestyle with Guapdad 4000 capped off the latters Falcon Fridays series and helped raise both raise their respective profiles among fans with way more time for music discovery on their hands due to the economic shutdown caused by COVID0-19. Kota also celebrated an improved credit score; it may seem simple, but for a rapper working without the backing of a major label, it means a lot.

But time marches on and its apparently time for Kota to get right back to work. To that end, hes returned to releasing music shortly after his 27th birthday with the release of Dragon, a spirited single in the same vein as his Lyrics To Go projects. Over a mellow beat, Kota imagines giving advice to his younger self, saying, If I could go back, I would say to him / Just focus on your spirit and youll make it, kid / And do right by the women that you make it with.'

Kota didnt say whether Dragon would be part of a larger release but he rarely does anything without a plan, so its probably a safe bet that more new music is on the way.

Listen to Dragon above.

Link:
Kota The Friend Gives Advice To His Younger Self On 'Dragon' - UPROXX

WHEN it comes to horoscopes, you either love them or hate them - but what happens when it comes to your Chinese zodiac sign?

Repeating every 12 years, the animal cycle includes the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig.

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Each of those can then be split into five elements - Earth, Wood, Fire, Metal and Water.

So what exactly is the 'Metal Rat' zodiac sign and what does it represent?

The Rat is the first of the repeating 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac, constituting part of the Chinese calendar system.

The Rat more generally is associated with the midnight hours and therefore represents the beginning of a new day.

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However, if you were born between January 28, 1960, and February 14, 1961, you are specifically a Metal Rat.

Similarly, you're a Metal Rat if born between January 25, 2020, and February 11, 2021.

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the 'Year of the Rat' more generally however: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2020.

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Celebrities that fall into the 'Rat' category more generally include Cameron Diaz, Eminem and Hugh Grant.

In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus, and, because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children.

Metal rats are absolute hard-nosed grafters, they just want to work and make money. Theyre also feisty, sensitive, very strong and equally single-minded.

They are extremely forthright and are imbued with a wondrous (albeit occasionally deluded) self-belief and possess a work ethic that would put any number of "alleged" workaholics to shame.

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The Metal Rat is so convinced of his convictions it takes a shift in the earth's atmosphere to convince him otherwise.

But all these traits pale when compared to one other - their blind single-mindedness.

When that single-mindedness goes awry however, disaster strikes - so there'll be an equal number of paupers among the millionaires.

Each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Metal Rat: Smart, talented, hot-tempered, jealous, with a strong sense of self-awareness.

Water Rat: Talkative, shrewd, conservative, and wise.

Wood Rat: Independent, self-confident, virtuous and talented, with a strong sense of teamwork.

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Fire Rat: Energetic, brave, quiet, cordial and friendly to their friends, but very strict with themselves.

Earth Rat: Amiable, honest, flexible, modest, serious, with a strong sense of self-esteem.

The Rat is said to be most compatible with the Ox, the Dragon and the Monkey.

Exclusive

According to the Chinese New Year site, the Rat and the Ox "complement and help one another in both work and life".

Meanwhile, couples that include a Rat and a Dragon are thought to enjoy success together, largely due to them understanding each other well.

Rats are said to be least compatible with the horse, the Goat and the Rabbit.

Original post:
Chinese Zodiac Signs: What is a Metal Rat and what year is it? - The Sun

Yaqoob Qaseem,1 Sahej Samra,1 Olga German,1 Elizabeth Gray,2 Manjot K Gill1

1Department of Ophthalmology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; 2Biostatistics Collaboration Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

Correspondence: Manjot K Gill Department of Ophthalmology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Suite 440, 645 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA Tel +1 312-908-8152 Email mgill@nm.org

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) may be asymptomatic in both mild and advanced stages. A patients accurate perception of their DR severity may therefore be critical for effective self-management behaviors and understanding the need for timely intervention and follow-up. Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between self-reported and actual retinopathy severity in diabetic patients. Methods: This study was a single-center cross-sectional survey. Diabetic patients identified by enterprise data warehouse were sent an online questionnaire where they were asked to self-assess for presence of DR and grade their severity. Actual DR grading was determined via chart review. The primary outcome measures were patient-assessed DR severity and agreement with actual DR severity. Results: Of 3208 invitations sent, 324 (10%) patients responded and 319 responses were analyzed. The data showed that 39 of 253 (15%) with no DR, 26 of 40 (65%) with mild/moderate DR, and 24 of 26 (92%) with severe DR believed they had DR (p< 0.001). Of those with no DR, 214 of 253 (85%) accurately assessed absence of DR. Of those with mild/moderate DR, 25 of 40 (63%) accurately assessed their severity, 14 of 40 (35%) believed they had no DR, and 1 of 40 (3%) believed they had severe DR. In patients with severe DR, 9 of 26 (35%) correctly assessed their severity, 15 of 26 (58%) believed they had mild/moderate DR, and 2 of 26 (8%) believed they had no DR. Conclusion: Patients with severe DR were the most likely to report presence of DR, but often underestimated their disease severity. Many with mild/moderate DR did not realize they had DR. This consistent underestimation of severity across all a significant barrier to timely follow-up and treatment necessary to prevent future visual impairment.

Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, diabetes, survey, severity, perception, awareness, understanding, anti-VEGF, barriers, screening, accuracy, self-report

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Self-Reported Awareness of Retinopathy Severity in Diabetic Patients | OPTH - Dove Medical Press

In a Saturday interview with MSNBCs Stephanie Ruhle, Joe Bidens remarks were short on self-awareness and long on hypocrisy. But nothing drew more hyperpartisan discussion than when Biden likened President Trump to virulently anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

After decrying the presidents propensity for using personal attacks and lies against his opponents, Biden engaged in the basest form of personal attack, saying Trump is sort of like Goebbels. You say the lie long enough, keep repeating, repeating, repeating it it becomes common knowledge.

Responses to Bidens clumsy and inaccurate allusion were split, mostly along party lines. Many displayed appropriate disgust with the insinuation that the president has anything in common with a man who, as the Daily Callers David Hookstead tweeted, helped carry out the systematic murder of more than six million Jewish people. The Republican Jewish Coalition issued a call for Biden to apologize for his egregious comment. Even former Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind expressed outrage, saying Biden desecrated the memory of six million Jews who were murdered.

Many Democrats, on the other hand, applauded Bidens jab for its alleged accuracy. Twitter account BetoMedia agreed with the characterization but lamented how former Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke had been denounced for using similar terminology earlier in the election cycle. In a factually incorrect and particularly despicable tweet from notorious Trump-hater Judd Apatow, the filmmaker took Bidens remarks further, stating Trump is murdering his countrymen and letting everyone die for personal gain.

The Democratic Party playbook of comparing Trump to various Nazi figureheads continues to be employed because it works thanks to ignorance of Nazi atrocities. On September 16, a study by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany showed that most millennials and members of Generation Z are unaware of the extent of the Nazis genocide. Couple this with our entrenchment in our respective political camps, and it is no surprise that people are willing to believe that members of opposition political parties are like, literally Nazis. And so, fueled by the same kind of hate that motivated the Third Reich, Nazi analogies thrive.

Whether you like him or not, Trump is no Goebbels. Charged with control over film, radio, theater, and the press, the propaganda minister shaped the social environment in which all threatening ideas were purged from German society as Hitler consolidated power and prepared for war. Subjected to a constant diet of Goebbels propaganda, the vast majority of Germans would stand idly by as their Jewish and other undesirable neighbors were rounded up and shipped to ghettos or forced labor and extermination camps. Under Goebbels propaganda apparatus, 6 million Jews and multiple millions of non-Jews died by the time World War II ended.

Likening Trump to Goebbels trivializes a history of horrific, calculated genocide. It supports the environment we find ourselves in today, where the Holocaust is the butt of horrible anti-Semitic jokes, like the discovery by Stop Antisemitism that a Google search for Jewish baby stroller turns up images of grills.

Especially in the midst of this contentious election cycle, as hatred and anti-Semitism rage around us, the country needs a strong, nonpartisan voice to condemn Bidens harmful rhetoric. As a respected organization fighting anti-Semitism and hatred around the country, this task absolutely falls to the Anti-Defamation League. Unfortunately, the ADL, which issues frequent condemnations of Trump, has made no comment about Bidens remarks. Its lack of denunciation is tacit approval of Bidens words.

Condemning the misuse of Holocaust terminology and history is an issue that transcends political allegiance. Anyone utilizing the Holocaust to make irrelevant political points has both minimized a terrible atrocity and failed to truly understand how and why hatred was weaponized by the Nazis. Regardless of our politics, we should demand more of our leaders, particularly at this time of incredible tension. Most importantly, we should all recall one of the most important lessons of the Holocaust, that it is vital for us to remember the humanity in our opponents and allies alike, no matter the circumstances.

Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance writer from the Detroit area who frequently covers Holocaust history and anti-Semitism.

See the rest here:
Joe Biden compared Trump to Joseph Goebbels. Where is the ADL's condemnation? - Washington Examiner

With her platform, Damon stands against the homophobia, racism, and misogyny that she sees in work and life. A just world, to me, looks like people with power, money, and access taking actual risks--not black squares, not lazy hiring just for diversity with no action plan of how to really change culture. Hard life lessons have taught her how we can be better to each other and given her purpose, and motivated her to share her success with others by acting as a driver for change in the industry. Thats what Courvoisier means by honoring your code, its all about taking the life lessons that ones learned through their own experiences and sharing that success with others. Damon knows she cant single handedly overhaul the culinary worlds moral failings or feed everyone whos hungry, but she can press forward on that path.

What else does a more just world look like to you?

My motto right now has been "Listen, if we can't do it right, don't do it." A just world is asking that question all the time. Can we do this without hurting people? Without people being without the funds to live? Can we do this without demeaning people? Without compromising our integrity? We can't keep operating out of this place where we see people as numbers, property, or liability. Damn near everything that was unchangeable has been changed. I would be enslaved, we wouldn't know how to read, and ain't nobody voting if things just had to be the way they were.

What advice would you give someone looking to break into your industry?

I've been very naive at times about who is and is not for me. I would say to find people that inspire you. You don't necessarily have to reach out to them, but find genuine people who inspire you, so that when you falter, you can look to them to get on the right track again, almost like a guiding light.

Food is a part of all of our lives and for many people, its easy to take for granted. What are some things we can do or ways we can think to value what we eat?

Right now, either [food] places are shut down, or people are putting their lives at risk because you want to get your favorite foods. It's a difficult time because you want to patronize and support people because you don't want their businesses to be gone. Then, also, you want to care about people's well being. In between that uncomfortable place, that rock and hard place, is thoughtfulness. We just have to practice a whole lot more thoughtfulness.

How do you honor your code?

I cultivate self-awareness. You can't honor your code if you don't know who you are. I remain true to myself.

See the rest here:
Chef Kia Damon's Concern for Her Community Will Feed Your Spirit - GQ Magazine

Baker Mayfield played well enough to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 34-20 victory over the visiting Washington Football Team. But Mayfield knows he should have done a lot more to help his team, which needed five takeaways from the defense to prevail on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in FirstEnergy Stadium.

Mayfields stat line 16-for-23, 156 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs looks a lot better on paper than it did in real-time. In his postgame Zoom with reporters, Mayfield admitted as much.

I could have played way better, he said. I couldve gotten the ball out and saved a couple of those sacks. The protection was great. I couldve re-IDd the play where the intentional grounding happened and the first play coming out where I got sacked. Some things that I can be a lot better on.

Its a good sense of self-awareness from Mayfield. Odell Beckham Jr. bailed him out with a fantastic defensive play to break up a would-be interception by safety Troy Apke. The intentional grounding penalty was an embarrassing decision, but also the second week in a row hes made it.

He also missed a wide-open Kareem Hunt on a play that should have been an easy touchdown. Instead, it required a truly spectacular one-handed grab by Hunt.

Mayfields recognition that he needs to play better if the Browns are to keep winning is a good sign. Yet its also a sign of how good the team around him can be that it doesnt need Mayfield to be perfect to claim a win.

Read the original:
Baker Mayfield knows 'I could have played way better' in win over Washington - Browns Wire

One football game in September should not a referendum on the season, but it can be a point on a graph that indicateswhere a team is in its development and how far it has to go to be considered good.

The answers for the Cardinals after Sunday are a.) still in the learning stages and b.) so far that they should pack a lunch, maybe some snacks and plenty of water for the trip.

Good teams dont lose at home, 26-23, to the Lions, who snapped an 11-game losing streak.

Good offenses dont commit three turnovers, run eight plays in the fourth quarter, or throw seven passes in the direction of a second-year receiver, KeeSean Johnson, and only two in the direction of a future hall of famer, Larry Fitzgerald.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) walks off the field after being defeated by the Detroit Lions at State Farm Stadium.(Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)

Good defenses dont let opponents drive 75 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half or 70 yards for the game-winning field goal with no time left.

As coach Kliff Kingsbury accurately pointed out afterward, the Cardinals deserved to lose Sunday. Even in these divisive times, no one could argue.

We lost a game, so obviously none of us did enough, Kingsbury said.

Kingsbury blamed himself for the Cardinals' first loss of the season. Didnt have the team ready, he said. Called a bad game. Has to get the ball to Fitzgerald more often. Needs to communicate better with quarterback Kyler Murray.

Kingsbury is correct on all counts.

Including Kingsbury, the Cardinals were all over the map on Sunday.

Kingsburys a gifted play caller, but he outsmarted himself too often on Sunday. Like when he took Murray out and put backup Chris Streveler in on fourth and one in the third quarter. The Cardinals were late lining up, called a timeout, and then tight end Dan Arnold was called for a false start.

Why take Murray out on fourth down? Especially after the brilliant touchdown 1-yard touchdown run he made in the second quarter?

And why later in the quarter did Kingsbury call three consecutive pass plays after Kenyan Drake had rushed for 15 yards and a first down?

Murray threw two touchdown passes to Andy Isabella, including one that dropped into Isabellas hands just before the receiver ran out of end zone. But Murray had three passes intercepted. Causes:a deflection, a bad decision and a poor throw.

The defense twice held the Lions to field goals after Murray had passes intercepted in Cardinals territory. Yet, quarterback Matthew Stafford shredded it for 75 yards at the end of the first half, and for 61 yards on the final possession.

Im pissed, defensive tackle Corey Peterson said. Obviously, we had opportunities to win the game, even as poorly as we played.

But the Cardinals apparently arent far enough along in their development to do that.

Sep 27, 2020; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray throws an interception to Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah (30) in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK(Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)

The good news is there is not only room for improvement, but the capability of it.

Murray is a more consistent passer than hes shown. He hasfeathered a pass in to Isabella in the back of the end zone, andzipped an 18-yard out to DeAndre Hopkins.

But hes also missed on a couple of deep balls this season, and his ability to throw while on the run needs work.

Kingsbury is a creative play caller, but sometimes need the self-awareness that often the best designs are simple.

Against the worst rush defense in the first two weeks of the season, why run a reverse to Isabella? And why did Fitzgerald, who entered the game with 645 receptions at State Farm Stadium, finish with 646?

Over the next two weeks, there is an opportunity for the Cardinals to reset and address the shortcomings that were apparent on Sunday.

Carolina, next weeks opponent, is 1-2 and missing running back Christian McCaffrey. The Jets, the opponent the following week, are 0-3 and missing, well, pretty much everything.

Three weeks in, its impossible to tell for sure what kind of team that Cardinals are going to be this season. Lets hope it's not the one that played the Lions Sunday.

Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers. Hear Somers every Monday and Friday at 7:30 a.m. on The Drive with Jody Oehler on Fox Sports 910 AM.

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Are Cardinals better than they showed against the Lions? They better hope so - The Arizona Republic

From bloating to cramps to breakouts, most of us are more than familiar with the telltale signs of an upcoming period. In fact, many women experience some level of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) at some point in our life and while the symptoms are unpleasant, they're usually quite manageable with a couple of paracetamol and a hot water bottle.

But for some women, the lead up to their monthly period is somewhat more of an ordeal. They might experience severe mood swings, sleeping problems, extreme anxiety and physical distress. These women are experiencing premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD - a relatively common but poorly understood condition that's not often spoken about.

Here, we ask Dr Houda Ounnas of 25 Harley Street, to tell us everything we need to know about PMDD, from what it actually is, to the symptoms to look out for, to what you can do to help.

WHAT IS PREMENSTRUAL DYSPHORIC DISORDER (PMDD)? "Almost all women have some mild premenstrual symptoms that signal the imminent arrival of their period every month," says Dr Ounnas. "For some its merely an annoyance, some bloating and mild mood changes."

However, for others, the symptoms are more significant and fall under the diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome. "About 20% of menstruating women suffer from PMS. Women with PMS have mostly physical symptoms and some minor mood disturbances caused by the changing hormone levels just before the period arrives."

Sometimes, in about 5% to 8% of menstruating women, there are also debilitating mood changes which come together with the premenstrual physical symptoms. "This is another level up from PMS, and is called premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD," explains Dr Ounnas.

According to Dr Ounnas, PMDD is a severe, sometimes disabling extension of PMS. "Although regular PMS and PMDD both have physical and emotional symptoms, PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt your work and damage your relationships," she says.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF PMDD? In both PMDD and PMS, symptoms usually begin seven to 10 days before your period starts and continue for the first few days that you have your period. The two conditions share some symptoms - bloating, breast tenderness, fatigue, and changes in sleep and eating habits.

However, in PMDD, at least one of these emotional and behavioural symptoms will be present - sadness or hopelessness, anxiety or tension, extreme moodiness or marked irritability or anger.

WHAT CAUSES PMDD? "The cause of PMDD isn't clear," says Dr Ounnas. "Underlying depression and anxiety are common in both PMS and PMDD, so it's possible that the hormonal changes that trigger a menstrual period worsen the symptoms of mood disorders. What is worth noting, is that PMDD is biological and not merely behavioural."

HOW IS IT TREATED? Unfortunately, there isn't a miracle cure for PMDD, and a lot of the treatment is about better understanding your symptoms. "Self-awareness and recognising the disorder and empathising with the self without judgment, is the first step in healing this disorder. Accepting that it is biology and not beating yourself over it as badly behaved, is key," advises Dr Ounnas. However, Dr Ounnas also recommends a well-balanced diet, regular exercise and cutting back on caffeine and alcohol can all help alleviate symptoms. "It's also a good idea to try relaxation techniques like meditation and mindfulness, as well as consider counselling."

Plus, there are certain medicines that can help; "There are two options the antidepressant class of drugs that can help. SSRIs (Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors) may reduce emotional and sleep symptoms," she says. The other option is the combined oral contraceptive pill; "it shuts down your fluctuating natural hormones, and replaces them with regular influx of artificial hormones."

FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE? "Whilst not dangerous to your health, PMDD can affect your relationships, both personal and at work and is definitely worth being aware of and controlling the symptoms," advises Dr Ounnas. "If you have a partner, it might be with telling them that you suffer with this condition, just so they are aware in terms of increasing their window of tolerance and patience around you that time of month, when the symptoms are likely to be active."

Read more here:
What Are The Symptoms Of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder? - GLAMOUR UK

There may not be a better moment than now to support junior golf. Thats exactly what PGA Superstore and Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, have done. Their $9.5 million grant will go towards bolstering The First Tees offerings for teenage golfers.

The grant will fund a leadership summit as well as build up The First Tees curriculum for teenagers. At the summit, the first of which will take place in 2021 in Montana, 40 teenagers from First Tee programs both in the United States and international chapters will be invited to participate in the week-long event structured around teaching leadership skills.

I think this is a perfect answer to a lot of the issues that these young people are looking for in terms of identity self-confidence, self-awareness, why am I here, how do I maximize the opportunity to live a life and make the best use of my life, how do I make sure that my voice is being heard and how do I make sure that my actions are being reflected in that leadership as well, Blank said.

There will be more widespread leadership opportunities, as well, as 1,300 First Tee teenagers will get to participate locally in leadership programs at PGA Tour Superstores. In Montana, 45 more schools will add The First Tee School program to their curriculum.

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The new leadership program and summit will be game-changing opportunities for the young people involved, and we are sincerely grateful for the support of our work and our chapters in Superstore markets, said Greg McLaughlin, the chief executive officer of The First Tee.

The First Tee offers group lessons to kids ages 5-18. There are 150 First Tee chapters, 10,000 schools teach their curriculum, as do 1,600 youth centers. They work to get golf clubs in the hands of kids who want to play, especially those in communities where the opportunity to play golf isnt as readily available, teaching values in the process. One focus is on teaching leadership, which the new teenage programming is hoping to improve.

Golf has seen a surge in popularity as people try to find ways to be outdoors and socially distanced during the coronavirus pandemic. New golfers are entering the game, many of them juniors. When talking about PGA Tour Superstore sales over the past several months, Blank said, The revenue numbers are incredible and the biggest increase we have seen have been, in part, with womens golf, but also with youth golf, and that bodes well for The First Tee and bodes well for all of the attributes that people learn when they understand the game of golf. They learn to be honest, they learn to appreciate skills, they learn to be disciplined."

As kids pick up the game, programs like these will help not only with introducing them to the basics of golf, but will help retain junior golfers as they age into teenage golfers, and hopefully continue playing into adulthood.

Link:
With $9.5 million grant, The First Tee will bolster its offerings for teenage golfers - Golf Digest

Is it possible for something to feel dated and too soon at the same time? Watching The Comey Rule, Showtimes two-part limited series (premiering tonight) about former FBI Director Jim Comeys rocky four-year tenure straddling the Obama and Trump administrations, is in some ways like stepping into a distant period piece. In the opening minutes, we meet Comey on the morning of his job interview with Obama at the White House. Comey (played by Jeff Daniels) stares into his closet, mulling which navy suit to wear. His wife eventually picks one for him. The banality of the moment, the fat luxury of that concern What, no masks? No wildfires raging? No protesters marching and helicopters circling? is almost comical.

A few scenes later, the action shifts to the Oval Office. Off-camera we hear a familiar-sounding voice, a warm baritone that slices into the consciousness like a razor. President Obama (Kingsley Ben-Adir, admirably game in the role) is on the phone, reassuring some governor or other public official somewhere out there in his America that help is on the way. Then he welcomes Comey a Republican whos previously served in the Geroge W. Bush administration with a firm handshake, eye contact, civilized conversation. Its 2013. Eight years ago. But a time that feels so close you could touch it, like its all happening on the other side of a sliding glass door. Knowing the cascade of chaos and misfortune that descends in the near future, you might have to look away from the screen.

The Comey Rule is not a perfect show, but then James Comey is not a perfect guy. He seems to know as much, having confessed in his 2017 memoir, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, on which this dramatization is based, that he can be stubborn, prideful, overconfident, and driven by ego. For anyone who left that book unable to square such self-awareness with the authors refusal to cop to his bungled handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe in which he made not one but two unprecedented public statements about the investigation in the precarious weeks preceding the 2016 election, first that her conduct, while not criminal, was extremely careless, then that the bureau would be suddenly reopening the case this historical moment wont be an easy place to revisit.

The producers seem to share this ambivalence about their hero. Our narrative guide through the series, and the first character we meet, is not Comey but a weaselly Rod Rosenstein (Scoot McNairy), the Deputy Attorney General who drafted the so-called Comey memo justifying the directors firing in 2017. Off the bat, he calls Comey a showboat and a Boy Scout.

Indeed, in the early going, the man comes off as a kind of pious schoolboy in custom suits (presumably the guys 6-foot-8). The script seizes on details recounted in the book: that Comey was a New Age-y boss who instructed his 37,000 FBI employees in an introductory speech to love someone its good for you. He likes to disarm people by asking them what their favorite Halloween candy is. When he gets angry, he says something frosts him. He doesnt know what a golden shower is, bless his heart. He can also be haughty, even when hes well-intentioned. Daniels plays his rectitude on a spectrum that ranges from pensive and priestly to rigidly performative.

The story hits all the inflection points of the 2016 election and its aftermath: Russias hack of the DNC; Pizzagate; Attorney General Loretta Lynchs impromptu meeting with Bill Clinton on a tarmac in Phoenix; the discovery of Clinton emails on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner; the Steele dossier. Comey and his team are like a staggered boxer in the ring, being battered with crises. Every time they pull themselves off the canvas, theyre hit with an uppercut.

Along the way, were introduced to a murderers row of actors doing their best West Wing: House of Cards alum Michael Kelly as Andrew McCabe; an underutilized Holly Hunter as Attorney General Sally Yates (she mostly gets to offer cornball platitudes about justice and government to an intern, a.k.a. the audience); William Sadler as General Michael Flynn; Breaking Bads Jonathan Banks as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Theres a dizzying assault of characters and national security-rocking incidents, but it all hums with the energy of a well-oiled political drama.

But its when Donald Trump arrives that the series tension ratchets up and the jaw-clenching, tooth-grinding anxiety sets in. Played with a growly, lion-like intensity by the great Brendan Gleeson, Trump is a man that undoes Comeys belief in codes and norms, makes him squirm. Daniels is finest in their moments together, projecting Comeys deep discomfort with a stiff lip and a constipated expression. Where Comey is all enlightenment philosophy and intellect, Trump is an animal. Gleeson captures his rabidness, never more so than in a press conference monologue that zooms in close on his face. The twitching brows and the darting eyes, the snarling lips, the breathy delivery, the rambling self-flattery and nonsensical asides its all there.

We dont need to tell you how Comey and Trumps relationship sours, or how this story ends. Its as gut-wrenching fictionalized as it was in real life. Whats perhaps more painful is being reminded that a smart, honorable man who only wanted to stop the bad guys opened the floodgates to them by believing that he was the moral compass of the FBI and even the U.S. government at large that, upon seeing a deep, dark problem bubbling up in our democracy, he alone could fix it.

See original here:
The Comey Rule Will Give You 2016 Election PTSD - Rolling Stone