Gimme a Break: A look at John Stossel's new book
Published February 18, 2004
 | In his new book, Give Me a Break : How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media, John Stossel (the co-host of ABC's 20/20) discusses his past as a consumer affairs reporter and his revelation during his work that a lot of the problem in Amercia today come from huge government intruding in our everyday lives. The programs supported and paid for by you and me stifle innovation and make us less prosperous. |
Similar to "Who's Looking Out for You", by Billl O'Reilly, this book is a much more easy read and comes off as less preachy. The language is smooth and flowing and comes across a lot more like a converstation and less like a book of thought and ideas.
Stossel discusses his youth, his battle with severe stuttering, and his early work as an investigative reporter.
During his tenure at ABC he went from consumer affairs reporter to skeptic of big government. Supporters of his who loved his work when he was skeptical of big businesses, began to question his integrity when he started questioning big government.
His topics range from discussing the FDA process of approving drugs, which he sees as taking entirely too long, to government regulations which cause people to be overpaid for government contracts, to the benefits of "greed".
Frequent followers of Stossel will no doubt recognize many of his arguments. Many of the chapters closely follow and discuss many of his television specials like "Are we Scaring Ourselves to Death?" and "John Stossel Goes to Washington"
Though the book is a quick and enjoyable read, it tends to drag on a bit in some areas. Some of the chapters could be condenses slightly, as a few of his arguements tend to get repetetive.
Anyone who subscribes to the tennents of a Libertarian, that is small government, free markets, and less government intrusion in your personal life will find this book enjoyable.
For heavier reading I would point you towards books by Larry Elder or, if you are really looking for something heavy, Ayn Rand.
Fore more reading, visit my Blog, Tom's Nap Room. This entry can also be found Here
- Gimme a Break: A look at John Stossel's new book
- Published: February 18, 2004
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- Section: Books
- Writer: Tom Bux
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Comments on this articleComments
Typical liberal thug: Don't agree with sommeone. Try to censor: "FIRE THEM"
You obviously know nothing about farming. I know Christmas Tree Growers (as I am one too) which grow "organic trees" They need 50% more land for the same crop. They burn more gas to mow the land and have more waste as more trees get lost to disease.
He did make a mistake, he thought the test tested for pesticide resudues, which they didn't. He misspoke, and apologized.
How about they countless fears that your liberal buddies have propegated which turned out to be bunk. Like the fear of eggs, alar, doctoring of numbers to suggest that millions of american children are "starving to death"
And it wasn't about the 'dangers' of organic food. He was pointing out that organic food is no healthier than non-organic food.
yes, and he made stuff up
just google "stossel" and "organic".
typical liberal thug my ass. go ahead and apolgize for him. he still lied.
When you apologize for the likes of Michael Moore for his "documentary" Bowling for Columbine, and for his recent a assertions for Bush being AWOL.
ah yes, change the subject.
we're not talking about michael moore.
You brought up lies of John Stossel, and I pointed out silencing ideas you liberals don't agree with. My contention is that when liberals tell lies (or make mistakes) nothing happens. When conservatives tell lies (or make mistakes) they are grilled and philosophically crucified.
i said nothing about silencing stossel. i said that abc should have fired him. i voted with my pocketbook, meaning that i stopped watching the show.
as far as all of this "typical liberal" claptrap goes...can you ever make an argument without digging into that bag of conservative talk radio-style cliche?
It is all you damn liberals and all the whining families that destroyed the coal mining industry in this country years ago. If you hadn't been whining about black lung, then we would still be prospering today in this industry! You are right, the only way to solve our problems is to allow corporate Amercia to take over and make the rules.
John, why stop with the liberal congress and media, how about liberal law enforcement? Why don't we cut all spending in that area too? After all, we did just great back when there was one sheriff per city. Why are we wasting all this money today? Then, how about other areas of govenrnent, i.e. the liberal spending on air controllers? If a few planes crash, they'll get the idea to be more careful, right? How about the liberal FDIC? If people are stupid enough to bank at the wrong bank, why protect them? After all, aren't most large investments in the Stock Market anyway? Then, how about the liberal SEC? Corporate executives know best, don't they? If they can run our wonderful corporations, they should be able to handle the stock as they best see fit. Don't you agree?
P.S. Good luck with your work on the Bush campaign.
My contention is that when liberals tell lies (or make mistakes) nothing happens.
Were you alive during the Clinton administration?
When conservatives tell lies (or make mistakes) they are grilled and philosophically crucified.
*chuckling*
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stossel is such a hack. he straight out lied on 20/20 about the 'dangers' of organic produce.
abc should have tossed his ass out in the street for that.