Elder divides this book into ten chapters, with each one devoted to a topic that most politicians (and most people, for that matter) are afraid to touch, because of their own fear of being labeled "racist", "uncaring", "extreme", etc., and out of fear of losing votes. Here are the ten areas where speech is limited, and where government has failed miserably to solve any problems:

1. Blacks are More Racist than Whites: This is easily the most daring and most politically incorrect chapter in the book! Elder (a black man himself) feels that blacks too often use race as an excuse for something bad that happens to them. He is very critical of affirmative action and of the majority of black leaders, like Jesse Jackson, who routinely use racism as an excuse when something goes wrong. Elder refers to this type of person as a "victocrat". Jesse Jackson is definitely a victocrat, and so are millions of other people. This type of person wants to blame all unhappiness, all economic and social problems, and all negative aspects of life on someone else. Elder includes some outrageous examples, like Bill Cosby’s accusation that a group of scientists concocted the Aids virus as an attempt to exterminate all blacks.

2. White condescension is as bad as black racism: What Elder is referring to here is the tendency of white people to go out of their way to show that they are unbiased and fair toward blacks, rather than just treating blacks like everyone else. This is often done out of fear of being labeled a racist, and it’s so true! I see it happen every day, where people are afraid to criticize someone of another race out of fear of being labeled racist. It’s especially commonplace in corporations, because of fear of lawsuits. Elder feels that this attitude hurts blacks, because it effectively lowers the standards for blacks; allowing them to slack a little, and underachieve because they know that they can get away with it.

3. The Media Bias- It’s real, it’s Widespread, and it’s Destructive: Elder attacks television news and newspapers for the way they handle reporting and for the fact that they almost always present a liberal (more government is needed) slant. He talks about the tendency of newspapers to focus on the negative (bad news sells better) and to print any pro- government story, while usually ignoring any self- government alternative. He then gives specific examples of quotes that have been made by many of the best- known news anchors (like Dan Rather and Peter Jennings) and how obviously biased these people are. They all push the idea that government is somehow going to solve the world’s problems, in spite of so much evidence to the contrary. And they have no problem lying and deceiving the public, in order to push their agenda.

4. The Glass Ceiling- Full of Holes: In this chapter, Elder talks about the issues of gender equality and the tendency of politicians to quickly jump on the bandwagon and push for gender- pay equality measures and for stricter sexual harassment laws. Again, politicians and people in the news just love to distort numbers and percentages, to make people think that something is terribly wrong and can only be corrected with government intervention. The issue of pay equality is a typical example of government deception. You have probably all heard the fact quoted that "women make only 70 cents for every dollar a man earns". Well, this is true, but misleading. This fact is derived by taking all jobs in all areas, collectively, and then comparing the earnings made by men and women. It doesn’t compare within a certain occupation, like many believe. What this means is that, within a profession, like teaching, the pay is actually very close between the sexes. But, when you compare all jobs, men make more. The reason is because men tend to specialize in higher- paying occupations, while women tend to specialize in lower- paying occupations. If you think about it, this makes sense. Consider a typical college. How many women do you see studying engineering, science, and other high- paying fields of study? Usually, the women are more likely to be studying liberal arts and humanities subjects, which don’t pay as well. So, upon graduation, men are already more likely to be making more money, not because they are men, but because their chosen occupation pays more.

5. America’s Greatest Problem- not Crime, Racism, or Bad Schools- it’s Illegitimacy: Elder discusses a fact that most don’t want to talk about. There are, in his opinion, too many illegitimate births and too little emphasis on keeping the family unit together. Elder believes that crime, drugs, and most other social ills are magnified by the break- up of homes and the absence of a father figure in many households.

6. There is no Health Care Crisis: Here, Elder goes on another politically incorrect (but very accurate) tirade on the so- called health care "crisis" in America. He points the finger of blame to Medicare, excessive regulation, and the American Medical Association’s own attempts to limit the number of doctors as contributing to this "crisis". What all of these things have done is upset the balance between supply and demand, with some serious consequences. Most notably, the prices of health care and prescription drugs have skyrocketed because of these government programs. And, what do liberal politicians and the media propose to solve the problem? What else- more government, which makes the situation worse and worse. Even Republicans are guilty of encouraging government involvement in health care. They claim to be against socialized medicine, yet they continuously pass bills that slowly move the country in that direction, a little at a time.

7. America’s Welfare State- the Tyranny of the Status Quo: Government has been trying for the last 40 years to solve the problem of poverty by implementing government programs. In reality, these programs have not solved any problems and have made many problems even worse. With welfare being quite generous in many states, there is really no incentive at all for a welfare recipient to start working. If you were on welfare and you knew you could make, say, $50 more per week if you worked, would that be enough incentive to give up 40 hours of your time, or would you rather just collect your welfare?

8. Republicans vs. Democrats- maybe a Dime’s Worth of Difference: This is one of my favorite chapters in the book because it talks about an issue that I have been speaking about for years! When you look at the overall package that each party offers, it’s quite clear that they both support bigger government and they both want to control you life, in one way or another. Take a look at the budget proposals by the two parties. You will see that the difference is about 3 to 5 percent, with the Republican proposal being the smaller one. Do you really care about a difference this tiny? This means that Democrats want to take you to hell at 100 miles per hour, while Republicans want to take you there at 95 to 97 miles per hour. Either way, you are going to arrive at your destination sooner or later.

9. The War Against Drugs is Vietnam II, and we’re losing this one, too: This is another area where too few politicians are willing to speak out. As anyone can plainly see, we have LOST the war on drugs! There is virtually no way to win a black market war. We should have learned our lesson with alcohol prohibition in the early part of the century, but we didn’t. Drugs are plentiful and they will always be around for one very obvious reason: MONEY!!!! There is a lot of money to be made by selling drugs, and no government program or threat is going to stop this. As a political insider, I can tell you that the majority of politicians already know the war on drugs is a failure, but they are too afraid to talk about it. They fear exploitation, from their opponents, if they make drug legalization an issue. They know that the average person doesn’t understand the economics of black markets, so they quietly continue to wage war on drugs; passing more programs, wasting more money, and invading our privacy, all in the name of fighting a cause that cannot be won.

10. Gun Control Advocates- Good Guys with Blood on their Hands: In his final chapter, Elder discusses the goals of gun control advocates to eliminate all guns from America. He points out how this is not only impossible to accomplish, but also very dangerous. Felons and crooks will get guns on the black market, if necessary. No law is going to stop them. And if they can’t get a gun, they will resort to other weapons. The real losers will be ordinary citizens who will have no way to defend themselves against attack.

Final Thoughts:

This is an excellent book, and one that everyone should read who is getting sick and tired of the usual political grind from politicians whose fear of losing votes is greater than their concern for telling the truth. Elder explains things and articulates very well, and he includes an 18- page appendix with charts and graphs to back up his figures.

I hope that more people read books like this one, as well as other books by Libertarian writers, so that more people will understand what our government is doing. We need to take a closer look at all these failed programs, and make a change in our government before we turn into a totalitarian state.

Thank goodness for men like Larry Elder, for having the courage to write a politically incorrect book like this one. My hat goes off to you!

http://www.epinions.com/review/The_Ten_Things_You_Can_t_Say_in_America_by_Larry_Elder/content_10673491588?sb=1