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Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America
The Ten Things You Can't Say in America struck a chord with eager readers acroos the country, exposing thruths others have been too afraid to address. In his new book, Elder is out to slay entrenched and enmeshed special interest groups, government agencies with the capacity to meddle in Americans' lives and businesses, lawmakers who continue a pattern of outrageous overtaxation, and those who would hamstring this country with good intentions.
Showdown demonstrates how the nation would be better, stronger and safer with less gvernment intervention and how individuals would not only cope but thrive without the so-called safety net. Showdown is a call to arms for a truly free society. Elder
- What a Republican-led government means for progress
- Where a responsible government would put its citizens' tax dollars
- Why racial and sex discrimination are non-issues in the 21st century.
Larry Elders straight talk and common-sense solutions spare no one and will inspire his passionate and growing audience.
Showdown demonstrates how the nation would be better, stronger and safer with less gvernment intervention and how individuals would not only cope but thrive without the so-called safety net. Showdown is a call to arms for a truly free society. Elder
- What a Republican-led government means for progress
- Where a responsible government would put its citizens' tax dollars
- Why racial and sex discrimination are non-issues in the 21st century.
Larry Elders straight talk and common-sense solutions spare no one and will inspire his passionate and growing audience.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 21, 2010
Where the hell has he been? We need Elder. Fantastic!
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April 15, 2011Just started this book, but so far it's so accurate.
June 15, 2024
POST-9/11, ELDER “EXPOSES BLACK RACISM” AND OTHER TOPICS
Laurence [‘Larry’] Allen Elder (born 1952) is an American author and radio program host. He wrote in the Preface to this 2002 book, “[This book] explains how people can and would cope better in a world without a government-provided so-called ‘social safety net.’ The Founding Fathers clearly established a limited federal government. They assumed a society smart enough, mature enough, and moral enough to run its own affairs. This book shows that they were right… [The book] exposes the feminist, black, and civil rights leadership that cripples blacks and other ‘underrepresented’ minorities by supporting unfair programs like affirmative action and insultingly pushes for reparations for slavery. This book exposes how black racism makes society worse off and paves the way for black leadership to replace affirmative action with affirmative attitude. It also shows whites and other nonblacks how to fight unfair charges of racism… [It] says: Do not fear a country that trusts its people, that refuses to rob its citizens of their income and their freedoms… [It] says that while the country’s two major political parties differ in rhetoric, their behavior endorses the growth and expansion of the welfare state. [It] urges all Americans to renounce the welfare state, the status quo, and the collectivism of today’s ‘mainstream’ political parties.”
He points out, “Our farm subsidies hurt Third World countries. Poor countries start growing an economy with agriculture. Basic farming requires little in the way of education and training and provides the foundation upon which a poor economy evolves. But we protect our farmers against competition by instituting price controls and guaranteeing farmers’ profits. This shuts our foreign competition, often from Third World countries… But what’s American about a farmer picking up a government check that rewards him for NOT farming?” (Pg. 56)
He observes, “Name a superpower, through all of human history, that exercised more restraint, more humility, and more concern for the downtrodden than the United States. From the end of World War II until several years later, the United States alone possessed the mightiest, most destructive weapon known to humankind---the atomic bomb. Did the United States pillage, plunder, colonialize? Did America use it to conquer and dominate its neighbors?... America gives more aid, provides more humanitarian relief, gives more ‘debt relief,’ and continuously demonstrates a restrain of power that is historically unique. Did America’s foreign aid to Afghanistan win friends? Did the risking of American lives on behalf of Muslims in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, and Kuwait earn us brownie points in the Arab world?” (Pg. 62)
He notes, “Certainly none in the Middle East publicly condemned not only the tragedy of September 11 but also denounced the terrorists in religious terms… It took a month before one of the first prominent Arab-world Muslim scholars stepped up to publicly denounce bin Laden and the Taliban… But for the most part, few Arab leaders and Muslim clerics pronounced the September 11 terrorist attacks a sin that would deny the perpetrators admission to paradise.” (Pg. 81)
He says, “Life isn’t fair. Not all of us chose wealthy parents to give birth to us. Of course ‘not all Americans have had economic security.’ Therefore, what? Taxpayer A does not owe taxpayer B a nice lifestyle. But what if taxpayer B, through no fault of his own, suffers a setback or injury? That’s why we have charity, neighbors, friends, and family.” (Pg. 102)
He states, “Certainly a woman has the RIGHT to have a child without the benefit of marriage. But what about the rights of the child, thrust into the world and denied the right to a dad?... women shouldn’t assume that having the freedom and the right and the ability to ‘do it all’ means that doing it all on your own is necessarily a good thing---ESPECIALLY for your kids. Will ending welfare ensure responsible, hands-on dads? Of course not. But welfare does promote premature motherhood and fatherhood. Remove the government-provided ‘social safety net,’ and teens and young men and women would make different decisions about when (and with whom) to become parents.” (Pg. 123)
He asserts, “Black leaders use hysterical, inflammatory, and absurd language to trumpet the ‘poor-me’ line. The victicrat mentality says you-owe-me… This black victicrat mentality hurts. The ‘black leadership,’ however, continues to fight racism, while placing less emphasis on improving schools, the rewards of hard work, and avoiding irresponsible breeding… Black leaders also defend the government monopoly on education even as a majority of inner-city elementary school kids cannot read, write, or compute at grade level.” (Pg. 143-144)
He comments, “A recent study by the NAACP confirms the bad news of black academic achievement. But the report simply offers justification after justification for the poor performance, including trotting out the tired excuse of ‘cultural bias’ on standardized tests… What about the simple fact that black kids fail to study as hard as so many of their peers? Or that black households watch more television than do their white counterparts, with black fourth-graders weighing in at 50 percent more TV watching than their white fourth-grade peers.” (Pg. 179)
Of Mumia Abu-Jamal, he notes, “Remember, Abu-Jamal allegedly rushed over to assist his brother, but the brother never testified on Abu-Jamal’s behalf!... Remember, the eyewitnesses on the scene that night… implicated Abu-Jamal. But two… who witnessed the crime have steadfastly declined to say what happened. The two silent witnesses: Mumia Abu-Jamal and his brother. So the Mumia-is-innocent crowd wants us to believe that Abu-Jamal’s brother let him rot on death row for twenty years, refusing to testify on behalf of his innocent sibling!” (Pg. 210-211)
He asks, “Well, why not a Libertarian? Can we reverse course toward a small, limited, and humane government?... Unfortunately, campaign finance laws only allow unlimited spending on one’s own candidacy!... Why shouldn’t an Internet gazillionaire be able to whip out a checkbook for his favorite limited-government, low-regulation, free-enterprise type of candidate?... we need to repeal laws stopping wealthy individuals from giving what they want to give and to whom. So, to the honest, sincere, limited-government Republicans out there, here’s a challenge. Repeal the campaign finance laws that prevent an individual from giving as much as he or she wishes to a candidate.” (Pg. 277-279)
He acknowledges about education, “Unfortunately, many parents don’t care. They send their children to school undisciplined, and sometimes even hostile. This kid then sits next to one who does care, whose parents did emphasize education. What about the child?... Learning suffers amidst disorder and disruptions. In the private sector, authorities do not tolerate acting out... Parents must provide a reasonably well-behaved child who has done his or her own homework. If not, that child suffers and gets kicked out because if the teachers or administration refuse to do anything about it, the other cash-paying parents will.” (Pg. 305)
He concludes, “Americans want to know what they can do to help fight the War on Terrorism. During World War II, people willingly and patriotically assumed hardships, accepted shortages, and adjusted their lives for a higher cause. So, too, do contemporary Americans wish to shoulder their responsibility and help win this war. They can by understanding that a growing welfare state weakens the nation, strengthens their enemies, and hinders our ability to prosecute and win this War on Terrorism. Lead, Mr. President. This historic opportunity exists now. Seize it. Americans will follow.” (Pg. 318)
This book will be of great interest to (most) conservatives and Libertarians.
Laurence [‘Larry’] Allen Elder (born 1952) is an American author and radio program host. He wrote in the Preface to this 2002 book, “[This book] explains how people can and would cope better in a world without a government-provided so-called ‘social safety net.’ The Founding Fathers clearly established a limited federal government. They assumed a society smart enough, mature enough, and moral enough to run its own affairs. This book shows that they were right… [The book] exposes the feminist, black, and civil rights leadership that cripples blacks and other ‘underrepresented’ minorities by supporting unfair programs like affirmative action and insultingly pushes for reparations for slavery. This book exposes how black racism makes society worse off and paves the way for black leadership to replace affirmative action with affirmative attitude. It also shows whites and other nonblacks how to fight unfair charges of racism… [It] says: Do not fear a country that trusts its people, that refuses to rob its citizens of their income and their freedoms… [It] says that while the country’s two major political parties differ in rhetoric, their behavior endorses the growth and expansion of the welfare state. [It] urges all Americans to renounce the welfare state, the status quo, and the collectivism of today’s ‘mainstream’ political parties.”
He points out, “Our farm subsidies hurt Third World countries. Poor countries start growing an economy with agriculture. Basic farming requires little in the way of education and training and provides the foundation upon which a poor economy evolves. But we protect our farmers against competition by instituting price controls and guaranteeing farmers’ profits. This shuts our foreign competition, often from Third World countries… But what’s American about a farmer picking up a government check that rewards him for NOT farming?” (Pg. 56)
He observes, “Name a superpower, through all of human history, that exercised more restraint, more humility, and more concern for the downtrodden than the United States. From the end of World War II until several years later, the United States alone possessed the mightiest, most destructive weapon known to humankind---the atomic bomb. Did the United States pillage, plunder, colonialize? Did America use it to conquer and dominate its neighbors?... America gives more aid, provides more humanitarian relief, gives more ‘debt relief,’ and continuously demonstrates a restrain of power that is historically unique. Did America’s foreign aid to Afghanistan win friends? Did the risking of American lives on behalf of Muslims in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, and Kuwait earn us brownie points in the Arab world?” (Pg. 62)
He notes, “Certainly none in the Middle East publicly condemned not only the tragedy of September 11 but also denounced the terrorists in religious terms… It took a month before one of the first prominent Arab-world Muslim scholars stepped up to publicly denounce bin Laden and the Taliban… But for the most part, few Arab leaders and Muslim clerics pronounced the September 11 terrorist attacks a sin that would deny the perpetrators admission to paradise.” (Pg. 81)
He says, “Life isn’t fair. Not all of us chose wealthy parents to give birth to us. Of course ‘not all Americans have had economic security.’ Therefore, what? Taxpayer A does not owe taxpayer B a nice lifestyle. But what if taxpayer B, through no fault of his own, suffers a setback or injury? That’s why we have charity, neighbors, friends, and family.” (Pg. 102)
He states, “Certainly a woman has the RIGHT to have a child without the benefit of marriage. But what about the rights of the child, thrust into the world and denied the right to a dad?... women shouldn’t assume that having the freedom and the right and the ability to ‘do it all’ means that doing it all on your own is necessarily a good thing---ESPECIALLY for your kids. Will ending welfare ensure responsible, hands-on dads? Of course not. But welfare does promote premature motherhood and fatherhood. Remove the government-provided ‘social safety net,’ and teens and young men and women would make different decisions about when (and with whom) to become parents.” (Pg. 123)
He asserts, “Black leaders use hysterical, inflammatory, and absurd language to trumpet the ‘poor-me’ line. The victicrat mentality says you-owe-me… This black victicrat mentality hurts. The ‘black leadership,’ however, continues to fight racism, while placing less emphasis on improving schools, the rewards of hard work, and avoiding irresponsible breeding… Black leaders also defend the government monopoly on education even as a majority of inner-city elementary school kids cannot read, write, or compute at grade level.” (Pg. 143-144)
He comments, “A recent study by the NAACP confirms the bad news of black academic achievement. But the report simply offers justification after justification for the poor performance, including trotting out the tired excuse of ‘cultural bias’ on standardized tests… What about the simple fact that black kids fail to study as hard as so many of their peers? Or that black households watch more television than do their white counterparts, with black fourth-graders weighing in at 50 percent more TV watching than their white fourth-grade peers.” (Pg. 179)
Of Mumia Abu-Jamal, he notes, “Remember, Abu-Jamal allegedly rushed over to assist his brother, but the brother never testified on Abu-Jamal’s behalf!... Remember, the eyewitnesses on the scene that night… implicated Abu-Jamal. But two… who witnessed the crime have steadfastly declined to say what happened. The two silent witnesses: Mumia Abu-Jamal and his brother. So the Mumia-is-innocent crowd wants us to believe that Abu-Jamal’s brother let him rot on death row for twenty years, refusing to testify on behalf of his innocent sibling!” (Pg. 210-211)
He asks, “Well, why not a Libertarian? Can we reverse course toward a small, limited, and humane government?... Unfortunately, campaign finance laws only allow unlimited spending on one’s own candidacy!... Why shouldn’t an Internet gazillionaire be able to whip out a checkbook for his favorite limited-government, low-regulation, free-enterprise type of candidate?... we need to repeal laws stopping wealthy individuals from giving what they want to give and to whom. So, to the honest, sincere, limited-government Republicans out there, here’s a challenge. Repeal the campaign finance laws that prevent an individual from giving as much as he or she wishes to a candidate.” (Pg. 277-279)
He acknowledges about education, “Unfortunately, many parents don’t care. They send their children to school undisciplined, and sometimes even hostile. This kid then sits next to one who does care, whose parents did emphasize education. What about the child?... Learning suffers amidst disorder and disruptions. In the private sector, authorities do not tolerate acting out... Parents must provide a reasonably well-behaved child who has done his or her own homework. If not, that child suffers and gets kicked out because if the teachers or administration refuse to do anything about it, the other cash-paying parents will.” (Pg. 305)
He concludes, “Americans want to know what they can do to help fight the War on Terrorism. During World War II, people willingly and patriotically assumed hardships, accepted shortages, and adjusted their lives for a higher cause. So, too, do contemporary Americans wish to shoulder their responsibility and help win this war. They can by understanding that a growing welfare state weakens the nation, strengthens their enemies, and hinders our ability to prosecute and win this War on Terrorism. Lead, Mr. President. This historic opportunity exists now. Seize it. Americans will follow.” (Pg. 318)
This book will be of great interest to (most) conservatives and Libertarians.
May 25, 2018
This book is an old one, but it's a perfect book for understanding where we, the people, allowed America to go wrong, with spending money we don't have on social welfare programs, on forgetting that freedom matters more than supposed safety, and pitting different ethnic groups in America against one another. Larry Elder back in the early 2000's put it in plain English, and the reason that Trump was so necessary is because we didn't follow Larry Elder's common sense talk on Making America Great Again.
January 31, 2008
Again, Jackson may have the name value, but Larry Elder has the knowledge. In the end, that is INFINITELY more important.
September 16, 2008
Very funny as always.
December 16, 2012
Really good.
April 28, 2015
Once again, another informative read from Mr. Elder
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews