How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government by Glenn Beck (2010-09-14)

Glenn breaks down to the most simplistic terms those items that are affecting us today that will ruin the future of the next few generations due to our incompetence in electing officials that only care about themselves. As the title explains, once one understands today's hot topics, one will be able to speak well and explain the positives and negatives of each item. This is similar to one of the How to for Dummies books except Glenn is dealing with issues that affect ours and our childrens lives.

Glenn Beck wrote an amazing book. I love the layout of the Q&A paragraphs and the side facts around the pages. The content was great and the book kept me entertained. I had to try to not read it all in one day. It was extremely funny and informative. I don't agree with Beck in certain aspects but he wrote a great book in Arguing with Idiots.

Glenn Beck's book, Arguing with Idiots, is great in that it does not waste time blathering on and on about each issue. It is fast and to the point and covers a ton of issues. The thing about the book is the light and easy reading style lets you read a few peices at a time and not have to read for hours at a time to just deal with a single issue. It makes for a great book to read a few minutes before bed each night or when you just have a couple minues at a time to read.

Glenn Beck has had enough exposure to the Left to realize that they win many of their victories by falsely demonizing institutions and people who are perceived as powerful and who thus receive little sympathy from the populace. In this volume, Beck provides many of the facts needed to countervail the demagogic arguments advanced by the Left on many fronts.

A prime example is the fact that many on the Left attack even the capitalist system itself, even though that system has been the primary force that has raised living standards around the world for the last 200 years. Beck highlights the nation of Estonia and provides statistics showing that once a more capitalist system was introduced following the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Estonia quickly caught up to its neighbor Finland in many aspects. The author also could have pointed out many other examples that demonstrate the superiority of a more capitalist system:

* The U.S. recovered more quickly from the 1921 economic collapse than from the 1929 economic collapse (to the extent that most people don't even know that there WAS an equally bad collapse in 1921) because Harding and Coolidge tried a free-market approach while Hoover and FDR used an interventionist approach
* The fact that the nations (the U.S., France) that tried an interventionist approach did not recover as quickly from the Great Depression as the nations (Britain, Australia) that were not as activist
* Compare Britain after Margaret Thatcher to Britain before her
* When Germany reunited, it was the West that had to prop up the East economically, not vice versa

Liberals have attempted to blame capitalism for the financial collapse of 2008. However, the culprit was an excess of available credit--government forced banks to lower drastically their lending standards for housing loans (to the extent that multitudes of bad loans were made), and the Federal Reserve kept interest rates artificially low for much of this decade. In other words, had government not made those two enormous mistakes, there would have been no housing bubble and thus no crisis and thus no recession--the fault was too much government intervention, not too little.

Two other targets that almost always come in for vehement attack by liberals are oil companies and health-insurance companies. Beck provides statistics that show that the profit margins of Exxon and Chevron are less than the profit margins for Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, and Nike. Besides, if oil companies are as ruthless and omnipotent as many on the Left say they are, why did gas prices not permanently stay at the $4 level after they reached that level in the summer of 2008? Similarly, many Democrats say that health-insurance companies reap unconscionable profits, but as George Will pointed out in a recent column, there are six such companies in the S&P 500, and since 1996 the profits of those companies have been below the 500's average. Why liberals fulminate against oil and insurance companies and not against computer, soft drink, and other companies that make higher profit margins is an enduring mystery.

Glenn Beck has become an invaluable voice in our public life, breaking the Van Jones and ACORN prostitution stories and in general doing the type of needed journalism that the mainstream media is no longer willing to do. The effort to silence Beck and other talk radio hosts is little more than a twenty-first century version of the Alien and Sedition Acts, and reveals which political ideology in America today is really the authoritarian ideology. Were the Republicans to win the next congressional and presidential elections, one simply could not imagine President Romney and a GOP Congress trying to silence someone like Keith Olbermann and attempting to take him off the air.

This splendid volume also contains conservative arguments on the Second Amendment, education, energy, immigration, and home ownership, and has a chapter on the Constitution. There are also innumerable citations that back up Beck's assertions. The only quibble a conservative could have with the book is its title. I'm surprised that someone as generally savvy as Glenn Beck could be momentarily obtuse enough to think that he could win over the hearts and minds of his opponents by labeling them "idiots"--the facts and logic in the book are effective enough. Otherwise, this is a book that any conservative desiring to arm himself for the political debates of 2009 would want on his bookshelf.

One of Glenn Becks quirky sayings is "it will make blood shoot out of your eyes!" This book is for people who really want to find the truth. Glenn has done a fantastic job of finding out facts that the rest of us could never discover or have time to discover. It will make you want to jump on board a Tea Party Express near you.
It can also make you feel hopeless and helpless.
If you're an American thinker and you aren't too happy with the direction our country has been headed in the last decade or so, read this book and be informed.

My husband and I purchased the Arguing with Idiots Audio Book for a long Christmas road trip (2000+ miles). We LOVED it! There are 2 men, as well as Glenn Beck, who do all of the audio. The format of the audio/book was great. Beck asked a question, or made a stupid remark and the other gentlemen respond. The jabs (interjected in Beck's ADD moments) aimed at people in politics, the media and celebrities made us laugh out loud. Over all the audio book was entertaining as well as informative. My favorite chapter was the final. Beck read the constitution.
**I found it interesting that no where in the constitution does it require a separation of church and state.
Great Buy!!

Glenn Beck's book "Arguing with Idiots" was a great read. Even if you're not a fan, it was funny, informative, and unbiased. Glenn argues both sides of every argument, no matter how ridiculous. You can even give it to any of your liberal friends, and they would even enjoy it. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to have an intelligent conversation with them afterwards.

If the answer to the question, "Had Enough?", is "Yes!", then read this book. Regardless of your political affiliation, age, or, how you voted, if you believe enough is enough, then read this book. If you are passionate about your views, then argue with the facts, and read this book. Opinions are like, well.....everyone has them. Support and defend your position with facts, not, passion. And, even if you hate Glenn Beck, then read his arguments and rebutt his position with facts of your own. If you want passion, go see Avatar, or, read Playboy; if you want a coherent discussion about an issue......read this book.

It shows all of America that our politicians, no matter what party, are not really interested in taking care of America and the American people. It also shows how much our politicians have ignored our Constitution and taken over things like education and now trying to take over health care and the environment. It also shows how far politicians and others will go to get their adgenda even to the extent of hiding facts or being dishonest. An easy book to read with many facts to absorb.

While this book is an excellent tool for arguing with idiots, it could also be useful for recovering idiots who want to see the world unfiltered without any spin. Glen successfully deconstructs all the progressive talking points exposing them for what they really are.

Glenn Beck has an amazing amount of Common Sense. This book should be required reading for every person in all three branches of our federal government, especially the Executive branch. It goes to show that our federal courts have way too much power, but there's nothing we, the average citizen, can do about it, since they are appointed for life. It also shows that our country's future is in real jeopardy because of the current situation, but nothing seems to be being done about it except throwing more money at the problem, WHICH IS THE PROBLEM!!! Everybody should read this book.

This book is excellent. For all those nay-sayers who claim Beck is a conspiracy theorist, inciter etc etc, this book is proof positive of their inaccuracy. Full of FACTS (those annoying little things), Beck presents clear and logical arguments for less government intrusion in our lives and common sense analysis of many current controversies. Two thumbs up! Full citation list of all statistics given for your own cross-checking if in doubt of their authenticity.

There are other entertaining writers of the conservative movement. Ann Coulter with her biting sarcasm quickly comes to mind. However, nobody tops Glenn Beck on presenting the big picture or drawing upon historical anecdotes and parallels to explain current events. This commentator has a host of detractors on the left, but his popularity with Americans continues to grow for one good reason. He always tells the truth, or at least the truth as he knows it or understands it. While I have yet to find him in error he is the first to admit that he is a work in progress. This book is a lot like a text book with great illustrations, diagrams, quotes, and cartoons. Dynamic and entertaining, 'Arguing with Idiots', is written by and for truth seekers. If you think you hate Glen Beck and everything he stands for then borrow your mom's copy by all means and you might very well end up loving him. However, it is a free country and if you prefer to just make up names to call Glenn Beck with no basis in fact, nobody is stopping you.

Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government

I bought this book for my husband for Christmas. He is a huge Glenn Beck fan and says this book does not dissapoint.

I read through the whole book and really enjoyed it. Glenn makes me laugh, for sure. But it's also great to have the resource, because there are some good references, as well as good examples of how to discuss certain topics. Now that I've read through it, I've been going back to re-read certain subjects. Good stuff. And I love the ADD Moments.

Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government

I bought this book for my husband for Christmas. He is a huge Glenn Beck fan and says this book does not dissapoint.

I read through the whole book and really enjoyed it. Glenn makes me laugh, for sure. But it's also great to have the resource, because there are some good references, as well as good examples of how to discuss certain topics. Now that I've read through it, I've been going back to re-read certain subjects. Good stuff. And I love the ADD Moments.

This beeok is fantastic!!! I purchased it used from the store, payed for the product using my mastercard, seller got the money, and I never got the product. I waited the thirty days and finally got a hold of an the store representative that took care of the issue. Now it could be the fault of the shipper, as I had to personally give him direction to my house, which he could not find because the street was to obvious.

Our children and grand children will look back on these times and asked what we did. Glenn has once again offered the truth on many topics of our society. Those that are intellectually honest will learn from this book. The time has come for American's too choose a side, Liberty or Tyranny (yes Levin's book is still the best).

This book is absolutely unbelievably filled with facts about problems our country has. This is what made me a fan of glen beck early on and have slowly drifter away from him after he started to get apocalyptic. Still this is a solid book and if you don't believe they are facts go to a book store a look at the end of the book there are references to everything. It tells the truth about the unions and the reckless spending in the government. The best part about reading this book is it supports Glenn's claims about his predictions. Watch out because as soon as you call him crazy he will be right and it will happen just as he predicted. This book is an easy read because you are blown away by the contents.

This was a birthday gift. The recipient was delighted. It arrived on time and in perfect condition. Would recommend this to anyone who is interested in a deeper insight to our politics today. Love shopping for books on the store.

Well written with lots of good references. Anyone reading this book will come away with a better understanding of our Constitution, what our founding fathers intended and why some so-called "feel good" laws just don't work the way intended.

Bought this book for my husband for Christmas (he's a big Glenn Beck fan) He love it! I read it after him,have to admit this guy makes a lot of sense. Learned there's a lot about our government(and politics) that I didn't know.