I recently read John Stossel’s book, ‘Give me a Break‘, and found it to be quite ‘refreshing’. While most of the news you read seems determined to frighten you, his book shows you that there’s little need to be worried about things that the mainstream media seems to obsess over such as airline crashes, cancer threats, or exploding Bic lighters. John exposes lots of myths and also the government programs that often seem to do more harm than good for the people they are supposed to help. I guess I’m a bit of a free market liberatarian, because I found myself nodding in agreement with many of the conclusions he draws in the book. One of the most unusual aspects of the book is where he exposes himself for taking advantage of a government handout called National Flood Insurance that uses taxpayer’s money to insure wealthy people for building ocean-front homes in areas where it is not safe to build. He also mentions that when he was slapped around by a 280 lb. WWF wrestler (which I saw on TV when it occurred) his hearing ‘injury’ stayed with him until his lawsuit was settled. Then it mysteriously disappeared. That seems to be a common trait of being a victim. Until we rise above it, our victimhood will follow us around. I think that is probably one of the most profound messages in the book.