Larry Elder calls them like he sees them. And in this collection of some of his best columns, he wields his pen against anyone who doesn't.Welfare, the Iran nuclear deal, Ferguson, the Republican primaries and the ascendancy of Donald Trump: Elder takes on a breadth of controversial issues. His incisive wit cuts right to the heart of hypocrisy in public discourse, particularly that of the left -- which taps into its "moral" outrage when it's politically expedient and becomes curiously docile when it's not."The truth will not set you free if delivered without hope," he writes in one column, quoting his late mother. Though he's not hopeful about certain politicians, Elder is fundamentally optimistic about the American people: He believes in their power to overcome almost any circumstance -- if only government would stop telling them they can't.