John, I think you cut this off shortly before my favorite line in the book, which is when PJ describes the typical experience of attending a New England town meeting as like "being a cell in a plant." An all-timer that has stuck with me ever since I first read the book 20+ years ago.
The three others that I have always remembered are "you can take 10% off the top of anything," the gun-to-the-head method of analyzing spending, and PJ's admonition that it's impossible to "observe Congress on a typical day" because on a "typical day" Congress isn't actually in session. Great, classic stuff.
Also - I think you are right that many of these ideas are taken less seriously than they should be because PJ is so funny. RIP!
John's wit and wisdom shine in this article. P.J. nailed the problem, and it only gets worse. I love that both Republicans and Democrats are arguing that the other party is the whore and fundamentally irresponsible. As always, citizens will pick up the tab after the riots stop. The elected officials running some cities and states can't do basic math, and I doubt they graduated from grammar school. Did I hear someone say New York, Chicago, Los Angeles? David Freeman
P. J. O'Rourke was an amazing satirist. He was able to create humor and education at the same time. I think P. J. would have owned twitter/X without even trying.
P.J. left us far too soon.
John, I think you cut this off shortly before my favorite line in the book, which is when PJ describes the typical experience of attending a New England town meeting as like "being a cell in a plant." An all-timer that has stuck with me ever since I first read the book 20+ years ago.
The three others that I have always remembered are "you can take 10% off the top of anything," the gun-to-the-head method of analyzing spending, and PJ's admonition that it's impossible to "observe Congress on a typical day" because on a "typical day" Congress isn't actually in session. Great, classic stuff.
Also - I think you are right that many of these ideas are taken less seriously than they should be because PJ is so funny. RIP!
John's wit and wisdom shine in this article. P.J. nailed the problem, and it only gets worse. I love that both Republicans and Democrats are arguing that the other party is the whore and fundamentally irresponsible. As always, citizens will pick up the tab after the riots stop. The elected officials running some cities and states can't do basic math, and I doubt they graduated from grammar school. Did I hear someone say New York, Chicago, Los Angeles? David Freeman
P. J. O'Rourke was an amazing satirist. He was able to create humor and education at the same time. I think P. J. would have owned twitter/X without even trying.