P. J. O'Rourke: Trending quotes

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P. J. O'Rourke: 370 quotes20 likes

“When a thing defies physical law, there's usually politics involved.”

All the Trouble in the World (1994)

“It's hard to come back from the Balkans and not sound like a Pete Seeger song.”

All the Trouble in the World (1994)

“I like to do my principal research in bars, where people are more likely to tell the truth or, at least, lie less convincingly than they do in briefings and books.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”

P. J. O'Rourke

As quoted in Busted : Stone Cowboys, Narco-lords, and Washington's War on Drugs (2002) edited by Mike Gray

“Marilyn Quayle was there, too, looking – it was indeed a strange week in Washington – great. She had her hair done up in something my wife said was a chignon, and whatever it was, it made Marilyn look considerably less like a Cape buffalo than usual. Though actually I admired the Cape buffalo look. I have an idea that – like a Cape buffalo – if Marilyn Quayle gets furious and charges, you've got only one shot at the skull. You wouldn't want to just wound her.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Parliament of Whores

Parliament of Whores (1991)

“They don't like anyone who isn't Korean, and they don't like each other all that much, either. They're hardheaded, hard-drinking, tough little bastards, "the Irish of Asia."”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“Earnestness is just stupidity sent to college.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“A good bachelor drinks his dessert (and sometimes the rest of his meals). A sweet tooth is a danger signal that you're getting too much exercise and not enough cocktails.”

P. J. O'Rourke

The Bachelor Home Companion (1986)

“There is a fine line in the Third World between half a dozen customs officials waiting for you to offer them a bribe and half a dozen customs officials waiting for you to offer them a bribe so they can throw you in jail.”

P. J. O'Rourke

All the Trouble in the World (1994)

“Harvard has been almost as important to the American Jewish community as the pork-sausage industry.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“War will exist as long as there's a food chain.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“Weird clothing is de rigeur for teenagers, but today's generation of teens is finding it difficult to be sufficiently weird. This is because the previous generation of teens, who went through adolescence in the sixties and seventies, used up practically all the available weirdness.”

P. J. O'Rourke

Modern Manners (1983)

“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Parliament of Whores

Parliament of Whores (1991)

“The real slums are another matter. The bad parts of Tondo are as bad as any place I've seen, ancient, filthy houses swarmed with the poor and stinking of sewage and trash. But there are worse parts— squatter areas where people live under cardboard, in shipping crates, behind tacked-up newspapers. Dad would march you straight to the basement with a hairbrush in his hand if he caught you keeping your hamster cage like this.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Republican Party Reptile

Republican Party Reptile (1987)

“The Australian language is easier to learn than boat talk. It has a vocabulary of about six words.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“There are a lot of mysterious things about boats, such as why anyone would get on one voluntarily.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“The Institute of U. S. and Canadian Studies is supposed to have subscribed to the Village Voice for six years in an attempt to find out about life in America's rural areas.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Republican Party Reptile

Republican Party Reptile (1987)

“Two key rules of Third World travel: 1. Never run out of whiskey. 2. Never run out of whiskey.”

P. J. O'Rourke

All the Trouble in the World (1994)

“Some people are worried about the difference between right and wrong. I'm worried about the difference between wrong and fun.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Holidays in Hell

Holidays in Hell (1989)

“You know, if government were a product, selling it would be illegal.”

P. J. O'Rourke

The Liberty Manifesto (1993)