P. J. O'Rourke Quotes

It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government, and I'm here to help."

Quotes to Explore
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I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday.
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Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?
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In America, people think being South Asian is still kind of exotic. When you go outside New York and Chicago and L.A., there are people who have never tried Indian food... they've never even tasted it!
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We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people.
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People should know what they want, not just what they don't want.
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I think the best president - because he changed the whole mood of the country, the whole economy of the country, and stood up to Communism... that was continuing its causes around the world, and backed them off and caused them to collapse - and that was Ronald Reagan.
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I've always loved writing, and the impulse for me is storytelling. I don't sit down and think: 'What political message can I sell?' I love the creativity of it.
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When the British became Christian, Christianity in no way altered their political organisation.
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Horrors, I believe, should be original - the use of common myths and legends being a weakening influence.
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I like certain subgenres within science fiction and fantasy, and one of those is urban fantasy, and another is steampunk.
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I was born and grew up in Fitzgerald, way down in south Georgia. It was a mill town and my family ran the cotton mill. My grandfather was mayor many times and my family felt deeply rooted to that spot.
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I don't want to sound disingenuous here - controversy is obviously good for business, especially if your business is satire. And it does amplify the discussion - in my view, a good thing.
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All of Hollywood was convinced that 'Gone with the Wind' would be a colossal disaster and rather hoped it would be.
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I have a particular image, and my customers know my line isn't going to be so trendy it will be out of style next year.
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I know that my tendency is to be linear, and I'm trying to find ways to subvert that. And so in 'Bellocq's Ophelia' my device for subverting it was to tell the story and then to tell it again; it always circles back to this one moment, and it's not linear, but it's round in that way, and much of 'Native Guard' is like that.
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I don't have a lot of skills, but one thing I can do is, I can compartmentalize. I can make that a little world that I can go back to, so I can be a waitress, or I can be a teacher, and then go and work on my book.
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All fame is is having people you don't know coming up to you and saying, 'Hello.' I'm always polite and people are always nice, but it's weird.
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I like being by myself.
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For a time we wondered why our real father didn't come and rescue us, but we had long since accepted our fate by the time we finally met him.
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If you just can't seem to get ahead, you might need to check your priorities. If you've had difficulties setting your priorities, ask God to help you.
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If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience.
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All the bands get along really well. That's one of the biggest things on a tour. It's great to get all these cool bands together, but if they don't get along it sucks.
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I do not write for an audience.
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It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government, and I'm here to help."