P. J. O'Rourke Quotes

Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit. A politician is anyone who asks individuals to surrender part of their liberty- their power and privilege- to State, Masses, Mankind, Planet Earth, or whatever. This state, those masses, that mankind, and the planet will then be run by ... politicians.

P. J. O'Rourke

• Business
• Power
• Earth

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Quotes to Explore

• I joined a radical group at the age of 16 because I'm a passionate man; the good news is that I turned myself around since then. But my character is still quite free and passionate.

  

  Maajid Nawaz
  • Good
  • Character
  • Age

• I have not been a good father, but no father has loved his children more. Like my father, I decided the best thing I could do for my kids was work and provide. Fortunately, I've been able to do that. Unfortunately, my work was on the road, and that's meant a life of one-nighters.

  

  B. B. King
  • Life
  • Good
  • Work

• This is something I've wanted to do my whole life is play baseball, and I think just the opportunity to put on a big-league uniform every day is just... you know, people dream of it, but not everybody gets to do it. I'm thankful every day I get to do it.

  

  Jacob deGrom
  • People
  • Life
  • Dream

• There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism, and I learn from that and better myself. I'm not expecting anyone to be sycophantic in any way; I never expected that.

  

  Victoria Beckham Spice Girls
  • Myself
  • Learn
  • Criticism

• Nothing is so aggravating than calmness.

  

  Oscar Wilde
  • Nothing
  • Calmness
  • Aggravating

• No one escapes from the past without bearing some of its burdens.

  

  Edmund Morgan
  • Past
  • Without
  • Some

• A woman who places a high priority on performance and excellence is seen as imperial. A man is seen as demanding and tough.

  

  Faye Wattleton
  • High
  • Man
  • Woman

• I would love the opportunity to create my own program. I feel like a TV show with a format of monologue with lots of sketches thrown in could be really fun. But you know, that may never happen. Minimally, I just want to keep making stand-up.

  

  Hari Kondabolu
  • Up
  • Love
  • May

• It's abhorrent to me that somebody is just evil, and you can't explain it.

  

  Forest Whitaker
  • Evil
  • Explain
  • Abhorrent

• Men enter local politics solely as a result of being unhappily married.

  

  C. Northcote Parkinson
  • Men
  • Politics
  • Married

• A lot of people love the idea of improvising but are terrified of it, so I tried to make a book that was not a chef's book about improvising but a real home cook's book with a real home cook's pantry, supermarket ingredients, that sort of thing.

  

  Sally Schneider
  • People
  • Real
  • Love

• There's always going to be silly stuff out there in the media that you can't worry too much about, and I don't. We just keep on trucking, and I like the way my... I think there should be 'professional is professional, and personal is personal,' and that's just how I'm going to keep it.

  

  Aaron Rodgers
  • Worry
  • Professional
  • Media

• One can be a great poet and be politically stupid.

  

  Umberto Eco
  • Great
  • Stupid
  • Poet

• Ordinarily if an actor gets chosen for the lead in a film, he or she has already built up a repertoire, and everyone knows what he or she is capable of.

  

  Zhang Ziyi
  • Up
  • She
  • Film

• Being surrounded by love and people that care about your heart is the dream. That's what I would like on my last day.

  

  Rachel Boston
  • People
  • Heart
  • Love

• I have eighteen titles in the German language. I had a number one song in 1965.

  

  Wanda Jackson
  • Song
  • Language
  • German

• I love having wine with my meals. And if I splurge, I'm going to splurge big, because if I deny my cravings, it just ends up backfiring on me, you know?

  

  Rachel Nichols
  • Know
  • Ends
  • Deny

• I'm in a monogamous relationship and very happy.

  

  Frances Bean Cobain
  • Happy
  • Relationship
  • Very

• Forget the telly, we just go to the crib, watch a movie in the Jacuzzi and smoke Ls while you do me.

  

  The Notorious B.I.G.
  • Movie

• If Anonymous and Lulzsec are the id of hacking, then physical hackerspaces are the heart of the higher-minded hacking ideals: freedom of information, meritocracy of ideas, a joy of learning and anti-authoritarianism.

  

  Heather Brooke
  • Anonymous
  • Lulzsec
  • Physical hackerspaces

• Even Disney - off the record, but on the record - knows that I have the power. They love me because of that. I don't act like it. I'm not walking around all cocky, but the tables have turned.

  

  Jake Paul
  • Power
  • Walking
  • Disney

• Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit. A politician is anyone who asks individuals to surrender part of their liberty- their power and privilege- to State, Masses, Mankind, Planet Earth, or whatever. This state, those masses, that mankind, and the planet will then be run by ... politicians.

  

  P. J. O'Rourke
  • Business
  • Power
  • Earth