Amazon.com
Order this book ... and please don't be put off by its pallid subtitle, A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.
Book Description
This is a book that will "make you proud to be a member of the human race," says Mirabella, and countless readers have already discovered its power. Written in remembrance of his Polish-born, Southern-raised Jewish mother-who married a black man and raised twelve children, all of whom completed college-The Color of Water is a classic of the memoir genre, a testament to love, and a truly American story.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining, Yes...Informative, No...........2007-10-15
The Color of Water chronicles the childhood of James McBride, an inter-racial kid born of a Jewish mother and a Black father. The book describes James' mom's philosophy of raising her kids as "colorless," with undeniably good principles such as education, respect, and family unity. James is one of the youngest of many kids, and thus is relegated to menial chores and destined to ignorance in his early years, because his mother refuses to answer any of his questions.
At first, the book is actually quite interesting as you learn of the fiber of the Jordan/McBride family. The older kids are generally more rebellious and usually argue with each other about race and politics. The younger kids look up at the older kids but they reserve their ultimate respect and admiration for mommy. As the book progresses, however, the story gets extremely redundant and stereo-typical as other reviewers have mentioned. Apparently, mommy failed to instill the notion that skin color doesn't matter to their kids as they each begin to turn to racial groups and rebel against the "white man."
This book can be a page turner if you focus on only reading the book for the sake of it's story. If you attempt to read this book to gain knowledge on how to raise your kids or any other ultimate motive, I am sad to report that you will likely be dissapointed, as was I.
If you like stereotypes..........2007-09-27
If you like reinforcing stereotypes, then James McBride's book is for you. Jews have big noses, they only care about money, and of course, his converted mother only finds love through Jesus. But let's move past that. A great mother? Perhaps her children would not have had to eat sugar as a meal or wake up at 3 am (when she came home from work with free food from her employer) to eat-- else they went hungry if she had the number of children that she and her could support. Perhaps living in a house where the dog's feces is kicked under the radiator is not an indication of a strong mother. How about when she pays one fare for the subway and puts herself and the twelve children through on that one fare. These are not virtues. The writing was weak; the message was weaker.
A Jewish Mother.......2007-09-24
Legal History of the Color Line: The Rise And Triumph of the One-drop Rule
A better title for this book would be: A Dark Mulatto's Tribute to His Jewish Mother. The word "black" denies the European Jewish ancestry of the author and his siblings and the word "white" denies his mother's ethnic heritage. Mrs. McBride's Jewish ethnic values were far more important to her children's success than being "white."
Parenthood Pride -- A Mother Must Whimper.......2007-08-13
"Times were different then." Something espoused by the author's mother -- a Polish Jew who grew up in the Jim Crow south before World War II, and then raced away from her self-described purgatory to New York -- where she embraced mixed union, poverty and Jesus Christ.
How people of mixed races could live without constant clamour and request for surrender is not known to the 21st century people -- I grew up with bussing and other issues, but never saw a segregated movie theater, water fountain, or seating area. We really don't know how far we have come. And, we don't know how hard the struggle of others has been.
And, to help us understand that path, we have James McBride's autobiography/biography -- in pica print is his tale and in italic (every other chapter) is his mother's biography written by her son or her autobiography as transcribed from her taped sittings with her son.
Some things which she lived with will astound you -- I refer not to the biracial issues, but to the classic violations of Judeo-Christian ethics by the author's grandfather. As a rabbi and devout conservative Jew, the author's grandfather, we learn, abused his spouse emotionally (if not physically), abused his daughter sexually, and abused the black man in the south for personal financial gain. Interestingly, all had the same achilles heel -- each was a weakened victim. The wife a victim of polio and contract marriage, the daughter a victim of youth, and the black people victims of unadulterated 1930's racism.
Emerging from this broiling escapade by the father came the flight of a young woman to New York (the author's mother) who raised 12 bi-racial children whose faces and hair told most strangers they were anything other than children of a conservative Jew who emigrated from Poland.
In the even-numbered paragraphs (those autobiographical passages of the author), I had laugh-out-loud episodes when he recited events of his naive youth when he asked questions about his race, about his mother's race and more. Like Frank McCourt, he delivers the lines in such accurate manner that you feel as though you are sitting back and watching kids in action doing their thing which we, as adults, can not well remember nor well imitate.
This was solid fun reading based upon an extremely unique factual content.
Very disappointing..........2007-07-18
I was very disappointed with this book, especially given so many positive reviews. Though I certainly admired McBride and his siblings' ability to achieve so much given so little, I was appalled and even morally offended by the sheer stupidity and negligence of his mother as she is described (apparently in her own words) throughout the book.
I think we the readers are so overwhelmed with empathy and admiration for 12 children rising out of poverty despite obstacles of racism, poor education, no support from extended family, etc., that we forget to ask the obvious question: why would any person raise 12 children in poverty in the first place?? How is this a good decision? A mother has no job and no discernable skills, and is married to what seems like a great man - wouldn't she think after the 4th kid that "maybe I should make sure I can provide for my first 4 children before I have a 5th..or a 12th?"! To me, this is morally reprehensible! And if that's not enough, the book is littered with negligent decision making while raising her 12 kids. For example, when she drives a car without a license, she seriously risks jail time (and bankrupcy/legal problems if she hits something/someone). What would happen to her kids then? I guarantee if this same woman with no license and 12 children ran into your car, you'd be thinking much different thoughts, the nicest being "what a complete moron"! She obviously must have been a good, strong, moral woman, but she was also lucky. For every 12 child family success story, there are probably 100 other abject failures.
If I went into the woods with no water and no food and no sense of direction, and I made it out alive after 10 days of on-the-verge-of-death adventure, you might be inspired by the luck/perseverence/moral fortitude...or you might just think "why did that moron go into the woods with no water, food, or sense of direction"? That's the way I felt about this book.
Customer Reviews:
A LOVING TRIBUTE TO MOM..........2005-09-04
This book is, indeed, a tribute to the author's mother. In it, the author, a man whose mother was white and his father black, tells two stories: that of his mother and his own. Tautly written in spare, clear prose, it is a wonderful story of a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream, despite the societal obstacles placed in its way.
The author's mother was a Polish Orthodox Jew who migrated to America at the age of two with her family during the early nineteen twenties. They ultimately settled down in Virginia, where she led an isolated and lonely life; shunned by whites because she was Jewish and shunned by blacks because she was white. She was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, where her father, a despicable and harsh man who brutalized his handicapped wife, ran a local grocery store, where he priced gouged his black clientele.
She left home and moved to New York when she was nineteen and never looked back. She met and married the author's father, a black man, when mixed race marriages were still frowned upon by both whites and blacks. Still, she always felt more comfortable around blacks than around whites. When he died sixteen years later, she married another black man who nurtured her eight children by the author's father and proceeded to give her four more children.
The author tells of his childhood, of his family, and of the issue of race that ultimately colored his life while growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, where his mother stood out like a sore thumb because of the color of her skin. It was always an issue his mother avoided discussing with him, as for her it was not an issue. It was not until the author wrote this book that his mother discussed the issue of race within the context of her own life. From this dialogue emerges a fascinating look at the issues of race, as well as religion, and how it impacts on an individual's identity within our race conscious society.
It is also a very personal story. While the author's family was economically disadvantaged, his eccentric and independent mother always stressed education. She was a strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from her twelve children. A convert to Christianity through her first husband, with whom she founded a Baptist church, she provided her children with the will to succeed. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud. The story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother. While both are interesting, it is his mother's story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. It is truly a story told from the heart, as the love that the author has for his mother is evident with every written word.
Product Description
Around the narrative of Ruth McBride Jordan, a.k.a. Rachel Deborah Shilsky, the daughter of an angry, failed Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the South, her son James writes of the inner confusions he felt as a black child of a white mother and of the love and faith with which his mother surrounded their large family. The result is a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.
Customer Reviews:
A VALENTINE FOR MOM..........2005-01-25
This book is, indeed, a tribute to the author's mother. In it, the author, a man whose mother was white and his father black, tells two stories: that of his mother and his own. Tautly written in spare, clear prose, it is a wonderful story of a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream, despite the societal obstacles placed in its way.
The author's mother was a Polish Orthodox Jew who migrated to America at the age of two with her family during the early nineteen twenties. They ultimately settled down in Virginia, where she led an isolated and lonely life; shunned by whites because she was Jewish and shunned by blacks because she was white. She was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, where her father, a despicable and harsh man who brutalized his handicapped wife, ran a local grocery store, where he priced gouged his black clientele.
She left home and moved to New York when she was nineteen and never looked back. She met and married the author's father, a black man, when mixed race marriages were still frowned upon by both whites and blacks. Still, she always felt more comfortable around blacks than around whites. When he died sixteen years later, she married another black man who nurtured her eight children by the author's father and proceeded to give her four more children.
The author tells of his childhood, of his family, and of the issue of race that ultimately colored his life while growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, where his mother stood out like a sore thumb because of the color of her skin. It was always an issue his mother avoided discussing with him, as for her it was not an issue. It was not until the author wrote this book that his mother discussed the issue of race within the context of her own life. From this dialogue emerges a fascinating look at the issues of race, as well as religion, and how it impacts on an individual's identity within our race conscious society.
It is also a very personal story. While the author's family was economically disadvantaged, his eccentric and independent mother always stressed education. She was a strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from her twelve children. A convert to Christianity through her first husband, with whom she founded a Baptist church, she provided her children with the will to succeed. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud. The story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother. While both are interesting, it is his mother's story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. It is truly a story told from the heart, as the love that the author has for his mother is evident with every written word.
Product Description
2-book set
Customer Reviews:
"Marauder Thunder".......2002-02-03
A wonderful journey through this magnificent but misunderstood medium bomber of WW II.It details the progression of this 8th Air Force work horse,from the first plane off of the Glenn L Martin Co. production line to "Tail end Charlie, the last B-26 built.This is a must for the model builder & Marauder fan alike.
Average customer rating:
- Lone Humorist v. United States of America = Humor triumphs!
- WHORRIBLY HUMOROUS!
- When I home school my kids, I'll have them read this for Social Studies and Government Today.
- a liberal who enjoys PJ - why not!?
- A statement that stuck in my mind and craw
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Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Political
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| Entertainment
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Civics
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
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Practical Politics
| Politics
| Nonfiction
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ASIN: 0802139701 |
Amazon.com
If satirists are at their best when tussling with something they hate, then this is P.J. O'Rourke's masterpiece. He clearly hates government--and has hated it since before it was cool to do so--and for all the right reasons, too: it's clumsy, inefficient, hypocritical, greedy, and arrogant. In other words, it magnifies the faults of the poor saps who staff it. Parliament of Whores is the humorist's howl of bitter laughter at the entire bloated, numskulled mess. As befits an ex-editor of National Lampoon, nothing is out of bounds for O'Rourke. Speaking of the fabled "football"--that satchel that follows the president around 24/7--the author doubts there are really launch codes in there at all--nothing but "a copy of Penthouse and a pint bottle of Hiram Walker--a Penthouse from back in the seventies, when Penthouse was really dirty, I'll bet."
Parliament of Whores is perfect for anyone who longs to cultivate an entertaining brand of cynicism, to be "a lone voice--not crying in the wilderness, thank you, but chortling in the rec room." O'Rourke is a master at making you laugh in spite of the better angels of your nature, and the only negative thing to be said about this tour de force is that his flamethrower brand of satire leaves nothing in its wake--certainly not the suggestion of an improvement. --Michael Gerber
Book Description
Called "an everyman's guide to Washington" (The New York Times), P. J. O'Rourke's savagely funny and national best-seller Parliament of Whores has become a classic in understanding the workings of the American political system. Originally written at the end of the Reagan era, this new edition includes an extensive foreword by the renowned political writer Andrew Ferguson -- showing us that although the names and the players have changed, the game is still the same. Parliament of Whores is an exuberant, broken-field run through the ethical foibles, pork-barrel flimflam, and bureaucratic bullrorfle inside the Beltway that leaves no sacred cow unskewered and no politically correct sensitivities unscorched. "Highly pungent and wickedly accurate observations ... [from a] boisterous, pedal-to-the-floor humorist." -- The New York Times Book Review "Outrageous ... It is insulting, inflammatory, profane, and absolutely great reading." -- The Washington Post Book World "A gonzo civics book ... O'Rourke is like a trophy hunter let loose in an unguarded zoo." -- Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews:
Lone Humorist v. United States of America = Humor triumphs!.......2007-07-03
"Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day." Thomas Jefferson, April 24, 1816
If the title of "Parliament of Whores" collects unease beneath your conscience, I suggest a better title: "The Voter's Guide to Understanding American Government." P.J.'s book can happily replace the millions of other texts which `say' they include the most accurate analysis concerning the present federal system, but really don't. Indeed, if I myself were book publisher, I would not hesitate to pass out millions of O'Rourke's "Whores" to every single man, woman, and child in the United States of America, because it encompasses a great deal into the most lovely way.
He possesses a gift valuable enough to store in the pockets of only the wisest and wittiest satirists, which is the ability to scope out the absurdity of nearly all the issues and problems corresponding to the topic he skewers. In this case, it includes the numerous problems that confronted and dealt with in the country back when he published the book in 1991. Although the book is sixteen years old, "Parliament" is even more relevant now than it was, despite whatever odds lie against a sequel. I consider P.J. a modern day cicerone, choking back giggles as he leavens the tour with the most appropriate quips.
In addition, P.J. balances the budget! Bring out the bubbly, let's party! Nevertheless, how did he do it? According to him, "Since I'm temporarily in charge of the federal budget, I don't mind squeezing the bejeebers out of the people who pay them." I guess he's going to raise taxes! However, isn't good old P.J. a conservative? What gives, P.J.? Alas, he tells us: "The problem isn't a Congress that won't cut spending or a president who won't raise taxes, but Americans with a sense of entitlement to federal money." The conclusion of the book, therefore, is not far off to predict. We, the American people, are the parliament of whores. Have we inadvertently used our money to pursue Marxist goals? By O'Rourke's assessment, the problem is a public drunk with an insatiable appetite for everything, like national health care, yet stubborn and vicious on taking everybody else's bucks to pay for it all. Why think this way, says O'Rourke? "Is it wise to put the awesome power of such spending to such a silly government? Do you really want Teddy Kennedy OR Newt Gingrich to run your life?"
In a chapter about poverty, P.J. concludes that...there is no poverty in America. How? After closely scrutinizing the 1991 federal budget, and various policy institute analyses, P.J. discovered a $50.3 billion income deficit saddled with poor people becomes feckless inasmuch as there was $98 billion used federally for low-income persons. He also checked the Congressional Research Service, which took into account combined federal, state, and local spending for the poor: $126 billion a year, which averaged out to roughly $3,816.92 for each poor person, not to mention charity. What is the rush, Mr. John Edwards? You talk about limiting poverty; but there is no poverty, even less likely now! P.J. proved it! No worries, correct?
Well, no, of course not. There is poverty in the country. O'Rourke's poverty chapter coincides nicely with his chapter on federal housing, where he visited a Newark housing project creaking on the edge of disaster. So, why is there poverty? O'Rourke says, well, no one knows, and the federal government certainly does not.
Equally informative and outrageous, hysterical and harrowing, "Parliament of Whores" captures and reveals to us the craziest behemoth this side of Frankenstein and the Loch Ness Monster except that the monster is real but, as O'Rourke says in the introduction, "We must laugh at it, because it belongs precisely to the humorous imagination." This would be a depressing read, even more so for O'Rourke to put himself through an inhospitable position, trying to make sense of how terribly wrong everything has gotten. P.J., however, is an excellent physician, agile and quick-witted enough to alleviate the pain we watch unfold. Read the book if you love your country, and although P.J. pens from a more libertarian point of view, there is a good chance you will leave every position P.J. touches with a smile, or perhaps with a hearty laugh with tears, if you're lucky.
WHORRIBLY HUMOROUS!.......2006-11-20
"It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
Once upon a time, oh, about a year ago, I was on the john with my P.J. bottoms loitering around my ankles, and minding my own "business." I had one of my Uncle John's Bathroom Readers in my lap (Uncle John and the john were just made for each other) and I was reading a page that contained a lot of funny remarks related to politics. I noticed that the several excerpts that had been penned by one P.J. O'ROURKE elicited the greatest laughs from me, so I determined to find out just who this P.J. was and where he'd been my whole life. After a little Ammyland surfing, I purchased his book, PARLIAMENT OF WHORES.
Just last week, I was on an America West flight to Northern Nevada. At the airport, after taking everything from me that one could never commandeer an airplane with, and making me remove my belt and shoes and self-respect, the powers that be somehow let me waltz onto the plane with PARLIAMENT OF WHORES - a very dangerous book. I mean, had I begun reading aloud, I could have convulsed the pilots, the flight crew, and the air marshal with laughter and taken control of Flight #522.
Instead, I read silently to myself, and laughed out loud every thirty seconds or so. This aroused the curiosity of the woman sitting next to me who asked what I was reading. I said, "Parliament Of Whores by P.J. O'Rourke" but somehow what she heard was, "Will you tell me your life story?" So she proceeded to tell me how she had gotten married at Lake Tahoe and bred dogs for a living. Or maybe it was that she earned her bread at Lake Tahoe and had married a dog. To be honest, I wasn't paying that much attention, but merely trying to nod and smile when I thought it was appropriate, and stealing another sentence or two from O'Rourke's book every time she paused between chapters in her oral autobiography. (She did offer me her little bag of pretzels, so at least I got something from her besides an earache.)
PALIAMENT OF WHORES is P.J.'s 1991 account of a journalist's inside look at politics and how it affects American Life. And trust me, it's no laughing matter, which is exactly why we must laught at it. It's laugh or go postal, but since the postal service is tied to the federal government, it's better that we laugh. P.J. says, "I have tried to present a factual - data-filled, at any rate - account of how this government works. Which is complicated by the fact that it doesn't." But if you think a journalist should instead be writing about things that are more relevant and of greater interest to most Americans, P.J. did promise in the Acknowledgments that his next book was going to be about "Madonna's Illegitimate UFO Diet To Cure AIDS And Find Elvis."
On page 103, O'Rourke confesses that he is "a real Republican" but then adds, "unlike some current presidents of the United States I could name." That unnamed "presidents" he referred to was, of course, George H. W. Bush. Now it's his equally un-Republican son, George W. Bush who occupies The White House, proving that the apple doesn't fall far from the Bush.
But don't let the fact that P.J. is a Republican dissuade you from reading PARLIAMENT OF WHORES if you happen to be a Democrat because Ol' P.J. absolutely grills EVERYONE in this laugh-out-loud book. And why not? The federal government has taken it upon itself to warn the nation that undercooked eggs and meat are unhealthy. And is raw government any better for us? It too deserves a good grilling, and P.J. is just the chef to do it!
Now, I can't say that P.J. never misses the nail's head and hits his own thumb. For example, on page 78 he states that the Supreme Court opening a session with "God save the United States and this Honorable Court" is a clear violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. This is surprisingly sloppy reporting coming from a man who makes his living with words. The First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." And that's what the Constitution, in its entirety, has to say about religion. So, when did the Supreme Court become Congress? And since when is stating, "God save the United States and this Honorable Court" the establishment of a law? (And has anybody informed God that He is now bound by law to do these things?)
On page 119, P.J. questions the wisdom of the illegality of recreational drugs. I think keeping these chemicals out of the hands (and arms, and lungs) of as many people as possible is indeed wise. The only exception being those funny smelling "cigarettes" which my buddy at work, The Great L.C., and I agree should be treated in like manner as alcohol, for they have, if anything, even less potential for harm: Put 10 guys into a room with loud music and bottles and bottles of booze, and it's sure that before the evening is over, one (or more) of those guys will get roughed up. But put the same 10 guys into the same room with the same loud music, and replace the booze with "wacky weed" and the only things that are gonna get roughed up are bags of potato chips.
But other than these rare disagreements, I found PALIAMENT OF WHORES to be wickedly accurate and whorribly humorous. Wait'll you read the suggestions the author makes for reducing federal expenditures (O'Rourke's Circumcision and Budget Liposuction), and the way he dissects the Special Interest Groups (The Original Barrel Of Monkeys That Nothing Is More Fun Than). This thing is simply a howl from one end to the other; the funniest book I've read in a very long time. Heck, one of the funniest books I've ever read at ANY time! It's "seriously funny" like Mark Twain. And I am no more ashamed to have PARLIAMENT OF WHORES standing in my bookcase between The Declaration Of Independence and The Heritage Guide To The Constitution than I am to have Twain's ROUGHING IT standing between Saloons Of The Old West and I Married Wyatt Earp. Aw, well, you know what I mean.
In the final analysis - after his study of how our government works [sic] - O'Rourke concludes that what we suspected all along is true: "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." Nevertheless, watching P.J. T.P. the U.S. is the best cry you'll ever laugh. I'll be voting P.J. for President in 2008, even though he's too smart to run... except away.
When I home school my kids, I'll have them read this for Social Studies and Government Today........2006-04-03
Now pj is an avowed republican and though I consider myself a libritarian (however it's spelled) many of the ideas in his book ring true.
From page 14:
"The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop."- and that's why I'm Liberatarian and also why my party is nolonger a party (atleast in North Carolina as of winter of 2005). And strangly I'm happy it's not a party anymore; what do parties do other than spout retorict while handing out pay-raises from my [our] money.
From page 26:
"I don't agree with the democrats? What's to disagree with? They believe everything. And what they don't believe, the Republicans do. Neither of them stands for anything they believe in, anyway.
And from this, weve built a great nation," - and this is why I have love for no party. Oh and also:
From page 19:
"Democrats are also the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller and get the chickweed out of you lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it. One philosophy is not necessarily and improvement on the other, but if you want the tooth fairy to come, you've got to have some teeth under your pillow."- Governemnt being the toothfairy while the teeth are our dollars. I suppose this fairy leaves programs that work in exchange for our money. Taxes are up to 30%+ for most (more than double what we left Great Britan for) some day people are going to realize that they have no teeth left and the fairy is taking a flying sht on their heads.
In the section entitled "The Three Branches of Govenment: Money, Television and Bllsht", page 72:
A day at the Whitehouse, "...the president signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Two tousand of the disabled and their family members were invited to attend in the briolling summer heat. People in wheelchairs were yelling at the deaf to sit down and the blind were bumping the palsied with their dogs. In a crueler age some onlookers might have laughed, but we never laugh at misfortune today. In fact, we're all trying to get in on it. A White House press release claimed that forty-three million Americans 'have some form of disability.' [and that was in 1991!, when this book was published] That is one out of five people, and it can't be true unless disability to balance checkbooks is being counted. A number of other things about this legislation can't be true either. Under the new law, 'public accommodations are prohibited from discrimiation on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations.' But people with disabilities, by definition, do not have full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities and so forth. Otherwise, what disability do they have? And the bill also guarantees that there will be no discrimination in employment. Does this mean one-legged firemen [I don't necessarily agree with his use of hyperbole in argument- but it is funny]? Don't worry, the question will be equitably settled in the courts [bye bye more money, I should have been a lawyer]. Meanwhile, ill health and bad luck have been made against the law."- the handicapped that I know always want to be treated normally.
This bill should have been seen as a giant slap in the face. However, it was veiwed by the fat (yes it is a disability) the lazy (oh, my back hurts. No, I won't get a desk job or try to make money another way) and stupid (who would'a thought smoking would cause lung problems or that being an alcoholic could hamper my job skills). That is what the law did and that is who benefits the most.
In "Doing the Most Important Kind of Nothing" page 77:
"We americans are an unprincipled nation, when you come down to it. Not that we're bad or anything. It's just that it's hard for us to pay attention to abstract matters when we have so many concrete matters--cellular phones, ski boats, salad shooters, trail bikes, StairMasters, snow boards, pasta making machines, four-door sport utility wehicles, palmcorders, rollerblade skates and CD players for our cars--to occupy us. No wonder all the great intellectual concepts such as monotheism and using the zero in arithmentic come from pastoral societies where herdsmen sit around all night with nothing to do except think thing up. (Though it is a wonder more cosmologies aren't founded on scrwing sheep.)"- haha, we are a nation perpetually amused. Or in fear:
The title of one section and the quote that follows, page 107, "OUR GOVERNMENT: WHAT THE FK DO THEY DO ALL DAY AND WHY DOES IT COST SO GDDMNED MUCH MONEY?"
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamourous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."- H. L. Mencken--I need to read more of his stuff (sorry I'm new to this whole thinking thing). For hobgoblins see: generic term terrorist, see Iran, see illegal immegrants, see "the poor", see Drug users and sellers, see innercity minorities, see hippies, see conservatives, see you, see me.
On that note, page 119 "If a drug-free Ameica is such a good idea, why aren't members of the House of Representatives taking drug tests? Why isn't the U.S. Senate pissing into jars on C-Span? "Get serious" is the phrase I heard a hundred time from cops, DEA men, customs agents and people living in drug-soaked neighborhoods. I'd be talking to them and thy'd just start yelling, not at me, but just yelling."-Hate to bring up good'ol Rush L. but drugs and pills taken illegally are still "illegal drugs". However, old white men don't seem to see it that way.
"Personally, I don't think all drugs-of-pleasure should be illegal. I'm not even sure if it's much use making any of them agiangst the law. But it is one more measure of our lack of seriousness that we won't dispassionatly investigate or rationly debate which drugs do what damage and whether or how much of that damage is the result of criminalization. We'd rather work ourselves into a screaming fit of puritanism and then go home and take a pill." Righ Rush? Righ mom?
Frankly, all of them are true, especially the last chaper.
a liberal who enjoys PJ - why not!?.......2006-01-29
YES he takes some easy pot-shots at liberals and YES THIS book is about 15 years old now - but it's funny.
IT's a bit too funny. IN FACT, while laughing out loud at some of his criticims you might wonder what's so funny.
He has a few misfires, one at the USDA's number of employees being far over that of the number of american farmers - but that shouldn't surprise anyone who knows what the USDA does - especially those of us who are entomologists!
And his idea of balancing the budget is damned near something like Pol Pot might come up with - but PJ will excuse himself - he'll be the first to tell you he doesn't know anything - and that does come across rather clearly.
JUST THE SAME READ PJ - he's very good, very witty, and very acerbic. Sort of a much smarter ... well, I'm not going to invoke those idiotic radio conservatives, most of which PJ would have no use for anyway. HE jabs just as hard at dumb republicans as he does elsewhere -- and I prefer some of his other writings - especially some of his excellent foreign journalism.
In fact, his Age Wisdom beats Youth and goodlooks (or whatever) book is great. I learned to love automobile writing from him.
A statement that stuck in my mind and craw.......2005-11-20
I read O'Rourk's "A Parliment of Whores" when it first came out in hardcover in 1992.
In the latter part of the book O'Rourk made a prophetic if not profound statement that I instantly committed to memory.
Until the last five years I couldn't figure out whether the statement was a direct slap in the faces of all us whores out here or a warning of things to come, which when taken into account amounts to a slap in the face.
O'Rourk said: "Any likeminded group, acting in concert, can steal anything they want, and get away with it."
Considering this current administration and congress I now find that O'Rourk's 1992 statement was indeed a warning of things to come.
I just added in paraphase: Any likeminded group, like crooked president and congress, acting in concert, can steal anything they want, and get away with it, including taking a nation over internally."
Every expert in the field knows that the only way the United States of America can be defeated is through internal takeover.
We now have an adminizstration and congress that is so overtly and absolutely corrupt that they actually flaunt their wrongdoing in the faces of the citizenry. However "they" are begining to find out that the "get way with it" part is not quite as easy as they thought.
Thomas D. Pearson-Author:
OSAMA-His Loathing of Infidels ISBN 1-4137-3400-6
I wrote my book as an awakening for our people and our government leaders, and as a warning to terror organizations letting them know that at least a few people here in the USA knew something about how they will act and to beware treading on America.
Book Description
O'Rourke says the American political system resembles nothing so much as a "gigantic Mexican Christmas pinata" filled with everything from $600-per-cow farm subsidies to the S&L bailout. 2 cassettes.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2004-01-10
For those who are sick of left-wing comic/journalist types (Michael Moore, Al Franken etc etc) having the monopoly on political laughs, you'll find O'Rourke a great alternative. He's a conservative journalist who's also very funny. His views range from the comically/farcically cruel to the middle-of-the-road views so everyone will find something to both agree and disagree with.
In this book, he disects the US government, with an essay addressing each aspect. It's amazing how he makes facts and statistics about things like fiscal policy fascinating, humorous reading. And you'll learn something too. He talks about things that are rarely explored in mainstream media. If you've never read anything by him, this is a great book to start.
Excellent insight, Hard hitting humor, and Regretably true.......1998-09-23
This is a great read. As usual O'Rouke's witty humour does not let you down as he explains the government. He takes a dry mudane subject and injects it with humor and insight while making it once agian cool to be conservative.
Average customer rating:
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Grand Canyon Birds: Historical Notes, Natural History and Ecology
Bryan T. Brown ,
Steven W. Carothers , and
R. Roy Johnson
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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