Talk:P. J. O'Rourke/Archive 1

Gonzo journalism?
Define "gonzo journalism" --Robert Merkel

It's a self-definition by its original leading light, Hunter S. Thompson. There's a good overview at: http://www.gonzo.org/articles/lit/esstwo.html -- Paul Drye

Libertarian?
Wouldn't it be easier to just say he's a libertarian, rather than a conservative? - Tim


 * I believe he refers to himself as conservative far more often than libertarian. --Charles A. L. 16:22, Nov 25, 2003 (UTC)
 * He does. PJ has stated that he is a conservative on numerous occasions. I love PJ, read Atlantic Monthly regularly, and adore Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. It might be noted, however, that PJ is more of Buckley-type conservative than a "talk radio" conservative (a la Limbaugh, Hannity, Boortz, etc.) 66.207.82.18 (talk) 13:36, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

He's very funny- and is so right on about getting the government out of peoples' lives. 'All the Trouble in the World' and 'Paliament of Whores' is hilarious.

Hi. I added the names of O'Rourke's daughters to the bottom of the main section, simply because I couldn't help myself. The source is "Ceo of the Sofa." I'm kind of a newbie, so let me know if I done good, ah tell you what. BarrettBrown 00:53, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

The quotes section
Does Wikipedia really need to list P.J. O'Rourke's quotes? He already has a page on Wikiquote. I think the "Quotes" section should be removed. Unregistered User:71.96.165.158 9:56 AM 2 May 2006 (CDT)

this is the only bit i could edit. from the article "He confesses that during his student days he was a left-leaning hippie, who in the 1970s underwent a damascene conversion." "damascene" is an obscure word and i couldn't easily find the definition.


 * It means "in the manner of Saint Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus". I have linked the word in the article. Arthur Holland 09:37, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Nicely done! :-) Lawyer2b 13:04, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Why, thank you. Arthur Holland 14:49, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

"confesses" is POV. Change it.
 * Bullsh**t.
 * confess
 * verb
 * To recognize, often reluctantly, the reality or truth of: acknowledge, admit, avow, concede, grant, own (up). Slang fess up. Chiefly Regional allow. See affirm/deny/argue, :knowledge/ignorance.
 * To recognize, often reluctantly, the reality or truth of: acknowledge, admit, avow, concede, grant, own (up). Slang fess up. Chiefly Regional allow. See affirm/deny/argue, :knowledge/ignorance.
 * To recognize, often reluctantly, the reality or truth of: acknowledge, admit, avow, concede, grant, own (up). Slang fess up. Chiefly Regional allow. See affirm/deny/argue, :knowledge/ignorance.


 * Also, sign your comments. 66.207.82.18 (talk) 13:44, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I believe that line was taken from one of his books. POssibly Parliment of Whores or maybe Age and Guile beat Youth, innocence, and a bad haircut. He himself used the word confesses. Bengaska 04:13, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Prior to 9-11, P.J. wrote an article about the power of the US. I'm trying to find it, can anyone add a link to it. I think it was written either in July or August of 2001

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.nationallampoon.com/flashbacks/how2/how2.html
 * In P. J. O'Rourke on Mon Jun 26 20:16:06 2006, 404 Not Found
 * In P. J. O'Rourke on Sat Jul 8 21:16:56 2006, 404 Not Found

maru  (talk)  contribs 01:17, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

I've repointered to archive.org. Hope that's okay. This was the first piece of writing ever that made me laugh out loud involuntarily, and I'd hate for its memory to get lost just because the moribund National Lampoon can't keep their archives open.

64.142.49.99 21:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

P.J.'s NatLamp contributions
The article mistakenly identifies "First Blow-Job" as an O'Rourke composition. In fact, it was written by Doug Kenney.

Kamandi 26 August 2006

Expression "Damascene conversion" potentially misleading here
"He confesses that during his student days he was a left-leaning hippie, who in the 1970s underwent a damascene conversion." -- I believe that the expression "damascene conversion" is potentially misleading here, and I'm modifying it. "Damascene" has connotations of not only extreme but extremely sudden alteration of views; of being an "altered state of consciousness" experience; and of being a specifically religious experience, none of which I'd say apply here. If anyone has any cites to the contrary, of course please edit the article appropriately. Thanks. -- 201.50.251.197 17:14, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Whose book?
Article:
 * He is the author of 13 books, most recently On The Wealth of Nations, a commentary on Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It is the first book in The Atlantic Monthly's "Books That Changed The World" series.

Does this mean that Smith's or O'Rourke's book is the first in the series? --Ldrhcp 02:11, 22 March 2007 (UTC)


 * It means that O'Rourke's book is the first in a series called "Books That Changed The World"; the "Books That Changed The World" series is a series of books about books that changes the world.


 * Clearer now, or even worse?


 * Put it this way: the title of the series is referring to the important books, not to itself. If the series were called "Politicians Who Changed The World," it would be understood that it's a series of books, each book being about a politician who changed the world.  Similarly, this is a series of books, each book being about a book that changed the world.  One of the books in the series is O'Rourke's book about Smith's book; because Smith's book is a book that changed the world.


 * Terry Carroll 05:56, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

The Enemies List
Our local library's got a copy of a book called "The Enemies' List" attributed to O'Rourke and the American Spectator. I'm going to add this to his list of books: just groupings of liberals and would-be liberals frequently targeted by conservatives.--206.27.244.59 01:15, 12 April 2007 (UTC)User:Aaronhumes

Religious identification
The article is in the American Roman Catholics category, but no justification or source is given for this. I have come across a 1996 book review by O'Rourke where he self-identifies as a Methodist: "I myself am a Methodist." Has he converted in the intervening 12 years? If so, perhaps a mention in the biographical section would be appropriate. Otherwise, I propose removing the Roman Catholic category and replacing it as appropriate. Jacob1207 (talk) 16:26, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Cancer diagnosis, 28 September 2008
I've just been made aware of Mr. O'Rourke's column discussing his diagnosis of anal cancer, and while I'm sure that he's receiving optimum surgical care, past experience leads me to believe that preoperative lymphoscintigraphy - a diagnostic option of some potential value in reliably staging his primary lesion - might not have been considered in the management of his case, and should be brought to his attention for discussion with his attending surgeon. If anyone can pass along this to Mr. O'Rourke, that courtesy would be appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.82.190.93 (talk) 22:46, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

NPOV problem
As it stands today, this is a fairly fawning piece that gives little sense that there is anyting controversial about O'Rourke's work whatsoever. A.T.S. in Texas (talk) 20:55, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Republican AND Libertarian? and "nascent masterpiece"
On Bill Maher's show (1/11/08) O'Rourke declared himself a Republican, then a few minutes added "You know I'm a libertarian too". Whatever that means.
 * Strangely enough, Ron Paul says the same thing. Numerous member of the Libertarian party are also former or current Republicans. Many "old school" Republicans left the party after :seeing it abandon it's principles for corporate favoritism and adjust towards Big Gov't neo con agendas.66.207.82.18 (talk) 14:07, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Also someone might want to look into how ridiculous the phrase "nascent masterpiece" is. It's used in this article. Maybe people really interested in "Gonzo journalism" don't care about how oxymoronic "nascent masterpiece" sounds, or maybe that's the point, but it sure sounds unprofessional. Hie-yie-yie... 78.86.140.151 (talk)
 * What? Either you don't know what nascent means or you just don't grasp the concept.
 * nas·cent (năs'ənt, nā'sənt) pronunciation adj.
 * Coming into existence; emerging


 * In other words, O'Rourke's emergent or introductory masterpiece. [Special:Contributions/66.207.82.18|66.207.82.18]] (talk) 14:08, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * You can be a Republican with Libertarian ideology. Libertarian isn't just a party, you know. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Republican And if you are really asking about "nascent masterpiece," then you probably don't know that O'Rouke is a satirist - he's using a play on words, so to speak. 98.198.83.12 (talk) 08:07, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

P.J. O'Rourke on the BBC's World Book Club
A chance to ask questions to improve this article! P.J. O'Rourke will be talking about Eat the Rich on the BBC radio programme World Book Club. You can submit a question or ask to be part of the audience by emailing worldbookclub@bbc.co.uk or by using the form on the World Book Club homepage. Recording is on Wednesday 24th November 2010 at 17.15 at Broadcasting House, London. EdQuine (talk) 16:04, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Is this a fake website?
Note the "Edited by P. J. O'Rourke" at the top.

https://americanconsequences.com/the-big-lie-behind-covid-19/

--Guy Macon (talk) 06:45, 5 May 2020 (UTC)

Worth a look
See http://essaydensushing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/pg-orourke.html 217.39.106.237 (talk) 20:19, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

The main article should explain what O'Rourke did about the two biggest events of his youth -- the draft and the war. It isn't enough to say he was an antiwar leftist because so many kids were; the article needs to explain what an antiwar leftist did about serving in the military, or avoiding it, during what remains the biggest war of his lifetime. What he did, or didn't do, provides the context -- the historical backdrop -- of his life and the lives of almost all Boomers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.49.27.38 (talk) 21:00, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

"Pronunciation"
If we're going to include this, it needs a cite at minimum to a video of the man himself pronouncing his own name. The people introducing him invariably make it rhyme with "fork" (/...ɔ(ː)ɹk/); utterly none make it rhyme with "lurk" or use the vowel of "pure", which is what the IPA /oʊˈrʊərk/ claims is going on. There might be some Irish who pronounce the name this way, but I very much doubt this Mr O'Rourke does. — Llywelyn II   01:21, 20 October 2018 (UTC)

Most of time Ive heard it sound more like roar, in which one lingers on the vowels just a tad, longer than in fork.Batvette (talk) 07:20, 26 January 2022 (UTC)