P. J. O'Rouke has passed. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed his writing.

[underpants]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/books/pj-orourke-dead.html

?quality=75&auto=webp

P.J. O’Rourke, the conservative satirist and political commentator who was unafraid to skewer Democrats and Republicans alike in best-selling books like “Parliament of Whores,” in articles for a wide range of magazines and newspapers, and on television and radio talk shows, died on Tuesday at his home in Sharon, N.H. He was 74.

The cause was complications of lung cancer, said Deb Seager, the director of publicity at Grove/Atlantic, Mr. O’Rourke’s publisher.

Mr. O’Rourke’s political writing was in the caustic tradition of H.L. Mencken. As writers and commentators go, he was something of a celebrity, welcome on talk shows of almost any political bent and known for appearances on NPR’s comedy quiz show “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me.”

He was a proud conservative Republican — one of his books was called “Republican Party Reptile: The Confessions, Adventures, Essays and (Other) Outrages of P.J. O’Rourke” — but he was widely admired by readers of many stripes because of his fearless style and his willingness to mock just about anyone who deserved it, including himself. In “Republican Party Reptile” he recalled his youthful flirtation with Mao Zedong.

[hlthe2b]

1. He was quite the exception--a conservative who was not only witty and funny, but a really decent guy

I loved him as a panelist on NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" too. Excellent writer.

[underpants]

3. This was a gut punch on a bad day

I’m okay but it’s been quite a day.

The NYT obit is hilarious.

[Sympthsical]

2. I just purchased Parliament of Whores

A friend who posted about his death highly recommended it. I'm familiar with him from the talk show circuit, but I've never read anything.

My friend swears it's fantastic.

[underpants]

4. It is.

Holidays in Hell - if I remember correctly- has an arm strength comparison between rock throwers in Beirut and brick throwers in Cuba. Cuba wins.

[Hoyt]

5. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 by saying:

“She's wrong about absolutely everything, but she's wrong within normal parameters.”

[ms liberty]

6. One of the few conservatives I really liked. RIP, Mr O'Rourke. n/t