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P.J. O'Rourke: An Alternative Inaugural Address
The Weekly Standard ^ | 01/24/05 | P.J. O'Rourke

Posted on 01/15/2005 5:53:36 AM PST by Pokey78

What if George W. Bush weren't a compassionate conservative . . .

MY FELLOW AMERICANS, I had intended to reach out to all of you and bring a divided nation together. But I changed my mind. America isn't divided by political ethos or ethnic origin. America isn't divided by region or religion. America is divided by jerks. Who wants to bring a bunch of jerks together with the rest of us? Let them stew in Berkeley, Boston, and Ann Arbor.

The media say that I won the election on the strength of moral values. If the other fellow had become president, would the media have said that he won the election on the strength of immoral values? For once the media would have been right.

We are all sinners. But jerks revel in their sins. You can tell by their reaction to the Ten Commandments. Post those Ten Commandments in a courthouse or a statehouse, in a public school or a public park, and the jerks go crazy. Why is that? Christians believe in the Ten Commandments. So do Muslims. Jews, too, obviously. Show the Ten Commandments to Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, or to people with just good will and common sense and nobody says, "Whoa! That's all wrong!"

But jerks take issue with every one of the Ten Commandments. Jerks are particularly offended by the first two Commandments. Of course people of faith, decent people, differ on interpretations of the first two Commandments. For example, we don't all agree about the meaning of "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." However, we do all

agree about "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them" when them is Freud, Marx, and Dan Rather.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." How many times, over the last few months, have we heard, "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, I can't believe George Bush won"?

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Let's be fair about this. We did see a lot of white, non-Hispanic Democrats in churches in 2004. But they were all running for president. And the churches were inner-city black churches. I happen to know that there are churches in the white, non-Hispanic suburbs where these Democrats live. Apparently jerks can't find them.

"Honor thy father and thy mother." Are telling lies about a bankrupt Social Security system and trying to block its privatization reform ways to do this?

"Thou shalt not kill." Why, in the opinion of jerks, is it wrong to kill a baby but all right to kill a baby that's so little he hasn't been born yet? And why do the same jerks who favor abortion oppose the death penalty? We can imagine people so full of loving kindness that they can accept neither the abortionist nor the executioner. We can even imagine people so cold-hearted that they embrace them both. But it takes a real jerk to argue in favor of killing perfect innocents and letting Terry Nichols live.

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." The jerks have begun praising marriage lately. But only if the bride and groom each have a beard.

"Thou shalt not steal." In 2004 the United States government spent $2,318,800,000,000. Thus every American benefited from $7,919.37 worth of federal services. Let me ask the jerks something. Say you're average jerks, a "blended family" of four. Did you pay $31,677.48 in taxes last year? If you didn't, you took things from other Americans. What did you give in return?

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Especially not in return for vast wealth, abundant prizes, and lavish praise from fellow jerks. I'm talking to you, Michael Moore.

And then there is the Tenth Commandment. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." The Ten Commandments are God's basic rules about how we should live--a brief list of sacred obligations and solemn moral precepts. The first nine Commandments concern theological principles and social law. But then, right at the end, is "Don't envy your buddy's cow." How did that make the top ten? What's it doing there? Why would God, with just ten things to tell Moses, choose as one of those things jealousy about the starter mansion with in-ground pool next door?

Yet think how important the Tenth Commandment is to a community, to a nation, indeed to a presidential election. If you want a mule, if you want a pot roast, if you want a cleaning lady, don't be a jerk and whine about what the people

across the street have--go get your own.

The Tenth Commandment sends a message to all the jerks who want redistribution of wealth, higher taxes, more government programs, more government regulation, more government, less free enterprise, and less freedom. And the message is clear and concise: Go to hell.

P.J. O'Rourke is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard and author, most recently, of Peace Kills (Atlantic Monthly Press).


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: pjorourke
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To: Pokey78
Judge Roy Moore Bump
21 posted on 01/15/2005 6:17:49 AM PST by pageonetoo (I could name them, but you'll spot their posts soon enough.)
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To: Pokey78
P.J. O'Rourke has laid this out quite simply.

The fact is we [moralists] are at war with a degenerate mass of amoral people the world over and under many different names.

In the United States of America they are referred to as Democrats.

22 posted on 01/15/2005 6:18:55 AM PST by G.Mason (A war mongering, UN hating, military industrial complex loving, Al Qaeda incinerating American.)
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To: Pokey78
"thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ... ass."

Perhaps this is the cause of all the backlash from the "GLBT" community?

23 posted on 01/15/2005 6:28:18 AM PST by Huber
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To: Pokey78

bump to save


24 posted on 01/15/2005 6:29:26 AM PST by borntobeagle
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To: G.Mason

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

This is the man who wrote, "How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not
Spill Your Drink," after all.


25 posted on 01/15/2005 6:29:43 AM PST by LibertarianInExile (NO BLOOD FOR CHOCOLATE! Get the UN-ignoring, unilateralist Frogs out of Ivory Coast!)
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To: Pokey78; TheBigB

O'Rourke ping . . .


26 posted on 01/15/2005 6:31:41 AM PST by BraveMan
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To: MEG33; Howlin; Miss Marple; JohnHuang2; Always Right; goldstategop; CedarDave; theDentist; ...

Dang, that's good stuff!


27 posted on 01/15/2005 6:32:13 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: anniegetyourgun

It is indeed!


28 posted on 01/15/2005 6:36:41 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: Pokey78; All

Anyone remember who's got the Republican Party Reptile ping list?


29 posted on 01/15/2005 6:36:58 AM PST by FreedomPoster
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To: xzins

Just great fun!


30 posted on 01/15/2005 6:39:24 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: anniegetyourgun

Excellent!!!!!!!!! On target!


31 posted on 01/15/2005 6:41:27 AM PST by Mfkmmof4
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To: TheBigB
The Tenth Commandment sends a message to all the jerks who want redistribution of wealth, higher taxes, more government programs, more government regulation, more government, less free enterprise, and less freedom. And the message is clear and concise: Go to hell.

PJ knocks another one out of the park and the jerks on their ass. Can we get a RPR Ping?

32 posted on 01/15/2005 6:41:58 AM PST by NeoCaveman (Quote the DUmmie, we got Roved)
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To: MEG33; P-Marlowe; Corin Stormhands; Revelation 911

Fun Ping (Thanks Meg)


33 posted on 01/15/2005 6:46:23 AM PST by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It!)
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To: LibertarianInExile
My brother resembled that remark. He went to Notre Dame in 1967 a preppy pre-med and came home in 1971 a hippie, SDS wannabe philosophy grad. Now he is an elder in his church, on the Board of Overseers for a Classical Christian School, loving husband and excellent father. There are thousands of men across America just like him. The crap they shoveled in college didn't live up to the expectations of the real world. P.J. got it, as did my brother.

P.J. simply writes with the PC filters off. I only wish GW would use this as his inaugural address. The strokes and heart attacks alone would probably take care about half of the problems in this country.
34 posted on 01/15/2005 6:49:39 AM PST by MKM1960
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To: FreedomPoster

Doh! He or she needs to ping all it's members, with a list.


I am on it.


35 posted on 01/15/2005 6:49:58 AM PST by Jet Jaguar (Civilization is an enormous improvement on the lack thereof. (O'Rourke))
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To: dubyaismypresident; don-o; Jim Robinson; Bob J; Angelwood; lawgirl; CheneyChick; TexasNative2000

So many jerks, so little time, eh?!?


36 posted on 01/15/2005 6:52:06 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Jet Jaguar; backhoe

We need a list of FR ping lists. Is there such a thing, somewhere?


37 posted on 01/15/2005 6:55:12 AM PST by FreedomPoster
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To: Pokey78

bttt


38 posted on 01/15/2005 6:57:20 AM PST by SeeRushToldU_So (UGA won! The SEC kicks the nation's butt in football.)
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To: The Right Stuff
...his book, "Eat the Rich"..

Bump for the commentary and his book.

39 posted on 01/15/2005 6:59:09 AM PST by VRW Conspirator (Respect your authorities...if you have any - Mark Twain)
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To: Pokey78

LOL bump ;-D


40 posted on 01/15/2005 7:01:04 AM PST by Right_in_Virginia
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