FROM OUR INBOX
50 years in his ridiculous Baltimore-themed movies, “What we lack in sense, we make up for in nonsense.”) It saddens me to see Baltimore portrayed as nothing but a failure. It has its successes where more successful cities have failed. (Try getting a decent crab cake in Silicon Valley or a parking spot in Manhattan or a better ballpark anywhere in the world.) In fact most of Baltimore is a triumph of ordinary people making the best of devastating political policies outside their control – bad economic policies, bad urban renewal policies, bad social service policies, bad drug and criminal justice policies, and the inevitable huge corruption that comes from having a One Party political system. We first met Mr. O’Rourke when our foundation brought him to Indianapolis to speak some 30 years ago. He has put together a great magazine. – Craig L., Indiana Policy Review P.J. O’Rourke comment: Thank you, Craig. I remember that visit to Indy. It must have been about the time when the Indiana Policy Review was founded in 1989. I had a great time. And you do great work. In case readers don’t know what IPR is, let me quote a line from your Wikipedia entry: “The institute supports policy positions rooted in individual liberty, personal responsibility, private property rights, free-market principles, and limited government. It explicitly does not
Re: Our Newest Readers Weigh In
Glad to have your [AMC Daily] letter back in circulation. We need to stay abreast of the various situations that are bringing us to the edge of the cliffwith those pre-engineered economic moves designed to crash us into the back woods with no room for gardening, etc... I remember being in Baltimore back in the 1950s when my Coast Guard cutter was in the shipyard for repairs to replace some bent hull plates. Baltimore looked like its original colonial self in the original streets. It is a shame that the city has been neglected and dumped into the trash can with all those rats. Does one have to be a jackass to play footsie with “them thar” rats? – Peter C. P.J. O’Rourke comment: Peter, first let me compliment you on your lead paragraph. You have taken the “mixed metaphor” and raised it to a high art form! Secondly, concerning Baltimore... I’m not sure if a jackass would be up to the job. Considering the size of some of those rats, one might have to be a tiger or a lion. But I still love Baltimore, just like you did back in the ‘50s. I lived there for a few years, 1969- 1971. And to this day I consider myself to be at least an honorary “Baltimoron.” (And we’re not called “Charm City” for nothing. As John Waters has been pointing out for more than
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August 2019
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