This book offered a wealth of back round information that was very fascinating. There are many things about Congress that made one grasp a greater respect for their profession. Even though they only work 145 days a years there is an incredible amount of information that they have to sort out. In just one short week each congressman has to deal with about 275 items that are on the congressional calendar. They are assisted by their nine staff members. They are given voting cards that give brief overview of what is on each item. One that may have perceived congress as lazy will now see them as underpaid workers of the most powerful nation in the world. In regard to taxes it is interesting to see that ninety-five percent of the population is takers of the taxes. This means that only five percent of Americans pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits from the government programs. But does anyone really pay more? It can also be

my favorite part of this book is when P.J. says, "If a drug-free America is such a good idea, that 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?" O'Rourke is the sort of controversial man our society needs to keep our government from using too much power. From his take on politics to the government can be checked by the people if someone makes politics interesting as Mr. O'Rourke has done.

enemy itself. This and other programs like the "0/92" programs are nonsensical in the operation and or the protection of our nation. The "0/92" program is where the farmer does absolutely nothing and receives ninety-two percent of all the payments possible from the largest crop he could have grown. While we are on the topic of the federal budget one has to talk about Social Security where about thirty percent of the national budget is being spent. This is just small amount of what P.J. O'Rourke dives into throughout his lessons on government.

There were many significant themes that were discussed throughout Parliament of Whores. It covers everything from the mystery of government to the special interest groups that siphon money out of the Federal Budget. "Nation Busybodies" was a section about congress that shed light on all of the items that a congressman has to deal with. It was remarkable to see that each speaker only gets "One Minute" to share their views and to try and persuade the other congressman in the House or the Senate. The agenda of a congressman is an extremely busy schedule that covers so topics ranging from whether Puerto Rico should become a state or a nation all the way to veterans who were exposed to radiation. The section of "Protectors of a Blameless Citizenry" dealt with the Bureaucracy. The SAI or sudden acceleration incidents were a major deal that the NHTSA was forced to deal with. This shows how one is able to blame the car manufacturer in order to pay for the "human error" in stepping on the wrong petal. His Drug Policy is very upfront and did not seem to have a candy-coating like many politicians have wrapped it up to be. He kept a frank and what I see are realistic views on the matter of and drugs. He delves with the problem of racism and drugs and how there are many hysterias about drugs and the people who commonly use them. His views on drugs lead him

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1598
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)