Kinky Friedman at the Daily Beast. Oh god.
As a Jewish cowboy (or “Juusshh,” as we say in Texas), I know Rick Perry to be a true friend of Israel, like Bill Clinton and George W. before him. There exists a visceral John Wayne kinship between Israelis and Texans, and Rick Perry gets it. That’s why he’s visited Israel on many more occasions than Obama, who’s been there exactly zero times as president. If I were Obama I wouldn’t go either. His favorability rating in Israel once clocked in at 4 percent. Say what you will about the Israelis, but they are not slow out of the chute. They know who their friends are. On the topic of the Holy Land, there remains the little matter of God. God talks to televangelists, football coaches, and people in mental hospitals. Why shouldn’t he talk to Rick Perry? In the spirit of Joseph Heller, I have a covenant with God. I leave him alone and he leaves me alone. If, however, I have a big problem, I ask God for the answer. He tells Rick Perry. And Rick tells me.
So would I support Rick Perry for president? Hell, yes!
this kind if logic makes perfect sense in texas. they speak a different language down there. it probably starts to make sense after you live there for awhile, really.
sleep deprivation? believe anything? NO. Maybe logic deprivation? Live among folks who make no sense but keep talking, long enough, and pretty soon, you’ll lose your cvapacity to make sense or tell if someone else is doing so. And if it’s a DUTY to not make sense (or to pretend that your elders make sense, when they clearly don’t), well * * *.
But I don’t mean to malign Texans, here, or religious fundamentalists, or anyone else. Or to promote BDS.
I miss Molly Ivins. She would have put Perry back in his moron dispensationalist box.
“John Wayne” kinship. hahaha. Wow.
Drivin off the heathens, John Wayne style. Grrreat.
So this person has one and only one reason to support Perry — Perry’s stance on Israel. Yet Friedman ran against Perry for the governorship in 2006. Presumably, he offered Texans at least _some_ reason to oppose Perry in his favor. All those go by the board because of Perry’s Israel fanaticism. . . .
And also Friedman’s Israel fanaticism, to judge by this piece.
Well, this piece does raise the question in my mind of whether Friedman’s run for the governorship was just meant to split the anti-Perry vote. Was in effect pro-Perry, in other words.
Speaking of that 2006 gubernatorial election, why isn’t the fact that Perry only got 39% of the vote — as a Republican running in Texas, for God’s sake — considered enough to disqualify him for any presidential run?
If the only (or even primary) reason you will vote for a candidate for the American Presidency is because of how he feels about a foreign country, then you are no longer fit to be an American and should move to that foreign country.
my thoughts exactly Woody.
RE: “There exists a visceral John Wayne kinship between Israelis and Texans, and Rick Perry gets it. That’s why he’s visited Israel on many more occasions than Obama…” ~ Friedman
SEE: Governor Perry’s trip to Israel in question ~ WeAreAustin(dot)com, 11/23/09
SOURCE WITH VIDEO (09:51) – link to weareaustin.com
A bit weird. The highest priced room in King David Hotel of Jerusalem is 690 for two people, plus 20 for internet. How 4 security guys can run the bill of 17,000 in 5 days? Mind you, a private donor paid for the gov and his wife, so “taxpayer costs” are only for the security detail.
Once I spend a few days in an actual Presidential Suite of a hotel: there was master bedroom with full size bath, a bodyguard room with 5 narrow beds, full size kitchen and a bath, living room of some 1000 sq ft with a lavatory and a large deck, and finally a den/office if you were inclined to do some reading or paperwork. To get to the master bedroom from outside you would have to cross the living room AND the bodyguard room. (I actually paid under 30 dollars per night, and there were but two guests for all that space, but if King David Hotel has similar accommodations, it would presumably cost more, and who knows how to split the bill between the donor funding the governor and the bodyguard.)
And the breakfast is included. So how those guys could spend more than 600 dollars per day per person on food? Because pigs and shrimp had to be flown in from Texas?
You are assuming the Perry cortege dealt directly with the hotel. I imagine there was a least one middle man outfit involved – a ‘specialist travel agency’, for example. These outfits don’t donate their expertese you know, they have a profit to make from the deal. A few layers of middlemen can quickly rack up significant overheads. Heck, its only the US taxpayer that’s paying for all this, so what’s the big deal?
“God talks to televangelists, football coaches, and people in mental hospitals” ???
And Rick Perry?
And if Rick Perry is the next Christian version of Ayatollah Khomeini, why not support him?
Or better yet, why not join televangelists, religious football coaches and Rick Perry in one of those mental hospitals?
And stay there?
The world is to soft on religion/superstition.
Wasn’t that same John Wayne Michele Bachmann’s kinship of a kind?
KF – A—- from El Paso
link to youtube.com
I think what I find most amusing and enlightening — there’s virtual continuity between Clinton to Bush to Obama where it comes to giving Israel maximum latitude.
So what makes Obama so different from Clinton, Bush and Perry? I’m guessing it’s only skin deep, as it were.
Also, and I know it’s totally irrelevant but… “Kinky?” Please tell me his parents didn’t actually name him that.
I’ve heard Kinky Friedman sound reasonable before.
This isn’t that time.
What a putz.
>> “I have a covenant with God. I leave him alone and he leaves me alone. If, however, I have a big problem, I ask God for the answer. He tells Rick Perry. And Rick tells me.” <<
Lol….
Well, considering I had NO IDEA WTF Kinky Friedman was, I imagined that his whole rap was satire, a comedy bit.
Then I read annie’s initial comment.
(Yes, annie, I read your stuff, even if I DO think most DC politicians are sluts, emoticons are ridiculous, and some jackass moderator here blocks some of my comments for no other reason than PURE SPITE.)
And I thought to myself “This Kinky dude is SERIOUS????”
Well, in a world containing fans of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Hagee, rap music, cross dressing, liver & onions, and finding a terrorist’s passport in the rubble of the twin towers, I suppose ANYTHING is possible.
Looks like Kinky has a dual loyalty. I wouldn’t be surprised if his primary loyalty is to Israel. If that is one of the reasons he supports this king of the executions then it is certain that his first loyalty is to Israel. No wonder he is called “Kinky.”
Is this the Kinky Friedman who writes the crappy books?
He’s the Kinky Friedman that looks like he stepped out of a Mel Brooks movie with a Jewish cowboy for hero; also the same Kinky Friedman Imus adores; they like the same big cowboy hats and belt buckles. They pretend Imus’s wife is a shiksa.
Imus?
Imus hosts a morning US cable TV show daily: “Imus In The Morning.” He’s been around for decades, first making his mark as a disc jockey on Radio. He regularly has on Israel Firsters & tosses them velvet glove questions & never follows up their hack responses with good obvious questions; instead he mumbles how he doesn’t know anything & returns to frivolous banter with his stage cronies, including his stock comedians. One of his regulars, Bernie, is actually informed, intelligent, and a good speaker–but Imus keeps Bernie on a very short leash regarding anything touching on US foreign policy in the ME concerning Israel.
>> Imus hosts a morning US cable TV show daily: “Imus In The Morning.”
Don “nappy-headed hos” Imus
Yep, eljay, that’s him!
Yes, RoHa, he is the guy who writes the mystery novels. He started out as the leader of a group called “The Texas Jewboys” in the 70s. They made some nice albums.
I think the guy can be very funny sometimes, but his politics can be right wing from what I remember from the Don Imus radio program, where he was (is?) a frequent guest. I didn’t know he was into the pro-Israel thing. Too bad.
I think that like the segment quoted above, Republicans will make a campaign issue of what they call Obama’s poor relationship with our good friend and ally Israel. I have read the many Democrats are afraid that these GOP attacks will cost the Dems and the President votes plus money. These Dems are pressuring O to back down.
I think it is not going to be pretty. I am afraid that O will back down, go Bushier-than-Bush on the issue ( isn’t that his modus operandi?) and set back the I/P cause by showing that the executive can be as beholden to the lobby as the Congress.
I hope I am wrong.
We sure got some crazy fools running for office in this great country of ours.
Yeah, it’s tough. I’m waiting for someone to propose a horse be elected to Senate. Anything for a bit of sanity.
“On the topic of the Holy Land”
There’s nothing “holy” about this land. Stop believing in Santa-like fairy tales! Because if you stop believing these absurdities the land would reveal itself for what it is, belonging to someone else that you have wronged and stolen from. Honestly…
he is also the kinky friedman who’s campaign slogan when he ran for governor of texas after bush was “CAN’T BE THAT HARD”. It kinda made me like him. His music is so so, he is part of the Austin scene.