Issues with Issues. TX Guv, Money and people flowin'

Have I been too hard on Kinky?

Really, now, I got thinking about it. because I don't want to procrastinate, and the election really gets under way in the next few weeks...

On the issues, Chris Bell and Kinky Friedman are very similar in their positions. They both want a cleaner Texas in both the Environmental and Political sense, both want to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats on major issues, both are opposed to the "Trans-Texas Corridor." The Greens don't appear to have a gubernatorial candidate this cycle, at least not posted to their website.

Rick Perry has the party-line Republican stance on issues and Strayhorn hasn't posted a stance on the issues on-line. Both are in support of toll-roads, and largely pushing Corporate interests are and disguising them as the people's interests. This is the undue influence of Special Interests their opponents speak of.

James Werner, the Libertarian candidate, is even further off that "Big Corporation need more freedom to gauge us," meme. He and Kinky are the only to list immigration as issues, and Werner is the only Pro-Immigration (free borders) candidate.

Check them out. Who do you think you'll vote for? Would you prefer instant Run-off Voting?

IRV was a big point of the Green Party back when I was involved in the Bexar County Chapter in 2000. Think about it. With the current set-up, you literally are afraid to vote your conscience for fear of "throwing away" your vote and giving the race to the one candidate you hate the most. IRV allows you to vote for your top choice, and then for the safety as well. . .if our vote is our voice, don't we all want to be heard?

With all the talk of NAFTA, free-trade and secure borders, (meaning: free flow for money and wealth, no flow for human capital) it's important that we think about the incentives that drive people. I'll have a more cogent thought later, but I wanted to pass this on:

Over the Texas Green Party's Site, they're hosting a Flash animation, Who Rules the World? that was put up a few years ago, I believe.

It raises an important question about the corrupting power of money, and the influence that has over politics. Think about it when you consider the practices, in China or elsewhere, of an old-money corporation such as Wal-Mart versus a new-money corporation such as Google.

Take a moment, after, to reflect on how small businesses get treated.

Then think about how the U.S. Congress treats the two companies. Wal-Mart and Google.

I was going to post this awhile back, but I got too busy procrastinatin'

I'll start by saying that I was pleased as pudding when Kinky Friedman announced he'd run for Governor. I like Kinky, and think Texas should have someone in office who can play music and write comedy. I also don't hold personal religious beliefs as a criterion for a candidate.

PLUS: He loves animals.

Problem was, and still is, Kinky doesn't have much of a platform. Not that the Actual platforms offered are all that good, but you know what I mean. Lazy fare ain't what we need in Texas right now.

Almost all of his campaign is Kinky talking shit about the other candidates. The rest is wisecracks that evade the issues. Again, not better than the rest, not quite not worse.

If you only watched mainstream media, you wouldn't even know that a Democrat was running, since the media only reports on the circus.

Then he appeared on Scarborough Country and said the dreaded words: "[Lieberman] is Pro-Israel and liberals are not." Watch it yourself. Also, if you're curious, check out Lamont's and Lieberman's ad campaigns so far, and see how wrong Buchanan is again.

Part of the problem with his attempt there is that over on his website, he and his campaign manager are pointing to Lamont's victory as a sign that people want change. Kinky, what kind of change is happening, exactly, and how do you fit in?

Here's a clip of Kinky being funny, but I don't get it. If you know what he means by the phrase, clue me in. Something about the death penalty, but what?


More on the Democrat's candidate, Chris Bell, and the other independents later.