Al Franken v. Kinky Friedman

What do Al Franken and Kinky Friedman have in common?

They are two of the best comedians I've had the pleasure of laughing at (or with). They are universally acclaimed for at least a portion of their comedic careers.

What separates Al Franken from Kinky Friedman?

Al has spent a lot of time expressing himself on a personal and political level, prior to his announcing he might announce he'll run for office. He also a movie coming out that we in Texas can go see! And a radio show we can all hear!

Kinky didn't really distinguish himself from his humor (more edgy/satirical than Franken's) before running for Governor of Texas. He relied on friends from all sides of the fence - including the Dixie Chicks - to get him on the ballot.

That's kind of cost Kinky a few steps in the race for governor, particularly because he dismisses people who look back on what he's said and ask what he means by his words. There are some remarks, particularly those made more than ten years ago, which are clearly "Colbert" in nature, and then there those made recently, which I posted about here. They're a little more, huh?

Now, I should repeat myself in that I held the somewhat honorary title of Elections chair (or something similar) for a county Green Party here in Texas. All the candidates were former Republican office holders (mayors, precinct chairs), except for one my age who was a freelance journalist. He refused to run a campaign, but the others did, they were all retired and looking out for their grandchildren as well as their own skin.

The main theme, or party platform: Cut out the corporations and take responsibility. This was in 2002, when we knew how well Clinton cozied up to the Big Corporations with his job-shuffling NAFTA and other supply-side incentives, and we knew how the Republicans were handling "the Golden Rule."

As John W. Dean said, a Goldwater conservative is considered liberal these days.

What's even more funny, when I was in college, in 2000 my more conservative friends (one of whom went on to clerk for Judge Priscilla Owen) were all supporting Bradley in the Primary. I was pulling for McCain, up until he relapsed and played lapdog for Rove. Bradley held a little more dignity.

So it should come as no surprise that I really like the idea of a true independent holding a major office. Indeed, Kinky seems bent on changing things to eliminate corporate interest as much as possible, supplanting it with people interest. And he drinks and smokes. And is friend of Willie Nelson, elderly drug offender. My kind of guy.

(Strayhorn is the Republicans' Lieberman. Well, no, Lieberman is the Republicans' James Carville on almost every vote lately. Strayhorn is to the Republicans what Lieberman is to Democrats of whatever they're venal politicians.)

Anyways, about that movie, Al Franken: God Spoke

In Texas, we can watch it at these places and times:

Houston: 10/27 - Angelika Film Center

Austin: 10/6 - Landmark Dobie


Dallas - 9/29 - Angelika Film Center

That's when the run starts, check your town for show times. I highly recommend checking out the website -- lots of great info, links to Al's books (want to know just how full of BS Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly are? Read Franken and laugh!), and a blog more entertaining than this one, with gems such as:

You can kind of see how the whole thing plays out just by looking at the splash screen that YouTube provides. There’s Al on the left, smiling. Then there’s this oofy guy on the right who looks like a thumb wearing a tie.

I don't know of any more short vids on Kinky - I'm watching the Governor's debate soon, I promise a report. You can listen to Kinky being interviewed by Alex Jones over on youtube, courtesy of the GCN Radio Network. It's about six parts long, and If Greg Palast recommends Mr. Jones, I'll give him a listen. Honestly, it's a great interview.

Anyways, here's a classic from Kinky's friend (and energy guy) Willie Nelson.

Austin City Limit Blues

Choose from over 1 million tracks for only 99¢ a song at iTunes

The Austin City Limits Festival is starting today. The festival will run all weekend.

I won't be there , though. I've got to stay here in Houston, and sleep and recuperate from travelling so much. I was in San Antonio last night, and Austin early this morning. Here in Houston yesterday and today, so you can imagine how i feel right now, road warrior that I am.

Last year I attended the ACL Festival (I lived in Austin). It was a great time: I bought five tickets on the second wave of ticket release, and my brother flew in from Florida to go with me, my fiance, one of my best friends, and my roommate. All the usual drama that occurs whenever my brother and I have gotten together this century occurred, and I almost kicked him out of my house.


(I really enjoyed Keane's performance.)

My fiance talked me out of being the brat little brother, and the weekend overall was incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed the Festival experience, except for the ever-present dust storm and the heat.

And one other thing almost threatened to ruin it for me.

It was my first ACL Festival, and I wasn't prepared for the commercialism of it all. I wrote an angry comment to the organizers or whoever got those things, i said they ought to change the name from "Austin City Limits" to "Austin City Suburbs," though perhaps "exurbs" would have been better.

For all the weirdness that is Austin, this great screwed-up state's Capitol, the festival in 2005 was overtly normal. To be fair the food booths were ppredominantlylocal, and non-chain. And not surprisingly, they weren't as overpriced as food booths tend to be.

Local coffee shop like Ruta Maya featured? Naw, Starbucks.
Local Texas Wine industry showcased Naw, Blackstone.
Local Micro brews proudly serving up true to roots Texas beer? Nopers, just the big boys.

How prominent was the booth selling lemonade to raise money for childhood cancer?
It was hidden near the kiddie area, almost behind a stage. Super-expensive mega brew beer was placed about twenty times more prominently and conveniently.


Now, of course it's relevant to ask if the problem was primarily funds (could struggling locals even afford to bid on a sponsorship?), and it could have been purely logistical -- what small company can handle the sheer load of a festival? I don't know. Because it's ACL, I have to give them a little leniency. AND a little nudge towards the bbetter path once in awhile.

If you want to hear the Festival from 2005, a selection of performances is available on iTunes:





Lyle Lovett played last year . . . He's always a highlight for me, whether it's at the ACL or at the Austin New Years Eve bash. If you gotta have an anthem in Texas, this is mine: