January 19, 2005: Headlines: COS - Malaysia: Writing - Malaysia: Humor: Election2006 - Friedman: Houston Chronicle: RPCV Kinky Friedman, the best-selling author, country singer and friend of stray dogs, next week will officially toss his ten-gallon hat into the ring for the 2006 Texas governor's race
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January 19, 2005: Headlines: COS - Malaysia: Writing - Malaysia: Humor: Election2006 - Friedman: Houston Chronicle: RPCV Kinky Friedman, the best-selling author, country singer and friend of stray dogs, next week will officially toss his ten-gallon hat into the ring for the 2006 Texas governor's race
RPCV Kinky Friedman, the best-selling author, country singer and friend of stray dogs, next week will officially toss his ten-gallon hat into the ring for the 2006 Texas governor's race
RPCV Kinky Friedman, the best-selling author, country singer and friend of stray dogs, next week will officially toss his ten-gallon hat into the ring for the 2006 Texas governor's race
Friedman plans to shake up the 2006 governor's race
The Texas icon envisions a return to cowboy days
By JON HERSKOVITZ
Reuters News Service
DALLAS - Kinky Friedman, the best-selling author, country singer and friend of stray dogs, next week will officially toss his ten-gallon hat into the ring for the 2006 Texas governor's race, his campaign said Tuesday.
Friedman will announce his bid to run as an independent on Feb. 3 near the Alamo, from a hotel at which former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt founded the Rough Riders.
Kinky for Governor
Hatch Show Print for Texas Monthly
Friedman is known for songs such as Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed and books including Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned.
The humorist however, is deadly serious about his campaign to unseat current Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican who succeeded President Bush.
"I have achieved a lot of my dreams in life and I want to see that young Texans achieve some of theirs," Friedman said in a telephone interview, adding, "I want to be governor because I need the closet space."
Friedman said the main priorities in his campaign will be reforming the state education system, adding safeguards in a judicial process that makes Texas the nation's leader in capital punishment and establishing a peace corps for the state.
Plus, he wants "to fight the wussification of Texas."
"I am determined to get back to a time when the cowboys all sang and their horses were smart," he said.
Friedman may hope to borrow a page or two from the campaign books of other celebrity candidates such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura, the former pro wrestler who ran as an independent to become governor of Minnesota.
Political observers said the Friedman campaign will be entertaining, but it will be hard for an independent to win in Texas, where every major statewide office is held by a Republican.
Friedman has said he expects his campaign to be unconventional, irreverent and star-studded. He knows it will be tough to win in the heavily Republican state, but he thinks he can win votes from people fed up with bland politicians.
"We hope the people of Texas are going to reject the choice of paper or plastic," he said.
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." |
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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Story Source: Houston Chronicle
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