2006.09.25: September 25, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Malaysia: Writing - Malaysia: Humor: Election2006 - Friedman: Washington Post: Minnesota's Ventura campaigns for Kinky Friedman
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2006.09.25: September 25, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Malaysia: Writing - Malaysia: Humor: Election2006 - Friedman: Washington Post: Minnesota's Ventura campaigns for Kinky Friedman
Minnesota's Ventura campaigns for Kinky Friedman
During his Monday speech, Ventura offered Friedman advice about how to talk about race as a politician. Friedman has been accused of being a racist because he used racial epithets in satirical monologues and songs in the 1970s. "The first thing Kinky is going to have to learn is to curtail his sense of humor," Ventura said. Author, Musician, and candidate for Governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia in the 1960's.
Minnesota's Ventura campaigns for Kinky Friedman
Minnesota's Ventura campaigns for Kinky Friedman
Reuters
Monday, September 25, 2006; 10:09 PM
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Colorful former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura helped promote writer and musician Kinky Friedman's independent quest for the Texas governorship with speeches at Texas colleges on Monday.
Ventura, a former professional wrestler who now calls himself a professional surfer, received wild applause as he and Friedman addressed a packed auditorium at the University of Texas-San Antonio to begin a two-day tour of Texas schools.
Friedman's campaign manager is former U.S. Sen. Dean M. Barkley, who engineered Ventura's successful run for governor.
Recent media polls have Friedman running either second or fourth in the four-way race. Republican incumbent Rick Perry is leading the race, but polls also show his support thinning.
During his Monday speech, Ventura offered Friedman advice about how to talk about race as a politician. Friedman has been accused of being a racist because he used racial epithets in satirical monologues and songs in the 1970s.
"The first thing Kinky is going to have to learn is to curtail his sense of humor," Ventura said.
"Once I became governor, I was only allowed to make jokes against Slovaks, because Slovak is my nationality," said Ventura. "He has to learn that political correctness, unfortunately, rules in the public sector."
Friedman said he is feeling the heat over his past comedy work because he is running "without the blessing of the two-party system."
"The fact that they're going back 30 years and pulling out this stuff illustrates just what Jesse said," Friedman said. "This is the reason good people don't get into politics."
During his singing career, Friedman often used satire in such songs as "The Ballad of Charles Whitman," about a sniper who killed 15 people at the University of Texas Tower in 1966, "Ride 'em, Jewboy," a tribute to Holocaust victims, and "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Any More" which pokes fun at bigotry.
When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "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." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
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Story Source: Washington Post
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Malaysia; Writing - Malaysia; Humor; Election2006 - Friedman
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