KINKY FRIEDMAN TAKES OVER THE WORLD–TRIBUTE ALBUM & HIS FRONT RUNNING CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

BY RICK GRANT rickgrant01@comcast.net Posted Sept 28, 2006

Kinky Friedman is a respected songwriter of witty ditties that have captured the imagination of many music lovers over the years. A group of famous musician have recorded a Kinky Friedman Tribute Album due out on Sept. 26, 2006, featuring Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yokem and other not so famous Texas musicians. Yokem is the only musician on the album not from Texas.

Today, Kinky is a busy man, relentlessly campaigning for Governor of Texas on the Why the Hell Not platform. Actually, Kinky is the front runner as an independent candidate. His non-politician approach and common sense platform have caught on with Lone Star voters, sick and tired of mealymouthed politicians supported by Big Oil and special interests.

To find out more information about Kinky’s present day activities and how the Tribute Album came about, I called him on his cell phone. Getting Kinky on his cell is harder than calling the President of the United States. I had to call to get his voice mail, identify myself, and wait until he’s connected.. This is how he screens his calls. Well, after five times, he finally picked up.
Since I’ve always liked Kinky’s music, his politically incorrect attitude, his love of fine cigars,(one of my vices) I was looking forward to speaking with him. He was very busy, but we did manage to chat for ten minutes, first about his Tribute Album, and then his run for Governor.

"Jimmy Perkins produced the Tribute Album and he called me about it to ask me who I thought should be on it. Did I like this person or that person. But, I really had nothing to do with it. I wrote those songs thirty years ago, and many of the musicians on the album are young Texas artists that I didn’t know. However, I was pleased that Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett were recording cuts. Of course, I was flattered that Jimmy was doing this project but I’ve been so busy running for Governor, I was out of the loop."

"When I decided to make a serious run for Governor, I quit touring and now I’m doing this full time. I have a real shot at winning. My message is resonating with ordinary Texans-- people who see what’s wrong and I’m telling them how to fix it. I’ve received a lot of support from other Texas musicians and non-Texas artists as well. Jimmy Buffett is coming to Texas for a big fund raising show, and he plans to have many famous artists with him," Kinky said.
Yes, Kinky’s ideals make sense. His wicked sense of humor that gave us Get Your Biscuits in the Oven, Sold American, They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore, Ride ‘em Jewboy, Homo Erectus, and may other classic Kinky Friedman songs are clever social commentary. He has taken his ideas and built them into a hopeful grass roots campaign.

The last independent governor of Texas was Sam Houston. Kinky’s Why the Hell Not platform simply states that Texas politics stinks. The parties sell themselves to the big donors, lobbyists control the legislature agenda, and the top fund-raising groups in the state are being indicted for money laundering. The same could be said of national politics.

I asked Kinky if he wins the Governorship of Texas does he have greater ambitions, say Kinky for President? "I’m not thinking that far ahead. I’ll wait and see what happens in Texas before I entertain any other political ambitions," he said.

So with his cigar firmly grasped in his teeth and cowboy hat as his signature look, Kinky goes forth with his ten reasons to elect him for Governor of Texas. They all make sense and are brilliantly simple solutions to Texas’ social ills. His tenth reason could be applied to any non-politician running for office–It’s time for Texas to Declare Independence from Politics-as-usual. Amen, brother. Excuse me while I light up my cigar.

RICK’S BLOG: COULD THE JONBENET MURDER CASE BE ANY MORE SCREWED UP?

BY RICK GRANT rickgrant01@comcast.net Posted 9/7/2006

District Attorney Mary Lacy’s incredible blunder spending mega-bucks bringing a delusional Mark Karr back to Colorado in business class, which included a champagne dinner, is another stupid mistake in a long list of police and DA’s incompetence involving this now ice cold case. In the beginning, just after the crime, the Boulder detectives let countless people tread through the crime scene, which was never properly secured. Never has a police force so blatantly ignored the basic rules of securing evidence. They were modern Keystone Cops.

More significantly, the police never throughly searched the house to find the body of JonBenet. It was only after over an hour that her body was found by her father, John Ramsey, who tampered with the crime scene by picking JonBenet up and carrying her upstairs. Clearly, the Boulder police bungled the case from the very start. Then, even when they had foreign DNA and a boot print from the scene that did not match anyone in the household or any of the relatives, the police focused on the Ramseys, hounding them unmercifully. It was as if the police were trying to frame the Ramseys by making the evidence point to them.

When the contingent of investigators from the DA’s office picked up Karr in Thailand with a media circus surrounding them, it quickly became apparent from Karr’s bizarre "confession" that he was a nut job. His relatives quickly notified the Boulder police that Karr was with them that Christmas. Even Karr’s parents’ neighbor said he saw Karr there that Christmas. Before Karr even got on the plane to travel back to the States, his story was falling apart. Yet, there he was enjoying every minute of his fifteen minutes of fame. I theorized he wanted to leave Thailand, but he couldn’t afford the plane ticket so he became a JonBenet murder suspect and got a free ride back to the States.

The question on everyone’s lips during this sorry episode was: Why the hell didn’t the DA, Mary Lacy get his DNA and compare it with the evidence sample before she had him sent back in style? Oh she had some lame excuse that he refused to give it in Thailand. Well, get a warrant and hold him down and take it- is what anyone with half a brain would have done. He was already in jail for having sex with an underage girl. They could have left him there while the test was completed. But nooo, Karr was obviously getting-off on the attention was treated like Mick Jagger on vacation. At that point, savvy observers, including me, were saying, "Ah yes, I know his DNA will not match?" And it didn’t. It was yet another embarrassing blow to the case that already had a long history of the police and DA’s screw-ups.

Patsy died in June thinking that this may be the guy. After her reoccurring struggles with cancer, the endless tabloid stories, and living under suspicion for all those years because of police stupidity, one could only feel grief for her loss and sorry for John. The evidence should have cleared the Ramsey years ago, but they were harassed by the Boulder police and media.
Indeed, this case is a classic example of what not to do in a murder investigation. By now, with this latest drama and the Karr fiasco, the case is so tainted by police and the DA’s misconduct, it may never be solved. Boulder DA, Mary Tracy should be fired for her role in this "Karr is Crazier Than A Mad Hatter" production starring the Boulder DA stooges.

Of course, now the case is back to square one–in the deep freeze. JonBenet's spirit cries out for justice. This little girl’s case deserves a blue ribbon panel of investigators to start from scratch on the case and find the real killer–not some creepy pedophile who fantasizes that he and JonBenet were in love. Now Boulder, Colorado will forever be known as the home of the dumbest police force and DA in America.