[This is the text of Gov. Rick Perry's address to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington DC yesterday, December 7]

It is an honor to be with you today and to share my thoughts on faith, foreign policy and the free State of Israel.

As we gather today, I am struck by the coincidence that two of the American citizens being unlawfully detained abroad today are Jewish: Alan Gross in Cuba, and Warren Weinstein by al Qaida in Pakistan.  In both cases their offense was spreading political and economic freedom to better the lives of less advantaged people around the globe.

The repressive Castro regime should not be rewarded with increased tourism while Mr. Gross languishes in prison, and Pakistani authorities should clearly understand the significance of rescuing Mr. Weinstein from terrorist elements within their borders if they value the foreign aid they seem to take for granted. 

We have an Administration in Washington today whose foreign policy is an incoherent mess. They embolden our adversaries while isolating our allies.

What’s the difference between a disaster and an election in New Orleans?

The buses run during an election.

Why isn’t New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin worried about all the dead people being found in Katrina’s aftermath?

Because they’ll keep right on voting anyway.

Tasteless? Here’s what really tasteless: Cleaning up New Orleans physically without cleaning it up politically. Not draining New Orleans’ political cesspool of organized crime and corruption. Not evacuating Mayor Ray Nagin and every city official and police officer on the take before they get their greasy hands on all those billions of taxpayer dollars to rebuild the place.

“Aeschylus and America” is an essay I wrote for a book edited by Rod Martin and released this week, Thank You, President Bush. It is available at Amazon and I encourage you to get a copy. This is a lengthy essay, which may be easily read by clicking on “printer-friendly format” in the top right corner and printing a hard copy. It is a summation of my thoughts on America’s recent history and the choice America faces this November.


AESCHYLUS AND AMERICA
Chapter Eight of Thank You, President Bush, Los Angeles: World Ahead Publishing, September 2004.

Includes the following sections:

Aeschylus and Homer
Aeschylus and Neal Armstrong
Getting Drunk
Getting Sober
The Evil Eye
Terrorism As a Pathology of Envy
Liberalism As a Fear of the Evil Eye
The Masochism of Liberals
The Pathology of Bush-Hatred
Aeschylus and George Bush

I'm writing this after attending an event that turned out to be one of the most moving evenings I've ever had.

I had the honor and privilege last Saturday night (11/12) of attending The Basic School Instructor Battalion 236th Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Greater Richmond Convention Center with Corporal Kelsey DeSantis.

I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn't forget. Something I could tell my friends about. What I didn't know was how moved I would be by the whole experience.

I've always been very vocal about my support of our Armed Forces. I've always felt like they offered us the opportunity to live our lives freely without the fear that so many other nations have to endure still to this day. And, they do it without asking for anything in return. I had this very feeling walking into this dinner. So, to say I was stoked to be there would be more than accurate.

[This was originally in To The Point for last year, July 4, 2004. It is just as apt for 2005.]

July 4th is Freedom’s Birthday. My suggestion is, amidst the fireworks and barbeques and flag-waving fun - all of which is great - that you take the time to feel good about America.

Put aside your worries and concerns, your frustrations and fears about what’s wrong with America. For one day, forget the negative - put it all in a zip-lock bag, hide it in the back of the freezer, and pretend it doesn’t exist.

One reason is that for all your worries about America’s culture and morality - you and all your fellow conservatives can feel good about your country. Liberals can’t. One of the defining characteristics of leftie-liberals is an inability to feel truly proud of their country - proud to the bone.

You cannot be a liberal without feeling apologetic and embarrassed over being an American. You cannot be a conservative without lacking any such embarrassment or compulsion to apologize at all.

Being an American is simply the coolest thing in the world. Wherever I have traveled in the world - it’s over 180 countries now - whenever someone asks me, “Where are you from?”, it’s always such a thrill to answer, “America - I’m an American.”

It’s summer, which means summer vacation, which means for some of you buzzing off to a distant time zone and getting wigged out on jet lag. For business travelers, jet lag can translate loss of mental acuity into loss of an important deal. For government folk, it can translate into failed negotiations or embarrassing misstatements to a foreign press.

I’ve used a five-step jet lag avoidance method for some years now. I’ve given it to a number of corporate CEOs, diplomats, Capitol Hill staffers, Congressmen and Senators. They tell me it works. It works for me. Here it is and I trust it will work for you.