There comes a point when it is clear that a person has just lost it. In Rick Perry’s case, I think his ego is reaching critical mass, which could lead to God knows what kind of explosion. Yes, he has lost it. I know…. did he ever have it? Well, that is a debate for another day. Today we are getting a view of Perry’s ego that is truly astounding.





Surely you have heard by now about Kim Jong-un’s plans to bomb certain cities in the U.S.? The fact that one of those cities was Austin, TX puzzled a lot of us. Well, puzzle no more! Rick Perry knows exactly why Kim Jr. wants to blow Austin to smithereens – no, not because he hates SXSW – because of Rick Perry’s awesomeness. Here’s Perry tooting his own horn and bragging on “his” Texas:

“What I will suggest to you is that one of the reasons that Austin is put on the map is that he put very important American cities on the map. Economically, what has happened in Texas over the course of the last decade has made this city an epicenter for a lot of technology and a lot of economic development. And I think the individuals in North Korea understand that Austin, Texas is now a very important city in America, as do corporate CEOs and other people who are moving here in record number.” (Source)

Hold on there, pardner. While there has been a lot of economic development in Austin, there has also been a jump of over 10% in poverty levels of children aged 5-17 in more than a dozen school districts. The poverty rate of 28% has held steady since 2010 but Austin, even so, has the highest poverty rate among children in the entire state. In fact, among all residents of Austin, the poverty level is 23.6%. Not exactly an economic boom for all, is it? Young people aged 17-24 aren’t doing so well, either: the percentage of men that age living in poverty is 33.3% and for women it is even higher, at 42.1%.

The well-to-do are doing pretty darn good, though. Home sales in the Austin area have gone up, and the median price of those homes is over $188,000. Somehow I doubt that any of the nearly 140,000 folks who are on SNAP in the Austin area would be able to afford one of those pricey homes. In fact, the Austin area has a “food insecurity” rate of 16%. Thirty-six percent of those people live below the federal poverty level. This, in a population of 869,422. So, while there has been economic growth in Austin, it sure hasn’t trickled down.

Of course, Kim Jong-un probably doesn’t care about poverty. I mean, look at his own country. The percentage of children under 5 who are underweight – an indicator of a community’s nutritional status – is 20.6%. That and the fact that North Korea only spends 2% of their GDP on health care indicates that Kim Jr. doesn’t much care how healthy his people are as long as he keeps the collectives running.

So, no, Ricky, I don’t think that Kim Jong-un is jealous of your awesomeness. I’m guessing he picked Austin because he was told he had an extra missile so he threw a dart at a map of the United States and that’s where it landed. It had nothing to do with your policies, your smarmy attitude or your thick mane of hair… hang on. Have you seen Kim Jr.’s hair?! Good Lord, I think we’ve stumbled upon the real reason Austin is a target. Kim Jong-un wants Rick Perry’s hair. Well, gosh, let’s just send the kid a nice wig. Problem solved. Now, about those other cities…

T. Steelman is a life-long Liberal. She has been writing online about politics since 2007. She lives in Western Washington with her husband, daughter, 2 cats and a small herd of alpacas. How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is, after all, so poorly lit…