The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    jollyroger's picture

    Henry McCarty to William Koch: You plutocrat sonofabitch, let go of my soul or I'll tear out your scumbag heart and feed it to the pigs. Howard Hughes reports outrage in outlaw heaven.

    By jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:47am |

    It will come as no surprise that Billy the Kid is my earliest hero.  Thanks to Howard Hughes' movie The Outlaw, I was imprinted with recalcitrance at the age of 3, and it has stood me in good stead ever since.

    Therefor I am extra special primo outraged that William Koch, (the younger of the foul Koch duo) has come into possession of Billy's picture, for which he parted with two million blood drenched dollars (pocket change...)

    I confess that I am gobsmacked that Koch thinks he is the appropriate guardian of this sacred artifact, and certainly cannot fathom why he would want it.

    Billy would have shot him down without hesitation, seeing him instinctively as an oppressor of the people.

    I would more likely have expected Koch to collect Pat Garrett's picture.

     Meanwhile, a rich man who had the chops to appreciate and glorify Billy, Howard Hughes, is without peradventure spinning in his grave.

    I predict no good will come of this to Koch--look for Billy's ghost to pull a Jacob Marley on him, but with the variation that the visit will not be to deliver warning, but to drag Koch's soul to hell where it belongs.

    UPDATE: I have confused William with Charles Koch.  Billy, you can rest in peace, your picture seems to be in ok hands (given that it was not about to be donated to Reyes Tijerina.)

    Comments

    OK, fathom this Jollyroger. 

    It is not at all surprising that Koch would buy this, the only photo of a fabled outlaw.He could care less about Pat Garrett. Koch would probably try to rob Garrett of his sheriff pension if he had one. Koch would hire Billy in a heartbeat to keep guys like Garrett away from himself.

    What is big corporate business but legal robbery?

    Doesn't Billy look like a youthful Karl Rove, a man with a plan for screwing everyone but himself? Billy defended his way of life with a gun, and enforced his will on others, and felt the law did not apply to him, aren't those the quintessential traits of a Republican? Koch buying the photo kind of proves that point.

    It may also have been fantasies of the gunplay, admiration for a man who 'did it his way', the ideal to live by your own rules outside the law, the dream to just gun down opponents. and go down clutching your gun in a hail of bullets at the end.   Or, quite likely, the feeling that Billy was his true Soulmate that attracted the union busting, GOP supporting corporate magnate William Koch.


    by NCD on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 10:53am

    Billy was "automatic for the people".  First hand accounts say that he urged the hispanic villagers (who loved him) to stand up to the anglo ranchers.

    I suppose Garrett might qualify as a public employee, but he was,  after all non-union.

    That said, I am informed by compatriots at the lake that William is not the pig that David is, and I will do more research.  (I recall as a general matter that "the brothers" are cited as generous supporters of right wing causes.)

     


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:04pm

    Yes, you need to do more research.There are 4 Koch brothers. Like in many families of rich inheritance, they do not er, all get along, as it were.

    David and Charles are lhe ones who were driven to continue CEO ways and have recently become conservative libertarian activists. Fred and William are eccentric "why not enjoy the money Dad made for us" collector and philanthropist types. (Also rumor has always been Fred, the bachelo,r is gay.) If you go back. If you go back to pre-internet journalism, you will find lengthy stories on the 4 brothers of "vicious fight over the family riches, and they stopped talking to each other" type.


    by anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:04pm

    Well, bless us and splash us, this is potentially good news and a great relief.  If you follow the link to fdl, there is a comment that supports your evaluation of William, who I may well have unjustly accused.


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:30pm

    Further research, results of:

    Pros and cons.

    1. Graduated from MIT (pro)

    2. Appreciates top-shelf pussy (pro)

    3. Only political activism seems to be anti-nantucket sound wind farm (con, but he's not alone in this, eg. Kennedy clan opposes too....no one likes having their view spoiled)

    4. Graduated military academy (con)

    5. Has made up with David (con)


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:47pm

    VIVA Billy.

    I guess the only thing worse Billy could have done, aside from standing up for Hispanics, is supporting amnesty for them. Maybe the hard core Koch brothers would have Garret on the payroll after all to do their dirty work.


    by NCD on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 6:34pm

    Que vivan!


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:08pm

    I still love this song!

    When it first came out I hated it.

    As I grow older I realize we are all knock knock knockin on heaven's door! ha

     


    by Richard Day on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:23pm

    Take these guns away from me, indeed.  (Kristoferson might have been the best Kid out of Tyrone Power, Paul Newman and himself.)


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:33pm

    Does anyone know how to properly prounounce Koch.

    I mean does the name rhyme with roach?

    Or mock?

    Or maybe the 'c' is silent?


    by Richard Day on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:42pm

    I had a childhood friend who pronounced the same spelling as "cook"  crook, took  


    by Resistance on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:48pm

    Coke, like the contraction for cocaine.


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:48pm

    Oh.  I am informed that there is also a soft drink by this name-who knew?


    by jollyroger on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:55pm