http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...ack=1&cset=true

Let me start off by saying that I was against the invasion of Iraq before it started. I marched in anti-war rallies back in March 2003 and again this past fall.

I was very dissappointed in how the Dixie Chicks career seemed to have taken a nosedive right after their commetn about being ashamed Bush was from Texas.

What are your thoughts?

I was a big fan, but now they seem to be completely out of control. I'm not real keen on artists abusing their celebrity to espouse political views. I spend money to listen to their music! If I want politics, I'll go watch the talking heads on the news channels! :pullhair:

Since they said that I have bought all their albums. (never owned any before) :thumbsup:

My husband is over in Iraq as I post this. I have mixed feelings on the war, but my views on the Dixie Chicks has never changed. I didn't like them then, dont like them now. She has a right to her opinion, but to air it publicly in another country was downright disrepectful. It was like spitting in our soldiers faces, regardless if that is what she meant or not. The title to their new album just drives home the fact to me that they really dont care about thier fans or anybody. My opinion, take it for what it's worth.

Thank you all for your civil responses. I know that topics like this can get very heated.

My personal opinion. I don't think Natalie was trying to be a politician when she made that comment. I think she was just stating her opinion when asked about Bush. I wonder if the response would be the same if she made that comment today with Bush's approval ratings being so dismally low.

I don't mean to offend anyone but I am embarassed by the Bush administration. If you look at how a lot of the international community view us, it isn't pretty.

I agree, I dont think Bush or his administration have handled this at all well. Like I said before I am torn. My husband and I believe in serving our country, but we also believe that we were lied to. As for Natalie and the girls, I dont think the backlash would be so bad if it happened now instead of 3 years ago.

And I want to thank brave persons like your husband for serving our beautiful country. His courage and service are very much appreciated.

I think they have a right to an opinion just the same as anyone else. Believe me, if I had any kind of celebrity status I would be sharing my views too. Just because you're famous doesn't mean you stop being human. You still have thoughts & feelings to express.

I was against the war from the beginning. I do support the troops. I respect their right to their beliefs. I don't want them to come into harm's way. Though, unfortunately, many have. I do pray for them. As for the President. I'll just say I don't agree with his methods or how he & his administration have handled things. I don't want to get into a debate, so, I will just leave it at that.

Thank you, it is when strangers like you and others tell me thanks that I remember why we enlisted in the first place.

Wow, I heard she said that, but I didn't know it went so far as a boycott. Funny, I'm actually listening to the new album right now, so when I saw this I was like Whoa... weird. :blink:

Anyway, I liked their music before and like it now. Natalie can think whatever she wants, IMO.

I loved them then, still love them! I admire our military personnel and we have to put the blame where it belongs, with Bush and his administration. They have absolutely every right to say what they wish, wherever it is. That's why the armed forces exist, to make sure we have the freedom to express our views...they just have a bigger stage than I do! LOL.

With this new album, I am a bigger fan now! I respect them so much for sticking to what they said and believe and not being cowed by the people who don't believe in others expressing their opposing views and using economic pressure to try and make them apologize. Unfortunately, too many people do cave in. The Chicks didn't! Chicks Rock!! :bounce:

All I can say to the Dixie Chicks is :restinpeace:

I think they were unfairly made the target for people to vent, in the beginning of the war anybody that disagreed was labeled...the people that did the labeling felt better, but it absolutely did nothing to change anything...

One of the first consequences of war is....Truth. Scary.

I think people freaked out over so relatively little, it was stupid. Remember, all that started it was that Natalie said "Just so you know, we're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas." This comment didn't phase me in the least, and I'll tell you why.

I lived in England when I was a kid, in the 80's. My dad was in the Air Force -- I was actually born there and we moved back for four more years when I was 9. I went on a lot of school and Girl Scout field trips from one end of the country to the other. When we went to, say, a store or a restaurant and the people there realized we were Americans, invariably one of the first things out of the Brits' mouths was "What state are you from? Are you from Texas?" (And it always irked me because on the inside I was all "There's 49 other perfectly good states, you know." In fact, among us Air Force kids, home-state rivalries developed. Plus, if I said I was from Virginia, many Brits didn't have a concept of where that was: Texas, California, New York and Florida were the biggies that they were interested in.)

Not only that, but there were a few occasions (mainly field trips to London) where we'd be pegged as Americans and instantly get an earful -- and it was never good -- about our president (Reagan, at the time). It was pretty comical, 12-year-old American girl scouts getting the third degree about a guy they hadn't voted for (and never could vote for). :lol:

Now fast forward to the Dixie Chicks' situation. War is looming, it's the topic of the day, I'm sure everyone and their brother has been interviewing them and pointing out their Texas connection to the president. It feels no different than me saying "I'm ashamed that Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell are from Virginia," or "I'm proud that Elliott Yamin is from Virginia."

They didn't threaten the president or even wish him harm: they expressed -- as they have every right to anywhere on this planet, or else the whole idea of being an American is rendered kind of pointless, IMO, if you can't feel free to speak your mind, even if it involves the president: he's not a king, after all -- that they didn't particularly care for a fellow Texan. End of story.

Or it should have been, because I do think boycotts, CD destruction rallies and death threats over it? Silly overreaction at best, and at worst far more repugnant than anything they said.

YMMV, of course, which is the beauty of this country. :)

I liked them way back when. However after the comment that was made during an overseas concert, I have boycotted them since. Just disrespectful. However, we are entitled to our opinions. So I will leave it at that. God Bless and God keep our men and women safe!

I didn't follow much. I remember hearing the comments about Texas.

I also remember what followed and was it another country singer (Whose name slipped my mind.) that had backgrounds on his concerts of pictures of Natalie with Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden, shaking hands, kissing, etc. Calling them terrorists, which angered me more than anything.

You know, I am thankful for the servicemen. I however am not thankful for Bush. This is a free country. Besides didn't Pat Robertson get away with saying someone should assasinate a leader of another country?!?!

Yeah that's bullcrap.

Beautifully stated. Applause. :clap:

I wonder if I should start a poll on how Elliott viewers see Bush....hmmm.

I'm not a DC fan, but I believe in free speech. That's for celebrities, non-celebrities, in this country, and abroad. Free speech is free speech.

I do wish that people would stop saying Bush is from Texas, however. He's from Connecticut. He just moved to Texas to advance his political career.

I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for anyone who serves our country which includes the military and people who aren't afraid to speak up. I don't understand the shut up and sing mentality that grips so many people. If I had a platform to speak like the Dixie Chicks have had and Bruce has had, I would be remiss if I didn't get some dialogue going. They are not saying that you must agree with them (believe me I know how many Bruce fans disagree with him). They're just saying Blind Faith in any leader is misplaced. Of course, this is easy for me to saybecause I happen to agree with both the Chicks and Bruce.

Check out Bruce's site for an amazing track "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live". He re-wrote lyrics to include commentary on this admin's response to Katrina.

Anyway, love the new Chicks Cd.

I'm not really into country music, so I probably wouldnt buy a Dixie chicks album anyway...but I have to say, Freedom of Expression "Free Speech" is one of the Freedoms guaranteed in the Bill Of Rights. If the soldiers in Iraq are there so the people of Iraq can have freedom of speech, and other freedoms, then WHY cant Americans, including celebrities, have the same rights?! Why should Natalie, or any of us, have to censor our thoughts or feelings? I certainly feel that the Bush administration lied to us about the reasons for going to war(WMMD...never found!)
and the war just seems to be dragging on and on with more deaths(both of soldiers and civilians) with No real plan for when we plan to leave...I certainly support the troops who are there doing what they have to do, but I do Not support the reasons for being there. We should be doing more to help fellow Americans here at home! (Like the folks in New Orleans).

honestly....i wasnt a fan before the incident...and i still am not a fan.....i only like their song Goodbye Earl.

I am a country music fan (though I like a variety of genres as well), but I am not a fan of theirs at all! They used to be just ok to me several years ago (when I was younger I might add), but now they completely get on my nerves! Their "comeback" has only made it worse. I know many are, but I would not support them by purchasing their cd <_<

They were just expressing an opinion and let's face it, with politics, the majority of everything is an opinion. Should we have gone to War in Iraq? I say no, but my other friend says yes. Some people think President Bush is the greatest in American History while others think he is an embarrassment to the world as leader. These women should not have been penalized for speaking their minds. I know there is the issue brought up about pushing the limits of Freedom of Speech and common respect towards a President, but think about it; leaders like Gandhi and Dr. King spoke words and employed passive resistance that was considered to be counter-cultural. Imagine if people like them who were leaders and pioneers for the rights and quality of life of the oppressed simply remained quiet and never expressed their opinion due to fear and rejection. I admire The Dixie Chicks for standing up for what they believe in.

I think their fans overreacted. I oppose the war and generally don't like music to get too political, but I don't think they crossed the line. It made me respect the Dixie Chicks more because they stood up, and they didn't apologize when people tore them down. I think other bands/artists like Green Day (who I like) and Kayne West have said much worse things actually directed at Bush and not only the war, but their fans didn't ditch them. It's just country music fans are such "purists" and rednecks.
I LOVE the Dixie Chicks, they are the only country group that I can listen to non-stop. (I normally dislike country music) Their new album rocks, and they appeared on Yellowcard's new album for the song "How I Go" which is such a beautiful song (also it helps that their voices blend very well, unlike Kat and Meatloaf)
Anyway, Dixie Chicks are great.

Well, I personally believe in the power of boycotts -- and the right of consumers to make a decision to purchase or not any product based on whatever criteria they set. So, I don't blame anyone who chose NOT to buy their album b/c they didn't agree with them. I don't buy Toby Keith's or Charlie Daniel's music b/c I don't like their politics, either.

However, the death threats and calling them traitors was most definitely NOT okay. Demanding that their music NOT be played was wrong, too. You can't support freedom of speech only when you agree with that speech. I don't call radio stations to complain when Toby Keith songs come on -- I just change the channel. I don't see why someone couldn't do that with the Dixie Chicks.

I'm a big Dixie Chicks fan myself. Love their music and love them for sticking to their guns. It takes guts to do it -- especially when getting threats. But, you gotta stand up for what you believe. And, what is the point of sending our soldiers to fight (and possibly die) if we have to give up our right to freedom of speech and other civil liberties here at home? Makes no sense to me.

People shouldn't boycott artists just because of their political beliefs. No one boycotted Green day or Kayne West, it's just that country purist think all country musicians have to be pure rednecks. People should buy albums if they like the artist's music, not if they share political beliefs. I know many people, including my best friend (though she doesn't only like country music), who supports the war, but still likes dixie chicks because of their great songs. I think the country fans definately overreacted, the Dixie Chicks have a right to say whatever they want and I'm glad their sticking to it. I think they are very brave by standing up like that and putting their career on the line, and you have to give them credit for it whether you agree or disagree, it's still their right, and their music is still great.

Despite what my username may imply, i am not really a DixieChicks fan, just a fan of little four legged doxies. LOL

But i thought the DixieChicks were slammed a bit too hard for their beliefs. I really hate to suggest this, but it seems to me they were slammed harder because they are female. Why is it ok for Kanye West to do what he did on the Katrina coverage? No one boycotted him. He was heralded as a hero by listeners after that.

There are many singers against this war, and yeah against Bush. I think those gals took a very unfair beating. And i wont be a part of things like that.

Yes, I also feel they were being totally disrespectful of our young men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day so we can enjoy all the freedoms of this country

Except that saying what they want is part of "enjoying freedoms of this country." If they are fighting for these freedoms then you have to allow people to use them even when you don't like it. Whats the point in having those freedoms or fighting for them if they aren't real?

I have tickets to the Dixie Chicks concert in D.C. I kills me that so much fuss was made over this. They did not say, "I hate the U.S., soldiers, Americans...so on and so on. They said that they didn't like Bush. What if they said they did not like Gore, Clinton, or Kerry. Would it have been the same thing? Fine...boycott. I am boycotting right now. The radio stations here will not play Dixie Chicks' songs. I find that crazy since they will play artist that have .... murdered, cheated on spouses, robbed, abused drugs and alcohol, and had other crimes committed by them, aired on the radio. What they did was not illegal. Now I have other people telling me that I can not listen to them on the radio. This is unfair.

I was a big fan before the 'incident.' But you just don't go overseas and diss your President - a total lack of respect for the office. You don't have to like the man, but it is like dissing your country. People overseas don't see a difference in the 2. If she had done it in outside of a concert venue, I doubt anybody would give a s..t what yet another singer had to say politically.

Honestly, I don't care for the Dixie Chicks anyway. I don't like Natalie Maines voice at all. I can tolerate 'Earl' because it's funny.

That said, I don't care for what they did, because they did it in England and not here. If they made their statements on home soil, then I would at least respect them for putting their money where their mouth is. I think all the CD destroying that went on in it's aftermath was stupid, because I don't feel this is the way to make statements. If you burned or destroyed your CD what did that do to them? Nothing. As for anything new, you either want to buy it or you don't. It's that simple.

As for the lack of air play in it it's wake, they are going to gather NEW fans because of that and still sell records. Their new album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country chart. These women are not hurting for anything.

I hear a lot of discussions regarding the backlash against them ranging from the 'conservative' country fans (Geeze, ALL of them can't possibly be conservative), to the fact that they are 'women with an opinion'. It's a mixed backlash.

I think that three years after the fact, a song called 'I'm Not Ready To Make Nice' is beating a horse to death. Geeze, be over it already. I am.

Someone in a previous post said something like, "What if Clinton or Gore had been the President? It would be a whole different story". True, but regardless of who the President is...if you wanna make comments that allude to "I am embarrassed to be American or whatever...", don't do it in a foreign country. I guarantee that some of the people in that audience were sitting there saying, "Just sing, dammit"... "I paid £45 for this"?

Exactly. I do not say anything negative about the troops themselves because God only knows what they are going through. However, I was against this war from the beginning and still to this day for many reasons I'd rather not delve into (it would turn into a paper lol). But, I believe in promoting peace and effective communication/diplomacy in so far as Foreign Policy is concerned. The day that we can no longer be critical of our government and leaders who are supposed to take care of us is the day we are no longer a free America. The Dixie Chicks were treated harshly because their genre seems to lean more towards Conservatism....I still stand by saying they have every right to express themselves just like any other American.

Powerful people (media owners, MNC's, politicans) love to pick and choose what part of the Constitution they want to apply to the rule of law. They (the Dixie Chicks) had every right to speak their mind and clearly they suffered the ramifications. But you all miss the obvious reason: not just because they bit the hand that fed them (Conservativism...must give them mad props for that) though obviously that played a large role. However, one cannot ignore the gender bias- if it had been male artist they would not have suffered the same level of sanctions.

Right on! Hear ye, hear ye! Enough already with the politics as PR. These celebrity folks are all so phoney....do not get me started. :lol:

I wasn't going to give this topic another second of my time, but I read something this morning that pissed me off.....

Telegraph.co.uk
(Filed: 15/06/2006)
Telegraph Dixie Chicks Article

"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don't see why people care about patriotism."

Read the whole article if you have to determine whether I'm taking this out of context, but I think her words are clear. Seems to me Maines has no respect for America, let alone the office of the President. Honey, I think there's a fishing boat waiting for you in Miami that will ferry you to Cuba if you like. Then you can tell us all about patriotism. K?

Note to self: Toss my Dixie Chicks CDs in the trash.

Patriotism in either extreme whether having no patriotism at all with negatvity or having such intense patriotism with optimism is not a great thing either. The ability to find a medium between both extremes is paramount in being an active citizen. If you are so patriotic that it blinds you from the social and Economic problems we are having, that is a problem. If you constantly despise the country you live in, that is problematic as well. But I am truly disturbed by people who say I HAVE to like and respect George Bush because he is the President. I am sorry, but I disagree with most of his policies and believe him to have tainted the United States reputation in the world with the Iraq War, not taking care of the Hurricane Katrina situation, the violations of the 1st ammendment with wire taps, and so on. It is my right as an American to decide whether I wish to be patriotic or not and voice my opinion as such. Just because we voice our concerns about things we feel to be problems within the country does NOT make us 2nd class citizens or whatever other label one could find. We are simply voicing our opinion as we are free to do so. Feel free to disagree with me, but don't tell me what I need to think and feel in order to be called a "true" American......sorry about writing so much lol, but it is how I feel about the abstract term of patriotism.

I was not referring to Bush, I referred to the office of the President, and at this point, I'm really not that fond of any politician. I understand what you're saying about the extremes of patriotism-- blind allegiance to anything is very dangerous.

Natalie Maines indeed has the right to express her opinion, but it seems to me she has no respect FOR that right nor the price that was paid in order for us to obtain it. That is arrogant, ignorant and just plain classless. IMHO.

And I am very serious when I say that certain folk who obviously hate what America stands for-- LEAVE ALREADY! If you are that unhappy, why live here?? Denounce your citizenship....go for it! Put your money where your mouth is, for goodness sake. I would really like to ask Natalie if she's ever considered moving and becoming a citizen of another country.

Sorry if this sounds really harsh, but I am getting tired of having my country ripped like this. Of course, there is a need for public discourse and there is plenty of material for it; it's part of our heritage...but this? UGH.

I'm sorry about seeming to be offended/upset, both of which I am not at all. When you brought up the idea of Patriotism it just reminded me of some of the bad things I've encountered where people have so much pride for their country that it blinds them with a one track mind that a country/government can do no wrong. I was trying to provide the opposing view that having balanced patriotic and realistic feelings about your country is important. I hope this makes sense? I'm sorry if I went a tad overboard lol. I'm very passionate about political discussion as I'm sure many of us are :-)