More Power to the Dixie Chicks! Call your radio stations and request more and more of their music!!!
You know what? The Republican inability to tolerate critism reminds me of Napoleon, the Pig, in George Orwell’s book, “Animal Farm”! All animals are created equal…some more equal than others. And, no animal shall sleep in a bed, well, except for the fortunate ones (paraphrasing) etc., etc.,…
Hello? Miss Liberty? This is still the USA, right? I simply cannot stand those who are so quick to defend this land AND YET so quick to take away OUR right to free speech! Hollywood threatened to black-ball any actor/actress who speaks out against the Pres! Boy, what next? The stocks? Cutting out our tongues? Is this the USA or Soviet Russia?
Maybe Mr. Bush should start listening to the issues more closely on these “hanging chad” issues, damn it!!! GW…the man who gave our voice in government a chronic case of laryngitis! - Jinx
Well, Jinx: your post is what I would call “rollin’ hard”. LOL.
This is my perspective: I, personally, could care less what the Dixie chix think. I believe that everyone has the right to say what they want WHEN they want. I can appreciate a lot of the opposing perspectives after reading lots of other posts. They have every right to say what they want…radio stations can not play whatever music they want…people can choose to NOT listen to the stations that boycott various artists based on political views (or the method with which they express them).
BUT: I do recall not so long ago when people could stand up and disagree with President Clinton (and not only on the issue of Monica L.) and not feel any negative feedback. Yes, the circumstances were much different, but I still feel that Conservatives (not necessarily all Republicans) tend to have a big hankering for the jugular when someone disagrees with them.
They have the right to say anything they want, I don’t see anyone sticking duct tape over their mouths to shut them up, do you? I also have the right to think they’re morons for believing that their opinion makes them an authority on anything other than their personal lives and work, and that their opinions on issues should mean anything more to me than a non-famous person’s.
Seriously, do you think this kind of hysterical hyperbole really bolsters your point? Since when does a boycott equal governmental tyranny? Did I miss the memo?
I wish I had a link, but I’ll see if I can hunt it down from the radio. It was said that many owners of the various movie studios are not pleased by actors and actresses making their political views public. And, they have out-and-out threatened actors and actresses with repercussions should they speak out against the Iraqi War.
Thanks for proving my point, SmackFu, while missing it all in the same statement! The point is that there is more and more of this “do as I say, not as I do” thinking…especially by the Republican Party. Back in Reagan’s day, it was diguised as the Moral Majority telling us how to speak, think, and feel. Then, Dan Quayle laid a real goose egg with the attack on Murphy Brown. Now, we have Republican business mogals telling us how to think and feel about the Iraqi War. Gee, where do I sign up for reprogramming to think and feel like the Feds would like me to?
Julie, the memo was in the process of being written when, out of the blue, some men tied up the author and threatened to burn his work for not getting approval from the American Bureau of Censorship (ABC). Yes, this is the same group that claimed Ted Koppel’s US flag lapel pin should be removed because it might offend someone…
It’s not really as hysterical as you claim. But, rather it is proof of an old theory that the more we change the Russians to be like us, the more we shall change the US to be like them! Anyone know the source for this statement?
Jinx
P.S. Just 'cause you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean we’re not out to get ya!
The far right is still pissed off that the era of McCarthyism is over. Nowadays, these Hollywood types can speak their mind on any topic as if it’s some sort of right of theirs.
I’ve heard Uday Hussein’s favorite D.C. song is “Goodbye Earl”
And it didn’t take long to decided
That Earl had to die
Goodbye Earl
Those black-eyed peas
They tasted all right to me Earl
You’re feeling weak
Why don’t you lay down
and sleep Earl
Ain’t it dark
Wrapped up in that tarp Earl
…
We need a break
Let’s go out to the lake Earl
We’ll pack a lunch
And stuff you in the trunk Earl
I think what Uday likes about it so much is how the actors choose murder instead of just walking away…
Oh good grief. People vote with their pocketbooks. Some of them didn’t like what this one Dixie Chick said, so they are boycotting her.
Is this a new concept? Absolutely not. Boycotts have been going on for a long time, for a variety of reasons. I boycott the local Hooterville news because they have an attitude of “No other gods before football” and I just can’t take it anymore. Am I now up there with McCarthy because of my boycott?
However, I’ve hardly ever (I’d be tempted to say never but I’m sure there are exceptions) let an artists’ politics ruin my appreciation for their work. I am ticked off by some of the things that George Clooney and Martin Sheen have said, but I still like their movies and won’t begrudge myself seeing their movies. But not everyone is like that. If they want to express their dislike for a celebrities’ comments, they are entitled to do that.
You think that this Dixie Chick is such a petite delicate flower that she should not have to face any negative reactions to the statements she makes in public? The world doesn’t work that way.
In my line of work I give presentations to large groups of people and you can bet that I keep my political views to myself while I’m on the podium because it’s business. I’m trying to sell something and I can’t risk offending half of my audience and ruining the sale. Well, the Dixie Chicks are in the business of selling CDs and concert tickets and have to expect a certain amount of backlash when they give their offensive views on stage. She absolutely has the right to speak out, at least in America, but citizens have the right to refuse to buy CDs or tickets. Ted Nugent seems to get away with it somehow.
I differentiate between business and political speech but then again I don’t vote for people that spout views offensive to me. You either vote with your wallet or a ballot, but you vote just the same.
What Yosemitebabe said. Also, in what way has the government had anything to do with this “censoring?” Ms. Main’s comment displayed one very important thing – a lack of understanding of her fan base. Around here, the two country music stations are boycotting the Dixie Chicks – not at the behest of the “Republicans” but of their listeners. The pop and rock stations (who are playing the Dixie Chicks cover of “Landslide”) are not. I guess the “Republicans” weren’t able to get to the rock stations, only the country ones. Sheesh.
Personally I like the Chick’s music well enough and I could care less about their political views, or the political views of any entertainers. For their sake, though, I hope they’ve got their money well invested, because this little error in judgement may have been a career ender… Or maybe the Chicks are smarter than they look and they’re planning to cross over to pop.
Jinx - this is Great Debates. It is customary to provide some citation or authority for an assertion you advance. A gratuitous assertion, one without any citation to authority, may be equally gratuitously denied. If you’re saying the government is dictating political expression in some way, you need to provide evidence of this.
If you’re merely saying that it’s Republican business mogals telling us how to think and feel about the Iraqi War, how is it that this is outrageous, but a (presumably) Democratic music star telling us how to think and feel about the Iraqi War is just fine?
Does anyone but me see the utter hypocrisy of this thread?
How dare anyone express their freedom of speech against others that express their freedom of speech just because they disagree with them. I tell ya, with this war era, way too many liberals I used to have some respect for their intelligence has lost all credibility with me on these boards.
I can’t believe you are actually trying to belittle those that protest politics and actions they disagree with.