Dixie Chicks Pulled from Air After Bashing Bush

[Phil Frazier]

The USA has not been a Democracy for over 50 years. It is a Plutocracy. Democracy is an illusion that is being fed to the ignorant. The USA Govt. works for the Mulit-Nationals. The only thing that matters to the USA Govt. is Capitalism and furthering Globalization. Democrats and Republicans feed from the same trough.



Syria, Iran, N. Korea are next to be subdued.

Phil on Artistlaunch



IntoMusic.co.uk



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[Insufficient Funds]

But I guess I was wrong.. so while I've quietly watched you all America Bashing, I'm still a DAMN proud American. Everyone's got an opinion..besides, The anti-war crowd tried to ban Darryl Worley's song "Have you Forgotten". This is just a backlash to that. Besides..if you lost 3000 people in one morning, maybe you'd think a little before you "surrender" to everything.



So rage on my friends...It'll be a while before I check in here again...



PS.. seems there's not much of a war to it...They are giving up too fast to count...and praising America and begging for food...Yeah Saddam was really someone to stick up for......

[RonOnGuitar]

"Yeah Saddam was really someone to stick up for"



=====

Yes, you are correct that he's probably not someone to whom one would wisely throw their support and alliegance. But the flip side of that is that how it illustrates the nature of the protest of the liberation of Iraq. It's not at all anti-war, just anti-Bush and it's no secret that America-envy permeates much of the world, especially in areas that have themselves been made free (e.g. Europe) by Brits, Americans and allies.



Celebrities are probably the most outrageous in this particular form of hypocrisy: Americans do not owe any celebrity a living, nor are they compelled to support anyone's idiotic diatribes. While they certainly have the right to scream and whine, nobody is obligated to support such emotional childish outbursts. Welcome to real life.



As you alluded, there is no such support for celebrities who are pro-American - that is extremely hypocritical, isn't it?



==ron==

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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It's not at all anti-war, just anti-Bush; and it's no secret that America-envy permeates much of the world, especially in areas that have themselves been made free (e.g. Europe) by Brits, Americans and allies.

---

Ron, if we ever meet up, I'm buying WHATEVER you're drinkin'....you hit the Nail SQUARE on the Head with that one, my brother...

[RonOnGuitar]

I think much of the problem, SA, is that people outside of America - and quite a few inside - do not understand concepts such as "free speech".



A good example would be that the Dixie Chicks have every right to buy a radio station and play their music 24/7 with frequent breaks to denounce America. *But* the other part of free speech is that *no one else is required by any law* to listen to them if they so choose. That's the very heart of free speech.



I see there is also confusion as to the nature of public schooling in America. It's likely very different in countries where the "teachers" act as agents of the governments and where they are required to politically indoctrinate children.



However, as you know, in America it's very different - teachers are not to impose their politcal views . It is a violation of the children's (and their parents) civil rights. to do so. Outside of the school setting, teachers are free to do whatever they want politically. But not in the schoolroom, while they're being paid by the parents to supposedly teach reading, writing and math.



==ron==



<<I'm buying WHATEVER you're drinkin'>>

Hahaa! I should have a local pub set up a PayPal account, lol!!

[Seismic Anamoly]

And it's FREE....

[NRKofOver]

Ron, your last post makes a lot of sense. With the teachers, I would be truly appalled if a teacher had a 'Let's Roll/Nuke Iraq' poster in one of my daugther's classrooms and therefore can't imagine how anyone could support an anti-war poster as appropriate. As someone who spent years to become a teacher, I always felt that it's important to bring the real world into a classroom, but to never impose personal beliefs in those endeavors (other than the personal belief that we can all think relatively rationally and respect differing opinions).



With the Dixie Chicks, it's not censorship, it's economics. I disagree with concereted efforts of groups of people from throughout the country petitioning/harassing/emailing a radio station in Kansas City because it doesn't affect most of those people, and even by FCC rules, radio is obligated to their local community. So if the people in Kansas City like and want to hear the Dixie Chicks (or vice versa) it's nobody else's business. But that being said, the Dixie Chicks should have reveled in their statements if they meant them. They should have stood up for what they believed in rather than backpedaling in the face of disagreement. Part of free speech is not being afraid, standing up and saying what you believe regardless of the consequences. I dont' care if the label pressured them, I don't care if their fans pressured them, I don't care if radio pressured them, they should have stuck by their ideals if that's how they truly felt. If not, they shouldn't have said it to get some cheers from a foreign audience.



Anyways, nice post!

Read all about ME!

[RonOnGuitar]

hiya NRK -



Yeah, I think that it's sometimes difficult for non-Americans to grasp nuances inherent in such concepts as "free speech". In it's purest sense, it refers to the fact that the US government is not allowed to control the press. Then there's "rules" like the "yelling 'fire' in a crowded theatre" adage. We can say anything we like, but there is cause & effect for what we say. And the use of boycotts is so common that it's almost become an honored tradition! For example, gay activists set up an effective campaign to keep Dr. Laura Schlessinger's TV program off the air a few years back. Though I don't know that they needed to - she doesn't fare as well on the screen as she does on the radio airwaves. But people have the "right to not listen" and to convince others to do likewise.



In the case of the Dixie Chicks, they should have known that they would alienate much, if not most, of their fanbase. We're talkin' *country music fans* here - Mom, apple pie, Chevys, Old Glory - the whole ball of wax. They would have fared better if they'd spit on the Dallas Cowboy's midfield logo!



Most teachers are fine folks and would rather not have the "war fights" in their clasrooms. There are the abuses, though - a few weeks back Maine had to tell some teachers at one grade school not to upset the children of National Guard parents(below). These teachers were telling children that the Guard parents were "unethical" and that they'd be killed in Iraq. As I said, most teachers have a full plate to handle without getting into politics in the classroom, so this type of thing isn't common.



==Ron==

www.washtimes.com/nationa...721064.htm



Maine legislator probes taunts by teachers of Guard children

By Robert Stacy McCain

THE WASHINGTON TIMES





A Maine legislator is investigating complaints that teachers harassed children of Maine National Guard members and says "there should be some dismissals" if the incidents are substantiated.

"I'm looking for any situations like that described by the National Guard and looking for any independent confirmation," said Republican state Rep. Michael A. Vaughan.

Maine National Guard officials reported last week that children of Guard members were "coming home upset, depressed, crying" as a result of incidents at school.

Guard members said their children had been told by teachers that war with Iraq was "unethical" and, in one reported incident, a teacher told a Guard member's child in elementary school that "daddy could die because that's what happens to soldiers."

No new incidents have been reported since Guard officials went public with the complaints, and spokesmen for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve said the Maine incidents do not appear to be part of a national trend.

Maine National Guard officials say they have collected 16 specific complaints, but are keeping those reports confidential and say they don't want a "witch hunt" against teachers.

"We have not given out any names or school districts. That is specifically to protect families," said the Rev. Andrew L. Gibson, Maine National Guard chaplain. "In addition to that, we don't want to have children singled out as the one who complained. For that matter, we don't want teachers singled out as having misspoken or whatever."

But Mr. Vaughan, whose state legislative district abuts Brunswick Naval Air Station, says he wants details and is asking parents or teachers to report any incidents to him.

"I'm sure most educators are as disappointed with this as I am," Mr. Vaughan said. "I'm sure they also consider this deplorable. There's one in every crowd, however. ... I'm kind of hoping some of the educators will turn up the bad apples."

Maine's commissioner of education issued a letter admonishing school officials to be "sensitive" toward the children of military families, but Mr. Vaughan told the Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald last week, "I don't think a letter goes far enough. I believe there should be some dismissals, because that sort of activity does not belong in a school."

The complaints in Maine appear to be "an anomaly," said Army Reserve spokesman Steven Stromball.

"The news that I am hearing has been positive about students and school districts around the country," Mr. Stromball said.

Kathleen Gereski, spokeswoman for the Army National Guard, said the reports from Maine were "very surprising."

A "quick, informal survey" of Guard family-program coordinators around the nation found schools have shown "sensitivity toward the needs of children" of Guard members, Miss Gereski said.

"Many Guard units have been contacted by the schools to find out what they can do to be sensitive to the needs of children whose parents have been deployed or [are] in the process of mobilizing for deployment," she said.

She said news coverage of the Maine National Guard complaints "raised public awareness that these children are very vulnerable and we need to be careful how we deal with them."

Maine teachers, meanwhile, are upset that they have been portrayed as unpatriotic.

"From our Maine point of view, we love these kids and support the families of the military. We always have and always will," said Keith Harvey, spokesman for the Maine Education Association.

Many Maine educators serve in the National Guard, said Mr. Harvey, who noted that he is a Vietnam-era veteran.

"It does hurt to have people from other parts of the nation sending us e-mails ... accusing us of trying to harass or taunt the children of our neighbors," he said.