Think some reality has to come to bear on this issue. The impact of 50 radio stations not playing music because of the musicians' political beliefs is far more severe on the musicians than would be the impact of a refusal by many thousands of listeners to tune in a radio station that exercised that "right."
It's all the more appalling in that the stations' decision has nothing to do with the content of the music -- it has everything to do with the political beliefs held by the musicians (and tens of millions of other Americans). What kind of freedom is that? Your freedoms are being noticeably eroded in all sorts of ways as your country rushes towards a war to be fought on an as yet utterly unproven premise. And in my opinion, at the very least you need incontrovertible proof to kill people.
I keep thinking of the uproar last weekend over the top-secret Iraqi "drone plane" found by the UN inspectors that had senior Bush spin doctors hollering about Iraqi combat missions to bomb the world with chemical and biological weapons. Turns out the Iraqi cutting edge aircraft was held together with duct tape and powered by a model aircraft engine -- you have to twiddle the propellor with your index finger to get it going. Some threat.
Suffice to say that the U.S., British and Spanish governments stand alone in the world on this rush into war. Except for Bulgaria, oif course. Utterly, completely alone. What happens if Saddam's tinpot Iraqi dictatorship starts demanding that the Americans begin destroying YOUR ICBMs, remaining chemical weapons and biological materiel? And I bet there's some still stashed somewhere. Do the Americans retain the right to tell Saddam, or anybody else in the world, to get stuffed on this issue, because they are, after all, Americans?
It comes to mind that the Iraqi president and the American president have at least one thing in common -- neither one was elected by a clear majority of their own populations.
There are lots of reasons tu burn Dixie Chicks CDs, but none of them have anything to do with politics or Iraq.
Senator Joe McCarthy must be smiling in hell this week.
Enouigh bile for now.
Dennis Bell
Mike Masnick wrote:
Hi Ian,Don't confuse the right to free speech with the right to force your speech
on others or the right to require that your speech be heard. Just as they
have the right to free speech (and I'm glad they said what they said), the
music stations have the right to choose what they play.It *is* unfortunate and it *is* stupid that these radio stations have
chosen to pull these songs for that reason, but it is very much within
their right. It has nothing to with a "witch hunt". It's not as if anyone
went out and made up stuff about the Dixie Chicks. No one denies that they
said what they said, and these radio station managers have chosen to make
their ridiculous policies based on that. Now, you, just like they, have
the right to choose as well... and so you should choose not to listen to
those radio stations, and make that fact be known.This is not, in any way, a free speech issue. Purposely being misleading
on such things doesn't do much to further your own cause, and makes you
look like you don't understand the issues - which I know you do.Mike
At 04:33 PM 3/14/2003 -0800, Ian Andrew Bell wrote:
>Is there a witch hunt on in America? Obviously.
>
>I'm no Dixie Chicks fan, but shouldn't they have the right to free
>speech? And don't media outlets have the responsibility to uphold this
>right?
>
>-Ian.
>
>--------------
>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030314/en_nm/
>leisure_chicks_dc
>Dixie Chicks Pulled from Air After Bashing Bush
>1 hour, 22 minutes ago
>Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!
>
>By Jon Herskovitz
>
>DALLAS (Reuters) - There are a lot worse things in country music than
>your wife leaving you or your dog dying. There's stations not playing
>your music because you done gone and said some things against the
>president.
>
>Music superstars the Dixie Chicks (news - web sites) are finding out
>that criticizing President Bush (news - web sites)'s plans for war in
>Iraq (news - web sites) can cost you air play, big time.
>
>Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from
>playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a
>concert in London earlier this week that she was "ashamed the president
>of the United States is from Texas."
>
>Station managers said their decisions were prompted by calls from irate
>listeners who thought criticism of the president was unpatriotic.
>
>The group, which got its start in Texas, was one of the darlings of
>this year's Grammy Awards. The three-woman band that blends blue grass
>and pop hooks has spawned legions of fans who embrace the ideals of
>strong women celebrated in some of the trio's songs.
>
>One station in Kansas City, Missouri held a Dixie "chicken toss" party
>Friday morning, where Chick critics were encouraged to dump the group's
>tapes, CDs and concert tickets into trash cans.
>
>OFF THE AIR
>
>Houston country station KILT pulled the band's records from its
>playlist -- at least temporarily -- after 77 percent of people polled
>on its Web site said they supported the move.
>
>"We've got them off the air for right now," said Jeff Garrison, program
>director at KILT, which is owned by Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting Corp.
>
>"People are shocked. They cannot believe Texas' own have attacked the
>state and the president," Garrison said.
>
>Lead singer Maines said in a statement she felt the president was
>ignoring the opinions of many in the United States and alienating the
>rest of the world by pushing for war with Iraq.
>
>"We've been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and
>following the news accounts of our government's position. The
>anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding," Maines
>said.
>
>One of the country stations in Dallas that helped champion the Chicks
>when they were scraping by in that city playing gigs on street corners
>for tips, "99.5 The Wolf," said they are listening to the listener's
>views but do not think it is right to immediately jump on the bandwagon
>and stop playing the Chicks, said program director Paul Williams.
>
>Williams said it is too early to tell how strong a backlash may develop
>against the Chicks. He said the comments touched a deep nerve in Texas
>because they came from one of the biggest country groups to come out of
>the state and were directed at a president who calls Texas home.
>
>"The listener outlash is probably bigger here than anywhere else,"
>William said.
>
>The Chicks have the number one country album in the United States on
>the Billboard charts called "Home" and the No. 1 single with "Travelin'
>Soldier," which is about a U.S. soldier who fought in Vietnam. (With
>additional reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City and Matt Dailey in
>Houston)
>___________________________________________________________
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