The Dixie Chicks need to keep their mouths shut about politics, and just sing. Because of their big mouths, they are losing many fans and having to cancel part of their tour. In my opinion, I hope they go under. It would serve them right after what they said about President Bush.



Dismal sales send Dixie Chicks north
Adding dates in Canada after concerts in U.S. put on hold



http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/dixiechicks.jpg
Dixie Chicks

After poor ticket sales in at least 12 cities, the politically provocative Dixie Chicks have put their U.S. tour on hold and added more dates in Canada.

Although concert promoters say the shows have not been canceled yet, the slow sales likely will lead to stops being dropped or rescheduled in cities such as Houston, Memphis and St. Louis, the Tennessean newspaper reported.

Some arenas have sold only about 5,000 tickets in contrast to 2003, when the venues mostly were sold out within a few hours. The pop-country group has sold a little more than half of the 14,000 tickets available for a planned Oct. 3 concert in Nashville. When the Chicks played in the city in 2003, tickets were sold out in the first week, the paper said.

In response, the group has added more dates in Canada, including two in Toronto. Tickets in northern U.S. cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia are selling better than in southern and Midwest markets.

Many country music fans turned on the Texas trio in 2003 after lead singer Natalie Maines made disparaging comments about President Bush in front of a London audience.

"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the Unites States is from Texas," Maines said.

Radio stations immediately pulled their songs from rotation and the group's No. 1 single, "Travelin' Soldier," plummeted to No. 63 within days.

As WND reported in 2003 (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32428), two disc jockeys in Colorado Springs, Colo., were suspended for playing the group's songs. Station Manager Jerry Grant told WND the decision in the "military town" was based on "a huge outcry from our listeners: Do not play the Dixie Chicks."

WorldNetDaily also reported (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32305) a radio station in North Carolina offered ticket holders of a Dixie Chicks concert in Greensboro the opportunity to use their tickets at an alternative "patriotic event" the station sponsored the same night – just in case Chicks fans want to send a message to the group in response to its comments about Bush.

After the controversy, Maines apologized for the comments but then retracted her apology last month.

"I don't feel that way anymore, "she told Time magazine. "I don't feel like [the president] is owed any respect whatsoever."

The group is not doing well on the country charts as most country stations have refused to add its new single, "Not Ready to Make Nice." The angry lyrics take jabs at fans and program directors that boycotted the group after the London comments.

The Chicks' album "Taking the Long Way Home," however, is No. 1 on Billboard's album chart. Many industry experts credit those sales to the influx of media coverage surrounding the album release, including appearances on CBS's "60 Minutes" and a cover story in Time magazine.

Despite the controversy, Maines remains defiant. On the Dixie Chicks Official Artist Club (http://www.wnd.com/redir/r.asp?http://dixiechicks.stage.launch.yahoo.com/default.asp) website, she writes a letter to fans explaining how she called Ozzy Ozbourne for public relations advice.

"He said 'f*** it.' I like that advice. I think I'll do just that. So from here on out when you call for a statement, explanation, apology, etc., we are just going to have to refer you to this letter."

I like to hear them sing, or maybe I should have said I used to like it, and I thought (past tense) that blonde was really hot, so if I were a concert-going guy (I have been to only one---Shania mmmmmmmm LOL), I would probably have gone to see them BEFORE their mouths ran off; now, NO! I would not go.

So just because you disagree with them, they should (in your words) "go under?" Whatever.

I will agree in that I don't think they should have said anything in the first place, especially on a stage in a foreign country. Not cool. It was totally a big blunder for Natalie Maines to say what she said.

But she's still entitled to her opinions. It amazes me how some people act like a bunch of big fat crybabies whenever anyone says something negative about Bush. Well I think he sucks too, and I'll say so. Does that mean I should get fired from my job and become hated by everyone in the general public? If we use your logic, then yes, I guess so.

^^^

I totally agree. She has her opinions, and that's fine. Sure, she probably voiced that opinion in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we've all been guilty of that. Why don't you just call her a witch and burn her at the stake, too?

How many other Hollywood hot-shots are out there spouting anti-Bush sentiments? Are you boycotting them, too? Are you wishing them ill-will because you don't agree? It's completely childish to think that everyone should agree with you.

You can dislike what the President does and still be a good citizen of this country. I don't like most of what he does, either. Are you going to tell your kids not to attend my school because of my opinion?

However, I do not understand why actors/actresses/musicians feel they need to share all of their opinions with us, like we really care all that much what they have to say, because usually they don't have any advanced degrees or even really have a clue what they are talking about!

Memo to Hollywood/Nashville:

Make your damned music, act in your damned movies.

We don't care what your politics are.

You are here to entertain us. We will leave the enlightenment for people who.. I dunno... have an education?

I feel that when a celebrity voices his or her political opinion, that celebrity risks alienating their fanbase. In the case of the Dixie Chicks, a band whose fanbase is (or was) made up of primarily conservative-leaning country music fans, they really screwed up bigtime. If we learned anything from Jane Fonda and her trip to North Vietnam back in the late sixties, we learned that you just don't go to a foreign country and badmouth the U.S.A.

In the past 5 1/2 years, this "You're either with us or against us" mentality has developed in this country. In the eyes of the Bushies, if you're against the president, then you're against the good ol' U.S. of A. (Which also means you're probably an atheist, terrorist-supporting, tree-hugging, liberal homosexual.)

So not only did Natalie Maines pick the wrong place to speak her mind, she did it at the worst possible time.

Why is it that when right-wingnuts want to tell me their opinions:

They Have To Shout?!

I'm ashamed that I grew up in Oklahoma, with all the neocons around. Whaddya think about that?

I'm gonna go and buy two Dixie Chicks CDs.

We could be great friends Magicchord! Thank you! LOL

Looks like Natalie has the last laugh... they have had the number 1 video on VH1 for some time now...

They are entitled to their opinion - that's what freedom is all about isn't it?



Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and i'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

Maybe we already are :D

From CMT


Natalie Maines Criticizes Patriotism in London Newspaper
* The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines is quoted in a London newspaper criticizing the notion of patriotism. In the Thursday (June 15) edition of The Telegraph, band member Emily Robison noted that some music artists tried to exploit the war in Iraq. "A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video," Robison said. "It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism." Maines added, "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism. 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." On Thursday night, the Chicks performed at Shepherd's Bush Empire, the same London venue where Maines made her infamous remark about President Bush in 2003. The first U.S. date of the band's Accidents & Accusations tour is set for July 21 in Detroit.

I think I'll buy three CD's....and go to Canada for a concert...where people are free to speak their stinking minds.

From CMT


Natalie Maines Criticizes Patriotism in London Newspaper
* The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines is quoted in a London newspaper criticizing the notion of patriotism. In the Thursday (June 15) edition of The Telegraph, band member Emily Robison noted that some music artists tried to exploit the war in Iraq. "A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video," Robison said. "It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism." Maines added, "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism. 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." On Thursday night, the Chicks performed at Shepherd's Bush Empire, the same London venue where Maines made her infamous remark about President Bush in 2003. The first U.S. date of the band's Accidents & Accusations tour is set for July 21 in Detroit.
May I suggest they get their unpatriotic butts and move to another country, like Iraq, and see how much freedom of speech they have there? We have brave soldiers fighting in Iraq so that these ungrateful human beings can have the freedom to say stupid things and make fools of themselves.

If they don't like this country and its patriotism, then they need to leave the country and not let the door hit their fatt butts on their way out.

You guys are so enamored with the Dixie Chicks that you are losing sight of the issue. I don't have a problem with them freely speaking their mind (by the way who's stopping them from doing so escan?) However, they (the Dixie Chicks) have to be aware that, as a public figure who's livlihood depends on making people like you, there are consequences to your actions.

I'm ashamed that I grew up in Oklahoma, with all the neocons around. Whaddya think about that?

I couldn't care less. But, if you were trying to sell me something, I wouldn't buy it. See? That's not such a difficult concept to understand is it?

Freedom of speech also means that we must be responsible for what we say.

No one restrained, or is trying to restrain Maines' speech. She, in fact, is not facing jail time for her remarks.

She simply alienated her fan base. Sure, there are some ultra-withusoraginstus-neocons, but there are also probably quite a few people who think that celebrities should really just STFU when it comes to politics.

On the one hand, the liberals of this thread are saying that Maines has a right to say and do whatever she wants -- and no one is disputing that by the way -- on the other hand, are many of you also saying that her fans have no right to disagree with her, and voice that disagreement by refusing to patronize her?

Last I checked, it was okay when Martin Luther King and his group decided to boycott the bus lines. Last I checked, it was just fine for people to hold anti-war marches, and make anti-war statements without being thrown in prison for sedition (as happened to people like Eugene Debs during WWI).

No one is saying that anyone's freedom of speech should be restricted here -- just that when an idiot celebrity who is nothing more than a carefully marketed product opens her mouth and directly insults some of the most tightly held beliefs of her fanbase, that there are conseuqnces.

Oh, I think it's perfectly okay if country music fans want to boycott the Chicks because they take offense at what Natalie Maines said. I'm completely cool with that and I respect other people's feelings on that matter.
What chaps my hide is when the upper managements of Viacom, Clear Channel, Citadel, et.al., all proclaim that none of their country stations anywhere in America can play the Chicks just because of what their lead singer said one time about their buddy George W. Bush. These megamedia corporations have too much power and they're abusing it.

And I am a conservative.

At least I'm the sort of person who used to be considered a conservative.

Magic -- either that, or they're responding to the demands of their target audience or advertisers. At any rate, these are all foreseeable consequences of Maines flapping her gums when she should have been doing what she's paid lots of money to do -- singing.

Maines (or any celebrity for that matter) has no right to use her job as an outlet for their beliefs and expect the world to praise her. The American people are not obligated to nod and smile every time a celebrity opens their mouth.

If you go to a business to have a particular service done, eat a meal or buy a product. The last thing you want to hear is political rhetoric. You want what you came in for nothing more nothing less. If you do have a conversation that is off topic it is usually consists of small talk (i.e.: How is the family? What do you think of the weather?)

Anytime a business expresses their political views they run the risk of losing customers. That is why McDonald’s does not take a stance on gay rights or abortion.

We have brave soldiers fighting in Iraq so that these ungrateful human beings can have the freedom to say stupid things and make fools of themselves.

The beauty of this country is the right for anyone to say whatever they want, regardless of whether or not what they say is popular. I've read some posts on this forum that are pretty stupid and ridiculous, but I don't think anyone here should be shipped off to Iraq.

She has the right to state her opinion, she/they also have the right to suffer the backlash of people who disagree. My opinion is NM is an ignorant texan that was lucky to have a career in country music because she latched on to the other two sisters. I hope she goes away and stays away.

The Dixie Chicks need to keep their mouths shut about politics, and just sing. Because of their big mouths, they are losing many fans and having to cancel part of their tour. In my opinion, I hope they go under. It would serve them right after what they said about President Bush.
I think what is most telling in this whole thread is the "Christian" attitude demonstrated in the original post. I wonder what Christ's example would be.



Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.

Proverbs 24:17-18





Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Matthew 22:37-39




But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:44

I think what is most telling in this whole thread is the "Christian" attitude demonstrated in the original post. I wonder what Christ's example would be.
This thread does not mention anything about the "Christian" attitude. It talks about free speech. I really don't understand why you must be so negative towards this forum and the threads that are presented.

As I said before in another thread, if you don't like the subject at hand, then you can just ignore it and go to another thread.

You see, I gave my comment earlier....and then I moved on. Most people disagreed with me, but that's alright. That's what makes this such a great forum....for most of us:wink: .