The Dixie Chicks Are Victims

I don’t know if they are victims of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy like Bil Clinton was but they are victims nonetheless. Natalie Maines, the Chicks lead singer made some nasty remarks about George Bush a few years ago and almost overnight the Chicks’ sales went down. They received less airtime and their concerts had many unsold seats. This was, according to them, an unfair backlash for exercising their free speech right. Some in the music industry seem to agree:

“I think people are paranoid,” former Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart told Reuters. “I think that if they speak out, they think they’re gonna get whacked by the government. It’s pretty oppressive now. Look at the Dixie Chicks. They got whacked.” al-Reuters

I don’t expect much from the entertainment industry and it is evident that Hart does not understand that actions have repercussions. How could he know when many in the entertainment industry routinely get away with acts that would land the average person in jail? His assertion that the Chicks got whacked lacks a fundamental understanding that everyone has the right to choose. To Hart, the backlash was unfair because Maines is allowed to say what she wants regardless of the rights of others.

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The fact is, the people who did not like what she said have freedoms as well. They are free to choose not to buy the Chicks’ music and not to attend their concerts. Radio stations are free not to play the Chicks’ music. Free speech carries with it responsibility and while no one will argue that Maines has every right to say what she wants people have to realize that those who hear her words are free to react the way that they want (barring violence). The KKK has the right to spew their hatred but I doubt they feel put off because people are appalled by what they say. Likewise, Maines said something that a lot of people did not like so those people exercised their right not to support her and the group. The Chicks should not be surprised or offended. They should appreciate that the people did the very same thing that Maines did and that is exercise their rights.

Of course, with the left it is not about people exercising their rights. Maines and her ilk (like Hart) believe that the elite among us have the right to say and do what they want and the rest of us should sit idly by and allow that to happen. How dare we peons speak up or react to what our masters have said or done?

George Bush said that he was not offended by what Maines said. He also added that they should not be offended if people decided not to buy their music. Bush has this right and he actually took the high road.

I can’t blame Maines for being upset. It must be hard having a popularity lower than the person they hate.

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Massachusetts State Senator Calls Kids on their Words

Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown is under fire because he did an unthinkable thing. He read the words that students posted about him on the Internet and he read them to a bunch of students. Brown’s daughter is probably more recognized by people around the country because she was a contestant on American Idol (Ayla Brown) but the Senator got a bit of notoriety this week.

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Seems that a couple of school kids wrote some nasty and vulgar things about Brown and some equally nasty things about his daughter. Brown decided to read those to the students and he did not leave out any of the words. Now many of the students and their parents are upset with him because he said those things in front of those delicate, well behaved children. We can’t let the words of those kids be used against them.

Here is the situation as I see it. The kids wrote something that was put on the Internet for the entire world to see. They should expect no special consideration and no one should worry about their feeling being hurt because they were forced to hear their own words. They wrote the words so they should pump out their little bird chests and take the criticism that comes along with their decision.

As for the parents, they should stop blaming Brown for what was done and start looking at their own kids. How dare these parents blame Brown but hold their children blameless. If those kids had not written vulgar things they would not have been read out to all the other students. As for all the teachers who were offended or tried to stop Brown from speaking, shame on them. They should be more concerned about the behavior of the students in their charge and they should be using this as an example of how there are consequences for actions.

Brown is to be commended for having the courage to expose these children and their words. He called them on what they wrote and he made them take responsibility for their actions. If we had more of that in society there would be fewer problems with degenerate children.

Source:
Fox News

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Congressman Leaves DC to Battle Illness at Home

Republican Congressman Charlie Norwood from Georgia is leaving Congress to return to his home state where he will receive hospice care for lung cancer that has metastasized to his liver. Norwood is awaiting air ambulance transport from Washington DC to his home in Augusta where he will receive 24 hour hospice care. Norwood has not yet resigned from Congress.

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The indications are that he will stop all treatments and see what happens from there. His family is asking that his supporters keep him in their prayers. Supporter or not I will certainly keep him in my prayers and ask that the Lord look over him and give him strength as he and his family write what appears to be the final chapter of his book of life. I ask that you keep him in your prayers as well.

While you are praying please don’t forget Senator Tim Johnson who is still recovering from brain surgery.

Source:
Fox News

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Page Program Draws Many Applicants

The Congressional Page program is alive and healthy. Despite fears that it would dwindle after the fallout from the Mark Foley scandal, more young people are applying to be part of that program.

The Mark Foley scandal, which last fall threatened to kill the congressional page program, has had the opposite effect: Interest from teenagers in the program is on the upswing.

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Congressional officials attribute the increase to the old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Whatever the reason, it is now clear that the national uproar over Foley’s sexually explicit e-mails — which led to the Florida congressman’s resignation and contributed to the GOP majority’s rout in 2006 — has hardly chilled the ambitions of young people who want to work on Capitol Hill. The Politico

It would seem that there are two stories here. One is that the Foley problem has not damaged the program and the other is that the Foley incident helped the GOP lose control of the House. For months all we have heard is that the entire election was about the war but this article indicates that the scandal helped take down the GOP. As I have stated, there are a number of reasons that the GOP lost, most of it historical precedent.

There is no word if most of the applicants for the program are from the San Fransisco area. There is also no word as to whether prospective pages want to be renamed as bookmarks. It seems that a bookmark is better than bending the page over…

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George W. Bush Causes Murders in New Orleans

First George W. Bush manufactured a huge hurricane and steered it toward New Orleans. Then he blew the levees flooding the poor, mostly black, communities and now he has caused murders to increase and make New Orleans one of the deadliest cities in the Country. Last year New Orleans had 161 murders despite the heavy decline in population after Katrina. There have been 18 murders this year and that is one of the highest in the nation (per capita). The police are tired of arresting people for murder only to have them back on the streets within 60 days because of lack of evidence or because of a judicial system that allows violent criminals to spend pre-trial time out of jail.

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It can no longer be denied and there is no reason to try to exonerate President Bush. The fact is he devastated the city with his evil hurricane machine and then he promised them money that he never sent. What little money they did get was wasted on over priced contracts. FEMA did not put up new houses and the did not the city so criminals prey on the weak.

America, the fact is New Orleans has always been a decadent city and there is enough sin to go around. The city has a poverty rate (prior to the hurricane) of 67% and most people live off one government program or another. People from New Orleans have lived off other people’s money for so long they do not know how to take care of themselves. The police department is inept and can not intervene before people get killed. Even with the reduced population the police are unable to keep drugs off the streets and they are unable to keep criminals from committing more violent crimes. Mayor Nagin is busy hiding under a bed somewhere and Governor Blanco is too busy crying about not being mentioned by the President in the SOTU Address to actually lead.

Many people who left New Orleans have found jobs and are making a go of it in other cities and they have indicated they will not return. Others have moved to new cities and continued their life of crime. Still others have remained behind in New Orleans to run their drug businesses. It is time that we took the decision to remove everyone from that city and to fill it in with dirt. They can bulldoze all the remaining properties and condemn the whole place. Then they can start pushing dirt into it until they have raised it up to seal level or above. If they want a new city they can try to build one farther inland, away from the water.

One thing is for certain. If they build a new city the first building erected should be a huge jail. Then, they should put criminals in there and leave them there for a long time. Without that, they will continue to be the deadliest city in the country and they will have no one to blame but…George Bush.

Source: NYT

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