Ashamed of a stupid Texan

Are people still talking about the Dixie Chicks' 2003 joke on-stage at a London concert about their feelings for our chowderhead president? Apparently the media is at least, I think because a tour film or something about them has come out recently. (I don't follow their music or their career.)

Typical of the media (and the American public) to make mountains out of molehills, while (to extend the poor beleaguered metaphor to the breaking point) pretending to themselves that the enormous volcanoes in their midst are pebbles.

It was a joke, son. A musician said something silly on stage. Is this anything for thousands of people to get their uptight little knickers in a twist over, or for the media to devote tireless days to?

There are two ways someone who is offended by this political remark of no consequence or weight, uttered by an entertainer of no consequence or standing beyond the entertainment world, can react.

First, one can deny the person's right to make such remarks, especially during "wartime," especially in --- gasp! --- a foreign land, citing damage to morale and "the troops" and suggest that it is close to treason to undermine Our Exalted Chimp President's authority in any way under these conditions.

Well, the only thing you can say about this reaction is that it is the provenance of deluded, very stupid hypocrites (because you know the people who make such objections to political protest didn't feel that way when it came to Clinton), and it's too bad those who react in this manner weren't born in China, where they would fit into the political climate a lot better.

The second way to react is to grudgingly admit that the entertainer has a right to make such remarks, but then vigorously assert one's own right to boycott the entertainer's product and to malign him or her long and loud.

Which is all very well and good and at least somewhat rational, but it sort of misses the whole point about free speech, which is, you know, the right to express oneself without fear of repercussion, whether it's being muzzled by the government or having futile economic sanctions imposed on you by tight-assed retards.

Hell, there are dozens of actors whom I think are clueless and misguided and say all kinds of stupid things. Should I refuse to go to their films and instead stay home sulking or perhaps writing furious letters to the local editor about what Must Be Done? Boy, that'll get 'em where it hurts. Well, no it won't, and more to the point, I wouldn't do that because it's okay to say things that I don't agree with. Because we live in America.

Oh, and between the two of them, our President Ape and Vice-President Ogre have three DUIs. Also, Laura Bush ran a stop sign when she was 17 and got in an accident that killed someone. No charges were filed. And Bush, after ignoring warnings about real threats, has gotten us into a needless war for his own personal reasons that has turned into an American bloodbath. This despite the fact that Bush and Cheney both weaseled their way out of military service (Cheney had "other priorities"), Bush not even bothering to show up for his safe domestic service. And Bush doesn't read newspapers and may be one of the least qualified presidents in our history; what's unarguable is that he proudly presents himself as a fool. And the Bush administration shows no respect for America's natural heritage or civil rights or education programs or health or even poor veterans of war, but a lot of respect for the ultra-wealthy.

So it seems like it's pretty normal to feel ashamed of Bush in particular and the whole lying bunch of them in general. Why would anyone even raise an eyebrow about saying it in the first place? If I met the guy, I wouldn't even shake his hand.