Franklin Richards
Avenger
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2002
- Messages
- 22,983
- Reaction score
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- Points
- 31
On March 10, 2003, during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq (which would take place on March 20), Natalie Maines (a native of Lubbock, Texas) said between songs during a concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire theatre in London:
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
Following the uproar and the start of a boycott of their music, the singer, Natalie Maines, attempted to clarify matters on March 12 with, "I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world."
This statement failed to quiet her critics, and on March 14 she issued an apology: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."
On March 16, 2006, the Dixie Chicks released the single "Not Ready to Make Nice" in advance of their upcoming album. Written by all three Chicks alongside Dan Wilson, it directly addressed the political controversy that had surrounded the group for the past three years:
Im not ready to make nice
Im not ready to back down
Im still mad as hell and I dont have time to go round and round and round
Its too late to make it right
I probably wouldnt if I could
Cause Im mad as hell
Cant bring myself to do what it is you think I should
and, in criticism of the death threats the women (particularly Maines) received,
Its a sad sad story when 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 theyd write me a letter sayin that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's job- approval rating declined to 33 percent, matching a record low, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that signaled public discontent with the economy and the Iraq war.
The survey of 1,001 adults was taken Aug. 7-9, before yesterday's announcement by British authorities that they had foiled a suspected terrorist plot to blow up planes bound for the U.S. In the past, imminent threats of attacks on the U.S. have helped underpin Bush's public support.
Bush's job approval rating was 36 percent in July and 33 percent in May, according to the AP poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Seventy-one percent of respondents in the current survey said Bush was leading the country in the wrong direction, up from 67 percent last month.
Public approval of Bush's leadership on the economy fell to 37 percent, a record, and 33 percent of Americans approved of his handling of the Iraq war, also a record low. On Bush's foreign policy in general, 40 percent said they approved of his administration's diplomacy overseas and in the war against terror, down from 44 percent a month earlier, the survey showed.
An increasing number of registered voters in the survey said their votes in the Nov. 7 midterm elections will be cast in part as a show of opposition to Bush. Twenty-nine percent of the registered voters said they'll punish Republicans in the election because Bush's policies, up from 20 percent in July.
A study of terror warnings and their impact on poll numbers during 2001-2004, conducted by sociologist Robb Willer of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, found that such warnings produced an average 2.75-point increase in Bush's approval rating.
So what I'm asking you is did the Dixie Chicks deserve to have their livelyhood and even their lives threatened for simply speaking their minds? And what do you think of them now in hindsight?
I happen to love their music and politics.
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
Following the uproar and the start of a boycott of their music, the singer, Natalie Maines, attempted to clarify matters on March 12 with, "I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world."
This statement failed to quiet her critics, and on March 14 she issued an apology: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."
On March 16, 2006, the Dixie Chicks released the single "Not Ready to Make Nice" in advance of their upcoming album. Written by all three Chicks alongside Dan Wilson, it directly addressed the political controversy that had surrounded the group for the past three years:
Im not ready to make nice
Im not ready to back down
Im still mad as hell and I dont have time to go round and round and round
Its too late to make it right
I probably wouldnt if I could
Cause Im mad as hell
Cant bring myself to do what it is you think I should
and, in criticism of the death threats the women (particularly Maines) received,
Its a sad sad story when 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 theyd write me a letter sayin that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's job- approval rating declined to 33 percent, matching a record low, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that signaled public discontent with the economy and the Iraq war.
The survey of 1,001 adults was taken Aug. 7-9, before yesterday's announcement by British authorities that they had foiled a suspected terrorist plot to blow up planes bound for the U.S. In the past, imminent threats of attacks on the U.S. have helped underpin Bush's public support.
Bush's job approval rating was 36 percent in July and 33 percent in May, according to the AP poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Seventy-one percent of respondents in the current survey said Bush was leading the country in the wrong direction, up from 67 percent last month.
Public approval of Bush's leadership on the economy fell to 37 percent, a record, and 33 percent of Americans approved of his handling of the Iraq war, also a record low. On Bush's foreign policy in general, 40 percent said they approved of his administration's diplomacy overseas and in the war against terror, down from 44 percent a month earlier, the survey showed.
An increasing number of registered voters in the survey said their votes in the Nov. 7 midterm elections will be cast in part as a show of opposition to Bush. Twenty-nine percent of the registered voters said they'll punish Republicans in the election because Bush's policies, up from 20 percent in July.
A study of terror warnings and their impact on poll numbers during 2001-2004, conducted by sociologist Robb Willer of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, found that such warnings produced an average 2.75-point increase in Bush's approval rating.
So what I'm asking you is did the Dixie Chicks deserve to have their livelyhood and even their lives threatened for simply speaking their minds? And what do you think of them now in hindsight?
I happen to love their music and politics.
