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Jewish World Review March 18, 2003 / 14 Adar II, 5763

Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham
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Consumer Reports


Dixie Chicken out


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Houston Spend just a few hours at the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and you realize how moronic the Dixie Chicks were to trash President George Bush in London last week. The 70,000+ people who showed up for the final day of this 23-day extravaganza at the new Reliant Stadium are the Chicks' fan base-or, I should say, were their fan base.

All I had to do was mention the name of the Grammy Award-winning country trio to elicit immediate disgust and anger from housewives, business executives, and event staff and volunteers. "Who do they think buys their albums?!" asked Ellie, a catering employee. "I whipped my copy of 'Fly' (the Chicks first CD) across my daughter's soccer field so the dog could chew it up," laughed a high-profile restaurant owner.

The fury surrounds the now-infamous comment Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines made to a packed London audience that she was "embarrassed" that George W. Bush was from Texas. Apparently unaware that Americans at home have electronic access to her inane comments abroad, Maines was blown away by the landslide at home. Within a few days, radio stations in Texas were announcing on-air boycotts, fans were ripping up tickets to the groups' upcoming American tour, thousands of others were vowed never to purchase another Chicks' CD.

The reality of losing gobs of money in today's struggling record business slapped Maines across her chubby little cheeks.

The official Dixie Chicks website posted this "apology" 4 days after the lead singers' initial remarks: "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."

To forgive is divine, but to forget what lies at the core of Maines' original comments and those of the more vicious anti-war/anti-Bush brigades is ill-advised and dangerous.

Maines' outburst is simply the latest and loudest of the caterwauls coming from those who believe they are intellectually and morally superior to the average American who supports this president and his view of the dangers posed by Saddam. People like Susan Sarandon, Jimmy Carter and Jessica Lange feel it's their solemn duty to tutor the rest of us who have neither the time nor the money hang out at peace rallies or travel to Baghdad courtesy of the Ministry of Information. Most of what we hear from the "anti-war" crowd hasn't been reasoned debate; it has served only to foment anti-American sentiment abroad. Those like Maines who go overseas to malign our leaders merely help those who are cheering on the demise of America's global super power status.

When hit with charges of 'anti-Americanism' these elites invariably respond that they "support the troops, but not the war." But why take their word for it? Let's ask the troops to see how much they feel supported by the likes of Sean Penn and Danny Glover, who believe we should have more faith in the intentions of the UN and Saddam, and less in our President. Imagine a USO tour, lead by Jessica Lange, Tim Robbins and Bill Maher. Neither can I.

When the war is over, when Saddam is gone, when his hidden weapons caches are on display for the world to see, and when Iraqis are living in freedom, we must not allow anyone to forget the obstacles we had to clear to make it all happen. The French and their ideological soul-mates here in the US will try to wallpaper over their previous comments and actions. To honor the memory of those who will lose their lives in this war, we cannot allow that to happen. We do not want to find ourselves struggling to climb out of this same UN-manufactured quicksand the next time we face a threat of weapons of mass destruction.

The closing ceremony at the rodeo Sunday night featured a parade with surprise guest "41," former President George Bush, who rode around the stadium in an open-air truck, waving to the deafening crowd, no doubt his mind and his heart with his son in Washington. Then Lee Greenwood sang "Proud to be an American," before the country legends Alabama kicked off what was billed as its final concert.

"You know the Dixie Chicks played here last year," my friend Dan said, as the fiddle music electrified the stadium. "Somehow I don't think they'll be back."

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JWR contributor Laura Ingraham is the host of a radio show syndicated nationally by Westwood One Radio Network and the author of "The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places". Comment by clicking here.

03/11/03: The real predator drones
03/04/03: The French PR machine crashes
02/25/03: Keep us safe --- let's be more like Europe!
02/11/03: Hollywood loves dictators
02/05/03: First Amendment frauds in Cincinnati
01/28/03: The elites versus the voters
01/22/03: Playing (and losing) Homeland Security politics
01/14/03: What have you done for the free world lately?
12/17/02: Who is the better leader: Gore or Lott?
12/10/02: Who, more than anyone else, is actively advancing the cause of civil liberties around the world?
12/04/02: 'Tis the season to hope for the worst
11/27/02: The Federal P.C. Police Versus Small Business Owners (Cont'd)
11/19/02: Bipartisan moves to reward illegals
11/13/02: Eminem, a rebel? You gotta be kidding!
11/05/02: In defense of low turnout
10/30/02: Hell, no they won't go!
10/22/02: Where are the moderate Muslims?
10/15/02: California dreaming, cont'd
10/08/02: Slick Willie's running
10/01/02: Euro-worries about wall flower status
09/26/02: How lucky we are that the Straight Talk Express drove off the cliff!
09/18/02: What Jackson and Sharpton know about conservatives
09/12/02: The Today Show v. guns
08/27/02: Bush not attending the UN-sponsored "bash Amerika" conference!?
08/20/02: The NEA: Let the anti-American indoctrination begin!
08/13/02: Bubba's revenge
08/07/02: Bilingual bust continues its drag on our schools
07/30/02: Dems love for big lawyers=big opportunity
07/23/02: No time for vacation
07/16/02: Is Homeland Security all wet?
06/25/02: The firing season has arrived
06/18/02: Picking the next chief
06/11/02: Intelligence coup, with much more to do
06/07/02: The Bush administration's foul ball
05/30/02: Post-feminism in the aftermath of 9-11
05/23/02: The press gunning for Ashcroft
05/19/02: El Jefe basks in Carter's Light
05/15/02: Former presidents who don't understand the word "former"
05/07/02: Ozzy deified, many mortified, drugs glorified?
05/01/02: Bush: "California here I come ... sort of"
04/27/02: The good news about conservatives versus Bush
04/17/02: While the cat's away....
04/09/02: Preview of 2004: See how Dick runs!
01/29/02: A kinder, gentler human-rights violator?
11/27/01: Military tribunals provide streamlined justice
09/07/01: Scariest animal wears pants
08/17/01: Depressed after seeing uncut version of Apocalypse Now --- and for good reason
07/20/01: The other, maybe more important, news
06/22/01: Washington's pro-Bono worship is unnerving
06/01/01: Burying conservatism
05/17/01: Ashcroft's abuse of power

© 2002, Laura Ingraham