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| ‘Dixie Chicking’: Post-9/11 Blacklisting in the Entertainment IndustryPosted on Oct 25, 2007
Ed Rampell The HUAC/McCarthy era and Hollywood blacklist may be over, but the not-so-grand inquisitors are still among us. On March 31, 2007, activist/actor Mike Farrell, who co-starred in TV’s “M*A*S*H” and co-founded Artists United to Win Without War, told Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting’s “CounterSpin” radio program, “There’s a price to be paid for speaking out, and some have paid a fairly serious price.” Around that same time, at a March 24, 2007, anti-war Oakland town meeting called by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, actor Sean Penn stated: “we are encouraged to self-censor any words that might be perceived as inflammatory—if our belief is that this war should stop today. We cower as you point fingers telling us to ‘support our troops.’ ” There are other examples of creative people suffering the consequences of their outspokenness since 9/11, but none are as compelling as the saga of the Dixie Chicks, the top-selling “girl group” of all time. Indeed, the red, white and bluegrass band’s name became a verb meaning censoring and punishing dissenters: “Dixie Chicking.” The Chicks’ story was turned into a documentary by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (1976’s “Harlan County USA” and 1990’s “American Dream") and Cecilia Peck. Cecilia’s father, Gregory Peck, won the Oscar for portraying the screen’s archetypal fighting liberal, Atticus Finch, in 1962’s anti-racist “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and produced the 1972 anti-Vietnam-War film “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine,” about the Berrigan brothers’ anti-draft activities. (In August 2007, Tim Robbins’ L.A.-based Actors Gang troupe presented a reading of the “Catonsville Nine” drama as a fundraiser.) “Shut Up & Sing” was presented on March 23, 2007, at Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center as part of the West Hollywood Women’s Leadership Conference, along with a post-screening panel discussion moderated by radio host Stephanie Miller that included Cecilia Peck and Chicks member Natalie Maines. During the Dixie Chicks’ 2003 “Top of the World” tour, it was Maines who set off the firestorm on the eve of “shock and awe” when she told British concertgoers: “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” As “Shut Up and Sing” demonstrated, all hell broke loose after Maines’ on-stage comment made the media rounds. The Chicks lost most of their airtime on right-leaning country-western radio; CD and concert ticket sales plummeted. Encouraged by reactionary FreeRepublic.com bloggers and DJs, ex-fans destroyed Chicks CDs en masse during the ensuing “Dixie Chicks Destruction” campaign. Concerts were picketed by Red-baiters who called the Chicks “traitors” and “communists,” although the group’s fans were divided, with many remaining loyal. Worst of all, bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors were deployed at Dixie Chicks concerts. Under heavy security, the Texas trio confronted a 2003 death threat at a Dallas performance, after a letter threatened to shoot Maines in the same city where John F. Kennedy had been gunned down 40 years earlier. For his part, President Bush appeared to egg on the Chicks’ persecutors, saying: “They shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because some people don’t want to buy their records.” Sixty years after the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist, “Shut Up & Sing” raises the issue of modern-day censorship. Onscreen, Maines reacts to the group’s loss of airtime, angrily demanding to know, “How is [this] not a boycott? They haven’t been playing our music for a few weeks.” Paul Beane, general manager of the Lubbock, Texas, radio station KRBL, declared: “We’re not going to play them anymore. It’d simply be financial suicide.” At a 2004 Senate hearing, in one of his finer moments, Sen. John McCain mocked Clear Channel’s denial that the media conglomerate was ordering its radio stations to ban the Chicks from its corporate airwaves. (In 2004, CNN quoted Howard Stern as saying that the San Antonio-based Clear Channel is “very tied to the Bush administration.” In the CNN report, Stern says: “Clear Channel for years has been defending me. ... I criticize Bush and then I’m fired. ... They acted out of politics.") During the panel following the March 2007 “Shut Up and Sing” screening, Stephanie Miller, host of the nationally syndicated “Stephanie Miller Show,” noted that, ironically, Clear Channel was a co-sponsor of the screening. Despite Clear Channel’s apparent support of that event, Miller said, “There’s a concerted effort to shut down progressive talk. [Conservative] Christians are buying radio stations.” Miller, whose father was Barry Goldwater’s Republican running mate in 1964, claimed that progressive stations were even being taken off the air in markets where they were No. 1 in the ratings. Ed Schultz, whose nationally syndicated program is also heard on Air America, similarly complained of blacklisting in Ohio markets. ‘Freedom of Speech Is Not Free’
Onscreen, and in the “Shut Up and Sing” panel discussion, Maines displayed her defiant spirit, which was also evident on Dec. 15, 2003. On that date, at the height of the backlash against progressive artists, the Dixie Chicks attended the annual Bill of Rights Dinner presented by the American Civil Liberties Union’s Southern California chapter in Beverly Hills. The function celebrated the 212th anniversary of the first 10 amendments of the Constitution and honored Chicks manager Simon Renshaw (and that other “Dixie Chick,” fellow Texan Molly Ivins).
How is it that Americans pride themselves on living in a free country where people can speak their minds, but if they express dissent they’re often punished? “That’s the new system here,” Renshaw responded. “Certain people in the country have figured out that the best way of actually curtailing freedom of speech is to make sure people understand freedom of speech is no longer free, and there’s consequences to exercising free speech. What we saw in 2003, when people spoke out, there was a very well organized, vociferous group that immediately went after them and attempted to harm their well-being. Certainly, the Dixie Chicks saw death threats as a result of what they said,” Renshaw said. Maines added: “After September 11th, we felt lots of vulnerability, and wanted somebody to lead and save us. The country’s been in a strange state ... so try not to get too discouraged about everything that occurred. Things like that should always be a reminder, that we haven’t necessarily come as far as we think we have, and we have to constantly be checking ourselves. A mother of a military guy wrote us saying, ‘Freedom’s not something you can write on a wall. It’s something you live.’ So I feel proud that I use my freedoms, and don’t just claim on a daily basis to have freedom.” Expressing admiration for the ACLU, Maines noted, “Standing up for the underdog sometimes is not politically correct.” When the tongue-in-cheeky Maines presented the award to Renshaw, she poked fun at those questioning her patriotism: “Lots of people will be surprised to hear I was here tonight, because they were waiting for me to get out of that hole with Saddam.” Maines added: “Another power the federal government refuses to limit [is] the power of the corporate media. Not the media’s right to speak, but the media’s obligation to let other people speak. I don’t want to mention any names, but freedom of speech requires a clear channel to communications. ... We have to all get active and challenge our government, or ... the Bill of Rights will just be something from history we learn about in school.” During his acceptance speech, Renshaw mocked “George the Second,” contending: “Certainly, 2003 ... [was] the year America was deceived into a war, and part of that deception was putting on notice any dissenting voice to ensure they understood freedom of speech is not free. The concept of ‘shut up and sing’ was born. ... It’s now possible to be ‘Dixie Chicked.’ ... There are many well-organized groups of right-thinking citizens who will work selflessly to make sure that those who dare to speak up and dissent are suitably ‘Dixie Chicked.’ They make their views known from the safety and anonymity of the Internet and radio talk shows. ... They’re determined to ensure that we understand freedom of speech is not free.” Renshaw continued: “Especially you—Hollywood. You music and movie celebrities ... are all on notice: Shut up and sing—or act or whatever. But shut up! I also learned we can count on America’s liberal media—yeah, right! Instead of asking the questions and encouraging debate, our new media conglomerates issue corporate ‘fatwas’ on those to be ‘Dixie Chicked.’ Music networks can ban your music, talk shows can vilify your personality, what remains of this country’s so-called news media trivializes it all into neat 30-second sound bites. ... You may have freedom of speech, but our media now seems to be designed [so] we’ll never be heard. ... A well-known German TV personality ... told us: ‘In my country, our media would never allow this to happen again.’ ” Finally, Renshaw concluded: “I’d like to thank the Dixie Chicks [for] the way they handled themselves through a lousy time ... and for having the strength to say ‘no,’ and for their insistence on always doing the right thing. ... Freedom of speech is only important if it’s exercised. Celebrities should not shut up and sing: They should stand up and shout, and we must support them.” ‘Stand Up and Shout’ In a similar spirit, during his March 24, 2007, speech, Sean Penn declared: “Well, you and the smarmy pundits in your pocket, those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and bloodstained underwear, can take that noise and shove it. We will be snowed no more. Let’s make this crystal-clear. We do support our troops in our stand, while you exploit them and their families. The verdict is in. You lied, connived, and exploited your own countrymen and, most of all, our troops ... you Misters Bush and Cheney; you, Ms. Rice, are villainously and criminally obscene people. ...” Their courage and creativity sustained dissident artists, as the tide of public opinion eventually began to turn. In 2004, Penn and co-star Tim Robbins won Oscars for “Mystic River,” a film about child-killing and abuse, directed by Clint Eastwood, who went on to helm the anti-war-themed 2007 best-picture nominee “Letters From Iwo Jima.” And the Dixie Chicks swept 2007’s Grammys, as their single “Not Ready to Make Nice” expressed the band’s fighting spirit. These awards are affirmations for contrarian performers in industries subject to popular and commercial whims. Likewise, in the decades following their censure, some blacklist-era artists also made comebacks. Dalton Trumbo wrote numerous movies, including “Spartacus,” and directed and wrote the 1971 pacifist picture “Johnny Got His Gun,” which won the Jury Grand Prize at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. Ring Lardner won a screenwriting Oscar for 1970’s anti-war comedy “M*A*S*H,” and screenwriter Waldo Salt won for 1969’s “Midnight Cowboy,” which also took the best-director and best-picture Academy Awards. Salt was also co-nominated for 1974’s “Serpico” and co-won another Oscar for 1978’s anti-Vietnam-War drama. “Coming Home,” starring Jane Fonda and Jon Voight. Abraham Polonsky’s “Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here” (1969) was a gritty look at indigenous Americans’ plight. The Committee for the First Amendment ’47/’07 was formed this year, not just to commemorate the Hollywood 10 and the blacklist or to seek redress for past grievances. Rather, the main reason for its creation was to remind people about a previous era of repression in order to shine a light on contemporary censorship against dissenting artists so that another blacklist—and a new brand of McCarthyism—never comes to pass. The following is a list of several artists and media figures who have paid the price for dissenting since Sept. 11, 2001.
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By Kristen R., January 2 at 10:24 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I went to the link you provided <http://www.masada2000.org/dirt-list.html> and was thoroughly appalled. We’re living in scary times, indeed!
Report thisBy cann4ing, November 26, 2007 at 3:05 pm #
Patrick Henry, interesting that both Norm Finkelstein and Ilan Pappe were placed on a list of supposed “traitors” to Israel. Sort of underscores the fascist mindset of Zionism.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 26, 2007 at 2:24 pm #
While the dixie chicks who deserve a medal of some kind, blacklists are a real problem. Here’s one I came across.
http://www.masada2000.org/dirt-list.html
Report thisBy 1drees, November 26, 2007 at 2:05 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
These girls deserve a lot of credit for holdingout to bullying on the personal and professional scale.
These were good artistes who were suddenly banned and harassed for voicing their frank and honest opinion ( theoretically possible in USA) AND then again what they were saying was correct on the long term, I mean most of the people who maybe harassed or threatenned them THEN are most probably by now very very SICK of BUSH’s BULLSHIT in the ZIONIST NEW WORLD ORDER GAME.
Report thisYES in USA there are all sorts of LISTS especially BLACKLISTS, who maintains them? Well, if you live in the USA and dont know that maybe you should try and wake up someday.
There is approved people to invite to press conferences and approved people to hand out contracts to, and approved people this and that. MAYBE if you been dissenting then most probably local law enforcement authorites might have made aware to you that your presence is known to them. the ROOT behind all this is the ZIONIST desire to get things done by non-Jews of the world as “a Zionist fingernail must not break BUT a thopusand Goyims can persish, such valuable is zionist blood” so in order to safeguard their agenda and mission they do keep lists and who knows maybe i might be on one of them.
So whoever gets in the way of the next war, the war on IRAN, you better watch out too coz you might get the same as the dixie chicks.
By PaulMagillSmith, November 10, 2007 at 2:49 am #
No problem, Ernest, I wasn’t coming down on you at all. I’ve read enough of your stuff to know you’re one of the ‘good guys’.
Keep on keepin’ on, friend.
Report thisBy cann4ing, November 8, 2007 at 3:43 pm #
Whoa there Paul, you need to lighten up a bit. My statement about not remembering the 60s was merely tongue-in cheek humor. Most people accuse me of being to the left of Ralph Nader rather than someone who parrots neocon propaganda.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, November 8, 2007 at 5:34 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
“Its a quote from one of OURS not one of THEIRS, intended as humor rather than a put down.”
Robin Williams (IMHO) is not one of anyone’s except his own. self serving megalomaniac who had a hand in murdering his “friend”. If he had been o poor boy he’d be in jail.. But as with all things US money money money is what is important.
Why go all the way back to Shakespeare, when there is ample example much closer… in CABARET.
Report thisBy PaulMagillSmith, November 8, 2007 at 1:48 am #
RE: #112044 by Ernest Canning on 11/06 at 11:28 pm
(1048 comments total)
“Thanks for the title and singer Paul, but you know what they say about the 60s? If you can remember them, you werent there.”
Well I certainly WAS there, Ernest, and believe your statement is just MSM neo-CON promoted propaganda designed to marginalize people like us. It’s a quote from one of OURS not one of THEIRS, intended as humor rather than a put down.
From a memory like an elephant going back to age three & having the nads to go travel during a very interesting/confusing time in human existence, research & study of history using eclectic sources, and despite undergoing 4 brain surgeries & more than my share of chemical ‘experiments’ (the two not related), I find my grasp of what has happened in the past, as well as where civilization is headed improving almost daily.
Ever the optimist, in the vein of Voltaire’s “Candide”, yet failing in the intense good fortune of Forrest Gump, I still hold hope for the social evolution of humanity. That good must always triumph over evil (God over Devil if one prefers the religious derivatives)is a given, and to come back to the point of this article, also why the Dixie Chicks have rebounded higher despite seemingly insurmountable Zionist controlled MSM obstacles placed in their way.
Spike Lee had it right in the movie title “Do the Right Thing”, a personal philosophy of living I had condensed long before the movie to “DO RIGHT” (although that word should always be interpreted directionally & morally rather than politically.
Although the writing on the wall indicates we are in for a very bumpy future ride, what is the point of carrying on if we don’t hold to the belief Shakespeare was correct in stating “The truth will out.”?
Report thisBy PaulMagillSmith, November 8, 2007 at 12:42 am #
RE: #111964 by Colorado on 11/06 at 12:32 pm
(Unregistered commenter)
“And this article confirms there is a blacklist in hollywood today? And who is behind this blacklist?”
Well you asked so here it is:
Report thishttp://www.natvan.com/who-rules-america/
By cann4ing, November 6, 2007 at 11:28 pm #
Thanks for the title and singer Paul, but you know what they say about the 60s? If you can remember them, you weren’t there.
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 6, 2007 at 7:26 pm #
Colorado,
If you do not agree with the article and do not believe their is a blacklist in hollywood today, why do you not be more specific, oh my, oh my.
You dont want to waste your time, Unreal. oh my, oh my, Unreal, Like where are you Colorado, why are you here? Oh my Unreal? Amazing the comments from individuals and add to this journalism? Oh my!
Yes you made a point Colorado and it is on top of your head.
Report thisOh My was McCarthy real or unreal?
By Inherit The Wind, November 6, 2007 at 5:03 pm #
Paracelsus on 11/06 at 4:55 pm
(94 comments total)
#111933 by RBS
http://takingaimradio.com/hhz/index.htm
Ralph Schoenmann, a Jewish man, crystallizes for me the illegitimacy of the nation of Israel. BTW, Palestine as a protectorate of Britain had an immigration policy during the interregnum that ignored the wishes of the Palestinian people. All the usual claptrap about the Palestinian Arabs being anti-Semites was used to argue for an open border policy in Palestine. I think that the nation of Israel should be dissolved and all Jews given Commonwealth passports and British citizenship. This was a problem caused by the elites of the Anglo aristocracy. They are the real rulers of the USA through their shadow governments. The CFR, and the Bilderbergers are the true governments and they give their pronouncements to those in the apparent governments. Please read Francis Bacons The New Atlantis. He foresaw in 1598, the rise of a puppet republic in the British colonies of North America.
What an IDIOT! By that standard of logic, every US and Canadian citizen who isn’t “Native American” should be given a British passport, and the United States and Canada dissolved. That would also solve the immigration problem.
It sounds really stupid when you change the context from one “usurper”, Israel, to another “usurper”, the United States.
And, like most hypocrits who dictate what’s right for OTHER people you’ll bitch and moan and whine when it happens to you.
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 6, 2007 at 4:55 pm #
#111933 by RBS
http://takingaimradio.com/hhz/index.htm
Ralph Schoenmann, a Jewish man, crystallizes for me the illegitimacy of the nation of Israel. BTW, Palestine as a protectorate of Britain had an immigration policy during the interregnum that ignored the wishes of the Palestinian people. All the usual claptrap about the Palestinian Arabs being anti-Semites was used to argue for an open border policy in Palestine. I think that the nation of Israel should be dissolved and all Jews given Commonwealth passports and British citizenship. This was a problem caused by the elites of the Anglo aristocracy. They are the real rulers of the USA through their shadow governments. The CFR, and the Bilderbergers are the true governments and they give their pronouncements to those in the apparent governments. Please read Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis. He foresaw in 1598, the rise of a puppet republic in the British colonies of North America.
Report thisBy Colorado, November 6, 2007 at 12:32 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
And this article confirms there is a blacklist in hollywood today? And who is behind this blacklist? It is like throwing confetti in the air and saying it’s evidence of a celebration. Get a rope!
I don’t where to begin and won’t waste my time. Unreal. Amazing the comments from individuals that add to this… journalism? Unreal. How I ended up here.... I wondered where the comments were being fueled from that bubble up in the media about this subject but if this is the clear view, oh my. Unreal.
Report thisBy RBS, November 6, 2007 at 8:46 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
PaulMagillSmith: “Its not a matter of who was Jewish or not. The real enemy of humanity is the Zionists, many of whom are not even Jewish.”
You’re fucking kidding me.
Do these people even know what Zionism is?
I can’t help but think these are white supremacists (who also make these blanket anti-Zionist comments on their own sites) poisoning the well of “liberal” thought.
The 9/11 Truth movement is already compromised with this type of 1933 thinking.
Of all the hundreds of Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist nations on earth—the urge for the Jews to own one measly little patch of desert is “the greatest threat to humanity”?
All the people who argue against Empire for its effect on persons displaced in diaspora who oppose even the concept of a Jewish state—it’s hypocrisy. The Jews were displaced by the Romans, booted from their ancestral earth.
That’s not to say the Israeli government doesn’t do a whole lot of stupid.
And there is a valid argument that some Evangelical Christians, who see Zionism as a shortcut to the apocalypse, are somewhat of a threat to peace. After all, many voters re-elected George Bush for this reason—BECAUSE he was going to bring on the armageddon. But Zionism is about a country for the Jews where they don’t have to put up with anybody else’s bullshit (good luck, right?) like pogroms, inquisitions, concentration camps, and crucifixions, for example.
Moving Jews into place in the “Holy Land” to prepare the way for the final battle between Jews and Muslims that will sweep the good Christian soldiers onto the great spaceship is not Zionism.
Report thisBy msgmi, November 6, 2007 at 8:35 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Since post 9/11, the crusaders of paranoia have done a successful job in promoting their 21st century ‘inquisition’ of those that speak out against the neo-CON new world order. Leadership structured on fear should be an awakening to those that have supported it without question. Does the German inquisition in the 1930’s or the homegrown McCarthyism of the 1950’s ring a bell?
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, November 6, 2007 at 5:16 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
EC Country Joe was great Heard him sing at Woodstock (wasn’t inside this extravaganza,which was really in the town of Bethel, was out side towing cars for Sullivan County)
For anti war songs though My favorite is Phil Oches “I ain’t marching anymore” (which they wouldn’t play on New Yorks radio stations way before “Clear Channel”
http://www.KaZaA.com has it ready to steal.
Report thisBy loverofpeace, November 5, 2007 at 7:16 pm #
Ernest, the songwriter was Country Joe McDonald. He’s still around and still against war as a solution to our problems.
Report thisBy PaulMagillSmith, November 5, 2007 at 6:58 pm #
Ernest,
It’s the ‘Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag’ by Country Joe and the Fish, a great San Francisco group I saw many times when I lived out there from 1968-1972. (two blocks from the intersection of Haight & Asbury Sts)
I’m impressed you remembered the words...you ole Hippie you...and that’s a compliment, because despite the Reich Wing/Right Wing spin of those days the Hippies were right in many ways about a number of concepts.
Report thisBy cann4ing, November 5, 2007 at 5:57 pm #
CY, perhaps its a matter of age bias, but I really think a better set of anti-war songs emerged in the 60s and early seventies. Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Where have all the flowers gone” led the way in 1962. Dylan’s “Universal Soldier” is a classic that applies to “war” period. But I can’t even recall the name of the one that bore those sarcastically biting lyrics:
“Well, it’s one, two, three
Report thisWhat are we fightin’ for
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam
And it’s five, six, seven
Open up the Pearly Gates
Ain’t no time to wonder why,
Whoppee we’re all gonna die.”
By Ricardo, November 5, 2007 at 11:10 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
In this country FULL of religious freaks...it is a shame no discussion can ever be had without bringing religion into the mix...get it through your heads!!!!!!!!1...THERE IS NO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..please let us pick up the pieces caused by everyone’s broken tears upon this realization...and lets get on with the art of living....godless...and intelligently
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, November 5, 2007 at 5:40 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
111655 by PaulMagillSmith on 11/04 at 5:25 pm
“Although a son of the south Im not a big country fan, but will always hold the Dixie Chicks in highest esteem for bravely eduring a temporary sacrifice to stand up to this fascist attempt to tyranize artists. In the long run their courage has gained them well deserved awards, a wider more respectful audience, rebounded record & concert sales, but most importantly their self-respect. Hold your heads high girls/ladies/CHICKS, you deserve it.”
Although born and raised in New York City, I loved C&W;music at a time when NYC didn’t have a single C&W;station. I listened to WWVA from Wheeling W.Va. late at night and became a Huge Kitty Wells fan.
People on this board are probably not aware of this, but Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez were both accepted on the Country stations before they were allowed to sing on “more mainstream” media.
To put this in perspective, the Dixie Chicks are far from the first entertainers censored by our government Alan Freed was censored harassed, and broken by a government that thought the “Rock & Roll” of the fifties was indecent. Johnny Cash was banned from some C&W;stations for his “Vietnam talking blues” Buffy St. Marie couldn’t get any recognition for her “native American protest songs” and most East Coast stations wouldn’t play “Universal Soldier” (a good song for this war too!) Peter LaFarge is almost unknown, and his tribute to “Lake Perfidy” (AS LONG AS THE GRASS SHALL GROW) has been ignored by the mainstream media. The C&W;station that plays “oldies” in this part of the world (A Clear Channel Station) won’t play Charlie Danial’s “Still in Saigon”
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 4, 2007 at 7:37 pm #
@ #111578 by Leefeller
No one here would say that the Dixie Chicks deserved this blacklisting and slander. In Nazi Germany an entertainer would die an unexplained suicide for politically unpopular views. Have you heard of the Swing Kids? The Soviet Union was no different. Frequently a tyranny accuses others of its own crimes. The Pinks in Hollywood had not responsibility for the arming of the Communists in North Vietnam during the closing months of WW2. This was accomplished by our own Army in Iowa Jima. The Chinese Maoists were well supplied by Western corporations while Kiang Chai Chek forces were under an UN arms embargo. Los Alamos an dthe Pentagon had long had “misshipments” of Uranium 235 and bomb plans to the Soviet Union. Julius and Ethel Rosenbergs were
Report thisthe Wen Ho Lee’s of their time. So if our media and our government accuses the Dixie Chicks of aiding terrorists by their words and actions, then you must know that the accuser is actually the accused.
I would speculate that the high cabal has long experimented with different forms of scientific dictatorship.
By PaulMagillSmith, November 4, 2007 at 5:25 pm #
RE: #111629 by Conservative Yankee on 11/04 at 2:15 pm
(Unregistered commenter)
You wrote:
“Since evangical Xtianity springs from an evolution of the Xtian experience is it unreasonable to feel the xtians have a responsibility & duty to reign in these wayward anti-social people?”
CY, I reiterate from my post:
“I am tolerant of all peoples religions, but subscribe to none of their organized efforts myself.”
To clarify, I am not opposed to the philosophical foundations of religions, which I perceive as necessary to provide moral & ethical guides as to how to treat your fellow human beings. I am opposed to organized religion, however, since they take good concepts from far seeing prophets and warp/pervert them into businesses seeking only profits & domination of populaces. Regardless of choice of worship it is a sad fact we all now have our ‘cross to bear’ (so to speak). Although your reply had a sarcastic intent, I don’t believe we are really that far apart in a common shared belief religion & politics have now combined into some bizarre & dangerous form of mass dementia, and regardless of spiritual inclination theocratic forms of government represent a ‘clear & present danger’ to all of us.
To return focus to the article at hand (somehow the discussion went tangential, but not completely abstracted just distracted a bit), the ‘Dixie Chicking’ of the Dixie Chicks, although primarily by fundamentalist Christians, is indicative of a propensity by ALL religions to stifle free speech, free will, free thought, and free choice, in order to bring errant patrons back into the fold of dogmatic conformist enslavement/control.
Although a ‘son of the south’ I’m not a big country fan, but will always hold the Dixie Chicks in highest esteem for bravely eduring a temporary sacrifice to stand up to this fascist attempt to tyranize artists. In the long run their courage has gained them well deserved awards, a wider more respectful audience, rebounded record & concert sales, but most importantly their self-respect. Hold your heads high girls/ladies/CHICKS, you deserve it.
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 4, 2007 at 3:25 pm #
Since neoconism springs from the thighs of opportunism, and runs rampant like mad dogma, those who are not neocons, have no power to reign in their selfish bent than a Jewish person has to reign in a Zionist. Even though we would hope that neither existed.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, November 4, 2007 at 2:15 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
111599 by PaulMagillSmith on 11/04 at 10:44 am
“Since Zionism springs from an evolution of the Jewish experience is it unreasonable to feel the Jewish community has a rsponsibility & duty to rein in these wayward anti-social people?”
Since evangical Xtianity springs from an evolution of the Xtian experience is it unreasonable to feel the xtians have a responsibility & duty to reign in these wayward anti-social people?
We are all predators. Those little canine teeth tell our history, and unfortunately our future.
Report thisBy PaulMagillSmith, November 4, 2007 at 10:44 am #
ITW & PH, enough of this already. It’s not a matter of who was Jewish or not. The real enemy of humanity is the Zionists, many of whom are not even Jewish.
On the other hand the Jewish claim of being ‘the chosen people’ must be understood to carry with it responsibility to do something FOR the human race, rather than just TO it. Now I understand there is a great divide between Torah Jews and Zionists, the latter preferring to TAKE rather than patiently wait for God to GIVE.
For the curous I am what might be referred to as a WASSP (white Anglo Saxon spiritual person). I am tolerant of all people’s religions, but subscribe to none of their organized efforts myself. I AM, however, opposed to Zionists, who I see as a greater threat to the human race than any particular religion, or combinations of religious peoples.
Since Zionism springs from an evolution of the Jewish experience is it unreasonable to feel the Jewish community has a rsponsibility & duty to rein in these wayward anti-social people?
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 4, 2007 at 7:44 am #
Well the fact that McCarthy did what he did was reprehensible and heinous, his destruction of peoples lives on conjecture and hearsay and lets name it what it was, a witch hunt. Black listing the Dixie Chicks, is a relative tactic to swiftboating. Freedom of speech means mass media and programed bias, linked to special interests; after all they are one; attempts to destroy disagreeing peoples lives, seems their needs to be a line drawn in the sand.
What would have happened if the mass media had supported the Dixie Chicks instead of trying to discredit them? Truth must not be told, especially in public, so the Dixie Chicks could have lied and said they were happy with Bush a fellow Texan and are proud he is our president. Well they didnt and they said how they felt about Bush.
Republicans send out attack dogs like, Ann Colter or Fat Russ spewing hate and lies, but the Dixie Chicks cannot state feelings or opinions?
Black listing is just one small tactic, all part of the greater plan, just another part of the attack on the Constitution and destruction of peoples rights and liberties.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 4, 2007 at 6:25 am #
ITW,
Lenin was an ethnic jew - an athesist, close to being an agnostic like you.
You wrote:
“You really should learn that people will put anything on the web they want. That doesnt make it true”.
Report this-----------------------------------------------------
Your personal attacks on me in a nutshell and in your own words.
By Conservative Yankee, November 4, 2007 at 6:12 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Well, this thread has become yet another “Jew roast”
This whole site is filled with antisemitic liberals, a breed I never before met.... My only regret is I attempted to dialogue with these people.
I never considered myself a “Zionist” but if the only choices I have are Zionist or wimpy self-hatingJewish apologist, guess where I’m going?
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, November 4, 2007 at 6:10 am #
PatrickHenry on 11/03 at 7:20 pm
(274 comments total)
#111465 by Inherit The Wind
Your blanket unquestioning use of web sites tell you Lenin was a Jew. He was not. He was a lower-level aristocrat--not a drop of Jew in him. Of course, his friend and comrade, Trotsky was a Jew, but not Lenin--so your facts are wrong, as usual.
_________________________________________________
And as usual you stand corrected again.
http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/Vladimir_Lenin.html
You really should learn that people will put anything on the web they want. That doesn’t make it true.
Now you are telling us that you believe in biological racism--Lenin was baptized Russian Orthodox and raised as such, but that he still had “corrupted” blood because he MIGHT have had a Jewish grandparent.
Of course, that’s no surprise coming from a KKK ignorant redneck, that you would follow Hitler’s biological racism and HIS definition of a “Jew”.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 3, 2007 at 7:20 pm #
#111465 by Inherit The Wind
“Your blanket unquestioning use of web sites tell you Lenin was a Jew. He was not. He was a lower-level aristocrat--not a drop of Jew in him. Of course, his friend and comrade, Trotsky was a Jew, but not Lenin--so your facts are wrong, as usual”.
_________________________________________________
And as usual you stand corrected again.
http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/Vladimir_Lenin.html
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, November 3, 2007 at 5:02 pm #
PatrickHenry on 11/03 at 12:08 pm
(272 comments total)
The Mcarthy hearings came about because of the Rosenbergs (an american jewish family) sold the Soviet Union the secrets to the A-Bomb.
The list of ethnic jews (atheists) who were communists begins with Karl Marx and Lenin and flows down from there.
Truth hurts some, but all you have to do is computer search on Jewish communists and you can find out for yourself.
What is your brand of judaism ITW? ethnic or religious? Sephartic or Ashkenazi or are you one of the big mouth New Yorker type trolls, you talk like one.
And there’s this...
PatrickHenry on 11/03 at 2:58 pm
(272 comments total)
#111414 by FFURKS
Leefellers post #111163 ended,
I guess McCarthy should have been after the jewish people instead of the communists?
My point was that they were the communists.
I dont agree with Semitic rewriting of history.
I do agree with Paracelsus post #11147 that alot of the true military-industrialist families need to be exposed. Theyre still in action today.
Your hatred, ignorance, bigotry and flat-out stupidity continue to astound me. Your blanket unquestioning use of web sites tell you Lenin was a Jew. He was not. He was a lower-level aristocrat--not a drop of Jew in him. Of course, his friend and comrade, Trotsky was a Jew, but not Lenin--so your facts are wrong, as usual.
Meanwhile, Ethel Rosenberg’s brother, David Greenglass admitted he lied when he testified against his sister--he was caught--either his wife or his sister. He saved his wife. Ethel Rosenberg was murdered and was innocent.
Julius MAY have been guilty, but he was a machinist and probably not able to even RECOGNIZE atomic bomb plans if he saw them.
Again, your facts are wrong, your ignorance revealed.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 3, 2007 at 2:58 pm #
#111414 by FFURKS
Leefellers post #111163 ended,
“I guess McCarthy should have been after the jewish people instead of the communists”?
My point was that they were the communists.
I don’t agree with Semitic rewriting of history.
I do agree with Paracelsus post #11147 that alot of the true military-industrialist families need to be exposed. They’re still in action today.
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 3, 2007 at 2:28 pm #
@ #111389 by Leefeller on 11/03 at 7:24 am
(473 comments total)
Well it is nice to know that, explains McCarthy was really just a bigot. He did his whole circle jerk only to attack 2 percent of the population.
*********************************
I think that McCarthy erred in his jihad in going after the little people. You will notice that he was only stopped in his tracks when he tried to investigate the US Army. Instead of going after a bunch talented Jews he should have investigated the roles of wealthy ruling families in supporting Communism in Russia and China. I think he had good reason to suspect infiltration in the military and the State Dept. Instead he went after a good many naive good hearted people in the media.
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 3, 2007 at 2:21 pm #
To be fair Marx was supported by many wealthy Englishmen, who liked his ideas. That a large number of Jews were Communists should not obscure the fact that most Jews are not Communists. I do not think most conservative, orthodox, reform and reconstructionist Jews would feel comfortable living in a society that overlooks merit and talent in rewarding the goods of the economy. Aristocratic England is famous for setting up loony causes that seem to come from nowhere. Zionist Christianity has it roots in London gentlemen’s clubs. The key feature of communism is its ability to destroy the middle class as well as setting up authoritarian governments. I think of the era of the 1930’s as gentleman’s bet to see which system worked best in efficiency, fascism or communism.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 3, 2007 at 12:08 pm #
The Mcarthy hearings came about because of the Rosenbergs (an american jewish family) sold the Soviet Union the secrets to the A-Bomb.
The list of ethnic jews (atheists) who were communists begins with Karl Marx and Lenin and flows down from there.
Truth hurts some, but all you have to do is computer search on Jewish communists and you can find out for yourself.
What is your brand of judaism ITW? ethnic or religious? Sephartic or Ashkenazi or are you one of the big mouth New Yorker type trolls, you talk like one.
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, November 3, 2007 at 10:23 am #
PatrickHenry on 11/03 at 7:04 am
(266 comments total)
#111163 by Leefeller
Most of the communists were jews.
*****************
You’ll post horseshit like this, then bitch and whine and make snotty remarks when your basic KKK persona is noted.
You don’t LIKE being called a neo-nazi KKK bigot? Then stop posting racist and bigoted crap that you do.
You troll for the racists, but are too much of a coward to ADMIT what you are.
If Patrick Henry were alive he’d drop dead to see a Benedict Arnold like you besmirching his name and legacy.
Report thisBy FFURKS, November 3, 2007 at 9:32 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
111383 by PatrickHenry on 11/03 at 7:04 am
#111163 by Leefeller
Most of the communists were jews.
Not to butt in, BUT I (as a reader) need to get this straight. Most of the Jews were communist, but they were so adept at using capitalism they cornered the banking industry, and the media companies.
Was that the communism of Marx? or some other variety?
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 3, 2007 at 8:07 am #
The subject of Israel and the jews who unconditionally support it is a preeminent subject of social importance in this country which emcompasses the control of the media and campaign finance of our lawmakers. Together, these issues formulate our domestic and foreign policy which if you haven’t noticed lately, sucks.
Leefeller, I see by your “stale” comments ascribing others views as anti-semite (which I could care less) you use the same buzzwords KKK, bigoted, Israel bashing, etc. It’s like you are using the same script as the Troll patrol which posts here.
No one more than I would like to see Israel turn their swords into plowshares, make peace with their neighbors and turn down any aid from the United States. In the same breath I would like to see anti trust action in the media to ensure it is truely unbiased and not preferential to any race, religion, sex or creed as any employer knows is discrimminatory.
Report thisBy Can of Whoop Ass, November 3, 2007 at 7:47 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I say line up all the conservaloon, christofascist coo-coos and give ‘em the Kool-Aid.
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 3, 2007 at 7:24 am #
Well it is nice to know that, explains McCarthy was really just a bigot. He did his whole circle jerk only to attack 2 percent of the population.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, November 3, 2007 at 7:04 am #
#111163 by Leefeller
Most of the communists were jews.
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 3, 2007 at 6:55 am #
weather,
Corporate lobbies have undue influence on our government, the simple fact bigoted people disregard all the other lobbies and tunnel vision focus on Israel is clear deep seated bigotry. Attempting to connect and blame Judaism, Israel or any other ethnic group for the problems within our country, is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Hitler revisited, deception the key.
Even though I disagree with Feinstein and Schumer on voting for the neocon choice as AG, the low road attack on their names is exactly what I am talking about. Disagreeing on the issue is relevant, attacking ones ethnicity is not.
Yes I may be stale only because I do not agree with your refreshing bigotry. Israel bashing is just another necon tool to subtract focus from the truth.
Let me make it clear, it is the Israel bashing that is stale, not the posts on topic, seems as if TD has been caucused by the KKK, maybe I have been here to long and have become stale. So be it!
Report thisBy weather, November 3, 2007 at 2:36 am #
leefeller, what motivated Chuck"drama queen"Schumer and Feinstein to push Mukasey the waterboarding enigma for AG?
When you have the courage to confront that question and ponder what it says about their character then you’re ready to accept that its you who’s stale and these posts are as fresh as it gets.
Report thisBy Bert, November 2, 2007 at 12:36 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Remember Glenn Beck on CNN talking about the
Report thiscalifornia wildfires burning people’s homes that
hated america? Who REALLY hates America, maybe its the neo-con craven cronies who’ll do anything for a
buck, or in this case, a Bushbuck? What OTHER
high crime, fraud, and larceny will be perpetrated
under this administration? Who ELSE does their
army of assholes include? With friends like BushCo,
who needs Osama? What’s REALLY going on, here?
I don’t really care about the Dixie Hicks one way
or another, but I think that a lot of the stuff
we’ve read about political allegiance should
give ANYONE pause next time they see UberChimp
on TV…
9 trillion, and counting…
By kevin99999, November 2, 2007 at 8:41 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
For those of us who are outraged by this type of black listing by the hollywood directed towards those who dare to speak up against unjust wars and other similar causes. I wish I knew who are the people responsible and what products and services they sell so that I can choose not to buy those products and services and persuade others to do the same.
Report thisBy Leefeller, November 2, 2007 at 7:07 am #
Turning every post on TD into some sort of Jewish bashing feasts is really getting stale. This kind of bigoted bull is what Hitler did, I find it reprehensible, not because the jewish people are perfect, but as a group they are individuals who like any other have different opinions from each other. The Japanese internment camps are a prime example of bigoted misanthropic actions, why were there no German internment camps?
Blind Prejudices like blind faith require nothing more than ignorance, the opposite of enlightenment a common and easy recipe to direct the lemmings approach to self demise, the main purpose taking the focus off and away from the real problems, and I suppose that is the grand tactic we see on these posts.
So, I guess McCarthy should have been after the jewish people instead of the communists?
Report thisBy Dr Richard Blackmoor, November 2, 2007 at 1:23 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
It is important to make it law that a business can only own ONE media outlet.
Report thisRepeat; a business can only own ONE media outlet. One news paper...one TV network....one magazine etc. and just as important total net neutrality forever with the public owning ALL internet “airwaves”.
By RBS, November 2, 2007 at 12:05 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Those Dixie Chicks CD-smashing rallies were sponsored by the Bush-aligned radio conglomerates. And then covered on the TV news as news, rather than as what they were—pseudo-events.
Also, much of Clear Channel, et al’s kowtowing to the Bush Administration line began to dissolve as soon as the Bush FCC (under Colin Powell’s son) announced rule changes that would allow those very corporations to own a greater percentage of the media outlets in a given market.
That time the rules failed—but the current Bush FCC is trying it again.
How is that affecting news coverage today?
http://scorpionbowl.blogspot.com/2007/10/return-of-kno w-somethings.html
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 1, 2007 at 9:54 pm #
One solution to diversifying media.
I think if Christians would like to consume media that is not centered on that dominated by Jews, that it would be up to them to found a movie industry in a city friendly to them. Perhaps Memphis, Tennessee would be a good location as it already serves as an area for Country and Western. A Christian owner could set forth a corporate culture that Christian talent would flock to. The important thing is that corporate control would be kept in Christian hands. This would mean that a public corporation would have to be closely held by majority owners. Or the movie studio would be a private concern. I think if Christians wan t media that reflects values that are Disney like then they should be as entrepreneurial and risk taking as their Jewish cousins in Hollywood. I think that those in a majority culture and religion tend to get complacent and risk shy as compared to a group of people who have always considered themselves outsiders. After all isn’t the word chutzpah used very often in Hollywood itself. Also Christians need to be able to toot their own horns, but too often they are taught to be humble and meek. I think the attitudes of the evangelical community could be very helpful in this regard. If you as a Christian are tired of movies portraying every preacher as a Lonesome Roades stereotype in The Movies, then it is up to you to create your own media.
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 1, 2007 at 9:53 pm #
One solution to diversifying media.
I think if Christians would like to consume media that is not centered on that dominated by Jews, that it would be up to them to found a movie industry in a city friendly to them. Perhaps Memphis, Tennessee would be a good location as it already serves as an area for Country and Western. A Christian owner could set forth a corporate culture that Christian talent would flock to. The important thing is that corporate control would be kept in Christian hands. This would mean that a public corporation would have to be closely held by majority owners. Or the movie studio would be a private concern. I think if Christians wan t media that reflects values that are Disney like then they should be as entrepreneurial and risk taking as their Jewish cousins in Hollywood. I think that those in a majority culture and religion tend to get complacent and risk shy as compared to a group of people who have always considered themselves outsiders. After all isn’t the word chutzpah used very often in Hollywood itself. Also Christians need to be able to toot their own horns, but too often they are taught to be humble and meek. I think the attitudes of the evangelical community could be very helpful in this regard. If you as a Christian are tired of movies portraying every preacher as Randy Roades stereotype in The Movies, then it is up to you to create your own media.
Report thisBy Paracelsus, November 1, 2007 at 8:18 pm #
Is it possible that to have one ethnic/religious group in ownership of media is not all that healthy? Suppose mostly Irish Catholics owned movie studios in Hollywood. We would see loads of movies with Popes as heroes. You would never see any movies about Queen Elizabeth the First. You might see a ton load of comedies involving nuns. No one would ever see a movie about the inquisition. You might be see movies where Protestants realize The Truth. There would be a ton of media stories of baby being christened by priests. These would interwoven into comedies and movies as well. There would tons of movies on the Potato Famine. There might even be movements asking for reparations for Irish Famines of the 1840’s. There might even be some ugly movies and films of Mohls infecting little boys by accident from a clumsy bris. I am not knocking Judaism. I just don’t think it is good to have one religious ethnic group to predominate the culture industry, which consumed by the whole country. I think media is healthy if there are all kinds of different cultures in control of their own movie studios, newspapers, and television stations. I don’t think it is healthy for one ethnic cultural group to monopolistically pervade the culture industry. I don’t have any ideas to solve this problem.
Report thisBy tigger, November 1, 2007 at 4:11 pm #
well look what happens when one speaks the truth. last time i remember we all had the freedom of speech and the right to our opions. whatever something is said political, it always leads to some sort of drama. Lets talk drama, the US gov has spent billions on the war in Iraq but has managed to do very little for the US. for example the SCHIP program and hell new orleans is still a mess. Its all about the war!! nothing else. just imagine what programs could have been repaired or improved by not having to spend billions on a war in Iraq, for which we always be there, just like we are in Bosnia and vietnam still.
Report thisBy Bert, October 31, 2007 at 3:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
McCarthy rides again, turn the People against each
Report thisother, control them all…
By ocjim, October 31, 2007 at 10:30 am #
If Dixie-Chicking has its own meaning then Bushing has a very wide meaning, including lying, deceiving, distorting, pandering, exploiting, pontificating and puppeting.
Report thisBy cann4ing, October 29, 2007 at 7:06 pm #
No CY, I was quoting Bill Moyers. He seems to have borrowed the phrase from Spiro.
When I first began practicing law, I worked for a guy who had been served in the Justice Dept. under Robert Kennedy and, as a young lawyer, was one of the attorneys who prosecuted Hoffa. He taught me that the turning point in a case is to wait for your opponent to make a verbal mistake, then beat him over the head with it.
In this case, Agnew had referred to “nattering nabobs of negativism"--I kind of 60s version of the hard right’s “they hate America” label they hang on anyone who would dare question dubya’s policies. Moyers turned the phrase around by referring to “nattering nabobs of know-nothing radio"--an obvious reference to Rush Limbaugh and his ditto heads. Moyers borrowed a hard-right phrase, then beat them over the head with it. In the context of his full quote, I thought it pretty effective.
Report thisBy Logician, October 29, 2007 at 2:15 pm #
Re#110287 by PJ on 10/29 at 12:52 pm:
But pj, you still didn’t answer the question: Which “one God” are you talking about? I’m sure that with your oh so witty rejoinder, “idiots like you” you must be oh so smart and therefore aware that mankind has invented THOUSANDS of “Gods”, so which manmade “one God” are you using to justify your condemnation of people who do not share YOUR manmade “one God”?
Would it be the manmade “one God” that justifies burning the CDs of people whose feces you aren’t fit to eat? Would it be the manmade “one God” that justifies porking little boys? Would it be the manmade “one God” that justifies snorting crack after oral sex with a male prostitute? Would it be the manmade “one God” that justifies building a “University” then getting “spiritual” with the young male atheletes? Or would it be the manmade “one God” that justifies flying airplanes into buildings? How about the manmade “one God” that justifies killing traverlers?
You see, pj, there are THOUSANDS of “one Gods”. So, you need to be very specific about which “one God” you want to bless America and damn everyone who doesn’t agree with little old you. If you would take some time out from your enthusiatic research on inbreeding you would have a greater understanding of things other than inhaling the fumes of burning CDs. You would also find that the reason so many disagree with you is that, unlike you, our parents weren’t related. That’s why we know there are no gods, manmade or otherwise.
Report thisBy PJ, October 29, 2007 at 12:52 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Struck a nerve-huh? There is only one God. My comments were in regard to the actions of the dc and the consequences of those actions. God bless America where even idiots like you have freedom of speech. I never commented on the war. It must have been the voices in your head.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, October 29, 2007 at 4:25 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
“nattering nabobs”
Careful EC That’s Spiro T. Agnew you’re quoting!
“In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism”
S.T. Agnew on opponents of the Vietnam conflict
Report thisBy PaulMagillSmith, October 28, 2007 at 6:49 pm #
Hey Er