The Dixie Chicks latest album "Home" is back at No. 1 on the Country sales charts and their upcoming U.S. tour is sold out most everywhere, all in spite of this so-called "boycott" of the band by conservatives.
This is all good. I'm sure there will still be organized protests at some of the concerts, but that will just highlight the intolerance and vindictiveness of the protesters. I understood the initial outcry over Natalie Maines' remarks about being embarrassed that Bush is from Texas, but she apologized and that should have been that. It's unfortunate that some folks can be so obstinately unforgiving.
But that aside, the boycott was bound to fall flat mostly because the Dixie Chicks are just too good to be ignored. Maines' is an incredible singer who makes most other country performers today sound bland by comparison.

Why is it that so many far-right wingnuts prefer to vent their anger and frustration at women anyway? First there was Jane Fonda, and then it was Barbara Streistand and Hillary Clinton, and now its Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks. Is it because they have a tendency to want to bully folks who are less likely to fight back? Maybe that is why the rightwing is venting so much of its wrath against France - when Germany, China, Russia, and just about every other nation on the planet was equally critical of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush recently snubbed Canada by canceling a trip there and then entertained the president of Australia at the same time. But Bush is going to have a difficult time playing those petty games for long because there just aren't that many countries he can count in his "good" list.