Not Ready to Make Nice (Dixie Chicks in Australia, STILL Whining About Free Republic)

AdelaideNow ^ | Sunday, October 8, 2006 | Kirsten Heyson

[kristinn]

It's hard to believe this petite, well-mannered Texan - sitting opposite in a Sydney harbourside hotel - caused the kind of stir the music industry has not seen since John Lennon sang about being crucified in 1969.

It's the day before the band's first Australian concert on their Accidents and Accusations world tour.

Maines looks younger than her 31 years.

SNIP

Aware she may sound "bizarre", the 31-year-old believes the vitriol directed at The Dixie Chicks was part of a right-wing conspiracy.

An organised group known as the Free Republic set out to bring the band down.

The organisation's power, she says, comes through the internet. The site has thousands of subscribers, all of whom were encouraged to destroy the band's music and boycott the radio stations that played it.

"It's scary how much power they do have," she says. "They can take down someone singlehandedly and I don't think Americans are aware of that.

"It's the same group that went after (former US president) Bill Clinton and (gay actress) Ellen DeGeneres."

In the beginning, Maines says, they tried to fight their detractors. Their management tried to alert radio station programmers to what was happening.

"But they weren't open to it and just thought we were grasping at straws to try and salvage something," she says.

"It was just bigger than we could fight and we weren't willing to put ourselves out there to be made to look stupid if people weren't willing to investigate this thing and be open to it."

SNIP

"For the Free Republic we were a dream come true; they made it their mission to take us down. Apparently we were not supposed to think like this because we play country music."

[Not A Snowbird]

Ain't that the truth.

How can we miss him when he won't go away?

[beckysueb]

Holey moley!

[stephenjohnbanker]

Clinton has a perverse need to be on camera, and to be loved..........Didn't help his rape victims much when they refused to "worship" him.

[Rte66]

Maybe you're in the Opus Dei division, like I am. We don't get paid, we just do it for the joy of it.

[Slings and Arrows]

Not my normal type of ping, but Fat Nat's little rant literally had me laughing out loud!

[Irish Rose]

So, if I'm reading this right, I'm a member of a powerful, organized, right-wing conspiracy.

Cool.

[Dmitry Vukicevich]

Freedom for me not for THEE! God I hate the Drip*y Sl*ts

[ZULU]

I hope they meet up with some Aussie wildlife - like Taipans and Salties.

[Armedanddangerous]

Shhh..dont tell everyone youre getting it for free...Everybody will want it.

[Armedanddangerous]

ive been here every week since 1998, and I don't remember anyone going after Ellen.

She seems nice enough..never noticed her being a nasty woman..

[Dmitry Vukicevich]

Is she dressed as a baked potato for Halloween in that picture? Good God realize what you look like before going out in public.

[Armedanddangerous]

Don't forget Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the Diebold Company and Karl Rove's weather machine.

[Dmitry Vukicevich]

a Fierce snake would be nice, or box jellyfish or a blue ring octopus. Man it seems like everything in Australia can kill you.

[CAWats]

We're organized?

Yeah, dontcha 'member we meet the third Friday of every month at ol' Jim's place (or is it every second Tuesday of the month at Billy Bob's place?) whatever...

[george76]

She should hire someone to dress her.

She can not dress herself.

[ZULU]

Yeah even the spiders - check out Funnel Web Spider - they can bite through shoes.

We really NEED the Serbs in the Balkans more than ever.

The battle of Kosovo should be commemorated by the expulsion of all Muslims from European soil and the return of Hagia Sophia to the Orthodox Church as a Christian place of worship.

May heaven damn the Clintons.

[wolficatZ]

[Rembrandt]

Presumably Maines has never heard about the travails of Sinead O'Connor who found out first hand how troublesome it can be to venture into the affairs of a higly placed person.

Who's Sinead O'Connor? - that's the result as well as the question. A couple of years from now there will also be the question "Who's Natalie Maines?" Deal with it beeyatch!

[Rembrandt]

"I don't buy products of people that disrespect our country or undermine it."

Remember that Target is owned by the French!

[Dmitry Vukicevich]

Amen brother. My mother still hates Clintoon for attacking her people. God I love the lady. But it will not happen until we get the UN "peacekeepers" out of there. I still don't understand why the antiwar dummies haven't been protesting Kosovo or our involvement in the Balkans that is still present today. I guess selective outrage allows them to sleep when a Democrat attacks an ally but get their panties in a wad when a Republican attacks a group that has threatened an end to our way of life.

I look forward to visiting Australia one day. The wildlife alone has my adrenaline pumping.