Free Republic

FLASH!!! Dixie Chicks Natalie Manes just now blamed the Free Republic for their downfall on "Hardball." She claims the FR had an organized effort to bring them down.

Disappointing airplay for the first two singles from the new album by the Dixie Chicks exposes a deep -- and seemingly growing -- rift between the trio and the country radio market that helped turn the group into superstars. "Taking the Long Way," due out May 23, is the band's first album since singer Natalie Maines sparked a major controversy in 2003 by declaring that she was ashamed to hail from the same state as fellow Texan President George W. Bush. Radio boycotts ensued, and many fans abandoned the band. The first single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," peaked at...

Plantation, Florida: The Democrats unleashed their girl power in Florida on Saturday, deploying daughters of the presidential contender John Kerry and those of the former presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Also in the charm brigade were the daughters of Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, and of the former vice-president Al Gore, the beaten Democratic candidate in 2000. "We're all going to take back our future," Vanessa Kerry said at a rally in Plantation, north of Miami, one of several the girls deployed in the pivotal state. "He needs your help," she said in reference to her...