Merle Hasn’t Lost His Fightin’ Side
Dr BLT (c)2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/MerleVeryLast.mp3

and they’re

Not Ready to Make Rice
Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/MakeRice.mp3

The problem for your allies is wondering if that is all you know how to do, though. There’s no middle-ground in the DCX debate, and often precious little adherence to fact or truth – just absolutes, and that’s scary.

A polarised USA – between Reds and Blues – is going to have to take the lead in getting us out of the mess we followed you into (against our better judgement). If such a divided, antagonistic society cannot stop arguing over the DCX, what hope can we have that you’ll agree on something vastly more important, which will require all the unity, understanding and tact that can be mustered?

Maybe you don’t understand just how devoid of humanity “corporate America” is to Europeans. Yes, the Oscars and Grammies are often awarded on other grounds than merit; but they always have been, and they’ve always been more media events than serious artistic occasions.

Money and influence are the bedrocks of US society, and so are making more money out of defence contracts. “Liberal” is a dirty word to half the population, and along with it go all the wishy-washy stuff like tolerance, caring and compromise.

Yes, of course there are untold thousands of Americans who do care, but the surface presented to the outside world has to be drilled deep to find them.

As a nation you have huge influence, but are increasingly unloved and resented, and perceived as philosophically and morally bankrupt. Your extremes in your attitudes to one another (never mind foreigners) are little different to the extremes of the fanatics who perpetrated 9/11 and later bombed Spain, London etc.

Or are they? United you may yet restore our faith in the Land of The Free. Disunited you won’t, and you’ll crumble from within. Please – for all our sakes – choose unity.

Yeah, but all the friends-in-high-places can’t make the people buy their records, play their songs on the radio station, or go see them in concert.

They’ve more than jumped the shark now that the Liberal Left has gotten their piece of hide out of them…they’ve served their political purpose, and just like Cindy Sheehan, they’ll be forgotten and tossed aside.

Playin’ Politics (With the Dixie Chicks)
Dr BLT (c)2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/DixieChicks.mp3

No, they are very much in public feeling sorry for themselves. Kills that “wah! You’re stopping my free speech” lie they continually spin, doesn’t it?

As you know, these awards were not given by the people. This was not the People’s Music Awards, rather less than 11,000 members of professionals in the music industry. One writer brought up the idea that the vote for the various catagories was so split, that the largest chunk of votes left were the politically active members who had the opportunity to “make a statement” with what amounts to a lackluster album and a really boring song.

First of all, there’s no way a song like that would take song of the year at the Grammys unless it had help, through collusion or other means, or jury nullification, just like the O.J. trial. And for them to win 5 awards if just not only improbable, but impossible! It looks like the Grammys jumped the shark last night, allowing politics to influence the outcome of not one but 5 awards and I personally could never look at them in any kind of positive light again, though that’s been coming for a long time now.

I’ve been a professional musician for over 35 years, a session player on albums and a touring sideman. I’m hearing nothing, and I repeat nothing, but disbelief at what happened last night. Some are asking for an investigation to see if there was indeed any wrong doing in the “winning” of these awards. And all along, Natalie and the world still actually think that they really won those awards.

Sad. Hope they never realize what really happened. They were used!