Free Republic

TORONTO -- After facing a barrage of insults, death threats and all kinds of broken records in the face of an offhand remark about the U.S. president, The Dixie Chicks are no longer chicks. “It turned us into women,” says Natalie Maines, speaking about the past three years in near media exile, facing one of the largest pop culture controversies in recent history. On the eve of the war in Iraq in 2003, Maines made an offhand comment about being against violence, and being embarrassed that the U.S. president, George W. Bush was from Texas, her home state. Despite being...

[snip] The lead singer spoke to the Vancouver Sun recently, saying, "but if you live in Lubbock, Texas, where I'm from -- you just have one paper and one radio station and unless you're savvy on the Internet, that's it for you. If Bush said get a gun and kill an Arab, they would do that." It's a comment that isn't sitting well with some Lubbockites.

Will it be the salmon teriyaki with organic greens, or asparagus tempura and tuna sashimi? As the waiter hovers with pencil poised, the Dixie Chicks debate the menu with the practised air of professional restaurant critics. The Chicks have traditionally been branded a country band, but clearly it's some time since their diet consisted of ribs, tacos and pancakes. Unapologetic: The Dixie Chicks Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire project a polished Fifth Avenue elegance, and vocalist Natalie Maines is a vision of sculpted cheekbones and smoky eye-shadow. With their origins as bouffant-haired ingénues playing bluegrass music long forgotten, the...