Interesting that the author is an editor at the Waco newspaper, but his piece was published in another paper in a different town. Maybe Waco ought to be renamed "Wacko--fundamentalist republic of Texas"

Maybe we should all send a donation to the Waco-McLennan County Library for holding a candle up in the darkness.

Libraries are one way for society to say, "we do things together". It is for the public good and so much good comes from them. They are a symbol of what we value and live by.

Our town need a new library, but also needed other things more. (or so the town council said). They found out that they could get county, state and federal money, so with a little bit of town money and some very generous donors a new library was build in the town square.

Now the kids have a place to go in the summer. There are computers, DVDs, CDs and of course....books. I hope the state of Texas and the counties do not decide to censor the public libraries there. Maybe if they have take federal funds to build them, they can not. Let us hope that this is the case where public money on a national level allows free speech and freedom of choice.

That is the Christian-south belt for you.
Texas is their shining beacon

Still not sure what "Burning Bush" the author is refering to...does Natalie Maines have an STD we are not aware of? or is she advocating setting the Prez on fire?

You're probably on a list of "subversive" people to watch now - after the library hands over a list with your name on it and what you rented.

Right on sisters!

With a name like Dixie Chicks, I had expected the worst of country music. But they ain't no Shania Twain trio. They're FEMINISTS! Who knew you could have THAT in country music? With brains and pretensions toward female autonomy, they were always doomed in the country market. I remember when pop music was on the cutting edge of politics and I couldn't be more pleased that the Dixie Chicks have stepped up. I downloaded a couple of their songs early on, but, since the infamous London appearance, have gotten ALL of their cds :-) Thanks also to John Mellencamp, Eminem, Green Day, Public Enemy and Legendary K.O. (if you haven't seen the video on youtube for "Bush Don't Like Black People," check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOu_zIiihPI

Thanks to the public libraries and the artists that supply them :-)

www.unknown-arts.org/politics

Good money says that copy will soon be stolen from the library.

Funny. I was easily able to rent Cross Dressed Jesus Chain Saw Massacre in Waco.But I wasn't able to get Ernest Gets Religion.

The American Library Association has stood strong against not turning information over to the the Government and many libraries have refused to turn over info. Also, librarians were the ones that pressured the publisher to publish Michael Moore's book Farinheight 911 when they were about to cave and back off.

I have a friend that charges a couple of dollars, shows videos and donates the money to charitable organizations. He has a short discussion afterwards and for those who want to continue the discussion meet afterwards in a deli.

canuckchuck ...hope you didn't think that was funny ? Actually quite stupid!!

Thank heavens for the Dixie Chicks ... and the libraries/librarians all over America ... they refused to roll over and play bush's "patriot act" game.

Censoring/book/CD/DVD/Video banning/ burning ... all alive and well in the USA under the bush administration!!

Don't mess with librarians. There is no group more rabid about anti-censorship. They are our national treasure.

just so you know.. "shut up and sing" is a weinstein production.. as of earlier this year they made a contract with blockbuster video. they allow blockbuster to exclusively carry some of their movies. its not that you couldnt rent it.. its that you were looking in the wrong place...

And what is happening in the USA, when a simple lack of censorship can make an american liberal's heart swell with pride?

Hard to believe in this day and age. I was also unfamiliar with their music, and was able to rent the video through Blockbuster online. I was impressed by their dedication, intelligence and talent. They are an inspiration to me for sticking to their guns, and supporting eachother. Right on Dixie Chicks!

I have been really bothered about the incredible backlash against the Dixie Chicks for a statement as mild as theirs about being ashamed that w was from texas. It was a sign of how the far right will viciously attack anyone who doesn;t tow their line. What if they had said what most of us think "We are ashamed that w is the species we are".

I too went out and bought Dixie Chicks cds for the first time, everyone should. I used to hate them just based on the name alone,that, and not being a big fan of country music. I'm a fan now.

They say that you vote with your dollars and if that is true, what you buy and do not buy can have an influence in a capitalist economy. People will notice if the CD has good sales and they will also notice if you decide NOT to buy it at Walmart.

Obmaj,

I can't comment on what the librarians did for Fahrenheit 911, but they did step up and help get Moore's, "Dude, Where's My Country?" published a few years earlier.

In the summer of 1987, the 200th anniversary of the U S Constitution, the Chautauqua Institute in Western New York hosted a multi-discipline group of Soviets--from medical folks to performing artists. The KGB accompanied them, of course, including their side trips--which included Buffalo.

The Central Library of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System, in downtown Buffalo, is a depository library (one of many around the country, in conjunction with the Library of Congress) for duplicate collections of high-level unclassified information on countless important/critical subjects in the sciences, technology, government, the arts, etc.

The KGB folks obviously knew this because they showed up in the Science and Technology Department at Central one day, and spent a good deal of time photocopying a variety of materials. Our librarians, aware of who these guys were, treated them as any other patron using the public library, helping them find materials, etc. When the KGB were finished, they thanked our librarians for their courteous assistance, and left.

A short time later the FBI walked in, and began questioning our librarians about the KGB's visit--what they were photocopying, etc. The librarians refused to give out any of this informaton (the American Library Association's "Library Bill of Rights" guarantees the public's right to privacy of access to library materials). The situation became increasingly tense and more heated--until a librarian pointed to a poster on one of the pillars. It read,

We would like to remind you that the Free and
Uncensored Contents of this Public Library
are brought to you courtesy of
THE CONSTITUTION
OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The FBI walked out.

It would seem that, like the ALA Membership, the Dixie Chicks have a clearer understanding of the ramifications of that document than a great many of our "patriotic" citizens.

When I was a kid, I remember sitting with my folks at the movies every Saturday afternoon, we ate our popcorn and watched the Movietone News before the Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy double feature came on.

We sat and munched our popcorn, watched the British fight their Battle of Britain and saw black and white films showing brown shirted men wearing Swastika arm bands, burn tons of library books in France and Germany. Then there would be a short skit of a war somewhere in China, where the Japanese were being beaten by the Chinese.

It was not OUR wars and we really were unconcered. Those little wars were far away from us and those types of things could never happen here in America. We had a big fleet of battle-ships to protect us.

It cost a dime to see the double feature, the world news and a Disney comedy. A big sack of popcorn was only a nickel. The depression had ended and we were the best country in the world. We still are, those type things could never happen here, we have our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It's a free country.

Is it?

Just as the musicians of the sixties won the war against the war by standing behind their lyrics & words against the repressive illegal regime of Nixon, so too will the Dixie Chicks help win this war against Bush's illegal war & repression by standing up for their belief their words & lyrics speak the truth. Great artists never compromise their integrity to finance, politics of fear, or threats, and although not a big country music fan this is why I hold the Dixie Chicks in the highest of esteem. Apparently most Americans agree with me because their temporarily slumped album sales re-bounded to even greater heights. YOU GO GIRLS, and more power to you for standing up to the Bush tyranny.