Thought #1:  Those wacky Dixie Chicks

Poor Natalie Maines, aka "feisty Natilie Maines" of the Dixie Chicks.  It appears that everyone in country music is picking on her.  She was just exercising her freedom of speech, right?  I believe that those folks who were booing Ms. Maines at the Country Music Awards last week were also exercising their freedom of speech.  Remember -- the behavior of the "booers" is characterized as "frightening" and "chilling" by our news media.  What would have really proven that we don't have freedom of speech would have been Ms. Maines and the Chicks being arrested when they tried to reenter the United States after dissing George W. Bush, our President.  Does she have the right to say it?  Absolutely.  Does she have to take the heat from those who don't like what she said?  Absolutely.  Will she get put in jail for what she said?  Absolutely not, and that is what is known as freedom of speech.

I believe that we are in an interesting time in our nation.  We've elevated shooting your mouth off to be as noble and courageous as fighting to help save our nation from a marauding invader.  Well -- the term "hero" is way overused by our media, as is the term "courageous."   Courageous for Ms. Maines would have been her saying those things about our President while they were performing in Texas!  The bottom line is that you can say what you want, but be prepared to be called an idiot and moron, which is not necessarily unconstitutional. 

We are all tired of hearing about our 1^st Amendment.  There is so much folklore around this one, that most folks don't even know what it says.  Well, here is the amendment in question from the United States Constitution courtesy of www.usconsitution.net.  Click here to see it.

Well Dixie Chicks fans, there you go.   Nothing in there about being booed by your peers or openly mocked by talk show hosts.  Grow up, get over it, and stick to singing.  Congress needs to stay out of this, and allow real music fans vote with their dollars and feet.  ATTACK!  By the way -- better watch out for Toby Keith...

Lesson Learned:  As we've said before, the Chicks have forgotten who their core audience is, and they will continue to pay for it!  Viva Lilith Fair!

Thought #2:  Iraqi WhoopAss

We wanted to give a big shout out to our homies in uniform over in the Gulf.  Operation Iraqi Freedom was a very interesting, and successful military and political operation.  We as Americans owe a lot to our military, and we at GuitarAttack are very proud of all of those who serve.

Thought #3:  Slimed at a Mega Music Store, Again

Last weekend while traveling through Nashville we stopped in at a major music store at Rivergate in Nashville.  As usual in Nashville, we were talked down to and kind of snickered-at by the very helpful salespeople while asking questions about 12-string sets for our new doublenecks. 

Yet another retail disappointment by a truly jacked-up sales staff.   We're never going back, and, while we don't really like boycotts, we request that you send this store (rhymes with Graham Nash) in Nashville to a fate similar to that of the mighty dinosaurs.  What they didn't realize is that the GuitarAttack Crew had the buying power to buy literally anything we wanted in the store...immediately.  However, we found that being a smart-ass and general rock goon is a prerequisite to working there.  We invite an opposing viewpoint.

Thought #4:  Rock Star Sound Track

We loved the movie Rock Star, and thought Marky Mark did a great job as the rags to riches to enlightenment protagonist in the movie.  Rent it immediately!

We stopped by Best Buy last weekend and bought the soundtrack.   Boy, that Jeff Scott Soto can sing, and the Steel Dragon tunes are awesome.  They made us misty for the good old Shout Metal days of the 80's!   Highly recommended.

Thought #5:  Memorial Day 2003

We attended the Memorial Day service in Ozark, Alabama on 26 May, 2003.  There were plenty of Great Americans there including two Pearl Harbor survivors.  While the mayor did a great job, we had to wonder aloud:  where was everybody?  Just about everyone there was a veteran or surviving spouse, but the only "school kids" there were the Carroll High JROTC detachment.  We figured that attending a Memorial Day service might be "frightening" and "chilling" for some in our society.

Memorial Day is not just another day off.  Check out what it means and where it came from, and prepare yourself for next year. 

Enough said...Have a great summer, and keep checking back!