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Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks has an important question about Donald Trump.

In 2003, the group faced major backlash for mild criticism of President Bush.

During the late '90s through the mid-2000s, the Dixie Chicks were busy winning Grammys and selling records by the millions.

They were absolutely huge. With hits like "Goodbye Earl," "Wide Open Spaces," and "Long Time Gone," things were going pretty well for the Texas trio.

The Dixie Chicks at the Grammy Awards in 1999. Photo by Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images.


That is until March 10, 2003, when lead singer Natalie Maines criticized then-President Bush during a concert in London.

"We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas," Maines said, referencing the war in Iraq that would begin just nine days later.

The backlash began almost immediately. Three days later, Maines tried explaining the group's position, but it was too late. Radio stations across the country banned the group's music, fans threw Dixie Chicks records into bonfires, and concerts were cancelled after protests.

A local country radio personality tossed darts at a poster of the Dixie Chicks in Shreveport, Louisiana. Photo by Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images.

The outrage centered on the idea that it was un-American and unpatriotic to criticize the president.

It's amazing how much things can change in 13 years, huh?

In August 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused President Obama of "founding" the terrorist group ISIS. He's also questioned whether Obama was born in the U.S. (He was).

He's not alone, either. Musician Ted Nugent called for the "evil carcasses" of Obama and other Democrats over their push for gun safety measures. Actress Stacey Dash went on TV to state her belief that President Obama "doesn't give a sh*t about terrorism." What were once considered unpatriotic slams against a sitting president are now the mainstream, pushed by celebrities, pundits, and politicians themselves.

By comparison, Maines saying "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas" is extremely mild.

So what happened, and why did the Dixie Chicks get so much backlash?

That's what Maines wants to know:

Her point about publicly voicing criticism is fair, too.

There's a big difference between criticizing a specific policy or action (as Maines was doing by criticizing the war in Iraq) and pushing conspiracy theories about where the president was born, or making vague (and sometimes not-so-vague) threats against the lives of people in power, or resorting to name-calling ("Crooked Hillary," "Pocahontas," etc.).

Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images.

Maybe — just maybe — if people with political disagreements took a page from the Dixie Chicks, the world would be a more civil place.

Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, Trump voter or Clinton supporter, we need to remember that there's a fine line between polite disagreement and unbridled rage.

In November 2015, the Dixie Chicks announced their first tour in more than a decade. They're living proof that time really does heal all wounds.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


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Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

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Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

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'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

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YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

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