They're being fried in the Texas music world - radio stations being buried with calls expressing outrage, and "don't play their music ever again" sort of stuff. Several stations have put up a "send us your thoughts and we'll forward 'em to the Chicks" webpages. They say the messages are 80 negative to 20 other - but that's Texas. It's true, the Chicks will likely be mainly spurned by the bluegrass world - but that's a small component. The negative reaction of part of the world will open new doors and make new fans for the Chicks, especially outside the US. The net result will almost certainly be positive.

If the apology printed above is an accurate comment, she'll have reduced the anger felt by many.

Many US folks love the Chicks and their music - this could blow over. Everybody feels a lot of tension right now, waiting for the other shoe to drop (Read My Lips; NO MORE DELAYS). Natalie is almost certainly no exception. I konw the people she's spending a lot of time with during this tour feel very6 differntly then Americans, and if she is feeling aligned with their point-of-view she may have underestimated the impact of comments. Had she said she vehemently opposed Bush's policies, or the US/UN handling of the Iraq weapons - she'd have done so much better, and probably raised very little anger.