I’m old enough to remember every horrid detail of the George W. Bush administration, and quite honestly, I sort of wish we could go back to those days. I always thought Dubya was such a idiot, but now that we’re two weeks into the Orange Apocalypse, George W. Bush looks more and more like one of the greatest statesmen of our time. I was thinking about that again as I read this story about Bruce Springsteen telling a foreign audience that he was “embarrassed” to be an American, and it reminded me so strongly of the Dixie Chicks incident during Bush’s reign. Just before the Iraq War began in 2003, the Dixie Chicks were performing in London, and Natalie Maines said: “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” What happened next fundamentally changed the Dixie Chicks’ careers – people boycotted them, hatred spewed down on them, and they were embraced by liberals and progressives.

That was another time. In today’s world, our fascist president is the biggest internet troll of all, but he desperately wants to hang out with the cool kids. He’s obsessed with TV ratings. He’s obsessed with crowd size. He hates it when celebrities talk sh-t about him. So following Agent Orange’s terse phone call with the Australian prime minister (which ended when Baby Fists threw a tantrum and HUNG UP ON AN ALLY), Bruce Springsteen said some words. Bruce was performing in Melbourne and this happened:

Twice now, Bruce Springsteen has had to burden his Australian fans with chatter about America’s screwups while touring the continent. But, for once, during his show in Melbourne on Thursday, the topic affected them directly. Springsteen addressed reports of Donald Trump’s contentious phone call with Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull — which involved Trump reportedly hanging up on his fellow world leader over a disagreement on refugee entry — as best he knows how: by trolling Trump though song. “We stand before you embarrassed Americans tonight,” he began. “This is a song from 1965 by the Orlons. We’re going to use this to send a letter back home.” That song is “Don’t Hang Up,” which has lyrics alluding to fact-checking and calling the person on the other line a baby. Who knew the Orlons would be so prophetic? But just in case Trump misses the message, the E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt has also spoken out on the one platform Trump can’t ignore.

[From Vulture]



The reference to “twice now” is because earlier this week, Bruce used another Australian concert to praise the Women’s March and condemn Trump’s Muslim Ban. My question/comparison remains though: is it offensive that Bruce says he’s “embarrassed” to be an American these days? If it is offensive, then I guess I have to offend as well – I am filled with a sense of embarrassment and shame as well. This is the most embarrassed I’ve ever been about an American president.

Australia is, was, and always will be one of the USA's best friends and closest allies. Apologies for today's temporary embarrassment. — Stevie Van Zandt (@StevieVanZandt) February 2, 2017