"The war is over"

Madame Cura and I traveled to Boston yesterday to catch "The Bob Dylan Show" at the Orpheum with friends. Merle Haggard opened for Dylan with a blistering set, and his band, The Strangers, were on fire. Lot's o'fun. Dylan and his band were in top form too, adding some obscurities to the set list and, on "Forever Young," Dylan played one of the finest blues harp solos I have ever heard him play.

Anyway, towards the end of the set, Merle did a song called "That's the News." Somehow, I had completely missed his take on the war in Iraq and the celebrity-driven ADD of our media, the politicians' lack of accountability, and the lock-step conformity of opinion in modern-day "country" music.

In an essay on Haggard's Web site, the 66-year-old singer writes, "I don't even know the Dixie Chicks, but I find it an insult for all men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching."

Good for Merle.

By the way, Merle Haggard and The Strangers are now done with their part of the current leg of the Never Ending Tour, and Willie Nelson joins the caravan.