After being shunned by country music stations in retaliation for lead singer Natalie Maines’ critical remarks about fellow Texan George Bush before the invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks scored a major victory at the Grammy awards ceremony tonight. The Texas trio walked away with best song and record of the year for the pointedly titled “Not Ready to Make Nice” and best album of the year for “Taking the Long Way.”
Just one more way for the country–or at least Hollywood–to tell Bush he’s wrong about Iraq. For her part, Maines was gracious and largely apolitical, but did praise the L.A. audience for “using their freedom of speech tonight with these awards.”