Humorist Dave Barry's annual year-in-review column...

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article283068803.html

Don Wildmon RIP

Just learning that Don Wildmon died this week. I first met him in the late 70's. He was a wonderful Christian servant who took a stand for decency & ended up leading a movement. What a legacy! An authentic soul who loved God, family, & country.

A legacy of faithfulness, a love of family: Don Wildmon (afn.net)

Mike Huckabee to Newsmax: 'River to the Sea' Parrots Are 'Idiots' | Newsmax.com

Returning from a visit to the Hamas-attacked areas of southern Israel, former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Newsmax that the urgency to support Israel is "far worse" than anyone in America is being told.

"When I hear people in the United States going around screaming, 'From the river to the sea,' I just want to say you're the biggest idiots that ever breathed air," Huckabee said Tuesday on "Wake Up America." "Do you not understand that this is a war of evil? These are not just people who are oppressed. Hamas and the Palestinian people in Gaza, they voted for the nonsense.

Read more here.

One of my favorite writers is Don Feder at the Washington Times and here is why:

Move the United Nations to Gaza - Washington Times

RIP Original Dixie Chick Laura Lynch

By “Huckabee” pop culture guru Pat Reeder

In tragic news on Christmas weekend, word came that bassist/singer Laura Lynch, a founding member of the Dixie Chicks, was killed instantly in a head-on collision Friday afternoon on a highway near El Paso. Another driver was trying to pass someone, entered her lane and hit her head-on. That driver is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Lynch was 64. 

https://nypost.com/2023/12/23/entertainment/founding-dixie-chicks-member-laura-lynch-killed-in-head-on-car-crash-in-texas/

Lynch was part of the band from its beginnings as a cowgirl/bluegrass quartet consisting of her, guitarist/vocalist Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Emily and Martie Erwin. She became lead singer when Macy left, then was replaced by Natalie Maines when the Erwins decided to go in a more commercial direction. Personally, I always preferred the original group, both musically and because, having mutual friends in the Texas music industry, I didn’t have a very positive impression of Natalie Maines.

Many people don’t realize that the Dixie Chicks were one of the most popular bands in Dallas for years before Natalie appeared. We used to eat Italian food while watching them play at Joey Tomatoes’ restaurant. I was also in the audience when they performed at the Bronco Bowl on Garrison Keillor’s “American Radio Company,” an off-shoot of “Prairie Home Companion.” They played great Texas music like “Cow-Cow Boogie” and “Thank Heavens for Dale Evans.”

After leaving (or being removed from) the group, Laura married a Texas Lottery winner and retired from music to raise their daughter. I noticed that some sick idiots in the comments on the NY Post page made awful, inhumane remarks based on her alleged unpatriotic political views, even though the article makes it clear that she left the band years before Natalie made her anti-Bush comments. Lynch sang the National Anthem with the group at a Texas Rangers game when Dubya owned the team, and she was on record expressing her deep admiration for him.

Laura appeared on three albums with the Dixie Chicks before they went commercial/political, and they’re really terrific. They’re hard to find, but you can listen to them on YouTube. Here’s an example of a cut with her on lead vocals called “Little Ol’ Cowgirl.”