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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Linda Ronstadt (news) was thrown out of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas on the weekend after dedicating a song to liberal film maker Michael Moore and his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11," a casino spokeswoman said on Monday.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...le_ronstadt_dc

Thats some shady ****

its a sad day when the person who sang the Plow King jingle gets thrown out of a casino

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from repercussions. The casino is there to make money--if someone is 'performing' and *chases customers away*, regardless of what they're saying, it's the company's right to say See ya.
While I certainly respect any/everyone's right to have and express their opinions, what bugs me about celebrities who do it, from all political spectra, is the fact that their politics are usually *irrelevant* to their performing [Dead Kennedys notwithstanding]. Yet they use the stage as a pulpit. If they want to do that, fine, but then they have to deal with the repercussions. There's a place and a time for certain things, and too many people thing 'anyplace' and 'anytime.'

A hippie folk singer with left wing politcal views!!!! I'm shocked, no wonder this is front page news

i have to disagree with what went down...isn't it her right to dedicate whatever song she wants..it's not like she was naked while saying it or swaring

It certainly is her right to do that, which I support.
It's also the right of the person who hired her, to fire her. Government was not involved, and that's truly what 'freedom of speech' refers to, that the people can speak out against their government. She wasn't arrested, she was fired by a private company.
And it's the right of the people who paid money to attend, to walk out mad. [I don't think they should have vandalized her posters, however.]

I just busted out laughing at the Plow King reference. That was hysterical.

Yeah, you'd think that with Whoopi getting canned that a big mouthed celbrity could shut their yap about politics for even a little while. But NOOOOOOOOOO!

This "climate of fear" leftists talk about and "people being afraid of their careers" is such bull$h!t. You can say whatever you want. The FBI isn't going to show up at your door. The NSA isn't going to tap your cell phones. The IRS isn't going to put you under an anal exam. If we were dealing with true censorship that's what would happen.

No, instead companies are saying "We don't want to deal with the controversy. You're fired." BFD! It's like people expect to be able to say whatever they want without marketplace reactions and consequences. Do you think McDonald's would ever come out and say something like "We wish we had more white workers."? Imagine the commercial backlash.

Hey, these are tactics the left used for years. Anyone remember the Coors boycotts? Remember the embargoes against companies that did business in South Africa? Remember Jimmy "The Greek"?

Hey, the American right learned protest, embargoes, corporate accountability from decades of education by the left. Sucks now that they have to deal with it huh?

I am all for free speech but she is an idiot if she doesn't know that there is a time and place for everything.

Exactly. I remember a big hubbub a while back when it came out that David Duke was a big investor/shareholder in Domino's Pizza, I think it was. Everyone was like, 'Boycott Domino's!' [of course, not thinking about the millions of other people, who *weren't* racists, who had Domino's stock and worked for the company.] [Update based on some research: also, the NOW tried to boycott against them because the presdient of the company donated big bucks to pro-life causes.]

How come no one is protecting Aladdin President Bill Timmins's right to hire/fire to react to economic conditions? Some good quotes from him on this link:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/drudged/517195568.html

Sounds like she didn't want to job anyway:

" Ronstadt had laughingly told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she hoped that the casino performance would be her last.

"I keep hoping that if I'm annoying enough to them, they won't hire me back," she was quoted"

Problem solved.

I'm tired of celebrities trying to push their views or what ever they think is right on the public or their fans.

Isn't it enough that we wear your clothes, buy your action figures, see your movies and buy your CDs and help make you rich and famous. Now we gotta vote for the president you want or side with them on thier political views.

People pay you to be pretty, act, sing or whatever you do. I don't care about what you think.

Don't get me wrong I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 and I work in news so I can decide what I want for myself. Sorry I just wanted to vent.

Remember the embargoes against companies that did business in South Africa?

hm.. i think there is a slight difference between firing someone for making a postitive comment about a liberal filmmaker, and boycotting buisnesses that dealt with a country that revolved around the maintaining of a segregated population.[/quote]

Why is their a difference? You're talking about someone that makes positive statements about a proven liar who has called the American people "the dumbest people on the face of the Earth" in the foreign press. Meanwhile during the SA embargoes people wanted Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's and everyone else to pull out of SA. Who did that hurt? The government? The same thing was just brought up in the Domino's boycott.

You end up unemploying black workers, black managers and a few whites. That was the reality of the boycotts. The view of the American and European left was that the government would collapse under the decrease in tax tevenues etc. Unfortunately you ended up driving normal people into poverty people in this country have no comprehension of. There was no welfare, food stamps, government housing projects to fall back on. No parents to help these displaced workers because they came from a middle class background.

In many instances I'll tell you that nationwide embargoes, including the Cuban one, only hurt those they're designed to help.

Wow, and she's mighty open-minded and tolerant as well:

"It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment. I'd rather not know."

So she doesn't even want Republicans or 'fundamental Christians' *in her audience* because it affects her performing.

What if, say, Martina McBride said ''It's a conflict for me when Democrats or fundamental Muslims are in my audience. It clouds my enjoyment''?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...1w15linda.html

"It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment. I'd rather not know."

Translation for the lefties to understand: "It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is gay or an athiest. It can cloud my enjoyment. I'd rather not know."

Considering what she actually said onstage, both the crowd and management overreacted in a big way.

But for those who want to stick up for the Aladdin, yes, they have a right to fire her (this was her only performance there anyway) but what right do they have to bar her from going back to her room?

Looks to me like a washed up hack tried to either A.) get herself fired, or B.) get her name plastered all over the news. Making those comments to a mostly older, country audience is bound to not go over well, and she had to know that.

Originally Posted by Squirms Looks to me like a washed up hack tried to either A.) get herself fired, or B.) get her name plastered all over the news. Making those comments to a mostly older, country audience is bound to not go over well, and she had to know that.

I think you're mistaken about the older, country audience. I haven't seen any media accounts saying that. If anything, she's more California 70's rock/pop and Vegas audiences are a lot younger than they used to be.

If you're not in a union, you're fair game to be fired.

I've been working for almost a year and a hald now, and I go to work knowing they can't fire me unless I steal or fight with someone, but I still work hard and have never had any problems since March 2003. I think it would be scary, after working in such a safe enviroment, to work in a place where they can fire you can anything they want, layoffs, etc.

Originally Posted by MrBadExample Considering what she actually said onstage, both the crowd and management overreacted in a big way. But for those who want to stick up for the Aladdin, yes, they have a right to fire her (this was her only performance there anyway) but what right do they have to bar her from going back to her room?

After she was fired, she became a customer [a non-paying customer at that, since I'm assuming the hotel room was included in her performance contract.]
Either the hotel room was for performers, since she's no longer a performer and not eligible for it; or the hotel fell back on those magic words:
'We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.'

I wouldn't think the audience was particularly older/country, and conservatives do like Las Vegas as well, but I would assume she's not stupid, and she's seen the current state of 'debate' today, and had to know saying something like that, or even saying *anything* political, would piss off somebody in the audience. Just her luck, she pissed off about 1/4 of the audience. I wonder how many of those walkouts disagreed with her, and how many simply were of the opinion that 'This isn't the place for that.'
It's like going to a funeral. I don't like Michael Moore, for instance, but if I were speaking at his funeral, I wouldn't say 'Michael Moore was a pompous blowhard.' I'd respect the event, if not the person, and act/speak appropriately for the event. If' I'm called upon to give a presentation at work, my presentation focuses on the topic at hand, and not extraneous, irrelevant political commentary.