Joan Baez Banned from Walter-Reed Performance

Joan Baez Banned from Walter-Reed Performance

And when I read this article, I really couldn't believe it! Here is a woman, however politically charged, that just wants to bring a message of hope and love to these soldiers who are needing it the most.

Nothing is more critical to healing than the outpouring of love. But the Army, citing red-tape, that prevented [prohibited] her from performing, was the cause. Even though, it was John Cougar Mellencamp's entourage that was handling all the arrangements-- as a GUEST of their performance.

So, it only goes to show who really is in control and just what is going on here. She is a musician, for crying out loud, wanting to share in song. Censorship and control, be damned.

UPDATE: 05/08/2007, from MSNBC:

Barbra Streisand is jumping to the defense of Joan Baez. Baez, a longtime peace activist, who claims she was forbidden from performing at Walter Reed Hospital — although officials say she simply didn’t get proper approval. “Over the long span of her career, Joan Baez has been an outspoken advocate for peace, an activist and a concerned patriot of our country,” Streisand noted. “She strongly believes in the theory of non-violence and she spoke out against the war in Iraq, like millions of others in this country and around the world. Does freedom of speech and thought exist in the United States anymore?”