THE NIN HOTLINE

If you've been following the latest news about the protest by Trent and other musicians of the use of their music at Guantanamo Bay, you'll know that on Friday, Debra Burlingame, a director for Liz Cheney's right-wing group "Keep America Safe," reportedly made the outrageous comments that the musicians' protest is "pathetic," and "It's almost laughable to think that heavy metal bands like Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine have a moral authority on national security issues." Thinking this over, we at the NIN Hotline have decided this is an insult that goes too far. It's perfectly fine and healthy for our national debate to disagree with the politics of the issue and to disagree with the President or the Democratic Party. But it's another thing entirely to attack Trent and other artists as having no moral authority -- in our minds, this implies a view that they are immoral -- and to claim that Trent and the others therefore have no right to complain about the unauthorized use of their music to torture people.

If you are as outraged by these comments as we are, then we encourage you to get in touch with "Keep America Safe" and demand a public apology by the group's founder, Liz Cheney, to Trent Reznor, Tom Morello, and all the other "immoral" musicians they've insulted. You can call "Keep America Safe" at (202) 525-4608 and (202) 365-3102. You can also email them at the following email addresses:

aharison@keepamericasafe.com
info@keepamericasafe.com

Please cc: theninhotline@gmail.com if you choose to send an email, we can try to keep track of how many emails get sent.

As we are addressing a matter of respect, please be respectful - but no less direct - about what you think. In other words, don't be a jerk.

Also, if you happen to frequent websites or messageboards of the other bands involved -- including RATM/Tom Morello, Pearl Jam, REM -- please contact the powers that be at those sites to see if you can expand this effort beyond the NIN fanbase.

Let's stand together, NIN fans, regardless of your political stripe. This isn't about the politics of the issue -- it's about blatant disrespect, plain and simple. Let Liz Cheney and "Keep America Safe" know that their position is unacceptable and that they owe an apology to all the awesome musicians who have enriched American culture and deserve to have their rights respected, not dismissed.