On the menu today: Perhaps it’s the midsummer lull, but there seems to be an endless appetite for arguments about Jason Aldean’s country song, “Try That in a Small Town.” Credit Aldean for managing to push a whole lot of culture-war buttons in just a matter of minutes, with opening lyrics that sound like he’s narrating some B-roll on a Fox News Channel report on “rising crime in America’s cities.” Alas, the song’s implication that crime thrives in the big cities because of a lack of “good ol’ boys, raised up right” is not borne out by the real-world crime data, and offers listeners a flatte

Like most Nashville stars, Jason Aldean spent years steering clear of politics to avoid alienating a portion of his audience. But with the rise of Donald Trump and the outspokenness of Aldean’s wife, a MAGA Instagram influencer, Aldean stopped hiding his conservative views.

On July 14, country music artist Jason Aldean released the music video for his latest single "Try That In A Small Town."

In a statement on the same day, Aldean said he wants fans to remember that feeling of belonging.

On Monday, Country Music Television (CMT) confirmed it stopped airing Jason Aldean’s newly released music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town.” According to CMT and virtually every corporate media outlet, Aldean’s song is wildly racist and “pro-lynching.”  

There is not a more romantic song, at least to my ears, than Jason Aldean’s “Night Train.” About a man who wants to take his paramour on a picnic to listen to the train go by, it reminds me of growing up in rural Kentucky. The clanging of steel, the rumbling of the freight cars, and the blaring of a horn were the soundtrack of my youth. And yes, we really did sit outside just to listen to the night train.

CMT has confirmed that, after initially airing Jason Aldean’s highly controversial music video for “Try That in a Small Town,” the network pulled the contentious clip from the air on Monday, even before the furor over the tune grew greater on Tuesday.

A CMT spokesperson had no further comment on the video being yanked. Reps for Aldean’s label, BBR Music Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Billboard was first to report the video being removed by the network.

Country music singer Jason Aldean sought to defend his latest single “Try That in a Small Town” on Tuesday after Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the song’s music video from their air.

“Try that on CMT,” Jason Aldean just got told.

The country-music network pulled Mr. Aldean’s video for his latest hit ”Try That in a Small Town,” after days of accusations of racism and gun fetishism.

The network confirmed to Variety on Tuesday that it had pulled the clip effective the previous day, but it did not release a public comment.

The song, backed by a new video that went online last week, says that the chaos you see in big cities wouldn’t happen in rural America.

A grassroots movement to redraw Oregon’s border is gaining traction after voters in 11 rural, conservative counties approved measures this year that would start the process of seceding from the blue state and joining Republican-dominated Idaho. 

In Oregon’s Wallowa County, just eight votes separated those who support the Greater Idaho movement from those who oppose it last week, the county clerk said. Tuesday is the deadline to resubmit ballots that either did not have signatures or had signatures that did not match county records. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wants to lock up public land without hearing from those barred from critical grazing grounds.

On Monday, Wyoming lawmakers sent a letter to BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning demanding agency leadership recalibrate its schedule for a tour of western states to present a sweeping proposal for “conservation leasing.” The proposed framework threatens to undermine the agency’s “multiple use mandate” by elevating conservation above grazing, recreation, and development, threatening ranchers’ access to public lands.