The Atlantic‘s got a profile up on some of the music world’s most interesting political alliances, i.e. a survey of which artists go for which politicians and why. The recent endorsement by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine of Rick Santorum (though the rocker denies it) spearheads the slideshow featuring musicians and their sometimes odd political affiliations.

The list includes Shakira (Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez), the Manic Street Preachers (Fidel Castro), and rapper 50 Cent (George W. Bush – yes, you read that right) among others, so check it out.

Weigh in: Would it be better if famous musicians kept their politics to themselves, or should they be applauded for speaking up?

The Huffington Post reports on the fate of two white Florida girls (though one claims a partial Cuban heritage) who posted an online rant railing against blacks, whom they accused of not “talking right” among other charges:

Since the video went viral last week, the girls have experienced harassment and said they feared for their safety. According to one report by the Gainesville Sun, one of the students involved was hiding out at a relative’s house while her mother was at work.

The girls have since issued a formal apology, and regret their “horrible decision” to produce the video.

Adding insult to injury, the responses to the video are themselves full of racist language. As Mytheos Holt of The Blaze points out,

Much of that hate mail, ironically enough, also contains racial slurs, with several people calling the girl either a “s-c” or “dirty taco eater,” and one even targeting Hispanics for their Catholicism by accusing her of following “pedophile priests.”

This appears to be a sad case of ill will all around.

What do you think? Have the girls redeemed themselves with an apology? Is the harassment punishment enough? Are tougher hate speech laws needed?