Sent packing tonight… (more…)

The ongoing controversy surrounding the TNGOP press release is rather overblown. It’s not as if the Senator’s first and last names are any less ethnic than his middle one. And it’s not as if his middle name was unknown or unmentioned before this, as blogger Tom Maguire and even Jon Stewart’s Oscar monologue will attest. Regardless, from now on he shall be referred to exclusively as Senator Bill Smith.

The Baltimore Sun blog Reality Check is doing a much better job than I am summarizing the show, and it also covers Big Brother and other reality shows.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s American Idol Blog rates performers on the grade scale.

The Seattle PI’s Sharp Stick blog has some hilarious photoshops and this interesting bombshell: “YES, as confirmed by my behind-the-scenes AI contact, the performance shows at this point in the competition ARE pre-taped. Currently, the boys are singing for their supper on Saturday, the girls on Sunday. Do I think some transparency of this fact would have been appreciated by the general populus [sic] before Joanne’s tongue trippage?”

American.Idolblog.com has links to the original songs on iTunes, the number to call to help your favorite contestant, and photos.

AI - I’m the One That You Want has lots of pictures and videos along with a recap.

The phillyBurbs American Idol blog provides lots of commentary and ranks the contestants in order.

The Snark Raving Mad blog is a million times more… snarky.

USA Today’s Idol Chatter blog is rather snooze-worthy.

1970s week continues.

Carly Smithson — Irish immigrant

Confessional: Bartender at an Irish bar.

Tonight: Heart’s “Crazy on you.” Solid, but sounds like an import from a previous decade. Not different enough to really make a mark.

Randy: Beginning was rough. Sharp pitch problems. A’ight.
Paula: Good to see you healthy. Amazing job.
Simon: Much better than last week. Hasn’t connected with right song yet.

Final take: Agree with Simon; I keep expecting more.

Syesha Mercado — amazing lost voice singer

Confessional: Does TV commercials. Imitates a crying baby.

Tonight: Billy Paul’s “Me And Mr[s] Jones.” Classy, smooth, she looks great, and it’s a nice song. Good range. Confident. Great smile.

Randy: Not great song choice for you, for me. No more soft moments.
Paula: Gets off pitch on soft moments.
Simon: A bit indulgent and silly. Song not designed for her voice.

Final take: Disagree totally with the judges. She’s in the top tier, IMO.

Brooke White — disheveled goody goody

Confessional: Beauty school dropout.

Tonight: Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain,” with guitar. Sounds surprisingly close the original; not sure if the judges will like that or not.

Randy: Great song choice. Were you singing to Simon?
Paula: Perfect song choice. Suits you. Really loved it.
Simon: Absolutely loved it. Perfect song. Connected.

Final take: The risk paid off. Good stuff!

Ramiele Malubay — half-pint sushi server

Confessional: Hula dancer.

Tonight: Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” disco retro. Her performance doesn’t really match the song. The vocals are adequate. Nothing special.

Randy: A little rough. Just ok. Weird song choice.
Paula: Didn’t get to perform your magic.
Simon: Agree with Paula. Forgettable performance.

Final take: The judges are starting to wake up. She’s just not that great.

Kristy Lee Cook — Big Sky Barbie

Confessional: Tomboy. Loves fishing, softball and being outdoors.

Tonight: Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re no good.” Turn her vocals down and we’ll just watch her while the backup singers take it away. Repetitive, and pretty terrible overall. Sympathy applause.

Randy: 100% improvement. Better song choice. Looking for break-out moments.
Paula: You’re back. Good song choice.
Simon: Huge improvement. Worries about how to label her. Maybe time to go country.

Final take: That’s three votes, so maybe she won’t go home this week.

Amanda Overmyer — biker nurse

Confessional: Bookworm. Reads “rock icon biographies.”

Tonight: Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son.” Missing notes, off beat, off pitch, looks confused. Gets worse as it goes on. Shockingly bad.

Randy: Not the right song choice. Too much melody. Pitchy.
Paula: You can dance! You gotta do what fits right. Not the right song.
Simon: Felt contrived. Terrible hair. Indulgent song. Unnatural. Ugly song.

Final take: I was afraid she’d wear out her welcome; it seems to be happening faster than I expected.

Alaina Whitaker — Lonestar pop princess

Confessional: Doesn’t like foods on her plate to mingle.

Tonight: Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly devoted.” She seems quite a bit less confident this week. The country twang isn’t playing all that well. Still, not bad.

Randy: Not right song for you. Pitchy verses.
Paula: Real good job.
Simon: I like you; my problem is it seems old fashioned.

Final take: This week she’s the victim of unreasonably high expectations.

Alexandréa Lushington — Hotlanta hiphop teen

Confessional: Poster child for Atlanta fire department. Sang at ground zero after 9/11.

Tonight: Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now.” Not sure this one translates all that well. Pretty weak with just one vocalist. Dreadfully slow. Not the right song by any means.

Randy: So safe for you. Kinda boring.
Paula: You made it your own.
Simon: You’re struggling right now. The song’s never been covered for a reason.

Final take: Another disappointing performance from a top tier contestant. It’s been a bad night for the ladies.

Kady Malloy — Brittany Spears impressionist

Confessional: Sings opera.

Tonight: Heart’s “Magic Man.” She’s not hitting the lower notes. Looks bored. Too soft. Not doing much with it.

Randy: Never found the notes for me. Didn’t work.
Paula: Low notes you lost a little bit.
Simon: Frustrated — working on tape but not here. It didn’t go anywhere.

Final take: How did she make it to the finals?

Asia’h Epperson — grieving daddy’s girl

Confessional: Middle school and high school cheerleader.

Tonight: Celine Dion’s “All By Myself,” missing notes. Pretty painful to hear, actually. Sloppy.

Randy: I know you’ve been sick. Really good job.
Paula: It was great. Problems in the low notes. You brought it home.
Simon: One of the diva songs of all time, and too big for you. Silly decision.

Final take: We all hope she gets healthy soon.

“I believe that funding our schools is critical, but we must create accountability for the results achieved.”

Answer below the fold (more…)

Heh. It looks like the Russian leader haiku has tripped up Hillary Clinton.

I just saw this alert from Joe Saino, the Shelby County Watchdog, who’s looked into the revenue lost by the PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) program in Shelby County. I’ve broken down the totals into this nice little table:

It’s ’70s week.

Michael Johns - the Aussie heartthrob

Confessional: Likes to take his mind off with tennis and “sport.”

Tonight: Fleetwood Mac’s “Go your own way,” with an Eddie Vedder warble. Quite a step back from previous weeks. Some of the high notes off. Brings plenty of energy.

Randy: Not best. Started slow. Ready for you to just let go.
Paula: Consistent. Got the whole crowd working. Charismatic. Charming.
Simon: Your weakest performance of whole competition. There was no “moment.”

Final take: He’ll bounce back.

Jason Castro - young John Travolta with dreads

Confessional: Hates doing interviews.

Tonight: The Bee Gees’ “I Just Want To Be Your Everything,” with guitar. Flat and flighty, but nice mix. Bad stage presence — should have taken a bow and smiled instead of immediately moving the mike stand and sucking in his lips.

Randy: Take away the guitar and the vocals weren’t that great.
Paula: He’s cute. Clever song choice. Would like to see him without guitar.
Simon: Horrible song. Too schmaltzy. Weak vocals. Looked uncomfortable.

Final take: Beginning to doubt his staying power.

Luke Menard — Hugh Jackman without the adamantium claws

Confessional: Tours with an a cappella group.

Tonight: Queen’s “Killer Queen,” doomed to disappoint when compared to the original. Does as well as he can under the circumstances; nobody’s Freddie Mercury. Should have added some originality. Still, much better than last week.

Randy: Kudos for choosing a difficult song. Pretty good. Pitch problems.
Paula: Great week for you. Picked perfect song.
Simon: Mistake, because you’ll be judged with the original. Verging on whiny.

Final take: He’s in the bottom tier, but he improved this week despite a difficult song.

Robbie Carrico — long hair and skull cap

Confessional: Drag races.

Tonight: Foreigner’s “Hot blooded” — never thought it was a great song until he ruined it. Quite dull.

Randy: Doesn’t have enough “uughn!” Just ok.
Paula: Played it safe, lost some of yourself.
Simon: Vocal was ok.

Final take: I’d heard enough last week; nothing’s changed.

Danny Noriega — emo diva

Confessional: Played punk rock show in 9th grade.

Tonight: Carpenters’ “Superstar/Until you come back to me.” Tremendous range, soulful tone.

Randy: Slow vibrato needs to be sped up. Don’t overthink it.
Paula: Amazing vocal skill.
Simon: Over concentrating. Stands out. Look terrific on camera.

Final take: How can someone so annoying grow on me like this?

David Hernandez — metrosexual

Confessional: Was an award-winning gymnast.

Tonight: The Temptations, “Pappa was a rolling stone.” Sung with some vibrancy and spunk. Brings the house down.

Randy: This is the David Hernandez we fell in love with. That was hot.
Paula: Your voice is so pure it pierces right through the heart.
Simon: Best vocal of the night. Likes how he treats criticism as a challenge.

Final take: Certainly not another forgettable performance; we’ve got a contender.

Jason Yeager — rockin’ crooner with a blond streak

Confessional: Taught himself multiple instruments.

Tonight: Doobie Bros’ “Long train running.” A total disaster. Bad karaoke.

Randy: Very pitchy and karaoke. Didn’t get it.
Paula: Fun side. Song didn’t show off his range.
Simon: Last week was boring, this week awkward and ordinary. Horrific ending.

Final take: He’s on the ropes.

Chikezie

Confessional: His name is Nigerian, means “well created by God.”

Tonight: Ray Charles’ “I Believe to My Soul,” done brilliantly, but what’s with the Urkel outfit?

Randy: You’re back. That was hot.
Paula: Clever song.
Simon: Looked and sounded a million times better than last week.

Final take: I have no idea anymore. I thought he would go last week. Serious style issues.

David Cook — modern rocker with weird hair tuft

Confessional: Huge word nerd; likes crosswords and word puzzles.

Tonight: Bad Company’s “All Right Now,” with guitar. High confidence and a fresh twist. Good performance.

Randy: Smart song choice. Believable. Good looking out.
Paula: You are the real deal. You got it.
Simon: Solid. Not much charisma.

Final take: I see nothing wrong with an intelligent rocker. I’m on board now.

David Archuleta — precocious pop star

Confessional: At age nine, sang to first season finalists.

Tonight: John Lennon’s “Imagine,” slower and with impact. A serious update to a dated song. Connected on every note and cadenced well.

Randy: One of best vocals ever on this show. Brilliant.
Paula: “You are ridiculous. I want to squish you, squeeze your head off and dangle you from my rear view mirror.” You’re destined for super stardom.
Simon: Very risky but it worked. You’re the one to beat.

Final take: Nobody hears the asthmatic gasps?

I’d like to congratulate the Shelby County Commission for its bold response to the $16.5 million budget deficit; we’ve got to hand it to them — few expected the Commission to double down by approving a $5 million road project today. We just hope the Commission has enough courage left to also raise our taxes again and add a few additional, unconstitutional ones while they’re at it. If they can drive a few more industries out of the county in the process, that’d be icing on the cake.

Help, I’ve been disenfranchised!

My thanks go to autoegocrat, because he made me realize that I’ve been the victim of systemic disenfranchisement.

He links to a post that contains this shocking report:

Texas Republicans have worked overtime to make it harder for key Democratic voting groups to vote and be represented fairly. The redistricting games they’ve played are infamous. And for the Prairie View A&M University precincts, they put the early-polling place more than seven miles from the school.

In response to this supreme, systemic injustice, some of the students deliberately blocked the highway with a protest march to the early voting location.

The closest early voting location to my home was 8.2 miles.

I’m not sure how to strike back at those evil Texas Republicans who have done this to me here in Memphis, so I need your help; leave a comment if you can think of a good way for me to get even.

UPDATE: I looked into this a bit further and discovered that the Waller County Commissioner’s Court actually did open an early voting location in one of the Prairie View A&M University precincts, and this was decided a full week before the march took place. Here’s a helpful timeline that illuminates just how ridiculous the march was:

Feb. 12 - Waller County Commissioner’s Court decides to open three additional early voting locations, one of them in Prairie View.

Feb. 19 - First day of early voting at Waller County Courthouse; some 2,200 students march 6.8 miles and block highway

Feb. 21-23 - Early voting open at satellite location in Prairie View and two other additional locations in Waller County

Mar. 4 - Election day; polls open at Alumni center location (on campus)

For comparison, here’s how things went down for me here in Shelby County, Tennessee

Jan 16 - First day of early voting at Shelby County Election Commission; somehow I refrain from marching 26.5 miles and shutting down I-40

Jan 25-31 - Early voting opens at satellite locations; somehow I refrain from marching 8.2 miles and shutting down I-64

Feb. 5 - Election day; my precinct’s polling location opens (2 miles away from my home)