AIKEN NEWS NETWORK APRIL 4

[clayMaine-iac]

This is sort of like having a Rolling Stone reporter and an American Idol fan review the latest Clay Aiken album and calling it ‘balance.’

A Limbaugh Lesson for the Mainstream Media (6 comments )
READ MORE: Washington Post, Judith Miller, Bob Woodward, Fox News, Israel, George W. Bush
The incredibly quick rise and equally quick fall of Ben Domenech from the Washington Post payroll is an odd place to find a parallel to one of the lessons I learned as a dittohead. But find it there I did.

A quick note about Ben in case you missed it. The Washington Post is really sensitive about being accused of having a ‘liberal bias.’ So, in an effort to placate the throng of angry LTE writers calling them “commie, pinko, America-haters,” the Post decided to carve out a hunk of its own cyberspace and dedicate it to right-wing opinion (and thank God for that! (snip)

“-- by the way I was told to give you some advice about the media. … [W]e all are susceptible to human nature, and we all want to be liked; we all want to be loved; and you all want to live in surroundings which are not hostile. ... And so sometimes to avoid the hostility, we say things and then begin do things designed to gain the approval of those who are hostile toward us. I want to warn you against it. I want to warn you: you will never ever be their friends. They don't want to be your friends.”
Today I think this advice resonates more the other way. It’s not Republicans who need to be wary of the media, it’s the media who need to be wary of Republicans. I understand where it comes from. No one likes being hated, so you try to appease the people who hate you. This is why the Washington Post hired Ben. They have a reporter who has been particularly critical of the administration, so conservatives bitch and bitch and bitch until you decide to ‘offset’ a critical reporter with a partisan blogger. This is sort of like having a Rolling Stone reporter and an American Idol fan review the latest Clay Aiken album and calling it ‘balance.’

HUFFINGTONPOST

[clayMaine-iac]

From the Broads:

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

[clayMaine-iac]

Also from the Broads:

RETURN TO LECHERY

[clayMaine-iac]

Here is an AI Top 10 recap that shows a sense of humor:

REALITYTVGAMES

[clayMaine-iac]

Idol Thoughts, April 4: Nobody’s Perfect!
by Donna Reynolds -- 04/04/2006
 
Last week, Donna simply gushed about how much she loves this year’s group of Idols. Then came the performance show from hell. Has she changed her mind about this group? What did she think about the performances and the resulting noise? Read on for her thoughts on all of this. (snip)

What annoyed me the most last week, though, was Simon’s supercilious remarks about Taylor. Of all the contestants, Taylor stood out, performing a unique song as only he can do it. Plus, he listened to their comments from the week before, lost the dancing and carrying on, and simply stood there and sang the song. It was brilliant. Simon couldn’t find anything negative to say about Taylor’s song selection or vocals, so what did he do? He criticized the wardrobe, calling it “Clay Aiken.” Aha, I thought at the time. That’s the problem Simon has with Taylor. He has no clue what he would do with Taylor should he win.

The thing is, Taylor is immensely popular. In fact, according to some sources, he is leading in the vote count every single week. I don’t doubt that for a minute. He has a huge fan base, and these people are unwavering in their support. I doubt that anything Simon can say will deter them. But if Simon decides that he doesn’t want to have to deal with Taylor post-Idol, his criticism may get a lot harsher as time goes on.

We’ve seen this before, certainly with Clay, but also with people like George Huff and Kimberley Locke, who also puzzled Simon. When they appeared to be gaining strength, Simon lunged at them, trying to belittle them in the eyes of the viewers. I still say that given another week, Kimberley might have made the finals, replacing Ruben, who Simon had championed the whole season. Simon knew exactly what to do with Ruben, but Kimberley presented a challenge. It’s ironic that she has gone on to be quite successful, and her songs have been particularly popular in the dance genre. (snip)

This Week in American Idol History

Season 2: This was the week that Corey Clark was kicked off the show, so he missed disco night. Because he was gone, no one else was eliminated, thus sparing either Trenyce or Carmen, who were the bottom two, a trip home. Most memorable performance of the night? Probably Josh Gracin’s “Celebration,” but for all the wrong reasons. To refresh your memory, the war in Iraq was heating up, and here’s Josh the Marine prancing around on the stage “celebrating.” It was a poor song choice in the best of times, and certainly inappropriate for this particular evening. The best of the night? Probably Clay’s “Everlasting Love.”

FOXESONIDOL

[Her]

Hi M.B.


OMGoodness, the REalityTVGames...   great way to start the day!

[ANGELA]

HELLO DEANNA & JAYNE   

HERE IS SOME NEWS ===CLAY BLOGGED 

DEANNA , THANKS FOR THE NEWS & HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!


ANGELA

[clayMaine-iac]

Good Morning Buddy and Angela!!

Have a Terffific Tuesday everyone!!
Here ya go:

[lorraine]

GOOD MORNING DEANNA AND FRIENDS.  IT IS RAINING CATS AND DOGS HERE IN CT.  BUT ALL IS WELL.  CLAY BLOGGED.  STILL NO NEWS ON THE CD THOUGH.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

HUGS
RAINEY

[stargazer]

Good Morning  all,
Have a good Day.
Thanks for the news
He blogged, so we know he is alive and well.

[NCSandhillsDeb]

Good Morning everyone!!

Thanks for the news.

And that little "MESS", he blogged but about a book?!?!?!?!!?!  At least we know he is out there in the world somewhere!!!!!!

Debbie

[grammaof6]

Found this on my daily read of USA TODAY. The Article is called: 'Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song' found in the LIFE section IDOL CHATTER. I've posted the link if you want to read the entire article.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-04-03-idol-song-choice_x.htm

Nobody from the show can tell finalists if their song choice is good or bad, no matter how much they want to know. Byrd remembers Clay Aiken: "He'd say, 'Byrd, if this is a great song choice, blink your left eye.' "

Isn't is amazing how Clay's name is ALWAYS mentioned whatever, whenever, whoever.