August 01, 2008 02:00 pm
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American Idol not worth time
I recently took two friends to Louisville for the anticipated American Idol auditions.
Saturday, July 19, was registration day to receive seat tickets and wristbands. The producers told us to be in line by 5 a.m. on Monday, July 21. We awoke on Monday with two hours of sleep. Once I parked, the line was already wrapped around Freedom Hall’s entrance. We waited in line for three hours just to be seated in our assigned seats.
Auditions started around 10 a.m., but began on the other side of the arena. We saw many great singers get dismissed, not moving on to the next audition. You must pass through three auditions before you sing in front of Randy, Paula and Simon.
In the middle of the day, the producers made an announcement that the rest of the singers needed to cut their songs down because of time. We weren’t that concerned. Finally, close to 4 p.m., our section was called for my two friends to audition. Four people line up side by side. Each person sings alone.
Little did I know that 10 people were going to be singing around them; 10 different songs and keys with just a sheet separating them. The setting was awful and my friends were only permitted to sing less than two lines of their songs.
I had no idea that we were going to wait that long just for both of them to not even get their chance to sing a verse. The people who auditioned earlier in the day got to sing an entire song.
Feel my disappointment? I was a big American Idol fan before Louisville. American Idol does care about talent, but mostly ratings. If you ask me, American Idol is not worth your time.
Jessica Smith, Rush
Votes for Hillary Clinton counted
This is in response to the July 30 letter in which Lucille Copley complained that her vote for Hillary Clinton didn't count in the Democratic primary. She implies that somehow Hillary had won the election but that a “bunch of delegates” got together and decided they wanted someone else.
But Ms. Copley’s vote did count. Hillary easily won the majority of Kentucky delegates, but she didn’t win enough delegates in other states. Barack Obama received more of the caucus votes, more of the super-delegate votes and more of the popular votes in those states with an authorized Democratic Primary. If Obama hadn’t won the nomination, his supporters really would have reason to complain. The democratic process worked.
Ms. Copley wrote that if Hillary were to run as an Independent, she’d be our next president. Actually, she and Obama would split the Democratic vote, and we would have another Republican in office.
In fact, unless Clinton supporters support the duly nominated Democratic candidate, we’re likely to have four more years of a Bush-like administration in power. (Remember, John McCain has a record of voting for Bush-supported projects 90 percent of the time.)
I do agree with Ms. Copley that the media were overly critical of Hillary during the primary campaign, just as they are of Obama now.
A recent study conducted by George Mason University reveals that the three major TV networks have given Barack Obama unfavorable coverage 72 percent of the time on their evening news programs.
With coverage like that, perhaps Ms. Copley falls into the 13 percent of Americans who mistakenly believe that Obama is a Muslim, or that he’s unpatriotic or that he will raise taxes. In reality, he and Hillary Clinton have few differences. That’s why Hillary is now campaigning for his election.
Bryan Flanery, Ashland
Economy better under Democrats
In his June 30 letter, Joe Alley wrote that things are dimmer under Democrats.
Has he been in a trance for 61/2 years? What world was he living in when Republicans held both houses of Congress and spent us into eternity?
George W. Bush evidently lost his veto pen during that time, but he quickly found it when Democrats took over. Talk about things being dimmer — we have been in a black out since Bush took office.
It takes a man to admit the mistakes he has made, and Bush has not admitted to any. He blames Democrats for his failed policies that have sent our economy into the tank.
The economy has always done better under Democrats. Donald Trump admitted that.
John McCain is putting out these childish ads, and he and the Republicans are boo-hooing over the attention Obama is getting. Obama is speaking of things that concern all of us, while all John McCain does is criticize Obama. McCain acts like a jealous, grumpy old man.
Can you imagine what would have happened if McCain or Bush had been president during the Cuban missile crisis? We would have been at war with the Soviet Union. I shudder to think of it.
When older Americans get their Social Security checks each month, when they have Medicare to help pay doctor and hospital bills, remember it was Democrats that made it possible. If it were up to Bush and McCain and most Republicans, they would do away with these things.
Wake up, people! Turn off Fox News and turn to a channel that has news of substance, that tells both sides of the story and not the baloney that O’Reilly and Hannity dish out.
Mickey Wells, Ashland
No help offered to mom and kids
Not everyone who drives an older vehicle is a criminal.
Recently my son and his fiancé ran out of gas on U.S. 60 in Grayson. My son steered the vehicle into a local subdivision to keep from being on the main road. He then called me on his cell phone to pick him up to go get gas for his car. This left his fiancé and their two small children sitting alone in a hot car.
When my son and I arrived back to the car, there were at least five people with large dogs surrounding them. One gentleman had said, “Hi”, to my son’s fiancé, but no one had offered to see if she needed help or if the children might like a drink.
This is very disturbing to me. I’m sure this nice subdivision has a Neighborhood Watch in place, and I appreciate that because these people are all looking out for each other. I just wish they had been a little more considerate of my son and his family.
Paula Sparks, Grayson
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