Prisoners are persons whom most of us would rather not think about. Banished from everyday sight, they exist in a shadow world that only dimly enters our awareness. They are members of a "total institution" that controls their daily existence in a way that few of us can imagine. "[P]rison is a complex of physical arrangements and of measures, all wholly governmental, all wholly performed by agents of government, which determine the total existence of certain human beings (except perhaps in the realm of the spirit, and inevitably there as well) from sundown to sundown, sleeping, walking, speaking, silent, working, playing, viewing, eating, voiding, reading, alone, with others. . . ." It is thus easy to think of prisoners as members of a separate netherworld, driven by its own demands, ordered by its own customs, ruled by those whose claim to power rests on raw necessity. -- Justice William Brennan, dissenting in O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 354-55 (1987).

Friday, June 1, 2007

American Idol - Down to 4

Well, I think I got the final 4 right in my predictions several weeks ago although I didn't get the order of elimination for 5, 6 and 7 correct (Sanjaya, Chris and Phil).

Too bad Gina Glocksen could not have been around for Bon Jovi night.

When Sanjaya was eliminated 2 weeks ago, the inmates erupted. Loudest cheers I've heard yet!

Final Four Review

Blake's "You Give Love a Bad Name" rendition was amazing. The inmates loved it.

Jordin is amazing for 17 but had some problems singing a "boy band" song.

I had never heard the Bon Jovi song LaKisha sang. I wish she had picked a more well-known song. The Simon kiss was cute.

Finally I didn't like Melinda as much as the others tonight. "Have A Nice Day" is a defiant, almost contemptuous, kind of song that I can imagine Tina Turner pulling off but Melinda can't generate the kind of edge that Jon Bon Jovi did with the song. She is just too nice.

I think LaKisha goes this week.

After that it's really tough to predict whether Blake or Jordin will face Melinda in the finals. Normally, when it gets to the final 3, each judge picks a song for a contestant. Jordin and Blake are so different.

The only shocker would be if Melinda doesn't make it to the finals.

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