WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — An official report filed by People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) with the Virginia government shows that the organization put to death more than 90 percent of the dogs, cats, and other pets it took in for adoption during 2007. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for just 17 animals. In light of PETA’s hypocritical angel-of-death program, today the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) called on PETA to stop its routine condemnation of Americans who believe it’s perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and medical research.

This comes on the heels of last week’s Newsweek report, which revealed that since 1998 PETA had killed, “more than 17,000 animals, nearly 85 percent of all those it has rescued.”

Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter program, the organization took in 1,997 “companion animals” during 2007, of which it killed 1,815. According to Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the state was just 36.2 percent in 2007. PETA killed 90.9 percent of the animals it took in.

“Pet lovers should be outraged,” said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. “There are thousands of worthwhile animal-welfare organizations that deserve the support of compassionate Americans. PETA is not one of them. This is the kind of cold, heartless behavior that would draw a naked PETA protest if anyone else were doing it.”

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People have said that America loves an underdog. Some of these people have said that it’s even more true when it comes to American Idol. Maybe that is why tonight one of the most talented of the remaining six got booted from the show. While mediocre talent remains such as Jason, who Simon has said wasn’t able to sing well but was charming, and Syesha, who should have been gone weeks ago, Carly was sent home. Andrew Lloyd Weber week did her in when it should have easily done in Jason, if not one of the others. It’s sad to see that America got it wrong when the answer was as easy as could be.

The good news is that Carly took it like a champ and refused to cry. She showed America what they would be missing and went out with a bang. The other good news is that she shouldn’t have any problem getting a record contract after this. I cannot wait until that happens because I look forward to picking up her CD when it hits shelves.

Rather than complain about the obvious I am going to end this with a couple of Carly’s best performances.

Carly, if you’re reading this….I am a fan and you will be missed.

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In an earlier post, I listed my opinion of who were the bottom three contenders for American Idol’s Andrew Lloyd Weber week. All in all, the contestants did far better than I thought they would. I cringed when I heard Sir Andrew would be the mentor for this week, assuming that many of them would make a mockery of the singing institution. In actuality, it wasn’t that bad. My favorite picks did pretty good, with two of them going above and beyond what I expected. Unlike the last post, which listed my least favorites in no uncertain order, this post has everything in order from my least favorite going first and I have saved the best for last.

Randy always says, when you can sing, you can sing anything. David Archuleta can sing. His performance was similar to all of the others he has performed since being selected for Idol. It was good and he definitely has what it takes to be a contender until the end. Still, I would like to see something new from him. When you consider that it’s all about the singing, there was no way I could put him in my least favorites because even though this was not entirely memorable he definitely hit all the right notes.

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Andrew Lloyd Weber week was going to be tough. I knew that going in. So few of the remaining six are able to show up with that presence that is necessary where musical theatre is concerned. Yes, most of them can sing. However, it doesn’t mean most of them deserve to be able to sing classically or on Broadway. It takes a special kind. Last night, some of the idols proved that they are the kind that can sing these kind of songs and that they deserve to stay. Unfortunately, some of them didn’t.

At this stage in the competition it’s really time to weed out the losers and let the potential winners do their thing. The winners are becoming more and more obvious every day. I don’t think at this stage there is any question of who will be left standing at the end of the competition. The question will be which order the remaining four go home in. Last night may have changed the order I was expecting just a little bit, which I will explain in a minute. For now, let’s look at my picks for the bottom three performances last night.

These are in no uncertain order at this point, but here they are nonetheless.

The judges all raved that Syesha had such a musical theatre persona and if that’s truly the case then it’s one more reason that she doesn’t belong on American Idol. While she might have done well this week (I don’t think she was all that hot, but…) in the past she has bombed repeatedly. Her booming voice either comes off as shrieking or screaming and she is too over-confident (nobody loves Syesha quite as much as she loves herself), without cause. I know she went for the sexy thing and it caught people’s attention but that didn’t make it good. Looking at the others on stage she is running out of hot air and one semi-decent performance along with a sea of mediocre ones just means that her weeks are numbered. I don’t think she will go home this week, but within the next two weeks I predict she will be gone.

I like Brooke. I really do like her. Before yesterday’s performance I had her coined to go home in two weeks. However, now I’m not so sure. She lost her words and that obviously frightened her. Starting over was the brave and admirable thing to do, but once she did her confidence was shot and her voice seemed strained. I don’t think one bad performance should be the cause of her going home, but I fear this may do the trick for dear Brooke White. I think she’s has a good chance of getting a deal, most of them do, really, but it’s sad to see her go on what could have been an okay night for her had the word memory problem not cropped up.

This wasn’t his best performance. Then again, it wasn’t his worst. The problem is that he was so far out of his element that it was uncomfortable to watch. I just don’t get why Jason was even ever a part of this competition to begin with. Sure he’s unusual, which always makes for a good choice, but in the end, there were plenty of better or more suitable options for American Idol. I have been thinking he would be going home for a few weeks. Now is as good a time as any. I am pretty sure that if he doesn’t go tonight then it will be Brooke. Any way you look at it he doesn’t have more than a week or two, at most, left in him.

Technorati Tags: American Idol, Syesha, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Singing, Music, Evita, Votes, Worst Performances

They both technically lost when they were on Season Five. Kelly lost by more than Katherine, but losing is losing even if you come in second. However, now it seems the tides have certainly turned and while Pickler has excelled in her genre, McPhee has been placed in the leftover fluff pile to rot.

They both have new albums they are working on (I am guessing one will be more successful than the other…again) and they both recently came back to AI to perform live. The performances are both below. The question is…who do you think performed better?

Katherine McPhee sang during the first Beatles Week.

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Amanda has left the building. In fact, by now it’s possible that she’s left Hollywood. She’s packed up her black clothing, her Aerosmith necklaces, and she’s headed back home. I have to admit that I didn’t think that you would do it America.

I thought you would leave her on, until her rousing rendition of “Dreamlover” by Mariah Carey that came with a twist that sounded like something sang on the back of a truck during a rock n’ roll, honky tonk. But alas! You surprised me by saying goodbye to Amanda, who we at Literary Illusions have affectionately named “Skunky” since her hair reminds of us of that of a skunk, and saving those who attend the Idol concert from having to hear her bad renditions of any song she happens to sing.

Before I get into my personal goodbye, please enjoy a few moments of silence while you sit baffled listening to Skunky ruin the Beatles for the last time.

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As if the first Beatles week wasn’t bad enough (technically it was the John/Paul songbook, but they WERE the Beatles)…Guess what kids?! We’re back for another with the top 11 and a new set of Beatles songs they can desecrate. Ryan seemed enthusiastic as he announced the Idols. It was Amanda first and it ended with Ramiele.

They all lined up and Ryan wished them luck before sending them off stage again a totally pointless display. Randy looked preppy in his powder blue V neck. I don’t know dawg. He just didn’t have that yo factor today. Paula looked drunk in her sparkly shirt, but then what else is new? And, of course, Simon looked calm and polished in a white sweater.

Before things got underway, Ryan asked the judges for advice for the idols. Randy recommended that they pick the right song. There are a lot of them to choose from, after all. Paula recommended that the ones who can take risks should continue to take risks. Finally, Simon said he felt this competition was half talent oriented and half vocally oriented. To win him over tonight, they just need to sing well. Obviously that would be easier for some than it will for others.

After Ryan gave a little tribute to the Beatles, as opposed to last week’s Lennon McCartney songbook, we were on our way. I have to say, I enjoyed the shots and clips of the Beatles, but was absolutely dreading the idols’ versions. I had three favorites last week and while I think they will pull through for me again, it’s everyone else I am afraid of.

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Tonight was a hard evening for both of us. While we are both huge Beatles fans, Dom is by far, the biggest fan in the house. Singing the songs of Lennon/McCartney in a performance sort of way is sacreligious. That being said, there wasn’t much of a choice for any of us. The idols were doing songs by Lennon and McCartney whether we liked it or not. So, we tried to be more constructive than hateful for what they did, to ruin these wonderful songs.

To start things out, the top 12 got to perform in the big theater on a new loud set..that Ryan seemed totally proud of, by the way he kept showing it off and grinning like a Cheshire cat. He acted like he designed it personally. I don’t know why he was bragging about the horrendous thing. It’s gaudy and feels impractical. The only good part of it is the fact that it offers a trippy light show. The band is located higher, in their own penthouse, and the stage is larger. It also offers fans in the upper deck and a mosh pit. I guess if the idols and the judges like it, its okay, but from home, it looks like crap.

On to the judges, Paula was decked out in old lady bronze. She also had her typical tipsy (Rum & Coke) look on her face. Simon looked like he raided Enrique Iglesias’ closet with his metrosexual white, button down shirt, unbuttoned part way to expose his bare chest. Randy….looked like Randy. He wore a black long-sleeved tee, with white writing down the sleeves and some bling bling…aka a silver cross.

Randy mentioned that he thought the songs were the greatest songs in music and they will last forever. Paula thought the songs were full of melody, but if the idols risk it it by switching it up, they better be worth it and some can change things up. Simon said the songs are only as difficult as the ones that are chosen. “She Loves You” is easy… “Yesterday” is hard…duh.

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As some of you may have noticed we opted out of doing recaps for the elimination shows of American Idol. If you’ve seen one you have seen them all. We just decided there is no sense in writing out all the happenings when people just want to find out who isn’t going to be there anymore. With that in mind, we have decided to offer the final performances and some parting thoughts to those that have left us and will not be heard from again on the AI stage.

The following group was all cut on the first week of elimination.

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