I can barely stomach Fox News anymore. Sorry, Mom and Dad. It’s just so blatantly partisan, a rubber-stamping lapdog for all things Republican. That morning “Fox and Friends” show is an absolute joke. Greta is relegated to the Nancy Grace universe, doing “missing white girl” stories. Bill O’Reilly is becoming a caricature of himself; I just don’t buy his purported fairness anymore, and it is most definitely a spin zone. Britt Hume has begun trashing anyone who questions anything about the Bush Administration (most recently Colin Powell). Hannity and Colmes just play roles, and their views are entirely predictable. The only thing on Fox that I still like is Shepherd Smith’s news hour. He’s unique, and that show deals with actual news. Whatta concept.

The whole “fair and balanced” thing is make-believe, like the term “compassionate conservative.” Terms designed to fool you whilst they act in ways totally contrary to their own label. Fox News is occasionally fair, rarely balanced (though lightyears from either on “Fox and Friends”). When they assemble several commentators, show me the one who leans left?

CNN has this liberal label, but I don’t see it. In general. CNN still aspires to be a professional, objective worldwide news channel, and since they do, indeed, have a worldwide presence, they’re probably the only American broadcaster which can lay that claim with any creedence. I certainly trust CNN, as a news source, far more than FoxNews (I trust the ABC and NBC news operations, too). I’ll take Paula Zahn over Greta any day (though neither of them most days), and I’m becoming a big Keith Olberman fan, much preferring him to O’Reilly’s schtick. Larry King still does his thing better than anybody else. Criticize him however you want (and I’ve found his show far less interesting than in previous years, and rarely watch it anymore), but he’s still a unique TV presence and does his thing with precision.

I also increasingly like MSNBC. In fact, I often turn there first, since it’s easier for me to hit channel 14 (MSNBC) on the remote than it is 17 (CNN). There’s scientific reasoning for you. Of course, channel 44, FoxNews, would be the easiest to finger, but on my preference list, it’s below MSNBC and CNN (though still several pegs above Nancy Grace, who is, unquestionably, The Devil).

As for the major network broadcasts: I like them all. Brian Williams is my first choice. But I like Charlie Gibson, and I also like the new Katie Curic broadcast. It’s fashionable to bash her, but I think she’s doing okay…for someone who made her career on the Today show. It’s just so nice to have Dan Rather out of the picture. And Sam Donaldson, too. Whatever happened to good ol’ Sam, he of the ego matched only by Rush Limbaugh? Well, wherever he’s at, let’s let him remain there undisturbed with the rest of the dragons.

When Ryan Seacrest announced that Taylor Hicks had won American Idol, I let out a “Yeah!” cheer. But it wasn’t as loud as the “Yeah!” I uttered a couple hours later when Boris Diaw made a last-second shot to put the Phoenix Suns ahead of the Dallas Mavericks. So I guess this aging soul still retains some manly-manly-ness. Considering how much American Idol has controlled my life this year, I was beginning to wonder.

The American Idol finale was a lot of fun. It’s the first one I’ve seen. Some great singing. Chris Daughtry singing with Live (note to self: check out Live on iTunes). Paris Bennet with Al Jarreau–wow, Paris is great! I was impressed with Carrie Underwood. The segments with Kelly Pickler and Wolfgang Puck were hysterical. Loved the three Brokenote cowboys. I’m a Meat Loaf fan, so I enjoyed seeing him and Katherine McPee sing together. Enjoyed hearing Lisa Tucker sing again (always one of my favorites). The segment with the five guys singing together was wonderful (much better than the counterpart with the women). Didn’t recognize Clay Aiken with his new ‘do until near the end of that song. The silly awards were fun. It was just a fun, fun event, and I unabashedly enjoyed it.

But it was nice to then flip over to TNT to rev up the testosterone again.

Elliott is gone, and I actually felt sad about it, after seeing the video thingy they do before singing “You had a bad day” (which is a nice touch, don’t you think?). Yet I’m glad he’s the one who departed, and not Kat or Taylor. It should be a good final next week. I figure Taylor will win. But I may end up rooting for Katherine. I’ll be happy with either. As if I’m the be-all target demographic of American pop culture.

I don’t get it. Who is voting for Elliott Yamin? I don’t know anybody who favors him (as if I’m authoritatively plugged in to the American zeitgeist). I figured it would come down to Chris and Taylor Hicks. Now I’m quite certain that Taylor will win. Just as I was certain Mandisa and Kellie would still be around.

Craig Berman has a good article about last night’s Idol on the MSNBC site. He writes, “Will this year’s champion be Taylor Hicks, who owes much of his success to a manic stage presence that may not translate to the audio-only CD? Will it be McPhee, who copes so well under pressure that she’s had two mediocre weeks in a row? Or will it be feisty underdog Elliott Yamin, who lacks anything resembling star quality?” He gives the nod to Taylor. As do I.