Sheldon, one more factor in the Sanjaya phenomenon;

http://www.votefortheworst.com/

You are correct.Heard ths rumours in case of Big Brother (u.K)

I agree its mostly b/c of the vote for worst websites set up to sabatoge American Idol, its a fan favorite show that can fall hard with this sort of controversy. If Sanjaya goes any further, or ends up in the top 6, I will not watch the show the rest of the season. He knows he shouldnt be there, I still cannot believe Stephanie was voted off, and I am sure she cant either. I think there should be a time when the judges should make the final decisions with who is voted off, their 3 votes should end it for one of the bottom 2 contestants each week.

Howard Stern mixed with the Sanjaya phenom adds humor and that's why it's successful. I would love to see Howard appear on American Idol as Fartman. It would be like this -
http://www.atomfilms.com/film/fartman_caught.jsp

you know what, that last 'disclaimer' you put in, "one of my favorite stocks is indian" says it all about you, mr. liber. Just as "some of my best friends are blacks" smacks of hypocrisy.

are you still really so daft to think there are hundreds of thousands of indian call center employees sitting in unison all over the country, poised to vote when the command arrives from high above somewhere? and you give out stocks advice?

i don't think you are a racist because you think race might be a factor, none of the previous commentators thought that either. race can be a factor, as could be a myriad of things. what smells racist about you is you believe (and quite sincerely, else you would not have written a second column about it) an entire non-white nation is so dim-witted as to flock behind an american kid simply because his ancestors are from there.

i put in non-white there because i don't see this speculation coming from you if his last name was templeton or some such. why is that his ancestry is even brought into question? this kid is american to boot, but would people raise it if he was irish-german?

and no, american idol is not broadcast live in india. the wiki entry is wrong. if nothing else, this show is doing exactly what borat did, unmasking a lot of true selves. i'm glad it unmasked yours for me, even if you haven't looked in the mirror yourself yet.

To atanu,
Not Racist by definition, mine or Websters. But you might be.

From Websters: Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

I never said race was a "primary factor"; I wrote multiple stories on the subject and you read only two (maybe). If you were not so focused on race you would have read that I wrote originally that the vote might be 'skewed by' not 'determined by'. This might only take a marginal amount of votes to make a difference. The second article discounted this concept immediately and attributed multple factors to Sanjaya's success.

Sanjaya's success is unusual and I was looking for some unusual reason.

Also You further promote your ignorance by questioning the wiki without correcting it, why? Tens of thousands of people have read it and there it stands. I do not know the level of accuracy, but I assure you satellite is world wide. You point would be better if you said few Indians can afford that service.

And having no knowledge of investing or my record, you question mine...what kind of discrimination is that? If I was a racist I could still be a great at picking stocks.

Lastly, regardless of your view of my character, clearly I have offended many people which was not my intent and I will give due consideration to peoples sensibilities in future stories, although there will always be those that are so focused on race that they will ignore the actual story.

you edited my post, which was published on the 7th, and made it on the 9th just so you could have your say first. its just juvenile, and pretty much confirms my low opinion about your integrity.

the rest of your post is just pure illogical rant, flailing about wildly because i contradicted you. i don't really care that you are a closet racist, you have every right to be. but don't edit my post just because you don't agree with me.

mr. liber,
for clarification in a cooler head, i don't believe you're a racist at all, closet or otherwise. you had a valid point in investigating whether there was another angle behind the idiot malakar kid's stayiing power. however, everything i know about my own culture and people tells me its simply not possible, and certainly not technically feasible. so i'm naturally not thrilled that you ran with a non-starter a second time. how's that?
i do apologize if i used harsh words earlier, i certainly did not mean to cast aspersion on you, but such be the folly of expressions on the internet. i do find some of the vitriolic comments from other posters regarding indian call centers in your column somewhat disturbing though (particularly the ones who write in all caps). i do believe we may have a common cause after all, maybe we just approached it wrong. anyway, as you say, peace, and keep up the good work.

ps: star world does not broadcast american idol live though :)

Come on Guys! Sanjaya is pure entertainment and he truly deserves to be the next American Idol. This is america after all and I as well s thousands of others tune in just to see what hairstyle he's sporting and totally enjoying his appeal to all, be they straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual multisexual oh! Whatever.! He makes me smile and laugh out loud. That my friends is Entertainment!!!!!