Some cry conspiracy over votes

One radio-show caller said she couldn't get through while trying to vote.
WASHINGTON POST
Viewers stunned by voting results on "American Idol" this week began tossing the "c" word around again.
That's "c" as in conspiracy.
Conspiracy, for all you 10-year-old girls who have been text-messaging in your votes for geeky 16-year-old John Stevens, means planning or acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose. It's bad.
Even Fox, in its recap, called Wednesday's results show "a stunning turn of events" in which LaToya London, Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson wound up the week's bottom three vote-getters.
This was a shocker because the three "Idol" judges -- Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell -- repeatedly had said they were the best performers of the seven remaining contestants and had taken to calling them "The Three Divas." Guest pop stars on the reality series, including Elton John and Barry Manilow, also lavished praise on the three women.
Made it through
But Stevens, a seemingly nice guy with a very thin voice who forgot the words to one song he was singing ("King of the Road"), skated through, as did marginal performers Diana DeGarmo and Jasmine Trias, with more votes than LaToya, Fantasia or Jennifer.
At the end of Wednesday's show, Hudson, who one week not so long ago was the top vote-getter, was booted in what host Ryan Seacrest said was the closest voting in the show's history.
"America, don't forget you have to vote for the talent," Seacrest warned viewers after announcing the results. "You cannot let talent like this slip through the cracks."
On Thursday morning, judge Jackson called Hudson one of the best performers, telling the syndicated celebrity show "Extra" that her ouster was "insane."
Manilow, this week's guest judge, appeared on Seacrest's syndicated show Thursday morning. He said he did not stick around Wednesday night to hear the results, but "I got a call saying Jennifer was out. That was my look," Manilow said, hanging his jaw down low and letting his eyes bug out for effect. "She did the most magnificent job."
Topic of show
The "American Idol" imbroglio was a major topic on Thursday's "Tom Joyner Morning Show." One caller angrily reported that she had tried repeatedly to vote for LaToya, Jennifer and Fantasia but never got through because the lines were always busy. The caller suggested it was intentional. Another caller theorized that the reason the three women were the lowest vote-getters this week is that blacks "don't text-message," whereas "these little white kids" vote repeatedly with their cell phones. (LaToya, Jennifer and Fantasia are black, as is contestant George Huff. Text-message voting was introduced to the show during its second edition, when Ruben Studdard, who is black, won the competition.)
The obvious subtext on black radio's most popular show was that this voting travesty had everything to do with race. Joyner was more skeptical than his co-hosts, noting that blacks own and use cell phones.
"Tell me something, are you registered to vote?" he asked one caller. "Shouldn't we be more concerned about voting in November?"
Adding to the controversy, Hudson's hometown experienced a power outage Tuesday night, when voting was conducted. People in parts of Chicago were not able to watch the show or vote.