Cable news sucks up Ronstadt tale-overblown political pap
Singer Linda Ronstadt has been making a dedication of her song "Desperado" to "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore at the end of each of her engagements (during her encores) since she began a national tour earlier this summer. Particular "fans" allegedly couldn't bear it at the tail-end of one certain performance. An angry (maybe drunk?) stream of fans (allegedly hundreds out of the crowd of four and a half
thousand people) at the economically-failing Aladdin hotel (soon to be totally owned by
Planet Hollywood) in Las Vegas walked out of the hotel's theater as Ronstadt sang the song. (Funny, some fans typically leave the theatre toward the tail-end of the show to beat the crowd, anyhow). Some of them (in apparent end-of-the-night drunken hoodlum fashion) reportedly defaced posters of her in the lobby, writing comments and tossing drinks on her pictures.
Yet, when you read further and investigate, you learn that Ms. Ronstadt had had a troubled past with the Aladdin Hotel and Casino.
Curiously, there had been an article which had appeared in a local Las Vegas newspaper last week quoting Ronstadt making "disparaging remarks" about the town itself, calling it a "
strange, weird place".
The article had also said:
"I've been dedicating `Desperado' every night to Michael Moore, trying to get people to go see `Fahrenheit 9/11,' " she says.
"They say the country is evenly divided, and boy is that true. One half of the audience cheers and the other half boos."
"I don't understand this country sometimes and I really fear for it," she adds. "The government is making everybody in the world hate us, including the people that used to be our friends."
Anyone who disagrees with that is welcome to get in line, behind whoever she manages to rile at the Aladdin this time.
"I keep hoping that if I'm annoying enough to them, they won't hire me back," she says with a laugh.
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I'm sure that set a nasty tone from the get-go. It seems logical to me that
someone probably read this before the concert and decided to make her wish come true.
*
Trivia-Did you know a member of royalty in Saudi Arabia not only invests in Planet Hollywood, but has been on the board of directors..and is also a good investing-friend to Disney (who sut out Moore's film)?*
The funny part of the story is that the
brave and determined fellow who says he "booted" Linda from the casino,
Bill Timmins, didn't have to do much. Ronstadt had been booked to play the Aladdin for only that one show..and the show, for all intents and purposes, was OVER! (Hahaha!)
It sounds to me like a bunch of rowdy and irresponsible drunken (albeit conservative-minded) vandals who didn't care about the other four thousand fans' desire to sit and enjoy the show.
I also wonder about the Freeper-types who were discussing Linda Ronstadt's anti-conservative ideas before the concert took place (read the comments
HERE). If discussions like this one were flying around the internet, there may have been a few folks in that crowd just waiting for "Desperado" to be dedicated to Moore so they could play drama-queen.
Jerry Fink writes what I definitely perceive as a catty little criticism of Ronstadt's general performance
HERE. Meowwww!
Given all the facts, I think this whole story is a big overblown political whine. At least Drudge got some mileage out of it. Viva internet rumor.
The sad part is, the 24/7 cable news networks don't care enough about the truth to fully investigate before parroting Matt Drudge. I don't blame Matt. because he's free to post whatever he wants at his site.
Professional journalists are supposed to investigate and tell the whole story.
They aren't professional.
Americans are being fed pure (univestigated) shit.
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Michael Moore speaks out on behalf of Linda Ronstadt.