Dust off your credit card, because 'Idol' will give back again

American Idol fans: Mark your calendars for a non-elimination Wednesday on April 9.

For the second straight year, American Idol will give back with a telethon show so altruistic the only thing to call it is Idol Gives Back. The Wednesday, April 9 special will, again, be two hours of well-intentioned entertainment.

The 2007 installment of "Idol Gives Back" raised $75 million for a variety of charities benefiting underprivileged children in the United States and Africa. Ryan Seacrest hosted the festivities from the Idol stage, while Ellen DeGeneres summoned her inner Dunkleman to mastermind the ceremonies at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Because it seemed catty to boot somebody off of such a well-meaning show, nobody was eliminated during last year's event. One week later, though, it was back to business as usual, as Idol staged a double elimination.

Faithful readers will recall that I made a long-standing pledge not to mock Idol Gives Back, figuring the bad karma would haunt me for years to come.

I eventually realized that karma could be circumvented simply by making a decent-sized donation of my own. Having done that, I was able to chuckle through every second of the pageantry.

Expect a similar piece of self-rationalization next year.

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