BEAUTY QUEENS
BEAUTY QUEENS
Forget ‘world peace:’ Beauty queens face culture war questions
04:46 PM
- var storyURL = document.location.href;var storyTitle = document.title;var yahooBuzzArticleId = ‘usatoday:’+storyURL+’?csp=34′;var yahooBuzzBadgeType = ‘text’;var sclListTop = “”;sclListTop +=’ ‘;sclListTop +=’
- ‘;sclListTop +=’
- ‘;sclListTop +=’ ‘;sclListTop +=’
‘;sclListTop +=’
‘;sclListTop +=’ ‘;document.write(sclListTop);
yahooBuzzArticleId
Share
Digg
Newsvine
Reddit
Digg
Newsvine
Reddit Share
2 uslCommentLinks[‘92907.blog’] = “http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/05/miss-usa-arizona-immigration-health-insurance-congress-/1” 39 Comments
Morgan Elizabeth Woolard (L), Miss Oklahoma USA 2010; and Rima Fakih (R), Miss Michigan USA 2010, shown here awaiting the announcement of the winner of the Miss USA 2010 pageant (Fakih), were both asked CAPTION By Darren Decker, Miss Universe OrganizationWouldn’t it be fun if we could fire questions at politicians the way judges at beauty pageants — all cranked up on culture war Kool-Aid — are doing these days?
Let’s get senators in stiletto heels and bikinis or Speedos, parade them around under TV lights, then throw them the questions asked of the two finalists at Miss USA yesterday.
The winner, Miss Michigan Rima Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant who calls herself both Muslim and Christian and went to Catholic school, was asked if health insurance should cover birth control. Yes, she said, because it’s so expensive. According to AP, she replied.
I believe that birth control is just like every other medication even though it’s a controlled substance.
No word on whether her prizes include health insurance along with a NY apartment for a year, living expenses and other goodies.
The first runner up (the Carrie Prejean spot from 2009 and don’t we all miss her!) was Miss Oklahoma Morgan Elizabeth Woolard. She, too, got a loaded question, this time on Arizona’s strict new immigration law. Like most Americans surveyed, she’s for it — as long as it doesn’t become racial profiling. Woolard said,
I’m a huge believer in states’ rights. I think that’s what’s so wonderful about America. So I think it’s perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law.”
One thing the questions certainly do is quadruple the coverage of “a third rate beauty pageant desperate for attention,” says Joe Carter, blogging at the conservative journal First Things on “Miss Culture War 2010.” Says Carter:
Next year the judges should just ask what they really want to know: “Are you now or have you ever been a conservative?”
Over at the blog for Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic blogger Mary DeTurris Poust, pines for the good old days…
… when just about every question asked of beauty queens during those dreadful pageants warranted a response of “world peace”? Oh, for that age of innocence. The Michigan woman who was crowned Miss USA this weekend couldn’t possibly pull that old stand-by out of the hat.
….Without getting into the odd “controlled substance” part of that answer, I just have to wonder if the judges couldn’t find a more pressing issue for the young female minds to consider? Something like, say, world peace. Was Ortho pharmaceuticals a sponsor of the show? And I think we can all figure out that had Miss Michigan, the first Arab-American to win the title, offered a different response, she would not be wearing the crown today.”
Hmmm. Doesn’t this presuppose that pretty citizens are disqualified from the topics on every citizen’s mind right now? Do you think judges should peel back to non-controversial topics for contestants because their primary talents on display are the ability to walk in wedding cake gowns or skimpy suits? Or are you genuinely interested in their views on health insurance and immigration?
Tags: