“I Was Young, I Needed the Money.”:

This week we all got a lesson in what being Miss California really means. When Miss California’s Carrie Prejean was confronted by celebublogger Perez Hilton and outed for opposing gay marriage, suddenly the title of Miss California took on special meaning. Instead of a throw-away sleazy affair, it became a stage for the same-sex marriage debate. Prejean’s opinion suddenly mattered. Once Perez Hilton furthered his own fame, investigations into Prejean’s past were well underway. A few questionable images appeared, some of a semi-nude beauty queen. After that, a hubub ensued. Should she be stripped of her crown because of the semi-nudity she did early in her career? Should she be treated more harshly because of hes conservative views? As the politically correct among us waited with great anticipation to hear whether or not Donald Trump, of all people, would deem her worthy of her title or not, debates were very likely taking place all over the state. Did you think she was being a hypocrite for having once posed semi-nude for some sleazy photographer in Reseda? Even if you don’t agree with her beliefs, did you respect her right to speak her mind? Do you support same sex marriage and therefore found her remarks bigoted and hateful?No one seemed to be asking the obvious question, though: why do people suddenly care about a contest that is partly determined by girls parading around in bikinis? Really? Perhaps it all came crashing down on Tuesday when Donald Trump himself gave a press conference that pronounced his melodramatic conclusion to the mini drama.“We’ve reviewed the pictures carefully,” Trump said at a packed news conference at Trump Plaza in New York City. “We’ve made a determination that the pictures taken were acceptable. Some were risque, but we are in the 21st century.” Just how carefully, Mr. Trump? At least Trump kind of gets how ridiculous it all is, even if he pretends to care. In truth, our own beloved President and Vice President do not support same-sex marriage, but there is no way Perez Hilton is getting within shouting distance of them. Prejean rubbed it in, “The president of the United States, the Secretary of State, and many Americans agree with me in this belief.” Or at least they say so publicly. Maybe this whole silly affair will drive out the cowardly politicians and force them to take a real stand. In the end, it turned out to be a win-win situation for all involved. Perez Hilton continues his desperate climb to the top, Prejean gets far more exposure, so to speak, than she otherwise would have and might even get a book deal out of it. Trump gets to drum up some publicity for his useless pageantry. Same-sex marriage supporters got a great platform, as did those who support it. Who knew there could be so much drama when there is no “there” there?