A college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues
Obama announces his SCOTUS pick at 10:15am (est) .
California Supreme Court announces ruling on Prop 8 appeal at 1:00pm (est).
CNN and USA Today is reporting that Obama will nominate Sonia Sotomayor. If true and if confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic justice. She was nominated to the federal bench by George Bush I. Her wikipedia entry already has the news.
Got any other news you want to drop today? I wouldn’t advise it. I think these two stories may push North Korea to #3.
UPDATE: 5/26/09 – Prop 8 is upheld and but 18,000 current same-sex marriages will continue to be recognized. The ruling in .pdf is here.
Lots of reporting out today on the subject; Prejean and her mother are featured today and tomorrow on Focus on the Family broadcasts.
During the opening of the broadcast, Dr. Dobson said Carrie would be stripped of her crown today. According to the Prejean camp, that is not known at this time. Prejean representative, Melany Ethridge emailed to say the pageant has not notified them of what will be announced.
Also, prior to the broadcast, Dobson mentioned the semi-nude picture of Prejean at age 17. That picture surfaced since the interviews were recorded. About that photo, he said,
We agree with you in the audience who oppose that kind of sensuality. Focus on the Family has been a strong supporter of modesty and righteousness in the culture for many years. And yet we have chosen to go ahead and air these two programs after Carrie explained that the pictures were taken when she was 17 years old; she’s now 21 and in fact will be 22 on Wednesday and she regrets doing it and said she would not do it again.
Prejean also said on Friday that she would not take some of the more recent work she has done as well.
As reported here last week, Tate Hausman co-leader of Ohio Obama get out the vote organization, Vote Today Ohio, was convicted of voter fraud. Mr. Hausman violated Ohio laws requiring new residents in the state to intend to remain in Ohio past the election. He had no intention of staying in Ohio.
Mr. Hausman, a Brooklyn, New York resident, spoke to the Brooklyn Paper about the conviction in an interview published today. He says he did not understand the law.
Hausman was hit with a $1,000 fine from a court in the Buckeye State, where he had relocated in order to get out the vote from students, homeless people and other under-represented voters.
Of course, he voted there, too.
That’s where the trouble began.
Hausman cast an early ballot for Obama on Oct. 4, believing he was allowed to do so because he had been living in Columbus for more than the 30-days requirement for voter eligibility.
But Franklin County Ohio Prosecutor Ron O’Brien argued successfully that the rules stipulate that any Ohio voter must intend to remain an Ohio resident — something any self-respecting Brooklynite would never agree to.
Hausman claims he didn’t realize he had broken one of Ohio’s most-sacred tenets until he received a letter outlining the law — but he received it three days after the deadline had passed for withdrawing an illegal vote without punishment.
“When I saw that letter, my stomach fell to my knees,” Hausman said.
Watching this Palestra.net report, a skeptical person might question Mr. Hausman’s account.
As Tiffany Wilson’s report indicates, other VTO workers registered in Ohio. According to Franklin County Prosecutor, Ron O’Brien, other prosecutions are on the way.
See also:
Vote Today Ohio out-of-state leaders register in Ohio
Is anyone else puzzled by the response to our new family values spokeswoman? For taking a position against same-sex marriage in a beauty contest, she gets invited to the Dove Awards and offered a scholarship to attend Liberty University during her senior year by Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Now she will soon appear in an anti-same-sex marrage ad.
Cover (up) Girl and Miss California, Carrie Prejean.
Will she be able to abide by the dress code at Liberty U.? Probably will need some new swimwear…
Before some of my readers get all uppity, let me add that I think Perez Hilton was a jerk about the whole issue, should never have asked such a volatile question and reacted in extremely poor taste afterward. But unless religious conservatives have some kind of answer to our girls about how they can lionize a Miss USA contestant and stress modesty at the same time, I do not see the virtue in giving her the platform.