Standards for Miss America

              Falwell Confidential 
Falwell Confidential 
Page I of 2 
A weekly fax briefing for America's pastors and Christian leaders who may use this information without attribution, This fax is made available, without 
charge, to the 162,000 evangelical pastors who are part of the "Friends of Jerry Fa/we/f Support Circle. 
Date: September 17, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM: Jerry Falwell 
STANDARDS FOR MISS AMERICA: Saying they want to prevent "discrimination," Miss America organizers attempted to 
terminate moral standards for pageant competitors. Historically, Miss America participants could not be divorced, nor 
could they have experienced an abortion. Those standards � after almost 50 years � were nearly wiped out earlier this 
week. Thankfully, due primarily to complaints from state pageant officials across the nation, the new rules have been at 
least temporarily halted. Miss America organizers wanted to change the rules and ask participants to state that they are 
presently unmarried, not pregnant, nor the natural or adoptive parent of any child. Critics said the new questions could 
actually lead some participants to choose abortion in order to be able to answer questions in a way pageant organizers 
were seeking. The board of the Miss America organization apparently attempted to change the standards out of fear of 
violating New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws. (You will recall that the state 's discrimination laws led to the state 's 
Supreme Court ruling that the Boy Scouts is a "public accommodation" that is required to give access to homosexuals.) 
Dr. Joyce Brothers praised the planned rules changes, saying, "1 don 't think it's rational to expect virginity these days." I 
guess Dr. Brothers has not heard of campaigns across this nation that have seen untold numbers of young people commit 
to a chaste life until the days of their marriages. Cathy Brown, director of the pro-life group, Why Life? , said of the Miss 
America decision, "As is typical of the mindless conspirators who make such decisions, the organization 's leaders shroud 
the killing of innocent children in the cloak of casual endorsement, political correctness, normalcy and acceptability." The 
reigning Miss America, Nicole Johnson, also criticized the planned rules changes, saying, "To deviate at all from those 
traditions, standards and principles saddens me." Nicole should be proud for taking a courageous stand! If you would like 
to voice your concerns to Miss America officials, you may do so by sending a considerate E-mail to: 
www.missamerica.com/talktous.html. Or you may write: Two Ocean Way, Suite 1000, Atlantic City, NJ, 08401. Or you 
may send a fax: 609-347-6079. 
RESCUING GEORGE WASHINGTON: Earlier this week, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) sent a "dear colleague" letter to 
congressional counterparts, seeking to re-establish a national day for honoring our first president, George Washington. 
Bartlett recently discovered a high school history textbook in which George Washington received a miserly six lines of 
copy -- in the entire book. On the other hand, Marilyn Monroe received six-and-a-half pages! Our nation 's priorities are 
clearly misguided ... and affecting our young people. December 14 marks the 200th anniversary of Washington 's death. 
To honor the father of our country, Bartlett has proposed H.R. 1363, which would restore the third Monday in February to 
its legal federal holiday, singularly honoring Washington. "George Washington is most responsible for the great country 
we are privileged to enjoy today," said Bartlett. I fully agree. Mr. Washington was a valiant man and this nation owes a 
debt of gratitude to his great service to the young nation. 
THE PUBLIC HAS HAD ITS FILL OF THE CLINTONS: A new Reuters/WHDH-TV Boston/Zogby poll reveals that a 
majority of likely American voters hope both Bill and Hillary Clinton retire from public office and take lower public profiles 
after Mr. Clinton's presidential term ends in 2000. The survey, conducted between September 6-8, found that 53.5% of 
those surveyed prefer the Clintons to stay out of public office, while 39.9% say they hope Hillary Clinton runs for the U.S. 
Senate. Only 40.1% said they favored a continuation of Clinton administration policies for the nation. Additionally, the 
survey found George W. Bush maintaining his lead over Vice President Al Gore (50.1% to 36.4%). 
JUDGE MOORE CLEARED: Roy Moore, the judge who boldly displays the Ten Commandments in his Alabama 
courtroom, has been cleared of "ethics charges" over a legal defense fund. "l feel like we 've been delivered by His 
righteousness," Judge Moore said after St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis said there was no evidence to support 
a state Ethics Commission complaint alleging the judge may have used the fund for personal gain. The fund was set up to 
help Judge Moore battle the ACLU in his legal defense of displaying the Commandments. The Ethics charges appear to 
be nothing more than trumped-up allegations against a courageous man of faith! Judge Moore agreed, saying, "This is 
not about ethics. This was an attempt to stop the message that the acknowledgment of God 
. is not now, nor has it ever 
been, nor ever will be, a violation of the First Amendment." Keep the faith, Judge Moore! 
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