Carrie Prejean, praised by conservative Christian groups for her statement on same-sex marriage in the Miss USA beauty pageant, is appearing in a TV ad for the National Organization for Marriage, a Philadelphia nonprofit led by Maggie Gallagher and Princeton University professor Robert George.

Prejean went on the Today show Thursday to defend her decision. "You know what, Matt, I never thought in a million years that this would be happening right now. I was attacked for giving my own opinion on stage at a Miss USA contest. I'm gonna do whatever it takes, Matt, to protect marriage. It's something that's very dear to my heart."

The Senates in both New Hampshire and Maine passed bills this week that would legalize same-sex marriage if the respective House of Representatives approves them. The New England states would become the fifth and sixth in the country to legalize gay marriage.

Meanwhile, two Miss USA pageant directors told celebrity gossip show Access Hollywood Wednesday that Prejean received breast implants - paid for by the Miss California Organization - six weeks before the Miss USA contest. Shanna Moekler, co-director of the organization, said, "Breast implants in pageants is not a rarity. It's definitely not taboo. It's very common. Breast implants today among young women today is very common."

"Let's not be naive," Jessica Wakeman at The Frisky urges. "Shanna's probably right in that boob jobs aren't exactly taboo in pageant-land. I don't know what's considered real or fake in the pageant subculture, where women hairspray their legs and wipe Vaseline on their teeth to look extra shiny. But a pageant organization paying for an already gorgeous 21-year-old to get breast implants shows where its real priorities lie."

(I rest my case on the real Miss USA scandal.)

Posted: