More internet scrubbing in Miss Oregon eligibility flap
The controversy about whether the new Miss Oregon, Rachel Berry, was in fact an Oregon resident long enough to be eligible for the title is really taking some weird turns. Web pages and photos that might shed light on that question are disappearing as fast as we can link to them. Earlier today, we linked to a photo showing that Berry's pageant mentor, California attorney Connie Benson, was the Astoria Regatta Queen in 1989. The point was that Benson apparently has connections to the pageant moms of Seaside, who control the Miss Oregon contest. Now, all of a sudden, Benson's own mom, Lynda Benson of Prineville, has made her Facebook page, on which that photo appeared, private. There's something extremely odd going on here.
The latest rumor is that someone has hired a private investigator to determine where Berry actually resided in October, November, and December of last year. If it wasn't in Oregon, Berry was ineligible.
Rachel, obviously you and your family, friends, and supporters are reading this. If you didn't really live in Oregon long enough to be eligible for the Miss Oregon pageant, you should do the smart thing and step down gracefully. You could say it was an honest mistake, and everyone would forgive you. Let runner-up Nichole Mead, who's a real Oregonian, go to the Miss America pageant, so that you can hold your head high the rest of your life. Looking over your shoulder for the next year just wouldn't be worth it. If you are forcibly dethroned, everything you worked for to get this far will be down the drain.
And if you didn't really live in Prineville, don't lie and say you did. You will be tripped up and exposed. Think about the harm that would cause, not only to you but to the other people involved.
UPDATE, 11:45 p.m.: Just as an experiment, here's a photo, posted on June 24 of this year, of Berry and Connie Benson at an undisclosed location. Here's one of Berry with a photo of Benson at the Seaside pageant two weeks ago. They're on Connie Benson's Facebook page, at this hour at least. Let's see how long they remain public. They don't show much -- just that the connection between the two women remains strong -- but given all the takedowns of the last few days, they may not be long for the public's eyes to see.
UPDATE, 7/16, 9:04 p.m.: More Twitter scrubbing, here.
Comments (10)
Normally, I would ignore something like a beauty or Miss Whatever pageant. But it means a lot of hard work for a lot of people who care about this stuff. Politicians, CEO's, entertainers and athletes all face these opportunities to do the right thing when their character and actions are called into question. Some do, but it seems like far too many just can't stop the train they're on.
This is Rachel's defining moment.
I would add that any investigation on this case will have already captured the social network postings and the subsequent interviewing of witnesses and neighbors is a cinch. Then there's the DMV records, utility bills, voting registration and other public records available to an investigator.
There will also be the neighbors of whatever Oregon location might be claimed as Rachel's residence in October, November, and December. And her state tax returns, if she filed any, for 2011. And her November vote, if indeed she voted in that election.
Boring? yes, Unimportant, probably.
However, this situation points out the folly of lies for most people in quasi public life. You WILL be caught eventually, especially in this day and age, with all the social media about. Anyone with a cell phone is a paparazzi these days.
Fess up Rachael, and move on with your life. The lie is nearly always worse than whatever act you may have committed.
Now, if only we could convince the "banksters" to confess!
Well yeah those pageants are corrupt. Ever seen the last names Of some of the local directors and then the last names of some of the winners? (ok, maiden names for some) They match! Thanks for the crown, Mom!
Also why don't they just get a hold of her local pageant director (whatever it is) and question that person? Sounds like something was skipped over at that level.
" ... where Berry actually resided .... If it wasn't in Oregon, Berry was ineligible." There you go again, quoting legalities.
Oh, Jack, such a Democratic liberal idealism sense you hold with. Seems almost quaint to hear said in these post-N.E.O. years of Dubya's 'new normal' fascism that someone thinks we uphold the rule of Law. Ha, not now, when the president murders whoever he has a droning whim to kill, and Seaside crowns whoever those beauty-business elites like as Miss Oregon. rules shmules
Of course, somebody could sue someone, so they'd take the case for upholding Law to Court ... back in the day. After the 2000 Justice 9 Supremes ruling (unsigned) showed every lower Judge that monied celebrity elitism has disestablished Justice, and so overturned the premier US Constitution mission statement, now there's no more exhaustive tangled mind-wracking with fungible ethical and moral or even legal precepts. Just let the highest bidder write every decision, rubber stamp it with a gavel, and pocket the money ... all tax-free, by precedent.
Miss Oregon ineligible by the rules??? Like, whatEVer. Elitism is above the law, by definition. Just look at her body of work, and she knows it -- she works out.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (10)
Normally, I would ignore something like a beauty or Miss Whatever pageant. But it means a lot of hard work for a lot of people who care about this stuff. Politicians, CEO's, entertainers and athletes all face these opportunities to do the right thing when their character and actions are called into question. Some do, but it seems like far too many just can't stop the train they're on.
This is Rachel's defining moment.
I would add that any investigation on this case will have already captured the social network postings and the subsequent interviewing of witnesses and neighbors is a cinch. Then there's the DMV records, utility bills, voting registration and other public records available to an investigator.
Posted by Skeezicks | July 15, 2012 10:53 PM
There will also be the neighbors of whatever Oregon location might be claimed as Rachel's residence in October, November, and December. And her state tax returns, if she filed any, for 2011. And her November vote, if indeed she voted in that election.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 15, 2012 11:00 PM
Boring!
Side bets! Anyone giving odds on her "mentor" for Ms. Oregon State Leather? Contest in August at the Embers back bar.
Posted by dyspeptic | July 16, 2012 12:29 AM
Boring? yes, Unimportant, probably.
However, this situation points out the folly of lies for most people in quasi public life. You WILL be caught eventually, especially in this day and age, with all the social media about. Anyone with a cell phone is a paparazzi these days.
Fess up Rachael, and move on with your life. The lie is nearly always worse than whatever act you may have committed.
Now, if only we could convince the "banksters" to confess!
Posted by portland native | July 16, 2012 7:33 AM
Good luck on your quest. It's hard to take these women or pagents seriously beyond some nasty self-image issues they are working out.
Posted by Steve | July 16, 2012 7:41 AM
Well yeah those pageants are corrupt. Ever seen the last names Of some of the local directors and then the last names of some of the winners? (ok, maiden names for some) They match! Thanks for the crown, Mom!
Also why don't they just get a hold of her local pageant director (whatever it is) and question that person? Sounds like something was skipped over at that level.
Posted by K | July 16, 2012 8:41 AM
Personally, I thought the "EXIT" sign behind Ms. Berry's head in the update photo was a nice touch.
Posted by Max | July 16, 2012 11:45 AM
" ... where Berry actually resided .... If it wasn't in Oregon, Berry was ineligible." There you go again, quoting legalities.
Oh, Jack, such a Democratic liberal idealism sense you hold with. Seems almost quaint to hear said in these post-N.E.O. years of Dubya's 'new normal' fascism that someone thinks we uphold the rule of Law. Ha, not now, when the president murders whoever he has a droning whim to kill, and Seaside crowns whoever those beauty-business elites like as Miss Oregon. rules shmules
Of course, somebody could sue someone, so they'd take the case for upholding Law to Court ... back in the day. After the 2000 Justice 9 Supremes ruling (unsigned) showed every lower Judge that monied celebrity elitism has disestablished Justice, and so overturned the premier US Constitution mission statement, now there's no more exhaustive tangled mind-wracking with fungible ethical and moral or even legal precepts. Just let the highest bidder write every decision, rubber stamp it with a gavel, and pocket the money ... all tax-free, by precedent.
Miss Oregon ineligible by the rules??? Like, whatEVer. Elitism is above the law, by definition. Just look at her body of work, and she knows it -- she works out.
No, wait. Did I say 'Just'? I meant 'merely'.
Posted by Tenskwatawa | July 16, 2012 6:44 PM
connie and lynda do not have a facebook page. they do have a tiwt acct.
Posted by tk | July 20, 2012 1:00 AM
https://www.facebook.com/connie.benson1
Posted by Jack Bog | July 20, 2012 3:44 AM