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August 7, 2008 —
State House Rep. Christine Scanlan (D-Dillon) Thursday fired off a mass e-mail to her constituency questioning the judgment of her Republican opponent, Ali Hasan, for announcing to the Summit Daily News that he plans to remain celibate through the Nov. 4 election and until the legislature convenes in January.
“This underscores his continued lack of judgment and inability to understand the role of a public official,” Scanlan campaign officials said in the e-mail. “(Hasan) is not a serious candidate with credible positions on the issues; he is merely a well-funded candidate.”
Hasan, the 28-year-old Beaver Creek son of wealthy HMO-founder Malik Hasan, told the newspaper his decision was made after Summit County Republican Party officials suggested it in jest. Hasan is apparently taking it seriously.
“They said they would take away their endorsement,” Hasan told the Summit Daily. “So I guess that kind of makes me a bit of a monk.”
Hasan also told the paper the decision has nothing to with stalking allegations made by his former girlfriend and publicist last year. No charges were filed, and the woman dropped her request for a restraining order.
Speaking of higher callings, apparently the intoxicating effects of celebrity aren’t exclusively impacting the presidential race. Celeb worship also makes it harder to seat a jury, and can even reach to the heavens.
No we’re not talking about Senate candidate Bob Schaffer’s son’s Facebook shout-out to “Pole Dancers for Jesus,” although that certainly is worth another mention. This is about potential jurors in Houston admitting Wednesday that they were star-struck by defendant Victoria Osteen and her mega-church-founding co-pastor hubby Joel.
Opening arguments were set to begin today in a civil lawsuit filed by flight attendant Sharon Brown against Victoria Osteen, who allegedly threw Brown against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast in a dispute over a stain on Osteen’s first-class seat.
The case made headlines in Colorado because the incident happened before a 2005 Continental flight from Houston to Vail. The Osteens got off before the plane left Houston.
Brown claims that her faith was affected and that she suffers anxiety and hemorrhoids, according to the AP, and she’s therefore seeking 10 percent of Osteen’s considerable net worth. Joel Osteen preaches in a former basketball arena at Houston’s Lakewood Church, and his weekly TV show is internationally syndicated.
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